My wife and I started watching the Dakar Rally again this winter and now we're obsessed with Rally Raids.
Rally Raids were first started in the 1970s, as a form of long-distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. Racers don't compete head to head, but leave in staggered intervals, and their individual time is calculated based on when they start and finish. Then the times each day are added up, and the shortest overall time wins the Rally Raid.
The unique feature of Rally Raids is that navigation is done solely via a Roadbook, a series of waypoints originally printed on a roll of paper. Each waypoint has the distance from the last waypoint, the compass heading of the turn, as well as a small picture of the route plus any additional notes on features or hazards.
Russ is a member of our local off-road forum, and he organizes an annual Introduction to Rally Racing, where you can learn how to navigate by Roadbook. His day job is running a campground for kids in the summer and our entrance fee helps to pay for disadvantaged youths who can't afford to go to camp. A very worthy cause.
The Roadbook is published a day before the Rally begins. This is to prevent someone from "pre-running" the route and programming the trail in their GPS. Nowadays, the Roadbook is in electronic format, and there are tons of Rally Racing apps that run on smartphones or tablets that save you from having to manually scroll through the printed paper directions.
However, I wanted to experience what the original rally racers went through, with no electronic devices to aid their navigation, so I bought a cheap Roadbook Holder ($30), printed the Roadbook out in sheets of paper, and went about cutting and pasting the sheets into a roll. You know it's old school when cutting and pasting involves paper, scissors and scotch tape, and not CTRL-X/Ctrl-P...
Stuff the printed roll into the Roadbook Holder
Had to lube the roller mechanism really well. If one of the rollers gets stuck, the paper will rip as I turn the other knob.
The Rally is a short one, only two days, and covers about 150 kms/day. The end of Stage 1 is at Russ' camp and the kids all vacate by 3:30PM, leaving the entire campground available to the Rally participants. Then we get to sleep in the same cabins that the kids use. Technically, this is not a race, the only stipulation is to arrive *after* 3:30PM, so we don't run over any kids.
Our day starts super-early, as we gather our local riding group and head to the beginning of Stage 1. I guess you could call this the "Liason Stage" in Rally parlance, as this an untimed section, meant to relocate the racers to the start of the timed section. The beginning of Stage 1 is located just past Merritt, on the Coquihalla Highway, about 2 hours away from the Okanagan. We all trailer our bikes there, since we're coming from so far.
All the bikes unloaded, ready to go!
It's a bit of an undramatic start, as we begin in a small primitive campsite just off the highway. No opening ceremonies, or welcome booths, or spectators, or TV cameras...
Since the route is so far away, none of us Okies have ever ridden here before. We decide to band together as a group because Rally Racing is new to us, and we figured the more eyes we have on the Roadbook, the better it might be to keep us on the right track.
We start at 10:30AM, which should give us plenty of time to complete Stage 1...?
Right off the bat, the trail turns off into a steep, rocky and rutted uphill climb. OMG! Is the entire route like this?!?
The 3:30PM arrival time now seems terribly optimistic...
Our first turn point is at the top of the hill, and it's at this point I realize I'm going to face serious troubles over the next two days.
My biggest problem is that the triptometer on my bike is waaaay off. The waypoint on the Roadbook is at 1.49 kms, yet my tripto reads 1.2 kms. That's a huuuuge variance. Also, my tripto only reads in tenths of a km and some of the waypoints are marked with two significant digits of accuracy. Ugh...
So now I have to do math in my head and account for the discrepancy between the Roadbook and my triptometer...
Our turn point leads to a more level trail, thank god. We get time to gather ourselves and motor onwards.
Chasing Neda down
Neda and I are the slowest riders of the group, so we hang back while the faster guys race up ahead and meet us at each waypoint. Being in the back means we get plenty of roost and we're constantly riding through a dust cloud. I have a feeling I'll be eating a lot of Sand-wiches on this ride...
Some of the more open sections are fast-paced and makes me believe again that we'll finish the stage at a reasonable time. Maybe not 3:30PM though...
I figure out my triptometer problem. The Roadbook has the total mileage for each waypoint, but also lists "kms since last waypoint". So what I do at each waypoint is to zero out my tripto. This way, the margin of error doesn't grow too large over that short a distance. However, this means having to hold down my tripto button for what seems like an eternity, while the group ahead races on to the next waypoint. I'm okay riding with one hand, but I also have to manually turn the knobs on my Roadbook holder, while the other guys just swipe up on their smartphones. So I'm wobbling around all over the trail because the Roadbook is on my right handlebar and I have to use my left hand...
Ugh, whose bright idea was it to go Old School??!?
Like my Roost-ache?
At one of the turn points, the group leader makes a turn that doesn't jibe with my Roadbook. At first, I thought maybe it was my tripto error creeping up again, but I'm positive we've made a wrong turn. So now, me, one of the slowest riders has to chase down the fast charging group leader to make my concerns known. Thankfully I reach them without going too far and we have a little chat and pour over the charts. Turns out I'm right, and we double back to the last waypoint.
This brings up another issue with navigating by Roadbook. If you get lost, you have to go back to the last known good waypoint to synchronize your triptometer again. This is fine if you're one waypoint off, but if you've messed up several in a row, you have to go all the way back to reset your tripto. I remember watching the Dakar guys go around in circles in the desert wondering what they were doing. Now I have a better idea what they were going through!
Interesting! Annoying. But interesting!
One of the "features" on the Roadbook is this big puddle
Neda decides to go right through it but hits a rock hidden below and down she goes.
Although the puddle presents a challenge, it's actually good that it's marked because now we know we're on the right track.
Making sure the bike hasn't taken in too much water
I've been running the Mosko Moto Reckless 40L panniers since the start of the season. We got Neda a smaller Tusk Excursion pannier set, a bit smaller at 30L, but she's loving the fact she can carry her own gear now. It's well made, and although it doesn't have as many features as the Mosko, it's also less than half the price as well!
We're packing pretty light this time out: just a sleeping bag and pillow, a change of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste. We're toying with the idea of doing longer distances with our Enduros, so this overnight jaunt is a good test of that.
About an hour into the Rally, we hit Bob's Lake and stop for a rest and a snack.
All smiles at Bob's Lake. We're really enjoying this Rally Riding
Menza goes for a little dip in the lake
Time's a tickin', so off we go! We hit a variety of terrain and features and in my head, I'm commending Russ on having planned such a diverse and engaging ride. To think, that he created the Roadbook from scratch by riding this route and picking which waypoints to include on the roll.
I'm getting the hang of this navigating by Roadbook now. I reset my tripto regularly, plus account for the tiny variance between waypoints. I can see now having a digital Roadbook with a highly accurate GPS-based triptometer is hugely beneficial to Rally racing. It saves so much time and decreases the chances of navigational error.
There are other riders running the Rally. We've run into a few of already. Most of the time, they're lost and doubling back, or stopped to decipher cryptic directions on the Roadbook. It's kind of funny, although this isn't a real race, some of the other riders are reluctant to share information with us, or don't trust us when we tell them we made a wrong turn and go down the same way we came from anyway.
I remember watching the Dakar and this definitely happened as well - when a bunch of the top racers all banded together, and they *ALL* went the wrong way, meanwhile the winner of that stage turned out to be a lone rider who happened to read the Roadbook correctly.
So interesting!!!
Another "feature". A makeshift log bride over a small creek
The group ahead of us had to fashion a bridge using some logs that were laying over the creek. They were helping each other push their bike across.
Pfft. Amatuers.
We fixed the bridge so it was a lot more stable, so we could ride our bikes across instead
Ride smarter. Not Harder!
Too much dust, the rollers on my Roadbook holder get jammed and I have to use both hands to scroll now. Fug.
At each stop, everyone has to wait for me as I hold down my tripto button for like 30 seconds to reset it, and also painstakingly roll my Roadbook with two hands to the next waypoint. This manual stuff stinks. I'm totally going digital the next time.
Our lead rider's roadbook setup. Kelly is running the Roadbook SW on a cheap $100 tablet from Amazon
The SW is so slick, and the tablet is so much easier to read than a 6 cm wide strip of paper. The display shows you the compass heading (something which I am missing totally), as well as the option to create a variance offset if you notice that either the Roadbook or your tripto isn't calibrated correctly. Also, you can adjust the mileage manually to account for wrong turns, and of course, Bluetooth buttons on the left handlebar so you can scroll up and down, and reset the triptometer without taking your hands off the grips.
So cool!
Having the slickest Roadbook setup doesn't guarantee you'll make the right turns all the time...
We got lost in the bush a few times, even with so many eyes on the Roadbook.
No beating around the bush! Even when we're lost, we had a ton of fun!
Finally we reach our destination. Team Okanagan reaches Camp Silver Lake!
And we're only a couple of hours late. Plus an extra 20 kms tacked onto the mileage because of wrong turns. LOL!
Russ greets us and asks us if we had any problems. Turns out a few riders also misinterpreted the Roadbook at the same spots that we did. More riders stream in, I'm glad we weren't the last. About 40 people participated in total.
The camp's kitchen staff has prepared us an deliciously excellent gourmet meal, and we sit down at the mess hall and wolf everything down greedily. A couple of beers later, we're all bench-racing around the campfire, sharing funny stories of things that happened to us on the trails.
What a most excellent way to end our first day of Rally Raid riding!
Day 2 up next.
Rally Raids were first started in the 1970s, as a form of long-distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. Racers don't compete head to head, but leave in staggered intervals, and their individual time is calculated based on when they start and finish. Then the times each day are added up, and the shortest overall time wins the Rally Raid.
The unique feature of Rally Raids is that navigation is done solely via a Roadbook, a series of waypoints originally printed on a roll of paper. Each waypoint has the distance from the last waypoint, the compass heading of the turn, as well as a small picture of the route plus any additional notes on features or hazards.
Russ is a member of our local off-road forum, and he organizes an annual Introduction to Rally Racing, where you can learn how to navigate by Roadbook. His day job is running a campground for kids in the summer and our entrance fee helps to pay for disadvantaged youths who can't afford to go to camp. A very worthy cause.
The Roadbook is published a day before the Rally begins. This is to prevent someone from "pre-running" the route and programming the trail in their GPS. Nowadays, the Roadbook is in electronic format, and there are tons of Rally Racing apps that run on smartphones or tablets that save you from having to manually scroll through the printed paper directions.
However, I wanted to experience what the original rally racers went through, with no electronic devices to aid their navigation, so I bought a cheap Roadbook Holder ($30), printed the Roadbook out in sheets of paper, and went about cutting and pasting the sheets into a roll. You know it's old school when cutting and pasting involves paper, scissors and scotch tape, and not CTRL-X/Ctrl-P...
Stuff the printed roll into the Roadbook Holder
Had to lube the roller mechanism really well. If one of the rollers gets stuck, the paper will rip as I turn the other knob.
The Rally is a short one, only two days, and covers about 150 kms/day. The end of Stage 1 is at Russ' camp and the kids all vacate by 3:30PM, leaving the entire campground available to the Rally participants. Then we get to sleep in the same cabins that the kids use. Technically, this is not a race, the only stipulation is to arrive *after* 3:30PM, so we don't run over any kids.
Our day starts super-early, as we gather our local riding group and head to the beginning of Stage 1. I guess you could call this the "Liason Stage" in Rally parlance, as this an untimed section, meant to relocate the racers to the start of the timed section. The beginning of Stage 1 is located just past Merritt, on the Coquihalla Highway, about 2 hours away from the Okanagan. We all trailer our bikes there, since we're coming from so far.
All the bikes unloaded, ready to go!
It's a bit of an undramatic start, as we begin in a small primitive campsite just off the highway. No opening ceremonies, or welcome booths, or spectators, or TV cameras...
Since the route is so far away, none of us Okies have ever ridden here before. We decide to band together as a group because Rally Racing is new to us, and we figured the more eyes we have on the Roadbook, the better it might be to keep us on the right track.
We start at 10:30AM, which should give us plenty of time to complete Stage 1...?
Right off the bat, the trail turns off into a steep, rocky and rutted uphill climb. OMG! Is the entire route like this?!?
The 3:30PM arrival time now seems terribly optimistic...
Our first turn point is at the top of the hill, and it's at this point I realize I'm going to face serious troubles over the next two days.
My biggest problem is that the triptometer on my bike is waaaay off. The waypoint on the Roadbook is at 1.49 kms, yet my tripto reads 1.2 kms. That's a huuuuge variance. Also, my tripto only reads in tenths of a km and some of the waypoints are marked with two significant digits of accuracy. Ugh...
So now I have to do math in my head and account for the discrepancy between the Roadbook and my triptometer...
Our turn point leads to a more level trail, thank god. We get time to gather ourselves and motor onwards.
Chasing Neda down
Neda and I are the slowest riders of the group, so we hang back while the faster guys race up ahead and meet us at each waypoint. Being in the back means we get plenty of roost and we're constantly riding through a dust cloud. I have a feeling I'll be eating a lot of Sand-wiches on this ride...
Some of the more open sections are fast-paced and makes me believe again that we'll finish the stage at a reasonable time. Maybe not 3:30PM though...
I figure out my triptometer problem. The Roadbook has the total mileage for each waypoint, but also lists "kms since last waypoint". So what I do at each waypoint is to zero out my tripto. This way, the margin of error doesn't grow too large over that short a distance. However, this means having to hold down my tripto button for what seems like an eternity, while the group ahead races on to the next waypoint. I'm okay riding with one hand, but I also have to manually turn the knobs on my Roadbook holder, while the other guys just swipe up on their smartphones. So I'm wobbling around all over the trail because the Roadbook is on my right handlebar and I have to use my left hand...
Ugh, whose bright idea was it to go Old School??!?
Like my Roost-ache?
At one of the turn points, the group leader makes a turn that doesn't jibe with my Roadbook. At first, I thought maybe it was my tripto error creeping up again, but I'm positive we've made a wrong turn. So now, me, one of the slowest riders has to chase down the fast charging group leader to make my concerns known. Thankfully I reach them without going too far and we have a little chat and pour over the charts. Turns out I'm right, and we double back to the last waypoint.
This brings up another issue with navigating by Roadbook. If you get lost, you have to go back to the last known good waypoint to synchronize your triptometer again. This is fine if you're one waypoint off, but if you've messed up several in a row, you have to go all the way back to reset your tripto. I remember watching the Dakar guys go around in circles in the desert wondering what they were doing. Now I have a better idea what they were going through!
Interesting! Annoying. But interesting!
One of the "features" on the Roadbook is this big puddle
Neda decides to go right through it but hits a rock hidden below and down she goes.
Although the puddle presents a challenge, it's actually good that it's marked because now we know we're on the right track.
Making sure the bike hasn't taken in too much water
I've been running the Mosko Moto Reckless 40L panniers since the start of the season. We got Neda a smaller Tusk Excursion pannier set, a bit smaller at 30L, but she's loving the fact she can carry her own gear now. It's well made, and although it doesn't have as many features as the Mosko, it's also less than half the price as well!
We're packing pretty light this time out: just a sleeping bag and pillow, a change of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste. We're toying with the idea of doing longer distances with our Enduros, so this overnight jaunt is a good test of that.
About an hour into the Rally, we hit Bob's Lake and stop for a rest and a snack.
All smiles at Bob's Lake. We're really enjoying this Rally Riding
Menza goes for a little dip in the lake
Time's a tickin', so off we go! We hit a variety of terrain and features and in my head, I'm commending Russ on having planned such a diverse and engaging ride. To think, that he created the Roadbook from scratch by riding this route and picking which waypoints to include on the roll.
I'm getting the hang of this navigating by Roadbook now. I reset my tripto regularly, plus account for the tiny variance between waypoints. I can see now having a digital Roadbook with a highly accurate GPS-based triptometer is hugely beneficial to Rally racing. It saves so much time and decreases the chances of navigational error.
There are other riders running the Rally. We've run into a few of already. Most of the time, they're lost and doubling back, or stopped to decipher cryptic directions on the Roadbook. It's kind of funny, although this isn't a real race, some of the other riders are reluctant to share information with us, or don't trust us when we tell them we made a wrong turn and go down the same way we came from anyway.
I remember watching the Dakar and this definitely happened as well - when a bunch of the top racers all banded together, and they *ALL* went the wrong way, meanwhile the winner of that stage turned out to be a lone rider who happened to read the Roadbook correctly.
So interesting!!!
Another "feature". A makeshift log bride over a small creek
The group ahead of us had to fashion a bridge using some logs that were laying over the creek. They were helping each other push their bike across.
Pfft. Amatuers.
We fixed the bridge so it was a lot more stable, so we could ride our bikes across instead
Ride smarter. Not Harder!
Too much dust, the rollers on my Roadbook holder get jammed and I have to use both hands to scroll now. Fug.
At each stop, everyone has to wait for me as I hold down my tripto button for like 30 seconds to reset it, and also painstakingly roll my Roadbook with two hands to the next waypoint. This manual stuff stinks. I'm totally going digital the next time.
Our lead rider's roadbook setup. Kelly is running the Roadbook SW on a cheap $100 tablet from Amazon
The SW is so slick, and the tablet is so much easier to read than a 6 cm wide strip of paper. The display shows you the compass heading (something which I am missing totally), as well as the option to create a variance offset if you notice that either the Roadbook or your tripto isn't calibrated correctly. Also, you can adjust the mileage manually to account for wrong turns, and of course, Bluetooth buttons on the left handlebar so you can scroll up and down, and reset the triptometer without taking your hands off the grips.
So cool!
Having the slickest Roadbook setup doesn't guarantee you'll make the right turns all the time...
We got lost in the bush a few times, even with so many eyes on the Roadbook.
No beating around the bush! Even when we're lost, we had a ton of fun!
Finally we reach our destination. Team Okanagan reaches Camp Silver Lake!
And we're only a couple of hours late. Plus an extra 20 kms tacked onto the mileage because of wrong turns. LOL!
Russ greets us and asks us if we had any problems. Turns out a few riders also misinterpreted the Roadbook at the same spots that we did. More riders stream in, I'm glad we weren't the last. About 40 people participated in total.
The camp's kitchen staff has prepared us an deliciously excellent gourmet meal, and we sit down at the mess hall and wolf everything down greedily. A couple of beers later, we're all bench-racing around the campfire, sharing funny stories of things that happened to us on the trails.
What a most excellent way to end our first day of Rally Raid riding!
Day 2 up next.
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