Off Road Podcast 360 – return to the Alcan 5000

This episode of the Off Road Podcast is Sponsored by WARN, Medical Gear Outfitters, and Colby Valve.

Tonight, Aaron shoots his guns, Jeremy goes swimming, & Ben sleeps on the porch 

Welcome to the off-road podcast. A podcast about everything off-road. We cover the news, review products, and interview people in the off road industry.  Your hosts tonight are Aaron, Jeremy and my name is Ben.  Welcome to the show.

The week in review is brought to you by Medical gear outfitters

What are you waiting for? Are you waiting to have a casualty on the trail? Check out Medical Gear Outfitters dot com to get straightened out.  Medical Gear Outfitters has everything you need whether you are going out for the day or traveling on a year-long expedition.  Head over there to get offroad specific kits that meet all your needs.  While you’re there use code “Offroadpodcast” for 10% off.

Jeremy –   I went to great wolf lodge.

Ben – I went to Arrons and shot can cannon did a little hot tubbing followed by sleeping on his porch in the iron man swag

Andy –

Mercedes –

Patriotpatch.co 

We also want to thank our sponsor Patriot Patch. Head over to Patriotpatch.co and check out their selection of great patches, shirts, cleaning mats, signs , and stickers.  You can also join the patch of the month club for 15 bucks and receive a patch, matching sticker, and artist proof each month.

News brought to you by Colby Valve

• Coming from the National Parks Service Washed out roads in yellowstone
  • All entrances to Yellowstone National Park CLOSED temporarily due to heavy flooding, rockslides, extremely hazardous conditions
  • no inbound visitor traffic at any of the five entrances into Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday, June 14, and Wednesday, June 15, at a minimum

• From Dirt Fish – Changes to dakar rally
  • Shorter 70% route
  • Digital maps
  • Options for electric, bio fuels, and hydrogen vehicles
  • removal of the neutralization zones in stages. This was a speed-controlled section of the special stage which effectively split the stages into two sections. By neutralizing the stage, competitors had time to complete minor repairs, take on food or even a comfort break. These things will still be possible during the stages, but crews will have to do so safe in the knowledge that time loss will play a role.
  • removal of such a zone will reduced the risk of receiving speeding penalties, like Prodrive’s Sébastien Loeb did in 2021
• Finally in tonight’s news, Andy beats his wife….in writing articles…. Motor Press Guild Announces Winners in MPG Best of Auto Journalism Awards
  • The award recipient for Best News Article was “Registration Revoked” written by Andy Lilienthal. Other finalists in the category were “They Love the Car That People Love to Hate” written by Roy Furchgott and “Breaking the Garage’s Glass Ceiling” written by Mercedes Lilienthal.

Main Topic powered by WARN  

Andy Lilienthal (driver)

Andy Lilienthal is a die-hard gearhead. He’s written about cars professionally since 1999 and has worked in the automotive aftermarket for 16 years, mostly at Warn Industries, the leader in vehicle recovery winches. Andy is an advanced off-road driver, teaches vehicle recovery classes, and writes about outdoor, off-road, and automotive topics for outlets like TREAD Magazine, Petersen’s 4Wheel & Off-Road, Gear Junkie, The Truth About Cars, and more. He’s also appeared in the New York Times, APM Marketplace, and other publications. In addition, Andy piloted the 5,120-mile 2020 winter Alcan 5000 Rally in the couple’s 1991 right-hand-drive diesel Pajero 4×4, has competed in Pacific Northwest time-speed-distance rallies as well as autocross races, and even did the Gambler 500. When not competing or writing, Andy works on his 4x4s and daily driver subcompact. When not wrenching, he and his wife, Mercedes, can be found exploring off-road trails across the world.

Mercedes Lilienthal (navigator)

As the Editor-At-Large of TREAD Magazine and contributor to The New York Times, Car and Driver, Forbes Wheels, Autoblog, and several other automotive outlets, Mercedes creates award-winning content involving vehicular adventure travel, the automotive industry, and women within it. In addition to auto journalism, Mercedes offers PR/marketing services to a variety of automotive-related clients. Aside from her work, she’s competed in several rallies, like the 2018 and 2021 Rebelle Rally. In ’21, Mercedes partnered with Volkswagen of America to drive the newly released all-electric AWD ID.4. Her team made history as the first EV crossover to complete it. She covered the event solely as media in 2019/2020, too. Mercedes also partnered with Andy as his navigator for the 2020 Alcan 5000 Rally. They were the tribute 4×4 to legendary racer Rod Hall, placing 2nd in the Historical Class and achieving Finisher/Arctic awards, as well as the coveted Go Farther award.

2022 Alcan 5000 Rally info:

Andy and I are partnering with Subaru of America with an Outback Wilderness for this year’s summer Alcan 5000 Rally. This Outback Wilderness will be slightly customized to enhance its already capable OEM AWD “softroading” platform. 5,000+ miles, 10 days, 30% or so gravel/dirt. This year’s Alcan 5000 Rally will take competitors from Washington state through Canada’s most remote surroundings. This includes Quesnel, Telegraph Creek, Whitehorse, Dawson City, Skagway, Yellowknife, with a finish in Jasper, Alberta. The Alcan 5000 Rally is in August/early Sept. 

We competed in the winter Alcan 5000 Rally in Feb./March of 2020 with our Mitsubishi Pajero right-hand-drive diesel, in temps to -43 and beyond. A wide array of other customized 4x4s also competed in winter 2020, with lots of challenges for all competitors.

Andy and I have had a long-standing relationship with Subaru as well as Subaru Motorsports, covering the Oregon Trail Rally races (on the ground and once even via their helicopter photographing Travis Pastrana and David Higgins as they rallies the event), reviewing their vehicles for various publications, and owning a few Subarus ourselves (we actually picked up a 2022 Crosstrek w/ manual transmission). This Subie will complement three customized RHD Mitsubishi turbo-diesel 4x4s we own (our primary project vehicles), as well as a built-up subcompact car.

Where to find us:

You can find us via Crankshaft Culture (.com and related social media, with Twitter as @crankshaftcult). You can also find Mercedes Lilienthal via her name (and as @writerwithgrit on Twitter). We both work in the automotive industry: Andy as the Strategic Communications Manager at Warn Industries and Mercedes as an automotive journalist and PR/marketing consultant to automotive-minded clients.

Also make sure to go and sign our CHANGE.COM Petition to get Andy and Mercedes to assemble their Subaru 

Closing Statements

Thanks everyone who listens to us weekly and also to those who watch us live on YouTube.  We really appreciate you.  Please share us with your friends and help us grow.  God bless America!

Don’t Forget to visit Patriot Patch and join the patch of the month club. Check out our Gaia affiliate link for up to 40% off. Also, don’t forget to head over to Warn, Medical Gear Outfitters, and Colby Valve to see all their great gear. We are a proud part of the firearms radio network. Got a question or comment?  Send it to us through our webpage at firearmsradio.net or through our social media channels by searching for Off Road Podcast.  Also, you can listen to us live at overlandradio.com Mondays at 7pm Pacific.  When offroad please remember to have fun, tread lightly, be safe and courteous. Thanks for listening.