The Void III

[DUKR]

Oh and the guy Dukr bought her RS from was there. Started from Altoona. Was weird. He mentioned he was from Livingston and I thought of her immediately, but didn't really think it could be the same guy. So I didn't say anything. Then he asked me when we were at the finish if I knew her. Funny. He said to say hi.

Twilight Zone

Isn't it though? He said to apologize for not calling ahead and taking you to lunch as he had promised. He was, after all, in the middle of a rally.

Interesting - guess I missed that tiny piece of communication. I haven't had any ctc with the guy since I bought the bike..
Oh well, there's nothing wrong with having your own world..

[jbfields3]

I probably came in dead last, but I finished. More to the point I logged over 1200 miles in 26 hours (subtract 3 for the rest stop bonus). There were some AMAZING roads. One of them won't be there the next time. Kentucky's 25e is being replaced by a 4-lane slab. That is, I think it was Kentucky. 11 was good. So was riding East on the Bluegrass Parkway as the sun came up (and the "road magic," as George calls it, that kept me from running out of gas).

Damn near killed myself coming down the steps of Motel 6 at the end of my rest bonus, as reported elsewhere. My face went bing-bing-bing along the bars of the stairways metal grill work, barely preventing me from falling forward down the steps. As I was trying to prevent the fall, I was thinking, "how ironic" and of the jokes there might be if I did not succeed in preventing serious injury. Miraculously nothing broke or remained bruised exept for my Trea's touch screen which was in my left chest pocket. How it broke by my falling to the right...?

I got a picture of the 29 Diner on the way home. It was right next to a used car lot. I took the picture from the parking lot of the Rite Aide, across the street then watched as two aging, professional-looking women ran a salesman through his paces demonstrating how the roof of the white Mercedes sports car disapeared into the trunk. He had to get help from the more experience used-car salesman while yet another observed. Monkey: zero, football: one. Probably Tom Robbins wrote a book about those two ladies. They were not eager buyers, I'll say that for them. Probably they could picture some lady thirty years their senior (well maybe only twenty) driving such a vehicle.

[T.Wesley]

A guy who DNF'd the 10-hour posted a ride report of his experience.

View the rest of my pictures.

--chiba

[lionlady]

Well. I discovered that this wasn't as much fun as I'd hoped. Planned a route into familiar country (that 150 point bonus next to the Wilson Bridge just seemed so simple... )

I finished. Clocked in at 4:01. -10 points for one minute over. I also missed out on 36 points for Wild Card items when I left the WC score sheet in the hotel room, instead of putting them in the scoring envelope.

Things I learned:

1. I need to think thru the details BEFORE heading out. The time crunch thing was tough enough, but then having to do something DIFFERENT (it seemed) to claim each bonus was more detail than I could take. (I did enjoy the ride, though.)

2. Work out a routine for each stop, then you don't waste time. That no doubt comes with experience.

3. Riding legally and safely means you probably won't cover enough miles to get high points. OR you risk DNFing.

4. Getting gas receipts, with addresses, was smart. Even though I didn't see in the rally book that they were a bonus item, until I got back to headquarters.

I lost time with stupid stuff (broke a side plate on my Arai helmet changing visors at my FIRST stop ) and had to cut bonii. Think I finished dead last... but at least I finished!

P

[Hello Kitty]

Now that I've seen the results, I'm even MORE pissed! At myself, but pissed. Eh, learning experience, I know. Just a game, I know. But that doesn't mean I am disappointed to not have done my best.

[guitardad]

Nice pics, chiba. And at least now I know what Stonewall Jackson's Arm's Grave looks like! But did you get points for that pic of the Ohio monument? My scorer checked to see I got the correct side of the monument, with the same inscription (including date) as in the rally book. Luckily, I did. My pic of the Ramseur's Brigade was from across the field, since there was no beaten path in the grass to get up to it. No points.

No complaints, though. I had a lot of fun. And I wasn't gonna get anywhere near the 1200+ points needed to run with the Big Dogs.

[T.Wesley]

did you get points for that pic of the Ohio monument? My scorer checked to see I got the correct side of the monument, with the same inscription (including date) as in the rally book. Luckily, I did.

Now that I look at that pic, I'm pretty sure that's not the one I submitted for scoring. When I got to the monument, I didn't have the book, so I photo'd all 4 sides, then chose the right one for the bonus at scoring. That's just the wrong picture that I uploaded to my website.

The Ramseur's Brigade one was a bit of a hike, but there WAS a path - it was pretty overgrown, but down at the ground level there was plain dirt.

I'm planning to go back to that Spotsylvania Battlefield and walk around a lot more - that was a very cool place, and amazingly tranquil for the history of death & destruction that took place there.

Pam... I'm so sorry to hear you went for Jones Point!! I scouted that location out last week... total sucker bonus IMHO. With Saturday traffic around here, I mean WOW - but I *totally* considered it too There were a lot of points to be had up here in NVa, but they all required you to be able to get in & out before traffic got bad - and traffic's ALWAYS bad in Old Town on a Saturday. That plus the 20- to 30-minute hike out & back... tough to do.

The Spotsylvania & Fredericksburg battlefield boni were the collective apex of my route, which was roughly figure-8 shaped, the two legs of which crossed near Michie Tavern. The Tavern was the first bonus I dropped, and having heard Chaz' story about trying to find the right sign, I'm glad I did. Plus, I would have gotten there way before it opened up, and probably not have been able to even get the picture Chaz did (and honestly, I probably wouldn't have even thought to take it - just been frustrated that the "right" sign wasn't there and moved on, pissed that I'd wasted the time on the mountain).

I was sorely tempted to stop at the Morton's Oktoberfest - but again, glad I didn't. I had just picked up the laundromat wild card right there on 208 and proceeded to get the Salvation Army one, and then get completely turned around headed for the F'burg BF Monument because I followed my GPS rather than the RM's directions. Then when I got there, I went to the wrong part of the park - all told, I wasted about 30 minutes at that bonus and that hurt me more than anything else, although luckily it didn't prevent me from making it back before the penalty period started.

On the ride home, we (me & Kitty) went through Gordonsville, which is where the John Deere dealer was that I think Chaz & some others stopped at, the freshly opened one. RIDING HOME I saw it, but when I went down that exact same road in the other direction on Saturday... I saw the blue tractors, then the orange tractors... but I never saw the green ones; I was too focused on getting to the Exchange Hotel and Barboursville Ruins locations and not looking around for the opportunity. Turns out the JD dealer I chose that was right off I-64 between my stop at the VDOT Memorial and the drive-in wild card/fireworks stand wild card (found by total luck)/Foamhenge/Dino Girl final leg of my route was a commercial location that is CLOSED on Saturdays. That cost me 30 points right there; that plus skipping Michie Tavern... 55 points that would have raised my spot in the standings quite a bit! However, given my cluster at the F'burg BF, stopping at Michie Tavern (and knowing what Chaz went through there), I'd have probably been pushed back into the penalty period and that would have DROPPED my place... so all in all, I'm glad I did what I did

I'm thinking ... Cape Fear (10), Square Route (6), Rendez-vous (12), and Void (10) for next year... whatta y'all say?? Who's with me

When I remember to, I'm going to do a full ride report and post it to my blog. I'll post the link here if y'all are interested.

--chiba

[guitardad]

The Ramseur's Brigade one was a bit of a hike, but there WAS a path - it was pretty overgrown, but down at the ground level there was plain dirt.

Yeah, both bonii that I lost at the scoring table I have to chalk up to my own reading comprehension issues. In my hurried state, I interpreted "The monument is across the field." as "Take a picture from across the field." And the RMs told me what to do if Stonewall's Arm was closed - "Get a parking pass from the Visitor's Center." I just didn't do it.

The Spotsylvania & Fredericksburg battlefield boni were the collective apex of my route, which was roughly figure-8 shaped, the two legs of which crossed near Michie Tavern. The Tavern was the first bonus I dropped, and having heard Chaz' story about trying to find the right sign, I'm glad I did. Plus, I would have gotten there way before it opened up, and probably not have been able to even get the picture Chaz did (and honestly, I probably wouldn't have even thought to take it - just been frustrated that the "right" sign wasn't there and moved on, pissed that I'd wasted the time on the mountain).

I had Fredericksburg battlefield on my route, but I dropped it because of time pressures. I bailed too early - especially since I was back in Lynchburg 15 minutes early to go to Lowes. Actually ended up in the store, asking the cashier, "NOW what time is it on the register?"

I'm thinking ... Cape Fear (10), Square Route (6), Rendez-vous (12), and Void (10) for next year... whatta y'all say?? Who's with me

In for Cape Fear (10) - I wanna play "Stump the Rallymaster" again. Probably gonna help Miss Kitty with SRR. Rendez-vous is intriquing. And definitely in for the Void, although I might be ready to try the 24-hour by then.

[lionlady]

Actually Jones Point was the first bonus I dropped from my route. I knew it would be "iffy" given the generally icky traffic. But having grown up in the area, I was comforable that I could come up with some creative alternative routes in/out.

P

[jbfields3]

What I will brag about is 1200+ miles in 23 hours of riding. Average speed 61 mph is not bad for one of these and especially not bad considering the top speed of my CLC.

Lessons I learned: If you see a traffic problem make a decision to do something don't just sit in the lineup. Read. Avoid 81 & 95 in route planning. Plan gas stops better.

Also, I'm pleased that I found some things that really eliminated confusion and worked for me. Riding skills seemed to have improved with a day in the saddle as well.



Rode great roads. Or did I post that already...?

I made an entry in my blog, below.

[lionlady]

I think I need to do another 10 hour rally before I decide this isn't for me.

You gotta do it once, to figure out what you thought you figured out, but didn't really. THEN you can do it For Real, and decide if its truly worth continuing to do, or not.

Kinda like being pregnant the first time. Read all the books, thought I knew what to expect, but DANG experiencing it was a whole different thing.

P

[jbfields3]

I'm thinking ... Cape Fear (10), Square Route (6), Rendez-vous (12), and Void (10) for next year... whatta y'all say?? Who's with me

Sounds like a plan, but I think I'll go with 24-hour rallies when I can.

[T.Wesley]

I think I need to do another 10 hour rally before I decide this isn't for me.

I agree - though I'm not sure if I'm on board with your analogy to being pregnant!!

--chiba