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© Bob Mullins   

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The last time I wrote I was on the way to the Erzberg Rodeo and since then I’ve been to Paris and Peru - so not too much time to keep you up to date on my progress!

The Rodeo itself was both a satisfaction and a disappointment. The actual race has become considerably more extreme since I first rode it ten years ago and now there are a whole bunch of riders training specifically for that kind of riding. Given those two factors I was well pleased with how I performed. I really dug deep to fight it out with the specialists and was more than satisfied with the 8th place I was originally credited with. Then, following a mix up with a check point, I was relegated to 15th. When you put that much effort in the last thing you want is your result messed around with that way.

Straight after that I headed off for a 2-day photo shoot for Kenny’s new catalogue. Normally these sorts of things get shot at a moto-x track or in the middle of the desert, but Kenny had other ideas and decided to use Paris’ most famous monuments as the backdrop. I had a peek at some of the pictures and they looked pretty funky to me. Off-road motorcycling has certainly come a long way in terms of design and image!

And then it was back in the plane direction Lima for an excellent 4 days with the incredibly hospitable guys from KTM Peru. Unless you have been living in a cave for the last 6 months you will be aware that the 2012 Dakar’s last 4 stages will be run there - and to say the Peruvians are excited by the prospect would be something of an understatement! KTM Peru have put a 4 man team together for the event and I went along to their official presentation and then spent half a day with them going through the finer points of navigation, preparation etc. Another highlight of the trip was a ‘rideout’ with 50 or so customers. I have been lucky enough to ride in some great places but the area we rode in went straight into my personal Top 5. Roll on January 2012!