AltRider's Taste of Dakar 2014

Join AltRider and Jimmy Lewis February 28th to March 2nd in the stunning desert outside Pahrump, Nevada for a weekend of epic adventure at AltRider’s Taste of Dakar 2014. This year’s event includes awesome GPS-led routes created by Jimmy Lewis in his hometown– the same desert he used to train for the world’s toughest rally, Dakar. Hone your riding skills navigating rugged dry creek beds, riding through desert valleys, and blazing trails over sand dunes while making new friends and creating awesome memories. The varied routes are specifically designed with novice and experienced riders in mind. The event includes exhilarating adventure riding through the Nevada desert, a site at the AltRider bivouac, delicious southwestern catered meals and adult beverages both Friday and Saturday nights.

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AltRider’s Taste of Dakar ($259) includes:

• 2 nights of camping under the stars
• Epic GPS led routes for every skill level in the beautiful off road routes near Death Valley created by Jimmy Lewis
• 5 delicious catered southwestern meals
• Beer and adult beverages provided for both nights
• Awesome prize giveaways from our sponsors
• Off-road teaching seminars from informative instructors

Head over to the AltRider website for full details and to get signed up. Don’t miss out, limited spots are available and this year’s event will fill up fast!

question on the campsite,,,, i camp out of my truck, is it vehicle friendly? or will i be parking away from the campsite?

There is a parking lot close to the camping site, but no parking at the camp site itself.

cool thanks

Hey there. I am signed up and this will be my first long ride like this.
Do you have a suggestion of gear to pack along for the ride?

Head over to the Taste of Dakar page to see our suggested packing list. It can be found on the instructions tab near the top of the page, in the "Need to Bring" file. Glad you signed up, it's going to be an awesome ride!

how many people did signed up last year? just wondering

Nice, thank you.

Last year we had 50-60 riders, but this year we are expecting 80-100. Luckily it's hard to feel crowded when you're way out in the desert!

Sounds like a perfect time of year to head south! Last year looked like a lot of fun.

We just confirmed Chris Blais will be one of our guest speakers at this year's Taste of Dakar. Chris has competed in the Baja 1000, and in 2007 was the only American representing KTM/Red Bull Racing in the Dakar rally. He finished the grueling race an incredible 3rd overall. In late 2007 he suffered a tragic accident that left him paralyzed from the sternum down while training for the Vegas to Reno desert Race. Chris didn't let that stop him from doing what he loves -- he now races in the WORCS series in his own Polaris RZR and runs Blais Racing with his wife Patty.

Read more about Chris' amazing story here.

Do you still have room for more riders?

We went last year and are going again next month.




Johnny Campbell enroute to the big dune -




Jeremy Lebreton

Unfortunately the ride sold out over the weekend. Both classes and the ride itself are now full. Sorry you couldn't make it, but there's always next year!

We'll also be doing three more rides this year - check out our events calendar for more info:

Conserve the Ride // Woodward Caves, PA // June 6-8, 2014
AltRider’s MOA Adventure Ride 2014 // Saint Paul, MN // July 23, 2014
AltRider’s Hoh Rainforest Ride 2014 // Olympic National Forest, WA // August 2014

Thanks for the info.

I would like go on one of your WA rides for sure.
Last years Hoh Rainforest ride looked like a lot of fun!

Sorry for the quick derailment here, but just wanted to let you know I'm VERY excited for your new luggage. I'm going on a 30 day cross-country ride in June and hope to have one on my bike!

AltRider,

I'm riding my trusty plated XR400 for this year's ToD. I'm toying with the idea of riding it to the event from Landers. Either by power line roads or by going up a tooth on my primary gear in order to ride on the highway at reasonable speeds and swapping back to my usual gear once I get to the meeting spot on Friday.

My worry is all that droning along the highway will tire my poor motor out before I get there. Plus, I use the tubliss system in both tires and it's my understanding that they don't get along well with the heat from long, high speed asphalt excursions. The powerline road idea sounds fun but that's a lot of fairly high speed solo riding in remote-ish desert.

If I pass on these two ideas, will there be a place to leave my truck from Friday until Sunday? The other thought is meeting up with other riders at my place in Landers Friday morning and doing the powerline road trip together.

Thanks, we're really excited about the luggage as well. Dave is an awesome guy to work with and definitely knows his stuff. We will have pricing and availability coming out soon, I promise!

I just heard back from the owners of the campsite and there will be room to park vehicles in a parking lot at the campground.

Any chance we will get the GPS tracks ahead of time?

We will be sending out an email early next week with a few last minutes details and GPX files. Only one more week, we're getting excited!