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RallyMoto Magazine - Sept/Oct 2021

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<strong>Sept</strong>/<strong>Oct</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />

> ROADBOOK ROOKIES<br />

> ZERO HEROS<br />

> THE DIGITAL DILEMMA<br />

THE<br />

500<br />

500S<br />

ARE BACK!


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

AUTUMN IS FOR<br />

ADVENTURE<br />

RALLYING<br />

WRITTEN BY:<br />

ROBERT HUGHES<br />

The last two months<br />

have seen us go<br />

absolutely mad -<br />

we have set up and run<br />

two Wales 500 events,<br />

completed a Kielder<br />

500 and we are in the<br />

run up to the Dark Skies<br />

Rally, which also has a<br />

night stage. So that’s 4<br />

big events with over 500<br />

participants - Adventure<br />

Rallying is growing fast.<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> will also be doing a full<br />

on trial of its Digital App on a road<br />

based adventure in the Cotswolds<br />

in November. The Ice Breaker<br />

will run for a second year and go<br />

digital in late December, early<br />

January, plus we have booked<br />

the Motorcycle Live show in<br />

December - so head on down and<br />

say “Hi”.<br />

November sees us reccy Portugal,<br />

for the Tour of Portugal 3 day<br />

Adventure Rally planned for 1-3<br />

April 2022 and we should be able<br />

to announce a full calendar for<br />

2022 by December.<br />

3 - 2 - 1 - Goooooooo!<br />

CONTENTS<br />

4 SALISBURY ADVENTURE RALLY<br />

Round 2 results<br />

5 FIRST TIMERS REVEAL ALL<br />

And why they’ll be back!<br />

6 DAVE’S DIRT DISCOVERY<br />

A fresh appetite for offroad Adventure Rallying<br />

8 WALES 500 ADVENTURE RALLY<br />

The long awaited return of the Adventure Spec 500s<br />

15 TALES FROM THE TRAIL<br />

James Eaton and his brother’s not so smooth<br />

journey to zero hero on the Wales 500<br />

16 THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION<br />

Demystifying the dilemma of digital roadbooking<br />

by Jeff Dack<br />

18 RALLY NEWS<br />

UK and abroad.<br />

2<br />

Images &<br />

layout by<br />

3


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

Results<br />

REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TIME?<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

RESULTS ADVERT<br />

SALISBURY ADVENTURE RALLY<br />

ROUND 2<br />

PLACE NAME TOTAL<br />

1 Chris Bickerton 15<br />

2 Simon Henderson 18<br />

3 Andre Mills 20<br />

4 Andrew Yarlett 20<br />

5 Justin Atkinson 25<br />

6 Ian Handley 26<br />

7 Andrew Lewington 26<br />

8 Stuart Gummer 26<br />

9 Steve Holland 33<br />

0 David Smith 33<br />

11 Harvey Camm 38<br />

12 George Henderson 46<br />

13 Albert Wilsher 52<br />

14 Andy Esmond 54<br />

15 Martin Welch 55<br />

16 James Pass 65<br />

17 Dave Campbell 67<br />

18 Keith Woodgate 67<br />

19 Jon Sheppey 78<br />

20 Mark Stanley 92<br />

21 Renaldas Colkevicius 98<br />

22 Richart Eaton 101<br />

23 Thomas Zurawski 121<br />

24 Milosz Weirbicki 143<br />

Ben Robinson<br />

Greg Moss<br />

ADVERT<br />

DNF<br />

DNF<br />

26/08/21<br />

Another stunning day for <strong>RallyMoto</strong>’s<br />

final event at Salisbury Plain for <strong>2021</strong>.<br />

This is where the season of events<br />

kicked off this year with the Pandemic Rally<br />

back in the Spring. Since then we’ve held<br />

numerous events and training days there and<br />

the more we’ve gotten to know the area the more<br />

we love it! There really is a great variety of<br />

riding and some perfect opportunities to include<br />

some really tricky navigation (aka Burt’s trickey<br />

triangles!).<br />

Standby 2022 for more Adventure Rallies in this<br />

offroad haven!<br />

THERE’S SOMETHING PRETTY MEMORABLE ABOUT YOUR FIRST<br />

ROADBOOKING EXPERIENCE. GREG AND MICHELLE SPILL THE<br />

BEANS ON THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE RIDING WITH RALLYMOTO<br />

This was my first rally, I’d seen Rallymoto events<br />

in the past and thought they looked like great<br />

fun, plus I fancied a challenge as I have little<br />

offroad experience. It was also the first time offroading<br />

on my new adventure bike, a KTM 790 Adventure,<br />

so I kind of felt like I’d chucked myself in at the<br />

deep end! However, I’d actually read the roadbook<br />

manual that Burt provides on the website, the night<br />

before, and with a little help from Gabriella and<br />

other riders I actually got into the flow of riding and<br />

navigating surprisingly quickly. The terrain was a<br />

great laugh to ride and it’s strangely satisfying when<br />

you start using the roadbook properly and realise<br />

you’re not getting lost!<br />

I only managed to complete 100km of the course as<br />

my rear shock gave out, but I think I’ve got the bug,<br />

there’s a nice atmosphere to the rallies. Everyone’s<br />

committed, some with serious kit but no one is taking<br />

it too seriously and that’s what I was looking for.<br />

GREG<br />

Salisbury Adventure Rally<br />

My husband did a course a few<br />

weeks ago and he said he<br />

knew that I would love it. I’ve<br />

done off roading before but I’ve never<br />

done the road booking and I have<br />

to say, I’ve had the most fantastic day<br />

and we will definitely be back again. I<br />

brought my friend Emma along and the<br />

two of us had a fabulous day we didn’t<br />

feel intimidated at all, the guys were<br />

really great they didn’t treat us any<br />

differently. I’d say if you want to give it<br />

a go just give it a go don’t worry about<br />

it. We need more ladies to join!<br />

MICHELLE<br />

Adventure Rally Training Day<br />

4<br />

5


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

DIRT<br />

BY DAVE SMITH<br />

I<br />

started riding off-road in March<br />

<strong>2021</strong> - it was something I’d always<br />

wanted to do but never had<br />

the right bike to do it with. Yes, I had<br />

a BMW R1200GS back in 2008 and<br />

what a great bike that was; but I tried<br />

taking it off-road (I.e. gravel) and it<br />

scared the pants off me! Probably not<br />

the bike of choice to start my off-road<br />

experience.<br />

Then I had a Suzuki RS125 (VanVan) for a while and<br />

tried that off road (I.e. grass). Great fun, but not exactly<br />

a very capable off-road bike. More recently I<br />

acquired a Ducati Scrambler as I wanted a physically<br />

smaller bike with loads of power for road riding.<br />

But could it go off road as well? Well, not really. My<br />

lack of experience showed up again as I tried it on<br />

some of the green lanes around were I live and the<br />

weight and ground clearance for me was, to put it<br />

mildly, a struggle.<br />

I have no doubt that many riders will be quietly<br />

laughing to themselves at this point because, yes,<br />

I have seen Scramblers and many, many R1200GS<br />

BMWs in very capable hands off road; and yes they<br />

do make it look very easy. But it my hands - a definite<br />

no!<br />

It was shortly after buying the Ducati that I came<br />

across <strong>RallyMoto</strong> and really fancied doing some of<br />

the events; after all, I’ve had great fun riding the<br />

navigational scatter rallies of the Scottish National<br />

Rally, the Welsh National Rally and the National<br />

Road Rally (ACU English version). Having gained<br />

top awards in all three rallies over the past three<br />

years I was definitely looking for a new challenge<br />

on two wheels and briefly flirted with the idea<br />

of riding the Ducati Scrambler on an Adventure<br />

Canonball and then some 500s. So I tried a few of<br />

the local green lanes and really struggled. And with<br />

no centre stand I couldn’t even begin to<br />

understand how to fix a puncture, let alone do anything<br />

more technical.<br />

However, the off-road ambition still lived on and<br />

some peculiar confluence of thoughts and ideas had<br />

me looking at the Husqvarna website earlier<br />

6<br />

DISCOVERING<br />

AND OFFROAD<br />

ADVENTURE<br />

RALLYING<br />

this year - and that is how I came to buy a KTM 300<br />

EXC back in March! (Confession - I’ve always loved<br />

2-strokes since launching my 2-wheel career on one<br />

in 1976).<br />

And why the 300? - well why not? Bags of power<br />

and masses of low-down grunt - perfick.<br />

So, my first proper off-road experience was in late<br />

March this year; and what a revelation! Terrain that<br />

was previously daunting now became not just possible,<br />

but sometimes downright easy. What a bike!<br />

- as long as you treat the throttle with a modicum of<br />

respect; but then that’s the same with any bike isn’t<br />

it?<br />

After plenty of riding on our local green lanes (no<br />

gravel, just mud, dirt, grass, ruts, narrow woodland,<br />

ditches, plank bridges, etc. etc.) I entered the <strong>RallyMoto</strong><br />

Salisbury Plain Adventure Rally in August.<br />

Possibly not the best place to start with a challenging<br />

roadbook and a challenging course, but I’d<br />

since realised that the Canonballs and 500s were for<br />

bikes in excess of 140kg. Shucks!<br />

If I had any doubts, they were soon gone. What a<br />

fantastic experience! Even after drowning the 300<br />

in an unexpectedly deep bomb-hole/puddle/lake<br />

after 6km of the 171km course!<br />

Two riders stopped to help (thanks Gabby), we got<br />

the air filter wrung out, lifted the bike onto it’s back<br />

wheel to drain out the water and it fired up again<br />

like a good’un. Another experience to pack in the<br />

bag and off again for fame and glory.<br />

And why was the rally so good?<br />

Well, for a start, the events are really well organised,<br />

and have rider safety and a challenging<br />

course at their heart.<br />

Secondly, I do enjoy organising myself and getting<br />

to the start with person and bike ready for<br />

the event.<br />

And last, but not least, the courses are designed<br />

to stretch you in one way or another; so<br />

finishing is a challenge and as we all know, if<br />

it wasn’t hard then it wouldn’t be worth doing.<br />

The event I rode was a pretty tough Adventure<br />

Rally - a course with technical sections suitable<br />

for smaller bikes and off-road tyres; but it’s<br />

not just that that was challenging, it was reading<br />

the roadbook while negotiating the roads,<br />

keeping the odometer on track with the roadbook<br />

and planning for the next few waypoints.<br />

Oh yes, and remembering to eat and drink!<br />

I finished the 171km event very satisfied with<br />

myself and pretty well knackered! Took another<br />

night at the campsite then home the day<br />

after.<br />

What next for me? Well, firstly, keep checking<br />

the <strong>RallyMoto</strong> calendar for the next Adventure<br />

Rally; and secondly, I really like the look of the<br />

500s - big mileages over two days on forestry<br />

roads and tracks; and ride to and from the<br />

event on a suitable bike (I.e. not a KTM 300<br />

EXC) - is it time I chopped in my Ducati Scrambler<br />

for something better suited to off-road but<br />

still capable of eating the miles? Hmm!<br />

DAVE<br />

Salisbury Adventure Rally<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

DID YOU KNOW?<br />

AS A RALLYMOTO<br />

MEMBER, YOU GET A<br />

10% DISCOUNT<br />

ON ALL ITEMS FROM<br />

ADVENTURE SPEC?<br />

SUPPORTING THE COMPANY<br />

THAT SUPPORTS<br />

ADVENTURE RALLYING<br />

7


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The ‘500s’ series is at the core of what really define<br />

‘Adventure Rallying’ for <strong>RallyMoto</strong> - Big miles, big<br />

bikes, big landscapes and a great big weekend of<br />

roadbook navigation.<br />

You can see why we were so excited to get back into it<br />

after the ‘big event’ haitus of 2020! So much so, we ran<br />

the Wales 500 twice; the ‘2020 edition’ out of Llandovery and the ‘<strong>2021</strong><br />

edition’ from Baskerville Hall, near Hay on Wye.<br />

Of course the dynamic riding that Wales has on offer did not<br />

disappoint... With nearly 600kms of scenic backroads and forestry<br />

tracks to enjoy, mystical valleys, mordor-like mountains, fast flowing<br />

fords, far reaching views, fearless sheep and friendly locals... what’s<br />

not to love?<br />

Some traveled from as far as the Netherlands to ride this event which<br />

in itself goes to show that what we have here as far as ‘Adventure<br />

Rally’ riding is developing into something pretty special....<br />

A WARM<br />

WELSH<br />

WELCOME BACK<br />

TO THE<br />

POWERED BY<br />

8<br />

Photos by<br />

Sprocketdog Media<br />

9


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

WALES 500<br />

POWERED BY<br />

ZERO HEROS<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

RIK GRIFFIN<br />

IAN STEVENSON<br />

PAUL ODELL<br />

STEVE FARROW<br />

JULIA HAMLYN<br />

ANDREW YARLETT<br />

DAVE BIXTER<br />

RICHARD COX<br />

- ZERO NAVIGATIONAL ERRORS<br />

- ZERO SPEEDING PENALTIES<br />

ROUND 1 - JULY<br />

ROUND 2 - SEPTEMBER<br />

ANDREW SPRUCE<br />

ADRIAN MEAD<br />

BEN ROBINSON<br />

ZERO HERO<br />

DAVID ST CLAIR<br />

JAMES ALEXANDER<br />

ALAN MAGUIRE<br />

STUART GUMMER<br />

SAM WIGENS<br />

JAMES EATON<br />

TOM EATON<br />

BEN ROGERS<br />

RICHARD PERROTTON<br />

LEE WELLER<br />

10<br />

ALBERT WILLSHER<br />

ANDREW LEWINGTON<br />

PETER LIVSEY<br />

STUART FOX<br />

BLAIR GARRIGAN<br />

JONATHAN CANNING<br />

JONATHAN PAYNE<br />

TOM ANKROM<br />

SCOTT STEVENS<br />

JOE RYDER<br />

ANDY BATES<br />

JOHN WRIGHT<br />

GEORGE HENDERSON<br />

11


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The Wales 500<br />

After a successful and extremely enjoyable couple<br />

of weekends at the Wales 500 we owe a<br />

few shout outs to those we couldn’t have done<br />

it without... Our superhero ambassador team who<br />

kept an eye on things out on the trails and managed<br />

logistics and admin back at base, the Extreme Medics<br />

team for swiftly seeing to anyone in need of medical<br />

attention, the awesome venues, Llandovery rugby<br />

club and Baskerville Hall who made us feel so very<br />

welcome, Welsh forestry for unlocking the gates to<br />

some supreme adventure riding trails and of course<br />

the members of <strong>RallyMoto</strong>.<br />

Remember your membership not only gives you<br />

access to ride these events, but it supports the entire<br />

sport of Adventure Rallying and allows us to keep<br />

putting on bigger and better roadbooking events into<br />

the future.<br />

The Wales 500 is one of our favourite events to run,<br />

and based on the feedback from riders it seems that<br />

you guys had a pretty good time riding it. May 2022<br />

continue to bring us more opportunities to ride in this<br />

beautiful part of the UK, get fat on welsh cakes and<br />

rescue a few stuck sheep along the way!<br />

12<br />

13


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

It doesn’t rain in Wales.<br />

It never rains in Kielder.<br />

Honest.<br />

But just in case.<br />

The Singletrack Jacket has a<br />

hydrostatic head of 28,000mm.<br />

(That’s very waterproof)<br />

It’s super breathable too.<br />

(With big underarm zip vents)<br />

Because you know,<br />

it never rains but it pours.<br />

TRAIL TALES<br />

FROM<br />

JAMES EATON DESCRIBES HIS<br />

WALES 500<br />

The <strong>Sept</strong>ember Wales 500 event was<br />

our second roadbook event with<br />

Rallymoto. We had ridden the Tour<br />

of Wales the previous year without any<br />

issues or hitches and so, we had expected<br />

to sail through this without a hitch. Oh how<br />

wrong we were!<br />

Arriving on Friday evening at the Baskerville<br />

Hall Hotel, we checked in, collected<br />

our roadbooks and settled in for an<br />

evening of colouring in and chatting with<br />

our fellow riders. Most of Saturday went by<br />

with relative ease, the roadbook navigation<br />

is always a fun challenge, and getting<br />

to use the private forestry tracks through<br />

the Welsh hill is just brilliant.<br />

About halfway through the first day, my<br />

brother, riding an Africa Twin,sheared off<br />

his right footpeg bracket. Disaster!<br />

WALES<br />

The following morning didn’t<br />

bring us any better fortunes,<br />

we had a flat front tyre. With<br />

help from some fellow riders,<br />

we got it changed quickly, but<br />

with a pinch flat in the tube, so<br />

had to do it a second time!<br />

We just about managed to get<br />

away before getting a DNS,<br />

and eventually caught up with<br />

riders that had helped us. This<br />

time, they had a flat front tyre,<br />

but we were on hand to help as<br />

we had our tools and a tube on<br />

the road with us, allowing them<br />

to carry on with the day.<br />

Somehow we made it back<br />

to the finish line on Sunday<br />

and even more miraculously,<br />

managed to pick up 0 penalty<br />

points, netting us some Zero<br />

Hero trophies. But the real victory<br />

was to ride with such such<br />

a helpful bunch of riders, and<br />

the Rallymoto team.<br />

We struggled on and finished the day,<br />

albeit rather uncomfortably as he could no<br />

longer stand up in the rough sections. The<br />

Rallymoto support crew were great and<br />

tried a repair, but there was no bonding<br />

the peg.<br />

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^<br />

Dave Campbell<br />

getting all splashy<br />

14<br />

15


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

16<br />

Rally Roadbook<br />

GOING DIGITAL<br />

THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF<br />

DISCUSSION ABOUT RALLYMOTO<br />

GOING DIGITAL AND THE<br />

FRUSTRATIONS THAT IS<br />

CAUSING THOSE WHO HAVE<br />

INVESTED HEAVILY IN FULL ON<br />

POWERED PAPER ROADBOOK<br />

KITS. I THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH<br />

REFLECTING ON THE TWO<br />

SYSTEMS.<br />

After only my first event I went out and<br />

invested in a full F2R powered paper<br />

Roadbook kit and GPS ICO and I have no<br />

complaints. The Tupperware options are a<br />

great cheap way to get started and to find out whether<br />

it’s for you or not. In truth, there is no real need for<br />

a powered set up; I you take your time with preparation<br />

of loading the Roadbook into the Tupperware<br />

version and some care when winding on they generally<br />

work well. They do struggle a bit when it’s a<br />

long Roadbook, but the <strong>RallyMoto</strong> events are meant<br />

to be fun, they are not full on races, but an opportunity<br />

to get people riding their Adventure bikes on<br />

routes they would not otherwise have been used,<br />

with plenty of opportunities to ride Green Lanes.<br />

There is plenty of time to manage your Roadbook<br />

manually en route.<br />

That said the powered Roadbook kit is just so smooth<br />

and simple.<br />

It’s a great treat to be able to push or pull the toggle<br />

switch to roll the Roadbook forward or backwards<br />

when on the move. It’s especially handy if you have<br />

to jump a section when a road closure forces a route<br />

change, or more likely to wind backwards when<br />

retracing your steps after a navigation error. There<br />

will always be a place for the simplicity of the paper<br />

Roadbooks for sometime to come. Indeed, Rallly-<br />

Moto are still investing in new printers and ways of<br />

producing good quality paper Roadbook for future<br />

events.<br />

However, not everyone wants to invest the high<br />

sums of money for a powered Roadbook they will<br />

only use occasionally. Indeed, many still use a<br />

mobile phone as an ICO, using the various software<br />

apps out there. Plus we all want more opportunities<br />

to ride. Running a full on Roadbook event takes a<br />

huge amount of planning and logistics. Therefore,<br />

in order to provide more opportunities, especially<br />

during Covid, when it was a case of needing to be<br />

able to get out their quickly when the opportunities<br />

arose, the <strong>RallyMoto</strong> concept of Rally in a box was<br />

born.. That has led to the development of the digital<br />

Roadbook. In truth, <strong>RallyMoto</strong> were not the first, and<br />

others have been offering digital Roadbook options<br />

for a while.<br />

I would add that I didn’t buy this kit because of the<br />

digital Roadbook, but because I wanted to set up<br />

some different digital mapping for future trips I am<br />

planning. Therefore, do consider that as well.<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> have invested in building their own app<br />

which is very slick. It provides the usual trip meter,<br />

CAP heading, speed and clock all in the one app.<br />

Additionally, it has a stop watch function, allowing<br />

you to check your time through timed stages. The<br />

roadbook is clearly displayed on the same page and<br />

is you simply scroll through it using your finger. You<br />

can currently run the app on any Android device and<br />

the IOS version is coming soon once the development<br />

work is completed on Android.<br />

Do note you will need a SIM card to download and<br />

run the app. Plus the app provides tracking for<br />

safety. The app uses very little data, over 4 routes,<br />

plus using other maps, including Google maps and<br />

Alpine Quest, I used less than 2gb of data over 10<br />

days.<br />

DIGITAL ROADBOOKING<br />

The ideal platform is probably a 7” tablet. This allows<br />

a good sized Roadbook view to be enable you<br />

to read everything clearly, including the extra information<br />

on the road book, with relative ease, whilst<br />

on the move. There are various ways of mounting<br />

the tablet to your bike from cheap cases available<br />

on eBay, to powered RAM Mounts cases. You can of<br />

course run the digital Roadbook on a Smartphone,<br />

but only you can decide what size screen will work<br />

best with your eyesight.<br />

On a recent tour of the UK Burt asked me to test out<br />

several of the Ice Breaker routes. I chose a Samsung<br />

Tab Active 3 7” tablet, partly because I got offered<br />

a good deal, but the cheaper Samsung tablets have<br />

proven to work just as well. In fact, talking battery<br />

life the cheaper tablet seems to last a bit longer. On<br />

my first use I wasn’t paying attention to battery life<br />

and had forgotten my charge cable, so it was bit of a<br />

pain when the tablet died mid afternoon about two<br />

thirds of the way through the route. I discovered the<br />

screen display was on max brightness and I had another<br />

app in the background that was also eating up<br />

some of the power. Fixing those two issues resulted<br />

in the tablet surviving the whole duration of future<br />

routes. Although, I did have a charge cable on hand<br />

too.<br />

In addition, I used a Ulefone Armor 8 Rugged phone<br />

this has a large 5.5 inch display and a phenomenal<br />

battery life. That was my life saver, or should I say,<br />

route saviour when the tablet died on day one. I had<br />

bought this as a back up ICO for the paper Roadbook<br />

setup, but it worked extremely well with the<br />

digital Roadbook app. Yes some of the info text was<br />

too small for me to read, but other people might<br />

cope ok, but I could read all the important data.<br />

Running the two Roadbooks side by side was an<br />

interesting exercise. Using either device was really<br />

easy. I didn’t miss the toggle switch as it was very<br />

quick and easy to scroll the screens using my fingertip.<br />

One thing to note, watch out when the trip gets to<br />

100k. On the Ulefone the app stops tracking the<br />

mileage and needs a quick reset to zero. Whereas<br />

the Samsung tablet kept going, so learn how your<br />

device works at 100k, or you could find yourself<br />

losing track of your distance. I believe this to be<br />

device specific and not an issue with app.<br />

Do remember you will need screen sensitive<br />

gloves! That is one issue I have found with using any<br />

gear on the bike with touch screens, some gloves<br />

are better than others. Some gloves lack dexterity<br />

in the way they have applied the touch sensitivity,<br />

so do try out any gloves before you commit. Some<br />

work, but only just, and others are just too bulky in<br />

the finger tip.<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

The digital Roadbook is very clear and bright and,<br />

to be honest, after a while I found very little difference<br />

to using the paper version. In many respects<br />

it was a lot easier. That’s not to say we should all<br />

throw away our paper Roadbook holders, there a<br />

real sense of being in Rally with that set up, but the<br />

digital Roadbooks provide an opportunity for more<br />

riding, for more people at times that suit ourselves.<br />

Things to consider if going down the digital Roadbook<br />

route:<br />

Which device – buy the one that best suits your<br />

budget, but do ensure it can survive a rainy day.<br />

Note it must be Android.<br />

Tablet or phone – the tablet is definitely easier to<br />

read, but if you have reasonable eyesight you can<br />

probably stay by with a larger smartphone to get<br />

started.<br />

Mounts – a bit of a personal choice, but I would<br />

highly recommend the Ram Mount cases<br />

Power – you need to ensure you have a backup<br />

power supply. I found it effective just to use a battery<br />

pack into a tank bag, since I don’t have a USB<br />

port on my bike<br />

Gloves – find gloves that have dexterity and finesse<br />

in the contact patches to work with your device.<br />

One other point, do note the App currently does not<br />

support any Bluetooth switch to enable scrolling, so<br />

don’t waste your money on those just yet.<br />

My kit:<br />

Samsung Active Tab 3<br />

Ram Mount Active Tab 3 case<br />

Charging cable<br />

Battery pack as backup<br />

Ulefone Armour 8 Smartphone<br />

Ram mount large phone holder<br />

Rev IT Sand 4 gloves<br />

KTM Enduro neoprene gloves for wet<br />

weather – not 100% waterproof, but<br />

the connectivity is excellent<br />

Does this all make your paper Roadbook holders redundant,<br />

certainly not yet, or for any time soon. Is it<br />

worth having both options, absolutely! This will give<br />

us more variety and more options to ride.<br />

Written By<br />

Jeff Dack<br />

17


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

Rally News<br />

Tips & Tricks<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

INTERNATIONAL<br />

UK<br />

Coming up at the end of <strong>Oct</strong>ober is the<br />

much anticipated, brand new event by<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> - The Dark Skies Adventure<br />

Rally. The format has had a rework<br />

and instead of traveling to Kielder<br />

for a single evening of roadbooking,<br />

instead riders have the choice of two<br />

classes offering more riding over a full<br />

weekend.<br />

Adventure Class will ride during<br />

daytime only on both days. Similar<br />

to the Kielder 500 it will be simple<br />

navigation and mellow terrain.<br />

Rally Class participants will join the<br />

riders on the day routes, but also ride an<br />

additional night stage in between them,<br />

with more challenging navigation and<br />

more technical terrain.<br />

What better way to spend halloween<br />

than deep in the deep dark wilderness<br />

of Kielder Forest!<br />

18<br />

The Greece Rally returned in <strong>2021</strong> with a new<br />

location and a new name. Previously called the<br />

‘Serres Rally’, this year the event was run in the<br />

region of Veria, with new routes and different<br />

terrain to challenge the riders. This rally offers<br />

something for all level of riders, and welcomes<br />

both seasoned rally riders and newcomers alike.<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong> member George Dennison, owner of<br />

MotoDen in London, scored himself 3rd place in<br />

his class and 10th overall.<br />

Well done George!<br />

Greece rally was a particular novelty as I<br />

used Flynn’s KTM 250. Loved it. Have always<br />

been a Honda man. I just try to not get lost and<br />

not crash. I’m not particularly fast but I seem to<br />

be good at being consistent. Enjoyed the Hellas<br />

and Greece this year. Hope to do Transanatolia<br />

next year. Love doing the rallies.<br />

- George Dennison<br />

2 CLASSES - MORE RIDING - BIGGER CHALLENGE<br />

ARE YOU READY TO LIGHT UP THE NIGHT?<br />

FIRST ON THE<br />

SCENE?<br />

WHAT TO CARRY....<br />

You may have seen the wonderful Extreme Medics Team out on the course<br />

at <strong>RallyMoto</strong> events. They are trained first responders and are there to give<br />

medical attention wherever it’s needed, however on a long course through<br />

remote wilderness areas there may be a time when you find yourself the first on<br />

the scene of an accident. In these instances it may be very useful to<br />

be carrying certain items which will help to secure the area,<br />

attract attention, keep the injured person comfortable and<br />

hydrated, call for assistance, and even provide some basic<br />

first aid.<br />

Here’s a short list of some basic items you may want to<br />

consider adding to your rally pack:<br />

• Whistle<br />

• Location Marker<br />

• Food/drink<br />

• First Aid Kit<br />

• Lighting<br />

• Comms kit<br />

Excerpt from the chapter on safety equipment<br />

from Dot and Jim Jones’s book<br />

‘Dakar - the Challenge of the Desert’<br />

“ The list of smaller safety items is long and<br />

includes the following. A cigarette lighter, for<br />

setting fire to a tyre for use as a distress beacon,<br />

a strobe light, a torch and three smoke flares.<br />

More obvious ones are a compass, distress<br />

mirror, survival blankets, powerful horns and, for<br />

cars, a seat belt cutter. All vehicles have to carry<br />

five litres of water per person in addition to any<br />

drinking water also carried...”<br />

It’s also important to share and discuss<br />

what and why you carry certain items with<br />

fellow riders. Share the learnings and have<br />

discussions with others over a pint the bar<br />

or whilst prepping in the paddock. The<br />

sharing of information helps massively to<br />

reduce risks, so don’t be shy to chat about it!<br />

19


<strong>RallyMoto</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

@rallymotouk<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong>: Adventure<br />

Rally & Roadbook<br />

Challenges<br />

<strong>RallyMoto</strong>: Rally &<br />

Adventure Riding<br />

by Roadbook Group<br />

THANKYOU<br />

To all <strong>RallyMoto</strong> members for providing<br />

their continued support and for taking part in<br />

promoting Adventure Rallying in the UK.<br />

Thanks to Dave, Michelle, Greg, Jeff and James for<br />

their contributions.<br />

And to our partners and sponsors...<br />

If you have any rally stories or news you’d<br />

like to contribute to the magazine please<br />

email Burt on robert@rallymoto.co.uk<br />

20<br />

rallymoto.co.uk<br />

rallymoto.co.uk

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