We hit the trail at 0:Dark 30 this morning to shakedown one of the Dakar Rider Challenge bikes and to log some training miles. I was ably accompanied by my trusted burro Thomas McDonald. We headed east from Bell Mtn, near Victorville through Lucerne Valley all the way to the border of the Twenty-Nine Palms military base. From there we headed north to I-40. We refueled in Ludlow where the temp was off the chart. After Ludlow we headed north towards Baker. After lunch in Baker we headed back to Victorville. 300 miles and 11 hours later we were headed home. The shakedown of one of the Red Bull Rider Search Challenge bikes went well. They are going to be very authentic Rally machines(without going full factory Rally) for the competitors to ride.
One thing is for sure the Challenge will be brutal if for no other reason than the heat. Around Baker the temp was searing. We rode in full Rally Jackets which beleive it or not, work better in the heat than just a jersey
Stay tuned for more info. Here's a couple of pics of the day.
Thomas McDonald preps my trainer. He would later complain that we should be training in hotter conditions! Thomas worked in a salt mine as a child.
This is one of the Dakar Rider Challenge Bikes. Its a hybrid 625 SXC in Rally Adventure configuration.
Many of you know where this is; just off of HWY 247 between Bartsow and Lucerne. Desert dwellers come up with some pretty interesting habitats.
If you could read the thermometer in Baker you would see that it reads a very cool 107. That is how our day went. It actually got hotter down on Soda Dry Lake.