{"id":1334,"date":"2014-02-15T13:53:08","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T13:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=1334"},"modified":"2016-01-29T13:11:54","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T13:11:54","slug":"notes-from-the-road-january-2014","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=1334","title":{"rendered":"Notes from the Road – January 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/h2>\n
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< more recent <\/a> | JANUARY 2014 <\/p>\n

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160 TEAMS FOR THE 2014 RALLY<\/h5>\n


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The Rallye Aicha des Gazelles organization announced the starting lineup for this years Rally today.<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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31 JANUARY 2014:<\/strong> There will be 160 teams, 320 women from 24 countries participating in the event this year. Competitors will range in age from 19 to 64 (so we won’t be the oldest!). Countries represented include: France, Canada, USA, Morocco, Norway, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Italy, Colombia, Switzerland, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Angola, Congo, Nigeria, Gabon, Portugal, UK, Vietnam, Yeman, South Africa, Senegal and French Polynesia.

\nHere is the official announcement: english<\/a> | fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

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THE ROUTE MAP IS OUT<\/h5>\n


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The Rallye Aicha des Gazelles organization released the route map for the 2014 Rally this week.<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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10 JANUARY 2014:<\/strong> The route map showing the rough itinerary of the race has been released and there are some surprises. Sources familiar with the event say the back-to-back “Marathon” legs will pose some interesting challenges for the teams.

\nThe event begins on Friday 14 March with technical and administrative verifications in Paris followed by a “presentation”\/media event in front of the Eiffel Tower on Saturday 15 March. From there the teams will make their way south to Spain where they will get a ferry in Barcelona for the crossing into Morocco. Arriving in Tangiers teams head directly for Erfoud, where the “Prologue” gets underway on Wednesday 19 March.

\nThe core of the competition begins on Thursday 20 March with a loop south-east of Erfoud, right near the Algerian border. On Friday, 21 March, the teams loop around in the other direction, north of Erfoud. Saturday 22 March will be the first encounter with the ergs — teams will confront the giant sand dunes of Merzouga before heading north-west for a new bivouac. Sunday 23 March starts a Marathon leg, where the teams will have to camp on their own out in the desert overnight, while making their way generally south-west towards Tinfou. After a single night at the bivouac there, teams set out for a second Marathon leg on Tuesday 25 March. This segment of the journey west will take them through the massive sand sea, Chegagga, where they will certainly camp in the dunes overnight before continuing towards Foum-Zguid. The final day of the competition on Thursday 27 March will be a loop south.

\nTeams head for the beach at Essaouira on Friday 28 March, with time to get cleaned up and “civilized” for the closing ceremony there on Sunday 30 March.

\nHere is the official announcement: english<\/a> | fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

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MORE FROM TEAM 171 – US NOMADS:<\/strong> US Nomads Go to Jeep School<\/a> | Navigating the Desert the Bedouin Way<\/a> | Route Finding with Orienteering<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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TRACKING THE TEAM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once the Rally starts, you will be able to track the team here each day to see how well we did compared to the “ideal” route. The team’s track will appear as a white line compared to the “straight line” course, as in this sample. Live tracking in realtime will be available on the official Gazelle Rally site, and we will link to it directly from this space.

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ON THE AGENDA THIS WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team meeting in New York. Gathering our gear for a first shipment to Paris. Heading back out to the desert in SoCal, where we will be doing some more intensive land navigation training as a team towards the end of the week.\u2028\u2028
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WHERE WE ARE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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TEAM 171 PRESENTATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nUSnomads, c’est l’histoire d’une amiti\u00e9 de plus de 20 ans, qui s’est construite \u00e0 travers le temps, les cultures, les exp\u00e9riences de la vie et des voyages. Seule l’union de deux caract\u00e8res forts et respectueux l’un de l’autre explique que nous soyons arriv\u00e9es \u00e0 nos fins dans chacun de nos d\u00e9fis.

\nCeci est notre premi\u00e8re participation au Rallye des gazelles et nous ne sommes pas des professionels, mais JoMarie a une certaine exp\u00e9rience de l’Afrique et des situations d’urgence. D’autre part, elle s’est totalement investie dans la pr\u00e9paration de cette course et Isabelle s’est r\u00e9cemment mise \u00e0 la navigation.

\nLe Rallye des gazelles dans le d\u00e9sert marocain sera le th\u00e9\u00e2tre d’une nouvelle \u00e9preuve pour nous : une Jeep, une boussole, une carte et tout le pouvoir de notre volont\u00e9 d’y parvenir fera le reste.

\nCe d\u00e9fi sportif s’inscrit dans un projet humain plus large, celui de traverser le d\u00e9sert du Sahara d’Ouest en Est dans l’espoir d’accompagner les \u00e9quipes d’ONG dans leurs micro-projets d’aide aux peuplades nomades locales. JoMarie en produira un film documentaire qui donnera \u00e0 mieux connaitre les hommes de cette partie du monde.

\nL’\u00e9quipe 171 prendra fi\u00e8rement son envol le 15 mars 2014 avec toutes les autres participantes ! Et que les meilleures gagnent !

\nMais quelle valeur et quelle port\u00e9e aurait cette le\u00e7on de vie, si nous n’\u00e9tions pas soutenues par l’amour de nos proches, de nos amis et de tous ceux qui nous entourent. Merci !<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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CURRENT WEATHER<\/strong><\/p>\n

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