Dreaming of Dakar

The Hoot Owl 100 was a blast. Since it was my first organized trail ride event I didn't quite know what to expect. It was certainly harder than I expected however several other riders (who were not newbies like me) also said they thought it was particularly hard. I had several people make comments regarding how shocked they were I was riding the DRZ400S. It really is a bit heavy for such riding. However, if I am serious about doing the Dakar someday (and I am) I need to be able to handle a heavy bike in difficult conditions. Besides there is that sick part of me who likes the extra challenge. As far as my fitness I am happy with how well I survived. Yes, I have a way to go but I know if I had attempted a ride like this last year before I started getting in shape I would not have survived nearly as long. I think that even with my current fitness level and this bike I would have been able to finish the full course with better riding technique. That will come with more experience. I did have some damage to the bike.

Note the missing left turn signal:

Also, mud, mud, mud everywhere!
It took a lot of washing to get the mud out of that skid plate. I still would not call the bike "clean". I also bent the handlebars but that is the only expensive part that I broke. I have new bars and some nice low-profile turn signals on the way.

So, on to my plans for the summer.  It is going to be busy.  This weekend I am going motorcycle camping with a bunch of other guys from the area.  White Horse gear has their yearly open house this weekend.  They do a big BBQ for all their customers so a bunch of us are going to camp out for the weekend in the area, do some riding, and of course go shopping for good deals on motorcycle stuff (you can never have enough motorcycle gear!).

The following weekend I am riding up to Ontario Canada for a rider training day.  I have never had any actual off-road instruction and have wanted to do some before I develop too many bad habits.  This particular training day is specific for riders who have entered the Candadia "Paris to Dacre" ride.  That is the big event of the summer.  The Paris to Dacre is not a race but a long distance "challenge ride" which starts near Paris Ontario and goes to Dacre in Ontario.  The idea is to simulate a day of the Dakar rally.  The route takes a not so direct 750km (approx 460 miles) route along back roads, powerlines and trails.  The ride starts at 4am and there are checkpoints along the way where if you arrive past a certain time they will send you along the normal roads for the final bit to Dacre.  They don't want people getting stuck on the trails after dark.  So you have about 16 hours to finish the course.  Then imagine doing it every day for 2 weeks, that is the Dakar.

The Paris to Dacre is a team event.  You need to be part of a team of 3 to 5 riders.  I was lucky enough to get hooked up with Robb and Brad who live in the Toronto area and did this event 2 years ago (it is only held every other year).  I plan to meet up with Robb and hopefully Brad as well when I go up for the training day in a couple of weeks.

I am planning on various other events over the summer.  I might do my first enduro on Memorial Day weekend, if not then I will start doing endoros in July after the Paris Dacre.  There is also a big 2-day Turkey Run that our local trail riding club puts on in early June which I am very much looking forward to (these are on the trails I was helping clear a few weeks ago).

I also hope to get out to the local public riding area a bunch this year to work on both technique and also my riding endurance.  And of course I will continue my efforts to get in shape.