'Twas the winter before the rally

So, its been exactly two months since my last update here. That means I've been busy with life I guess. You know, all the stuff that we need to do in order to be able to go riding in the desert. Unless you are working as a tour guide in the desert that is. :)

Even though I haven't posted anything here lately I still have been busy preparing myself for the next rally physically. Endurance and strength is important in any race and the same goes for rallies. If you don't get tired physically, you will be able to stay mentally fresh longer. And that means safer and faster riding. I usually try to train about 5 days a week. Divided 50/50 between strength and cardio/metcons. Now I'm gradually starting to switch over to more cardio/metcons to focus on endurance and when the race gets closer I will be doing mostly endurance training.

The new weapon of choice. KTM 530 Sixdays

I also picked up my new bike today. Sort of like a late christmas gift for myself. It's a KTM 530 EXC Sixdays with about 50 hours on it. I think the 530 will be a perfect bike for the Tuareg Rally. This year I rode a KTM 400 EXC and it was great because of its low weight and easy handling. The only thing it lacked was some power and top speed. It wasn't a big issue but since I'm aiming at improving my results next year every little advantage I can get is needed so the extra power from the 530 will be most welcome in the dunes.

I will be posting updates on the work I'll be doing on the bike to prepare it for the race. Some things I know I will be doing are navigation tower, larger gas tank, water tanks and checking and replacing all the bearings and wires. I guess I will be spending a lot of hours in the garage in the nearby future…

Happy New Year to all of you!