Time to get adventurous as new road-only rally event kicks off
Rallymoto bring their popular navigation events to tarmac-only riders
‘It’s a chance to try rally-style navigation’
Anew road-based navigation event is coming this summer that will see road riders get a taste of the Dakar spirit without having to venture off the black stuff. The Cannonball Challenge is being organised by Rallymoto, who have had huge success organising similar events for adventure bike riders over the last few years. “We see lots of guys who want to have a go at rally-style navigation but without the huge investment,” says Robert Hughes, founder of Rallymoto. “We also get a lot of guys who love the navigation aspect but don’t want to take their newer machines off-road, so we’ve created the road orientated
May 5 2021
Cannonball Challenge.”
The challenge works in a similar fashion to other Rallymoto events, where riders take on a long-distance course with points awarded for the accuracy of the navigation, rather than speed.
Just like at the Dakar, the route is provided on roadbooks that have nav instructions (known as tulips) paired to an accurate trip meter. There will also be timed sections with points deducted for falling outside of the target.
To make things even easier than ever the Cannonball Challenge will run on a dedicated app that distils the function of a full rally set up into a smartphone. Inside the app is an accurate trip meter, speedo, compass and of course the roadbook itself. The app uses GPS so Rallymoto can track riders so see who has completed the route successfully.
The first Cannonball Challenge, which will be available to ride throughout June and July, will be a route through Wales from Ruthin Castle to Raglan Castle – a distance of nearly 300 miles. Unlike other events which take in green lanes, the route will be entirely on road, making it suitable for all kinds of bike. There will also be a series of routes taking in well known cafes, dealers and biking hot spots around the country. There are even plans for longer distance overnight ‘marathon’ events taking riders from one end of the country to the other.
O For more info on the challenge, head to www.rallymoto.co.uk.