That old tale about buses - none for ages then two turn up at once. I don't know if it's true or not, but thinking back it seems to hold good.

In a funny kind of way, I can now say the same thing about bikes. I was speaking with Martin about Son of Dawn To Dusk and the best way to handle it with spares and the like. He suggested that I just take a spare bike - which will save me time on repairs if I mangle the first one - I just go back to the pits and pick up the spare bike. I won't need it though, apparently, since the little PR3 is tough enough to take the best that Walters Enduro Park has to offer - even with me riding.

So I will be turning up at Dawn to Dusk with not one, but two, AJP PR3s. Combined, the two of them will still weigh less than a BMW 650 or a KTM Adventure on its own.

And the In-laws From Del Monte, when asked if they would be so kind as to watch the Wee Yin on that day, said "Yes".

The hurdles are falling and the lights are just green all the way. Which is really nice in a way, but also kind of Fate-pissing-herself-laughing-at-not-giving-me-an-excuse-to-bail-out too.

Up at AJP on Friday, spot of trail riding during the day, and then set to work building the PR3 race bike when we get back. With the taller handlebars, the dimensions are exactly the same as a PR4 (when measured footpeg to handlebar) but the bike is at least 15kg lighter - producing an extra 18% of power or so.

After building it, we'll fine-tune the suspension to suit my bodyweight properly and to reflect the bumpy terrain at Dawn to Dusk. Drop the pressure in the tyres a little - to give some more grip - and we're ready to roll.

The Marzocchi forks on the PR3, they're gold. Not solid gold obviously, but a gold alloy. Hence the name of the bike - "Goldilocks". Should have realised it before. Not too big, not too small, just right.

All of these green lights, happening at the same time, kind of smacks of being watched over. I said a few weeks back that we are going up a gear this year and it seems as though we are.

Discussions with The Missus about the best way to allocate the groats we have - do we do Morocco again, or are we better off spending that money on doing enduros every single weekend and leaving Morocco until later in the year? Not a decision we need to make yet, but indicative of the decisions that lie before us.

And the debate about Dakargentina vs Transorientale rages on. I mean, if I went to Dakargentina (aka 2009 Dakar) in Buenos Aires then perhaps I'll be able to learn to do the Tango - and The Missus does love a good Tango. Then again, Transorientale is in Russia - and I love Russia. I love the Russian mentality. I was once told this story by a Russian:

Adam and Eve were obviously Russian. They lived in the wilderness, in the blistering heat. They had no clothes, and no shoes. They had a single apple to eat. And they called it paradise.

I don't know if my shoulder is ready for such a tough race as Dawn to Dusk - I suppose I'll find out in, oh, about 12 days time. 276 hours or so. Something like 16,500 minutes. Roughly.

In order to fail, you only need to give up one more time than you get up. Or, as I read somewhere which made me laugh, "Winners never quit, quitters never win, and those who never win but never quit are idiots".

What does that make me then?

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