The Grand Rally

[HogWild]

Originally Posted by Farioli

Fantastic Job!! A Paypal account for donations and "promotionals" will be great.

You're already on the list for the next pre-run, so we'll be collecting out of your hide rather than your wallet!

Originally Posted by brent tex

Im sure that these routes are amazing and the roadbooks spot on, I cannot wait to come out west and try the Grand Rally. Thanks again.

If you think you've seen good stuff on the DVR routes, wait til you see TGR routes!

From pre-run#2, a cool river crosing video.

And one from Russ. On that trip we saw a lot of wild horses, plus lots of other cool critters:

[tehdutchie]

Any cheap XR400's about for a poor European guy to come over and have a go at this?

[Robb Mc]

Prerun a couple weeks ago was awesome. Here's a few pics:

!!!! Danger.. trail heads up the hill towards the cliff. Pay attention:


Softest sand I've ridden in:


Mike (Tahoe Rider) expertly navigates the uphill waterfall:


Russ looking over the edge:

[Hayduke]

I think I know a few Colorado folks that would be interested.

[Robb Mc]

And here's a video of Russ using my strategy up the dry waterfall: Get off the bike so you thumb doesn't explode*.



* Bicycle Phil shows the aftermath of having your thumb explode upon impact:

[Robb Mc]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

I think I know a few Colorado folks that would be interested.

We don't allow Coloradans or whatever you people call yourself.

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by Robb McElroy

We don't allow Coloradans or whatever you people call yourself.

ColorRADicals

[HogWild]

Originally Posted by Robb McElroy

Mike (Tahoe Rider) expertly navigates the uphill waterfall

Here's that one on VIDEO.

Originally Posted by Robb McElroy

!!!! Danger.. trail heads up the hill towards the cliff. Pay attention

Maybe I'll put a little warning in the roadbook at that point so we don't have this:

[troy safari carpente]

Listening... intently...

[Deadly99]

A group of us from Canada have penciled this in for 2013


A few questions.....

What time of year is best for comfortable temperatures?

Could you zip together a map with strategic locations for the support truck to meet up as well as recommended camp locations that the support truck can get to??

I do like the idea of go arounds for the super tech stuff as well as bail out routes in case someone gets hurt or has a mechanical


Thanks for all the hard work, cya soon

[Deco]

WOW!! Great job. Keepnthe pix and maps coming.

[HogWild]

Originally Posted by Deadly99

What time of year is best for comfortable temperatures?

Summer is bad due to the heat. Winter doesn't really work because certain parts will be under snow or mud. So, the only options are the gaps between. But some of the more desert stages where snow and mud are not generally issues could be run into the winter months. So depending on the stage, different time periods could apply.

If you think you can do the WHOLE thing in one trip, you might as well go do Dakar instead, because it's about the same difficulty, and in Dakar they at least have helicopters and sweep trucks to quickly pick up your body or your bike.

Originally Posted by Deadly99

Could you zip together a map with strategic locations for the support truck to meet up as well as recommended camp locations that the support truck can get to??

Each roadbook (stage) starts and ends at a strategic "bivouac" location. On many of the stages it would be difficult or impossible to stage anyplace in between. Nearly all the bivouac locations are easily accessible by highway or good dirt road, and are either in town at a motel, or are at campground type locations. The stages with remote bivouacs could be skipped depending on the support available. The locations of the bivouacs will be provided with the roadbooks.

Don’t expect detailed course maps or GPS tracks to be available. As rallies go, the course should not be known except as specified in the roadbooks, which won’t be available until the last possible minute. Generally the roadbooks for one stage are handed out after the previous stage is completed.

Originally Posted by Deadly99

I do like the idea of go arounds for the super tech stuff as well as bail out routes in case someone gets hurt or has a mechanical

Generally each long stage starts near a gas station, passes through a gas station mid-day, and ends near a gas station. Most stages have a couple of crossings of paved roads or highways along the way. For the most part, those pavement crossings will be the bailout points. Given that I try to put lots of hard stuff in as much as possible, an amateur rider skipping all the hard stuff will not get much dirt at all. The bailouts are more for mechanical issues and injuries. In the future I’d like to go through it stage by stage and plan dirt easy way bypasses for the most difficult spots, but that won’t come for a while. In the beginning, those with lesser riding skills should not attempt The Grand Rally, or at least not a lot of it.

One of the main motivators for me putting this route together is to provide challenging rally training roadbooks for Jonah Street, Quinn Cody, and any other top Dakar competitor. To be challenging for those guys, it has to be pretty tough. The Grand Rally is an extremely challenging ride, for hardcore rally racers.

For those looking for a less difficult super cool dual sport adventure ride around the Grand Canyon, I suggest you check out Crawdaddy and Strega’s ride instead. They picked more manageable roads and provided their GPS track file.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=514339
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=514330
http://www.crawdadoffroadevents.com

[BC61]

Originally Posted by HogWild

One of the main motivators for me putting this route together is to provide challenging rally training roadbooks for Jonah Street, Quinn Cody, and any other top Dakar competitor. To be challenging for those guys, it has to be pretty tough. The Grand Rally is an extremely challenging ride, for hardcore rally racers.

Scott, not that I consider myself a top contender but will the routes be available by the end of summer for training rides? Will you be out riding then? My entry is in, just waiting for their response. Thanks again for the great routes in April, had a blast riding with you all.

Bill

[BC61]

Originally Posted by Robb McElroy

Softest sand I've ridden in:

Rob is this anywhere near Coral Pinks Sand Dunes? I friend who is to sand rails just mentioned to me this has the softest sand in the states.

[rufus]

Originally Posted by HogWild

Don’t expect detailed course maps or GPS tracks to be available.

There is a whole shitload of us out here who are past our "training" stage in life. BUT still young enough to want a good long tough ride every once in a while. We don't want to have to study a road book. We like detailed maps and GPS tracks. We have spare money to pay for these things. Quality is more important than price. We have spent tons of money on cruises and vacations to Hawaii, Disneyland etc. A few hundred for good maps and GPS tracks makes for a cheap vacation (comparatively).

Something to think about.

I am full up for this year and probably next year. But 2013 I will be looking for something new and different.