Heroes-Legend (Paris to Dakar) Rally - 2009

[JMo (& piglet)]

I thought those of you who saw my Hero? Legend? Fool? thread last year might be interested in seeing a few photos from the event (these ones are of me/my bike, others to follow) - enjoy!

Scrutineering, Ales, France... seemed like a lifetime ago, even when we looked back just a week later on the rest day in Mauritania!:


Day 1: in Africa featured three special stages, primarily on gravel tracks/pistes, and the timing was tight - a lot of riders elected to drop a [speed] group after the first day:


Day 3: featured a long special - nearly 250kms (plus liaison) from Merzouga to Zagora in southern Morocco:


Day 4: was another long day - heading west first in the desert, and later in the mountains:


Day 4: one of my favorite photos! The roadbook took us through remote mountain villages - that's Clive Dredge (#12), Patsy's husband ahead of me... after his fall on Day 2, we ended up riding a number of the subsequent stages together - he was in a lot of pain for most of the event!


Day 5: Another great stage day in south western Morocco - heading for the coast:


Day6: There was very little water on the event (thank goodness!), but this was a great photo-op!:


Day 6: Another great pic of the bike - the colour scheme really stood out in the photos!:


Day 7: The first of the dune days - the roadbook actually took us around a huge dune field, rather than through the middle... probably for the best!:


Day 9: in the Mauritanian Dunes - this is probably my favorite photo of the event (other than on the finish line with Piglet and Stephane of course!):


Day 10: The was the first of two back to back 600+km days, including a tough sand-funnel and a field of soft dunes - one of the 2006 Dakar stages:


Day 12: in Senegal - at the intermediate between two Specials:


Day 12: Getting buzzed by the helicopter - it was tempting to wind it up a notch for the camera, but I didn't want to jeopardize my speed/timing on this stage - I'd managed to claw my way back up the field by now:


Day 13: Lac Rose! At the finish line, at last!


Day 13: He is a well-traveled piggy, and a great support crew member!


Jenny xx

[NordieBoy]

[TomN]

Great stuff!

[Bigger Al]

Great shots, Jen, and nice job on the rally!

[kyns]

Nice!

Looks like fun.

[Gian]

Great photos, Jenny !

[drfakoo]

Lovely pictures Jenny !!!
Heroes Legend... My dream !!!

[JMo (& piglet)]

Originally Posted by drfakoo

Lovely pictures Jenny !!!
Heroes Legend... My dream !!!

Hee hee - maybe one day we'll have a two bike JVO/WR team eh?

J xx

[Bluebull2007]

Jenny, one question: Didn´t you find it difficult riding in all that dust with an Arai helmet and dark glasses? I eventually took my visor out and got a set of goggles.

[Sportakus]

Jenny, congratulations for your rally...

I have a new teneré, and a love your machine...

Can you put more pics?. Thanks...

pd: Excuse for my english, I´m learning now...

[Gian]

Originally Posted by Bluebull2007

Jenny, one question: Didn´t you find it difficult riding in all that dust with an Arai helmet and dark glasses? I eventually took my visor out and got a set of goggles.

I was wondering this too! Is it the Tour-X? I own it and use for long asphalt/off road tours, but found it a bit heavy for strictly offroad riding... and the visor would probably get damaged soon after riding in the dust

[Molgan]

Once again; great pictures!

[JMo (& piglet)]

Hi Bluebull and Gian -

Yes, it is a Tour-x (XD3) - which is basically the same shell as the VX3 MX lid, plus the visor and a slightly different peak...

It is a heavier helmet than something like an Airoh for example, but I don't find the weight uncomfortable at all - it is actually the same lid I rode across the US in earlier that year, just with a few stickers on it! The visor wasn't an issue at all I found - and a positive bonus initially in France where it absolutely pissed down with rain!

I could have removed the visor itself once in Africa of course, but to be honest, it tucks up very neatly, and since it wasn't a brand-new visor anyway, I wasn't too precious about it getting scratched... as it turned out, it just got a bit dusty but has cleaned up fine.

As for wearing the sunglasses - I did take goggles (and used them on one day, but left them in my kit bag after that), but found I preferred the glasses. The style I have fit my eye sockets very snugly (that will be my weird shaped head I guess!) so unless you are directly following someone, it was rare that you get dust in your eyes - although it did happen on the odd occasion I must admit...

Most of the time however you are riding on your own - it is only if you catch up another rider/vehicle, or one passes you that there is much dust - and that is soon over (either you've passed them, or they've passed you)... obviously it is a different situation if you are riding with a buddy or others in a group/pack like racing MX etc for example...

J xx

[Bluebull2007]

Thanks for the response. I asked because I thought the dust from the other bikes might be an issue, I know it was for me the other day, and I love to ride with my visor (up) & dark glasses. I was just thinking for something like the Sertoes I would probably go for the googles, but peripheral vision is reduced and I found that to be an issue. As you say, its not always that you are riding in a pack, but just looking at some of the rallye footage about most notably the Dakar, and its pretty dusty much of the time!

[JMo (& piglet)]

Originally Posted by Bluebull2007

Thanks for the response. I asked because I thought the dust from the other bikes might be an issue, I know it was for me the other day, and I love to ride with my visor (up) & dark glasses. I was just thinking for something like the Sertoes I would probably go for the googles, but peripheral vision is reduced and I found that to be an issue. As you say, its not always that you are riding in a pack, but just looking at some of the rallye footage about most notably the Dakar, and its pretty dusty much of the time!

I agree - I guess the best plan is to carry both with you, and if it is a particularly dusty/windy/close racing day, wear the goggles, and stick with the glasses where you can?

J x