BONUS EPISODE - Rebelle Rally and Team MtnSubi

[00:00:10] Hello everybody, welcome to a bonus episode of the Subie & You podcast. I have Carrie, who goes by MtnSubi, and her co-driver Andrea on this little bonus episode.

[00:00:24] And this is the third year that I've had Carrie on the podcast for a little segment from the Rebelle Rally.

[00:00:31] So, it's really cool that we've had this opportunity three years in a row, and I am thankful for the Rebelle Rally for putting this together because they coordinated on their end to have Carrie and her co-driver from the past, or co-drivers from the past three years, to be able to get together and record from the rally.

[00:00:53] This segment is only about 20 minutes because they have limited time to be able to record with me, but I'm glad that I was able to put this together for them to share their experience and for everybody to hear from them and know what's going on in the rally.

[00:01:09] They're about halfway through, so we get to kind of get in the middle of it, and they share some really exciting news, and it's really cool to hear what they're doing out there.

[00:01:22] So, here we go with this conversation with Carrie and Andrea.

[00:01:42] Hey!

[00:01:43] Hey! How's it going, man?

[00:01:44] Look at this. Good.

[00:01:46] Hey!

[00:01:48] I got a t-shirt on, too.

[00:01:50] Nice. It's nice to see you.

[00:01:52] Good to see you, too. They're here. Let me see if I can get in the light.

[00:01:58] Okay, so how have you been? How's it going at the Rebelle Rally this year so far?

[00:02:03] Oh, man, it's hot.

[00:02:04] Yeah.

[00:02:05] Yeah, it's been a really hot year.

[00:02:07] Yeah.

[00:02:07] From Base Camp 1, it was hot already.

[00:02:12] Yeah.

[00:02:12] We didn't really need too much of our cold-weather gear, our jackets.

[00:02:21] How has it differed this year from previous years, other than the heat?

[00:02:29] Other than the heat.

[00:02:30] Other than the heat. Well, it was freezing cold last year, so it wasn't hot.

[00:02:34] Yeah.

[00:02:36] And it's just a different route and different way of doing things.

[00:02:42] There's more people this year.

[00:02:44] There's a couple extra teams this year. I don't remember if there was actually 65 last year.

[00:02:50] It was close.

[00:02:51] It was close.

[00:02:52] Yeah.

[00:02:54] But yeah, it's been pretty good.

[00:02:56] Good. So there's a really, really big difference this year than the previous years that you've done this.

[00:03:01] So I want you to talk about that because it's something that's been in the works for a long time.

[00:03:06] And I know it's a really, really big deal.

[00:03:08] And I'm really excited.

[00:03:10] And I know a lot of people are happy for you.

[00:03:12] And it's definitely well, well-deserved.

[00:03:15] So let us know who you've been partnered with this year.

[00:03:20] Besides my teammate, Andrea Schaefer, this is her eighth Rebel, my fourth.

[00:03:26] But we're really excited to be supported by Subaru of America this year, coming as a factory-supported team to the Rebel.

[00:03:34] So this is the first time that Subaru of America has participated in the Rebel, aside from the privateer teams coming in their own Subarus.

[00:03:45] So the last three years, I've been a privateer team in Mountain Subi, my 2014 Outback.

[00:03:53] And this year, we're back here doing the Rebel in the 2014 Outback.

[00:03:58] But we're really grateful to have the support of Subaru of America behind us this year.

[00:04:02] Yeah, that's pretty awesome.

[00:04:04] And that's a big deal and has definitely been needed, especially since this is your fourth year.

[00:04:10] Now, I thought it was your third year, but I didn't realize it was your fourth year.

[00:04:13] And I can't believe that we did this almost a year ago because we did the last one on October 17th.

[00:04:20] And it doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

[00:04:23] So that means time's going by too fast.

[00:04:25] The year has flown by so fast.

[00:04:28] And Andrea and I didn't know that we were for sure coming back to the Rebel this year until like end of August, beginning of September.

[00:04:39] It took a little while to get through the process and have SOA move forward with this arrangement.

[00:04:49] So how did you two get partnered up?

[00:04:52] We've actually had really, really good friends the last few years and talk all the time anyways.

[00:04:56] And this year, we both found ourselves without a teammate.

[00:05:01] And yeah, that's the long story short.

[00:05:05] Yeah.

[00:05:05] It just we knew we'd be good teammates for each other and we worked out well.

[00:05:10] So you've been doing it, you said, for eight years.

[00:05:13] And of course, Carrie, you've been doing it for four years.

[00:05:16] So you come into this with two people that are pretty experienced.

[00:05:20] So how has that made your experience different this year, Carrie?

[00:05:26] I think we've been able to be a lot more agile and adaptive, just knowing kind of what to expect,

[00:05:33] but being prepared for some twists and turns and kind of knowing the format of how the Rebel works and how competition works and how we've, you know,

[00:05:44] got to get stuff out of the car and set up our campsite and just kind of the process of how things work.

[00:05:51] And I think because Andrew and I have talked so much about our passion for the Rebel, that we kind of understood each other's roles and respected the other for what, you know,

[00:06:06] they're really each of us is really good at.

[00:06:08] And I think it's been an amazing pairing.

[00:06:11] Good, good.

[00:06:12] So have you had any challenges this year that you haven't had before or have you experienced anything that you haven't before?

[00:06:21] There's been different challenges as far as like what the Rebel has thrown at us.

[00:06:26] But that's always, there's always, every year there's always something different and different challenges that they throw at us.

[00:06:32] Yeah.

[00:06:33] To be expected.

[00:06:35] Yeah.

[00:06:35] So we're recording this on Tuesday evening, October 15th.

[00:06:39] How many days have y'all been there so far and been going out and racing?

[00:06:45] This is our fourth day of competition, sport competition.

[00:06:49] We had one prologue day and we finish up on Friday.

[00:06:54] Okay.

[00:06:55] So we have three more days of competition.

[00:06:59] Yeah.

[00:06:59] So far the car has been great.

[00:07:02] It's handled all of the terrain and long, and there were some long days of really hard desert driving.

[00:07:11] Wow.

[00:07:12] We get to play a little bit in the sand dunes today.

[00:07:15] And otherwise, everything's been going along pretty good.

[00:07:18] I've got one shock seal that is leaking, but we're going to keep an eye on it and watch it.

[00:07:25] So far it seems to be functioning just fine.

[00:07:29] But other than that.

[00:07:30] That's good.

[00:07:31] Things have been moving along pretty smoothly.

[00:07:33] I'm a knock on wood.

[00:07:35] Yeah.

[00:07:36] Yeah.

[00:07:37] What are some different preparations you made with your car this year than previous years?

[00:07:45] Let's see.

[00:07:46] I did the usual things like changing the CBTF out, all of the fluids.

[00:07:51] I rebuilt the shocks.

[00:07:53] Oh, one major thing that absolutely needed to be done that I've been putting off for years was a steering rack.

[00:08:00] It was the original steering rack, and it was pretty sloppy.

[00:08:05] 214 or so thousand miles on the original steering rack with me adventuring as hard as I do.

[00:08:13] Oh, yeah, you do.

[00:08:14] Yeah.

[00:08:15] It was an involved process, and I really appreciate Redneck with Tech, Jacob, and Milton Silver Bullet XV.

[00:08:23] I really appreciated all the help they put into getting that beast out.

[00:08:29] You had to take the entire front subframe off with the frame-wilded bumper in order to drop or hang the engine and the transmission in order to get the steering rack out.

[00:08:39] So that was a major thing that we had to do.

[00:08:42] Yeah, you're very fortunate that you have people out there that can help you do stuff like that, especially when you have a bit of a time crunch to get ready for the rally.

[00:08:53] And, you know, it's just, yeah.

[00:08:55] I mean, having that kind of help is huge because not everybody has that, so it's very nice.

[00:09:01] Yeah, we had a rally cross event the weekend before leaving for the Rebel, so it was definitely a time crunch to get everything kind of lined up.

[00:09:12] And everyone's schedule and availability and budget all lined up so that it got done before getting here.

[00:09:22] So when you know that you're going to be doing the Rebel rally and you know that it can be taxing on your car, just, you know, depending on what kind of terrain you're going through and just the number of days and the long hours,

[00:09:32] are you usually taking it easy the first few weeks before the rally, you know, just with your personal adventures or are you still just going at it, you know, up until the rally?

[00:09:46] I was definitely cognizant of making sure I didn't push it too hard.

[00:09:51] My list for preparation was already long.

[00:09:54] I didn't need to make it any longer by going out and breaking something or needing to repair something.

[00:10:01] So, yeah, I definitely take it a little easier in the month before the Rebel.

[00:10:05] So with you both, you know, all the teammates out there not having any type of technology really and just, you know, being out of your normal everyday element, what's the first thing you're going to do when you get back?

[00:10:21] Hug my kids.

[00:10:23] Yeah.

[00:10:24] My kids are a little bit younger.

[00:10:26] So, yeah, it'd be nice to go home and see them.

[00:10:28] Yeah.

[00:10:30] Yeah, I'm probably going to be calling my kids and saying hi and talking to them and checking in on what all's been going on.

[00:10:40] So I still have work that, you know, I left behind to come here and got to check in on some things.

[00:10:47] So, yeah.

[00:10:49] So is there anything else or is there anything like different about the rally this year than previous years other than the terrain?

[00:10:56] Because I know you have different courses or directions that you're going, but is there anything different about just the setup and base camp and everything?

[00:11:05] Or is it pretty much the same as usual?

[00:11:07] Well, this year, the same, we're starting from the same location in Mammoth Lakes.

[00:11:13] And we don't know exactly what the route is between our start location and our end location.

[00:11:19] But what's really different this year is our end location, our finish location.

[00:11:24] We usually end at Glamis in the Sand Dunes.

[00:11:27] And this year we're going to be ending at King, yeah, Soggy Lake.

[00:11:32] Was it Imperial?

[00:11:33] Johnson Valley area.

[00:11:34] Johnson Valley.

[00:11:35] Like where King the Hammers is located.

[00:11:37] So that's going to be a new and interesting twist.

[00:11:42] And usually podiums and awards and that sort of thing are done during the gala on Saturday night.

[00:11:49] And this year the podiums and awards are actually open to the public.

[00:11:54] Oh, nice.

[00:11:56] Saturday morning.

[00:11:56] There's a Cars and Coffee on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

[00:12:00] And then podium at 10.

[00:12:01] Yep.

[00:12:03] Yep.

[00:12:03] Okay.

[00:12:03] So y'all finish up the rally.

[00:12:05] No car, we're doing really well.

[00:12:06] Yeah.

[00:12:07] Good.

[00:12:07] Yeah.

[00:12:07] So where are y'all at in the standings right now?

[00:12:10] We're in first.

[00:12:12] Oh, awesome.

[00:12:13] Awesome.

[00:12:14] We've had three stage wins.

[00:12:18] Nice.

[00:12:18] And today's stage was second place.

[00:12:20] Second place, yeah.

[00:12:21] Yeah, very close second place.

[00:12:22] Very good.

[00:12:23] But we're really stoked about that.

[00:12:25] We're just out there doing our thing and, you know, keeping our nose down and trying not to think too much about what other teams may or may not be doing.

[00:12:32] Just going from, you know, checkpoint to checkpoint and working really well together and doing what we do.

[00:12:39] Good, good.

[00:12:40] Yeah.

[00:12:40] So the rally ends on Friday and then Saturday is the podium and you said Cars and Coffee.

[00:12:47] And then I guess when are you getting out of there on Saturday?

[00:12:50] We typically don't leave until Sunday morning.

[00:12:53] Oh, okay.

[00:12:54] Because Saturday night is a gala and it goes late into the evening.

[00:12:58] So we don't typically leave until Sunday morning.

[00:13:02] Yeah.

[00:13:03] I understand there may be a couple of Subaru folks coming out for Saturday morning.

[00:13:08] Yeah.

[00:13:08] Like from Subaru?

[00:13:10] Subaru enthusiasts.

[00:13:11] Oh, okay.

[00:13:12] Gotcha.

[00:13:12] Yeah.

[00:13:14] Yeah, that'd be nice if some Subaru people from Subaru came out to the gala.

[00:13:19] We're hoping.

[00:13:20] I know they were working on that.

[00:13:22] Yeah.

[00:13:22] Because this all kind of came together last minute.

[00:13:25] They've had other events going on.

[00:13:27] We're hoping they'll be able to make it out.

[00:13:30] Yeah, that would be nice.

[00:13:31] We lost our phones and we have no idea.

[00:13:34] They might be there.

[00:13:35] I don't know.

[00:13:36] I guess you'll find out.

[00:13:37] We'll find out.

[00:13:38] Yeah.

[00:13:39] So with having support from Subaru this year, and I know, like you said, it kind of came

[00:13:44] together, you know, kind of late, but are there talks of being supported again next year?

[00:13:50] And are you going to plan to be there again next year?

[00:13:53] Is this going to be something that you're going to continue to do for as long as you

[00:13:56] can?

[00:13:56] I would welcome the opportunity for next year, and I would love to continue working with the

[00:14:03] SOA and perhaps growing the presence here at the Rebel and seeing where else we can kind

[00:14:11] of take things.

[00:14:12] I think it's really exciting to have Subaru out here and supporting, you know, folks who

[00:14:17] like me, who, you know, started out in a off the showroom floor kind of Subaru and being

[00:14:26] able to grow that platform and have that car and that vehicle grow with me and my skills

[00:14:32] and my interests.

[00:14:33] You don't have to have a car built like mine to do the Rebel.

[00:14:37] You can do it with a car that's in your driveway.

[00:14:40] You definitely need to drive it very carefully because there's some rough technical driving

[00:14:46] here and it's quite a marathon.

[00:14:49] So, but I think it's a great, great proving ground for Subaru and their wilderness additions

[00:14:55] and any other models that they're developing to kind of pivot and acknowledge how off-road

[00:15:04] and, you know, capable these vehicles are.

[00:15:08] Yeah, it would be really nice to see them get a wilderness out there just off the showroom

[00:15:14] floor wilderness just to see how it does, you know, because they're very capable as a stock

[00:15:21] vehicle.

[00:15:22] But then, you know, the wilderness addition has a little bit more capabilities, a little

[00:15:26] more ground clearance.

[00:15:27] And it'd be interesting to see how well one would do out there.

[00:15:32] Yeah.

[00:15:33] Just a little bit of gear ratio change like what the wilderness has can make a big difference.

[00:15:40] Yeah.

[00:15:42] So I know that you have, you know, you've been doing it this year, fourth year.

[00:15:46] So what, what kind of like friendships are you making, you know, doing this?

[00:15:52] Because obviously you have people from all different teams that are representing different

[00:15:55] brands.

[00:15:56] And so you're competing against each other.

[00:15:58] But, you know, just from everything that I've heard, there's, you know, everybody gets

[00:16:02] along really well.

[00:16:03] They're supportive of each other.

[00:16:05] So, you know, what does this meant for you, especially coming into your fourth year?

[00:16:10] Regardless of which team or which manufacturer the team is driving for, we're all still humans

[00:16:17] and we're all still women and individuals.

[00:16:20] So no matter what, we're, we're here to support each other and encourage each other and to help

[00:16:27] each other get through this marathon.

[00:16:29] It's, it's something that, that has shown me and empowered me to continue giving back to the

[00:16:38] community and, you know, supporting other people to, to grow their interests and their skill levels.

[00:16:44] And it really started here with, with the rebel and just the, the atmosphere that they create

[00:16:51] here is just, you know, amazing.

[00:16:54] Unmatched.

[00:16:55] Unmatched.

[00:16:56] Definitely unmatched.

[00:16:57] Yeah.

[00:16:57] It's really cool to have, um, have a group of so many women doing such hard things together

[00:17:06] that, that can bring out the best in people.

[00:17:09] Oh yeah.

[00:17:10] And supporting everyone.

[00:17:11] Um, I just think it's, I think it's amazing.

[00:17:14] So Andrea, you're about halfway through and what has your experience been like with Carrie this year?

[00:17:21] It's been amazing, but it also helps that we've been friends for so long.

[00:17:26] And we've had many, many conversations prior to actually starting this year.

[00:17:30] So we knew what we liked and what we didn't like.

[00:17:33] And it, it's just, it's been pretty flawless.

[00:17:37] And we've been open to trying new things that, you know, things I haven't tried in the past and she hasn't tried in the past.

[00:17:43] So I think, um, I think it's been a pretty, pretty cool relationship.

[00:17:48] Yeah.

[00:17:48] Yeah.

[00:17:48] And I think it's good to have a different partner than, you know, previously because just because you can bounce things off of each other, have new ideas, different ideas.

[00:17:58] And like you were saying, you know, just kind of work together, especially with your experience of both doing the rebel for, for so long.

[00:18:05] Yeah.

[00:18:06] It definitely helps.

[00:18:07] Well, and I think that we've, from each of our previous partners on the rebel, we've learned new things from each person.

[00:18:17] And, um, so I think it's been pretty cool.

[00:18:20] Yeah.

[00:18:21] Yeah.

[00:18:21] Is there anything else y'all want to share about your experience there so far or what you're expecting with the rest of the rebel?

[00:18:30] Bend cooler weather.

[00:18:33] I think it's probably a hundred degrees here right now.

[00:18:36] Yeah.

[00:18:36] Wow.

[00:18:37] Maybe, maybe cooler, but.

[00:18:38] And then it was freezing last year, huh?

[00:18:41] Yeah, it was like 14 degrees last year.

[00:18:44] And then it went to 114 degrees in, in Glamath.

[00:18:47] Yeah.

[00:18:47] So we had a hundred degree swing.

[00:18:49] Wow.

[00:18:50] That's crazy.

[00:18:52] Yeah, it was pretty consistent.

[00:18:53] I mean, we don't really know what to expect because we don't know what's going to happen each day until that morning.

[00:18:58] Okay.

[00:18:59] So it's just part of the adventure.

[00:19:01] Yep.

[00:19:02] Makes it fun.

[00:19:02] Yeah.

[00:19:03] So your, your temperature range can pretty much change like very drastically just within, you know, one route.

[00:19:11] Yeah.

[00:19:12] Yeah.

[00:19:12] Yeah, I could.

[00:19:14] Yeah.

[00:19:15] But anyways, we're just here to, here along, along for the journey.

[00:19:19] Yeah.

[00:19:20] See what happens.

[00:19:21] Well, thank you for taking the time to get on here again.

[00:19:25] Is this so, did we do this the first year also or was it the second year?

[00:19:29] Yeah.

[00:19:30] I think it was the second year.

[00:19:31] Okay.

[00:19:32] Because the first year I hadn't quite made it into the, the off-road community with Subaru folks.

[00:19:38] It really came after, after the Rebel was finished that I started feeling more comfortable, kind of like doing uncomfortable things.

[00:19:47] So I was reaching out to others to, you know, learn from and go on adventures with.

[00:19:55] Yeah.

[00:19:56] Yeah.

[00:19:56] It's been pretty amazing to see your journey and just, you know, knowing you from like when I first connected to you and, and then just all the crazy stuff that you do out there with your car, just on a normal, you know, everyday basis.

[00:20:11] And all the fun places you get to go and the people, people you get to get out with and you have some pretty amazing experience.

[00:20:18] And then, and then just to add this to it, you know, you've had a pretty awesome journey with your car.

[00:20:24] Yeah.

[00:20:25] Yeah.

[00:20:25] It's, it's been good.

[00:20:26] I feel very fortunate to be where I'm at doing what I'm doing and being around the kind of people I'm around.

[00:20:34] So.

[00:20:34] Yeah.

[00:20:35] Thank you.

[00:20:36] You're welcome.

[00:20:41] All of us Subaru enthusiasts to, to chat with each other and connect with everyone.

[00:20:48] And it's been, it's been really great hearing about everyone's builds and life and adventures and the super cool.

[00:20:57] Yeah.

[00:20:57] Love, always love what you're doing.

[00:20:59] Well, thank you.

[00:20:59] Thank you.

[00:21:00] I appreciate that.

[00:21:01] It's important.

[00:21:02] Yeah.

[00:21:02] Well, I'm glad to have you on for a third year in a row.

[00:21:07] Thanks.

[00:21:07] You're welcome.

[00:21:08] We all enjoy the rest of your evening and hopefully you can get some sleep and keep up that great momentum.

[00:21:15] Thank you.

[00:21:16] You're welcome.

[00:21:16] Talk to y'all later.

[00:21:18] All right.

[00:21:18] Bye.

[00:21:19] Bye.

[00:21:19] Bye.

[00:21:20] If you want to follow the rally for the rest of the week, you can go to rebelrally.com and they have options there to see what, where the teams are in their standings.

[00:21:31] And you can also go to live and follow along.

[00:21:35] So there's a lot of great information there.

[00:21:37] And again, I want to thank the rebel rally.

[00:21:40] And of course, Carrie and Andrea for hopping on the mic to share their experience this year.

[00:21:46] And I'm glad that I was able to share it with all of you.

[00:21:49] So hope you enjoy the rest of the week.

[00:21:51] We've got another bonus episode coming out on Friday, which is going to be my experience from being at the Huffines third annual car show this past Saturday.

[00:22:03] And then I will be attending SubiFest Texas this Saturday and I will have a booth.

[00:22:08] So if anybody's going to be there, I will be in the retail village, which will be kind of like in the back corner behind where all the Subaru stuff is, like the Subaru village.

[00:22:20] There's also going to be a shelter that's going to be out there.

[00:22:24] So there's going to be a giant blow up dog and I'll be kind of near that area.

[00:22:29] So that's where my booth is going to be.

[00:22:31] But since I have my road wireless pro, I'm going to be out a lot.

[00:22:36] So I may not be at my booth too much, but you could still stop by and check it out.

[00:22:40] So again, you can follow the rest of the rally this week by going to rebelrally.com and go support the team.

[00:22:46] You can also follow Mountain Subi's page and see some updates there as well.

[00:22:52] So thanks again.

[00:22:53] Enjoy the rest of your week and we'll see you on Friday for another bonus episode.

[00:22:58] Much Subi love.

[00:22:59] Raph.