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*Liam's Wild Ride*

firemanjim said:
Hey Liam,if you are at the Dakar start look for my friend,Pete Moltmann,riding a bright blue KTM 660 # 119.Wish him and Charlie Rauseo luck if you see them.
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Hiya Jim! I tried looking for your friend; this is what I found on December 31st, approx. 6:34AM.

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This is what the start of the Dakar race looks like. Riders go up a special ramp set-up to the "stage" start and stop to have their names and countries read out loud to the audience. Then they wave, get the nod, and roll out! Pete threw on his goggles and took off quite carefully. About 5-ish in the morning it was pitch black and it started raining. Everyone was quite nervous because they were all on new knobby tires and the wet asphalt made things treacherous. Many riders commented on just making it through the streets and were scared of falling down in front of everybody.

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Can you imagine what's going through his mind as he sets off into the unknown? It's not about the race. . . it's about survival. Endurance, focus, navigational skills, everything comes into play here. I would estimate most of the riders were in their forties! One, it's an expensive race to undertake, and two, they have the maturity to run their pace and not crap out. Younger riders may be very fast for a couple days, but they never seem to make it to the final stage.

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firemanjim said:
Liam,heard you met my friend ,Pete,on the #119 KTM at the start.What a small world.Get any pics?Jim Higgins.
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Now that you mention it, I did meet your buddy! He said you were a lunatic and we had a good chuckle. It started to rain while we were talking so if the picture looks blurry it's a combination of rain, poor camera action, and the fact that the race started in the DARK! Scary stuff people. It was amazing seeing everyone before the start of the race because the wealth of motorcycling experiences they had achieved already was incredible. Seeing some footage of the race environment really made it evident how stark and alien the landscape is in Africa. I spoke for a long time with a woman named Sally (Sally Rally, and other nicknames, haha), who hold numerous records for a female motorcyclist, like climbing the highest on Mount Everest. I didn't even know you could do such a thing, much less have a competition for it. As I shook Pete's hand I told him the same thing I said to all the Dakar participants:
"God Bless and God Speed."
It seemed appropriate.

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Liam.That is so cool!!Thanks for the pics.Hope Pete does well.
 
Liam, I must now speak out since you are now in my home country where I was raised till I was 4. I hope you enjoy the friendly people and the the great food. I'd like to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR and thank you for the best thread on barf. We are all living your dreams through your real life experiences and I wish you all the luck in the world. :teeth
I'm surprised our motorcycling paths never crossed since I've been living in redwood city for many years. So if you come back to the bay area I'm sure I could convince some of MY connectsions to have you be a guest of honor mechanic. Even if i'ts only for a weekend for one of our races in the AFM for our very own BARF RACING TEAM . I have to share with everyone at this time that we will have a new name for the team do to possible sponsor possibilities. We will be under the race team name NET MOTO RACING.
Thanks Again Liam
Danny
 
2006!!!

Happy New Year!!! Keep the pix coming. Hey I got news that Alex, refused Team Camels offer for this yr. Did'nt offer enough so he might go to world bike SBK. Is this true? Good health and fortune to you my friend.
 
Robo50 said:
I spent the other night practicing with my camera, focusing on little things around my room, and getting ready for the New Year party I was throwing for myself. Here's my little Walkie-bit (props if you know what it is and where it's from).

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I remember this little dude. Used to walk on your laptop. :laughing

Happy New Year, Bro.
 
Re: 2006!!!

TeamZigen said:
Happy New Year!!! Keep the pix coming. Hey I got news that Alex, refused Team Camels offer for this yr. Did'nt offer enough so he might go to world bike SBK. Is this true? Good health and fortune to you my friend.
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Actually, no one wanted to renew a contract with Alex Barros for '06 that he found satisfactory. He is getting a little long in the tooth and I think it's time for new blood to be entering the series. He's lucky to have WSBK to fall back on, and it looks to be a very exciting year because of all the ex-GP guys who will be running around, like Rolfo, Xaus, Bayliss, and Barros, not to mention Abe, McCoy, Laconi. . . jeez, the list of GP guys in WSBK goes on and on!
 
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I arrived in Lisbon on the 29th, just in time to get a quick dinner and walk around a little. I knew the Dakar Race wasn't starting until the 31st, and I spent the the 30th touring through the city a bit and just getting a feel for the people. I did make it down to the exibition of vehicles, though, and despite the heavily overcast weather, I had a great time checking out all the colorful cars/trucks/bikes/and really, really, big trucks! The Dakar was kicked off from the grounds of a famous museum with classic moorish structures intermixing with machinery of the highest caliber.

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I had a great time checking out the grounds of the event and just walking around in general. The people weren't necessarily rude, but they seem to have a problem getting out of the way. . . .
Nonetheless, I took a lot of pictures, talked with a couple Americans (I eventually met 6 American non-racers over the weekend in Lisbon), and kept my eyes and ears out for anything interesting.

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The surrounding fields and parks were fenced off and under constant surveillance from both armed security guards, local police, and Dakar officials. Gauloises was well represented in all categories.

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I met with Peter Brock, who works with Robby Gordon, and we discussed Gordon's plans for the Dakar. He's running an experimental H3 "truck" that was still being worked on the day before the race. We joked about his involvement in Nascar, and quite bluntly I was told that he only races Nascar to make enough money to race off-road. I guess it does pay the bills :) Gordon has signed up for three years with this team and that shows some serious commitment by all parties. As of today, day three, he's 1:30 seconds back off the leader, and that's pretty good for an American driver. The giant screen in the background was playing highlights from the previous Dakar races constantly, all the way from the first run in 1979! A fantastic history lesson in itself.

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I don't have time to post more right now, so I'll update with Lisbon adventures and pictures in the next few days as time allows. Hope everyone is well.
 
Hey Barfers, I have been looking for a decent mountain bike (or even BMX) for the last couple months. After a lot of deliberation, I think this is the best way for me to get around at this point. With all the travel I expect to be doing, I don't want to have anything that's going to be parked on the street for a week at a time and I can always stuff a bicycle in the apartment. I am used to riding Haro BMX's but at one point put a lot of miles on a Kona Mountain bike. So I think I'm looking for a combination of the two. Does anyone have a Spanish Bicycle connection? I think I've found the most complete place in Barcelona, Pro-Bike, but they're a little pricey.
 
Liam,
check out the GT Moto (and other bikes like it). They should be available thru the above mentioned place in England or directly from your current country.
Single crank gear and seven speed rear.
Good luck,
Lonster
 
Thanks Lonny and Dan! That GT Moto looks perfect (dammit Lonny, now I'm in LUST!), although it's a little out of my price range. Oddly enough, I had been checking out something similar, the GT Chucker. Now that I've seen the Moto (what a perfect name!) I'll have to check one out in person to get a feel for it! Also, thanks L8Braker, for the offer. If I'm back in the States anytime soon, I'll definitely come hang out with you guys at the Track!

Back to the Dakar shots. I had arrived a day early and was wandering around the grounds taking pictures and soaking it all in. I found some neat freebies, like this bottle of vino!

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