Cal 24 Results

[GunMD]

Clicky

 

[Ignacio]

I'm most impressed that our own Skooter not only didn't high side (or was it low side) this year, but he cracked the Top 10 in a field of seriously competitive LDR and IBR names. Congrats Skooter!

#2, Beeroux, scored second place and I'm sure will have an interesting story.

And there are at least two more FJRs than reported!

#14, Lisa Stevens, shows as BMW, but I know she rode her new '06 FJR. It tickles me that she was 8 places in front of her hubby....also on an FJR. Since they rode together I'm sure there will be a story there.

#6, Paul Peloquin, shows as another bike from his stable, but I saw him two months ago on a new-to-him unfarkled '03 he bought for rallying. I confirmed he did ride it at the event.

That's 3 FJRs in the Top 10. One other Yamaha was in the Top 10 leaving 6 as BMWs.

What can I say about #1, Jeff Earls? Definitely didn't ride an FJR, but the guy is just an efficient, point-gobbling machine.

 

[Mike-H]

Ignacio....does this mean skooter's on a roll....the old comeback trail....attempting do be Numero Ono....the new LD king?..... .....or just redemption for last year?....

 

[Ignacio]

I would think it's redemption for last year's unprompted high side and exorcise some splat demons.

He's already proven he's a force with last year's 1 day SPANK Rally 2nd place finish.

Now he'll have the 5 day SPANK rally to deal with.

 

[GunMD]

I would think it's redemption for last year's unprompted high side and exorcise some splat demons.
He's already proven he's a force with last year's 1 day SPANK Rally 2nd place finish.

Now he'll have the 5 day SPANK rally to deal with.

And he won't have to compete with GZ in the Spank Rally...at least, not in the traditional sense.

 

[skyway]

I would think it's redemption for last year's unprompted high side and exorcise some splat demons.
He's already proven he's a force with last year's 1 day SPANK Rally 2nd place finish.

Now he'll have the 5 day SPANK rally to deal with.

SkooterG and turbodave are here at my house right now and will be heading home today. Myself, bluestreek and Dave rode together and let me tell you folks, at almost double my age, Dave just just never ceases to amaze me at his stamina. I hope to be kicking around like this at his age.

Could we have all done better riding solo at our own pace, absolutely, but I have never laughed so hard for so long in all my life as I did through this weekend.

 

[Ignacio]

Could we have all done better riding solo at our own pace, absolutely, but I have never laughed so hard for so long in all my life as I did through this weekend.

You involved in jumping from the cliff of death? I saw a pic from Cierzaks here and went, "Wow."

The piece about finding bonii off the beaten path with no descriptions of pictures is another interesting twist.

And having our own resident forum member chickey191 as the "roving bonus" sounds hysterical. I understand a civilian was getting stalked by Aerostich clad riders.

Clearly, I need to try and do the Cal 24 instead of going to Combine Demolition Derbies....

 

[GunMD]

I can't wait for the rest of the ride reports...

Art, Skoot, GZ, you listening? Write-on.

 

[Groo]

Awesome! Way to go everybody!!!! :clapping:

 

[twowheelnut]

Congrats, you crazy-ass, mofos! :good:

 

[skyway]

Clearly, I need to try and do the Cal 24 instead of going to Combine Demolition Derbies....

You missed out big time, no doubt. Don't delay and mark your calander now for next year.

Having been around motorcycles most of my life, before June of last year, I never knew there could be something involving motorcycling that could be so darned addictive as a 24 hour rally.

To come back into Dunnigan with 10065 points, the winner Jeff Earls must posses clinical fast, mass data planning skills. :dribble:

Also of note is first time rally participant and fellow FJRforum member Mike Mehaffy (aka mehaffydr) finished 16th place after riding all the way to CA from Missouri.

AND I won a $200 Cycle Gear gift certificate in the drawing at the banquet. :yahoo:

I don't care how big Skooters 9th place finisher plaque is, it don't buy squat at Cycle Gear.

 

[kaitsdad]

Way to go, Gents !!

Next year ..... I'll be there. (If I can get permission from the boss lady )

 

[chickey191]

being a roaming CP was kind of fun. I got to ride much of the route - and attempted to stay out in front of everyone - stop and take breaks by the side of the road so that i could be spotted - yet was rarely asked for my autograph except when I hung out at a official WC checkpoint.

Only 5 riders found me outside of the CP.

funny though - one rider tracked me down in a McDonalds. Came in and asked me to sign. The girl at the counter asked me if I was famous???

I laughed and said - "you mean you don't recognize me?"

Several riders blew right past me (even though I was wearing a puke green/yellow reflective vest).

one guy sat down at the Red Bluff CP and talked with me for at least 15 to 20 minutes and never asked me to sign his paperwork.

I got to ride 175 (Hopland Road) 3 times !. first time through there was ZERO traffic. ZERO. Been on this road many times and this was a first. I had planned on stopping part way and camping there for awhile to offer myself as a bonus, but with zero traffice - I rode it all the way to Hopland. Turned around and rode it back (so I could be the CP). Hung out for about 30 minutes with no riders coming by - so I figured they took the straighter faster CA 20 by-pass. So I just had to ride it again.

Took the Lost Coast Road and hung out there a bit - but it was REAL windy and pretty chilly and the clouds were rolling in - so I didn't hang for long. Great road if it was in better condition. Beautiful Redwoods, coast, beach mountains, twisty as hell and a big grin inducing stretch of pavement.

What can you say about 36? - one of the best roads anywhere. What is it -- about 140 miles of twisty, well maintained and well engineered tarmack? Except for the cows walking down the middle on a blind turn (thank you Yamaha ABS and Linked Brakes) - it was just about perfect.

Keeps going past Red Bluff, too

Lassen -

my favorite CA 49

and an opporunity to whack it out to Gerlach for those liking the upper end of their tach range.

Tom and Mike put on a great rally - on great roads and for a good cause.

they raised over 7000 for a great charity.

Glad I could be a part of it and nice to have met some of you from the list.

Ride back to San Diego - SUCKED. Wind was blowing crossways from Stocton to Bakersfield -YUCK.

 

[Warchild]

I got to ride much of the route - - yet was rarely asked for my autograph except when I hung out at a official WC checkpoint.

And Chuck and I had a blast running that Checkpoint, let me tell you!

What a completely excellent time. Very inspirational to see so my FJRs on the Start Line.

And talk about inspiration.... that would be TURBODAVE!! I tells ya what, people, I sure hope I have the level of energy and living life as large as TurboDave when I reach his age!! The man is a Force, he can't be stopped! If I was more aware of his drive and energy beforehand, I wouldn't have worried so much when he went in for by-pass surgery last winter.

At Checkpoint II in Red Bluff, after 12 hours of hard-core, intense riding, Dave still looked and acted a lot sharper than riders less than half his age!

 

[vectervp1]

My write up:

I screwed the pooch hard. She'll never walk the same and is in the witness protection program. I lost (wanted a top 10 finish) because I gave up mentally. Alot of it had to do with the lack of mental conditioning before the rally. I had been focusing so much on work and other misc crap going on in my life I really didnt think about the rally or really prepare for it. Even during the rally I kept thinking of stuff I had to do when I got back. This indeed did it in for me. I screwed up my planning, missed bonuses that were right in front of me, and was the last man out of the hotel. I even screwed up the damn odometer check!

This jarred me so much I considered quitting riding rallys on the 12 hour ride home. I spent alot of time sulking in my helmet and feeling down on myself. I started going over my mistakes and trying to figure out what I could do to improve. By the time I got home, I was considering what I could do to try and get into the Utah1088 here in a few weeks. I know now that the only way I'm going to improve is if I look at what I'm doing wrong and get my ass back out there.

This rally was a real eye opener and hopefully enough of a wake up call that I will be a force to be reckoned with during the 5 day SPANK rally. Now I just need to practice my skills before then.

On the bright side of things, Tom Melchild put on a hell of a scenic ride. It was some of the most beautiful scenery one could screw up in. There were good folks out riding, and the awards banquet was tasty. I look forward to seeing what Tom has in mind for next year.

I think we all want to be as badass as Turbodave when we are his age!

 

[skyway]

Art, If you felt you had screwed up that bad, you should have hooked up with us either at the first checkpoint or when we passed you a little further north working the post count bonus. There were some hilarious moments on that ride for sure. My sides a still aching today. :lol:

One thing I have learned from riding in only 2 rallies is that it is always fun for me no matter what is going on out on the road. This Cal24 I learned a LOT about planning in 1 hour and will adjust my strategy accordingly next time out. In just over 1 hour I was able to plot almost 50 pieces of information for my GPS, next time I will focus more effort on prioritizing which items to go after and in which order.

Another important lesson I learned is that for the most part all the field of riders know how to ride their asses off for 24 hrs, some more than others for sure. But its that first hour of planning is where the separation of success and failure occurs. Also while on the road you must be able to make smart decisions on the fly based on available time and never second guess your game plan.

We made it back to the finish line with only 12 minutes to spare, but I was not concerned about this. Going down to the wire didn't make me nervous, its all good time until the clock stops.

 

[Warchild]

But its that first hour of planning is where the separation of success and failure occurs.

An astute observation, and quite correct.

Those of you who are about to enjoy the Utah 1088 the weekend after next, you'll have not one, but TWO opportunities to screw the pooch while plotting bonuses under the pressure of the clock ticking away. The Utah 1088 is broken up into two legs this year. At the Start, you will only recieve Leg One's bonus listing. At the mandatory Checkpoint sometime around the halfway point, you'll receive the final Bonus Listing for the second Leg of the event.

So... you blow that Checkpoint, you're done for the event. Have a nice ride back to Salt Lake City.

We'll see how sharp and observant riders are when they have to decipher the bonuses and plot a winning route after having been riding hard for 12 continuous hours.... B)

 

[vectervp1]

Well, part of the problem was with the initial planning. It took me alot longer than I anticipated to get the bonuses loaded into my GPS. I took too much time trying to find the exact location of certain bonuses instead of just trying to enter what city they were in. This cost me dearly in the end because I didn't leave until damn near 10:00! I tried to make up for it by going for some of the bonuses intended for the last leg that were worth 300+ points each. This seemed to work, and is what the leaders did as well. Of course they had an extra hour so they were able to get more of them.

Since I lost out on the 1000-2500 points at the first checkpoint, I was kind of down about that. After leaving there, I couldn't find the next two bonuses so that was what kind of broke me. I started to realize just how far behind the pack I was if the majority of the riders did the 1000 point bonus. I decided to just enjoy the ride through the redwood forest and just make it to the next checkpoint and take it from there.

Some of the things I need to work on are somewhat obvious and others are not quite as obvious. First of all, I need to be able to enter that info into the GPS much faster. Second, I need to be able to not rely on it. There is alot to be said about going 'old school' and not using the GPS. Initially that was my intention. I need to be prepared to only use the GPS to know how far away I am from the checkpoint, and how long it will take me to get there. In the end I ended up using it to try and run my entire rally. Using it to know where the bonuses is also good, but sometimes GPS's don't have the correct information in them. I spoke with some of the top dogs after wards and almost all of them still used paper maps and highlighters to plan the majority of their ride.

The other thing is learning when to take the big risks. I could have made Gerlach between the second and third checkpoints (I think) with just a few moments to spare, but it would have paid off immensely. I actually was at the third checkpoint 30-40 minutes early so I went for Reno and wasn't able to get the keno ticket because all but one casino had closed their keno games for the night. If I would have made tracks for Gerloch instead, I would have been doing alot better in the end.

And the biggest thing I learned from this was the mental conditioning. I had a couple of talks with both GeorgeZ and Tom Melchild about what happened to me. They both went over hopeless causes they have faced and how they tried to recover from them. It made me feel better, but made me realize that I need start preparing my 'game face' for the rally long before getting there. I need to step back from my hectic existence and focus on the task at hand. If I would have had my head in the game instead of up my own ass I probably would have said screw the scenery and made tracks towards the second checkpoint and gotten all of the bonuses around there prior to the checkpoint opening. I then would have gone for Gerlach between the second and third checkpoints.

Like I said, I now wish I would have signed up for the Utah1088 because right now I want to redeem myself. I sent a pleading email to Steve Chalmers but considering they are overbooked by 13 riders, I pretty much know what the answer will be. I know I can do a better job than I did and it irritates me that I did so piss poorly.

 

[Groo]

Vecter,

Life is an unending series of disasters, occasionally interrupted by a small victory here and there. The key is learning from the mistakes, and persistence. Looks like you're well on your way through the first key, and seems like you'll have lots of energy left for the second one.