Cars 2013 Update: Dakar 2013, Peru Dakar 2013, Dakar Rally 2013 Peru, Peru Off ...

Every January the office is swept by Dakar fever. Even the street riders are affected by the grandeur and ultimate struggle the Dakar Rally represents. More than one of us dream of one day setting tire marks along the rally course. Considering the logistical reality quickly drags us back to Earth, and it’s safe to say that MotoUSA won’t be on the list of entrants for 2013. That doesn’t mean we can’t live vicariously through our friends.

Justin Maley is an instructor at the WyoTech campus in Daytona, Florida. He too gets bitten by the rally bug and has decided to man up and do something about it. With the eventual goal of kicking off 2013 in South America, Maley is already taking the preliminary steps of this massive undertaking. We’ve got plenty of questions about how someone goes about preparing for their first Dakar experience and figured this would be a good way to share that with readers. He’s even assembling a support crew complete with tryouts. We’ll be following along with him as he sends periodic updates on his program development, bike build and physical training. Let’s kick it off with this brief intro and stay tuned for more information in the future.

Keep an eye on Twitter and if you have any feedback make sure to mention #projectdakar2013.

What do you do when it’s time to hang up the boots from a competitive motocross career but you really just want to ride? This was the dilemma I faced eight years ago and have struggled with in the time since. Do I just give in and ignore my desire to ride and be competitive? Do I take up vintage racing? Do I stick to the old “with age comes a cage” adage? My original answer was to step away almost completely and see if I could find other things to make me feel like a responsible adult. As my wife can attest, this didn’t really work out. After many discussions with Hall of Famer Scot Harden I decided Dakar should be on my bucket list. Is it possible? Can I really pull this off?