Thursday 31st May
Words & Images Shane Booth
Although Team Aus hasn't landed in Mongolia just yet, some official proceedings began today for the media. We attended some briefings that took us through many of the processes that are in place during the event for just about every conceivable situation you can think of.
The infrastructure in place for media alone is something to behold; but when we start talking about event support the numbers become very impressive very quickly. There are approximately 180 people who are part of this event. 114 BMW R 1200 GS Rallye motorcycles, 34 support vehicles and a helicopter that follows the event each day. Take a second to think about those numbers and where we are and it makes your head spin.
Briefings completed, we had the chance to get on the bikes for the first time. Our R 1200 GS Rallyes have some very cool personalisation, including a sticker kit and a cast GS Trophy shroud. The media was put through an afternoon of rider training, to get comfortable with the bikes and pick up some tips along the way. It was also a great opportunity to have a very small glimpse of what is ahead.
Riding here is what every rider dreams of. There are hardly any fences or roads, you just go where you want. The terrain we rode today is like the biggest golf course you could imagine, with some rocks thrown in. It was amazing. Wild horses and cattle just roam everywhere. It was an amazing experience and we were only riding for a few hours. I can only imagine what this week has instore.
Tomorrow we tick a few more official boxes in preparation for the week plus the competitors arrive! Camp is going to triple in size and I can't wait for the atmosphere it's going to create. It will be great to help the Aussie crew get settled in and prepare for this monumental event.