We Went West!

8 Days, 14 States, 5311 Miles
Another Rick and Barbara Ride Report


Statistics from the US Department of Transportation report that there are a total of 8,212,267 registered motorcycles in the United States and the average number of miles driven per year is 2,248.  These are 2010 statistics so they are pretty current.  Doing a little quick math, in 8 days we rode what the average motorcyclist rides in 2.36 years.  Interesting!  Doing a little more math, in the last 12 months we have ridden the equivalent of 11.9 years worth of the average motorcyclist.  Guess that means we are not average!

This trip was not only for fun but as many recall was also a bit of a charity ride for the American Diabetes Association.  Young John Morgan Harrison, the 12 year old son of a friend of ours is a Type 1 diabetic and was participating in the Tour De Cure in Birmingham.  While we were out motorcycling, John Morgan and his younger brother rode a 100 kilometer course on BICYCLES!  Kudos to these young fellows and of course to their Dad, John, who also completed that ride.  Although the total is not complete, it looks like $2,266 was raised by these young fellows.

Here’s how it all went down.

We left home fairly early on Tuesday May 8th headed to the start point of our ride in Blytheville, Arkansas.  On the way to Blytheville, we stopped in Memphis to check out Central BBQ - supposedly some of the best BBQ in Memphis.  I disagree and was not very impressed!  Anyway, we settled into Blytheville, had supper from Subway and got rested for the start of our trip.

The plan was to leave Blytheville at 5:00 AM on Wednesday the 9th and be in Salt Lake City, Utah before 5:00 PM on Thursday the 9th.  We were shooting for a Bun Burner 1500 certification from the Iron Butt Association - 1500 miles or more in less than 36 hours.  We got out of town at 5:05 AM  with a starting odometer reading of 134,120.  We droned up I-55 to St Charles, MO for a gas stop at 9:34 and 234 miles later.  Next stop was in Kansas City, KS at 1:19 PM at 486 miles.  Hey, we are almost 1/3 of the way there!

Kansas is not a pretty state as seen from the I-70.  Flat, featureless, with nothing to catch the eye for miles and miles.  7 hours of this boring interstate ride with the afternoon sun trying to burn our retinas out!  We stopped in Limon, Colorado for gas around 8:34 PM and 1011 miles later.  We were averaging around 66.6 miles per hour - not hard considering speed limits across Kansas were 75. Eastern Colorado is not much better looking than Kansas.  The further west we went, the more we strained our eyes looking for the mountains!

Kansas sucks!

The plan was to spend the night on the west side of Denver so around 10:30 we found a place to crash for a few hours.  Hitting the road around 5:45 AM, we gassed up before tackling the Rocky Mountains.  It was a beautiful ride which of course is a huge understatement.  Early morning sun on the mountains which still bore the winter cover of snow.  As we climbed, temperatures of course dropped which isn’t a challenge….we just turn up the thermostat on those heated gloves and jackets.  Through the Eisenhower Tunnel, up, down, around we went.  Through the places you hear about, Frisco, Copper Creek, Vail, etc.  We stopped for gas in Vail and discovered how proud they were of gas - $4.26 per gallon.  It wasn’t going to get any better either!

On the way through the Rockies

Green River, Utah was our turn point off the interstate.  We stopped there for gas and a break.  The West Winds Truck Stop is also a stopping point for the Greyhound Bus.  Quite an interesting group of folks ride buses these days.  We enjoyed people watching for a few minutes trying to figure out the who, what, and why of someone crossing the country by bus.

The high mountain desert of Utah is a beautiful place filled with a constantly changing landscape.  I have always enjoyed the desert and this part of our trip was no exception.  You can see for miles in any direction rather than the tree tunnels we are accustomed to.

Unlimited views!

The miles quickly passed as we hit the never ending construction that surrounds Provo and Salt Lake City.  We got our ending receipt very near our hotel at 2:28 Mountain time.  1660 miles on the odometer in roughly 33.5 hours.  We got the Bun Burner covered and arrived fairly well rested.  The fun and frivolity shall soon begin.

I did some quick running around to parts stores trying to find the right size O ring to fix a fuel connection on our auxiliary fuel cell.  Couldn’t find the right size so back to the hotel to clean up for social hour.

Friday morning was going to be the kickoff for the charity part of our ride.  Dubbed the 7-11 Ride, we were going to ride 700 miles in 11 hours across Utah and Nevada making 3 mandatory checkpoints.  The finish line for the 7-11 ride was also near the host hotel for the Big Money Rally Banquet on Saturday night.

Back to the fun……we wandered into the hotel bar around 4:30ish PM and met our host for the evening, Steve Chalmers.  Steve was also gracious enough to sign as our ending witness for the Bun Burner ride.  We met the other 11 riders that were going to tackle the 7-11 ride, got acquainted, chatted, and generally enjoyed the evening.  There were riders from all over - we had the furthest from the start location won hands down!

A mysterious thing kept occurring though!  Every time my beer glass or Barbara’s would near empty, another would just appear without having to do a thing.  Just so happens, I was enjoying a local micro-brew that was very, very good so the glass seemed to almost empty itself rather frequently.  It seems that our host was picking up the tab and ensuring that we all were having a grand ole time - which we were!  Sometime late in the evening, we realized we had a pretty demanding ride ahead of us the next morning so bid farewell and poured ourselves up to our room.

The ride was due to start at 6:11 AM Reno, Nevada time which was 7:11 local.  Note more of the 7-11 theme?  At exactly, 7:11 Steve gave us the go signal and off we went.  We first had to tackle about 200 miles of interstate crossing to the south of the Great Salt Lake and then across the Bonneville Salt Flats.  We had a horrible quartering headwind that really made riding difficult.  We crossed the Salt Flats at an angle fighting the wind.  Once we crossed into Nevada and into the mountains the wind eased and we were able to return to upright riding.

Bonneville Salt Flats

First mandatory checkpoint was the Dove Tail Ranch near Carlin, Nevada.  We were met there by Brian Roberts and one of the employees of the Dove Tail Ranch - which happened to be one of the many legal brothels of Nevada.  We wondered a bit about her skimpy attire since it was a bit cool that morning and finally it dawned on us just exactly what the Dove Tail Ranch was!  We don’t have those here in Alabama!

The Dove Tail Ranch

We had a very scenic ride for a while through the valley’s and passes and enjoyed the views enroute to our next stop in Eureka, NV.  We rode for a while on US Highway 50 which has been dubbed “The Lonliest Road in America”.  I believe it!  We encountered very few vehicles and the most activity we saw were prairie dogs running for the lives across the highway.

We were cautioned to be very careful of our speed entering Eureka.  My guess is the organizer of the ride had given the local constabulary a warning that we were coming.  We were VERY aware of the 25 mile per hour speed limit.  We quickly grabbed a gas receipt at the only Chevron station in town and were soon back on the road.

More of the loneliest road followed before a turn onto Nevada Hwy 376.  This one wins the award for not only the loneliest, but the straightest road I’ve been on in a while.  15 mile straights were common and traffic was virtually non-existent.  The clock was ticking down so we decided to up the speed a tad…..nothing like setting the cruise control on a triple digit number.

Zipping across Nevada

Checkpoint 3 was most interesting.  Located in Tonopah, NV, the Mizpah Hotel has a very interesting history.  The 5 story Mizpah was the tallest building in Nevada until 1929.  According to legend, Wyatt Earp kept the saloon, Jack Dempsey was a bouncer, and Howard Hughes married Jean Peters at the Mizpah.  It also was featured in Ghost Adventures on The Travel Channel.  Our goal was to meet Aimee Thompson, a middle schooler, who wrote an award winning essay.  We met Aimee, had some pictures taken, got our copy of the very good essay, and were on the way to the finish line.  We did not get a chance to interact with the team of professional paranormal investigators who were investigating the ghosts of the Mizpah.  It is a very cool place and if ever back in the area, I wouldn’t mind spending a night there just for kicks!

The Mizpah

Hawthorne, NV is the next town we encounter.  It is home of the Hawthorne Army Depot and believe it or not,  the Naval Undersea Warfare Center!  There are ammunition storage bunkers for as far as you can see!  This is a major ammunition storage area for both Army and Navy and where the Navy stores undersea mines and torpedos.   It is also adjacent to Walker Lake which is 18 miles long and 7 miles wide.  Conspiracy theorists have a field day with this one discussing everything from submarine testing to underground passageways all the way to the Pacific Ocean from Walker Lake.   We also encountered road construction with a pilot car and were stopped for about 20 minutes watching the clock tick down.

The finish line is in Holbrook, NV at the Tee Pee.  We had to maneuver through several small burgs, all with their own version of Barney Fife!  We pulled in at 4:43 leaving us a grand total of almost 30 minutes to spare.  The ride was finished. 700 miles, 11 hours.  This was a one time event most likely never to be repeated and we were finishers!  Two riders failed to finish…..one was time barred for being late and another with mechanical problems that prevented her from being a finisher.  A silly photograph had to be taken to prove we finished.  I didn’t disappoint.

We finished!

We headed into Minden, NV which is just south of Reno to our hotel for the next two days.  Saturday night was the banquet for the Big Money Rally.  We cleaned up, had a very nice steak in the casino and were soon fast asleep.

Up early Saturday morning, our plan for the day is to visit Yosemite National Park.   Before making into Yosemite, we stopped for gas and paid over $5.00 a gallon.  Gotta love California gas! Tioga Pass into the park had only recently opened and that was our entrance to the park.   A gradual climb to over 9,000 feet puts you into the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  The sides of the road are still covered in deep snow pack, mountain lakes are still frozen, the smell of pine and spruce in the clean air was invigorating.  Small waterfalls dotted the sides of the road as snow melt filled streams to capacity with cold clean water.  The forest was thick with huge pine and spruce trees - much bigger than we grow in Alabama.  Traffic was very light and we enjoyed the ride across the mountains.


Everything changed once we entered the valley enroute to the Visitor Center.  Traffic now choked the roads, tour buses filled with every nationality filled each parking area.  In an attempt to get a good clear picture of Bridal Veil Falls, we hiked back dodging Japanese and European tourists.  Europeans especially do not have the same sense of personal space we do so they had to be dodged as courtesy is not part of their vocabulary.  We made it to the overlook only to be disappointed since you could see nothing except the drenching mist from the falls.  Nice and cool yes…but frustrating because you could see nothing!

Making it to the Visitor Center was not an option due to the traffic so as soon as we could, we got turned around and headed back out of the park.  We did get a great view of El Capitan!

Scenery without equal!

Just one of many

Bridal Veil Falls

El Capitan

Big ole trees

More El Capitan

Big pine cone!

Rather than backtracking, we picked a different route back to the hotel.  California backroads through the mountains are interesting.  A rockslide had closed one road and rather than clear the rockslide opening traffic in both directions, California just put in a signal light.  One way traffic only and we had a fairly lengthy wait for traffic coming the opposite direction to clear.

Now we encounter Ebbetts Pass.  Today, Ebbetts Pass is one of the least traveled passes in the Sierra Nevada. An extensive section of highway over the pass is less than two lanes with no dividing line. It has very steep sections with hairpin corners.  The eastern slope is particularly difficult, as many of the hairpin corners are blind, and steepen suddenly at the apex, making it necessary to shift to first gear in most vehicles and certainly on a motorcycle. It is rarely used by commercial traffic and is not recommended for vehicles towing long trailers.  It is a delightful road for motorcyclists, but I was admittedly worn out by the time we made it through.  Quite a challenging ride.  Barbara made the observation that in the last month we had tackled 3 major mountain ranges from the east to the west coast - The Smokies, Rockies, and Sierra Nevadas.

We made it back to the hotel in time to clean up and attend the banquet.  There were around 50 or so people in attendance, all celebrating their successful finish of the Big Money Rally.  Lots of good fun and a delightful buffet.  For the uninformed, the Big Money Rally was a self-paced scavenger hunt that had started back in January.  The initial bonus listing contained over 900 US Post Offices!  Each post office was worth 2 points and you had to accumulate 112 points to finish.  Subsequent bonus listing contained unique challenges such as Catholic Universities, Shriner’s Hospitals, mountain summits, and other odd and challenging locations to visit.  I had achieved finisher status back in February by visiting 50 or so post offices and a couple of national parks.

Some riders were not content with merely being a finisher, but continued to accumulate points.  Several guys and gals had over 400 points and rode anywhere from 10 to 15 thousand miles during the course of the rally.  It was a great concept and took us to places we otherwise never would have gone.

Fun and frivolity complete, the challenge now was getting home.  The plan was 3 days and about 2400 miles.  We left early with our intended stop for the evening in Las Vegas.  The plan was to go through Death Valley on the way to Vegas but with weather forecasts showing a high temperature of 112 degrees we squashed the Death Valley plan and just made of way to Vegas across the desert.

The glitz and glitter of Las Vegas is something to see.  We checked into Excalibur which is right on the famed Las Vegas strip.  It was packed and we waited in line for almost 20 minutes just to register.  Parking wasn’t exactly motorcycle friendly since I wasn’t going to hand over the keys to Valet Parking but we found a spot fairly near a door and lugged all our stuff to our 15th floor room.  The bellhop folks didn’t loan luggage carts either! The keys wouldn’t work so back down, through the crowd to the desk for a new set of keys to a different room.

We opted for a buffet dinner in the casino and then were going to make a small contribution to the Vegas economy.  The buffet was marginal but we ate our fill then wandered the casino floor.  It didn’t take long for the one armed bandits to take our money and after sharing 1 $6.00 beer (where did the cheap drinks go?) we were going to walk the strip to see the lights.  It was still hot outside and after about 5 minutes Barbara said she wasn’t feeling very good so we headed back to the room.  Something on the buffet didn’t sit well with her (translation - food poisoning) and her night was spent in the bathroom praying to the god of porcelain.

Stratosphere!

Our room is up there somewhere!

Excalibur is a neat place!

Old town Las Vegas

The Gold and Silver Pawn Shop

With almost 1800 miles to go to make it home, we were off at daylight.  Barbara was drained from her night’s experience but is a trooper.  We got coffee and Gatorade at a nearby 7-11 store and cruised the Strip on the way out.  The History Channel’s Gold and Silver Pawn Shop was on the agenda as we hoped to meet the cast of the show Pawn Stars.  They may be open 24 hours a day, but the showroom isn’t open until 9:00 AM.  A missed opportunity!

Enroute to the interstate, we went through Henderson, NV and detoured a bit to see Hoover Dam.  Again, everything was still closed early in the morning but we did get to see the dam and the amazing amount of work it took to build it.

Impressive bridge from below!

Hoover Dam!

We soon were on I-40 and started the interstate run home.  We zipped across Arizona bypassing the Grand Canyon (been there done that).  We encounter sections of old Route 66 crossing Arizona.  It really must have been something to see in it's heyday but now it is just a lot of old rundown curio shops and funny statues.

A big jackrabbit!

Barbara finally ran out of steam in Albuquerque, NM.  We had planned making it further but when your tank is empty you just have to stop!

Leaving before daylight, we continued east through the mountains.  Temperatures dropped into the 20’s so back into heated gloves and jackets.  Eastward ho and Amarillo, TX was soon in our rearview mirrors.  We turned southeast on US Hwy 287 through Witchita Falls and managed to hit the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex around 5:00 PM.  Traffic and construction made this an experience never to repeat!  That’s what happens when your schedule gets a bit messed up.  We struggled through without incident and soon were back on  I-20 headed east.

Dallas Traffic - yuck!

There was no way we were going to make it home on schedule so in Lindale, TX - just north of Tyler - we hit a Cracker Barrel for supper and settled in for the night.  Radar on the GPS showed several pretty severe storms moving through the area and not wanting to ride through them in the dark was a wise choice!

Wednesday morning we were up and on the road headed home.  We pulled into the shop around 2:30 PM.  What a ride!

As the title says, 8 days, 14 states, 5311 miles by GPS.  Barbara took over 800 photos which we are still sorting through but will be posted on our photo web site at http://www.rikkitik.smugmug.com/.    Even with getting sick in Vegas, we agreed that it was a most excellent trip.

Next installment will be the Not Superman Rally the end of July.  This will be a 5 day rally starting in St Louis, MO.  Rumors abound but we might get to see some of Canada during this one!  Stay tuned.

These folks followed us the whole way!

2012 Cape Fear 1000

Cape Fear 1000

April 20-21, 2012

Another one is in the books. This was the 6^th consecutive Cape Fear rally that we have completed and of course each one is different in so many ways. From the very first one that we completed where we lost half our points for not following the very clear instructions, to this last one where everything fell into place seamlessly, each has been an adventure all it’s own.

WHAT IS THIS RALLY THING?

A competitive endurance rally is part scavenger hunt, part trivia quiz, part poker run, part marathon, and all done on a motorcycle. The goal is to have the most points at the end of the event. Points are acquired by visiting Bonus Locations and properly satisfying their requirements. Every Bonus Location gets an assigned point value; complete the requirements, get the points; Sounds easy, eh?

Bonus Locations and their assigned points values are determined by the Rallymasters; who then relay this information to the riders. Rallymasters often have a “theme” or some underlying connection among all of the Bonus Locations. For instance, in the 2008 Void the bulk of the Bonus Locations were golf themed and in 2007 it was a red-neck theme. Bonus Locations are sometimes selected because they are sentimental like the grave of a friend or relative, or purposeful like making a purchase from a rally sponsor. Other times, the location is selected because of where it is: a breathtaking overlook; down a long twisty section of mountain road; or a crowded beachfront boardwalk.

Not all Bonus Locations are created equally and it would be considered unusual if they all had the same value. A Location’s point assignment is based upon any one of several factors. Some of the variables that play into a bonus’ value could include its proximity to other bonii, condition/type of road access, and “ease of acquisition”. Rallymasters are not “normal” by any stretch; so you can count on twists and turns along the way.


The above description was shamelessly borrowed from The Void Rally!

ABOUT OUR MACHINE AND GEAR. 

If you are familiar with our exploits, you may want to skip the few paragraphs as it simply describes what these “rally things” are all about. In it’s simplest terms, a motorcycle endurance rally is a scavenger hunt on steroids that is run against the clock over distances that friends call insane. First there is the machine! We ride a 2004 Honda Goldwing that just turned over 133,000 miles. Farkeling is the term used to describe all the extras that we add to our trusty steeds. Ours has been farkled with everything the endurance motorcyclist needs for a long safe ride. Lighting is key to being able to run through the darkness on roads that often are not optimal. Our bike is outfitted with a set of High Intensity Discharge auxiliary lights that really do turn night into day. They will illuminate a road sign over 1 mile ahead of us. For those inconsiderate drivers who fail to dim their headlights, getting flashed by these immediately gets their lights dimmed - it has yet to fail! We also have 2 additional sets of lights for both close in illumination and for daytime visibility.

Comfort is important since we are often in the saddle for 18-24 hours at a time.  Our seat is custom made to our measurements and lets us sit in comfort without squirming for hours on end.  We both have insulated cups to stay hydrated.  Additional footpegs allow seating positions to vary letting you stretch your legs.  Heated jackets and gloves mean that the temperature isn’t a factor.  If it gets cold, we simply turn up the thermostat and stay toasty warm.  We are advocates of the term ATGATT which translates to “all the gear, all the time”.  Full face coverage helmets, jackets and pants with armor in the critical places which additionally are waterproof which negates the need to carry rain gear.  Gloves that will protect the hands in the event of a spill and boots with additional ankle and shin protection round out the gear.  When it is hot, we open the vents on the jackets to allow cooling airflow and of course when cold we just zip up and turn up the thermostat.  

Additional refinements include an auxiliary fuel cell that allows us to carry 4 extra gallons of gas extending our non-stop range to a bit over 350 miles.  Suspension work done by the leader in motorcycle suspensions - Traxxion Dynamics - smooth out the bumps and dramatically improve the handling characteristics of the motorcycle.  

Navigation is handled by 3 separate GPS systems, one of which is piped into the audio system so you can hear the voice commands.  The primary GPS also displays NEXRAD radar so you can have weather information at your fingertips.  The secondary GPS handles statistics for us - miles traveled, average speeds both moving and overall, and serves as a backup for navigation.  The third system is operated by the passenger and is the sanity check when the primary seems to want to take you around the world to get to a point just ahead!  Rarely do all three agree on which way to go, so we just follow the majority rule system.  

XM satellite radio rounds out the entertainment so we are never without a station to listen to.  A radar detector is also piped into the audio system to alert us to those small town cops that run speed traps.  We do not speed excessively since that just isn’t safe, but in 133,000 miles that detector has saved our bacon many times from the cop who sits just past the speed limit sign going into small towns!  A satellite tracking system keeps a bread crumb trail for us so we can see where we have been, allows others to follow along on the trip, and is tied into the GEOS Search and Rescue Center so if there is an unfortunate incident, emergency responders know exactly where we are at the touch of a single button.  Roadside breakdowns are also handled with the push of a single button, getting a tow on the way in the event of flat tires or other mechanical issues.

It is often joked that the purchase of the motorcycle is the smallest expense.  I agree with this theory and have never really tried to total the cost of gear and farkles since we really don’t want to know.

ON TO THE DETAILS OF THE RALLY!

The start this year was in Paris, TN.   Other groups were starting from Jamestown, NY and Arcadia, FL all converging on Wilmington, NC.  Rally books were to be delivered at 5:00 PM CST Wednesday April 18th and the process of inputting bonus locations should have begun.  After a quick look at the rally book, it was immediately apparent that something was amiss since there were so many high point bonus locations near the start.  Further investigation revealed other bonus locations that just didn’t make sense - ie, The Everglades in Florida - from Paris, TN????.  It was determined that somehow our rally book had gotten mixed up so we now had to wait until a corrected version could be sent.  Finally around 8:00 PM the corrected version arrived.   After inputting all bonus locations, reading all the possible options, Barbara and I selected a fairly conservative route that would take us across Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and back into North Carolina.  We planned to take full advantage of an extended rest bonus - 6 hours this year - and some high point time restricted bonus locations near the end of the rally.  Our planned route looked like this:

We left headed to Paris early Thursday morning stopping in Jackson, TN for lunch with an old friend from almost 30 years ago. After arrival in Paris, we chatted with old friends and had supper and adult beverages at a nearby eatery.  

Start time was from 9:50 to 10:10 EST with a deadline to the finish 29 hours later.  We made a couple of stops early that morning and finally found a gas station with receipts that met the starting criteria.  Receipts have to show the location (Paris, TN) and have an accurate time stamp.  Shortly after 10:00 EST we were on our way.  It was over 200 miles to the first bonus location so we settled in for the ride.  It was a game of leapfrog with other riders who were headed the same way.  Glorious weather that would stay with us for the duration!

Hodgenville, KY was the first stop to take a photo of a statute of Abraham Lincoln.  We arrived at 13:09 221 miles from the start.  We are still bunched up so lots of other activity. 

Bonus location # 2 was in Harrodsburg, KY for a photo of the monument commemorating the Bataan Death March.  The 192nd Tank Battalion was comprised of mostly men from the Harrodsburg area.  They were captured in the Battle of the Bataan Peninsula and were part of the Battan Death March.  The monument honors both the survivors and those who did not survive the march.  Arrival time is 14:20 298 miles total so far.  Probably 10 or so folks all trying to take a picture at the same time made this stop interesting. 

Bonus # 3 was the grave of LT Carl Dodd in Lily, KY.  LT Dodd was a a Medal of Honor winner from the Korean War.  Arrival time 14:53 381 miles total.   The crowd has thinnned now.  Only 2 other couples at this one.  Barbara had to roll around on the ground in order to get the grave marker, our rally flag, and her smiling face in the picture.   

Off to Bonus # 4 in Pound, KY!  We had to find a Highway Historical Marker honoring Gary Powers, the U-2 spy plane pilot shot down over Russia in 1960.  These sometimes are hard to see so we had to do a little backtracking to finally locate the monument.  Time is now 18:20 and we are at 504 miles.  We are all alone now!

Now the fun really begins.  Darkness has started to settle in, we are winding our way through western Virginia headed for Rugby and the Rugby Baptist Church.  There isn’t much level ground in this part of the state and the church parking lot was no exception.  We had a hard time figuring out how to park the bike!  Problem was finally resolved, a photo of the nicely illuminated sign was captured and it’s off again.  Time is 20:44 total mileage to this point is 625 miles.  Nobody out here right now but us!

On to the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of the Jumpinoff Rock Overlook.  If you have ever been on the Blue Ridge you know that it is nothing but ups and downs, curve after curve, and lots of wildlife!  It’s dark but luckily this time of night traffic is almost non-existent so the big lights stayed on!  We found the overlook at 21:25, took a photo, and off again.  Mileage is now at 653.  Another couple of riders pulled in as we were leaving.  

The plan was to stay on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the next bonus - the Blue Ridge Chapel.  We soon encountered a detour sign and had to leave the parkway and pick our way towards the next bonus.  Let’s just say roads were not optimal for night time motorcycle riding.  It may have been a bit of selective sight….but I didn’t see a single deer the whole night.  Others had much different experiences!  

We’ve been weaving in and out of Virginia and NC for a while finally getting back on the Blue Ridge in search of the Blue Ridge Chapel.  The GPS has taken us down a couple of short dirt roads - certainly not our favorite in the dark!  We snag the bonus at 22:40 total miles 690.  It took us over 1 hour and 35 minutes to travel the 37 miles between bonuses so that should give you an idea of the fun roads we were traveling in the dark.  Another not so level parking lot had to be dealt with and as we were pulling out, another couple of riders were arriving.  At least we weren’t alone out there - not the same riders who were at Jumpinoff Point.  

Now it’s time to head towards Greensboro, NC where we planned to stop for the night and take that long rest bonus.  First, we had to get down the dirt road that took us to the goat trail down off the mountain.  Loads of fun and luckily the interstate wasn’t far off.  

We pulled into Greensboro right after midnight and started to search for a room.  There was some event happening in town and most hotels were full.  We snagged a room at a Red Roof Inn for the exorbitantly high price of $80.00.  We cruised through the drive-through at McDonalds to get a receipt to start our rest period.  Rest bonus started at 00:14 and at a little after 6am we enjoyed a tasty McDonald’s breakfast to end our rest bonus at 06:28.  This was big points!  We are at 791 miles.  

The next bonus is a timed odometer check that didn’t start until 9:00 AM.  We got off at the exit and somehow missed the rest area sitting between lanes of the interstate.  Turning around we got checked in for the odometer check.  The rules were to obey all traffic laws, signals, speed limits, etc while negotiating the 19 mile odometer check.  All riders times were averaged and if you were within a certain window you scored the maximum points.  The rider had to be standing beside the bike with helmet and gloves off to start.    Since we were 2-up, Barbara was already seated and ready to roll.  Somehow I fumbled around getting my helmet on which probably was a good thing since it took just a little extra time.  We did score the maximum points for this bonus!

The next bonus we had planned wasn’t available until 12:00.  We got to Woogie’s (what a name for a seafood restaurant) in Chocowinty, NC about 30 minutes early so we shared some fries and killed time until the clock struck 12.  The parking lot had lots of folks staring at watches waiting for the magic time to arrive.  Then it was bedlam on the way out!  Time is 12:01 mileage at this point is now at 1069 miles.

One more bonus stop in Kinston, NC honoring the CSS Neusse, a confederate Ironclad ship that ran aground on it‘s first mission and was soon scuttled to prevent capture by Union forces.    Time is 12:54 mileage 1116.  Again, everyone is headed to the finish so it was busy at this spot.  

Nothing to do now but head to the finish line.  We had plenty of time so it was a fairly uneventful ride.  Our last bonus was to bring a cold six pack of your favorite beverage to the finish line and have the receipt for the purchase at scoring.  We stopped, I ran in grabbed a six pack, jumped back on the bike and headed in.  About 2 miles down the road I realized I had failed to get a receipt.  Much profanity in the helmet!!!!  We stopped again about 2 miles from the finish for another six pack, making sure I had the receipt this time.  

We rolled across the finish line at 2:33 with a whole 28 minutes to spare.  Total mileage by odometer was 1206.  The next step is scoring!

Scoring can be stressful!  After making sure everything is recorded, and all documents in hand you sit with the scorer who scrutinizes everything that you have done to ensure that the instructions were followed EXACTLY.  For example….if the bonus requirements are to take a picture of the front of a statue with a certain portion of the statue visible in the photo and your rally flag with rider number showing, then that’s what you have to do.  Even though a photo will clearly show that you are at the right spot, if the instructions aren’t followed exactly, you will not get credit for that bonus.  When you sit in front of the score, you better be sure you have everything because once scoring starts, you are scored with what you have with you.    We rarely lose points at the scoring table and this time everything went perfectly.  No lost points, full credit for each bonus, all requirements were met.  

We finished with 39,001 points which put us 10th  place!  In the shoulda, woulda, coulda category, we did bypass one bonus that would have changed our standing from 10th to 3rd.  We could have used up those extra minutes at the finish and while having fries!

We woke up Sunday morning to a pouring rain!  We slowly got packed and headed out which was fortunate since we only hit a couple of small bands of rain on the way home.  Riders leaving to the north endured torrential rain and storms……thank goodness we were headed south.  Barbara got to experience Pedro’s North of the Border at the South Carolina line for the first time.  This is the ultimate tourist trap! 

Our travels looked like this.  I didn't turn SPOT on for the ride up to Paris so you can fill in the blanks. 

My apologies for the lack of pictures.  We failed to copy our pictures before turning in our photo card at scoring.  We'll do better next time.  

The next adventure on the horizon kicks of May 8th when we head west to Nevada.  More on that one in the next installment!  And lots and lots of pictures are promised.  

Rick and Barbara

Florida Mountain 1000

For Cora's 18th birthday, I promised her a trip to Daytona and a chance to get certified by the Iron Butt Association by completing a Saddle Sore 1000.  For the uninitiated, that means riding a motorcycle over 1,000 miles in a 24 hour period.  Before the nay-sayers start with "that's impossible" or "that's unsafe", let's do a little math.  1000 miles in 24 hours means that you have to average 41.6 miles per hour over a 24 hour period.  Hardly a speeding contest, the key to success is simply keep the wheels rolling as much as possible at or below the speed limit.  So.....it's not impossible and certainly not unsafe. 

The annual Iron Butt Association (IBA) Spring gathering was in Jacksonville, FL and scheduled to coincide with the end of Daytona Bike Week.  Those who wanted to get their SS1000 certification could complete a planned ride on Thursday and have their certificates presented at an awards ceremony prior to the banquet. 

The plan was to leave Wednesday the March 14th and ride to Jacksonville, FL with our riding companions Benny Quimby and Don Leemhuis.  The Florida Mountain 1000 was scheduled to begin on Thursday morning at 5:30 AM.  Yeah, I know - mountains in Florida??  Well, the rallymaster for this little ride had found some interesting locations that somewhat followed a mountain theme.  More about them later. 

We left early Wednesday morning and headed to Jacksonville.  A stop in Prattville for breakfast then onward south following US Highway 82.  Mary Leemhuis, Don's wife had taken a spill the evening before and thought she had sprained a wrist.  Barbara took her to the doctor Wednesday morning and it turned out she had broken both wrists!  Don turned around in Eufaula and headed home to take care of her while Benny, Cori, and I headed on to Jacksonville.  We arrived without incident, checked in, had supper and soon headed to bed to be up and ready to go early Thursday morning. 

4 AM came quickly and we had the bike prepped and ready to roll at 5:00.  The hotel had a scrumptious breakfast buffet ready for all the riders so we ate our fill, had the mandatory riders meeting at 5:30 and were on the clock and on the road at 5:45.  The planned route was 1054 miles and my intention was to complete the ride and be back in about 18 hours.  We had to find and photograph 10 "mountain" bonus locations to document our ride and have a ending gas receipt in Jacksonville before 5:45 AM on Friday morning. 

Mountain 1 was the Mount Carrie Wayside located in the Osceola National Forest.  The wayside is approximately 147 feet above sea level - one of Florida's mountains obviously.  We quickly got our picture and we on our way to the next stop.  Rally experience pays off since we were in and out while many other riders milled about trying to figure out what to do and how to do it.  We are 62 miles into our ride at this point. 

Mountain 2 was the Mount Pleasant Cemetery at 312 feet above sea level.  This required a bit of a detour off the interstate down some scenic Florida roads.  Once again, we were in and out quickly.  There were a couple of possible monuments and and I know folks were taking pictures of the wrong one.  Since this really wasn't a competition, the error of their ways was pointed out.  It would be a shame not to finish a ride because you took the wrong picture!  212 miles into the trip now.

Cori has to be in all the pictures with our rally flag to prove she made the entire ride.  And on that note, let me proudly say she was the youngest co-rider to finish the ride!  So back to the interstate and onward to the next bonus.

Mountain 3 was the Mount Carmel Methodist Church in Jay, Florida - elevation 99 feet - a real mountain. 371 miles into the ride!  

Now we had some nice backroads to ride on the way to Mountain 4.  We looped north in Alabama before heading back south to Britton Hill.  This is Florida's highest point at 345 feet above sea level.  A photo of the monument at that spot was required. 

We are now at the 432 mile point and it is approximately 1:30 PM.  We headed south through Defuniak Springs and hit I-10 once more.  It was a bit disheartening to hit the interstate and have the GPS announce that your next turn is in 212 miles and it is over 300 to the next bonus.  Nothing to do now but grin and bear it down I-10 and I-75.  We made it back through Tallahassee and Gainesville with no problem.  There was lots of police protection out on the interstate to make us feel safe! 

 If you have never experienced Florida interstates, they are some of the most boring roads in the country.  Nothing to see for miles and miles except the tunnel of trees you are riding through.  We had the radio going, Cori had her Ipod playing, and still boredom would take over.  Several times I felt the bang of Cori's helmet hitting the back of mine as she would doze off.  Luckily the driver wasn't having the same problem!

Mountain 5 was Mount Pedro Baptist Church near Ocala, Florida in the community of Micanopy.  In and out was the theme.  We noticed as the bonus location got further and further into the ride, the fewer riders we saw at each bonus.  You have no way of knowing whether you are at the front of the pack, or are starting to bring up the rear.  There were only 7 or so other bikes there when we arrived with a couple more showing up as we left. 

It is still daylight and around 6:30 PM. 

Mountain 6 was Sugar Loaf Mountain, the highest point on the peninsula of Florida at 312 feet.  We had also now entered the world of Florida Toll Roads.  We could have avoided the toll roads at the cost of additional miles and much more time so we elected to pay the piper.  Cori was in charge of our toll money and would have the correct change ready as we hit each toll booth. 

Again riders were milling about trying to figure out how to take their pictures.  We wasted no time.  It's around 8:00 PM and we are approximately 813 miles into the ride. 

Mountain 7 is the Mount Dora Lighthouse which is at the end of a jetty.  First we had to weave our way into the park, locate the lighthouse, then walk out to the jetty and try to figure out how to get a good picture.  We took a couple just to be sure!

Mountain 8 was simply a road sign that said "Mt Plymouth".  It was dark, the road was busy, and getting the photo was a little challenging.  We made it without getting run over.  Cars would slow and ask if everything was "OK" since there were all these folks in full motorcycle gear milling around. 

Mountain 9 is the highest point on the east coast of Florida at 83 feet.  The county landfill is actually higher, but the US Geological Service does not consider that to be a land mass.  Things are really thinning out now as there were only 2 other riders at this bonus when we arrived.  And we are finally out of the toll road system thank goodness!  I can't imagine paying to drive one of these roads - especially if you had to do it on a daily basis!  We are only 10 miles from Cape Canaveral. 

Almost done at this point!  We are 905 miles into the ride.  The time is 10:11 PM.  Now it is a fairly short run back up to Jacksonville and our last bonus.

Mountain 10 is New Switzerland, Florida.  We had to locate a historical marker which was almost completely concealed by bushes.  There was one rider when we arrived.  Now we really are wondering if we are way behind or out in front!

  

It took several tries in the dark to get a picture that was recognizable!  All that is needed now is to find a gas station in Jacksonville to get our ending receipt.  Most of the stations are closed since it is after midnight but we found one with pumps working and got a good receipt at 12:33 PM.

Total distance was 1069 miles by GPS.  The extra mileage from the planned route was a couple of go arounds and off and on the interstate for gas.  Total time:  18 hours 48 minutes.  Benny was waiting for us as we pulled into the parking lot at the Ramada.  It seemed we were one of the first back so I guess we had been running at the front of the pack.  We wasted little time at bonus locations and only took one long gas stop for a snack.  The rest of the time the wheels were rolling!

Cori was a real trooper and I will admit that I was impressed with her endurance.  I rarely had to wait on her to get her gear back on, she never complained once and never asked for a stop when it wasn't planned.  She really enjoyed searching for and finding the bonus locations. Now she wants to ride in one of the longer rallies.....but she will have to fight that one out with Barbara for the back seat!

We got checked in on Friday morning, got our ride verified, and Cori got her IBA number.  She is number 50,127.  When you think of the millions of motorcyclists that are out there, she is one of only 50,000 or so to have accomplished a certified IBA ride.  That's something to be pretty proud of I think.  I quite confident she is the only one in her senior class with an IBA certificate and she was the youngest on this ride.  She got a nice round of applause when we went to get our certificates. 

We spent part of Friday and Saturday checking out the sights in Daytona.  The crowds seemed to be off from previous years but it was the very end of Bike Week so the crowds may have come and gone.  Folks we talked to seemed to share our opinion that there were fewer attendees than in previous years. 

As always, there are some interesting sights to see while in Daytona.  Some pretty motorcycles, some not so pretty, and of course, people watching is always a favorite sport.  You can see all you wanted and much more that you probably don't want to ever see again.  Cori was a bit wide eyed at some of the sights!!

There were bikini babes!

There were not bikini babes!

Weird motorcycle people!

Lots and lots of people!

Rather strange nuns on a trike!

And some pretty custom jobs too!

After all the fun and games, we had to head home.  We pulled out of Jacksonville at 5:00AM and headed back to the house.  Another boring I-10 ride then up through Dothan, Troy, and Montgomery to the house. 

You can see the full tracking of where we rode at Spotwalla. 

The link is:  http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=42674f5f2510c7da9

The next adventure is the upcoming Cape Fear Rally which starts April 20th. 



The Big Money Rally

Rally season normally doesn’t kick off until April but this year we had an alternative known as the Big Money Rally.  Nope, no money is involved other than entry fees, but it gave us the chance to so some riding during the winter months and see some places we normally wouldn’t have chosen.

The concept is pretty simple.  Rally starts January 12 and ends May 12.  The Rallymaster – thank you Reno John – created a self paced rally with virtually unlimited choices of places to go and see.   Each little red flag on the map is a post office.  All you had to do is ride and find the bonus, snap a picture of your motorcycle, the bonus location, and your rally placard and send it to the Rallymaster on the spot with your smart phone.  Additionally you could find a National Park, a Shriner’s Hospital, a road sign that says “summit”, or cross an international border.  Easy enough huh?  That covers bonus listing # 1.  There will be future listings – who knows what those might be. 

Each little red flag is a post office, most of them in pretty rural locations.  Post offices are worth two points each, national parks are three points, summit signs are three points, Shriner’s Hospitals are 3 points and international borders are worth 15 points.  You have to achieve 120 points to be considered a finisher.  There are some other oddball bonus locations that you can throw into the mix also. 

Doing a little basic math quickly lets you figure out you have to find and properly document 60 post offices to be a finisher.  Of course, as with all rally scenarios, reading comprehension of the rules and adherence to the rules is crucial to a successful finish.  We have always taken pride in the fact that we have never (one exception In my first rally), left points on the table at scoring.  We might not ride the best route or make it to a bonus on time, but we have always properly documented our bonuses.  Well, this time we have screwed up our perfect record!

First….reading comprehension.  You have to read the instructions and be able to follow them!  First page of the bonus listing said: 



Pretty simple isn’t it?  I took off the morning of January 12^th eager to start the rally and capture the first two bonus locations.  Moundville and Boligee post offices.  I failed to comprehend the start time of noon – Reno time – and submitted my first two bonuses early.  Oh well, it wasn’t a bad short ride – just wasn’t worth any points. 

The rest of the points gathering was broken down into 8 excursions.  The plan was to catch the close ones first, and then continue to venture out further from home.  Loop # 1 was north of home up through Berry to Muscle Shoals then over towards Arab and back home.  Pretty nice loop that was 376 miles and captured 8 post offices.  Woohoo!  16 points down!

Barbara and I took off on a westward loop through Mississippi repeating Moundville and Boligee then to scenic spots like Scooba, Kosciusko, and Sturgis, MS.  Note….the one gas station open in Sturgis does not have a rest room.  Pretty critical when you gotta go.  Oh well, let’s just say there are definite benefits to being male!  7 post offices and 14 more points. A little 335 mile day.   Kosciusko did have a nice looking post office. 

Big points was the object of the next ride.  I was overdue for service of my Traxxion suspension on the motorcycle, so planned a 3 day ride that would allow me to maximize points, get my service done, and see some really pretty countryside. The plan was to leave early on Wednesday the 15th of February, rack up points, service on the 16^th and more points, and finish a big loop back home on the 17^th.  

I took off right at daylight on the 15^th and hit my first stop Brierfield, AL.  Now all of the post offices have GPS coordinates and addresses and I will admit that most are pretty accurate.  Note MOST!  Brierfield wasn’t where it was supposed to be and it took some back tracking and asking the locals where was the post office – of course you get directions like….go past the restaurant and fire department then look to your right. 





If you blinked you would miss it.  Short Rant follows.  No wonder the USPS is broke.  Here is Brierfield which you can tell is a really big operation.  Gotta pay a postmaster and employees, maintain the building, etc, etc, etc.  4 ½ miles away is Montevallo with a nice big building.  Why aren’t these consolidated? There are many other examples like this throughout the country.  Sorry Mrs.  Jones, you have to go another 4 miles to buy your stamps, mail your letter, or spend the morning gossiping with the little old lady who is the postmaster.  

The ride continued hitting scenic places like Ragland, AL.  Just after leaving Ragland, I happened to glance down at my voltmeter and realized that my alternator was no longer alternating and making electricity.  Having been stranded back in May in Del Rio, TX with an alternator failure, I really didn’t want to repeat that experience so I beat feet for the nearest easily found location – a Pilot gas station near the interstate.  A call to Barbara with instructions to gather the right tools, my spare alternator from the shop, drive from Tuscaloosa to the Pilot, pull the bad alternator out, put the new one in resulted in 3 hours of sitting in the parking lot twiddling my thumbs.  We did have the chance to watch two 18 wheelers run into each other – one leaving the parking lot, the other just didn’t stop and ran right into the other.  Go figure!

Alternator repaired – I have become a pro at replacing alternators on the Goldwing – back on the road.  The delay would cost me 4 planned stops but I managed to catch my last one of the day in Adairsville, GA before heading to the motel for the night in Woodstock, GA .

Another example of a fine rural post office was Muscadine, AL.  I think my living room was bigger than this place which wasn’t easy to find. 

Thursday morning brought rain and service at Traxxion in Woodstock.  They got me in and out in about 4 hours and I was on the road again headed through the rain into north Georgia.  Beautiful backroads and spitting rain made the remainder of the day.  I never found two of my planned post offices – Sautee Nacoochee, GA and Suches, GA.  Sautee Nacoochee wasn’t where the GPS said , no locals to ask so I headed on to Helen.  Suches wasn’t where the GPS said either and there wasn’t a soul in sight.    Stopping at an intersection where the post office was supposed to be I through I heard the faint sound of a banjo and a guitar dueling.  Rather than risk a “Deliverance” moment, I zipped on down the road. 

Last stop of the day was Cherry Log, GA.  Another example of a rural post office in the middle of nowhere!



Day three was gonna be a long day through GA, TN, and back down through north Alabama to home.   13 post offices and one National Park!  I saw scenic spots such as  Ducktown, Turtletown, Ocoee, Sequatchie, Chickamauga, Higdon, Flat Rock, Mentone, Valley Head, Fyffe, and Centre.  I made it home right before dark.

With a finish in sight, we planned another long ride back into GA.  Barbara, Benny Quimby and I took off at daylight with a planned 550 mile loop.  First stop was Rockford, AL.  Failure to follow the rally instructions got me here!  You have to have the post office, rally placard and motorcycle visible in your photo.  Notice anything missing?

When riding by myself, I always stick the rally placard somewhere on the bike and take the picture.  When you have a holder it is easy to forget the motorcycle.  No points for this one. 

Anyway, we continued on through to Horseshoe Bend National Park, Loachapoka (I have no idea how to pronounce it), into Georgia to Pine Mountain, Warm Springs, Forsythe (another failure!)

No motorcycle in the picture....another duhhhh moment!

Senoia and Newnan GA were our last stops.  Then it was a long interstate run home.  We made it back home around 8 PM.  I was excited since I figured I had 123 points – more than enough to finish.  Sadly, the two that didn’t count left me at 119 points – one point from being declared a finisher. 

The only choice now is back to Rockford to re-take the picture.  I did and made sure everything was where it was supposed to be. 

The highlighted routes are the ones we rode to get to all the bonus locations.

Summary:  Estimated mileage to hit the finisher level – 2,642.  Eight days of riding, two national parks, one admin bonus (5 points for printing my own placard) , 55 post offices in four states.  Temperatures ranged from a low of 34 to a high of 71.  One dead alternator and finished off a set of tires.  Although I have reached finisher level, I’ll continue to gather points as they are available.  We’ve got a ride next month to the IBA Pizza Party in Jacksonville, FL where we will ride in the Florida Mountain 1000 and then in April it’s time for the Cape Fear rally.  I’m sure we will find some more post offices somewhere along the way!

Rick and Barbara Bailey

Rider # 51