Outback Challenge Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Scott Brady
- Start date
Scott Brady
Founder
Ursidae69 said:
Only camels and drunk Russian photojournalists :friday:
I only remember seeing one bird.
Nullifier
Expedition Leader
It's interesting that that there is so much discusion on technical driving. It appeared to me that most of the "obsticales" were sand dunes and navigating them. A true challenge for sure but not my idea of "technical" Obviously the short hill climb, water crossing, and trail section through what looked like some kind of river bed were technical. Were there other technical routes that were not highly featured on the dvd?
My question is how long was it before you got tired of driving on all that sand?! must have played hell on the old grease guns. Did you find that sand intrusion into your clothing and gear became an issue? I know on long range salt water paddling trips constant exposure to salt water can be amajor problem for the skin developing sore spots especially in high wear areas like under the arms, butt, feet etc?
Was interacting with the desert natives a beter experience then interacting with the other racers since they started off giving you tude?
My question is how long was it before you got tired of driving on all that sand?! must have played hell on the old grease guns. Did you find that sand intrusion into your clothing and gear became an issue? I know on long range salt water paddling trips constant exposure to salt water can be amajor problem for the skin developing sore spots especially in high wear areas like under the arms, butt, feet etc?
Was interacting with the desert natives a beter experience then interacting with the other racers since they started off giving you tude?
Scott Brady
Founder
Nothing was highly technical, but everything was high speed. The more technical runs were at the end, and by then we were in win preservation mode.
I never tired of driving in the sand. I would say that the big dunes were the most dangerous and intense of all of the driving. Two women from the Trophy de Gazel Rally died in the dunes while we were there.
The French were never rude, just a cold reception at first. They see garbage on the TV about Americans just like we see garbage on the TV about French, or Muslim, or whatever.
It is our governments that are screwed up, not the people.
In fact, at the end of the event we were driving back across the Atlas Mountains and lost a wheel spacer (lugs sheered off). I called Nicola on the cell and expected to see just him go back up the hill. It brought a lump in my throat when EVERY competitor turned around and came to our aid. These guys are just like us, only speak a different language...
I never tired of driving in the sand. I would say that the big dunes were the most dangerous and intense of all of the driving. Two women from the Trophy de Gazel Rally died in the dunes while we were there.
The French were never rude, just a cold reception at first. They see garbage on the TV about Americans just like we see garbage on the TV about French, or Muslim, or whatever.
It is our governments that are screwed up, not the people.
In fact, at the end of the event we were driving back across the Atlas Mountains and lost a wheel spacer (lugs sheered off). I called Nicola on the cell and expected to see just him go back up the hill. It brought a lump in my throat when EVERY competitor turned around and came to our aid. These guys are just like us, only speak a different language...
p1michaud
Expedition Leader
More questions.
Scott,
Thanks for the great thread. We can all learn from your experience, I'm just late and catching up on Expo threads!
In most of my travel experiences, encountered the same - people are generally good just the circumstances are different. From the above it was great that all the competitors showed such good sportsmanship. I'm sure it had lots to do with the fact that you helped the other competitors along the way as well. I also recall from the video that you guys helped out another team in the 30m winch event when they could not pull their rig up the bank. From what I have read and seen, if you want to survive these competitioins you have to help the others.
More questions:
1-Generally, were the other rigs as well equiped as yours (i.e. with bead locks, good winches, tires, etc...).
2-For the rigs with winches, did they have proper electrical systems to sustain demanding winch sessions (i.e. multiple batteries or high output alternators).
3- I'm currious about how the trucks were set up in general: lockers front & rear, proper gear selection, etc...
4-Is there any specific part of the competition you would do differently if you were to have a second crack at it? Difficult to answer since you team won, but there is always something to improve on.
I did get quite a laugh reading about you guys blasting through the interational border in 4WD Toyota Owner. Must have had you guys scared for a moment.
Cheers :beer:,
P
expeditionswest said:
Scott,
Thanks for the great thread. We can all learn from your experience, I'm just late and catching up on Expo threads!
In most of my travel experiences, encountered the same - people are generally good just the circumstances are different. From the above it was great that all the competitors showed such good sportsmanship. I'm sure it had lots to do with the fact that you helped the other competitors along the way as well. I also recall from the video that you guys helped out another team in the 30m winch event when they could not pull their rig up the bank. From what I have read and seen, if you want to survive these competitioins you have to help the others.
More questions:
1-Generally, were the other rigs as well equiped as yours (i.e. with bead locks, good winches, tires, etc...).
2-For the rigs with winches, did they have proper electrical systems to sustain demanding winch sessions (i.e. multiple batteries or high output alternators).
3- I'm currious about how the trucks were set up in general: lockers front & rear, proper gear selection, etc...
4-Is there any specific part of the competition you would do differently if you were to have a second crack at it? Difficult to answer since you team won, but there is always something to improve on.
I did get quite a laugh reading about you guys blasting through the interational border in 4WD Toyota Owner. Must have had you guys scared for a moment.
Cheers :beer:,
P