tmc
Ginger-Mex Extraordinaire
(copied from Cal24 forums)
RALLY N00B!
First of all, any misspelling or poor grammer in this post, I blame on RJ. He was my mentor, after all.
So, like Alex, I too took Friday off to get my stuff together and hit the road to Rickey Lake. Apparently, this is the original name of Topaz lake, named after Matt Watkins' second cousins third grandfather or something crazy like that. He apparently built it with his bare hands and filled it with a manual pump. History lessons aside, it was a very nice lake to look at, and definitely a neat place to kick off this rally.
I was able to get on the road about 1130 or so, with a 3 hour ride ahead of me – or so I thought. I made the mistake of using Hazel Ave here in the Sac area, which is under perpetual construction. So I spent 25 in traffic trying to clear the American River. No fun. Once clear of that, it was all smooth sailing up to Tahoe and beyond. Got stuck in another jam prior to Markleeville, for another 25 minute delay. The original plan was to run up to Ebbetts while I had the time, but with the clock ticking I just shot for Topaz and getting my tech done. I had a great ride up over Monitor, which quenched my thirst for twisties for the day. Little did I know I'd be running it again tomorrow, twice!
Tech was tech. License, registration, tires, lights, anal cavity search (no lube), and the odo check. I actually paid attention during the ODO, unlike other certain people who I won't mention *coughmeesecough*. Got my rally towel hooked up, stuff put away in my room, and some fresh clothes. I was ready to rock! Where's the bar?
Oh, there it is!
So we go through the "routing seminar". I'd had a few already thanks to RJ and Steve, and whatever the hell Meese was saying was kinda a blur. I'm sure he had some good advice somewhere in there, or not, whatever.
After Meese was done telling us how it's done (I think), a few of us went next door to the steakhouse, and had a carnivore-fest. Man, I can't tell you how good a ribeye is after a few beers. Much BS'ing was going on at the table, mostly by Jerry, but I think he probably made some good points. I dunno, I was focused on my steak!
After meat-a-palooza, we had some extra money from the bill, so we took it ($15) to the craps table and let it ride. 15 minutes later, the casino had confiscated the cash
Oh well, time to get a good night's rest anyway.
The next morning, I woke up pretty much on point and ready to go. Had a decent breakfast with RJ (who drank about 47 glasses of OJ and then steak and eggs). He apparently had a, umm, long night beforehand. We bs'ed while I ate my so-so pancakes and eggs, then Matt W showed up and gave us the history lesson on Rickey Lake. After the lesson, I left RJ and Matt to consume their steak & eggs, and RJ drank another 50 glasses of OJ. He also did a great job of harassing the staff at the café, which was pretty damn hilarious! They were good sports and played right along.
10a rolls around, and we all gather for our rider meetings. I brought a total of 3 pens. 2 of which exploded on me during the meeting – I'm guessing due to the altitude changes. Ugh. So now I'm taking notes with a sharpie and I have black and blue ink all over my hands and my rally pack. JOY. I managed to pull it together though.
So Tom and Mark go over all the finer points, and give us our "special" bonus instructions. They wanted us to obtain a "truckadillo" and bring it in. We'd get 10 points per inch. Ok, doesn't sound like much (turned out to be tons of points). Meeting over, so I got my USB stick, and jammed over to RJ's room (I borrowed his netbook) to see where the route would take me. SOUTH. I didn't for a second think we'd be headed south. I don't know why, I just didn't expect it. So, I moved the GPX file to my GPS, put a copy in my Dropbox, and emailed it to MotionX so I could load it on to my iPad (btw, this was easily the most useful tool in my arsenal). I was able to use MotionX on the iPad to see all of the points, in an easy to navigate and "always-on" fashion that I had right there in my map pocket on my tankbag. Boom. I took some quick notes, plotted my desired route, and had the bike in the lineup by 1145. I was itchin to roll.
High noon on the nose, and I'm rolling out. Headed up to the "group bonus". But like most people, I didn't read the part that said we couldn't get there before 1225. But, as the 1st person to arrive, I'd be the first person to shoot after the folks who arrived at the correct time. Ended up hitting 1225 and nobody was arriving, so I shot first anyway! Less than 5 minutes, and I'm outta there! Headed to Markleeville for the "lets see how far these guys can climb geared up at 6500ft ASL cemetery bonus." Our esteemed rallymaster has a sick sense of humor, let me tell you. I needed a full Gatorade to recover!
Had I been able to draw upon rally experience, of which I had none, I would have noted that this marker was a cross. This would have been extremely useful down the line…
I jammed out of Markleeville, back up to Monitor to grab my elevation bonus. I get to the top, pull off in the soft stuff, and my front tire digs in! OH SH*T!!!! And down it went, in slo-mo. Luckily one of my fellow rallyists was nearby, and we righted the ship. Best part – NO DAMAGE! I love you frame sliders! Got my pic, and it was off to the races.
Next stop, Bodie! Or so I thought. I got about ¾ of a mile down that god awful road, and said f this. Turned around and booked it.
Next stop, Conway Summit!
After that, came Mono Lake, then some gas, then Deadman Summit. Well, the marker at Deadman eluded quite a few folks I hear, mostly because it was on the other side of the road. Luckily, I had my GPS set to show elevation, so I knew it had to be coming. Got that pic, flagged down a couple of riders who almost passed it. Saw Andy – who showed me his "truckadillo" (which was basically an entire tire!), and I was off to my 1st routing mistake of the day, Bristlecone.
So my frickin GPS tells me that to get to Bristlecone (using the supplied waypoint) I should turn off in Bishop. So I get a ways out of town, and the road goes to crap, then to crappity crap, then to total dirt trail with no end in sight! UGHHHHHH!!! I'm sure this was Mark playing a dirty, dirty trick on us! I called it about 200 yards in to the dirt, and turned tail and went back to Bishop and beyond. Pit stopped at a McD's there, used the facilities, and thought, it'd be nice to get a java shake there, but there were about 20 kids from a local baseball team in front of me! GRRRR don't you know I need to get moving? So I went out the parking lot, inhaled 2 granola bars and a bottle of water, and I was off to Myanmar (where I'd commit my second mistake).
Myanmar was a lot of dirt, but low speed so I wasn't too irritated by it. Got the monument pic no problem. Stupid me, I forgot that there were 2 bonii in this joint. OOPS. I literally rode right past the second bonus, completely clueless (routing mistake #2). There goes a few hundred points (and as it turns out, a few finishing places)….
By this time I was pretty much exactly on time for check #1 in Cantil. I was moving pretty uneventfully, until I passed a largeish set of bushes in the center divide, with guess who! CHP on the other side. I really wasn't going all that fast – actually within our 20mph grace, but Mr. CHP heard me come off the throttle, so of course he pulled out and decided to tail me for a few miles (probably running my plate), then pull along side and give me the stare of disapproval. I nodded my appreciation and waved, and kept it cool for the next 50 or so.
Now, I wish I had taken a pic of these guys… but there was this truck… a Nissan Titan Crew Cab… Absolutely hauling ass down 395. So I say great, he can run point. I tuck in behind these guys, and notice they have a keg sticking out of the back of the truck.:salute2: PERFECT. If we are going to be going these speeds, they are definitely going to nab the dudes with the keg in the truck rather than me! This made for some real smooth sailing almost all the way to Cantil. I was about 5 minutes early, which was great.
After leaving Cantil, I fought some insane crosswinds all the way to Mojave. The last time I saw it this bad in Mojave, the wind kicked up a sandstorm that literally ruined the windshield on my car. Luck would have it I would see no sandstorm, and I got to the Mojave Spaceport without issue.
Anybody who didn't find the bonus there…. Well… that's all I'm saying.
I made a b-line to the Tehachapi Loop trying to hit it before sundown, but I failed. Still got the bonus, but I really was hoping to see it in action. I've been past here a million times, even seen a train on it, but it's always been while passing it at 75mph on highway 58. Oh well.
On the way out I stopped at the center which bore my name but has no relation. I tried to find "Uncle Cesar's" monument, but the gates in were locked, and I did the next best thing – take a pic of the gate. In scoring, that worked, and I was happy because I thought I might not get it. COOL.
At this point I was getting pretty low on gas, and had exhausted my stop list. So I figured I'd head to Bako, get some gas, then get away from Bako as quickly as possible!! I don't like Bako (no offense to Bakovians). So I headed for 5 and Buttonwillow, where I knew I'd find plenty of places to stop and get a bite and organize. I ended up spending almost an hour at McD's there (they have WiFi). This strategy would pay dividends later.
After my rest, my plotted route would take me to Taft, then Pizo, Santa Paula, and finally to Ojai for a cemetery bonus and the 3am checkpoint. Well, somewhere right at the beginning of the Grapevine, I had my epiphany. It occurred to me that it was nearly midnight, and I was about to head within spitting distance of LA. I was literally cracking up to myself, and when I cleared the 'Vine and saw Magic Mountain, I was just in awe. I was hundreds of miles from home, only halfway through the rally, and I was on the outskirts of LA. Crazy!
At the Ojai check I spent a few taking care of some, umm, personal issues (fresh drawers are AWESOME!!!) I also got some Gatorade and a protein bar. Life was good!
Routing mistake #3 – Taking 33 out of Ojai. This road should be a lot of fun. Not at 3:30am. Geez... Shoulda gone down to Santa Barbara and taken 101. This mistake would lead to the next mistake...
Routing mistake #4 – Soda Lake road. Where the heck!?!? I saw the entrance from 166 on the map, I thought? Turns out I went left instead of right. This cost me the bonii at Soda Lake, and Pozo. Grrr. I ended up in Santa Maria, which wasn't all bad, just not what I had planned. So I got on 101n and pointed at Santa Margarita.
Routing mistake #5 - I don't know how I missed this, but in Margarita there is a right turn (from the 101 side) to stay on 58 and get to the cemetery. I missed it, and couldn't find the cemetery. Off to Atascadero I guess.
Found the bonus in Atascadero pretty easily despite it being well hidden.
Then Paso Robles:
After the Paso Robles bonus, I got hungry and wanted to check my routing, so I stopped at… guess where… McD's!!! Free WiFi is a powerful thing. Got my McMuffin on, had a coffee, and replotted my route to Salinas. At this point I was starting to look at my watch…
I got about 25 miles down the road, and there it was. The mother of all truckadillos. Seriously this thing was huge! (turned out to be 10 FEET long) I wrestled that sucker on the bike, and enjoyed the poor gas mileage and funny looks all the way to the end.:thumbup:
Salinas – anyone who didn't stop at this cemetery was crazy. The easiest cemetery bonus by far! Then I went to the big pu… err… kitty kat at the animal shelter. Piece of cake.
At this point I was excited… I was about to head to the coast, and HWY 1. An area I am extremely familiar with. I easily located the cemetery in Capitola due to some prior knowledge of the area and a quick google search, then made the short trek to the weirdo statue in Santa Cruz.
At this point, I could taste the finish, but I had some time left over. So I went to Los Gatos, Boulder Creek, and Saratoga, and had planned to stop by the Fairmont for one last bonus. Well, getting to Boulder Creek on a Saturday is a freekin nightmare. Roads are all very twisty (good) , but clogged with idiots (bad) . Wasted tons of time getting to and coming back from this bonus. Because of this, when I got to Saratoga I was rushed, low on gas, and nearly out of time. I couldn't find the marker!!! ArGGH!! Turns out I passed it more than twice. I wasted too much time here, was pretty much on fumes, and had only ½ hour till noon. Out the window went the Fairmont bonus, and I headed straight to the barn.
Rally over!
Scoring was pretty easy. I only had 1 item that was not accepted (it was definitely a bad location), but everything else was smooth as could be. Plus I had our esteemed rallymaster as my scorer. Lucky me!
Thankfully I was able to get an early check-in, the bike unloaded, and in to the shower! Best shower (that didn't include my wife) EVAR! Went back downstairs, plopped down on the park bench, pounded 2 Buds, and then retired to my room for a brief nap. Took me less than 5 min to pass out. Good thing I set my alarm, otherwise I'd have slept thru the banquet!
Banquet: food was good, yada yada, raffle, yada yada, FINISHING POSITIONS… Tom starts rattling off the finishers… 32…. 24… 20… 17… 15… 13… 12… Still no mention of me! 11… Holy crap I made the top 10?!?! 10…. Yep, that's me, 10th place! Not too shabby for a N00B. And to think, had I found the marker in Saratoga, you know, the one I missed by FEET, I would have grabbed 4th! WOW. Talk about a close finish!
Here's my spotwalla page:
https://spotwalla.com...on&zoom=default
My GPS lost the first half of my tracks, so I don't have my mileage number. I'm sure they'll have it posted soon. I know it was well over 1000.
Also noteworthy I think, is that I did not consume any energy drinks or mass quantities of coffee or even caffeinated drinks. I had half a Diet Dr Pepper in McD's in Buttonwillow, and a small iced coffee in the morning at the next McD's. That was it. Otherwise, it was all water/Gatorade. I think, for me anyway, this was the more intelligent tact. Caffeine (being a diuretic) seemed like a big no-no when endurance riding. So I, for the most part, abstained, and I think it worked.
To wrap up, I'd like to say thanks to Tom and Mark for putting on an excellent event. Also, huge thanks to all the staff and volunteers, you guys rock. :thumbup:
And lastly, huge ups to Reno John Austin, for taking me under his (smelly) wing, and giving me the pointers that helped me snag a top 10 in my first rally. I was bummed you didn't get to ride but was glad you came out to support. Sorry I didn't spend much time in the bar chillin with you bud, as I can't hang with the big dogs these days. Still, I enjoyed seeing all the pics of the debauchery later. Good stuff. :thumbup: :thumbup:
-Fin-
RALLY N00B!
First of all, any misspelling or poor grammer in this post, I blame on RJ. He was my mentor, after all.
So, like Alex, I too took Friday off to get my stuff together and hit the road to Rickey Lake. Apparently, this is the original name of Topaz lake, named after Matt Watkins' second cousins third grandfather or something crazy like that. He apparently built it with his bare hands and filled it with a manual pump. History lessons aside, it was a very nice lake to look at, and definitely a neat place to kick off this rally.
I was able to get on the road about 1130 or so, with a 3 hour ride ahead of me – or so I thought. I made the mistake of using Hazel Ave here in the Sac area, which is under perpetual construction. So I spent 25 in traffic trying to clear the American River. No fun. Once clear of that, it was all smooth sailing up to Tahoe and beyond. Got stuck in another jam prior to Markleeville, for another 25 minute delay. The original plan was to run up to Ebbetts while I had the time, but with the clock ticking I just shot for Topaz and getting my tech done. I had a great ride up over Monitor, which quenched my thirst for twisties for the day. Little did I know I'd be running it again tomorrow, twice!
Tech was tech. License, registration, tires, lights, anal cavity search (no lube), and the odo check. I actually paid attention during the ODO, unlike other certain people who I won't mention *coughmeesecough*. Got my rally towel hooked up, stuff put away in my room, and some fresh clothes. I was ready to rock! Where's the bar?
Oh, there it is!
So we go through the "routing seminar". I'd had a few already thanks to RJ and Steve, and whatever the hell Meese was saying was kinda a blur. I'm sure he had some good advice somewhere in there, or not, whatever.
After Meese was done telling us how it's done (I think), a few of us went next door to the steakhouse, and had a carnivore-fest. Man, I can't tell you how good a ribeye is after a few beers. Much BS'ing was going on at the table, mostly by Jerry, but I think he probably made some good points. I dunno, I was focused on my steak!
After meat-a-palooza, we had some extra money from the bill, so we took it ($15) to the craps table and let it ride. 15 minutes later, the casino had confiscated the cash
Oh well, time to get a good night's rest anyway. The next morning, I woke up pretty much on point and ready to go. Had a decent breakfast with RJ (who drank about 47 glasses of OJ and then steak and eggs). He apparently had a, umm, long night beforehand. We bs'ed while I ate my so-so pancakes and eggs, then Matt W showed up and gave us the history lesson on Rickey Lake. After the lesson, I left RJ and Matt to consume their steak & eggs, and RJ drank another 50 glasses of OJ. He also did a great job of harassing the staff at the café, which was pretty damn hilarious! They were good sports and played right along.
10a rolls around, and we all gather for our rider meetings. I brought a total of 3 pens. 2 of which exploded on me during the meeting – I'm guessing due to the altitude changes. Ugh. So now I'm taking notes with a sharpie and I have black and blue ink all over my hands and my rally pack. JOY. I managed to pull it together though.
So Tom and Mark go over all the finer points, and give us our "special" bonus instructions. They wanted us to obtain a "truckadillo" and bring it in. We'd get 10 points per inch. Ok, doesn't sound like much (turned out to be tons of points). Meeting over, so I got my USB stick, and jammed over to RJ's room (I borrowed his netbook) to see where the route would take me. SOUTH. I didn't for a second think we'd be headed south. I don't know why, I just didn't expect it. So, I moved the GPX file to my GPS, put a copy in my Dropbox, and emailed it to MotionX so I could load it on to my iPad (btw, this was easily the most useful tool in my arsenal). I was able to use MotionX on the iPad to see all of the points, in an easy to navigate and "always-on" fashion that I had right there in my map pocket on my tankbag. Boom. I took some quick notes, plotted my desired route, and had the bike in the lineup by 1145. I was itchin to roll.
High noon on the nose, and I'm rolling out. Headed up to the "group bonus". But like most people, I didn't read the part that said we couldn't get there before 1225. But, as the 1st person to arrive, I'd be the first person to shoot after the folks who arrived at the correct time. Ended up hitting 1225 and nobody was arriving, so I shot first anyway! Less than 5 minutes, and I'm outta there! Headed to Markleeville for the "lets see how far these guys can climb geared up at 6500ft ASL cemetery bonus." Our esteemed rallymaster has a sick sense of humor, let me tell you. I needed a full Gatorade to recover!
Had I been able to draw upon rally experience, of which I had none, I would have noted that this marker was a cross. This would have been extremely useful down the line…
I jammed out of Markleeville, back up to Monitor to grab my elevation bonus. I get to the top, pull off in the soft stuff, and my front tire digs in! OH SH*T!!!! And down it went, in slo-mo. Luckily one of my fellow rallyists was nearby, and we righted the ship. Best part – NO DAMAGE! I love you frame sliders! Got my pic, and it was off to the races.
Next stop, Bodie! Or so I thought. I got about ¾ of a mile down that god awful road, and said f this. Turned around and booked it.
Next stop, Conway Summit!
After that, came Mono Lake, then some gas, then Deadman Summit. Well, the marker at Deadman eluded quite a few folks I hear, mostly because it was on the other side of the road. Luckily, I had my GPS set to show elevation, so I knew it had to be coming. Got that pic, flagged down a couple of riders who almost passed it. Saw Andy – who showed me his "truckadillo" (which was basically an entire tire!), and I was off to my 1st routing mistake of the day, Bristlecone.
So my frickin GPS tells me that to get to Bristlecone (using the supplied waypoint) I should turn off in Bishop. So I get a ways out of town, and the road goes to crap, then to crappity crap, then to total dirt trail with no end in sight! UGHHHHHH!!! I'm sure this was Mark playing a dirty, dirty trick on us!
I called it about 200 yards in to the dirt, and turned tail and went back to Bishop and beyond. Pit stopped at a McD's there, used the facilities, and thought, it'd be nice to get a java shake there, but there were about 20 kids from a local baseball team in front of me! GRRRR don't you know I need to get moving? So I went out the parking lot, inhaled 2 granola bars and a bottle of water, and I was off to Myanmar (where I'd commit my second mistake).Myanmar was a lot of dirt, but low speed so I wasn't too irritated by it. Got the monument pic no problem. Stupid me, I forgot that there were 2 bonii in this joint. OOPS. I literally rode right past the second bonus, completely clueless (routing mistake #2). There goes a few hundred points (and as it turns out, a few finishing places)….
By this time I was pretty much exactly on time for check #1 in Cantil. I was moving pretty uneventfully, until I passed a largeish set of bushes in the center divide, with guess who! CHP on the other side.
I really wasn't going all that fast – actually within our 20mph grace, but Mr. CHP heard me come off the throttle, so of course he pulled out and decided to tail me for a few miles (probably running my plate), then pull along side and give me the stare of disapproval. I nodded my appreciation and waved, and kept it cool for the next 50 or so.Now, I wish I had taken a pic of these guys… but there was this truck… a Nissan Titan Crew Cab… Absolutely hauling ass down 395. So I say great, he can run point. I tuck in behind these guys, and notice they have a keg sticking out of the back of the truck.:salute2: PERFECT. If we are going to be going these speeds, they are definitely going to nab the dudes with the keg in the truck rather than me! This made for some real smooth sailing almost all the way to Cantil. I was about 5 minutes early, which was great.
After leaving Cantil, I fought some insane crosswinds all the way to Mojave. The last time I saw it this bad in Mojave, the wind kicked up a sandstorm that literally ruined the windshield on my car. Luck would have it I would see no sandstorm, and I got to the Mojave Spaceport without issue.
Anybody who didn't find the bonus there…. Well… that's all I'm saying.
I made a b-line to the Tehachapi Loop trying to hit it before sundown, but I failed. Still got the bonus, but I really was hoping to see it in action. I've been past here a million times, even seen a train on it, but it's always been while passing it at 75mph on highway 58. Oh well.
On the way out I stopped at the center which bore my name but has no relation. I tried to find "Uncle Cesar's" monument, but the gates in were locked, and I did the next best thing – take a pic of the gate. In scoring, that worked, and I was happy because I thought I might not get it. COOL.
At this point I was getting pretty low on gas, and had exhausted my stop list. So I figured I'd head to Bako, get some gas, then get away from Bako as quickly as possible!! I don't like Bako (no offense to Bakovians). So I headed for 5 and Buttonwillow, where I knew I'd find plenty of places to stop and get a bite and organize. I ended up spending almost an hour at McD's there (they have WiFi). This strategy would pay dividends later.
After my rest, my plotted route would take me to Taft, then Pizo, Santa Paula, and finally to Ojai for a cemetery bonus and the 3am checkpoint. Well, somewhere right at the beginning of the Grapevine, I had my epiphany. It occurred to me that it was nearly midnight, and I was about to head within spitting distance of LA. I was literally cracking up to myself, and when I cleared the 'Vine and saw Magic Mountain, I was just in awe. I was hundreds of miles from home, only halfway through the rally, and I was on the outskirts of LA. Crazy!
At the Ojai check I spent a few taking care of some, umm, personal issues (fresh drawers are AWESOME!!!) I also got some Gatorade and a protein bar. Life was good!
Routing mistake #3 – Taking 33 out of Ojai. This road should be a lot of fun. Not at 3:30am. Geez... Shoulda gone down to Santa Barbara and taken 101. This mistake would lead to the next mistake...
Routing mistake #4 – Soda Lake road. Where the heck!?!? I saw the entrance from 166 on the map, I thought?
Turns out I went left instead of right. This cost me the bonii at Soda Lake, and Pozo. Grrr. I ended up in Santa Maria, which wasn't all bad, just not what I had planned. So I got on 101n and pointed at Santa Margarita.Routing mistake #5 - I don't know how I missed this, but in Margarita there is a right turn (from the 101 side) to stay on 58 and get to the cemetery. I missed it, and couldn't find the cemetery. Off to Atascadero I guess.
Found the bonus in Atascadero pretty easily despite it being well hidden.
Then Paso Robles:
After the Paso Robles bonus, I got hungry and wanted to check my routing, so I stopped at… guess where… McD's!!! Free WiFi is a powerful thing. Got my McMuffin on, had a coffee, and replotted my route to Salinas. At this point I was starting to look at my watch…
I got about 25 miles down the road, and there it was. The mother of all truckadillos. Seriously this thing was huge! (turned out to be 10 FEET long) I wrestled that sucker on the bike, and enjoyed the poor gas mileage and funny looks all the way to the end.:thumbup:
Salinas – anyone who didn't stop at this cemetery was crazy. The easiest cemetery bonus by far! Then I went to the big pu… err… kitty kat at the animal shelter. Piece of cake.
At this point I was excited… I was about to head to the coast, and HWY 1. An area I am extremely familiar with. I easily located the cemetery in Capitola due to some prior knowledge of the area and a quick google search, then made the short trek to the weirdo statue in Santa Cruz.
At this point, I could taste the finish, but I had some time left over. So I went to Los Gatos, Boulder Creek, and Saratoga, and had planned to stop by the Fairmont for one last bonus. Well, getting to Boulder Creek on a Saturday is a freekin nightmare. Roads are all very twisty (good)
, but clogged with idiots (bad) . Wasted tons of time getting to and coming back from this bonus. Because of this, when I got to Saratoga I was rushed, low on gas, and nearly out of time. I couldn't find the marker!!! ArGGH!! Turns out I passed it more than twice. I wasted too much time here, was pretty much on fumes, and had only ½ hour till noon. Out the window went the Fairmont bonus, and I headed straight to the barn.Rally over!
Scoring was pretty easy. I only had 1 item that was not accepted (it was definitely a bad location), but everything else was smooth as could be. Plus I had our esteemed rallymaster as my scorer. Lucky me!
Thankfully I was able to get an early check-in, the bike unloaded, and in to the shower! Best shower (that didn't include my wife) EVAR! Went back downstairs, plopped down on the park bench, pounded 2 Buds, and then retired to my room for a brief nap. Took me less than 5 min to pass out. Good thing I set my alarm, otherwise I'd have slept thru the banquet!
Banquet: food was good, yada yada, raffle, yada yada, FINISHING POSITIONS… Tom starts rattling off the finishers… 32…. 24… 20… 17… 15… 13… 12… Still no mention of me! 11… Holy crap I made the top 10?!?! 10…. Yep, that's me, 10th place! Not too shabby for a N00B. And to think, had I found the marker in Saratoga, you know, the one I missed by FEET, I would have grabbed 4th! WOW. Talk about a close finish!
Here's my spotwalla page:
https://spotwalla.com...on&zoom=default
My GPS lost the first half of my tracks, so I don't have my mileage number. I'm sure they'll have it posted soon. I know it was well over 1000.
Also noteworthy I think, is that I did not consume any energy drinks or mass quantities of coffee or even caffeinated drinks. I had half a Diet Dr Pepper in McD's in Buttonwillow, and a small iced coffee in the morning at the next McD's. That was it. Otherwise, it was all water/Gatorade. I think, for me anyway, this was the more intelligent tact. Caffeine (being a diuretic) seemed like a big no-no when endurance riding. So I, for the most part, abstained, and I think it worked.
To wrap up, I'd like to say thanks to Tom and Mark for putting on an excellent event. Also, huge thanks to all the staff and volunteers, you guys rock. :thumbup:
And lastly, huge ups to Reno John Austin, for taking me under his (smelly) wing, and giving me the pointers that helped me snag a top 10 in my first rally. I was bummed you didn't get to ride but was glad you came out to support. Sorry I didn't spend much time in the bar chillin with you bud, as I can't hang with the big dogs these days. Still, I enjoyed seeing all the pics of the debauchery later. Good stuff. :thumbup: :thumbup:
-Fin-
