< more recent | 29 Aug.- 4 Sept. 2016 | older >
4 September 2016: Intensifying training on navigational skills via a series of plotting exercises. Using maps of the same scale we will have during the rally, timing how quickly it takes to accurately plot, route and measure distances and headings for a “rally day” of between five and eight checkpoints …
3 September 2016: Headed out to the East End to practice navigation, and some Time-Speed-Distance drills locally. Fun part was discovering some place new not far from home while exploring along a few of the dirt roads that remain open to motorized vehicles in an area that is generally closed off …
2 August 2016: Helmets have started arriving. The safety standard required by the rally, Snell SA2015, is not so easy to find, and brands fit differently so we have ordered several and will try them out to determine which is the most comfortable …
30 August 2016: Got some cool maps while out in Nevada from the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. These relief maps of the area including Nevada and California give an interesting overview of the kind of terrain we will be traversing during the Rebelle Rally. (Hint: the desert is not exactly “flat and empty”) …
THIS WEEK:
Training close to home and working out logistics for the upcoming Rebelle Rally. Lots to do and excitement in the air…
COMING UP SOON:
Navigation practice in the spectacular red rock landscapes of Sedona and the larger Verde Valley, to work on map reading skills and the intricacies of driving while navigating …
Team Engage heads back to the desert for more focused training on navigation and driving, and to practice rally skills in some of the same southwestern desert locations that the rally will be passing through in October …
Competing as Team #124 in the inaugural edition of the Rebelle Rally 13-22 October 2016 …
ABOUT THE REBELLE RALLY:
The Rebelle Rally is an off-road navigation rally raid across 2000 km of desert in the southwestern United States. A new kind of competition, it blends the love of driving with the challenge of precision navigation…
TEAM ENGAGE
Team Engage is JoMarie Fecci of USnomads and Tracey Ristow driving “Sable,” a Barlow Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, across the American southwest in the inaugural edition of the Rebelle Rally, 13-22 October 2016. The team, hailing from opposite coasts of the USA, came together to compete in the Rebelle with a shared commitment to humanitarian ideals in addition to a love of overland exploration. During the rally Team Engage will be showing its support for the Blue Heart Campaign to raise awareness and help victims of human trafficking through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking…
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
23-28 August – Rod Hall Drive Training
15-22 August – Reno Rebelle Training
8-14 August – TFT8
1-7 August – Serbia overland
July – Serbia, Rally planning
June – Mongolia
16-31 May – Overland Expo, Mongolia
1-15 May – Paris
April – training desert prep
March – Long Island
February – California deserts
January – El Camino del Diablo
December – Long Island
November – New York
15-31 October – Moab
1-14 October – Vermont
September – Paris
Archive
SPECIAL REPORT
Detailed series on a solo scouting journey into some of the remotest backcountry around Moab. The six day 450-mile off-pavement trip into the Maze district of the Canyonlands National Park offers insight into the challenges of expedition planning… [read]
MORE INFO:
About Team 171 US Nomads
Team Training
Practical Matters
In Our Words
Team News
Contact Us
SPECIAL REPORT
SCOUTING THE SAHARA IN MAURITANIA: WAYPOINT NOUAKCHOTT
The first in a series of reports from our scouting trip in Mauritania takes and indepth look at the capital city of Nouakchott, and its fishing port… [read]
FLASHBACK: GAZELLE RALLY
ON BECOMING A GAZELLE: THE DESERT’S FIRST CHALLENGE
Personal reflections on USnomads’ experience in the Rallye Aiche des Gazelles–Putting our skills to the test in Morocco on the first day out in the desert, known as the “Prologue,” there are a few surprises… [read]
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