HOW TO NAVIGATE A RALLY ROADBOOK

A roadbook breaks down a rally or track into small chunks, each providing specific details. To navigate the course, you need to read each note of the roadbook from left to right and any note one after the ofter, scrolling them up as by Km displayed in the notes: surely you are going to expereince the best of adrenalin offroad!

When it comes to more intricate routes like the rally raid competitions, the basic idea stays the same, but you might see a lot more details such as compass headings and specific off road tracks instructions. Because of this, you'll typically find one picture in the middle with extra info on both sides. For pure adventuring the info on the left are enough (Km within the path and distance from previous note), but for rally racing all the additional info on the right side are critical for a correct lecture (and landmark recognition) at racing speed.

LEVEL 1: ADVENTURING OFFROAD

Instead of jumping right into a Dakar Rally roadbook, let's scale it back to a simpler version. This one uses three images across with just Km/distance (left cell), design of the landmark to be found (central cell) and no or very limited info on the right cell (here just speed limit). Anyway ypou can be sure that you have found how to rise excitement in your adventure offroad!

You need to put the paper roll in a roadbook reader or, for the most tech geek, to upload it into your rugged navigation tablet. In both cases you'll need a good rally tower or mounting bracket to hold it in front of you. It shouldn't block your speedometer and your odometer (yes you need this stuff too), where you’ll read the exact Km and eventually adjust your position to the Km displayed in the correct note you are viewing and finding on your path. Some cool offroad tablets allow to have odometer and also cap repeater (your compass) all embedded into the main screen, saving you sapce and money!

Explore here the best rugged navigation tablet on the market

The roadbook comes as a paper roll or a digital file. The rally or tour organizer has prepared it (nowadays both the version to support both paper classical tools and new digital tablets too). It contains all the information you need to reach the finish point.

With luck, the event organizer will cover key points in a briefing pointing out tricky turns busy crossroads, or any other crucial info you should know. Now's your chance to jot down extra notes in your roadbook next to the relevant instructions so grab your pen (or open the application) and start adding your comments and highlights!

Once you're done, you'll need to load the book into your reader. This means unrolling it all the way attaching it to the roller, and winding it back so the entire roadbook sits on the bottom roller.

After it's wound, you attach the top of the scroll to the top roller making sure to take up any slack. For digital navigation tablet, you just pload the file and you’re ready!

Loading a book onto a manual roadbook reader is time-consuming, but an electric motor-powered reader speeds up this process!

All the commands are happening via a keypad positioned on the left side of your handlebar: buttons help to move forward/back your odoemter so to adjust it to the exact Km find on the note and the small leverage scrolls up and down the roadbook in search of the next note (or the lost one).

As mentioned before, different companies or rally organizers use different formats and abbreviations, but the basic principles stay the same – the dot shows where you should be to understand the image, the numbers represent the distance from the last instruction, the stage number and the total distance since the stage began.

You might also see exact grid references, road numbers and in the example below, distances given in both miles and kilometres. Still, roadbooks based on kilometres tend to be more common and easier to follow, and most modern speedometers can switch between metric and imperial units.

Here is the link to the most advanced keypad for digital navigation tablets

NEXT LEVEL: RALLY RAID RACING!

When riders need to turn off the main track in these spots, the book provides also compass bearings in degrees and  very detailed informations (in the right cell notes). This helps ensure they stay on the right route. The rest of the info is similar: stage number distance from the last checkpoint total distance traveled, and an image. Riders also get route notes by the race briefing, which they transcript into the roadbook before starting out.

Once you get used to the system, you'll notice you can go faster and move smoothly through each box on the book. While riding, you'll have to keep pushing the book up to keep the right boxes in front of you.

The trick to using a roadbook is to keep looking between the pictures, the odometer, and the path ahead, and making sense of what you see in all three. If you look at the roadbook for too long, you might crash on the road. But if you don't watch your distance and where to turn next, you'll quickly get lost! If you're dealing with a long stretch between instructions(say a CAP navigation 20 Km long), you can ease up a bit and take in the scenery. But when turns pop up every 0.3 km, you need to keep a sharp eye on the tripmeter and the roadbook.

Alright so even though it might seem like a confusing code, it's a pretty easy system to grasp. The image (this is an original Africa Eco Race roadbook) shows you all you need to know, with the black dot marking your spot and the point where the distances relate to.

The arrow points out the path you should take. Every picture or letter you see on either side of the image and lines tells you what you'll spot around you or gives you info about the trail ahead. So, the note at Km 306,02 (left cell) tells you to leave the Track and go offpiste

 (dotted path in central cell) and the word “IMP HP - ! – Montagne – C 233” tell you a lot of things: Obligatory to leav the track, Danger level 1 (the exclamation point) direction towards the montain, with a compass heading 233 degrees.

Under the main Km on the right, you'll see a numer. It shows how far you've gone since the previous note. The other smaller number down left tells you the number of the note you are on. 

To use the roadbook, keep a close watch on your odometer (also called “trip”) to track how far you've traveled. As you get close to the distance shown, start looking for the landmarks described in the picture.

READING THE ROADBOOK SYMBOLS

The standard symbols used on roadbooks are pretty straightforward and consistent across all roadbooks, though organizers might include some of their own. The complete set of FIM symbols is shown below, with many abbreviations showing their French origins.

FIM (for motorbikes) and FIA (for cars) symbols have an impact on all their roadbook events and most rally organizers use the same.

From the route planner's perspective, a good roadbook zeroes in on the key elements to make navigation work right. If you need to drive straight for  20 km without turning, there's no reason to show every intersection so the roadbook won't. But if you're on a path with many options that might mix you up, you'll see more frequent updates in the boxes.

Main roads typically appear as thicker lines compared to side roads and trails on maps. Routes that branch off from the main track often show up as dotted lines indicating an uncertain path. Map makers might use shorthand next to the images. For example, "QtPP" stands for "Leave main track," while "-V" means "Very difficult to see," warning that the entrance to a required track could be easy to miss, so the picture aims to help you. If you can't spot what's in the image, you're not in the right spot.

WHAT TO DO IF I GET LOST?

The main issue with roadbook navigation is that you might not know your exact location while following the route – it's not like using a GPS! In fact, even if you are allowed (or obliged in competition) to carry a GPS, it is not showing tracks, but just the compass with the CAP you are navigationg in degress! If the next junction doesn't show up at the expected distance or kilometer mark, you've made a wrong turn somewhere. It won't tell you if you're on the right road or track. If the junction doesn't match the image in the box at the set kilometer mark, you're likely off course.

Sure, in non-competitive events, you can pull out your phone and check Google Maps, but that will show you where you are in the world. In competition you can unlock the GPS to see tracks and waypoints, but this will lead to massive menalties (in time) or even disqualification.

When you're riding or leading an offroad adventure group, your first priority should be the person behind you. As the lead offroad rider, if you've chosen your 'second in command' well, they'll be just as good at reading the roadbook as you are. They'll often hold back at junctions if they think you've made a mistake. Check with them about your location and whether they believe you've strayed from the track.

IF YOU SUSPECT YOU'VE MADE A WRONG TURN, STOP, DISCUSS, AND RETRACE YOUR STEPS

No matter if you're alone or in a group, you'll need to go back to the last spot where you knew you were on track. This is where the distances turns, and scenery matched up. ATTENTION to front crashes: other riders could come in the right way and do not expect to find you coming back on the track!

Once there, reset your trip meter to what it should read at that point. Start over paying closer attention to the directions to make sure you follow the right path this time, or even the third time if needed. Don't just take off and cross your fingers – that won't work. Instead, be organized and you'll find your way. In rally-raid racing usually searching back for the wrong note lecture, even if can cost tens of minutes, is much better then getting lost nowhere for hours!

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SUGGESTIONS WHEN NAVIGATING OFFROAD

Suggestion 1: do not save money on your essential offroad equipment: just the best of rally motorcycle accessories to avoid shuting and regretting when you are lost (and with broken stuff) in the middle of a forest or of a desert.

Suggestion 2: If you want to know how to set-up offroad extreme motorbikes, then look at what Dakar rally champions carry on in terms of tools and select those which are reasonable for you too. Remember that out there there is no room for “I forgot this!”: any dream offroad expeereicne can rapidly turn to nightmare if you cannot solve basic problems out there.

Enjoy a great navigation video explained by the official channel of Africa Eco Race