Transcript
019: Rebelle Rally x Record the Journey

Theresa Christine: Welcome to The Wild and Curious Podcast, a show that's part travel 

Suzanne Schmedding: Part feminism, 

TC: And completely inspired by extraordinary women worldwide. I'm Theresa Christine,

SS: And I'm Suzanne Schmedding.

TC: Before you heard of the Rebelle Rally, did you know what a Rally Raid was? Or is?

SS: No.

TC: Neither did I. 

SS: Okay. 

TC: This is a really special episode though, because we got to go on location for a Rally Raid.

SS: Yeah, we're really cool. No, it is. I mean, I had no idea. I think, I think in my mind when I think of a rally, I think of two thing. Like, I think of the peppy thing that you have to do in high school that's awful.

TC: Peppy thing. Yeah.

SS: Yeah. Or I, I don't know, I think of... What's that movie with all of the cars and it's the end of the world?

TC: I have no idea.

SS: Mad Max. It's Mad Max. That's what I think rallies are.

TC: I mean, honestly, like, the Rebelle Rally felt a little bit like Mad Max. 

SS: Okay. 

TC: You know they start it in Tahoe, they start in Tahoe, and they travel for eight days and compete for over 2000 kilometers. And they end up in Glamis, California, which fun fact, that is where they filmed a Star Wars film, or a part of a Star Wars film.

SS: Which one?

TC: I don't know, I didn't watch them. I'm probably like one of the few people in the world who haven't watched that film. But basically, a Rally Raid is, it's not so much about being fast. It's not a race of like, who can get to the end of the quickest. It is this off road competition, where you have markers that you're trying to hit and you know, register that you've gotten to them. But the catch is that you only have a map and a compass to get around.

SS: I mean, that is astounding to me. I know how to read a map. Okay, don't get me wrong. Like I could do it. But a compass, I just, I don't know.

TC: It's crazy. 

SS: It's crazy, it's madness!

TC: Like, triangulating your location, it's very empowering once you learn how to do it. Because we did get to do it a little bit out there. But definitely like, I don't feel like I'm prepared to go out there for eight days. But more, more props to the women who did. So that is actually what makes Rebelle Rally so special. Well, there's a lot of reasons it's special, I guess.

SS: Yeah. I mean, it's the first women's only off road navigation Rally Raid in the United States, right? 

TC; Yes. 

SS: And it's the longest competitive off road rally in the lower 48 states.

TC: We were really excited to get to go to the Rebelle Rally. The competition is no spectators. So the only people who are at the base camps are going to be the people who are running the show, the competitors, which are teams of two and then a few select media like us. And, man, the energy is just, it's so cool. It's so positive and wonderful being there.

SS: Yeah. Oh my gosh, and the women are, they're insane. Like, they are so, so cool and dedicated and smart. So we figured we'd let some of those competitors tell you about what makes the Rebelles so special. We asked women what it is that they love about the Rebelles.

Jovina Young: I'm Jovina Young and my partner Erica Martin. And we are The Fearless Fillies. What I loved about the Rebelle Rally is, I think, just the camaraderie and all the kind of help that everyone was just willing to give each other throughout the entire thing.

Erica Martin: So what I love about the rebel rally is just the opportunity to connect with other women. Um, you know, everybody is so different but we're all the same in that we all just want to improve on ourselves, you know, and to be in this, you know, environment where you're away from technology or away from your responsibilities at home. You know, I'm a mom and a wife and I work full time. So it's nice to, it has been nice just over the past eight days to just learn about myself and push myself and just, it's been so rewarding.

Chrissy Beavis: My name is Chrissy Beavis. I am the scoring director and head Judge of the Rebelle Rally. And it's such a unique type of rally and I mean, we created it it's the only one like it, so it is unique, but it's, it also really plays to the strengths of, of women and it supports women it, it lifts everyone up and it brings everyone together.

Chris Mayne: My name is Chris Mayne. I'm a French competitor in the Rebelle Rally. When I enjoyed the most in the Rebelle Rally is the adventure, because it is an adventure. I'm, I'm like a French girl, grew up in a, in a Parisian suburb, a Parisian suburb town. To me just being there, out there in the desert doing this racing and competing, it's really something very special. Beyond the, the adventure itself, it's like a symbol, because to me, United States represented like, you know, these wide spaces, these great landscapes etc. So it was great to be able to, to participate to an adventure like this. 

SS: So the rebel rally was started by Emily Miller, and the first competition was in 2016. She had done a lot of racing, driving and coaching all around the world. But, she noticed there were very few women who were ever involved. Emily wanted to create a space that was just as challenging, but felt more encouraging to women.

Emily Miller: Women are really good at endurance, and being organized, you know, meticulous and thoughtful, and push through things that are hard. But some of the weaknesses that I see is that they don't want to hurt each other's feelings. So they might not say exactly what they're thinking or may not make a firm strong decision. And, you know, in the car, and getting checkpoints, they have to say, 'This is what we need to do. This is how we're going to do it.' The Rebelle Rally pushes you to be clear, mean what you say, say what you mean, and to make quick decisions, and to be just very straightforward, that it's not about hurting feelings, it's just being about being very straightforward, and getting to the goal. And I think that the Rebelle really refines that, which I think is extremely important. And we've had women say, it has helped me so much in business and work, in my job. Because I just get to the point. And I think that that's something that the Rebelle is really helpful with. But also the women are tough as nails. And how I say that, it's there's nothing harder than competing against, you know, a large number of really talented, driven, smart women. It's hard.

TC: So while we were there, I definitely was thinking a lot about the kind of dynamic you have to have with your partner in the car to be able to do this. Because it's not just about like, are you a great driver? Or are you a great navigator. But you have to like work well, with this other person in the car with you.

SS: I mean, I think that's one of the things that you and I kind of found when we first traveled together is like, 'Oh, we are okay with spending lots of time together.' Like we don't drive each other crazy. 

TC: Yeah, we're buds. 

SS: Yeah, we're pals, which is so cool to see this bond between this woman, these women. So this year, we followed one team really closely, Team Record the Journey.

TC: Of course, the Journey is a nonprofit, which, so it's a nonprofit normally just in like regular life, and then also, the founder and CEO Rachael Ridenour takes a team out there. She has competed the past five years, she's an original Rebelle. And every year she brings out a different veteran to join her. This year, her partner was Kristie Levy, who is a US Army combat veteran. And what Record the Journey in general is trying to do is just help veterans transition back into civilian life. 

SS: Yeah, it's a really incredible way to help people express themselves, to build confidence to, to give them a sort of community because that transition can be really, really difficult.

TC: And before we talk to Rachael, I hadn't really thought about that, about just how jarring it must be to come back and suddenly be like, 'Oh, I'm, I'm here now with my family and I have to find my footing again.' 

SS: And this is like going off to war, having missions and then coming back to civilian life that must be so strange

TC: And Record the Journey. I mean, Rachael has, has had some really incredible women join her and Kristie and her have such a great, just a great relationship together. And it was kind of crazy that they'd only met

SS: I know!

TC: Shortly before, like a month or less.

SS: Yeah, no, no, it was, it was I think it was three and a half weeks

TC: Yeah, crazy. But their, their team this year drove an electric car on the race, which was also really cool, because it's the first time Rebelle Rally has done an electric vehicle recognition. So, they drove a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which they lovingly called it Electra.

SS: Yeah. And it was only, only two teams that drove an electric car. So that made me also really excited for, you know, both Record the Journey and Mitsubishi. 

Rachael Ridenour: I am the owner of a very small veteran run veteran operated nonprofit. And every year we sponsor a female veteran to run this really cool rally called the Rebelle Rally. And this year, we were late, setting up calls for entry just because of everything that's going on in the decade known as 2020. So we put out the call and a very short timeline, and we had several people actually apply. And Kristie was one of the ones that made it to the sort of final screening and 21 applicants and she's the only one that when the zoom camera came on, was in her car with driving gloves wrapped on the steering wheel, a helmet with her ski goggles over her eyes, like the sand goggles, and a T shirt saying Team 207: Record the Journey. And, and the first thing she said to me when she looks at the camera wearing her racing gear:

Kristie Levy: My dad always told me to show up dressed for the job you want.

TC: I love that. Why did you, I mean, why did you want to join the Rebelle Rally this year? For your first time?

KL: Well, I stumbled across the application on a Facebook page. And I thought, wow, you know, this seems like something that I would totally dig. It's, it's amazing. It's right up my alley of things that I love to do to push my limits. I didn't know this kind of thing existed. And hey, look, I qualify to participate as being sponsored by this veteran's agency charity. And so I filled out the application. And then Rachael sent me an email saying, you know, 'Hey, I'd like to interview you via zoom.' And I thought, 'Wow,wow. You know, how do I make myself stand out?' you know, so...I did!

TC: That's awesome. And Record the Journey, so it's Team Record the Journey, but then Record the Journey is also your nonprofit. And how does this fall in line with like, your goals and what you're trying to do?

RR: Yeah, sure. So the, it's, it's very different than our normal programming. So you know, we believe that, that creation is sort of the antithesis of destruction. And a lot of veterans coming back have to find that creative process, that creative muse to sort of help with some of those re-integrations. So ironically, photography and off-roading have a lot in common. You have to be completely present, or you miss the moment. So when you're driving a vehicle, if you're not present, you can get somebody hurt. If you're operating a camera, and you miss the moment, you're never gonna get that moment back, right? It's the decisive moment, as they say. So, I did the Rebelle the very first year with my best friends. And it was such an amazing, empowering, uplifting experience that's both collaborative and super competitive, and decided that we needed to find a way to bring this into the nonprofit programming. And, you know, most of what we do is is just a product military with males, because they make up the majority of the military. But this is the, the one event every year as a female founder, we give back to specifically to female veterans. 

TC: It's such a great event as well. And you, you have like such a great attitude. And I know the past two years, you, with Record the Journey, because you have a different veteran come in every year, you've been the Team Spirit Award Winner, and we don't know what this year's winner is. But like, I don't know, I guess just what is your attitude when you're out there? And also, what was your attitude being a first timer out there?

KL: Um, well, coming into this as a 25 year veteran, for me, it's an experience and an adventure and an opportunity. Um, but it's a moment of freedom as well. And knowing that unless, you know, we do something incredibly stupid, nobody's gonna die. You know, this is an opportunity to try, try my hardest at something that I've never done before that I've recently learned how to do. And life is often much more serious than this. So every day out here is a vacation and a relief and an opportunity to just, as Rachael says, be in the moment, and really focus on basically one target. Because in life we're often pulled 100 different ways. And out here having communication and social media removed, and every outside influencing contact removed, you have one target. And that's it. And that's your mission. And that's what you plan for. And that's what you get up for. And that's what you move for. And, you know, everything that you do is a step towards acquiring and achieving that target. So that's a really clean and cut break and an opportunity to relax. And maybe for some people who take it more serious, it, they don't relax so much, but for me, I was just like, every time we got, you know, some points, I was like, 'Yes, this is awesome!' And every time we didn't, I'm like, 'well, that sucks.' But at the end of the day, we both came back and everybody was safe in the vehicle was all in one piece, and we get to get up and celebrate tomorrow again. It's easy.

RR: So, you know, I think as you age, and you've lived a, hopefully, a good life, a well lived life, it gets harder and harder to find things that let you be a novice again. And there's so much fun in, in being a novice and having that beginner mind and experiencing...It's like, 'How do I, how do I do this crazy thing? And how do I teach myself and just fully immerse in it?' And then, you know, as you go through it, connect it to other things that you bring into that breadth of experience. I know that's the reason why we did the Rebelle for me, the very first time was just the opportunity to be a novice again, because there's very few people who have had this experience and you can be a professional racecar driver, you can be a professional orienteer, you know, doing adventure races around the globe. And it is unique. Because when they built, put the Rebelle together, it was put together by some women who were professional drivers, and were really frustrated, you know, so they looked at all the rallies they had done. So they brought the best elements of all these things. So it's not just driving it's, it's navigating with the map and a compass, it's also having to do enduros, where they give you a route book that you have to follow, but you have to calculate your, your time, and you have to cross the threshold of the checkpoint plus or minus three seconds, or plus or minus four seconds in order to, over you know, 30 kilometers, you have to hold a certain speed, adjust to the terrain. There's also en route enduros, where you have to follow a road book and stay on route, as well as collecting the checkpoints. There's many different ways to get points. So it's one of those things that I don't care how diverse your life experience is, until you've done the Rebelle, you haven't done the Rebelle.

TC: It sounds like quite a challenge. And one thing that's so cool is you two seem to work so well as a team and you seem like just best friends who've known each other for a long time. So what are like, what is the other person's biggest strength?

RR: Well, she showed up.

KL: That's all I brought to the table.

RR: No, I think there's a lot of strengths. Kristie brings an open mind and a willingness to try and listen, as I'm trying to explain previous rallies, or some of the things that we need to try and do. Super open, really good at problem solving. It's like, 'Okay, I, that's a problem, I'm going to solve that you go do your navigation stuff.' And strength as a driver, you know, we're driving a fairly unique vehicle in this rally. It's a, it's a plug in electric hybrid by Mitsubishi that most people don't think about doing a rally in any sort of an electric or hybrid. So, one of Kristie's biggest strengths is that she's really worked hard to learn that vehicle and she knows it exceedingly well, and it performed quite well for us.

KL: I would say probably one of Rachael's major strengths is just the spirit and happiness that she brings to everybody. Everybody's always happy to see her. She has kind words to say for everyone. Everyone draws a strength from Rachael and I haven't been here the past four years, but it's very obvious that she's had an impact on so many people's lives simply just by being herself and the positivity that she brings. 

TC: I guess I would just love to know what has been the best moment from this year for you. Individually or together.

RR: There were a lot of moments.

KL: I loved every time there was a big mountain in front of us and all the, the jeeps were up at the top and then I just drove that little car right up there and parked next to them. I love it every time that happened. I'm like, 'Beep, Beep! Hey, guys!' So that was, that was that was really just fun.

TC: Yeah, it's like unexpected. 

KL: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

RR: So I would have to say that, you know, part of the part of the rally is sticking to a route and following the speed guidelines. And it's a rally for precision navigation. It's not a rally for speed. So driving almost 100 kilometers, at 35 miles an hour, was very long. So discovering that we had XM radio in the middle of Joshua Tree National Park and finding stations, sticking our hands out of the sunroof dancing? That had to be a moment. But you know, today I think was actually a really, was a really important moment for me. I think that, you know, we, we got that vehicle deeper into the sand dunes than we probably should have, because it is more capable than we expected. And the two of us stayed positive. We just solved the problem. And it took two hours before we got out. But we got out and, you know, we're here talking to you in the vehicle's all in one piece, and we just solved the problem.

TC: If you and I were to join the Rebelle Rally next year,

SS: Do you want to? Because that's what I was thinking. 

TC: Well, first of all, I need to know are you navigator or driver? Or do you want to switch off? I need to know what you, what, what do you picture ME as?

SS: Well, I know you don't always love to drive. Is that wrong? Am I wrong about that?

TC: I mean, I get carsick. So, I'm a lot of fun to drive with. I don't mind driving,

SS: I think, I think we would probably take turns just so that, you know, I could navigate if you start to feel sick from not looking at the road, and then 

TC: So thoughtful!

SS: Yeah, of course! That's, that's why our team would work. That's why we'd survive eight days together.

TC: Team Thoughtful

SS: Team Thoughtful!

TC: Kindness is, kindness is cool. 

SS: Yeah, we're gonna terrify our opponents.

TC: The Rebelle Rally, I just can't say enough of how the atmosphere was being there. Because yes, you're competing. And you're stuck in a car with this person the whole day. But once you got to base camp, everyone was just like, super close, super friendly. I mean, they were COVID-close. People were still respecting distancing. But yeah, it was just like, really wonderful and special to see. And really, really extra special to follow Team Record the Journey.

SS: I just love the way that there could be novices there, like people who have never raced before. And they're using these regular cars to get to these kind of extraordinary places. And there, there was something she said that I love so much it was, you have to be, be willing to be a novice at something again, and to see the world as a novice and like, all of the challenges that come with it and I just thought that was so beautiful, and like putting yourself in that kind of challenging, uncomfortable position, when the reward is this camaraderie, and this achievement, and these beautiful places.

TC: And Emily Miller, who, you know, started the Rebelle Rally had said, we, you know, we didn't have the mic on at the time, she was talking about how just so much thought goes into the different places that they take these people and the different spots that they have as, as the checkpoints and that it's just like giving them a gift of, you know, if you're willing to put in the work and you're you're willing to really try, you will get to this extraordinary place. 

SS: And if you would like to find out more about Record the Journey, you can go to recordthejourney.com or on Instagram at @record_the_journey. 

TC: You can learn more about the Rebelle Rally and sign up for next year's race at rebellerally.com or on social media under Rebelle Rally. If you enjoy listening to the wild and curious podcast and would like to contribute to helping us make this thing run, you can! You can Venmo us @thewildandcurious or via paypal at paypal.me/thewildandcurious. Anything you send, big or small, will go towards the costs of running a podcast that's dismantling the patriarchy.

SS: It means so much to us when people rate our show on iTunes and leave reviews. We read those sweet nothings and yes, we cry about them. We also love it when people send our podcast to someone who they think will enjoy it. Feminists sharing feminist content is the best