WAIT, THE REBELLE WHAT?

Our blind enthusiasm to (royally) defy comfort zones and enter the Rebelle Rally has not been shared by all.  In fact, explaining the rationale to concerned friends and family is a worthy challenge…

Dad: “You’re nuts, and crazy. You are a mother, not a race car driver, and you’ll get lost”
Son: “It’s cool, but I think you will crash, Mom.”  
Sister: “Did you even read the fine print before you entered?”
Friend: “This is SO intriguing. Is it a pep rally?”
Husband: “It costs how much? Is this a priority??”


Hearing “rally” instantly conjures images of high speed race cars flying out of control on dirt roads.  As fun as that sounds, it is not the REBELLE.   This is a NAVIGATIONAL challenge. And given that 4 out of 5 of us get nervous when we see a map that’s saying something.

We’ve been told...
Teams wake up with the birds to plot checkpoints on a map provided that morning. We decide which of these checkpoints are manageable based on how much sleep we got, and our ability to plot and pick a course our (limited in our case) skills can handle. It seems akin to choosing runs on a ski field.  Green (easy and compulsory), Blue (medium and marked), Black (expert and unmarked)  Once we have a course plotted, we set off with our maps and a compass to find the checkpoints. Between 8 and 20 in a day.  

At night we sleep in the desert, in a tent. I’ve never been a good ground sleeper, but I hear the food is worth the hassle with a Michelin Star Chef at base camp.    #wearegoingforthefood  

In the meantime, we tightrope along a steep learning curve to understand the basics of navigation:

• How to take a compass bearing: this tells us where on the compass rose we are heading.  North, South, West or East. Measured in degrees. (Not the pre-heat your oven ones)

 

• How to plot longitude and latitude coordinates on a map: it’s quite shocking to see how much work has gone into precision mapping of our earth. So much so I’m wondering who to thank.  (Husband’s answer: US taxpayers.)

 

• How to triangulate: getting un-lost by identifying three features on a map and seeing where the three lines coming off of them intersect. Very empowering trick the two times I’ve nailed it.

 

• How to measure distance on a map: well beyond “It’s about two thumbs away.”

 

• Dancing to a pace count.  How many of my steps is worth 100 meters.

This amazing book put many of my navigational nightmares to rest.  “The Lost Art of Finding Our Way”  by Dr Huth is a must read if you, like me, are realizing simple Siri is surely a recipe for getting stuck in traffic.

Remember, it's the journey not the destination and SIRI IS NOT INVITED

Originally posted on the JUCY blog 
#thefrocksareoff
​#TeamJUCY
​#wearegoingforthefood

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