2015 ADVMoto Rally
Article Index
Throughout the event, food was laid out in BBQ style with plates of riding fuel piled high—prepared by Gourmet Central (BigGriggs.com). And an endless supply of free gourmet coffee was on tap from Crazy Fox (CrazyFoxCoffee.com). One of the things I love about our ADV community is their awareness of and willingness to help out others in need. After his wife’s serious illness, Crazy Fox’s Kevin Fox is facing huge medical bills; it was truly inspiring to see so many digging deep to lend a hand.
A fine mix of vendors of adventure motorcycling goodies supported the rally. There was plenty of time to have in-depth conversations with them, too. They included REV’IT!, KTM, Moose Racing, Vee Rubber, Twisted Throttle, Scottoiler, Klim, Continental, Firstgear, Forma, MotoMachines, Green Chile Adventure Gear, Moto Skiveez, MachineArtMoto, Mosko Moto, Sena, The Ride of My Life, and a host of supporting sponsors.
Saturday’s presentations began at 2:00 p.m. Perfect timing for those returning from shorter rides and looking for a place to cool off while taking in some interesting tales. First up was Paul Pelland (LongHaulPaul.com), who’s been on an Endless Road Tour with a mission to ride “One million miles with MS (Multiple Sclerosis), for MS.” His presentation was appropriately called Life’s Bitter Lemons and Long Shots, the entertaining and informative story of his mishap-plagued Ural ride in the Iron Butt Rally—which he took on precisely because they said it couldn’t be done.
After a series of breakdowns requiring Herculean amounts of patience, cursing, frustration, and some brilliant roadside “bodger” repairs, he still had a chance… that was, until, a significant accident. Was it all over? You’ll need to see the full presentation to know just how rugged his ride actually was. Paul is a victim of MS determined not to let the mysterious disease prevent him living life as fully as possible. When not riding, he educates others about the illness while raising funds for the MS Society and inspiring the inflicted with the courage to not give up
After another tasty BBQ buffet dinner, I was up to bat (Sam-Manicom.com). My two-hour talk on Africa described a journey through what I feel is one of the most stunning and surprising continents on earth. Having ridden a bike for the first time just three months before reaching the Sahara Desert, it was the beginning of a year-long ride from Cairo, Egypt, to Cape Town, South Africa. But as a disaster magnet, the journey saw me shot at twice, arrested three times, thrown in jail, nearly dying from malaria, and dealing with numerous accidents while crossing the desert in Namibia. The experience was so intense that when I finally made it to South Africa I decided not to go home as originally planned, rather carrying on around the world for another seven years. [Ed. Note: Sam also signed copies of his four bestselling adventure motorcycle travel books: Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns and Tortillas to Totems.]
Next were the giveaways—over $16K worth! Manufacturers, touring companies and equipment suppliers from the world of adventure motorcycling were superbly supportive, and extremely generous with their prizes, including riding suits, tours, helmets, tires, lights, gift certificates, tank bags, base layers, dry bags, and riding jackets. I suspect that not many left the event emptyhanded.
As the final evening cooled down, the stage heated up with Jake and the Burtones (BurtonesBand.com) playing their hard drivin’ Appalachian Old Time Music. And yes, people danced, though some restricted themselves to significant toe tapping.
Event feedback to date is that everyone had a great time and many already put their names down for next year! See you then. AdventureMotorcycle.com | ADVMotoRally.com
Sam Manicom rode for eight years around the world, covering 200,000 miles. He is the author of four bestselling motorcycle travel books. All are available in paperback with free worldwide shipping from The Book Depository. His books are also available as e-books on Kindle and his first two books, Into Africa and Under Asian Skies, are available for download as audio books. Sam-Manicom.com
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