Dakar Rally is nearly here

Only days to go now before I start my journey to South America and I was very happy to receive my race jacket and a have a new sponsor this week.

My Jacket arrived just a few days ago and I'm very proud to be displaying my support for Children's Hospice South West. Please help make the most of short and precious lives by giving a donation via my Virgin Giving page here.

Many thanks to first-response.co.uk for becoming my latest sponsor in my Dakar challenge. I have spoken with John (a rider himself) at First Response many times and I'm really excited to have them supporting me.

Many thanks to everyones support so far whether in sponsorship, supporting the charity, words of wisdom, or well wishes. Please, please continue to do so as more than ever I will need you're words of encouragement during the rally. I'm a very average rider, certainly not naturally athletic, & not on a purpose built factory machine. I am stubborn though, I will give it my all, and you're messges could just give me that extra push needed to complete this mammoth challenge. You can send messages and follow my progress during the race at twitter.com/carryoncorky. There will be a daily photo update from the official Dakar photographer, and I will try and update when possible. You can also follow the Torque Racing Team and the LC4-50 project via Jenny Morgan on ADV Rider.

Would also like to mention that we have many riders with the Desert Rose Racing team in the Africa Eco Race starting on the 30th of December. I wish them all a safe and enjoyable rally. Both rallies will be shown on Eurosport.

Thanks again everyone, Corky

Bike finished and on its way to Le Havre

After many long days/nights and a lot of help from others the bike is done and ready for its journey to South America today. Big thanks to Mark at MD Restorations for the brilliant custom bash plate, John at Rally Raid Products for the custom navigation plates, Midwest Racing for the suspension & support, and Torque Racing for fitting the tanks, nav tower, & generally doing what they do.

Merzouga Rally

Merzouga Rally - Another great rally but my run of bad fortune continues.

Arrived the day before and got in some dune training and all felt good. A cautious start due to the recent damaged wrist but was up to full speed in no time.

The next morning was the technical checks and a quick navigation training exercise. There was a lot to take in with the new GPS system but that was the reason for being here. All waypoints hit and I was looking forward to the race.

Took the prologue steady as Edo warned me of broken dunes, and then went riding with fellow Dakar competitor Koray. We took time to watch the shoot-out from the top of a dune for the top ten riders.

Day 1 - All going well in the special until 20k from the end 'the bike ran out of fuel'. There was fuel in the rear tank but it didn't want to take part in the rally! I watched as all the riders I'd passed during the day rode past me to the final check point. A Marshall turned up and we got the bike going again, but I was pretty disheartened. Finished the day early so went for a play in the dunes and did some filming with Keith on his 450RR.

Day 2 - Went well again with some great dune riding but once again the same fuel problem caused me to push the bike uphill to CP2. The navigation was spot on and you really had to have you're wits about you to hit all the way points.

Day 3 - The throttle action was relaxed to gain the distance needed to finish the day with no issues. Any chance of a top finish was long gone so decided to put my efforts into getting the navigation dialled in for Dakar. A comfortable 12th place was achieved with no dramas.

Day 4 - I had been up all night with diarrhoea. Thought nothing of it (been here before) and was the 1st of the team to CP2. Nausea and tiredness finally took its toll on my day and the journey to CP3 was painfully slow. Being unwell caused a crash, dehydration, and during the last 8k dune section I had to constantly take rests watching everyone ride past and into the distance. Again pretty gutted, but hit all way points.

This was the end of my race as I then spent the rest of my time in Morocco suffering from fever like symptoms. Big thanks to Martin at Torque Racing for getting me doctors, prescriptions, water, and finally getting me home.

The Merzouga Rally gave me a good taste of the navigation systems used in Dakar and I'm confident with my riding abilities. The heat still causes me concern so I've got an appointment with a sports nutritionalist in the UK to see if a change in diet may help. The Merzouga Rally is a great event with tricky navigation and beautiful desert riding. I hope I can return for another go in the future.

Back In The Saddle

After 6 weeks of being out of action I managed an hour of off-road riding on the 950 today. The wrist hasn't got all the movement I would like and its a little weak but I'm confident that all will be OK for the Merzouga Rally next month. Cant wait to get back into the dunes again.

Bad timing!

Had a crash on the new Husqvarna 2 weeks ago in training. X-ray's today confirmed that I will be out of action for at least 6 weeks. This isn't great timing as I have the Merzouga Rally coming up, and will miss out on a load of riding training.

I'm staying optimistic but I am also feeling this year is jinked! The Merzouga Rally is a great event and perfect training for navigation and the sand. I hope I can still get to the starting line. My training will continue with running, yoga, and gym work.

John O' Groats To Lands End

As part of my training for the Dakar I cycled from end to end in the UK. We started at John O' Groats, Scotland and finished some 960 miles later in Lands End, Cornwall.

This was my 3rd End To End ride and I'm pretty sure I won't be doing it a 4th time. Scotland was as I remembered it - Very beautiful and friendly. Devon was also as I remember it - very hilly!

We had mixed fortunes with the weather. We had a hurricane named Bertha hit the UK during our ride which was pretty wet and cold, a handful of heavy rain, and unfortunately a strong headwind for a lot of the journey.

The ride was good training with 2 weeks in the saddle causing various aches and pains. The majority of the nights were spent in youth hostels and campsites.

Many thanks to Bugs for accompying me with the cycling and to Tracey who did a fantastic job looking after us. More photos can be found here

Entry confirmed for Dakar 2015

I received this morning the official letter from A.S.O. confirming my registration for the 2015 Dakar Rally. I got a call from my girlfriend explaining that there was a letter from France, and emailed me the contents whilst I was surrounded by sheep in Wales with a broken bike (fuel injector again!). It's been a strange old journey with many highs and lows but the real adventure is yet to begin. I have made many good friends in the last 3 years, run nearly 1,000 miles during training, taken part in 8 international rallies, and broken many bikes! I'm obviously delighted but also rightfully apprehensive. Thanks for everyone's continuing support.