Thursday, June 10, 2010

2010 Minuteman Rally Report Part 3

I took my rest bonus at a truck stop somewhere in VT. It was a productive rest bonus because I got 5,000 points for the rest; the truck stop sold VT-made syrup so I got 3,000 points for purchasing the syrup there, plus I filled the tank. All in all I thought I was in pretty good shape even though the last couple bonuses were a bust. At 1:15 am, I moved out into the darkness and found the next bonus location (an auction site) within about 30 minutes. I was ready to begin my routine. I got off the bike, went to get the flag and rally book to bag the bonus when it hit me. Pow—no flag! I thought for a moment and realized I likely left it at the last bonus location. Shit! I just started to laugh and say out loud “rally over.” All I could do was laugh. I got my head straight and realized I still had four hours until the rally was actually over which gave me time to go back, get my flag, and maybe bag one or two more bonuses. It was a long haul back to the flag; about 75 miles on the slab and then 75 miles back to where I started. The picture in this post is where my flag was parked for about four hours. During that time on the slab I was doing all sorts of calculations on the GPS to figure the best route back to the bonuses and rally headquarters. I quickly figured that I only had about an hour to bag as many points as possible so I only went to the two with the highest value that were left on my list. I hit a 750 pointer which I was so happy about; then the sun started to come up and I knew I needed to book. I made one more stop in Brattleboro VT, but could not find the bonus so the last third of the rally was basically a bust with only 750 points nailed to my rally book. I quickly filled the tank near Brattleboro and hauled ass back to the barn in Northampton. I checked-in at 5:51 am. I had nine minutes to spare. I spent those nine minutes thinking I should have spent nine more minutes searching for that stupid bonus in Brattleboro. Anyway, the line at the scoring table was long so I gathered my stuff and found a dark corner of the hotel and crashed for about an hour. When I got up, the line at the scoring table was longer so I just wandered around the hotel and talked to the folks and started to hear about the top scorers. I had calculated 24,000 points and was hearing numbers like 30,000 for the top finishers so I thought I would be in the middle of the pack somewhere. My friend Paul Saucy and I were the last two to get scored. Paul ended up with 27,175 points. He only went 891 miles so that was a very efficient ride for him. It was his first rally as well. He ended up in 5th place. At the scoring table, I argued a bit with the Rallymaster regarding one of the bonuses, but I lost the argument and didn’t push it. Paul was next to me at the table and just said “it’s 50 points dude, forget it, he’s the Rallymaster.” I took his advice. Paul ended up losing 350 points at the table so I guess I couldn’t complain too much. Brunch was then served around 11:00 and we all ate and waited for the results. The Rallymaster announced the top 10 finishers and I wasn’t in the announcement, but I knew I must have been close because 10th place had 24,124 points. It was Adam Peirce who was riding on a KTM bike and only went 721 miles. Very efficient. I went a total of 1,078 miles for 24,045 points. I would have been under 1,000 miles if I didn’t go back for my flag. I ended up heading for home around 12:00. I was probably the first one out of the parking lot after the ceremony; I just wanted to get home and take a nap. I was very happy with my results for my first rally, but still a little pissed that I did not break into the top 10. Fast forward two days and the results get posted on the Minuteman website: http://www.minutman1000.com/. Guess who’s in the top 10? Oh, hell yes—Me! There was a tie for 4th place so everyone moved up one from there. I must have been in 11th because my name is now in the top 10, misspelled, but in the top 10 nonetheless. I was pumped when I saw that. Even with all the mistakes, I still cracked the top 10. If I rode my plan perfectly, I would have been in 6th, right behind my buddy Paul. It was a good rally and I am looking forward to the next.

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