Back in the Saddle (continued from Part 1) A locally sourced breakfast at the Cuyama Buckhorn prepped us for a long day in the saddle. Back on 166, we made tracks for Cerro Noroeste Road to start a 2,000-foot climb to the enclave of Pine Mountain Club. The small bikes were willing, but taxed. With…
Small Bike Adventure Tour – Part 1
Small bike adventure touring may sound cringeworthy to some riders, but that’s how I began exploring the backcountry while in high school. Schlepping my camping gear in a Kelty frame pack was an adventure in itself. Many years and miles later, and with Honda’s XR150L test bike in my garage, I was curious to see…
Front Runner Launches Rivian Roof Rack Kits
Front Runner, acquired by Dometic in May 2021, has launched Slimline II roof rack kits specifically created for Rivian’s R1T and R1S models. Their timing could not be better as Rivian recently unveiled three new vehicles, the R2, R3, and R3X, and the brand is currently trending across our news feeds. Hopefully, we will be…
Overland Journal Podcast :: Melanie Rohr on Solo Travel, Cybersecurity, and Giving Back
Overland Journal Podcast Episode 182 Note: This episode of the Overland Journal Podcast aired on February 8, 2024 In episode 182 of the Overland Journal Podcast Host Scott Brady interviews Melanie Rohr from TerraByte on actionable considerations for solo travel, important adjustments to our cybersecurity posture, and the deep reward of giving back to the…
Rivian Unveils Trio of Electric Vehicles: R2, R3, and R3X
Rivian’s stock is gradually climbing as the automaker has unveiled not only the “designed for the adventurous” R2 but also surprised everyone with the R3 and the performance-oriented R3X. While both the R3 and R3X are stylish and appealing vehicles with a plethora of innovative features, it is the cubic and minty fresh R2 SUV…
Ineos Triumphs at the Alcan 5000
Expedition Portal contributors Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal knew they had a huge challenge ahead of them when they entered the 40th Anniversary Alcan 5000 Rally. The Lilienthal team (known also as Crankshaft Culture) are Alcan veterans, but this year would be different. The unpredictable road conditions, the tricky TSD (time-speed-distance) challenges, the brutal Arctic weather,…
Together Outdoors Announces Outdoor Pathway Scholarship Program
The Outdoor Diversity Alliance (ODA) and Outdoor Recreation Roundtable’s (ORR) Together Outdoors (TO) initiative are partnering to launch a new program designed to connect students from underrepresented communities to outdoor and environmental professions. The Outdoor Pathway Scholarship Program will provide students with $5000 in scholarship funding over two years, mentorship, and assistance with job placement in…
Camp Six Road: A Journey Through the Heart of the Chiquibul :: Video of the Week
Lead photo by Nathan Hindman In 2010, a group of explorers set out to complete an obscure route through western Belize, home to one of the densest jungles on the planet. Known as Camp Six Road, the track is a challenging, barely distinguishable off-road trail through the trees, swamps, and slopes of Belize’s Chiquibul Forest…
Crossing Continents Episode One with Scott Brady :: Video
Since last year, Overland Journal and Expedition Portal Publisher and CEO Scott Brady has been on a monumental multi-part expedition of East and Southern Africa in the new 2024 Ineos Grenadier. You may have been following the journey on Instagram. Currently in Kenya and searching for a way to cross Ethiopia (a sore sport for…
Ride That Monkey :: One Young Man’s RTW Journey on a Mini Moto
Having spent a fair amount of time in Portugal, I can confidently relate two things about the Portuguese people. Firstly, they are generally wonderful with great humanity, compassion, and culture. Secondly, the Portuguese are incredibly proud of their history, punching far above their weight to become one of the greatest nations of explorers that have…
South Africa’s Namakwa 4×4 EcoTrail | Overland Routes
Photography by Expedition Overland and Expedition Rove Spanning over 600 kilometers through South Africa’s Northern Cape, the Namakwa EcoTrail is the country’s longest official 4×4 route. The title comes with a certain prestige, attracting those who seek bragging rights associated with completing the route in South Africa. To be fair, though, most trek to this…
The Highest Road in the World :: Video of the Week
Lead photo by Spenser Robert At 19,300 feet, Umling La is the world’s highest paved road and motorable mountain pass. Located in Ladakh, India, the pass requires a 1,000-mile journey from Delhi, consisting of traffic jams, washed-out roads, and, eventually, the risk of altitude sickness. For Zack Courts and Spurgeon Dunbar of Team CTXP, this…
Rebelle Rally Run with Expedition Portal’s Paula Burr
Registration is already open for the 2024 Rebelle Rally competition, an eight-day, 2,500-kilometer slog through the California and Nevada deserts by map and compass. Founded in 2015 by Emily Miller, it’s the first women’s endurance off-road rally and the longest competitive off-road navigation rally in the United States. Self-described as a “movement built on community…
Budapest-Bamako Rally Toils Toward Sierra Leone
Every two years, a new Budapest-Bamako Rally launches from organizer Andrew Szabo’s home city of Budapest, and the rally has grown by leaps and bounds since the inaugural event in 2005. The first stages of the 2024 Rally left Hungary’s capital on January 26, and theoretically, some percentage of the original 1,100 competitors will reach…
Tackle the Deserts with Driven to Extremes Sahara and Help Veterans with PTSD
The Land Rover Freelander is not exactly the first of the venerable British brand’s 4x4s that leap to mind if you’re planning a long overland journey or competing in a rally raid. However, Solihull’s first stab at a unibody SUV in the late 1990s was relatively advanced compared to its competition, despite lacking a low-range…
XOverland Africa Series Trailer Drops February 1
The release of a new XOverland film series is always a widely anticipated event in the overland world, and their latest adventure promises to be their most ambitious to date. Clay and Rachelle Croft, and the rest of the team dropped a handful of teaser trailers for the new series in the last couple of…
Expedition Portal Staff’s Favorite Trips of 2023
With international tourism reaching over 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, 2023 marked an enthusiastic and eager return to the travel scene for many of us, both domestically and internationally. Overland Journal publisher and co-founder Scott Brady began his much-anticipated long-axis Trans-Africa continental crossing in the capable Ineos Grenadier, while…
CABDR-North Video Released
Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) is about to announce the layout of their latest creation, the Northern California BDR, or CABDR-North. The new route completes a continuous BDR from Mexico to Canada. The reveal happens on Saturday, February 17, when their feature-length film premieres in Sacramento, California. Meantime, whet your curiosity on the trailer. Watch as…
This Father-Daughter Team is Taking on the Dakar Classic :: Video of the Week
The Dakar Rally wraps up this week as competitors head toward the finish line today in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. If all goes well, spectators will witness a 3.2-liter 1986 Porsche 911, piloted by 21-year-old Puck Klaassen, crossing the line. She and her father, Sebastiaan, 53, teamed up at the last minute to compete in the…
It is Time You learned About Johan Badenhorst and the Voetspore Adventures
In the realm of modern overland exploration, South Africa boasts two notable, gray-bearded figures who have significantly contributed to the field. The first is Kingsley Holgate, a revered English and Zulu-speaking adventurer (soon to be interviewed by our publisher, Scott Brady), known for his extensive travels across Africa with Land Rovers, his dedication to improving…