Go rallying across Europe
Popular RallyMoto events head into Europe with plans for trips to Africa, too
Big bike adventure specialists RallyMoto are expanding their events to Portugal this year and could move even further afield RallyMoto run big bike ‘rallies’ designed for large-capacity adventure bike riders who are new to off-roading. They’re a bit like a trackday for an adventure bike, with navigation and concentration being the key to success rather than off-road skills or all-out speed.
Their ‘500’ event series, which includes Kielder, Wales and the Isle of Man, has gone from strength to strength and now they’re offering places on a Portuguese adventure: the Estrela 2000.
“It’s effectively a self-guided big bike adventure,” Robert Hughes, RallyMoto founder, told MCN. “We get the ferry over to Spain, then head down through the Picos mountains. From there each rider is issued a roadbook in the morning and they navigate themselves to the next hotel.” All the riders will be GPS tracked in case of a problem, just like on the UK 500 events, while a support van while be driving around in case of any issues. RallyMoto have lots of experience in the area, having run rallies in the area for years so are confident the route will be new to many riders and stays clear of popular busy tracks such as the Trans Euro Trail.
“The route will be 300-500km per day, with a mixture of road and off-road – exactly like the Wales 500,” added Hughes. “We’re keeping it small, just 30 places, and just over a third of those have gone before. We will also have the winner of the 500 series along, who won himself a free place.” The tour costs £1275 per bike and rider, not including ferry. For more details see www. rallymoto.co.uk.
As well as the Estrela, Hughes is looking to run events outside Europe with plans already coming together to repeat their popular format in Morocco. If you’d prefer to keep things closer to home, tickets for the Wales 500 will go on sale this week for £185.