ADV Cannonball

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GPX files sound boring until they’re the reason you miss a checkpoint, get rerouted onto a worse road, or spend your night untangling tracks on a tiny screen. We sit down with Rick Claus to talk navigation for the ADV Cannonball Rally, and we keep it practical: what to buy, what to avoid, and what to practise before you roll up to the start line.

We compare three real-world approaches to adventure motorcycle navigation. First, dedicated GPS hardware like the Garmin Zumo XT3 and Garmin Tread, where ruggedness and GPX handling are strong, but the software ecosystem can feel dated. Second, modern CarPlay and Android Auto head units like Chigee, which give you a bright screen and app flexibility while your phone stays safe in your pocket. Third, phone-only navigation apps, where the price is right but the single point of failure is hard to ignore on a multi-day rally.

We also get into the details that actually matter on the road: why you should turn off auto reroute on Garmin, why offline maps and offline routing can save your day, and why we like a layered setup with OnX Offroad or OsmAnd for navigation, plus Waze and Google Maps for alerts and fast fuel searches. We talk tracking and strategy too, including how rally apps cache data, how leaderboards change decision-making, and why we keep a Garmin inReach on our body for safety if things go sideways.

If you’re getting ready for the ADV Cannonball or any long-distance ADV ride, subscribe, share this with a riding buddy, and leave a review so more riders can find it. What navigation setup are you planning to run this year?
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A 2008 Honda Goldwing dragging a custom 50-gallon fuel trailer just rewrote what “fast” looks like across a continent, and we cannot stop thinking about it. We unpack the new cannonball record, what made the attempt smart, and where the line sits between brilliant planning and outright chaos for long-distance motorcycle riding.

From there, we get into the gritty stuff that actually changes outcomes in an ADV checkpoint rally. We talk tracker tactics, plus a public leaderboard update that now shows the age of each GPS fix so you can finally tell whether someone is truly close or just out of range. We also explain why we added optional extreme off-road checkpoints, how strategy works when you are not required to grab everything, and the safety basics we never want riders to skip: emergency water, tools, tyre repair, bivvy gear, and a satellite communicator.

Then we shift gears into community and storytelling. We head to the Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival screening in Victoria and chat with the festival’s founder about why a motorcycle film festival can unite riders who never normally mix. In the lobby, we run into a real Dakar rally bike and hear Don Hatton's story of desert damage, exhaustion, and the kind of anger you only feel after you have had to walk away from a machine at 4 a.m. 
We close with ADV Cannonball Rally news, including the 2027 America’s Baja edition going live, 2026 rule updates like suspending park ferme before the final day, new signups, and a little biker music to send you back to the garage.

If you ride, dream, or just want better stories on two wheels, subscribe, share this drop with a riding buddy, and leave a review. What part of rally strategy do you want us to break down next?
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Buy us a Coffee HERE
The Motorcycle Book and Film Clubs.
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ADV Cannonball Rally Home
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We bring Chris Peloso and Hunter Wray to the Rountable to unpack what it really takes to win the ADV Cannonball Rally when points, planning, and chaos collide. We trade the polished version for the real one: tracker mind games, rule loopholes, hard lessons in the desert, and the thin line between smart strategy and dumb suffering. 

• Planning months ahead and choosing the right bike for the job 
• Packing light as a performance advantage over long days 
• The moment the “not a race” myth ends 
• Winning time in corners through cumulative decisions 
• Points strategy versus first-to-finish pressure 
• The rule change that ends hotel backtracking 
• Using the Public Leaderboard for real-time route decisions 
• Turning the tracker off and the risks of missing checkpoints 
• Where we draw the line when chasing points 
• Heat, dehydration, and close calls at federal land checkpoints 
• Shortcuts gone wrong, including farm fields and railroad tracks 
• Improvised repairs on the road, including sheet metal screws 
• Respecting rivals and helping each other finish 
• Lessons learned for new riders, including training and knowing limits 
• Why Frank becomes the rider everyone watches and roots for 

This episode was total fiction and generated by AI, it's not real. 

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Support us directly on Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/Aaron-Pufal
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Buy us a Coffee HERE
The Motorcycle Book and Film Clubs.
The Living List Document GOOGLE DOC
Contact the Podcast [email protected]
ADV Cannonball Rally Home
GPS Checkpoint Rally & Event App Home
ADV Cannonball Rally on Facebook Instagram TikTok
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We kick off a new Roundtable segment to help new riders get ready for a cross-country ADV rally without getting lost in hype. We talk mindset, bike prep, packing, navigation practice, and why chasing points with good judgement beats riding like a hero. 

• Setting goals that match your real reasons for riding 
• Staying flexible when the plan falls apart on day one 
• Choosing a points strategy instead of chasing first to finish 
• Dealing with curveballs like rain, closures, and mechanical issues 
• Tire wear, tire plugs, and planning a mid-rally tire change 
• Packing lighter to reduce wobble, fatigue, and hassle at hotels 
• Training for back-to-back 600 to 700 mile days 
• Building a practice rally course with checkpoints at home 
• Following GPX tracks versus relying on turn-by-turn routing 
• Remembering that accuracy earns points more reliably than speed 
• Riding with others for safety, navigation checks, and support 
• Using local intel to avoid dangerous roads in bad weather 

Keep posting questions because it gives us lots of great ideas on content. 

Support the show
Free Music from the show on SPOTIFY and on APPLE
Aaron's Ride Outs Map HERE
Support us directly on Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/Aaron-Pufal
Support us on Patreon HERE
Buy us a Coffee HERE
The Motorcycle Book and Film Clubs.
The Living List Document GOOGLE DOC
Contact the Podcast [email protected]
ADV Cannonball Rally Home
GPS Checkpoint Rally & Event App Home
ADV Cannonball Rally on Facebook Instagram TikTok
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Send us Fan Mail
Photo Credit - David Goldman
https://www.davidgoldmanphoto.com/
https://themotorcycleportraits.net/
https://www.instagram.com/THEdavidgoldmanphoto
We trade bike-season reality checks, garage fixes, and a brutally honest Cove 450 first ride that proves why “race bike” can be the wrong tool on public roads. Then we get three sharp perspectives on living bigger through motorcycles: Teapot One’s GSXR lap of the world, Brett Tkacs’s rider-first bike selection advice, and David Goldman’s Motorcycle Portraits exhibit with audio stories. 

• Beer check and spring riding conditions across Victoria and Sweden 
• RECCO reflectors explained and why tariffs sting 
• T7 garage upgrades and why weight aloft matters 
• Cove 450 Rally street drawbacks, from mousse tyres to harsh mapping 
•Helmet venting problems and cold-weather visibility fixes 
• VW Buzz EV road trip tips, charging strategy, and ferry comfort 
• TeapotOne on riding 54 countries on a GSXR and raising £15,000 for charity 
• African realities, corruption, risk assessment, and why attitude changes outcomes 
• Bret Tkacs on choosing an adventure bike for a coast-to-coast ADV rally 
• Self-sufficiency baseline, bike recovery, fatigue management, and energy conservation 
• Why bolt-on protection can ruin a small bike’s advantages 
• David Goldman on Motorcycle Portraits, audio interviews and the Montreal show 
• Shipping a motorcycle by air, costs, stress points, and what to expect 
• ADV Cannonball updates, practice tokens, Mile Crusher class, and Baja insurance notes 

Support the show
Free Music from the show on SPOTIFY and on APPLE
Aaron's Ride Outs Map HERE
Support us directly on Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/Aaron-Pufal
Support us on Patreon HERE
Buy us a Coffee HERE
The Motorcycle Book and Film Clubs.
The Living List Document GOOGLE DOC
Contact the Podcast [email protected]
ADV Cannonball Rally Home
GPS Checkpoint Rally & Event App Home
ADV Cannonball Rally on Facebook Instagram TikTok
Mailing Address ...