How is it the last day?!
Times especially flies when you are having as much fun as we've been having! Not every day was rainbows and sunshine. We had many stressful moments and could always use more sleep than we got (even though we got a lot without electronics to distract us!), time really did fly. And even with those stressful times, all of the amazing times, beautiful views, and fantastic people made them all seem minimal.
This final day's post will be much more centered around photos than words. There were so many amazing things that happened today, it's difficult to get it all down in writing. So we'll give you the Cliffsnotes version and let the photos do the rest of the talkin'!
Mandy was behind the wheel and Irma navigating. Mandy was able to do some dunes training with Barlow Adventures prior to the Rally, so for safety reasons she was the primary driver today (we swapped roles throughout the Rally). Similar to the previous day, we started with another vehicle (1st photo) to make the start even more exciting! Funny story about us though, we had aired down a bit too much the day before (mostly because our tires were SO HOT), so we had to add a few psi of air before starting given we didn't have time prior to getting into our vehicle. We had the super exciting and dramatic start on our last day, only to drive around the corner, pull off to the side, and add some air. Safety first! It's not worth popping a tire off of the bead if you can help it! For those interested, we ran our tires at 15psi while in the sand.
Driving and navigating in Glamis is like no other. It's both magical and stressful at the same time, but easily one of the best days of the Rally! Not only is driving in the sand a unique experience, but having the option of working with another team is fantastic! We primarily partnered up with Team #124 - Wunder On - and their 28 year old Mercedes Benz Diesel G-Class, reengineered to run on biofuel made of recycled chocolate scrap. How cool?! Ready more about the vehicle here!
Team #124's experience and knowledge of the dunes was such a confidence builder for us both. They encouraged us to push ourselves beyond our comfort level, which made us go for more checkpoints than we would have on our own. Being that it was the last day, this was exactly what we needed!
To cap off the day, we had time to find one more blue checkpoint, that appeared to be pretty far into the dunes. It was thankfully over by basecamp, so given the amount of time remaining, we decided to go for it! We were so thankful that we did, because it was the most challenging of the dunes we had driven that day, and by then we were plenty warmed up and ready for the challenge! We did ironically, click the wrong blue for the last one. Whoops! But after realizing our mistake and figuring, "what the heck, we have the time," we replotted our location and successfully navigated to the last one. We even managed to return to basecamp on time, to cross the finish line on time!
We did it! We crossed the finish line in one piece and liking each other even more than we did at the start of the Rally! Irma drove her Uhambu through the finish line while Mandy chose to walk on her hands :-) One of our first thoughts, after we said, "We did it!," was "I cannot wait until next year!"
We crossed the finish line, smiling from ear to ear. The Rebelle Rally is truly an amazing experience. If anyone is up for the challenge, you won't regret doing it. There are so many things that you will do that will make you realize, how much more of a badass you are than you thought. You'll be challenged more than you've probably ever been challenged, at least in the sense of many things all at once that put you out of your comfort zone. But all of those things make you a better person and will help you with other challenges you'll face in life outside of the Rally.
Throughout the Rally, we were already talking about what we would do next year. The atmosphere is so addicting. The people are amazing and from so many different backgrounds. There are truly few things that you can do in life, that we're aware of, that will give you the experience the Rebelle Rally gave us.
With that said, if you're on the fence about the Rally. Sign up as soon as you can. If you're getting ready to do the Rally for the first time this year, get ready for the most exciting this you'll have done in a long time! And for those that are returning for another year, Mandy will see you in the dirt soon as a part of Team #139: Veterans United!
- Disclaimer -
Please remember, this recollection of each day is our view alone. Others definitely had different experiences. We wanted to share ours with you from our perspective, but definitely ask questions of other Rebelles and/or the Rebelle Staff if you are unsure of something. Also do your homework and read the rule book! Although we pulled snippets from the rule book, it changes some each year and is what you should refer to for the official Rebelle Rally rules and guidance.