donovanwho
Pack Dog
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2014
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- Bike
- AJS (all models)
Wild Dog Adventurers: It’s time to reveal - MY DARING ADVENTURE
For us mere mortals, our dreams are only a reality when we sleep. I have decided that it’s time to live my dream by entering the most daring adventure possible, - Dakar 2018.
For the past 5 years I have been working towards the day when I have grown big enough balls to make this decision. I’m not there yet (big balls) but with the experience I have gained over the past few years in our local South African rallies, including West Coast Baja and Amageza, as well as the success of our own Dakar Hero Joey Evans, I’ve realised that anything is possible if you work hard and put your mind to it.
I have been in contact with A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) regarding my entry and submitted my rally portfolio. At this stage I entered based on my current experience which is 4 Amageza rallies and 2 WC Baja where I finished, all of them successfully without any mechanical issues, Malle Moto style. A.S.O. cannot officially confirm 100% that I will make the entry list as I have not competed in a rally that is part of the FIM Cross-Country Rally World Championship but confirms that with my current experience and the fact that I have successfully finished all the rallies I have entered, I stand a good chance of being accepted.
The original plan was to enter the Merzouga Rally in Morocco, which gives you automatic entry into the Dakar if you complete the entire itinerary but with a R250K price tag, I have decided to put the faith in my current experience and use the R250K towards my Dakar funds. If A.S.O. denies my entry I will most likely enter the Rally OiLibya du Maroc, in Morocco in October, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
With this being a daring adventure, and me being a person who likes to challenge myself, I will also enter the Dakar Rally Malle Moto style, for my first attempt, you might think that it’s crazy but I believe it’s the way to do it. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Regarding the bike: I personally do not think that a 450 Rally is the only bike that can finish the Dakar, I plan to do it with a 2017 Hasqvarna FE450 with a rally light setup as I know these FE bikes quite well mechanically, but to date, long range tanks are not available for these new models yet. I therefore decided to hire a bike in Europe. I have discussed support packages with teams but subsequently they do not hire bikes if you are not part of their team. This makes the decision on the bike more difficult. As I would like to enter the rally Malle Moto, the logistic will be a nightmare as this will be my first attempt. However I am working on a plan to get involved with a team to help with the logistics (flights, documentation, bike hire and transport thereof and then moral support), and carry my tyres during the rally. This part of the organisation is probably the most important - so besides raising the funds - this will be my key focus.
As I am just a normal guy with a big kickass dream, the funds to get to the Dakar are probably the biggest hurdle, - but I am committed to succeed. As only a handful of South Africans have attempted the Dakar and most of us dream and live the Dakar each year during those two weeks, my mission will be to get as much support from the South African people to sustain myself financially along with the rest of the RSA guys attempting the 40th addition of the Dakar.
I will be selling My Daring Adventure supporters’ t-shirts, caps and jackets (available soon) to get the people involved and to help with raising funds. I also plan to introduce two fundraisers - in September and October - where I will raffle some goodies including my current rally bike (Husqvarna FE501); final details will be released when confirmed.
As I want the rally community and the larger community of Dakar enthusiasts in South Africa to get involved with my journey towards reaching Dakar, I also want them to ride with me, Gerrit (Du Toit) does Amageza had selfies of his fans; Joey Evans had the names of his supporters on his bike. For a small donation, I will add your signature on my bike.
Every cent will help me claw my way to the starting line in January 2018!
I will provide updates on my progress here as often as possible. Please follow me on:
Facebook: - My Daring Adventure Donovan2Dakar
Instagram: - @mydaringadventure_dakar_2018
Website: - MyDaringAdventure.co.za (in progress)
Thanks for the support and PM me if you can help with anything.
Donovan
For us mere mortals, our dreams are only a reality when we sleep. I have decided that it’s time to live my dream by entering the most daring adventure possible, - Dakar 2018.
For the past 5 years I have been working towards the day when I have grown big enough balls to make this decision. I’m not there yet (big balls) but with the experience I have gained over the past few years in our local South African rallies, including West Coast Baja and Amageza, as well as the success of our own Dakar Hero Joey Evans, I’ve realised that anything is possible if you work hard and put your mind to it.
I have been in contact with A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) regarding my entry and submitted my rally portfolio. At this stage I entered based on my current experience which is 4 Amageza rallies and 2 WC Baja where I finished, all of them successfully without any mechanical issues, Malle Moto style. A.S.O. cannot officially confirm 100% that I will make the entry list as I have not competed in a rally that is part of the FIM Cross-Country Rally World Championship but confirms that with my current experience and the fact that I have successfully finished all the rallies I have entered, I stand a good chance of being accepted.
The original plan was to enter the Merzouga Rally in Morocco, which gives you automatic entry into the Dakar if you complete the entire itinerary but with a R250K price tag, I have decided to put the faith in my current experience and use the R250K towards my Dakar funds. If A.S.O. denies my entry I will most likely enter the Rally OiLibya du Maroc, in Morocco in October, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
With this being a daring adventure, and me being a person who likes to challenge myself, I will also enter the Dakar Rally Malle Moto style, for my first attempt, you might think that it’s crazy but I believe it’s the way to do it. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Regarding the bike: I personally do not think that a 450 Rally is the only bike that can finish the Dakar, I plan to do it with a 2017 Hasqvarna FE450 with a rally light setup as I know these FE bikes quite well mechanically, but to date, long range tanks are not available for these new models yet. I therefore decided to hire a bike in Europe. I have discussed support packages with teams but subsequently they do not hire bikes if you are not part of their team. This makes the decision on the bike more difficult. As I would like to enter the rally Malle Moto, the logistic will be a nightmare as this will be my first attempt. However I am working on a plan to get involved with a team to help with the logistics (flights, documentation, bike hire and transport thereof and then moral support), and carry my tyres during the rally. This part of the organisation is probably the most important - so besides raising the funds - this will be my key focus.
As I am just a normal guy with a big kickass dream, the funds to get to the Dakar are probably the biggest hurdle, - but I am committed to succeed. As only a handful of South Africans have attempted the Dakar and most of us dream and live the Dakar each year during those two weeks, my mission will be to get as much support from the South African people to sustain myself financially along with the rest of the RSA guys attempting the 40th addition of the Dakar.
I will be selling My Daring Adventure supporters’ t-shirts, caps and jackets (available soon) to get the people involved and to help with raising funds. I also plan to introduce two fundraisers - in September and October - where I will raffle some goodies including my current rally bike (Husqvarna FE501); final details will be released when confirmed.
As I want the rally community and the larger community of Dakar enthusiasts in South Africa to get involved with my journey towards reaching Dakar, I also want them to ride with me, Gerrit (Du Toit) does Amageza had selfies of his fans; Joey Evans had the names of his supporters on his bike. For a small donation, I will add your signature on my bike.
Every cent will help me claw my way to the starting line in January 2018!
I will provide updates on my progress here as often as possible. Please follow me on:
Facebook: - My Daring Adventure Donovan2Dakar
Instagram: - @mydaringadventure_dakar_2018
Website: - MyDaringAdventure.co.za (in progress)
Thanks for the support and PM me if you can help with anything.
Donovan
