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Saturday, May 27, 2017

App review: Rever, a trip planner & tracker

I recently used the app Rever (version 2.0), a GPS tracking and planning app for my adventure motorcycling ride in Nevada.
There are a number of tracking apps available on the various app stores, and in Australia I use two, Hema Maps and Memory-Map, however both do not offer detailed USA maps, hence looking for something that would support my mapping needs for the USA.

In reviewing the NVBDR route, I noticed that Butler maps was the key mapping provider for the route. In turn, I stumbled on the Rever app which integrated Butler maps with HERE maps. Development is still ongoing with ver3.0 being released a few days ago. Enhancements are minor, however the big add-on is the introduction of additional mapping partners.

One of the best features Rever offers is the ability for the app to integrate into the website and allow you to plan a ride via the dashboard view.   A planned ride can be manually mapped or imported via a GPX file. Once complete, the planned ride will be synced to your phone and allow you to ‘Ride It'.

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Sunday, May 14, 2017

Trip Report: Valleys and Peaks - Day 4

Death Valley...
into the valley we rode, the morning crisp from the Nevada rain that cleared the dust and chilled the air.    The knobby KLR760 tyres hummed on the smooth sealed road which lead into the depths of Death Valley.

From below sea level we climbed to Dante's View, loving the ride to the summit.

Ears popped with the change in altitude as rode from below sea level to 1600m ASL.

Our destination after Dante's View as the HQ of Great Southern Moto Adventures.  Our four day journey was coming to an end.

But, first we had some more riding to do.  I love the fact that we can take these bikes on just about any trail.  A shortcut was advertised from Dante's View to Shoshone.


A section of the route was on the Old Spanish Tail - one of the most arduous historical trails dating back hundreds of years.  The notable feature was a long uphill section into an icy headwind.  Temperatures dropped to 3Deg C as we shivered our way to our destination.

And finally, after four days and 959km, we arrived back at GSMA.
A post shared by Martin Solms (@overland_live) on


Trip Stats:
Ride distance: 329Km
Total trip time: 7hr 59min


Additional Reading:

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Friday, May 12, 2017

Trip Report: Canyons and Craters - Day 3

Welcome to day 3 on my Nevada adventure motorcycling trip.
Titus Canyon
This is the daily log of six novice adventure riders who attempted the new #NVBDR route but have had to abandon it due to broken pegs and tougher-than-thought terrain. We are riding Honda Africa Twins and Kawasaki KLRs.

Crisp air welcomed tired bodies out of the hotel and Mel's Diner called our name.   No chance of a fresh barista made latte in Mel's Diner however the food was in abundance and the atmosphere made the occasion.

Titus Canyon

Our first destination for the day was Titus Canyon. The Canyon is a deep narrow gorge cut into the Grapevine Mountains of the Mojave Desert in California. The track through the canyon is one way for vehicle traffic and is known for its winding passes and steep gorge walls.

This route was made for adventure motorcycles as the track wound it way up and down hills before descending into the gorge.


Layers of rock scaled to the cliff heights as our ears hummed with the silence of the gorge.  Echoes of conversation would bounce off the walls.  Once again we were pondered how the early miners found routes through the barren hills.



My GPS tracked the kilometres traveled revealing the enjoyable pace we were traveling at.  The gale force winds continued to howl above us, as witnessed by the rolling clouds.  And then the peace and serenity ended as we exited the Canyon and rolled into Death Valley.

The riding was thoroughly enjoyable with enough wow moments to keep us entertained.  Standing on the pegs of the KLR650, I felt the bike was beautifully balanced as I manoeuvred the bike through the tight canyon turns and across the loose gravel.
Honda Africa Twin cockpit

Note: Titus Canyon is actually in California and is not part of the offical Nevada BDR.

Ubehebe Crater
Ubehebe Crater

The route through Titus Canyon ends along Death Valley and offers a natural route to the Ubehebe Crater.    The crater is roughly 1km wide and a few hundred metres deep.  It could potentially be as young as 800years old (or 2000 or 7000years old).   The ride to the crater rim is on sealed roads.

The bikes shook as the wind challenged the side stand whilst perched on the crater rim.  The wind made the time rather unpleasant as sand whipped our faces.  It was time to head back to Beatty and call it a day.

Arriving back in Beatty we noticed the nail sticking out of the Africa Twin rear tyre.  Thankfully we did not have to change the tube!

Trip Stats:
Accommodation: Beatty (again)
Ride distance: 199km
Total trip time: 6hr 08min


Additional Reading:

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Thursday, May 11, 2017

Trip Report: Broken Pegs & the Happy Burro - Day 2

Welcome to day 2 on the Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route.
This is the daily log of six novice adventure riders tackling the new #NVBDR route. We are riding Honda Africa Twins and Kawasaki KLRs.

Broken Pegs & the Happy Burro

Our planned route for day 2 was completely on the NVBDR which meant lots of unsealed roads. Well, that's what we thought we had planned.

We rejoined the NVBDR after a restful night in the Primm Casino hotel and a quick breakfast at McDonalds.  We got a few good comments and questions: "Are you guys racers?" Haha, far from it!

Initially the track runs North, parallel to the I-15 highway, before turning to the North East and onto Pahrump.

Broken Pegs

20Km later and we had a broken foot peg on the Africa Twin.    The track had a number of sections damaged by flood water and as a result large boulders lay scattered on the track.  One of the Africa Twin riders followed the inside track on a left turn and had little room to maneuver to avoid a few large boulders.  The front tyre clipped a rock and milliseconds later the rider was on the floor.  The rider and bike were ok except for the right foot peg.

On small vital piece off the Africa Twin was crucial in changing plans... the NVBDR was over.   We needed to return to Las Vegas to repair the Honda AT and rethink our plans.
Making that call to GSMA... we needed help

Decision made... we would use the highway from Las Vegas to the old mining town of Rhyolite and onto Beatty for the evening.    Nevada also decided to change weather patterns and the 38Deg C heat wave turned into strong 60km gale force winds.  It was not a pleasant few hours as we fought the North Westerly winds towards Beatty.

Head down, we wobbled our way North West to Beatty.  A quick bite to eat at the Area51 Alien Center roadhouse before pushing onto Rhyolite, an old mining town.
Rhyolite was built around 1905 but quickly faded as miners moved to Beatty.  Infrastructure resources was pretty scarce so the town folk dismantled buildings and carted them to Beatty.



The Happy Burro

When you visit Beatty as part of the NVBDR, be sure to have a bowl of chili at the Happy Burro.   The food is good, the beer is cold and the atmosphere is outstanding.  We spent an enjoyable few hours detoxing from the gale force winds and talking through the broken peg incident and being thankful that no one was injured.
Happy Burro Chili & Beer in Beatty
No rest for those on international business trips... day 3 needed planning!


Trip Stats:
Accommodation: Atomic Inn, Beatty
Ride distance: 273Km
Riding time: 3hours 17min

The route below was our intended NVBDR track...


Additional Reading:

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Trip Report: Trail or Tracks?

What happens when you take a bunch of newbie adventure riders half way around the world to ride an established North American Backcountry Discovery Route?  

Firstly, you get Nevada to welcome you with 38Deg C weather, then 60km/h gale force winds, add in 3Deg C weather at 1600m above sea level and not to forget huge dust storms as you cross the border into California and Death Valley!

Trans-continental overland travel brings the world alive. Intercontinental flights dull the emotions to new countries and cultures but are needed when time poor. Patience was needed as we hopped from one flight to the next - two flights in total and more than 24hours travel time.  Our first stop in Las Vegas was Great Southern Moto Adventures.
Great Southern Moto Adventures

We met Curtis and Jeff, owners of GSMA and part of the team responsible for creating the NVBDR.  A lifetime of adventure riding has contributed to the development of one fantastic route. Jeff, the GSMA operations manager had two KLR650 and four new Africa Twin's setup and waiting and all that was needed was to sign the final paperwork, pack the panniers and hit the road South.

I had opted for the Kawasaki KLR 650 as my adventure riding experience was limited to smaller bikes and shorter distances. Curtis had advised the following: "The KLR’s will be much more fun, easy to operate and probably provide a better overall experience for the less experienced besides being more safe for them".  It sounded like the perfect bike for me!

Kawasaki KLR650
This YouTube clip sums up the bike nicely:



Six riders in convoy are not easy to manage. We had one mantra. Always try remember who is behind you and wait at each major junction for the person to arrive.  Well, this was hard to manage as we attempted to leave Las Vegas.  5km later and one of the Honda Africa Twins suffered a front tyre puncture.  Our group of six riders were now split in two.

The group I was in made the decision to push on and follow the original plan and let the two other riders meet us at the accommodation in Primm.   Thankfully they were close to GSMA which meant that Curtis and Jeff could drive over with a spare wheel and replace it.

The NVBDR has two unsealed sections between Searchlight and Primm, however the first section had suffered damage due to flash flooding and Curtis advised us to re-join the trail at Nipton.

Quick drink stop in Nipton
The Nipton to Primm section follows the rail road tracks which allow for a quick escape from the soft sandy track sections.  The trail caught a few of the riders out as the conditions quickly changed from compacted stoney gravel to loose gravel including a few sandy sections.  The temperature was a whopping 38Deg C!  This section was only 20km long but took the four of us an hour to complete!



Raw video showing sections of the track:



Trip Stats:
Accommodation: Primm Valley Casino Resort (Good enough but don't eat in the hotel as its rather expensive)
Ride distance: 161km
Total trip time: 3hr30min

Rever.co Track:

Our route from Nipton to Primm.   We stopped many times to reveille in the fact that we were riding the NVBDR and to enjoy the moment.  This track should not take you this long.


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