Rally Connex/KTM Canada Nickel Belt Tour, with Scot Harden Sept 3, 4, 2005

[fasteddy]

Hi everyone, below you will find the description of a new and unique event that we at Rally Connex have been working hard to bring to you. As you may know we have been providing two separate routes at all of this years events, a Stock Tire Route for those new to the sport or on big dog bikes and an Aggressive Route for riders with DOT Knobbies and a desire for more of a challenge. The Nickel Belt Aggressive route will provide that for anybody on any street legal dual sport bike, the remoteness of this event is not the only challenge, this events Aggressive Routing will provide a technical challenge for those willing to take it. Also a unique opportunity to ride along side Scot Harden and Bob Bergman presents itself at this event. If you do plan on attending make sure your bike is capable of at least 160 km fuel range, please feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions.

Ed Strohak
Warren Thaxter
Predi Medina

info@rallyconnex.com
http://www.rallyconnex.com/adventure...w/schedule.htm





Nickel Belt Tour, Wahnapitae Ontario
Starting at: Sportmans Lodge
P. O. Box 40
Garson, Ontario, Canada
P3L 1S5
ON, Canada
Tel: 1-877-708-8882

DATE: Sept 3,4, 2005
NOTE: Scot Harden Riding School Sept 2, 2005
http://www.rallyconnex.com/adventure...rdenschool.htm

DESCRIPTION
Up to 250 kilometre ride per day through the rugged Sudbury basin. Saturday Night Program, 2005 Dakar Rally presented by Scot Harden and Bob Bergman. A chase truck on course.

BIKES
This ride was designed for Dual-Sport/Adventure bikes and with a 160 km fuel range plus, and will feature some alternate routing and short-cuts. Stock dual sport tire specific routing will allow this ride to be undertaken with larger KTM 950 & BMW "GS" type motorcycles. NOTE: This ride will be quite 'do-able' on street version Dual Purpose tires if you take the provided routing. Aggressive tires are mandatory for those who want to take aggressive routing.

FEES
This two-day ride will be $80. Please send your cheque along with your entry form to the address on the entry form. Or pay online with PayPal at
http://www.rallyconnex.com/adventure...eentryform.htm

Accommodations
Rooms are available at the start location, the Sportsman Lodge. Rates are as follows.
Sunday thru Thursday nights $65.00 /person/night plus taxes. Friday and Saturday nights $70.00/ person/night plus taxes. These rates include breakfast and dinner each day. Call 1-877-708-8882 to book, mention the Rally Connex Nickel Belt Tour when making your arrangements.
NOTE: do not delay in making your arrangements as rooms are going very fast!!
NOTE: The Sportmans Lodge is close to being booked solid, they are being innovative and will try to supply beds for all, there is still lots of room for tents and RV's!!
If the Lodge fills up additional rooms are available at the Norvic Motel, Call 1-705-694-4818 to book.

[crankshaft]

Hey hey

I'm registered and will be attending. Anyone in the New England area wants to share some hauling expenses I can carry 3 extra Bikes and gear in my van. Any good places to camp close to the start?

Aaron

[fasteddy]

Originally Posted by crankshaft

Hey hey

I'm registered and will be attending. Anyone in the New England area wants to share some hauling expenses I can carry 3 extra Bikes and gear in my van. Any good places to camp close to the start?

Aaron

You can camp right at the start location, call The Sportsman Lodge to book a spot. (1-877-708-8882)

[pieman]

Yippee!

I cannot say how excited I am for this event.

It is too far away. All the way into next month.

[Roaring Horse]

Hi Guys,

Now that it's getting close, I'm looking forward to the Nickel Belt Tour. Believe it or not my first trip to Canada and my first ride in Canada. From what I hear the Rally Connex crew have a really fun event planned. If any of you guys that are signed up for the riding school read this post, drop me a message to say hello and any specific areas you would like to work on as part of the riding school. I'm looking forward to meeting the Canadian Adventure contingent.

I'll be bringing up some of my top secret DVDs from the 05 Dakar along with the special Richard Sainct tribute video that we showe in Ouray at the KTM Adventure Rider Rally. I think everyone will really appreciate these videos. The movie theatre in Ouray was standing room only.

Does anyone have any idea what I should expect in terms of weather? What about insects? Are these a problem this time of year in the area we'll be riding.

That's all for now. Looking forward to seeing all of you in Sudbury

[osteo]

Weather - well if it stays the say it has been over the past few weeks, expect some crazy heat - 30deg C ++ not including the humidity - so closer to 40deg C pretty much every day... - bring a camel bak or some sort of hydration system for youself. No, don't listen to those guys from the States, trust me, there are no igloos at this time of the year!! :)

Insects - bug repellant might be a good idea... I don't think I've seen a grown man carried away by Horse and Deer Fly's but it would not surprise me with this heat and up there in the trees!!! - when I'm riding trails I don't worry about it, you are moving too much, might get bad when we stop, but who knows!

DVD's!!!! - I'm excited... I may bring my laptop and and have a secret meeting with you Roaring Horse!!!

Otherwise, you are headed to a great part of Canada for your first trip - a little rocky up there (Canadian Shield - all rock) but beautiful country! - and seeing as you will be spending time in Montreal - you will get the best of both worlds!! - French women! (seems all the beautiful ladies gravitate to Montreal - as my cousin who lives there says) and then beautiful scenery up north!

Look forward to meeting you - I'm Dennis (Osteo) I'll be on one of the Black 950 Adventures!!!

D

[harpoon]

Originally Posted by Roaring Horse

Hi Guys,

If any of you guys that are signed up read this post, drop me a message to say hello and any specific areas you would really like to work on as part of the riding school. .

Hello. Not falling down. That's what I need to work on.

And how to keep up with Bob. I've got him on the street but not on the dirt...

Looking forward to it.

[grimmboy]

Harpoon falling down, oh that's already here. Rear steering, Flat Tracking and not hitting Harpoon once he's fallen but I think thats already been mentioned.

[Boottrac]

I am thinking of going to the October ride and trailerling the bike up in a box trailer. it is seven hours to get there from Fairfield CT. I could have room for up to four dual sports in the box plus gear. I also have a four door turbo diesel. I will be riding a KTM 450exc, I classify myself as an intermediate rider.
We would split the gas and tolls and motels. Any Takers.

[harpoon]

Originally Posted by grimmboy

Harpoon falling down, oh that's already here. Rear steering, Flat Tracking and not hitting Harpoon once he's fallen but I think thats already been mentioned.

At least I have the courtesy to fall in the ditch. Could there be a session on 'why I don't run over Grannyboy when he falls in the middle of the trail'?

[SST]

Originally Posted by harpoon

At least I have the courtesy to fall in the ditch. Could there be a session on 'why I don't run over Grannyboy when he falls in the middle of the trail'?

Should be fun! Grimmboy likes to fall in the middle of the trail with an audience of 3 or 4 ATV riders watching or in the middle of a three foot deep water hole or right in the middle of a rocky uphill at Peters Mill.

Harpoon just falls anywhere. Snow, mud, rocks, wet leaves, dry pavement... it doesn't matter. Poonie better not fall because he will be riding MY 450 EXC.

Looking forward to the class with Scot , the DVD presentation and of course the great riding.

See y'all (that's Virginian for "all uze guys Aye"?) in September.

[jack splash]

Scott: Can't wait for the Nickle Belt tour, I rode the Round Algonquin Park ride with Rallyconnex the last two years and both were great. Four days of ride, eat, sleep, repeat. I'm a Dakar wannabe and am looking forward to your class and the ride. I'm almost 50 so I don't think I'll ever ride the dakar, (maybe if I win the lottery) but became obsessed with the idea about 25 years ago when I went to europe for a trip. I started to build a bike, a KLR600, but never had the time or money to pull it off. Your DVD's and class should give us an idea what it's really like to be there. I'm interested in things like bike and body prep, gear and just long distance setup tricks.

The Rallyconnex guys, Warren and Ed are good guys and I've had the best rides of my life with them. Looking forward to riding with them and you.

See you in Sudbury.
Jack "Splash" O'Connor

[fasteddy]

Pamela Crich
For The Sudbury Star
What: Rally Connex Nickel Belt Adventure Tour;
Where: begins at the Sportsman Lodge on Kukagami Road;
When: Sept. 2 Scot Harden Riding School, Sept. 3 and 4 motorcycle rally;
How Much: $80 for the ride with additional costs for accommodations if need be.
Call the Sportsman Lodge for room availability at 1-877-708-8882 or visit www.rallyconnex.com to register.

It won't be like the Dakar Rally where motorcycles, cars and trucks race for 21 days across five Eurpean and African countries. But the Sportsman Lodge will help avid riders come close by holding Northern Ontario's first motorcycle rally next month. "This is a whole new sport for us," said lodge manager, Cathy Arlt. "We are very excited to host this event and expect it to grow." A Southern Ontario company, Rally Connex has been offering adventure rides for the last four years but organizers said The Nickel Belt Adventure Tour will be the most challenging and closet riders will get to the Dakar. "This is going to be the toughest two-day motorcycle ride we put on," said co-owner, Ed Strohak. "It's the closet we are going to get (to the Dakar) without the race competition." Not only will next month's rally be without the Dakar competition it will also be without the exhausting heat of the African sun and raging sand storms. Instead, riders will get first-hand experience of Northern Ontario terrain and wilderness. The official rally begins Sept. 3 at the Sportsman Lodge and continues East towards River Valley and loops back to the lodge. On Sept. 4, the riders will travel a similar route but north of Sudbury to Nickel Centre and Capreol and back again. "The Sudbury area is a dream come true," Strohak continued. "It has many trails, remoteness and great scenery. It's a perfect location for these kinds of rides." Strohak and other organizers visited in June to map out the routes the rally will use, and were able to create up to 250 km for each. The routes will take them through old logging roads, crown land and some fields. Each day gives riders a choice of two different routes. "We have one mapped out for regular stock tires and one for more aggressive bikes," Strohak said. "We are going to be in the middle of nowhere riding on less than 5 km of pavement. "The two routes will allow riders to take advantage of their skills and bikes' abilities." Not only will the participants have a map for reference, they will be able to us a global positioning system or GPS, which can be uploaded to their receivers the night before the event or e-mailed to the rider. "If they don't have a GPS they can either follow someone who does, rent one from our limited selection or purchase one through www.gpscentral.com," Strohak said. "But 90 per cent of our riders will already have their own." The event will bring in about 30 to 50 riders from Ontario and other provinces, as well as motorcycle enthusiasts from Missouri and Virginia. Riders have already fully booked up the Sportsman Lodge. Although Strohak has seen interest from a couple of Sudbury riders, he has yet to see anyone from the area register. "People have called, but we had to turn them away because they didn't have licensed motorcycles," Strohak explained. "It's a liability issue because we are not just using dirt bikes. These are street legal machines with long travel suspension and very large gas tanks." Strohak said anyone can participate, as along as they have a licensed, dual-purpose motorcycle - one that can be used on both the street and off-highway. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn from a seasoned American racer - Scot Harden. Harden's career has seen 35 years of racing, including participation in the world-renowned Dakar rally. He is the manager of the Red Bull KTM USA Dakar team and serves as vice-president of media relations for one of North America's top motorcycle manufacturer, KTM. "Scot is a mutli-time winner and it's a privilege to have him teach a few things," Strohak said. "His riding school will teach the fundamentals of riding and takes place the Friday (Sept.2) night which will also include a short ride where he will teach a few tricks." Sept.3 will also see a video presentation of the 2004 Dakar Rally, with Harden and Bob Bergman, fifth Canadian to ever complete the Dakar Rally. Although Strohak said having a rally in Northern Ontario is probably the biggest investment to date, he expects to hold the event annually. "Considering current fuel prices, it's a big investment," he continued. "(But) Northern Ontario and the Sportsman Lodge have welcomed us with open arms. Northern Ontario will soon be the place to be and I hope this is just one rally of many."

[jack splash]

Ed: I'll bring the helmet cam along for the ride. Should get some great clips from the ride. I'll also bring some of the footage from the Round Algonquin Park ride.
Jack

[SST]

Originally Posted by jack splash

Ed: I'll bring the helmet cam along for the ride. Should get some great clips from the ride. I'll also bring some of the footage from the Round Algonquin Park ride.
Jack

That's cool - a helmet cam! Should get some great footage. Just follow Harpoon for a few minutes.

Shipped our knobby tires today to Warren. Grimmboy and I are hoping to make it up there from Virginia on worn out TKC 80s and then we will have fresh knobbies for the class and the ride.

BTW- any suggestions for a "decent" hotel near or at Niagara Falls, NY. ??