Hi everyone...

As some of you may be aware, last year I bought a brand new Yamaha XT660Z Tenere, shipped it to the US, and spent six months riding more than 23,000 miles all over - from Badwater Basin to Pikes Peak, the Mohave Desert to the Florida Keys - coast to coast, then back again, including the Trans-Am Trail, the high peaks in Colorado, the slickrock in Moab, the forests in Oregon and the deserts in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico...



Hell, I even had a go at the Rubicon Trail - on my own, in November, with luggage...



Suffice to say, both I and the bike survived, and on my return to the UK I have taken this perfectly good (if slightly used) adventure bike, and built it into what I now hope will be a competitive and reliable rally machine:



The reason for this is I am entered on the 2009 edition of the Heroes-Legend Paris-Dakar rally, which leaves Paris later this month (the 22nd October!), and arrives in Dakar two weeks and 6500 kms later... hopefully with me and the bike still in one piece!

Of course I'm certainly not the first British Woman to race from Paris to Dakar, but I am still a rarity in what is a very male dominated sport. As such, I would hope that what I am about to undertake is of particular interest, and feel there is an opportunity to do a lot of good out of what is essentially a selfish personal indulgence!

I have two close friends who’s families have been terribly affected by Bowel Cancer, and continue to be so. Likewise, my own family history is not without tragedy in that regard, so I feel particularly strongly that this is a cause I would like to support in whatever way I can.

My friend Ruth Turner has set up a JustGiving page as part of her London Marathon Campaign for 2010, and has asked me to join her in raising funds for Bowel Cancer UK.

Of course I am more than happy to answer any questions about the bike and the build here in this thread, but I'd also really appreciate it if you could take a minute and consider the following link to the fundraising page Ruth has set up...

Ruth Turner is fundraising for Bowel Cancer UK - JustGiving

Many thanks for taking the time to read this far, I look forward to answering any questions you may have,

Jenny Mo xxx



Donate Here

You're certainly getting about Jenny,


It's just occoured to me, where is Piglet ? Not seen a single photo all the way through the build ???

You should have used that bit you cut off the seat to make a tiny new one...

Hee hee - don't worry, he's still around, he just doesn't like to get his paws oily... He'll be coming to Dakar with me - although probably in my backpack rather than my jacket... (don't give him any idea's about a pillion seat for goodness sake!)

xxx

What is your race number in the Heroes Legends?

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Hi Dave - my race number should be 041 (according to the communication so far from the organisation), and you will be able to track the progress of competitors via the Etrack satellite on the website once the event is underway:

HEROESLEGEND - Home

xxx

Go Jenny! We will be pulling for you.

Hi Jen
When is the route announced? The H/L website does not really tell me alot :confused1:

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Hi Dave - the page you want is here:

HEROESLEGEND - Itinerary – The dates

Which outlines the route - however, it is slightly out of date as there has been a change to the schedule which is now (currently) as follows:

Thursday October 22nd - Depart Paris from Eiffel Tower.

Friday October 23rd - Scrutineering at Ales-Monteils.

Saturday October 24th - Prologue stage/s at Ales-Monteils, then start liasion to Almeria, Spain. (Previously the sailing was to be from Sete, in France).

Sunday October 25th (pm) -Arrive at Almeria, then overnight boat to Nador, Morocco.

Monday October 26th - African stages start.

November 7th - Hopefully arrive in Dakar!

I am now in the process of putting together the final prep on the bike after a successful couple of days testing off-road, albeit in the rain - it is England in October after all!

We were fortunate to have one good day of sunshine, and took the opportunity to get a few photos before the off - the 1988 Tenere belongs to a friend of mine - I hope the new bike will be every bit as successful as it's predecessors en route to Dakar!







xxx

All the very best in the rally and don't forget to keep us updated as and when.
The H/L site is 'down' at the moment, but will look out for any updates.
Take care xxx

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Many thanks Dave, and to everyone who has wished me well or donated on-line via Ruth's web-page - we are very close to our target of £3000 now, which is utterly fantastic!

I really hope this project and my participation in this event has been at the very least entertaining, if not also inspirational... and will do my best to bring back both myself and the bike in one piece (although not actually fused together - that would be ghastly!)...

This will probably be my last post on the forum before I leave, as tomorrow I am heading to London, have to pick up my visa-stamped Passport on Tuesday (nothing like last minute eh?), then get the train to Paris on Wednesday...

The official start is at midday on Thursday 22nd under the Eiffel Tower - hopefully the Heroes-Legend website will have sorted it's glitches by then...

Just to remind you, my race number is 041, and you should be able to track my progress each day via the link below:




Donate Here



Follow Me Here

Finally, here it was on the trailer before I delivered it to my assistance crew last week... one thing is for sure, it won't look this shiny ever again!



Jenny xx

Godspeed Jenny

all the best hope the blue beast serves you well in the Raylle

look foward to the post race report

There is an error in the link http://”http://www.heroeslegend.com/page-1-1-en.html”

This should work HEROESLEGEND - Home

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Poul
May you enjoy peace and good health !

I think I'm having a blonde momment....

I can't find any update information on what's happening, didn't Jenny leave Paris yesterday ???

Hi, yes I presume she left ok, the H/L website is a bit sparse on info at the moment, hopefully it won't be too long before we get news, I don't think we will get much till the rallys moves into Africa.

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Have you been on this page?HEROESLEGEND - Competitors’s area

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.