Parkes' Danielle McDonald is embarking on the trip of a lifetime - one that will test her skills both on and off motorbike.
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Aged just 16, McDonald is one of three women selected to represent Australia in the FIM International Six-Day Enduro in Argentina.
She's signed up for five gruelling days of racing over natural terrain - through bush, over rocks and logs for more than six or seven hours a day - followed by a final day of racing on the motocross track.
Not only that but the riders have to do all their mechanics themselves.
It's the fulfilment of a long-held dream for the young rider from Parkes.
Danielle has been riding since she was just two and competing since she was five.
She won the Australian Junior Girls Motocross title in Darwin this month, and has no less than three Australian Junior Off Road Championships to her name.
The ISDE is the next step, and she couldn't have better teammates and mentors for her debut than six-time ISDE trophy holders Jess Gardiner and Tayla Jones.
"I've known Jess for years and years, and we've always talked about going to the 6Days one day, and hopefully I could go with her," McDonald said on the eve of her departure.
"It's always been a dream and I finally get to do it."
She's got a great mechanic who's been supporting her to learn all she needs to know on the mechanical front for her 250cc Yamaha. While he can travel to Argentina for the competition, it's only to offer advice.
"In the 6Days no-one's allowed to touch your bike: if something goes wrong or if I break something I have to fix it," McDonald said.
There's a 15-minute work period at the end of each day for the task, and 10 minutes in the morning.
McDonald expects it to be every bit as intense as it sounds, and she's thrilled.
She's been on the bike every day, travelling to tackle endurance courses as well as putting in plenty of time on the home motocross track and learning to handle the bike over obstacles like fallen logs.
"It's pretty hard training," she said of the endurance course.
"Big hill climbs with rocks and rivers and stuff like that."
An established competitor at an Australian level, McDonald but travelled to Portugal to compete in the last round of Enduro GP to get a feel for the competition at a world level.
The ISDE will be her first major international campaign.
"I love the competition, I love the adrenaline rush that it gives you: it's such a good feeling - and it's actually such a good environment, you've got all your friends there," she said.
Making all the difference will be the fact that her family - dad Jason, mum Christine, and her sister and brother - will all be there to cheer her on.
The Parkes community can also show their support: the Australian women's team is still looking to fill some final sponsorship opportunities.
You can go online to gofundme.com/f/aussie-girls-to-isde-2023-continued to donate to help cover the team's costs.
