goes

EnduRoMania for XT500 only

August 3 to 9, 2008

Introduction:

Some time in 2006, at some XT500 meet in Germany.
Martina tells me again about the EnduRoMania she has done three times now with the XT 500.
I listen attentively, because I have heard from other XT fans that this EnduRoMania is a great event.
And a fateful sentence slips out of my mouth:

"This sort of thing should be done just for the XT500!"

Oops, what did I say there? Martina seemed to have waited for it and lost no time taking me at my word.
In order to have enough time to plan the gig, we agreed on the year 2008.
So, this EnduRoMania takes place just between the international meets in 2006 and 2010.
Of course I was excited to see how Sergio, the organizer of the EnduRoMania, would react to this suggestion.
And I was so relieved when he agreed with enthusiasm and even wrote the following sentence in an e-mail:

"I can really understand that XT drivers don't like to have the orange Enduro weapons around ;-))"

Everything was so perfectly uncomplicated that we are now able to tell you the date more than a year in advance.
So don't try to tell us that you just couldn't plan for it.

The concept of EnduRoMania:

The idea is very simple: a combination of orienteering and a cross-country ride,
a joyful competition with other bike fans in countryside of the new EU member Romania.
In teams you'll explore the country and meet its people, at the same time benefiting from a fact
that is the country's greatest disadvantage otherwise: the terrible roads which are heaven for Enduro drivers.
Romania possesses a rather thin network of tarred roads.
So you can find areas of up to 8,000 km² without a single stretch of tarred road.

Paradoxically, you can get worldwide cell phone connections in many of those godforsaken regions.
The organizer of the event is the EnduRoMania Foundation, founded and managed by Sergio Morariu.
Participants start from a base camp offering accommodations, food and the support of Sergio's team.
There you'll get the detailed maps and a list with 70 checkpoints in an area of about 40,000 km².
In addition, there are recommendations on how to get there, tips for the difficulty of the routes and other useful info.
You can use GPS, but the material is sufficient even without it.

checkpoint	birds	carrier gone

Reaching the checkpoints earns you a bonus of 1,000 to 4,000 points.
In addition there are Discovery Points for finding and documenting new challenging and attractive routes,
Eco Points for reporting environmental problems and Pillion Points for the Enduro drive with a partner.
Helping other teams will also earn you rewards. All these points you have to collect for five days.

Of course, it is our goal to drive in a way that doesn't bother or harm the very friendly countryside
and mountain population or the animals you will encounter everywhere! But that should really go without saying.

Considering the huge size of the area, it doesn't happen often that two teams meet unexpectedly on the road.
Participants must ride in groups of three in order to be able to help each other, if necessary.
The organizers will help with setting up the groups in camp.
The teams decide when they want to drive, which checkpoints to reach and which route they prefer, just according to whim, mood, skill and fitness.
And the selection is huge - there are all kinds of routes, from well-kept gravel roads to extremely steep mountain ways
littered with boulders, dark forest paths with deep ruts and bucolic country lanes crossing lush, blooming meadows.

All groups - from the "Not a single dent in my model S" faction to the TT500 hardcore fans - can figure out combinations that suit them.

Dates and Meeting Points:

The date for the XT500 EnduRoMania is August 3 to 9, 2008

For the "regular" EnduRoMania there are several dates per year and different meeting points.
They are all located in Southwest Romania, in the region of Caras-Severin, near the E70, about 1,400 km from Frankfurt/Main.
For "our" EnduRoMania, the meeting point will be in Brebu Nou
(according to Martina's special wishes).

Brebu Nou:

Brebu Nou (Weidenthal) is an old German village on Dreiwässer Lake, in the foothills of the Semenic Mountains.
The inhabitants of German origin emigrated to Germany in 1992, and Weidenthal was turned into a holiday village.
The former school, renovated by ASB-NRW (a German charity organization), is used as a summer youth camp.
In August 2008, it will be our base camp and meeting point!
It is located in the centre of the village, close to the church. You can't miss it.
The school has a big common room that is also used as a dining hall, a
well-stocked self-serve beverage bar with fair prices (check list), common showers and bathrooms.

In addition, the ASB has donated an ambulance that serves as a local emergency stop for small injuries and maladies.
The lawn in the courtyard offers camping space; cars, trailers and motorbikes can be parked there as well.
There are also accommodations available in the school house, in rooms for 4, 6 and 10 people.
In addition, there are a few houses close to the school that offer private double room accommodations - some even offer meals.

Every evening, there will be a big campfire in the schoolyard, where all participants will meet
and talk about the day's adventures. On Thursday, we'll have a barbecue. Music and drinks will be provided, too.
By the way, the beer is good! It's not necessary to bring your own "just in case".

workshop	Sergio	ambulance

The team:

Gabi - ambulance driver and general go-to guy,
Mihaela and Renate - the cooks,
Alida the assistant,
Bebela - the helper
and Alex "The Boss" - team supervisor.

They don't just provide a clean school, food, music, campfire and all organizational work, they also take care of the great event spirit.
Communication will be mostly done in German, only rarely in English.
There are many other helpers, of course.

If something breaks, the mechanics are always on standby in their little improvised workshop in the schoolyard. T
here you can still see real repairs, not just replacements - it's astonishing what these guys can save.

And Sergio himself isn't just the man everybody knows, he also has the best contacts,
so he is able to help in practically all situations imaginable.
One reason is certainly that the entire region benefits from his EnduRoMania project,
above and beyond the promotion of special tourism - by providing financial support,
for example, for schools, orphanages and other social institutions.

Schedule:

Participants arrive on the weekend before the event, from Friday, August 1, to Sunday, August 3, 2008.

On Sunday night, there will be a meet and greet event for all participants at the school.
If you don't have a complete team (at least three drivers), you can find your partners here.
The organizers will explain the schedule and details of the EnduRoMania and hand out materials, maps etc.

And we're off on Monday morning:
The EnduRoMania activities, including the accumulations of bonus points, take place until Friday, 2 p.m.
The results will be announced on Friday night, the winners will be honoured and we'll have a party.

We'll return home on Saturday/Sunday (August 9/10, 2008).

Prices:

The registration fee for participating in the EnduRoMania is EUR 138.00 per person. Escorts pay EUR 48.00.
The fee includes the entire organization of the event, from providing accommodation choices to supplying the current,
detailed maps that are produced specifically for the EnduRoMania.

In addition, each participant receives an Enduro sticker authorizing the use of the designated forest and farm roads
and written credentials which can be extremely helpful when dealing with Romanian and Hungarian authorities.
Accommodations and food are charged separately, depending on the offer of your choice and the location.

Here's an estimate based on experiences made so far:

Room and half-board at a guesthouse/farm: EUR 20.- to 32.- per day and person
Camping with your own tent and/or trailer: EUR 4.- to 6.- per day and person
Breakfast (generous: classic or buffet): EUR 4.- to 5.- per person
Lunch (2/3 courses): EUR 5.- to 8.- per person
Dinner (3/4 courses): EUR 7.- to 11.- per person

By the way, it can be rather difficult and time-consuming to procure food for your own needs along the way -
not to mention that it's very nice to just sit down at the dinner table after a long ride, instead of having to waste your time cooking.
So we recommend that you take advantage of the organized meals. And they are really good!

Martina	Honey-Checkpoint	under the clowds

Links:

Well, first up is the EnduRoMania website, of course:
www.enduromania.net

And here is a video of KM42, a "Spiegel-Online" magazine:
Video Spiegel.de KM42

And then there is an EnduRoMania movie made by Sergio:
EnduRoMania-Film

Registration:

If you would like to participate in the XT500 EnduRoMania, please contact us at
enduromania@tzwerbung.de

or via fax at:
+49 (0)40 723 70 254

or write a letter to:
XTom Zuendel, Neuengammer Hausdeich 526, 21037 Hamburg, Germany

or give us a call:
+49 40 723 70 252

State the names of the people who want to come, who will be participating
and who will be the escorting team and the place you will be coming from.
We'll make sure that you'll receive the registration info from Sergio.
So we'll have an idea how many participants to expect.

We hope to see many of you and we are looking forward to seeing you all.

Please tell all XT500 and TT500 drivers!

Thank you very much!

All the best from Frankfurt/Main and Hamburg

Martina and XTom

PS: We don't really have to mention that it's great fun for XT500 drivers to organize this event for XT500 drivers!

Let's repeat just in case:

"... for XT500 drivers …"

For everybody else, there are 7 or 8 other events every year. Check out www.enduromania.net

Special thanx to Lisa for translation! XTom, 05.07.2007