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The Taffy Dakar is a motorcycle orienteering weekend held annually during the 1st May Bank Holiday in Wales, since 2013.[1] Making it one of the UK's longest running motorcycle orienteering green lane bike events. In 2013 the attendance at the taffy Dakar topped 40 riders;[2] more recently the figure ranged from 100 to 300 depending on the weather and excuses coming from the entrants.

The Welsh green lane routes in South Wales are famed for their toughness and rugged terrain.[3] Riders often have to endure miserable riding conditions to attend the rally and, once on site, they are expected to camp without regard to the weather conditions. It is an event held in veneration by the relatively small numbers of green lanes motorcycle enthusiasts as a test of stamina and endurance because (in the first four years) the Taffy Dakar was open to riding a route known as Sarn Helen, an ancient right of way dating back to Roman occupation. The Taffy Dakar is often grouped with the Jockey Dakar, The Cockney Dakar and the Paddy Dakar. All themes and variants of the original competetive Dakar Rally[6]

The first gathering was commemorated by use of an old army tent in the venue within the Brecon Beacons; The Ancient Briton real ale public house. Subsequent years have seen an improvement in venue camping facilities and organisation. Each entrant is presented with a Tshirt and mug with Taffy Dakar emblems plus some other goodies in a bag. The winners are presented the Taffy Dakar Trophy which consists of a kitchen table cut into shape of a trophy with the original 5 years of winners names added to the trophy. The trophy is held in the Ancient Briton public house in a locked display cabinet. Subsequent winners all have their names etched and held in record on the website. The winners receive free entry to the following years Taffy Daakr in order to defend their title. The runners up and 3rd place receive individual hand crafter motorcycle parts based trophies designed and produced in Llanelly by Trident Engineering.

The weekend is pimarily supported via a motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined together to ensure the success of the weekend.

The main influx and support for the marshalling comes from club based marshalls which are primarily from clubs such as The Valleys Dual Sport Riders based in the Swansea valleys and the South Wales Trail Riders Fellowship based out of Cardiff though other key stakeholders input comes from farther afield. Contents

1 History 2 Recent attendance numbers 3 South Wales terrain 4 Further reading 5 External links 6 Original Dakar Rally

History 2013 first ran by a partnership of local community based riders. Enthused by two original lads from South Wales who had decided to make something from nothing to help the struggling motorcycle community ride green lanes in a organised and fun manner. 40 riders appeared, mainly attended by Irish and English riders.

2014 - 2018 has seen a steady and well managed rise in numbers of attendees with many female riders included since the original 2013 rally. Amongst the Trail Rdiing Comunity this weekend is seen as one of the most accomplished places to exercise their wavering freedoms of rights of way access to green lanes/ The harsh often rugged terrain sees many willing to travel to enter the rally from all over the UK an Ireland.

In 2013 the weekend was hailed a success with the then celebrity status of Will and Kate who took part having travelled around the world on a bike and returned to the UK to enter the Taffy Dakar as part of their last epic journey. Sadly Kates bike died from the rugged welsh hills and took the local mechanic about 6 weeks to replace all the issues of her well journeyed little serow motorcycle.

2013 saw Christian James/Jason Lewis organisers hand out prizes and trophies 2014 saw Christian James/Jason Lewis organisers hand out prizes and trophies 2015 saw Simon Pavey being disqualified for being too good and forced to hand out trophies. 2016 saw Chris Cork from England famed for his unsuccesful completion at the Dakar 2017 saw Christian James/Jason Lewis organisers hand out prizes and trophies 2018 saw Craig Bounds & Tamsin famed for their Dakar successes help don the trophy to the entrants.