August 28, 07:00 am Rally started
Stuff happened
September 4, 15:00 pm Rally ended
The morning of August 24, Norm Grills, Allen Dye and myself, Bill Thweatt
left for Columbus, Ohio. Now Norm and I have ridden together a number of
times but I had only meet Allen once before at the Waltz this year. Why? You
ask do you need to know this. Will the first thing Allen said to me at our
first stop was "If you had toll me, I would have brought my underwear for
you to ware" I rode a little further back after this statement.
Friday August 25, We arrive and get the tech/mileage completed and now it's
wait time....Ya right. Due to carefully planning and preparation, before
leaving home, I only have to go to the store nine times between Saturday and
Sunday. But Monday morning I'm ready to go. Sometime Saturday Norm asked me
about riding together, now Norm and I do ride to and from actives but never
have we rode a rally together and at no point did we talk about doing so.
Planning is everything, right? So, being open to new things and only in it
for the FUN. I agree it could be good and that either one of us could back
out at anytime and ride our own ride.
Monday morning Norm and I start planning our route, morning traffic and all
we go east before dropping down south. Will the first thing we hit is FOG,
and then some more FOG. So much for our first plan together. At some point
we get back on I-71 headed for the first bonus this was pretty good no
problem. We are off and running for the next, we take off from Cincinnati
headed towards Louisville and I-64 to Rome, Indiana. 100 miles before our
turn off Norm gets off the x-way and I'm thinking "restroom" Norm goes buy
the gas station and takes off down a two land????? Norm, Norm where are you
going? The GPS said to turn here, Norm my paper map say's we have 100 miles
to go before turning. Oh. So back to the x-way and off we go. Norm, that's
are exit, no GPS say's the next one, 7 miles down. No, Norm this is it and I
need gas. My paper map is correct again. Are we seeing a pattern here? We
get Rome and start for Metropolis, Super Man, then it happens Norm gets off
the x-way, no gas station, no nothing. Norm what are you doing? My G...Norm
GET BACK ON THE X-WAY NOW....... Paper wins again. (It will be interesting
to hear Norm's side of this). The rest of this leg goes as plan, well most
of it. We won't talk about missing the BIG I-55 south sign in Memphis. We
pick up our over night stop just south of Jackson and on to Hot Coffee
Mississippi in the morning, then Baton Rouge with time to spare.
Start of leg two finds Norm and I planning the next rout when I tell Norm we
have to be in the "Resort" by 8pm. 5 minutes later we are off and running.
Base on my calculations we should make it with 15 minutes to spare... Will
that was before we hit 290 northwest of Houston. Can we say "Parking Lot"...
Just about the time we were looking to get off and find another way we see
things clearing up and off we go. Norm, myself and Doug on the 250. As we
closer to the resort things start to happen, turn left and the first tee,
right and the second tee, go 1.4 miles. Did I miss the part about DIRT road?
Norm hits the dirt and I can not see him or the road plus the ST feels like
a wild horse under me. What the hell happen to the road and where is Norm?
Does the road turn, I do not know I can not see anything. After what seemed
like a hour Norm and I get things slowed down and he looks over at me a
say's "Have we gone 1.4 miles yet?" I would like to tell you want I was
thinking but words like that can't be printed. I look up there are all these
people running out from behind a fence and start yelling to go, go, go. We
make it at 7:59pm. On the way out I lead and then I saw some the rocks we
must have hit...I better check my rims....
Norm and I have plans to go up through Dallas on our way to Tulsa, Oklahoma
with a stop at home for two hours sleep, we both live just off I-75 in north
Dallas area. By 7am we are off for Tulsa then up I-35 to I-70 over to
Denver. Let me just say Oklahoma and Kansas were HOT 105 most of the way. My
cool vest worked but we did stop in Salina, Kansas in a McDee's for over a
hour to cool down. With a overnight stop in Denver we picked up a few more
bonuses, Norm went up 40 to pick up one more bonus and headed to Salt Lake.
I had just found out that my mother was in the hospital, and could not keep
my mine on the ride. I will have to go back to ride this road and some
point.
Leg three, looks pretty straight. Well as we are leaving from the Medicine
Blow bonus location Norms looking over his shoulders, back at the windmills
and slides down into the ditch. Me, being the good ldrider that I am, start
thinking. If the GPS and V1 make it after the fall I wonder if Norm will let
me use them for the rest of the trip. But Norm being the rider he is saves
the bike and continues on. Better luck next time. In Lusk we find the road
to the bonus more then we are will to subject the bikes to and head for
Aladdin, Wyoming. I think we meet all 15 people in this town. Norm heads
back to Rapid City and I head to Mud Butte South Dakota. I knew this was too
easy. Getting off 85 on to 212 east the first sign say's "Mud Butte" 34
miles, the second signs say's "construction 34 miles" and the third sign
say's "Carefully dirt road". At this point I start to understand the "I hate
Eddie" statements that I hear sooooo often. At the end of the construction,
and I mean just after the sign the said "End of Construction" the bonus
location turn off is there. Next I'm off to Bison, and all we have to do is
get a gas receipt at a "ALL NIGHT" station. Now this station is two gas
pumps, no building and NO instruction on how to use the credit card reader.
Eddie, I hate you. Next stop Fargo, long wet, cold ride. OH, did I forget to
tell you about the cows in the road to Bison, I will really enjoy my next
steak, he who laughs last.
Leg four finds me getting read to run to northern Michigan to see my mother
and hopefully make it to Columbus by Monday for the finish. I say good by to
Norm and I'm off. My sister, who was with my mother told me to call at the
point of going north or heading south and staying in the rally. This was St
Paul for me. After talking to the doctor and my sister, they both told me
that when my mother found out I was dropping out of the rally and coming to
the hospital that her blood pressure was up, and heart rate. Both my sister
and doctor ask me to continue with the ride and told me everything would be
ok. Note: as of Wednesday September 6, she will be home on Thursday and
everything is find.
So off I head, I pick up a few bonuses and head down to Des Moines, stopping
for the nigh. My down fall starts here, as I try to pick up a receipt of my
over night stay the only gas station does not have night time attendance,
you guessed NO receipt, and 1.3 gals of gas. Cost is 750 points, this cost
me 6th place, I finished in 12th. Could of, Should of, Would of. NEXT time.
Now understand when I started this rally my highest completion goal was in
the top 25 so being up set about only 12th is crazy. My number one goal was
to have FUN......
Adam, Eddie I had FUN, Thanks for a great week.
This was my third rally, LOE 1999, Waltz 2000, and BL2 my first multi day
rally, IT WON'T be my last.
Bill Thweatt
Eddie, the package coming your way is a clock, really so don't worry about
no stinking ticking, ye that's it, it's just a clock.