My  First Rally

 

I should have seen it coming. The different car I picked up at work needed fuel , done, two blocks later the gauge hadn’t moved, what the??? no speedo either. Lights ok signal ok I’ll just go with the flow of traffic, it’ll get fixed monday. Check my packing list (hey someday you too will need a notebook to remind you why you’re in the hardware store) load the RT., dressed , door up ,hit the starter......spinspinspinspin if it spun any harder it would tip over…

Ok now the battery is too low. Well being over prepared comes in handy I’ve got an extra hour or so to charge it up and try later(insert ominous feeling here). Later same result , call the service dept. of an unnamed dealer, “wiggled everything they could think of ,”nope. OK I’m a lucky guy ,  , with a mostly stock new HD FLHTCUI parked in the same stall. This is a conspiracy and I’ve been had .2 minute unpack-repack. I;m gonna need more light, a quarter turn of the screwdriver installs “aux. lighting roll of tape and some plastic page sleeves and we are off. This bike is 35 days old with only 2400 miles on it and very little on interstates. On the way to Minneapolis I realize that elevated cruise speeds drop the mileage severely. In fact by the end of the odo check I’ve gone 144 miles on 4.67 gallons in a 5 gallon tank. Not good.

My goals were to plan a route , ride it successfully , change it if needed and have fun. After the liar’s banquet and a stop for a McChicken I can’t wait to get my motel room set up. Lesson no.:1 mayo can erase ink, -eat first. At this point I’ve slept very little due to excitement and can feel it. At first it seems impossible to locate each bonus on my AAA five state map, so out comes each state map. Soon I’ve marked 25 or so spots, now it dawns on me that I can’t tell which is worth how much, so I retrace each point. That done I go to bed around 12:00AM .Can’t sleep, are all these places available 24hrs.?No. Back on the floor more notes on the map, and a route starts to float in front of me. 1:33 is the last thing I can remember . 

I’m surprised there are so many riders at Bob’s Java hut already, I’m more surprised I found it so easily. Todd Witte parks next to me, great, little sleep, apprehension, now a big dog. Todd is very easy to talk with and with little provocation will share some tips or bs about bikes, it is easy to see why he’s Eddie’s hero .After the final route sheets are handed out it is easy too see my route ain’t no winner.So what, it is mine, and I like parts of Iowa.

First stop hwy 212 to Bongard’s because I know where it is. Why is this lane not moving? I’ve been in this same spot for 10 minutes! After a lane change the reason is apparent: today is” take all the junk no one else will pick up” to the dump day and traffic is backed up for miles. How the hell does Eddie know this stuff? he doesn’t even live here .On to Mankato and breakfast at Zan’s. Nearing Madelia I marvel at the increased fuel economy , “maybe I should think about adding Sioux Falls and a few of the Nebraska stops to my route”. As I pull back onto 60 a glance shows the low fuel light is on, must be a leak, but I can’t smell gas . That’s like 2 gallons in 8 miles, backtrack and stick with the original plan.

The rest of the day passed harmlessly enough as I racked up one small bonus after another. Thudding south on I-29 just north of Council Bluffs  an airliner descended through final approach directly overhead, I love that stuff. Watching me was probably entertaining for the other motorists as well. Time for lesson no. 2:with multiple bonus available in the same town put them in order BEFORE you visit any of them. I always thought Council Bluffs was larger than it is, if you need a guide, call me. Riding at night in unfamiliar territory always makes me paranoid  about running out of gas so I squeezed a gallon in just outside of CB. Guess I forgot about the M in Missouri. Stanton IA, the only road that dawdles in this place also leads to the bonus location and if you must change clothes don’t park in front of the bars’ window. On hwy 71 south of Atlantic IA someone has a sense of humor and a great collection of reflective Christmas decorations, scared the shit out me. (remember the lack of sleep thing). It is at this time I began to think of all these witty and insightful gems of knowledge to pass on at check in. Those of you I talked to will notice that I remembered none of these.

It was really enjoyable to cruise through Des Moines on a nearly deserted freeway and after backtracking several miles from the next exit managed to buy gas IN Des Moines. Somewhere north of Ankeny Iowa on I-35 I watched the same meteor many of you saw fall through the atmosphere. That was worth staying up all night for. It is about this time I was really appreciating this sled, comfy, quiet (stock pipes ) and my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn tape in the deck, woohoo this is livin’!. Except as food, I hate deer, my eyes hurt from not blinking all night so of course now they wait in the middle of my lane, Good thing these new HD brakes are both effective stoppers and embarrassingly loud squealers, way better than deer whistles. 

As the sun began to rise I was finally beginning to tire and was the only hour or so that I felt cold. Since fuzzy logic had determined there were more points to be had on the three hour layover than on the the rest of my route ,I headed for the barn.As i crossed town on lake street I had mixed feelings; had a great ride , hate to see it end and wished I had chosen a different cross street.

Seems to me it would be hard to top a Team Strange event, special thanks to all the volunteers, Adam and Eddie. Congratulations to George Fetsko the overall winner . I was fortunate enough to spend a couple hours with George after scoring , this guy can rally , and ,is a quality individual.

 

Allen Wilson