2013 Sandblast Rally - March 2 - SC

[Some Dude]

Originally Posted by rudyunknown

read the pdf from the website...didnt get the answers to these question..

IF I ride this event, it will be my first official rally....how is it for newbies

if i ride the 690, can i still be in a slower group of the adv riders? or maybe at the end of the fast pack, so that i dont get run over

Cars, how many motorcycle have been run over by them....i mean i will be scared to see a 60mph rally car in my rear view...are the roads wide enough?? or are the motorcycles faster?

My experince with sand has been Pine Barrens....did 2-3 PB300 in the last few years.

Support vehicle, why do we need one? i mean this event is for one day (right) are there chances of break down...i have a new well maintained 690....other than tires what else i need to be aware of?

The course is cleared after the last motorcycle to make sure no bikes get run over It's not like Dakar or an endurance rally or even like Baja, so probably the safest possible first moto rally you could enter in those regards.


As far as support goes, you need a base camp at the designated service parking lot and you'll have to have a "service vehicle" registered in order to even park it let alone have someone leap frog the route if you want big pimp'n support (not typical in RallyMoto) Chances are if you have a mechanical or even a flat it can be a rally ender and you'll be riding for fun after that if you manage to fix in a timely manner. If it can't be tie wrapped or duct taped in minutes you'll miss your checks and face a downward spiral competitively speaking, but you can still enjoy the ride!

[Stagehand]

Originally Posted by toro618

Thanks, Stage. To make sure I understand this, I should go ahead and sign up online then wait for NASA to mail me all the paper work to fill out which will include the 2013 membership form and the racing license form?

Good I was going to send you here:

http://www.nasarallysport.com/main/license

[AnyDay]

Originally Posted by rudyunknown

IF I ride this event, it will be my first official rally....how is it for newbies

if i ride the 690, can i still be in a slower group of the adv riders? or maybe at the end of the fast pack, so that i dont get run over

Cars, how many motorcycle have been run over by them....i mean i will be scared to see a 60mph rally car in my rear view...are the roads wide enough?? or are the motorcycles faster?

My experince with sand has been Pine Barrens....did 2-3 PB300 in the last few years.

Support vehicle, why do we need one? i mean this event is for one day (right) are there chances of break down...i have a new well maintained 690....other than tires what else i need to be aware of?

This will be my first SB, too but my husband has done it twice. Very friendly. The Adventure Class is the newbie class, doesn't matter the weight or style of the bike, it just means we can't accumulate points towards a rally season. The other classes are by weight.
It is timed starts, so everyone starts the stage solo. All the bikes go before they start any cars on the stages. Sometimes other bikes will pass you, but then they re-seed (or whatever) at the next stage so you would start after who passed you.

Experts, please fact check me on above. :)

My sand experience is PB300 and out west. Going to try to go to NJ a few times before March to practice.

[rudyunknown]

thanks for the replies...i am getting excited here....

wife and one year old need to be convinced now....i am not entirely sure if this is going to fly....but time for crying begging cribbing and last option bribing

[Stagehand]

You could think of it as a two hundred mile dual sport, with a lot of paperwork.

Mostly, the stages are short enough that there isnt enough time to pass, youre through the stage in a matter of 10-25 minutes, and if the guy behind you would have to be going significantly faster to catch up to you, if you start a full sixty seconds ahead. If your average speeds are with 5 mph of each other, you'd have to go over twenty miles before you made up a full minute on the guy ahead, unless something goes awry like a getoff or wilderness exploration, or run out of gas

Yes you can often re-seed yourself if someone behind you is consistently faster.

Just ride the first one to have fun, and get used to the time cards and volunteers, and see how the whole thing shakes down admistratively. By the end of the day you'll have figured out the deal.

[Entrepre-neer]

Originally Posted by rudyunknown

read the pdf from the website...didnt get the answers to these question..

IF I ride this event, it will be my first official rally....how is it for newbies

if i ride the 690, can i still be in a slower group of the adv riders? or maybe at the end of the fast pack, so that i dont get run over

Cars, how many motorcycle have been run over by them....i mean i will be scared to see a 60mph rally car in my rear view...are the roads wide enough?? or are the motorcycles faster?

My experince with sand has been Pine Barrens....did 2-3 PB300 in the last few years.

Support vehicle, why do we need one? i mean this event is for one day (right) are there chances of break down...i have a new well maintained 690....other than tires what else i need to be aware of?

You don't have to run the ADV class as a newbie. SandBlast was my first RallyMoto so I was seeded near the back but I still got points that counted toward the season total because I signed up in a points class. Since I ran Rally WV as well I was glad that I got those points to count toward the season total. If you end up doing more than one rally you could end up with enough season points to get an overall trophy in your class or for the overall points. Just a thought in case you get bitten by the Rally bug(you probably will).

I didn't bring a support crew last year so my support vehicle stayed in the service area. I basically just stored my gas and food in the car so it was ready any time we had a service break. I had plenty of spare parts and basic tools too. This was handy because stuff tends to loosen up due to the high speed vibration. I also used it to jump my bike the morning of the race because my DRZ battery was dead (every dirt bike should have a kick start....).

[toro618]

Just to help us first timers:

What is a No Motion detector devise? I remember reading about this last year in one of these threads.

Which warning triangle is recommended for easy packing?

Thanks in advance

[Stagehand]

No worries onteh No MOtion, its not a required just a recommended. Just buy a pair of those bicycle LED tailights with the bright flicker option, so we can find you in the woods after dark.

Pep Boys or ADvance Auto or Wallyworld will get you the Triangle.. the standard auto size, 12" or something with the sand in the base, take the sand out of the base

[toro618]

Originally Posted by Stagehand

No worries onteh No MOtion, its not a required just a recommended. Just buy a pair of those bicycle LED tailights with the bright flicker option, so we can find you in the woods after dark.

Pep Boys or ADvance Auto or Wallyworld will get you the Triangle.. the standard auto size, 12" or something with the sand in the base, take the sand out of the base

Thanks. Just one triangle, or 3 of them as stated in the rules?

[Stagehand]

Originally Posted by toro618

Thanks. Just one triangle, or 3 of them as stated in the rules?

3 triangles is for the cars, I think? Bikes only need one.

[Motorfiets]

Originally Posted by Stagehand

take the sand out of the base

YES

[hiawassee]

Originally Posted by rudyunknown

read the pdf from the website...didnt get the answers to these question..

IF I ride this event, it will be my first official rally....how is it for newbies

if i ride the 690, can i still be in a slower group of the adv riders? or maybe at the end of the fast pack, so that i dont get run over

Cars, how many motorcycle have been run over by them....i mean i will be scared to see a 60mph rally car in my rear view...are the roads wide enough?? or are the motorcycles faster?

My experince with sand has been Pine Barrens....did 2-3 PB300 in the last few years.

Support vehicle, why do we need one? i mean this event is for one day (right) are there chances of break down...i have a new well maintained 690....other than tires what else i need to be aware of?

RallyWV '12 was my initiation into RallyMoto. As a newbie I ran the Adventure class, but wasn't necessary. Should've run the Dakar class. Performed well enough (minus the stage 12 get-off which ruined my overall times) to be in Dakar and give Entrepre-neer a run for his money next time .

Support needs are minimal. If you get stuck on the course, there's a sweeper car that comes thru to handle any mishaps and get you moving in the right direction (whether back on course, back to your support crew/fans, or presumably, to the hospital if necessary).

And all the bike competitors are great people. they take care of each other. if someone goes down, word gets relayed along to make sure the downed rider is accounted for. ....just make sure that if you go down, you're visible in some fashion to the other riders. All of this will be covered in the mandatory newbie meeting the night before the race. don't sweat it.

[hiawassee]

good question about how the cars and bikes will run at Sandblast. will we use the same format as we did in WV where the bikes are timed far enough ahead of the cars that there is virtually no possibility of getting mixed in with them?

that was an excellent format....hint hint, Anders.

[AnyDay]

Are all Adventure Class riders seeded behind the other riders?

[Stagehand]

Originally Posted by hiawassee

good question about how the cars and bikes will run at Sandblast. will we use the same format as we did in WV where the bikes are timed far enough ahead of the cars that there is virtually no possibility of getting mixed in with them?

that was an excellent format....hint hint, Anders.

No chance of getting run over by the cars. They run combo cars, like a course sweep, in between the bikes and car groups.