Ned Suesse reflects on his experience in the 2012 Dakar rally. He thanks the people that were responsible for his success and posts some insights on the challenges he faced before during and after the experience.
After months of intensive preparation and two weeks of the most grueling and intense dirt bike action, Ned Suesse finally was able to reach the finish line of the. 2012 Dakar rally. According to Ned he had been dreaming of this moment for quite a long time and it took him a while to absorb the fact that the rally was over.
According to Ned Suesse he felt dazed for a few days trying to fathom the magnitude of his achievement in probably the most dangerous and challenging event in dirt bike motocross. One thing for sure that pervaded all other emotions and that is the fact that it felt really good. Ned wanted to thank some of the key people that helped him all throughout this race particularly Rally Pan Am’s Rob and Charlie who did an excellent job guiding him through the many challenges he faced. Robb’s specialty was working around what they have from parking to what they needed from the ASO.
Ned also profusely thanked the people from Baja Bound particularly Tim Morton. He also wanted to specially mention Scott Ganshert and Chris Vestal. These people were the ones that made sure his dirt bike performed at optimum levels. Barring only a few minor electrical guffaws that could not have been avoided the bike performed quite amazingly. Ned also wanted to mention the people responsible for giving him the needed updates on the race particularly Jesse Ziegler at Klim.
Ned had some time to reflect on the events of the rally as he was able to see the TV coverage at home. He was able to remind himself of the grand scale of the rally which meant that if he rode from Fairbanks, Alaska going to Miami, Florida that was five hundred miles less than the amount of mileage he was able to do in the 2012 Dakar rally.
Ned Suesse believes that the greatest lesson he was able to get from the whole Dakar rally dirt bike experience is to always believe in your abilities and always try to reach out and achieve your dreams. Before the race, he was beset by a mountain of doubt ranging from financing issues all the way to his ability to actual persevere and finish the rally. Looking back he now knows that all these concerns are second in nature because the most important thing is to have the gumption and commitment to finish what he has started.