We participated in the 40th anniversary of the Nevada 200 Trail Ride last year (read about it HERE) and noted that it is a bucket-list event for those who enjoy great off-road trail riding. This year, we changed things up a little bit. Instead of the trail ride, we participated in the second annual Rugged Radios Nevada Rally Extra-Terrestrial Experience, a two-day, non-competitive, GPS- or Rally Comp-navigated ride designed for dual sport and large-displacement adventure bikes, which is held the weekend before the more technical Nevada 200 Trail Ride in the same general area.
Photography by Miguel Santana and Sean Finley
Scot Harden, an AMA Hall of Famer and multi-time Baja 1000 winner, is the mastermind behind both the trail ride and the rally/dual sport events. The latter aims to provide a rally navigation element and utilizes gentler routes suitable for riding ADV and dual sport motorcycles. The Caliente, Nevada, location is also near the highly classified Area 51 U.S. Air Force facility, which many believe houses captured spaceships and extraterrestrial beings.
While we didn’t encounter any aliens, a few staff members at the Little A’Le’Inn restaurant during our day-one lunch stop had some of us speculating they might have escaped from Area 51. However, we experienced two days of incredible dual sport riding, covering a total of 350 miles. Caliente and its surrounding areas offer an amazing blend of high desert and mountain terrain to explore, featuring many active cattle ranches, mines, old structures and breathtaking scenery. Located a little over two hours north of Las Vegas at an elevation of 5100 feet, we climbed even higher into the pine-covered mountains, which are completely different from what you find on the Las Vegas Strip.
During the first Nevada Rally Experience in 2024, Harden learned that the definition of difficult terrain for ADV and dual sport riders varies widely, as many of the 70-plus riders got in over their heads while riding large-displacement ADV bikes. So, this year, Harden and the team emphasized that the terrain would be challenging and limited participation to just 25 riders. The result was a cohesive group that could cover the terrain at a decent pace without any major issues. The group utilized a mix of KTM 890/790, Yamaha Tenere motorcycles, and dual sport bikes. I used the event to test ride a new CFMoto Ibex 450 ADV bike and a new street-legal version of the Kove 450 Rally (look for stories on each of those in upcoming issues of Cycle News).
Two key elements of the ride were the use of hand-held Rugged Radios, which enabled communication between the group and the doctor in the chase truck, and the Rally Comp navigation systems used for navigation.
Rugged Radios are a popular choice for off-road racers and the UTV/off-road community, but they also produce systems designed for motorcycle riders. While there are many excellent motorcycle communication systems from brands like Sena and Cardo that work well for groups riding closely together, the Rugged system significantly extends the range. We were able to communicate with fellow riders and the chase truck that was over five miles away, which dramatically enhanced safety and reduced stress. Rugged Radios offers a helmet speaker/microphone option and features a push-to-talk button. Although the push-to-talk functionality is not as convenient as the voice-activated feature found in most motorcycle comms systems, the advantage was slightly less unnecessary chatter and a greater range.
Rally Comp navigation devices are used at the Sonora Rally and NORRA Rally events, as well as being valuable training tools for many Dakar Rally competitors. Their devices include numerous safety features, such as the ability to warn about hazards, two-way texting even when out of cell range, and continuous tracking for event organizers. Nevada Rally participants could choose to use a provided GPS track but were encouraged to navigate the course with the Rally Comp devices. While this method was not identical to the procedure used in Rally competition, which employs scrolling road books (now in electronic form), it turned out to be a fun way to navigate the course and compete with other riders. The system features a screen with an arrow pointing to the next Way Point, which are virtual checkpoints on the course. It could indicate the next turn or confirm that you are on course. It also tracks your time to cover the course (we were not racing in this case) and includes a feature for managing speed limits. All the riders were scored, and one rider had zero missed waypoints or speed violations throughout the entire two days and 350 miles of riding.
Petroglyphs such as this are some of the amazing things that you will see during the Nevada Rally Experience.While the Nevada 200 Trail Ride celebrated its 41st anniversary a week after the second annual Nevada Rally Experience, we feel that Harden and crew are onto something interesting with this new event that could likely see it continue for years to come. The beautiful scenery, fun riding terrain and the topflight team that supports Harden will make you want to add this event to the bucket list for any ADV and dual sport rider.
You can learn more about Harden Offroad events at https://harden-offroad.com/.CN
VIDEO | ADV Riding To Area 51! Nevada Rally Experience
Click here to read the 2025 Rugged Radios Nevada Rally Extra-Terrestrial Experience in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
Click here for all the latest Rally Racing news.
