Riding the Void 8

For the first time in 6 years I participated in a rally without my loving co-pilot, Barbara.  Her week was spent on the beach as I prepped to ride solo.  This meant I had to revisit the process since my secretary wasn't going to be in charge of keeping up with the bookkeeping!

Adjustments were made and I was sure I had a workable solution before leaving early Friday morning on October 11th for Brunswick, GA which was the selected start point for this years rally.  It was an easy ride only complicated by the intense fog and spitting rain I encountered in Montgomery which made me miss a turn and take a scenic tour of some of the less than desirable areas of the capital city.  Arriving in Brunswick around 4 PM, I got settled into the hotel and enjoyed an evening socializing with other riders at a nearby watering hole.

Rallying with another rider has certain benefits.  The main one is there is someone along who can help you pick up the pieces if you crash and burn in the middle of nowhere.  You are totally on your own collecting bonuses, keeping records, getting lost (which seems to always be the case when the GPS leads you down some winding goat path), and making other mistakes.  I would be riding along with good friend from Athens, GA - David Clark.  You'll have to ask him for his views on the rally outcome!

The scenario for this year's Void was a bit different from years past.  The start would be on a Saturday rather than the normal Friday due to some scheduling conflicts with the host hotel in Fredericksburg, VA.  Starting at 9:00 AM on Saturday, we had 31 hours to be at the finish line on Sunday.  A mandatory 3 hour rest break fit in there somewhere and in order to avoid penalties, we had to be ready for scoring by 2 PM.  The plan was to make it into Fredericksburg in plenty of time to avoid those penalties.

The theme for the 8th running of the Void was music so every bonus location was in in some way related to music - from bonuses about the Allman Brothers to Led Zeppelin and everything in between.  The planned route would encompass Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Starting with a time of 0852 and an odometer reading of 26271, the first bonus was a photo of a YMCA about 1/4 mile from the gas station.  I texted my start information in to the designated number and it was on the road!  I would later check to make sure I got an OK back ensuring the information had been received.

Next on the list was a photo of The Music Store in Bloomingdale GA.  Music stores certainly fit the theme.  Photo snapped at 0957.

About photographs!  For some reason photos wouldn't transfer from the cameras SD card to computer so this is a photo-less ride report.  Sorry about that!

Bonuses fell in quick procession as the day went on.  Photographs of statues of the likes of James Brown, pictures of gun stores and florists in honor of Guns and Roses, symphonic performing arts centers, Buffalo Wild Wings, Greenwood, SC and on.

Around 7:00 PM we had made our way to Hiltons, VA and the home of the Carter Family Fold.  Dedicated to the preservation and performance of old time country and bluegrass music, it has been operating since 1979.  Johnny Cash played his last concert there in 2003 only a few months before his death.  This evening was performance night and the place was packed.  We had to photograph a large record mounted on the side of the building.  Maneuvering between parked cars, buses, and pedestrians was a challenge, but photo accomplished it was off to the next bonus.

The Crooked Road:  Virginia's Heritage Music Trail winds through the mountains of Southwest Virginia and I do mean winds!  Aptly named Crooked Road, as darkness fell we arrived at 1957 with an odometer reading of 26858.  10 hours into the rally and 587 miles under the tires.

Into Kentucky and the Van Lear Coal Miner's Museum in Butcher Hollow honored in the song by Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter.  Buried in the hills of eastern Kentucky, the museum was seeing double duty as a Haunted House as evidenced by the crowd of teens and young adults lined up on the doorsteps.  I convinced a young lady to hold my rally flag for the obligatory photograph and soon it was off again.  Time is 2242 and the odometer reads 29686.

Weaving through Kentucky and Ohio snagging bonuses brought us to Cross Lanes, WV which is the home of country music star Kathy Mattea.  Cross Lanes also claims to be America's Largest Unincorporated City.  A photo of the sign proclaiming it to be the home of Kathy was snapped and then across the street for the start of our rest bonus.  Time is 1:00 AM odometer reads 27111.

Behind schedule a bit at this point, the rest bonus was going to be 3 hours only.  Sleep temporarily escaped me since it does take a little while to calm down from the frenetic pace of rallying, and way to soon the alarm announced it was time to get moving.  Coffee cup full, it was off to the capital of West Virginia - Charleston for a receipt.

At the pump next to me was a group of taxi driver's frantically trying to render aid to one of their passengers - a scantily clad lady who appeared to be either having a panic attack or maybe a little too much pharmaceutical fun.  Rather comical in a sad way as she was laid out on the back seat of a taxi breathing into a bag as the Three Stooges played paramedic.  I have no idea what the outcome was since we quickly rolled on.

Into every life some rain must fall is the old saying and today was not going to be an exception to that rule.  Rain started falling around daybreak and would be the theme for the remainder of the day.

Bonuses in honor of Hank Williams fell in quick succession enroute to Winchester, VA and a bell tower with a plaque honoring the legendary Patsy Cline.  It is now 1144 and we are 1200 miles into the rally.  Fredericksburg is not that far away now but the rain continues to slow our progress.

The Rainbow Road was the site of the filming of “Sweet Dreams” the story of the life of Patsy Cline.  Located in Rippon, WV, it had the appearance of a true honky tonk complete with a neon rainbow across the top of the building.  1215 and the clock is really starting to click down.

One more bonus stop - Cracker Barrel.  We had found one near the finish line and had to take a photograph sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch along with a picture of our motorcycle with the Cracker Barrel in the background.  It’s now 1415 and sadly penalty points have started to accrue.

Finish Line!  2:25 and 1317 miles under the wheels.  Quickly gathering what is needed to complete scoring, I sat down and completed my tally sheet listing all 38 bonuses to be claimed.  Reviewing it before turning in my envelope for scoring I discovered I had left a bonus out and had to rewrite the entire thing!  More penalty points!  Anyway, I managed to turn my envelope in at 1519 incurring a total of 49 penalty points.

We hung around and waited to be scored.  Sitting down with the scorer, we quickly ran though the list without losing any more points.  You never know where you stand until the final tally is announced at the banquet.

Shower, quick nap, and then off the banquet for socializing, dinner and the awards ceremony.  The dinner was plentiful and delicious as we waited for the final announcement of awards.  A bit of a computer glitch delayed the announcement as Scott, the Rallymaster, tap danced a bit killing time.

Finally it was awards time.  As the top finishers were announced, I was surprised to hear my name called for 2nd Place among the Brunswick starters.  1829 points was my total score.  The winner from Brunswick - John Bailey - finished with 1847.   Penalty points had cost first place!

With only 3 hours sleep in the last 40 hours or so, bed and blissfull sleep soon claimed me.

Early alarm clocks are evil when you are tired, but home was still over 700 miles away.  Breakfast was gobbled, the bike loaded and homeway bound I soon was.  It was still spitting rain as I made my way to the interstate for the boring slog home.  Dense fog covered the hills of eastern Virginia slowing the pace a bit.  At one point, visibility dropped to virtually nothing as I crossed the mountains.  Near Bristol, VA the sun came out and the skies were bright and clear.  745.7 miles by the GPS and I made it in only 3 stops.  11 hours and 46 minutes total time to get home averaging 63.2 mph.

Tuesday would be a day of rest and maintenance before leaving for Texas to ride in the Big Tex Rally - another story in itself.


This is the route from home.....through the rally......and back home again.