Rally Ready?

I think the time has come for me to try a motorcycle rally to see how much fun they are.  The whole idea of a motorcycle rally is to put in simply a motorized scavenger hunt over a number of hours.  The object is to accumulate as many points as you can safely get by visiting a number of bonus locations and getting information or photos at those locations.  At the end you must submit your rally packet to the rally masters for scoring and whoever gets the most points with proper documentation wins.

A rally is a physical and mental test.  The physical is obvious, riding for 10-12 hours or more in a day or for the bigger rallies like the Iron Butt Rally, for 11 days over 11,000 miles.  Even in a shorter rally, the endurance and physical is a test because to finish high in the standings, you will probably have to ride between 400-600 miles in the allotted time frame.  The mental test is your ability to route a safe, logical and high point producing route that will allow you to get back in time.

I know I can ride the distance in a day...that isn't an issue.  What will be the biggest test will be my routing ability.  Having never done a rally before, it will be a new experience to try to route a ride from an unknown to me starting point to places I've never been to and have no idea of the difficulty that getting to them may entail other than the mileage to them.  I find this part of the challenge really interesting.

My first rally will probably be Ed's Last Resort Rally, hosted by Ed Tillman in Surrency, GA May 13-15.  The actual rally will be a 12 hour affair on May 14.   I had the chance to meet Ed at Stagecoach this past December and he assured me that I would have a great time...or my money back, less handling fees ;)  I have talked to a couple people that have participated in his rally in the past and they said it was a hoot.

So wish me luck and good weather for the weekend.  Hoping that David will join me for this too.  It would be fun to share this adventure with him.

Joy of a Short Ride

Not having the available time to take any long rides lately, I have resorted to taking some shorter, more local rides. Maybe a 30-50 mile ride around the county, stopping to visit a county park or a state wildlife area to see what is there.

It has been an enjoyable experience. There are tons of interesting places to visit around here that are free to see. One of the ones we have visited has a nice elevated walk-way and some benches that you can sit on to enjoy the scenery.

Getting in a ride and a little exercise isn't a bad thing either. At least the KawaTanker is getting out and about some.

Hurray for short rides!

Jonesing for a Long Ride

When I started planning for my 2011 riding calendar there were many rides that I had read about and dreamed of doing. Reading on the many interweb sites I frequent on a regular basis fills my head with visions of two lane roads in places all over the country and the world. Looking at the MTF forum, the Long Rider forum, KawaNOW and many others give us all ideas of that "next great ride of rides" or a bucket list type adventure.

My plans centered mainly around some of the MTF RTE's that are held in the spring riding season. Being out of active coaching now, I thought my weekends would be freed up enough to take a few of these opportunities in this year. Events like the Master's RTE in Augusta, GA, the Moonshine Lunch Run in IL and maybe even Ed's Last Resort Rally in Surrency, GA. Man, my head and heart were on the same page, if not my wallet.

As oft times happens, events planned are interrupted by events of life that are out of our control. As the weeks progressed from the start of the year it seemed one more ride would be missed because of life's interruptions. Moonshine was the first because a dear friend is getting married that day. Master's was next due to a family situation that developed and had to be taken care of that weekend. Ed's may work but I'm not counting on it.

I'm not bitter about this happening. All the things that interrupt my plans are things that are important enough that I need to be part of them or to take care of them. Friends and family are the things that are important to having a good life. It just seems that I get my hopes up and darned if something always comes up.

So with that being said, I am quite simply "jonesing" for a long ride. We did take a long ride to north Georgia and Tennessee in early March but my appetite for a long ride hasn't been quenched yet. Maybe I'll have to do something silly like ride to see my nephew graduate from my alma mater in May, make it a SS2000 or maybe ride to surprise my son in Oklahoma for his birthday in April. Both sound kinda cool.

Who knows? I know I have to get out for a long ride soon!