Adventure

sorry just feeling a bit chatty today i don't know why. as is post is aptly named adventure what does it mean and why do i have this need take some risks. well ever since i started this blog i never did anything that i see as risky. I was never in a situation where i feared for my life, that at any moment now i will die but is this what a true adventure is getting as close to death as you can and see what happens. Or is adventure the fact that today you are doing something you haven't before and your going to do it as safe as you can while the element of danger slight as is can be is there just to keep you on your toes. well i am not one who jumps before he looks and with that i know that with planing and training risk is minimized but not eliminated and i can live with that. until next time stay safe

the internet

it is amazing what you can find on the internet between the never ending ads for cheap medications and male enhancement products there is useable information for whatever your interests are. today i found a company that does expedition on motorcycles and 4x4's that ranges from a two weeks trans-sahara expedition to a full on RTW(round the world) rides. now anyone that wanted to travel on a bike knows that the most dangerous part is the unknown. Visa requirement, customs clearance, health and safety issues, are all things that you have to worry about. this company has taken the guess work out of all this and yet didn't take away the spirit of adventure that let's face it if you are doing this then adventure is what you are looking for. Now what it seems from their website is that they don't hold your hand but will assist you when assistance is needed. suppling first aid when you need it and mechanical when you break down. and other assistance that you might need during the trip. this is a service that i would like to take part of one day it is a good training for dakar if that day ever comes. The best thing about the company is that its not a group tour, you have the option of remaining in the group or break off on your own to do your own exploration ride on your own see what you want to see. their website is www.kuduexpeditions.com take a look maybe you will find something you like or dreamt of doing but didn't know how to go about it. until next time stay safe.

Back From Jordan

well i just got back from Jordan last night and my back was killing me at the end of the trip went to the doctor today to get an MRI. looks like i have a disk in between the L4 and L5. Well i am going back to the doctor tomorrow to see what my options are hopefully this is not going to stop me. as promised that is the beast.

it was a great trip. as usual the guys in the Royal Jordanian 4x4 club made us feel at home. did some challenging off-roading. it is the most beautiful landscape that mixes between desert and mountains at the same place. you could be crawling a rock in one minute doing 5 or 7 KMPH and gunning it full speed over a powder soft sand the next. Its a great mixture of adrenalin pumping fun and calm relaxing environment. if you like this kind of sport i think trying it with someone who knows what they are doing is safer than doing it alone. stay safe and i will post a more detailed account of the trip in the next few posts.

New Helmet

today i am placed an order for a new helmet an Arai XD3 its my third helmet but for the first time it will be custom painted for me. I don't want to give anything out but based on the artist website i am sure it will be awesome. you can see the work on www.airxtremeart.com they are located in australia. Well now i know where the team helmets are going to be from. Thanks Matt for your help. and i can't wait to see how it will turn out.  stay safe all

jordan trip

Well I am gearing up and getting packed for my trip to jordan. Most of my bag is nothing but cables that should have been in the car in the first place GPS charger and antenna, phone chargers (yes plural, you never know) and my new toy a solar charger for my Blackberry and ipod touch among other things its called Solio nice piece of gear for us adventurers, another never leave home without it piece of equipment is my trusty garmin 276C won't do me any good for street navigation but its good for finding saved points in the middle of the desert. just looked up the weather in Amman its gonna be a cold one i don't know what it will be like in the desert but the forecast is coooooold maybe some sub zero but its all good i am packed well and ready for it. we will be in the middle of nowhere no gas station for miles and no cell service will try to blog and save on my blackberry something like a diary for my readers to see how it is. well thats it for me for now. stay safe

back on track

today i came across a forum that i found very good information on for the Desert Challenge. its http://www.dubaipetrolheads.com now i have some direction contact information for people in dubai to help me with my riding road book reading and navigation. it's starting to look go my next step is to contact the people in dubai and see if i can get a meeting with them to get the ball rolling. Since its starting to get hot again i will start with the physical preparation and the riding later. stay safe

Tips and travel

hello everyone. the next time you are heading to Dubai from Kuwait keep wataniya airline in mind. Last weekend was the first time i used this air lines considering its new i tell you its an experience that i enjoyed very much. The service is great one of the best. It is the first airlines i been on that allows you to use your mobile while in flight i don't think its cheap so only use it if you need it but a great service none the less. great lounge in kuwait actually you get your own terminal a first in kuwaiti aviation unless you have your own plane. The food onboard was ok but then again what airlines has great food? now for the bad parts they are not many and not that bad but i think they should be improved. The most annoying thing is that in Dubai you go to the Marhaba lounge not a great place for us smokers because they don't have a smoking section in the lounge :( and the lounge it self is not that great. Well thats about it really I liked the airlines and the crew they are very helpful i highly recommend it. Now if you are a smoker like myself and going to dubai bad news restaurants and indoors areas are none smoking with one exemption that i found Buddha bar you can eat and have a smoke without going outside. nice buddha bar thank you your my new favorite restaurant in Dubai. thank you for reading and stay safe.

3 nights in Dubai

Dubai land of the rich. Spending a few days here for some R&R I found that my hotel has an occupancy rate of 95 to 100% we are back to the Dubai that we know fully booked hotels and restaurants long lines at the doors. Well not exactly, only last month this hotels had ac occupancy rate of only 25%. What happened you say? Well there is a holiday at the moment in russia and that's why the hotel is full. Well that's it for me for now and talk to you on my next post. Stay safe.

off to Dubai

i am going to dubai today (that kinda rhymes) just for the weekend. nothing to do with the race just going to relax a bit get away from it all and just chill. today i did a power of attorney to a shipping company i am sending my car to amman jordan next week so that we can go do some off-roading there. The whole trip will take four days. one day going two days in the amazing jordanian desert to do some wheeling and then one day coming back it will be great i am looking forward to it. The only problem is that there is no cell reception there well its not much of a problem because we will have a sat phone and guys from the royal jordanian 4x4 club with us they know the way. Its not our first trip there but it is the first time in my car. oh right you haven't met my car yet. Well i will in the next post. i will tell you all about my jordan and all the prep work. be safe and talk to you soon

blogging

since i started this blog i really enjoyed doing it so i think i am going to add things to it. talk about anything that want to talk about not just the race. but i am still going to talk about it and in the interest of keeping things organized all posts related to the race will be labeled as Desert Challenge and the others will be labeled as to what the topic is. blogging is fun even though no one is reading it, it is therapeutic. thanks for reading.

In IT to Finish

last night i had a chat with my team manager the great Mr. MJ and the euro dude a long time friend of mine and his is joining the team. So now we are two that are going to do this. it helps to have a team mate that pushes you on helps you when you need it someone you trust, someone you can put your life in his hand and his in yours because as simple as it seem a 5 day race is not easy you can't sleep much you are on the quad for hundreds and hundreds of KMs a day on the quad mostly standing up in the hot desert navigating on your own and riding to keep up with the time limit imposed. I think we can do it with the help for the team manager and my team mate its hard but doable. our motto is In It To Finish. oh and if you want to sponsor us we will be grateful :)

Kuwait rally

in the past few day the elite of middle east rally drives have come to Kuwait to take part in the kuwait international rally the second round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. Unfortunately i had to miss it. two years ago i was a co-driver in the Dubai international rally, it was an experience that i enjoyed very much. still haven't don much with my project for the desert challenge but in a few weeks everything will be clear i am ready to take the challenge.

677.7+KM ride in 12 hours

Start point

mmmm lunch

Well these are the start point a gas station in kuwait where we met and the last point in KSA where we had lunch in el jubail. It was a great ride. By the time I got home was to tired to do anything just wanted to sleep the problem was I was too tired to sleep (how can that be?). I know now that I can do a 600KM ride in a none race situation, rest when I want and stop as much as I wanted. But I think when I do the race I need to develop my stamina off road bike racing is no joke I need to get in shape 13 more days till the 09 race starts I need to see it to know if I am going to do it so far it looks good. Go team go.

mobile blogger

This is to test the mobile blogger.

testing 1 2 3

in this post i want to introduce you to my bike it is a 2009 BMW R1200GS i love it. but its kinda tall for me. (mine is the red one)

the right path

good news i have decided the type of vehicle i will enter in it will be the quad Honda is a great candidate but we will see. i am going to Dubai on the 20th of march to see the action myself and from there i will interview people who has done it before and find a team to support my quad. 

now for the ugly truth i am a bit out of shape after my trip to dubai i have to hit the gym and hit it hard. i only have one year to prepare that means i need to get in shape (other than round) maybe quite smoking, and get some riding under my belt.