Hi. My name is Neil, and I'm a rally tragic. :ricky: >
:snorting:
Dakar 2015. I've decided I am going to ride it. Its my goal. I'm hoping you will follow along, and would love to hear from you.
If you're not familiar with the Dakar, its in South America these days. Its a 9,000km race. Here is what it can be like.
I have started this thread and then deleted it maybe ten times. I think because the challenge really is like eating an elephant and its scary.
I'm going to be 42 next month, but really I'm a 25 yr old kid trapped in an older persons body. I'm very unfit and overweight. I smashed my lower right leg to smithereens 15 months ago biking and have had to learn how to walk again after a couple of operations and a long time lying on a bed. I have a plate and 12 long screws in and below the knee. I'm walking okay now but I cannot squat and I can barely straighten it. Its not very strong and I can't stand riding for long.
But the inspiration is there. I have the bike, a 2012 KTM 450 Rally Replica. The drive is there. I can do this if I put my mind to it. I am going to put my mind to it. The opposition is also there though, along with the worries and the fear and I guess that what makes it so scarey for me to talk about.
If you feel like supporting me financially, Please make your contribution here.. A big thank you once again to everyone who has done so already, every little bit will really help a lot. But this thread is not about fundraising. Its about who I am, what I will be doing and what I will be experiencing over the next 9 months as I prepare for the toughest race in the world.
Speaking about in this way seems a little bit unreal to me. Previously it was just a far off dream. Now it is close enough for me to smell, to understand and to do. It helps that I have been following it very closely for 5 years now. I know many of the players, and am friends with quite few of them. I think I have the know how too having done a couple of rallies myself, but I am under no illusions: I am still short on experience, and I am short on riding ability and physical strength. These things I can and must address in the next few months if I am going to have a shot at finishing.
My hands are getting sweaty again thinking about it. If you're a climber you will be smiling at this. Happens to me on bikes as well.
:snorting:Dakar 2015. I've decided I am going to ride it. Its my goal. I'm hoping you will follow along, and would love to hear from you.
If you're not familiar with the Dakar, its in South America these days. Its a 9,000km race. Here is what it can be like.
I have started this thread and then deleted it maybe ten times. I think because the challenge really is like eating an elephant and its scary.
I'm going to be 42 next month, but really I'm a 25 yr old kid trapped in an older persons body. I'm very unfit and overweight. I smashed my lower right leg to smithereens 15 months ago biking and have had to learn how to walk again after a couple of operations and a long time lying on a bed. I have a plate and 12 long screws in and below the knee. I'm walking okay now but I cannot squat and I can barely straighten it. Its not very strong and I can't stand riding for long.
But the inspiration is there. I have the bike, a 2012 KTM 450 Rally Replica. The drive is there. I can do this if I put my mind to it. I am going to put my mind to it. The opposition is also there though, along with the worries and the fear and I guess that what makes it so scarey for me to talk about.
If you feel like supporting me financially, Please make your contribution here.. A big thank you once again to everyone who has done so already, every little bit will really help a lot. But this thread is not about fundraising. Its about who I am, what I will be doing and what I will be experiencing over the next 9 months as I prepare for the toughest race in the world.
Speaking about in this way seems a little bit unreal to me. Previously it was just a far off dream. Now it is close enough for me to smell, to understand and to do. It helps that I have been following it very closely for 5 years now. I know many of the players, and am friends with quite few of them. I think I have the know how too having done a couple of rallies myself, but I am under no illusions: I am still short on experience, and I am short on riding ability and physical strength. These things I can and must address in the next few months if I am going to have a shot at finishing.
My hands are getting sweaty again thinking about it. If you're a climber you will be smiling at this. Happens to me on bikes as well.
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