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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 />
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<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