In 2008 when the Dakar Rally was sadly cancelled in Lisbon, myself and Eoin decided we’d go to the next years event if it was to go ahead. What we didn’t know was that the entire rally would be moved to South America, and our little holiday plans would turn out to be bigger and more expensive than we had planned 
, but we decided to stick with it, and after a years planning and much excitement, we are finally here
. Originally we spoke about seeing the rally off in Buenos Aires, travelling to see the big sights in South America for 2 weeks, and then return to see the rally finish back in Buenos Aires. But in the end we had to both admit that following the rally would be much more fun, and we booked a pair of BMW650s for the 2 weeks of the Rally.
We departed on new years eve, and felt a bit like Ewan and Charlie heading off with all the people texting and phoning to wish us a good trip. (Thanks guys!) We were out to support two friends Gary Ennis and Phil Noone, the two Irish hopefuls to finish the rally this year
They are being supported by Patsy Quicks “Desert Rose” rally support team who will carry out any mechanical maintenance on the bikes at night when the guys get in.
Arriving in the warmth of Buenos Aires (after a quick detour to Sao Paulo in Brazil - don’t ask!) was a welcome relief after a cold Christmas at home where almost everybody had the flu. We got a taxi to the hotel, and sitting having a snack on the terrace got talking to a guy in a Dakar teeshirt who turned out to be in one of the racing trucks (# 566) He had lots of interesting information to share, and amazingly gave us his road book and map. These items we were to find out were extremely valuable as they are only given to the competitors, and give very clear information on the route, timings, terrain etc.
After checking in to the hotel we hopped into a taxi to head for La Rural, the scrutineering area. All the bikes, cars and trucks that had been through scrutineering were lined up, and more were coming through. The sheer size of the trucks and the numbers of vehicles lines up was very impressive.
As we walked down along the lines of bikes we spotted the familiar green white and gold of Gary’s KTM660, number 206. It looked quite strange to see an Irish Reg in the middle of Buenos Aires!
Further down the line was Phils KTM 525 (no. 229) also decked out in the Irish colours.
After, we headed downtown to meet up with the guys, and got a taste of the rally preparation by sitting in on the final team meeting before the start. Patsy’s Desert Rose team are also supporting Ewan Buchan (#222) from Scotland, Craig Bounds (#235) from Wales and two other riders. The little details that the guys were told to remember like not leaving lights on when they leave their bikes in parc ferme tomorrow evening. You dont want to have a flat battery on day 1 start, just because you were so wound up in all the excitement the night before!
After the meeting we went for steak dinner ( a must in this part of the world) and drank copious amounts of wine and beer
. (great prep for any race!)
On Friday morning the riders had a race briefing in the morning and then a parade lap of the city in the afternoon. Myself and Eoin spent the morning wandering up and down the shopping streets of BA. it’s a lively city, and extremely friendly.
We met our guys for lunch after their briefing and got a taxi up to the start of the parade lap with them. The crowds were already starting to gather to watch the parade and as soon as the guys stepped out of the taxi in their race gear, they were mobbed for autographs and photos. They fought their way through the crowd and hopped over the railings into Parc ferme.
We got an excellent view of the parade start, and the crowd went wild for every bike, car and truck that came through.
Craig Bounds #235
Phil (went through like a bat out of hell)
Gary
People made a day of it and sat out to watch the parade
The guys needed water to fill their reserve tanks on the bikes, so our arrangement was to get some water and meet them along the parade route and get some nice photos of the two bikes together. So we found ourselves along the route, ready to wave them down as soon as they came along. Phil came first and was stopped at lights in front of me. I was waving and jumping around like an eejit at him
, but he never saw me and rode right by. Next came Gary, and he pulled in. We got some nice photos, and he carried on the parade.
That evening we had dinner again with the guys and with substantially less drink then the night before wished them good luck and headed back for an early night.
Our plan was to pick up our rental bikes the next day and head off on our own trip on day 2 of the rally. We would cut across the country to catch the rally after its southern loop on day 4 hoping our 2 guys would still be intact and still racing.
Race Day1: we got up at 5am to head down to watch the race start. Again the crowds had gathered, but the atmosphere was lovely. No pushing or jostling. Everybody good humoured, and absolutely Dakar mad! People kept asking of we were Italian with our flags. We spotted Simon Pavey on his start, gave him a big shout of support
. He stopped to shake our hands, and proceeded to get mobbed by the crowd! The others left in their start order, and we waved them all off. It must have been quite daunting for them as the had to ride into the sun with the crowd completely closed in around them literally squeezing through the handlebars. One of the Canadian guys (Don Hatton #116) had said it was like they were trying to steal his gloves! I have no photos of the bikes at the start as I was on official flag waving duties. Eoin has some video which Ill post when I figure out how!
http://orla.smugmug.com/photos/449847342_XbXfc-M.jpg{/IMG]
[IMG]http://orla.smugmug.com/photos/449845668_wwRHD-S.jpg
Once we had seen them all off, it felt quite lonely as we had been all caught up in the drama of getting to the start line.
But we cheered ourselves up by picking up our rental bikes. At first I think Eoin found the 650 very strange, but he soon got used to the power of the bike
. I asked in the rental agency what do do in the case of an accident. Ie what insurance details etc should I get from the other driver. He just laughed at me “if you have an accident, you pay” “yes, but what if it is the other guys fault?” He laughed even louder. I think the idea out here is - don’t have an accident, cos it’ll cost ya!
We spent a relaxing afternoon just putting our stuff together, attaching rammounts (thanks Jaws!
) and Gps to the bikes, and figuring how much stuff we could carry between us. We have some hotels booked along the route, but we have brought basic camping gear in case we cant find hotel accomodation.
Race Day 2: Buenos Aires to Santa Rosa 635km
Sunday morning couldn’t come soon enough. I was itching to get ona bike after watching bikes for the last few days. We left early to avoid having to negotiate the nutty city traffic, and soon got on Ruta5 which would take us across the pampas to Santa Rosa. Eoin had downloaded some free GPS road maps of Argentina which are proving to be very accurate.
Not a very exciting route, unless you like straight roads! The GPS at one point said “next turn 288km” and true to its word, there wasn’t even a single bend in the road for all that distance! We were beaten by a constant wind from the side which meant riding at an angle of 45 degrees to the road. At one point we were passing between a section of tree lined road, and I thought something was wrong with the bike, but I realised the wind had gone and I was now upright!
Eoin spotted some cowboys on horses rounding up cattle. Real cowboys! I didn’t see them, I was probably distracted by one of the many lunatic drivers coming straight at me, doing an overtake oblivious to my presence! One truck started drifting across the road towards me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and could only speed up to pass before he came fully onto my side of the road. Then he seemed to wake up and swerved back to his side. My heart was certainly beating fast after that.
So many cars were waving and flashing at us. At first I thought they were warning of a hazard on the road ahead, but they were just excited to see two bikes travelling along! As cars passed us they were taking our photo out the window. Every time we stopped for petrol we got people asking for our photo, asking where we were headed. When we said we were following the race, they got even more excited, looking for Dakar souvenirs. (maybe I should have held onto all those leaflets I picked up at the scrutineering village)
We spotted one of the Repsol cars from the rally on the back of a truck, obviously out of the race and been taken back to Buenos Aires. Finally we arrived in Santa Rosa, found a hotel and after a swim in the pool and dinner (it’s a hard life) went to bed.
Race Day 3: Santa Rosa to Neuquen 557km
If we thought the roads yesterday were straight- then todays were even straighter.
We left early to avoid the heat of the day. We stopped for petrol in one town and spotted a guy cleaning his KTM 950 heavily loaded with luggage. He was a Brazilian guy supporting rider #25 in the rally. He had just spent the night in the desert. Two of his other support team were still stuck in the desert! Its bad when your support team get stuck following you! We pulled to take some photos at the entrance to the national park.
Along came a BMW R80 Dakar 2 up. A couple called Ken and Carole from Australia, who have been travelling around the world for years. We pulled up at the next town and had coffee and a good chat with them.
Along came our Brazilian friend, and our merry little troupe was starting to grow. To top it off rider #163, obviously out of the race came along. He was lost and looking for coolant for his bike
We gave him directions and left him chatting to the Brazilian guy. Poor fella seemed really lost. One minute hes part of the circus that is the Rally, the next hes wandering lost across the pampas.
We pushed on for Neuquen, even though it was in the heat of the day. The road surface was still very good, we still had constant wind battering us - it seems to get worse in the afternoon, and the lack of a decent windscreen on the 650 doesn’t help. I’ll have neck muscles better than Deirdre Barlow when I get back! The terrain was turning from the fertile greens before Santa Rosa to a more dessert-like scrubland. Very dry and dusty. There were dust devils everywhere, and I think at one stage we got hit by one, as the bike got thrown across the road, luckily still upright but thankfully there was nothing oncoming at the time.
Finally we reached Neuquen where we are to stay 2 nights. We plan to ride out in the morning and meet the guys arriving in off the special stage. Hopefully well get to ride in with them and maybe (fingers crossed ) get into the bivouac.
, but we decided to stick with it, and after a years planning and much excitement, we are finally here. Originally we spoke about seeing the rally off in Buenos Aires, travelling to see the big sights in South America for 2 weeks, and then return to see the rally finish back in Buenos Aires. But in the end we had to both admit that following the rally would be much more fun, and we booked a pair of BMW650s for the 2 weeks of the Rally. We departed on new years eve, and felt a bit like Ewan and Charlie heading off with all the people texting and phoning to wish us a good trip. (Thanks guys!) We were out to support two friends Gary Ennis and Phil Noone, the two Irish hopefuls to finish the rally this year
They are being supported by Patsy Quicks “Desert Rose” rally support team who will carry out any mechanical maintenance on the bikes at night when the guys get in. Arriving in the warmth of Buenos Aires (after a quick detour to Sao Paulo in Brazil - don’t ask!) was a welcome relief after a cold Christmas at home where almost everybody had the flu. We got a taxi to the hotel, and sitting having a snack on the terrace got talking to a guy in a Dakar teeshirt who turned out to be in one of the racing trucks (# 566) He had lots of interesting information to share, and amazingly gave us his road book and map. These items we were to find out were extremely valuable as they are only given to the competitors, and give very clear information on the route, timings, terrain etc.
After checking in to the hotel we hopped into a taxi to head for La Rural, the scrutineering area. All the bikes, cars and trucks that had been through scrutineering were lined up, and more were coming through. The sheer size of the trucks and the numbers of vehicles lines up was very impressive.
As we walked down along the lines of bikes we spotted the familiar green white and gold of Gary’s KTM660, number 206. It looked quite strange to see an Irish Reg in the middle of Buenos Aires!
Further down the line was Phils KTM 525 (no. 229) also decked out in the Irish colours.
After, we headed downtown to meet up with the guys, and got a taste of the rally preparation by sitting in on the final team meeting before the start. Patsy’s Desert Rose team are also supporting Ewan Buchan (#222) from Scotland, Craig Bounds (#235) from Wales and two other riders. The little details that the guys were told to remember like not leaving lights on when they leave their bikes in parc ferme tomorrow evening. You dont want to have a flat battery on day 1 start, just because you were so wound up in all the excitement the night before!
After the meeting we went for steak dinner ( a must in this part of the world) and drank copious amounts of wine and beer
. (great prep for any race!)
On Friday morning the riders had a race briefing in the morning and then a parade lap of the city in the afternoon. Myself and Eoin spent the morning wandering up and down the shopping streets of BA. it’s a lively city, and extremely friendly.
We met our guys for lunch after their briefing and got a taxi up to the start of the parade lap with them. The crowds were already starting to gather to watch the parade and as soon as the guys stepped out of the taxi in their race gear, they were mobbed for autographs and photos. They fought their way through the crowd and hopped over the railings into Parc ferme.
We got an excellent view of the parade start, and the crowd went wild for every bike, car and truck that came through.
Craig Bounds #235
Phil (went through like a bat out of hell)
Gary
People made a day of it and sat out to watch the parade
The guys needed water to fill their reserve tanks on the bikes, so our arrangement was to get some water and meet them along the parade route and get some nice photos of the two bikes together. So we found ourselves along the route, ready to wave them down as soon as they came along. Phil came first and was stopped at lights in front of me. I was waving and jumping around like an eejit at him
, but he never saw me and rode right by. Next came Gary, and he pulled in. We got some nice photos, and he carried on the parade.
That evening we had dinner again with the guys and with substantially less drink then the night before wished them good luck and headed back for an early night.
Our plan was to pick up our rental bikes the next day and head off on our own trip on day 2 of the rally. We would cut across the country to catch the rally after its southern loop on day 4 hoping our 2 guys would still be intact and still racing.
Race Day1: we got up at 5am to head down to watch the race start. Again the crowds had gathered, but the atmosphere was lovely. No pushing or jostling. Everybody good humoured, and absolutely Dakar mad! People kept asking of we were Italian with our flags. We spotted Simon Pavey on his start, gave him a big shout of support
. He stopped to shake our hands, and proceeded to get mobbed by the crowd! The others left in their start order, and we waved them all off. It must have been quite daunting for them as the had to ride into the sun with the crowd completely closed in around them literally squeezing through the handlebars. One of the Canadian guys (Don Hatton #116) had said it was like they were trying to steal his gloves! I have no photos of the bikes at the start as I was on official flag waving duties. Eoin has some video which Ill post when I figure out how!
http://orla.smugmug.com/photos/449847342_XbXfc-M.jpg{/IMG]
[IMG]http://orla.smugmug.com/photos/449845668_wwRHD-S.jpg
Once we had seen them all off, it felt quite lonely as we had been all caught up in the drama of getting to the start line.
But we cheered ourselves up by picking up our rental bikes. At first I think Eoin found the 650 very strange, but he soon got used to the power of the bike
. I asked in the rental agency what do do in the case of an accident. Ie what insurance details etc should I get from the other driver. He just laughed at me “if you have an accident, you pay” “yes, but what if it is the other guys fault?” He laughed even louder. I think the idea out here is - don’t have an accident, cos it’ll cost ya!We spent a relaxing afternoon just putting our stuff together, attaching rammounts (thanks Jaws!
) and Gps to the bikes, and figuring how much stuff we could carry between us. We have some hotels booked along the route, but we have brought basic camping gear in case we cant find hotel accomodation. Race Day 2: Buenos Aires to Santa Rosa 635km
Sunday morning couldn’t come soon enough. I was itching to get ona bike after watching bikes for the last few days. We left early to avoid having to negotiate the nutty city traffic, and soon got on Ruta5 which would take us across the pampas to Santa Rosa. Eoin had downloaded some free GPS road maps of Argentina which are proving to be very accurate.
Not a very exciting route, unless you like straight roads! The GPS at one point said “next turn 288km” and true to its word, there wasn’t even a single bend in the road for all that distance! We were beaten by a constant wind from the side which meant riding at an angle of 45 degrees to the road. At one point we were passing between a section of tree lined road, and I thought something was wrong with the bike, but I realised the wind had gone and I was now upright!
Eoin spotted some cowboys on horses rounding up cattle. Real cowboys! I didn’t see them, I was probably distracted by one of the many lunatic drivers coming straight at me, doing an overtake oblivious to my presence! One truck started drifting across the road towards me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and could only speed up to pass before he came fully onto my side of the road. Then he seemed to wake up and swerved back to his side. My heart was certainly beating fast after that.
So many cars were waving and flashing at us. At first I thought they were warning of a hazard on the road ahead, but they were just excited to see two bikes travelling along! As cars passed us they were taking our photo out the window. Every time we stopped for petrol we got people asking for our photo, asking where we were headed. When we said we were following the race, they got even more excited, looking for Dakar souvenirs. (maybe I should have held onto all those leaflets I picked up at the scrutineering village)
We spotted one of the Repsol cars from the rally on the back of a truck, obviously out of the race and been taken back to Buenos Aires. Finally we arrived in Santa Rosa, found a hotel and after a swim in the pool and dinner (it’s a hard life) went to bed.
Race Day 3: Santa Rosa to Neuquen 557km
If we thought the roads yesterday were straight- then todays were even straighter.
We left early to avoid the heat of the day. We stopped for petrol in one town and spotted a guy cleaning his KTM 950 heavily loaded with luggage. He was a Brazilian guy supporting rider #25 in the rally. He had just spent the night in the desert. Two of his other support team were still stuck in the desert! Its bad when your support team get stuck following you! We pulled to take some photos at the entrance to the national park.
Along came a BMW R80 Dakar 2 up. A couple called Ken and Carole from Australia, who have been travelling around the world for years. We pulled up at the next town and had coffee and a good chat with them.
Along came our Brazilian friend, and our merry little troupe was starting to grow. To top it off rider #163, obviously out of the race came along. He was lost and looking for coolant for his bike
We gave him directions and left him chatting to the Brazilian guy. Poor fella seemed really lost. One minute hes part of the circus that is the Rally, the next hes wandering lost across the pampas.
We pushed on for Neuquen, even though it was in the heat of the day. The road surface was still very good, we still had constant wind battering us - it seems to get worse in the afternoon, and the lack of a decent windscreen on the 650 doesn’t help. I’ll have neck muscles better than Deirdre Barlow when I get back! The terrain was turning from the fertile greens before Santa Rosa to a more dessert-like scrubland. Very dry and dusty. There were dust devils everywhere, and I think at one stage we got hit by one, as the bike got thrown across the road, luckily still upright but thankfully there was nothing oncoming at the time.
Finally we reached Neuquen where we are to stay 2 nights. We plan to ride out in the morning and meet the guys arriving in off the special stage. Hopefully well get to ride in with them and maybe (fingers crossed ) get into the bivouac.
