Tales From The Bivouac, Dakar 2012

Hey Ted....sounds epic....

I'd like to hear about the day you went to your wife and discussed you going to the "DAKAR" ....
"what" you want to go "where".... wtf is DAKAR.... come on, just a little.... I'd like to hear some of the makings of "Deadly99 going to DAKAR........ "

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Excerpt from Chapter One - Unbelievable

Fast forward back to that day in August and that post on the internet. Holy crap this is my chance! The money and time off work don’t really make it a serious thought though. My wife came home from work and looked exhausted, not good. I give her an hour to unwind from the day and inform her I need to have a serious chat. I think she can see that something big is going on and is imagining I am about to give her some bad news as I have an intense look on my face. I start off with this well rehearsed line that I have been working on all day. “I have a very unique situation that can provide me with the experience of a lifetime”. I can tell she is relieved that I am not about to inform her that someone close has died, or that I want a divorce, or I got fired from my job. The look in her eyes slowly reflects this then begins to turn to a “oh crap he wants something big”. I give her the low down and the price tag associated with this endeavour. She asks for some time to think about it and comes back an hour later and says go for it with the condition that if Oprah ever calls her up to be her personnel assistant that she gets a blank cheque. Holy crap, absolutely unbelievable I scream. You see my wife has watched my obsession over the years and has patiently listened to me rambling on and on about the Dakar. She has watched me obsess about my KTM950 and my “heading out to play Dakar” as she calls my bike trips. She gets me and understands what something like this means to someone like me. I am blessed as not everyone has a wife who really understands what makes them tick. This book is dedicated to Johanne, for all her love and understanding as without her I would have been stuck behind a computer like every year following the race on the internet.
I quickly made the call to Charlie Rauseo and left a voice mail saying that if the spot in the truck was still available I would like to take it. A few hours passed by where I was pacing around the house before I called back again and Charlie answered the phone. He came across as a nice guy and gave me a bunch of the associated details like cost, expectations and whatnot. The excitement level was rising until he informed me that one of the racers has a sponsor who may take the seat and that for obvious reasons he gets first dibs. Oh no, the dream is slipping threw my hands. Charlie says that he has given this fellow until the next day to confirm or back out and would get in touch with me soon. I won’t go into details but I didn’t get much sleep that night and for the first time in my life suffered from anxiety. The next day at work was a blur and seemed like it took a week to finish. Racing in the door and checking my voice mail I received the good news that the seat was mine. I am going to the Dakar!!!

Yes, I'd thank my wife for letting me go too!!

ABSOLUTELY EPIC OPPORTUNITY!!!

Good luck and I look forward to reading all about it!

three cheers for Johanne
She let's you play Dakar and from that TCAT was born
She let's you follow a dream and from that this thread and this book was born

Yes you are a lucky man, but I don't think it is just luck
commitment, dedication and love are huge part.
You deserve this as much as any other F5er here and I know you will make us all proud.
I doubt that Oprah will need any additional assistants and that may be a good thing.

Until you fly keep writing I know I am enjoying it.

Found this today
2012 Dakar promo video
http://youtu.be/oef9m5BEoDo

Count me in Ted, Juames mentioned your trip of a life time and i had to check it out.
Can't wait for the book. Koodos to your wife for being so understanding.
I'm green with envy.

Was reading the course description the other day and saw this info which I haven't seen discussed on the forum. Sounds like we'll be without the racers for a night?


On the evening of the 11th stage, motorcycle and quad riders will be accommodated in a specific bivouac. This should enable them to avoid a lengthy liaison section the following morning. An additional constraint has been introduced, as assistance vehicles will not have access to this bivouac. Vehicles will be parked in a maintenance area, to which only competitors who are involved in the race will have access

Support the racers. Jonah, Ned and Bill have support packages available.

I'm sure many of you have done your part in helping them out in their quest to get to the start line, if you havent I'd encourage you to check out their sites (click on their logos below) and throw a few bucks towards their effort

From what I recall it is usually typical to have a "marathon stage" with no support trucks for a night. However, usually all racers (bikes, cars, and trucks) are at the same bivouac so the "race trucks" which are really "support trucks" are there to help the bikes. This is the first one I know of where the bikes and quads will not be with the race trucks. Might level the field a bit if the big KTM guys (i.e. Cyril and Mark) truly do have to work on their own bikes.

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Um, technically it was only the rear brakes that were on fire. The fronts were working fine (if by fine I mean not really at all). It was amusing though, after we got flagged down by another team waving frantically at the flames coming off the rear wheels, we stopped, put the fires out, had a smoke, and carried on. I realized in about 8 seconds that I basically didn't have brakes, but didn't want to alarm anyone. After all, the Andes aren't THAT steep. We finally made it mostly down the hill and stopped at a little restaurant, where we had some lunch, let the brakes cool, then Niles crawled underneath and bled the brakes of the boiled fluid. Unfortunately for him he got a blast in the face. Ouch!

Woohoo! Night off for the crew!

We cherish these nights, none of them pesky motorcycle riders about.

Who's going to tuck us in?

I think I need to reread that contract I signed....:huh

Tucking Bill in at night, riding in a truck with flaming wheels.....hmmmm.....I wonder what else was hidden in the fine print

Jonah likes to cuddle.

You do know Charlie's actually a lawyer right?

After a bed time story Ted can make his way to Jonah...

Easy does it, just read the contract and it looks like Charlie screwed you over Robb.... "All cuddle and tucking in of the racers will be done by the team manager"

Just reading the detailed route info from ASO and it might seem like its only Niles and Tim who get a break..

STAGE 11
Arica to Arequipa (Peru)
Liasson-171 km
Special-538 km

For the Dakar’s first day in their country, the Peruvians will be entitled to two special stages and additional kilometres for the motorcyclists. After a day spent switching between off-piste sections and areas interspersed with rivers, they will benefit from a moment of camaraderie : a specific bivouac will be set up for them before they continue exploring Peru. The concept, which had not been tried out again since the camp of Foum Zguid in Morocco during the 2007 Dakar, will also create a major obstacle which will affect the management of the race. The assistance vehicles will not be authorized in the maintenance area, where only the motorcyclists and quad riders will be able to help each other.

A bit tough to decipher but it sounds like we'll all be in the same bivouac but the riders are on their own for bike maintenance. Make sense?