Saturday morning was bright, sunny, and cold. Did I say COLD? One would think that a native of Vermont could handle 50 degree temps. Not so! I headed off for breakfast at McDonalds. Quite a few of the participants were there as well, partaking of the gastronomic splendor of the world's most famous fast food stop.
Back at the Shackup Inn, our pre-ride meeting began promptly at 8:00am. We received our packets for this three state scavenger hunt. No photos this time. You had to locate buildings, signs, and other assorted and sometimes trivial landmarks in order to capture the details needed to claim the points. It could be a name, the shape of a prominent memorial, or even the number of gates in a dam.
Multiple classes were available including one and two up, expert, novice, and newbie classes. Aux fuel cells usually relegate one to the expert class regardless of actual expertise. The solution was to require two gas stops, one at least an hour after departure and the second at least an hour after the first. Looking at the list of rally riders including Richard Buber, Dave Hicks, Mark and Karen Campbell, and many other multiple rally riders, I chose to go with the two fuel stops!
Alan had sent out the list of locations a week prior which included the city or town but no other detail. The bonus location would be within 10 miles of that geographical point. Having plotted a number of routes, I went with a northern Arkansas ride of 360 miles and a total of over 11,000 points if I were able to capture all of them. Pretty agressive indeed. Not only were the approximate locations plotted in the GPS but I had built a plan of "must arrive by" times so that I could analize progress and make changes as necessary.
My odometer was checked and off I went at 8:20am. Already 5 minutes behind. First stop was Elaine, about an hour away. My target arrival time was 9:15am and I rolled into town exactly on schedule, having made up the 5 minute deficit. I was looking for marker honoring four local veterans, located next to a First Bank. I saw a bank but it had a different name so I drove further down the street...and right out of town. I turned around and went to the other side of town. Nope, not here either. I finally went ack to the first bank, not the "First Bank". I had passed the market. There is was right next to the building! With a population of 352, just how many banks did I think I'd find? So much for being on time! Information captured, it was off to location two.
St. Charles was the next stop and I was looking for the White River Wildlife Management Area entrance and the information kiosk located in the parking area. It was another 50 minute ride and I was pleasantly surprised to arrive only 2 minutes past my projected arrival time. Better yet, I had made my first fuel stop enroute. and considering that I took a 4 mile scenic detour, thanks to the good 'ole GPS. The bonus sheet said the information that I was looking for was on the back side of the kiosk. Reading comprehension seems to be a failing, I started on the front and wasted about three minutes before reading the instructions and finding the information immediately.. on the back! I was bagging major point locations and close to being on time. Next!
Pine Bluff was 75 miles distant and I made great time. Right on schedule again. I was llooking for a monument in front of the courthouse. I parked across the street (???) and walked up to get my needed information and move on. I was looking for a memorial to a Revolutionary War veteran. This one was the Civil War... are there two monuments here. I walked towards the other end of the building and there it was. That cost me a couple of minutes but I was still doing great. This was the biggest point bonus on my route and I had snagged it.
Grady was next. I had to locate the Huff Island State Park. The goal was to count the number of gates at the dam. Instructions noted that you had to walk about 100 yards to the water's edge to get an unobstructed view of the dam. I did, counted the 18 gates, and moved on. By the way, 100 yards was an estimate and a short one at that!
Leaving the park, I began the journey back to Star City and the town square. It was another 28 miles to the location or about an hour round trip. No problem. Or so I thought. I had barely gone 3 miles from the Huff Island State Park when I encountered an 18 wheeler. The driver had tried to navigate a very tight turn and went off the side of the road. Unfortunatelty the trailer was across the entire road and traffic wasn't going anywhere. There were no alternative roads to take. So here I sit for about 20 minutes until the wrecker is able to pull the cab out of the ditch.
I checked the GPS and it said Clarksdale was 72 miles away. Hmm... I could still pick up Star City but the rest would not be possible if I were to return by the 3:00pm checkin requirement. It was 12:35pm when I got moving again. 25 minutes to the bonus and two hours to get back. Piece of cake!
I made good time to Star City, located the town square, wrote down the needed information and pulled into the gas station that was directly across the street. How convenient! Fueled up and ready to go, I selected "ShackUp Inn" as my destination; 77 miles away. Time...1:10pm. With slightly less than two hours to go, I could stop in Clarksdale and get about 1000 additional points, including the two state bonus. My total would be over 10,000! I hit go and for the first time realized just how much of a mistake I had made.
While is is 77 miles direct, the actual route was 134 miles. This is not slab riding and the ETA was 3:53pm. Some of the riders had spoken of the limited river crossings along the Arkansas-Mississippi border, myself being one of them. BIG ROOKIE MISTAKE. I decided to twist the wrist and give it a try. To my amazement, the ETA kept coming down as I literally raced through the route. While I took a huge bite out of the deficit, I came to the realization that I could not make it on time. I continued at the rapid pace but arrival came at 3:16pm.. I missed it by 16 minutes.
I added up the points I had; just slightly under 10,000 points. Miles? 387 total! Not bad in 7 hours and 1 minute. Unfortunately, the alloted time was 6 hours and 45 minutes. Looking back, I could (and should have) eliminated Star City. It would have saved 45 minutes and my point total was still at 9000. Of course I would have had to "recalculate" the route and not just look at the mileage to realize that. I could have saved 10-12 minutes by not fueling. Expert or not, I had a bunch of points...in fact enough to win the individual rally, regardless of whatever class I wound up in. Can you say "competitive"?
While I am disappointed in the results, I had a great time and it was a spectacular learning experience. I was able plan and ride a route that maximized points to both time and miles. I learned it makes more sense to park in front of the bonus instead of walking across the street. Every minute counts. And I learned the need to "recalculate"! The errors were all mine and I can work to elmimnate them from the next rally...and oh yes, there will be a next one!!!
Three hours after our departure, we arrived at the Half Shell Raw Bar. We chose to sit inside due to the cool temps. 60 degrees is as warm as it got in Key West and that is COLD for the lower keys.
