DAKAR 20??

For some reason I've been thinking about the Lisbon-Dakar Rally lately. For those of you don't know, it is a race from Lisbon, Portugal, racing south through Spain, hopping on a ferry boat across the strait of Gibraltar-Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and Eventually Dakar, Senegal. It lasts for around 2 weeks. Riding from dawn until late afternoon, on the wide openness of the African continent, stoping to sleep a few shy of a good night, whilst, mechanics that you hopefully have, do necessary repair to get you through the next days stage. Entrants, ride motorcycles, and Drive modified SUV types, and one of my favorite, 4x4 semi-trucks.

I got injured playing rugby the tuesday before Thanksgiving. I was a little laid up and I haven't been to work for the whole week. I could lift my arm at all. not separated but very sore. Anyway, the reason for saying that is while I've been home I started researching, what it takes to enter and finish the Dakar on a motorcycle. I happened upon a chap called Chris Jones. He made a website and diary covering his '07 Dakar entry and finish. Dakar has a 80% dropout rate. The chances for finishing are slim. But he did it. So I've been reading his extensive diary, trying to learn about this crazy race. I've watched the yearly race in awe and wonder since I was 16 or 17 on TV. And now I'm looking into really doing it. First off the costs are big to compete. The entry fee alone is $18,500. That covers race infrastructure. You have to provide the support truck and team, or buy services from official dealer support like KTM. (that's a motorcycle manufacturer based in Austria) Getting sponsors is helpful and key, unless you already have expendable funds. Guess what; that's not me. So I have been racking my brain on how I can raise money, start my own mini business, and save all that's sane to hopefully compete one day. If you have any ideas, generous or parsimonius donations or ideas on how to make some extra money, please let me know. My email is bangmika@gmail.com So that's what has been consuming me lately. Also I could use any help on finding sponsors for Dakar. Intellectual help and experience would be useful also. I have contacted this team called Rally Pan America. They put together a team and prep motorcycles for the race. They've already returned my mail and given me some helpful info according to my commitment and progress to Dakar. They also said they can prep a bike for me. I bet that won't be cheap! So here I am, Saturday night. Thnking about making a free or low cost way to make a website, to launch some of my ideas. If anyone can help with that I could use the direction.

Something else I would like to do is create a diary about my riding adventures on my current bike. I just have wanted to share the solitary enjoyment of being on the trail with others. I've told my family about some of the rides but it's never the same. I need a helmet camera to record it and share it. For now all I have is my cell-phone camera.

Tell your friends, help the cause, training for Dakar begins now... And don't forget to email me any ideas and help regarding anything I mentioned, along with your reaction. But I only want to hear encouragement. This is one of my dreams. Don't kill my dreams. Keep a look out for updates to my blog periodically. Cheers.