First edition of the Overland Rally series - a tremendous success!

A few months ago, the Expedition Portal team started announcing a series of events named Overland Rallies and Workshop.

The very first one of these events was held at Hollister SVRA in California on September 23^rd to 26^th.

The goal of these events is to create a casual and small environment in which members of the forum and everyone passionate about overlanding can meet up, learn, teach and exchange on all aspects of expedition and adventure.

Lead by Brian McVickers and Jean-Philippe Tondreau, the preparation started months before. Members of the forum also helped; virtually at first by sending ideas and recommendations and on-site during the actual gathering. Activities started on Friday with a constant influx a people coming in. Several classes were taught on Friday and Saturday mornings. The afternoons were left empty so people could go enjoy the trails or spend time with the vendors. At night several presentations were given – all excellent.

Let’s look at images from the weekend and go over some of the highlights!

Charlie and Dirk from Rally Pan Am gave a great presentation on their participation in the Paris Dakar, both as racers and support.

Rally Pan Am is an organisation that provides support to Rally racers. Several members are also racers themselves.

Be sure to check with them next time you want to race the Dakar.

The next morning Charlie led a small group of us and gave us some very appreciated lessons – not without some consequences…

The class was a big hit with the riders so look forward for an extended version next year!

Participants were well fed throughout the weekend thanks to the guys at Overland Gourmet. They went above and beyond to make sure everyone truly enjoyed the gastronomic portion of the event.

I must admit I did not know much about the snow*peak gear before the event, but after admiring all their products I am convinced I will have some of their items with me next time I cross Africa. Thanks to them for providing several tents!

Of course several other vendors were on site and it was a great opportunity to discover their products and ask questions directly with the owners!

Vehicles of all brands and models were present. A great thing about these events – they are not focused on one specific brand.

The G-wagen crew made a solid appearance!

Some people like Ben just came back from riding to Tierra Del Fuego while others like Dave and Ann are just about to embark on the same journey.

With a true adventure spirit, some people managed to put themselves in tricky situations… for the details of that rescue read this thread!

Saturday evening was filled with food and tales of far away places… including some from 2aroundtheworld.

Sunday morning saw the reincarnation of the Expedition Trophy challenge. Many contestants competed in this friendly event to obtain the priceless trophy.