Big Money Rally 2017 -- don't miss out on the fun!

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Uncle Hud

Just another blob of protoplasm using up your oxyg
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The Big Money Rally is open for business again! Click here for the official background; keep reading for an unofficial story.

Think of it as a motorcycle scavenger hunt. RenoJohn has lists of bonus locations scattered across North America. Ride to one, snap a smartphone photo that shows the bonus, your bike, and your placard, and email the photo to BMR Scoring. Find out in a few minutes if your photo meets the criteria, and putt-putt off to the next location.

There are also bonus categories like Word of the Day where you find any instance of the word, often within a few miles of home, and go through the photo/submit process outlined above to collect your points. There have also been bonus categories in the past where you can only snap/submit within one specific hour.

The BMR starts on New Year's Day and finishes on the Saturday closest to Memorial Day, May 27 this year. That means you have five months to schedule around bad weather, family requirements, and work demands -- and still get in some quality riding.

Since 2017 is an IBR year, I expect more than a few IBR competitors to use the BMR as a practice session to polish their route planning and route riding skills.

Personally, I like this rally because it takes me on lots of backroads that I'd otherwise never ride. You see, the quickest route from my house to each bonus location typically involves interstates and big highways. But the quickest route from Bonus A to Bonus B (and on to Bonus C) is usually on an itty-bitty two-lane road that leads me .... over the river and through the woods.

I've made some nice memories snagging photos of Muscle Shoals recording studio, the Durham Bulls baseball stadium, talking my way past the MerleFest ticket-taker, discovering a Frank Lloyd Wright house in northern Alabama, and meeting a really nice guy -- a fellow BMR rider -- in the geographic center of Tennessee, waiting for the hour-long bonus window to open. Want to see a few photos from last year?

Ride far or ride often. You can accumulate enough points to be a finisher with either philosophy.

 
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I asked this question last year and never got an answer and can't seem to find it on the web site...What does it take to be a finisher????

 
In the past, it has been 144 points.

If you look at the website and check out past years, you can click on the scoring tab and choose the primary leader option. You'll see the points requirements for the various levels listed at the top of the page.

Join the fun. You'll be glad you did. I promise.
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Welcome to the fun, Dan.

Being up there in the PNW, you are right in a nest of big-time BMRers. Make sure you sign up for the newsletter. Looks like it will be especially important this year. Reno John has announced one of the high point bonus categories already.

Looks like things are shaping up for the best BMR yet.

Glad you took the plunge.

 
Wistrick posted: I asked this question last year and never got an answer and can't seem to find it on the web site...What does it take to be a finisher????
Sorry I didn't answer your question last year, and I can't honestly answer it now -- because I don't think it's been established yet. RenoJohn does some very precise calculations on his nest of supercomputers and sets the Finisher threshold via that method. (<--- heavy sarcasm)

The threshold has always been set where a reasonably ambitious rider can easily achieve Finisher status. That means maybe two big trips of about 750 miles each, plus a Word of the Day bonus every ten days for the duration. Of course, there are finishers who derive almost all their points from close-by WoD or Word-Match bonuses that can be earned without traveling far.

Pay attention to the point values of each bonus -- they're rarely equal. It's a no-brainer to ride 4 hours for a 10-point bonus. Only you can decide if it's worthwhile to ride 4 hours for a 1-point bonus.

If you're wondering about how to develop a BMR route, click here or here, and don't be intimidated by the academic/geek nature of the discussion.

BMR 428

 
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PS: BMR bonus listings have the locations in an electronic file format that loads directly into most mapping programs. Easy to get them accurately plotted in a few milliseconds.

 
You headed east for some bonus points, sweetie? Got a spare bedroom and a few bottles of nice red wine.
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The bonus pack looks to be top notch. Bonus' are spread out a bit and you may actually have to ride somewhere to be a finisher.
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Riding

around the neighborhood looking for signage wont play as big a part this year. Might be more concentrated in the east. But the weather

will most definitely be in play there.

Kudos to the BMR staff and volunteers for another great rally effort.

 
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