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Too bad we couldnt have gotten over to Az. Looks like they had a good
time. See y'all in Michigan tho...
gln
2005 Twist 'n' Shout Rally
By John Parker
This was my first time in this event by the Fastour Riders Group of Arizona. It is the 2nd annual running of this event. Organizer Doug Banfelder did very well for such a new rallymaster. The event was very laid back and didn't have the strict rules of the more established rallies like the Utah 1088. This may change with experience, as I can see that the "true" competitors will probably use their easy manner to exploit the rules to their advantage. Too bad, because it is a refreshing change to ride in such a low key event as this. That's just the nature of the endurance rally scene, unfortunately.
The host hotel and HQ for this year's rally was the Grand Canyon Travelodge in Flagstaff, AZ. There was a very small turnout for a western rally. This year, there were only 20 entrants, but all were very enthusiastic. I hope that Doug and Fastour Riders can make this an annual event. I arrived early at about 1330 on Friday. There were 3 or 4 other riders there already, but others started arriving in ones and twos. Most license plates were Arizona, but I did see a couple of Colorado, a California, and one Illinois. And, of course my Oregon plate on Blue Thunder, Becci's 94 ST1100. Most were the usual grizzled LD lot, but there were a few young'uns thrown in to keep us oldsters honest. The only rider I recognized from other events was George Zelendez. George is in his 2nd year of competition, and this only his 4th endurance rally. He is very competitive and the "Big Dogs" will soon have to take notice of him. Doug showed up late, but quickly made everyone feel welcome at the pre rally dinner in the diner adjacent to the motel.
After a tasty meal of fish 'n' chips, the riders were invited to check out the available rides highlighted on maps in the restaurant lounge. As advertised, there were three 1000 mile routes and one 1500 miler, the "BBG", laid out. The 1000 milers were named "Colorado", "Utah", and "Arizona/New Mexico" to reflect the Four Corners theme of this year's rally. I glanced at all of the routes and made mental notes of their approximate courses, but the Big Dog ride, the "BBG" was the one I was enamored with. From Doug's prior emails, I knew there would be a BBG 1500 in this year's ride; therefore I was looking forward to it. After doing a BBG 1500, 1000 miles events just seem too mild ;-} All of the routes stayed on the same roads for the first several hundred miles then took off in their own directions to their namesake states. The last common bonus to all of the routes was, quite appropriately, the Four Corners Monument. After a while Doug and his crew gathered us all on the grass near the pool for a riders' meeting. The meeting set the tone for the weekend and the event in general with its low key and laid back demeanor. The bonii for each route were handed out and the usual warnings and safety talk were given. Doug and Bill gave us a brief overview of some of the roads and a few of their individual hazards that they observed when pre running them a few weeks ago. Doug then opened the discussion up for questions and got the usual barrage with regard to discrepancies and omissions in the rally packs. As usual the "Soap Box Derby" crowd jumped on the opportunities that the loose rules allowed by omission. George Z managed to get the Rallymaster to agree to allow scoring bonii from other routes and got a variance from him on the "Four Corners" bonus to allow for riders to bag it after hours. If this was the Utah 1088, young Georgie would have been holding a rock for asking that question. Unusual for endurance rallies, but understandable for a new event, the bonii were written very loosely. That is to say that they were simply descriptions of various places and the evidence needed the bag them, but without the lengthy qualifications usually found in the bonii descriptions of "established" endurance rallies like the Utah 1088, Cal24, Northwest Passage, White Stag, or the Iron Butt Rally, to name a few. It is the norm in these events for the Rallybastard to go to great lengths to describe a bonus and the qualifications that must be met to bag that bonus. For example, there are often certain times of day and/or dates that a bonus may be bagged by a rider. Also, there are many times a statement is included as to which bonii may be bagged by riders on different routes. Not to mention that there were none of the threads, or combination bonii that make route selection by the competitors so "interesting" in other rallies. Well, it is refreshing to ride an event like this, and I am glad Doug did it like this (intentionally or not). I believe Doug's co-host, Bill, stated their philosophy best when he said that they wanted a "riding rally, not a reading comprehension test." A bold goal in this day and age. When asked who was doing the BBG, only one rider raised his hand. I quietly withheld my commitment as a pre-race ... err rally poker strategy. Even though I knew that I would ride the BBG regardless of who else would. I liked the challenge that I believed it would provide me with its mostly two lane roads and many miles of mountain twisties.
After the riders' meeting I hustled back to my room and began my pre-rally procedure. I first entered all of the mandatory bonii into Mapsource to get a preliminary route. Then I entered the location of all of the optional bonii as waypoints. I then looked at the three 1000 mile routes for possible extra bonii that were near enough to the BBG route to be doable. I knew from prior experience that, with the pace necessary to complete a BBG 1500, I wouldn't have the time to stray far from the main route. I found one bonus on the "Colorado" route that was very close to a bonus on the BBG and entered it as a waypoint also. I then let Mapsource calculate the route and uploaded it and the waypoints into my Garmin Streetpilot GPS. I had previously loaded all of the relevant maps onto the Street Pilot's data card. I then printed a color map of the route on my HP 420 color printer/fax/copier for reference use later if the GPS failed for some unexpected reason. It's good to have contingency plans when so much time and effort is invested. I also always carry a full set of paper maps for the same reason. So far, in the 5 years I have been using GPS's for competitive rallies, they have had a 100% reliability factor, but I still feel better with a "hard copy" in this age of software and computers. Probably comes from being a computer tech for 35 years.
After a good 5 hours of blissful slumber I awoke on my own before the Screemin' Meanie's plaintive cry, and loaded "Blue Thunder" for the next 24 hours of fun and adventure. I packed fairly light taking along a few tools, first aid kit, electric heated gear, cool vest (the desert has WIDE temperature extremes), and some "Zone" bars and "Turkey Jerky" for sustenance. At 0600 sharp the BBG1500 riders were off into the dawn looking for beautiful roads and high value bonii. The other BBG rider and I would have a 1 hour headstart on the ss1000 riders.
Traffic was light as we motored north out of town on old Route 66. The first bonus possible was a big one of 25 points (the max available), for a photo of the "Sunset Crater" sign at the Cinder Hills Overlook in Sunset Crater National Monument. The other BBG rider and I arrived at the same time and got our photos. He left before me on his Concors and I never saw him again until the next morning. I bagged another 25 pointer at the nearby Wapatki N.M. then zoomed up hwy 89 north, blowing off a 15 pointer at "Little Colorado River Gorge," because I felt I needed to get my average speed (AVS) back up if I was to complete the 1500 miles in the 24 hours allotted for a BBG 1500 by the IBA. I got one brief Ka Band radar hit on my V-One just after leaving Sunset Crater. The AZ State Trooper was playing with "instant on," but didn't have a chance against Mr. Valentine ... this time.
My route turned east off of the 89 onto hwy 160. 160 is a magnificent motorcycle road, and once out of the town of Tuba City, AZ, it is perfect for getting the AVS up. There are plenty of curves and elevation changes, but it has many loooooong stretches of open road with excellent visibility. I've used this road on several other rallies and rides to get across the Navajo Nation with very good results. It was still cool on this morning with temps in the mid 50's. Wildflowers covered the landscape on both sides of the road and filled in the normally sandy tan desert palate with brilliant orange. The Navajo National Monument just west of Kayenta was a 20 mile side trip, but worth 25 points, so well worth it. Besides, as I found out once there, it is a beautiful spot and one I would like to visit again when I have more time to explore it fully. I did get my National Parks "Passport" stamped though. The female ranger looked a little puzzled by this big "white eyes" in the blue snowmobile suit and an m/c helmet that swooped in and out of her visitor center like a Kochina. A few more miles east on the 160 I visited the "Code Talkers Museum" in Kayenta (REALLY Uncle Sam!! Don't the Code talkers deserve a REAL museum???). I also collected the mandatory "Fuel receipt" before leaving this little pueblo.
Hwy 160 turned a more northerly direction at Tec Nos Pos (famous for their amazing Navajo woven rugs). Four Corners Monument came up on the left soon after making the turn. This Monument is run by the Navaho Nation, and it is the only place in the US where one can stand in 4 states (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah) at the same time. I blew on past it and its 25 points with the plan to return later on my way back to the finish line when it was closed. I'd been here several times in the past and knew that sometimes the lines could be long and the tourists frantic. A ruling was secured from the rallymaster by George Z at yesterday's riders' meeting allowing us this option.
The next bonus, worth 10 points, was 20 miles before Cortez, CO at "Yucca House National Monument." Unfortunately, as we heard later after the rally, Yucca House was torn down years ago, and the Federal Government hadn't gotten around to building a monument yet. Oooops! Gotcha Doug!! To be continued..... John Parker SoCal & SoOregon _______________________________________________ http://ibdone.org/mailman/options/ldrider_ibdone.org
--------------------- Glenn
