Although they only live 40 minutes away, Mandy and Alex found themselves together more out west than they did out East when they first met. Both searching for adventures in a more beautiful, drier climate, they both appreciate the beauty of the west and use every excuse they can to get out there. Living so close, they supported each other throughout the 2022 Rally, then had the opportunity to partner up in 2023 and the rest is history! The 2023 Rally was a huge success for the team, where they became the first privateer team to compete in an EV, which also happened to be Mandy’s R1S Orion. In 2024, they competed together in Alex’s Jeep Gladiator, who completed its second Rebelle Rally! The moved up in ranks and are hoping to do the same this year with a new vehicle, G. I. Jane, a manual Sport Jeep Wrangler!.
Pirelli, Penzoil, Blue Ridge Overland Gear, Castleberrys Welsh Cobs, many friends and family!
Project Manager. Mostly it’s herding feral cats, but it’s taught me a lot about how to hold your ground and adapt to personalities to meet common goals.
Alexandria, VA
Mary Washington University. Geography with focus on physical landforms.
"Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks and I’ve learned much from both of their styles" – Jimmy Buffet
I can bake a souffle. Chocolate preferred.
Back for my fourth Rebelle! Over the past few years I found happiness for myself in off-roading. The Rebelle is an invaluable part of that journey. The community that surrounds and embodies the Rally is like none other that I've been a part of. The rally becomes addicting. Every year I learn something new. My rookie year I mostly drove. Years 2 and 3, I spent more time in the navigation seat and learned a lot of lessons that I want to come back to implement. I’m looking forward to coming back to the 2025 Rally with Mandy, my teammate since 2023 and in a manual Jeep! It was a huge accomplishment being part of the first privateer EV team to compete in the Rally back in 2023. We learned a lot about efficiency last year that we can apply to driving my JT last year and succeeded in climbing up the ranks to 9th place. I’m looking forward to applying all the lessons and tricks I’ve learned through the years to be a stronger team in 2025.
Travel and nature. I’ve been lucky to have the flexibility to pack the Jeep and hit the road at least once a year. These long, cross-country drives with hikes, deserts, and mountain visits peppered in are my favorite part of the year.
The Dirtbag Diaries, The Great Blue Dream, Out Cold
Hiking in the Peruvian Andes. I always loved the mountains, the Andes were breathtaking. I was able to go when I was 18 and I’m grateful for that experience every day.
2022, 2023, 2024
To continually grow as a competitor. Every year I get stronger with my navigation skills and I want to keep improving. I hope that we’re able to move up the score board from last year, but more importantly I want to have another amazing experience with Mandy and meet more of the incredible people who make the Rebelle an inspirational experience.
Cooking. My mom was a great cook. Even though I was a stubborn kid and never wanted to help in the kitchen, I picked up cooking later. Dove into cooking classes and trying various recipes. If you’re in town, stop by and I’m always happy to put delicious food on a friend’s plate.
I didn’t get into motorsports until 2020 when I bought my JT. I jumped into the deep end and signed up for as many classes and trips as I could. This included signing up for the Rebelle in 2021. I’ve had to keep a “just keep going” attitude with pursuing my passion for off-roading. Some years I make gains and sometimes it feels like I’m spinning my wheels in the sand, but each attempt to push forward gets me a little closer to my goals. This rule applies to Rebelle preparation.
I’ve done mountain bike endurance races including a couple of 13hr races and one 24hr race. I’ve driven cross county 12 times in the last 4 years. I hope to sneak in a few finish trips next year.
Dunes. These are hard, hot, fast days. The dunes and specifically Glamis hold a special place for me. As a rookie, I drove to Glamis from Virginia for training and that was my first taste of what the Rebelle would be. I look forward to going back for that class every year.
Returning to normal life after the Rally.
My favorite part of the Rebelle is seeing how far each of the teams grow between their first practices of the winter to showing up for the start line in the fall. I went to my first training with 5 rookie teams and each of them grew miles by the time the rally came around. The last couple of years I’ve been able to help with training and seeing the rookies build their skills has continued to be my favorite part of the rally. We all need folks cheering for us, and I hope I’ve been able to be a few folks cheerleader.
I was an avid equestrian until my early 20s. Driving a truck and trailer was something I learned early. During one of my first solo trips to a competition, trailer in tow, I pulled in for gas quickly finding I forgot which side had the fuel cap. I backed up the trailer, swung around and was back on track. When I went in to pay, the attendant complimented my skills.
Mandy is an Army veteran living in Maryland, who wishes she lived out west (next year hopefully!), who is always down for a challenge and an adventure. If it’s spontaneous - even better as some of the greatest memories came from saying yes to crazy ideas and trips!
Just like my hobbies in life, I do a lot of things. Currently, the CrossFit gym that we own, Blue Crab CrossFit in Jessup, Maryland, is where my primary focus is as I’m a one woman show on the management of the gym, so that keeps me busy. I have a slew of fantastic coaches that run the classes and look after the gym to allow me to pursue my other passions of travel and offroad instruction. When I’m not at the gym, I’m usually traveling and/or teaching/guiding with Barlow Adventures. Teaching is something I found later in life that I never knew that I would enjoy to the extent that I do - it’s become my favorite thing whether I’m coaching a CrossFit class or teaching offroading. Seeing people challenge themselves and put themselves in uncomfortable situations to become a better person, and to be a person that is part of their journey is so rewarding and something I want to continue to do. When I’m not doing either of those things, I work part time for the Department of Defense doing data management. I’ve worked for the DoD in some capacity since I was 17 (23 years!). It’s been rewarding and something very cool to do, but I’m at a point where I’m ready to shift gears and pursue the passions listed above!
Jessup, MD
Army veteran
I love school! I did my undergraduate and first Master’s degree at Indiana University. For undergrad, I studied Policy Analysis, then did Comparative & International Affairs and Public Management for my Masters. 10 years later I went back to school for a second Masters degree to fill some gaps in knowledge, studying Engineering Management with a focus in Cybersecurity.
“The greatest pleasure you’ll ever have is doing what others tell you you couldn’t.” – Walter Bagehot
I brew beer! After college, my roommate and I had monthly beer brewing days. We haven’t brewed in a while, but I still have the equipment in our shed and hope to someday pull it out again. It was fun creating our own versions of our favorite beer and inviting friends and neighbors over to hang out as it’s usually a day project! My favorites to brew are the holiday brews (Christmas/Fall) and IPAs!
Every year when I cross the finish line, I find myself saying, “next year…” and already planning for the next year. It’s an incredible challenge and so much fun, and an even greater experience when you can complete it with a fantastic teammate. I’m stoked to be coming back with Alex for our third year together! She’s an amazing teammate and makes the experience even greater and I love the ability to switch roles with her in the navigator and driver seat. Having full confidence in each other through trust and support is a great feeling and I cannot wait to see how this year goes for us! Having the opportunity to work with so many of the teams throughout the year thanks to Nena and Barlow Adventures has made the Rebelle even more fun! To see where the rookies are at the start of the year for the Glamis training and to see where they end up at the Rally, crossing the finish line is so cool and I’m so thankful for that ability. I cannot wait to see the teams kick some butt this year and gain the appreciation for the entire experience like I have gained over the years.
Nena Barlow! She is the most kind and caring person I know. She’ll drop whatever she’s doing to help you out and is constantly trying to help people become better versions of themselves. It’s so fun to be competing with her and to see her walk the walk and inspire others. It’s also fun to see her so well respected in a male dominated community - so many people in the industry look to her for advice and experience.
Podcast: Smartless, Money for Couples, Book: Unreasonable Hospitality, Catch 22; Show: Ted Lasso
Driving an EV across the country AND competing in it for the 2023 Rebelle Rally! The Rally is hard enough on its own - adding an EV to the mix added an extra layer of adventure and was also the first year Alex and I competed together. I’m so thankful for her willingness to embrace that challenge! Driving it across the country before Rivians could access the Tesla network added to the adventure - there were times chargers didn’t work, or were slow, which forced a detour and resulted in taking some road I normally don’t take when driving across the country for the Rally.
2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Do better than last year and leave better friends than we started. Learn from past and this year’s mistakes - don’t make the same mistakes and be a better version of myself this year than I was last year. We broke the top 10 last year, top 5 would be amazing! It’s going to be a tough year of competition, but we’re ready for the challenge and embracing it!
Travel! I love being on the move and seeing new and beautiful places. I love the opportunities to tie travel with teaching through Barlow Adventures. If I’m not traveling for teaching, I’m visiting family around the country, getting in a car and driving to see new places, or jumping on a plane to wherever there are seats. My dad has worked for United Airlines since I was three, so travel has been a huge part of my life and I’ve been able to take advantage of flying benefits, flying standby and having the ability to see some amazing places! CrossFit is my main sport. I coach it and aim to workout 4-5 days per week. My goal is to compete once a year or more at some local competitions to get outside of my comfort zone and to stay consistent. I love weightlifting and gymnastics, so CrossFit has been a great blend of that and has made walking across the finish line on my hands possible every Rebelle :-) I'm so appreciative of the support of my husband, Josh, to do the things that fill my cup and to encourage it along the way. He was actually the one that told me about the Rebelle Rally and told me to sign up and take his Jeep! I'm so thankful for his love and support for these passions!
Prior to the Rebelle, I did not have a background in motorsports! The Rebelle has opened so many doors for me and has introduced me to so many amazing people in motorsports. It’s been incredible and I love learning about other related motorsports and the other Rebelle’s passion for them!
I joined the Army at the age of 17 and then deployed to Afghanistan for a year when I was 18. It’s crazy looking back on how young I was for that experience, but it truly had a huge impact on me and the direction of my life I look after the deployment. Experiencing the Afghan culture and hospitality from people who had so little, meant a lot and is generosity I try to pass on whenever possible. When we took over our CrossFit gym, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was poorly run and had no systems in place, so it’s been an experience learning how to repair a failing business, as someone who has never owned a business, and to turn it around to where it is today. I have always had a huge amount of respect for small business owners and this experience has given me an even greater appreciation for them. Support your local small businesses!
Canyon driving! The views are amazing and it’s so fun to drive the curvy roads in tight canyons!
Heading home after the Rally and reentering society! You’re on such a high when you leave. When you get back to society, they have no idea what you just went through!
It’s changed me in so many ways. It’s made me a better communicator, more aware of myself and my actions and how they affect others, and most surprisingly has lit a fire of passion for teaching offroading. Prior to the Rally I had dabbled in offroading, but now to be in the position I’m in is so cool and rewarding! I love the ability to return to work to be a better version of myself and to see the rookies I’ve worked with throughout the year become a better, stronger version of themselves as well. What a gift!
The two things that come to mind is working on my own car, thanks to my dad being an airline mechanic and learning to drive a manual car with my mom. Dad wanted us all to have an understanding of vehicles and to be able to do the basic maintenance on them, so any time working on the cars with my dad is a great memory! I also started out driving a manual car, so I remember coming back from getting my learner’s permit and my mom pulling off on the side of our back country road, and teaching me how to drive a manual! Of course it was full of lots of jerking around and some stalling, but I’m thankful for her and my dad taking the time to teach me that, because I’ve owned a number of manuals AND will be competing in one this year! Fun fact, my mom was also a mechanic in the Air Force so I have the love for working on vehicles from both parents!
