Introducing Team Disco Dolls, Rebelle Rally 2017!

[4xFar Adventures]

Hey everyone!

Have you heard of the Rebelle Rally? No? It's the first all women's off-road navigation rally raid in the United States. Last year was the first event and it was a big success. So big in fact, that this year they are doubling the number of team slots to 60 per class (Crossover and 4x4).

What really sets this rally apart from others is that over the course of 7 days the teams have only map and compass for navigation. No GPS devices of any kind are allowed including cameras. There are 3 types of checkpoints to find. Some are required others are optional. The easy ones (Green) have an event staff member standing at the flag, down to the Black CP's that have no visible marker at all. The only GPS device is the RR satellite phone for true emergencies and to record the position where the team's think the Black CP is.

So, why am I writing about this you ask? Well, @erinw.rrc and @AlysonH have registered for the 2017 Rebelle Rally and I am their trainer/coach! We had an initial planning meting back in December, and this past Saturday we had our first official training session for basic recovery, winching and the Hi-Lift Jack at Hollister Hills SVRA. I even got a message on Instagram from @TheAdventureIndex saying that he saw us at the obstacle course!

The Rally is in October so everything is in the early stages but things are still really busy. For now, here's some footage from the training session.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[AlysonH]

It's only been a month since this officially started and we've be having a lot of fun so far. Definitely some hard work going on as well, but well worth it.

 

[4xFar Adventures]

Here are a couple places to see what we're up to.

https://www.instagram.com/teamdiscodolls/

https://www.facebook.com/discodolls/

 

[UpNoverRover]

congratulations on accepting such a challenge and already putting in the work gals!

Sent from my SM-N900V using OB Talk mobile app

 

[Steve]

I've enjoyed your posts on Instagram about the even this year. I didn't realize you were that closely involved. Sounds like a great time!

 

[erinw.rrc]

So, as some of you know, Brenton suffered a broken leg last week and he's had to take a back seat to our training for the time being. We have a couple map and compass classes coming up within the next 45 days, so please follow our Facebook page for updates. Currently just finished our sponsorship packets and will be sending out to vendors soon. If you're interested in starting dialog, please email: info@teamdiscodolls.com

 

[erinw.rrc]

UPDATE: We have currently raised $1,100 from Friends and Family, and have 600 Facebook followers and 400 Instagram followers. Thank you for all of your support!

If you've been following us on Facebook and Instagram, you know we've completed some recovery training and a basic map & compass orientation at REI. We have two practical navigation courses next month, and then a trip to Pismo is in the works to practice driving in the dunes, hopefully the end of March.

Our friend Scott McKenna, who designed our club logo also designed our team logo. He did an awesome job, so check it out below!

There are about 30 teams registered combined for 4x4 and Crossover classes and rumor has it that Land Rover Las Vegas is sponsoring another Land Rover team. Competition is fierce! We've reached out to LRRWC, so fingers are crossed.

If you're interested in a sponsorship opportunity, our sponsor packets are now available. Please send all inquiries to info@teamdiscodolls.com

Cheers!

Erin

 

[MandAtaco]

Followed your pages, this is such an amazing event!

My wife and her teammate are planning on competing again this year! They had an amazing time last year even with the issues they had... aka don't drive over a dune blindly!

 

[Big E]

When ever I see girls kicking ass in such an endeavor I always tell the girls in my classroom, GO GIRL POWER. Good for ya'll, go get em.

 

[erinw.rrc]

When ever I see girls kicking ass in such an endeavor I always tell the girls in my classroom, GO GIRL POWER. Good for ya'll, go get em.

Thank you! We like to kick ass... it's how we roll. I just went on an outing on Saturday with our Land Rover club... I was the only girl with my own truck. One of the guy's wife came, but she doesn't drive.

 

[Overland-Indiana]

Awesome!!!

 

[Big E]

Thank you! We like to kick ass... it's how we roll. I just went on an outing on Saturday with our Land Rover club... I was the only girl with my own truck. One of the guy's wife came, but she doesn't drive.

Keep breaking those silly stereotypes and represent the "weaker" sex. I am always proud of the strong actions of women. Good luck in the rally.

 

[AlysonH]

Followed your pages, this is such an amazing event!

My wife and her teammate are planning on competing again this year! They had an amazing time last year even with the issues they had... aka don't drive over a dune blindly!

That's awesome they'll be competing again! Is your wife and her teammate on this forum? I wish there was a forum like this for the Rebelle Rally so the participants could talk to each other.

 

[4xFar Adventures]

I've been meaning to update this thread for a couple weeks now. Even with my broken leg, Team Disco Dolls and I still wanted to have the Tire Tech class in February. So instead of waiting for my leg to heal or doing it outside in bad weather, I decided we could just hold it in my house instead:) We went over basic tire construction, differences between bias play and radial tires, air down pressures, and talked about the more pertinent information found on the sidewall.

Then the real fun started when @AlysonH, erinw.rrc and I moved to the kitchen for the tire repair part of the class! There were 2 screws in the tread, and each of them had to do the full plugging procedure, from finding the puncture to trimming the tails. The whole time we all just laughed as we made crass comments about the task at hand. Learning made fun! It was hard to get a really good picture taken since we were inside and space was limited. But, here are the ladies working to get the hole reamed for the insertion tool.

 

[4xFar Adventures]

Since I'm still recovering from my broken leg I wasn't able to go with Team Disco Dolls last weekend for their first sand dune driving class in Pismo. Our friend Lutzi Haas, who runs Xtreme Hummer Adventures, already offered his assistance with the training so @AlysonH and @erinw.rrc made the trek themselves. Another aspect of this weekend of training was to introduce the map and compass aspect of the Rebelle Rally.

I was surprised when a Face Time call came through with Erin and Alyson on the other end. Guess reception has improved out in the dunes! They were starting the exercise to plot coordinates of the 7 checkpoints I gave them, but they had an issue with the map. Their map scale tool, and the scale on the map were off. We think the printer scaled the map "To Fit" instead of keeping the print scale at 100%. They weren't sure what to do, so I suggested that they find a Kinkos, or another office supply place, and get the maps reprinted. They finished their day of dune driving, got a new set of maps printed, and plotted the checkpoints before retiring for the night. That day gave them their first taste of what lay ahead for the Rebelle Rally. They were so tired after a long day of driving and recovery it felt like they were hit by a bulldozer.

The next morning they setup in a local park to finish the plotting exercise. Once again we were able to Face Time and get a few questions answered before proceeding to check their coordinates. There were only a few plots that were off by 2 seconds. Most were right on the money, so that helped grow their confidence in that skill set. The Rebelle Rally uses 50k scale maps for the most part. If you're off by 1 mm on a map at the scale, that equates to about 164 feet on the ground.

The checkpoints have varying degrees of difficulty (green, blue, black) to find, with black being the hardest. There's no visible mark on the ground for the black CP's. You just have to trust your navigational skills and hope when you press the button you are within the allowed distance from the CP to earn the points. There's still lots of training to do, and over the next few months my physical stamina will get better and allow me to go out for more hands on training sessions.

Here are a couple pics of Team Disco Dolls out in the dunes.

 

[Anchor Mtn]

Sounds like a lot of fun!!