Uncle Hud
Just another blob of protoplasm using up your oxyg
The Big Money Rally is open for business again! Click here for the official background; keep reading for an unofficial story.
Think of it as a motorcycle scavenger hunt. RenoJohn has lists of bonus locations scattered across North America. Ride to one, snap a smartphone photo that shows the bonus, your bike, and your placard, and email the photo to BMR Scoring. Find out in a few minutes if your photo meets the criteria, and putt-putt off to the next location.
There are also bonus categories like Word of the Day where you find any instance of the word, often within a few miles of home, and go through the photo/submit process outlined above to collect your points. There have also been bonus categories in the past where you can only snap/submit within one specific hour.
The BMR starts on New Year's Day and finishes on the Saturday closest to Memorial Day, May 27 this year. That means you have five months to schedule around bad weather, family requirements, and work demands -- and still get in some quality riding.
Since 2017 is an IBR year, I expect more than a few IBR competitors to use the BMR as a practice session to polish their route planning and route riding skills.
Personally, I like this rally because it takes me on lots of backroads that I'd otherwise never ride. You see, the quickest route from my house to each bonus location typically involves interstates and big highways. But the quickest route from Bonus A to Bonus B (and on to Bonus C) is usually on an itty-bitty two-lane road that leads me .... over the river and through the woods.
I've made some nice memories snagging photos of Muscle Shoals recording studio, the Durham Bulls baseball stadium, talking my way past the MerleFest ticket-taker, discovering a Frank Lloyd Wright house in northern Alabama, and meeting a really nice guy -- a fellow BMR rider -- in the geographic center of Tennessee, waiting for the hour-long bonus window to open. Want to see a few photos from last year?
Ride far or ride often. You can accumulate enough points to be a finisher with either philosophy.
Think of it as a motorcycle scavenger hunt. RenoJohn has lists of bonus locations scattered across North America. Ride to one, snap a smartphone photo that shows the bonus, your bike, and your placard, and email the photo to BMR Scoring. Find out in a few minutes if your photo meets the criteria, and putt-putt off to the next location.
There are also bonus categories like Word of the Day where you find any instance of the word, often within a few miles of home, and go through the photo/submit process outlined above to collect your points. There have also been bonus categories in the past where you can only snap/submit within one specific hour.
The BMR starts on New Year's Day and finishes on the Saturday closest to Memorial Day, May 27 this year. That means you have five months to schedule around bad weather, family requirements, and work demands -- and still get in some quality riding.
Since 2017 is an IBR year, I expect more than a few IBR competitors to use the BMR as a practice session to polish their route planning and route riding skills.
Personally, I like this rally because it takes me on lots of backroads that I'd otherwise never ride. You see, the quickest route from my house to each bonus location typically involves interstates and big highways. But the quickest route from Bonus A to Bonus B (and on to Bonus C) is usually on an itty-bitty two-lane road that leads me .... over the river and through the woods.
I've made some nice memories snagging photos of Muscle Shoals recording studio, the Durham Bulls baseball stadium, talking my way past the MerleFest ticket-taker, discovering a Frank Lloyd Wright house in northern Alabama, and meeting a really nice guy -- a fellow BMR rider -- in the geographic center of Tennessee, waiting for the hour-long bonus window to open. Want to see a few photos from last year?
Ride far or ride often. You can accumulate enough points to be a finisher with either philosophy.
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