2020 - Adventurebound.world

Adventure vs Rally Gear: One Klim Krios Pro to Rule Them All

October 29, 20202

Going from adventure riding and traveling to rally racing sounds like a smooth transition: as an adventure rider, you’re already used to riding in all weather and on all terrain. Your off-road skills are somewhat passable, you’re no stranger to riding in all sorts of conditions and sometimes, spending more than eight hours on the bike daily. A rally race is essentially an adventure ride on steroids: with the added pressure of timing, roadbook navigation, and crazy daily distances, the stakes are much higher, but for me, going from ADV to rally felt like a natural step forward. After three years on and off the road on my Suzuki DR650, I finally took the leap and have now raced several international cross-country roadbook rallies ranging from Hellas Rally Raid and Hispania rally to hy...

Adventure Travel

What’s This? Dinaric Rally 2020

Egle

September 4, 20201

COVID-19 has all but wiped all European rally races off the calendar this year with the exception of the Hellas Rally Raid in Greece. There’s not much going on until then, though, so when I got news of a new hybrid rally based in Croatia, I decided I’d give it a shot. The Dinaric Rally is seeing its very first edition in Knin, kicking off on the 11th of September. Timed and based on a rally format yet offering GPS tracks instead of roadbook navigation, the Dinaric Rally is a curious new addition to the European rally racing and training scene. Three days of riding in the Dinaric Alps with special stage length averaging 170-200 kilometers, Dinaric sounds like a great warm-up for Hellas, so I’m packing Lucy up and heading to Croatia next week. But it’s not just about the training a

Gear and Bike Mods

How to Pack for a Motorcycle Trip

Egle

June 12, 20200

Intro Really, dude? Really? “How to pack for a motorcycle trip”? As someone who dislikes talking about stuff, I’m just as surprised about my sudden onset of wanting to discuss luggage and things as you are. I mean, it’s not like there’s a shortage of posts, articles, and videos about packing your bike for a long-distance trip. The thing is, though, despite all that information out there, as well as your own unbridled creativity, how often have you found yourself obsessing over packing lists, attempting to reduce volume and weight, and packing and re-packing several times before you give up and just cram everything down your panniers, wipe the sweat off your brow, cuss profusely, and go? Yeah. In this Yet Another Motorcycle Packing Post, I’m going to reveal my most prized secret of t

Adventure Travel

What You Need to Race Hellas Rally in Greece

Egle

May 29, 20202

So, you’ve decided you want to go from ADV to rally and race the Hellas Rally Raid in Greece. Awesome! For me, the “why” of getting into rallies was the Dakar and the idea of chasing the impossible – but if your reason is simply to have stupid fun, that totally works, too. Before we dig in, if there’s a TL;DR situation happening, just watch this video, and you should be set… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpyelw3t4Ik&t=105s …but if you’re determined to keep reading, vamos. Why Hellas? Out of all the rally races out there, why should you pick the Hellas Rally Raid as your first rally? For one, because the organization of Hellas Rally truly knows what they're doing. Meletis Stamatis, the heart and soul of Hellas, has been in the rally racing world for over two decades now,

Adventure Travel

Traveling Post-Corona: Are We There Yet?

Egle

May 26, 20200

Although in lots of countries around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is already subsiding, the quarantine or lockdown restrictions are being lifted, and some of the international borders are opening up, traveling post-Corona is still a touchy subject. Just because the lockdown is over, does that mean we can go back to business as usual? Just because the borders are opening and we can hit the road again, does that mean we should? Is the way we travel going to have to change, at least for a while – and how will it affect the travelers and the hosts? Depending on where you’re from and where you’re headed, the answers will vary. In Europe, travel within the Schengen zone might soon become a reality again, especially for overlanders. Africa, however? Or South America? That doesn’t seem like

Adventure Travel

Chasing Dakar, Racing Hellas. The Weird and Wonderful World of Rally Racing

Egle

January 13, 20202

Woken up by the roar and rumble of the truck and motorcycle engines, I peeled my eyelids open, still dazed after barely three hours of sleep. My tent was covered in sand and dust inside and out, and, as I crawled out and located my grime-splattered riding boots, I blinked at the rising sun. Day three at the Rally Dakar 2019. It was just past four-thirty in the morning, but there was no time for poetry or scrambled eggs. Exhaust fumes would to for breakfast, and, after scurrying to the portable sinks at the back of the camp to brush my teeth, I quickly packed my tiny nylon abode up, loaded my bike, and wheeled it outside the bivouac gates. I put the packed bike on a side-stand near a lonely wooden bench and set about making coffee as the wind tore into my jacket. Riders were alrea