CFO Rally Rally

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Well if you guys are done rubbing on each other... <_<

I got a question from someone, what's a bonus rally?

When ever your talking about something your very familiar with it's tough to envision other not knowing ALL about it. So here goes, a bonus rally is like a scavenger hunt, almost. In a scavenger hunt it doesn't matter where your get your treasures from just get them. In a bonus rally your given places to go and your need to sometimes collect an item from that place but you must get it from THAT place. There are other way to prove you were there but the essence is about riding there. First off the riders are given a list of places to go, a long list more places than possible in the time allotted, in this case 8 hours. Each one of those places has a point value basically the more difficult to get to the greater the point value. The rider with the highest point value collected is usually the winner. Also each of the places has an assignment to prove you were there like take a picture of a your bike in front of a sign for a restaurant or answer a question like what are the Sunday hours of that restaurant or get a receipt from that restaurant. But if your told to get a receipt and you come back with a picture of your bike you don't get the points, bummer. First off it's about planning a route next it's about ridding that route and finally it's about getting proper proof that you were there.

Bonuses are usually the odd and eclectic roadside attractions maybe a grave site or a landmark, an overlook, a unique store, historical markers, places like the sand paper museum, the boyhood home of Larwance Welk. Sometimes it not all about the destination it's about the road that takes you to these places.

Bonus rallies are usually put on by folks in the Long Distance or endurance riding community so they've been associated with long hard rides. Most of these rallies are 24 to 48 hours or even several days long up to and including the Iron Butt Rally which is 11 days long. So these events are often associated with long hard rides and to win these events that's what you need to do. But what a lot people don't realize is that there are a shorter events maybe 12 hours long that don't need a bunch special farkles to fit in or to be competitive. This rally will be even shorter at 8 hours so it will fit better into the normal program of the CFO Rally. So nobody needs to get up at 4:00 AM or miss dinner with some one who's not in the rally.

 
The reason I like the idea of this is twofold. One, originally, Rallies consisted of drives/rides for exactly the reasons RC has posted above-they weren't to accumulate beaucoup miles, but to have random destinations that required touring the countryside, often on roads and to places one wouldn't ordinarily find, or even know to look for. In the MG TC tradition, so to speak-and that appeals to me more than just racking up miles as quickly as possible. Two, I am one of those who finds it difficult to just roam aimlessly-I enjoy the trip much more when I have a destination in mind. Just another quirk of my personality, of which there are many (quirks and personalities). I look forward to what comes of this-and another good activity that makes this a better CFO to come I think. Group rides are ok, but not my favorite way to ride. A plus is the time window-perfect in my estimation, long enough to ensure plenty of riding, but not so long as to wipe my ol' *** out.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
..., I am one of those who finds it difficult to just roam aimlessly-I enjoy the trip much more when I have a destination in mind. ...
I agree with everything you said, radman, but with that statement the most.

But another great reason for participating in such a rally was mentioned earlier but summed up this way... for the riders who want to dip their toes and 'test the waters' of a rally along with those riders unable to commit to multi-day events or rallies held too far away.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice description Rick, wish someone had told me that the day before we met. I had know idea what I was getting into :blink:

You did forget to mention one thing, they are [SIZE=10pt]very[/SIZE] addicting :yahoo:

Anybody who enters this will not be dissapointed, Rick has quite the arsenal of cool places to visit and awesome roads to ride at his fingertips :clapping:

 
I was skeptical about participating at the beginning of this thread, but following this discussion has convinced me to reconsider.

I like what I'm reading...good work Rick!!

 
The reason I like the idea of this is twofold. One, originally, Rallies consisted of drives/rides for exactly the reasons RC has posted above-they weren't to accumulate beaucoup miles, but to have random destinations that required touring the countryside, often on roads and to places one wouldn't ordinarily find, or even know to look for. In the MG TC tradition, so to speak-and that appeals to me more than just racking up miles as quickly as possible. Two, I am one of those who finds it difficult to just roam aimlessly-I enjoy the trip much more when I have a destination in mind. Just another quirk of my personality, of which there are many (quirks and personalities). I look forward to what comes of this-and another good activity that makes this a better CFO to come I think. Group rides are ok, but not my favorite way to ride. A plus is the time window-perfect in my estimation, long enough to ensure plenty of riding, but not so long as to wipe my ol' *** out.


..., I am one of those who finds it difficult to just roam aimlessly-I enjoy the trip much more when I have a destination in mind. ...
I agree with everything you said, radman, but with that statement the most.

But another great reason for participating in such a rally was mentioned earlier but summed up this way... for the riders who want to dip their toes and 'test the waters' of a rally along with those riders unable to commit to multi-day events or rallies held too far away.


I was skeptical about participating at the beginning of this thread, but following this discussion has convinced me to reconsider. I like what I'm reading...good work Rick!!
Now you guys are catching on.

Like I said before a bonus rally is only as hard as you make it. Even is it is a 24 hour event there's nothing in the rules that says you HAVE to ride for 24 hours straight. There are always a few who for what ever reasons need or want to ride less. I'm even working on ways for people who don't have the top score to win some awards. Who knows I might even be able to drum a prize or two. I'm really hoping that I can put on a fun competitive event that everyone can enjoy.

 
This sounds great. I'm in for the fun and experience. My copilot will no doubt be in for a little competitiveness even though we stand no chance in this arena. 12 or 24 hours of the copilot screaming directly into my ears and this CFO is shaping up to be more fun than I could ever hope for. :rolleyes:

 
Thanks for the great explanation. I will have my 76 yr. old Dad with me at the CFO rally, so doing the whole 8 might not be possible, but it sounds like fun. Kind of like a long poker run. As most know, it's not the destination, but the journey. It's just handy to actually have a destination.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Go for it Rick. While I'm familiar with rallies, this might be a fun way to show the SO what it's all about, w/o killing her interest with an excessively long event, (for her). And I enjoy the odd and interesting places RMs tend to use for boni, so all the better.

 
Thanks for the great explanation. I will have my 76 yr. old Dad with me at the CFO rally, so doing the whole 8 might not be possible, but it sounds like fun. Kind of like a long poker run. As most know, it's not the destination, but the journey. It's just handy to actually have a destination.
Now you guys are catching on! A couple of years ago at a MN1K I came down with a case of the creeping crud the night before. I showed up for breakfast and my rally pack and went home and went to bed. I got up in the afternoon feeling a bit better, put together a short route of a few boni that weren't too far out and went for a ride. Got home that evening got to bed early and showed up for the finish and I wasn't the last place finisher. :blink:

These rallies are only as hard as you make them. If you want to win well then you might need to ride you *** off. If you put together a good efficent route and ride smart you'll beat a bunch of people that rode a lot more miles than you did.

Go for it Rick. While I'm familiar with rallies, this might be a fun way to show the SO what it's all about, w/o killing her interest with an excessively long event, (for her). And I enjoy the odd and interesting places RMs tend to use for boni, so all the better.
So Eric, are you planning to come to CFO now in addition the CFR???

 
Top