motomann wrote:Do you really want to be the one missing out on the motorcycle craze that is sweeping the nation? Who will you ride with when all your friends are at rally events with their cool nav gear and roadbooks? Don’t say we didn’t warn you here first.
In all seriousness, Gagnaou (the big French guy) and I just returned from a 3 day Adventure Rally Race in beautiful Greybull, Wyoming (NW Wyoming near Yellowstone between the ?? Mountains and Yellowstone park). It was absolutely awesome!
I have to admit though, going into it I was a bit intimidated by the distance, gear, speed, etc. that seemingly defines rally (or at least Dakar style).
This was quite different – more akin to an Adventure Ride combined with Rally Racing. Yes, it had long-distances but unlike any other type of motorcycle riding/racing I’ve done, this was a truly unique and awesome experience.
For one, the scenery out there was awesome. For me, I REALLY like self-paced long-disance, moderately technical riding. Of course some rally events could be more technical and often include dunes riding (at least in the traditional context), in our case, it was all 2-track and some slightly technical creek/hill climbs but nothing any ADV rider couldn’t do.
What made the riding “difficult” was the navigation – and that’s the point. BUT, with the right gear, this sport is SUPER fun. Historically, to do a rally event like we did, you’d need a full nav tower, roadbook holder, probably some type of goofy looking rally fairing and something to tell you your heading and odometer.
Today, however, with the rising popularity (oh yeah, craze) of rally in the US, you can now get ALL of that as an App!
All you need to do is mount up an iPhone/iPod/iPad using a RAM mount, download Rally Blitz and get yourself to the next event.
Gagnaou (Luc) and I will be putting on a brief recap of our ride sometime in early July. Our plan is to take anyone who is interested on a “demo rally ride” a couple weeks after that. Our plan is to provide 1 or 2 setups like I described so that gear is not the barrier. We think once people experience this type of riding, they’ll be in and your life will then be more fulfilled.
More to come on our local KC/Kansas rally expose. In the meantime, check out
http://www.rallymanagementservices.com/ ... lly-school for information on Rally Schools and to learn more about the craze that is Rally!
Let's ask KC about adventure 
