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You're going to want to see this fantastic video Brad Barker of The Ride of My Life put together on our Taste of Dakar with Simon Pavey weekend. I hope it really gives you a sense of what a premier event like this is all about as well as insight into a racing legend Simon Pavey is. Okay, so you're going to want to see Brad rag-doll into the side of a hill! C'mon, let's just be honest? Thankfully Brad was okay; just a bit dusty and a bit less bold than the previous 15 minutes (understandably). We went out to these dunes on Friday to simply get some video footage of big bikes in dunes; something you don't see every day. Each time we've been here in years past it's been a lot more moist. This time the sand was drier and a bit trickier. I never even attempted that hill before because I wasn't sure I could get up enough momentum to get up it. It's really steep. When Brad fell, I could literally not climb up the hill; I kept sliding down. But when Brad did it, I naturally had to follow. It was super exhilarating too! When I got done the adrenalin pumping through my body was making my hands shake! I know it looked easy and on Rich's 690 it was a lot easier but on a big bike it's a big question mark as to whether you can make it to the top and then what happens if you don't. After this we wrapped it up and headed back to camp. Brad was monitored for signs of concussion but luckily didn't have any symptoms. Wear your gear! ATGATT!

I only got to enjoy 3/4 of a day of rising but I did manage to piece this short clip together with what footage I had. If I get dig up some more I will post it. Cheers.

Having a great time here so far. We got in Thursday afternoon and went riding today. Rich and I did this huge hill in the dunes

Got the tail tidy installed yesterday and it took all of about 45 minutes. Less if you have no pannier racks. It's literally plug and play. Remove the right side panel and disconnect the tail light wiring assembly This template is where you put your license plate to mark the four places you'll file a bit off for space to run the led wiring Rottweiler puts all this together for you and here you can see the wiring sleeve they use These holes are where you'll re-install your existing turn signals if you want to keep them. I'm just going to go with the led turn signals in the license plate frame. I'm leaving the cross bar for the pannier racks in place just for strength and stability. We also put a small piece of adhesive foam between the Endurocell fuel tank and the frame simply to keep them rubbing. That's it! And of course a video to show you how it's done. Sorry for the dirty bike but haven't had a chance to clean since Taste of Dakar last weekend.

My guess is 2nd gear. He actually fell on his last run. He must have done it 5 or 6 times. I think I did it 3 times. I couldn't tell if he was sitting down or on the pegs really but that little hump threw the back end of the bike up and to the right for a classic high side. Just glad he was okay and landed in mostly soft sand. He's a good sport.

Simon Pavey showing us how it's done on the skills course https://vimeo.com/158925317

My run at the big dune hill https://vimeo.com/158858914

Here's Thierry falling on his sweet HP2. Poor guy busted his left foot peg right before this which made it a lot harder. https://vimeo.com/158840259

Mike and Rich clowning