Rogue
Well-known member
Confessions of a Long Distance Neophyte
Popping my Cherry on the Utah 1088
06:00 hours Saturday 24 June; Okay, Time to start loading up the bike.
07:15; Bike loaded, rider fed, time for the Riders briefing and rally packs.
07:30; …Huh? How am I supposed to find these things on the map? Well I found most of them and put them on my map and entered the GPS bonus into my GPS.
08:00; Start! ….. 08:06 and I zero my GPS odometer and go…… Just starting and I’m already losing time!
I look at a line of bikes for the first bonus, a “slow ride”, I don’t want to wait in line. I’ll go to the next.
On the freeway and going! Yeehaw! Wait….. Didn’t they say something about telling them which route your taking? What is the first place to turn around? 3 miles ahead! Dam!
Back to the check point, there’s Steve, “I’m supposed to tell you which route I’m taking? I’m taking the main route.” “I don’t need to know that, You only need to tell me if your taking one of the alternate routes” Oh yea, DAM!
Well there is a shorter line to the “slow ride” I’ll try it. First try, I put my foot down, second try 40 seconds and it had to be in over 45 seconds. Oh well.
Back on the road to the next bonus, Okay off here, down this road and right on foothill. The road just ended and I haven’t seen foothill…….. Where am I?
Look it up on the GPS and I’m only a mile or so past it.
08:20; I get to the park and look at my rally pack, available 09:00-17:00! DAM!
Should I leave and come back? Yea I’ll leave……. Wait some people are going in, I’ll try it. They are open and I get my picture of T-Rex!
Okay off to the next, Fire Fighter Museum.
10:00; This is the turn off to the museum, check rally pack……available 11:00-15:00! DAM!
Okay there is a bonus at a mile marker down this road so I’ll get that fist…….. Hmm, the mile markers don’t look right……… check the rally pack…….. Wrong road! DAM!
Okay back to the Fire Fighter Museum, nope not open yet. I guess I’ll wait.
10:30; another rider shows up.
11:00 Six riders waiting and no one here yet, someone calls the phone number on the door, “I’m at my daughters baseball game, I can be there in 10 minutes”. Got my donation made and receipt and off to the next, 25 mile each way gravel road worth 9,999 points! How bad can it be, I’ve ridden gravel roads on street bikes before. OH MY GOD! The only reason I didn’t go down is my butt was clenching the seat so hard that the bike couldn’t fall, I do about 20-30 mph on the worst parts of it, no one could do faster! Then on the way out a guy on an RT blasts past me doing about 65 going in! But I got the points!
13:00; 5 hours into the rally and my GPS shows I’ve done about 100 miles! I need at least 1088 to finish!
Time to make up some miles!
Got some more Bonuses and look at the rally pack, Gas station receipt in Nephi, fine that’s not too far. I don’t need gas but am able to put about 2 gallons in and I’m getting hungry so I grab a sandwich at the Arby’s in the gas station and fill out the bonus…….. Gas or any receipt! DAM! Wasted time topping of my tank! Oh well, I put both receipts in the file.
Time to grab the GPS bonus and head back.
19:15 Show up at the check point, “Do you want to do the push ups?” 50 points each for up to 25 push ups done. “No, I’m just trying to finish**”.
Check the second half rally pack and enter the second GPS bonus, half way through and my GPS is showing 489 miles! Okay what is far away? North east corner of Wyoming? Not that far! Wendover NV? Good that’s over 100 miles each way.
20:30; Good, got the bonuses in Wendover, where from here? I80 just inside the Utah/Wyoming border! That got to be at least 100 miles the other side of Salt Lake City! So I ride into Wyoming and turn around, get the bonus and back to SLC. Its cold at 7000’ at midnight!
Sunday; Back in SLC and I head to the second GPS bonus.
03:30: back in SLC, GPS shows 998 miles, I need more miles! I run back west on I80 and get another 50 miles or so then to the airport for another bonus.
04:30; Got the airport bonus and about 1,084 miles, time to head to the capitol building, got my picture and time to head back. There is a bonus for a picture of or signature from a LEO and I’ve got two hours to kill, “No, I’m just trying to finish**”.
06:00; At the gas station next to the check point ready to get my 6pack of cold beer, soda or water….. Utah doesn’t sell beer before 07:00! Well I decided I was going to get beer so I wait for an hour for my beer!
07:15 hours Sunday June 25 I turn in my paper work, my GPS said I did 1,100 miles…….. Is it right? I didn’t check the odometer at the beginning so I don’t have any idea what my bikes odometer said.
Corrected miles from the rally master? 1,124 Miles! I did it! I finished!
It didn’t sink in until about 16:00 Sunday that I did it!
** My #1 goal was to finish and #2 was to make the top 50% of finishers, I got 21st out of I think 67 finishers but I could have done even better if I had tried for these bonuses. Oh well I made my goal for my first long distance ride.
Popping my Cherry on the Utah 1088
06:00 hours Saturday 24 June; Okay, Time to start loading up the bike.
07:15; Bike loaded, rider fed, time for the Riders briefing and rally packs.
07:30; …Huh? How am I supposed to find these things on the map? Well I found most of them and put them on my map and entered the GPS bonus into my GPS.
08:00; Start! ….. 08:06 and I zero my GPS odometer and go…… Just starting and I’m already losing time!
I look at a line of bikes for the first bonus, a “slow ride”, I don’t want to wait in line. I’ll go to the next.
On the freeway and going! Yeehaw! Wait….. Didn’t they say something about telling them which route your taking? What is the first place to turn around? 3 miles ahead! Dam!
Back to the check point, there’s Steve, “I’m supposed to tell you which route I’m taking? I’m taking the main route.” “I don’t need to know that, You only need to tell me if your taking one of the alternate routes” Oh yea, DAM!
Well there is a shorter line to the “slow ride” I’ll try it. First try, I put my foot down, second try 40 seconds and it had to be in over 45 seconds. Oh well.
Back on the road to the next bonus, Okay off here, down this road and right on foothill. The road just ended and I haven’t seen foothill…….. Where am I?
Look it up on the GPS and I’m only a mile or so past it.
08:20; I get to the park and look at my rally pack, available 09:00-17:00! DAM!
Should I leave and come back? Yea I’ll leave……. Wait some people are going in, I’ll try it. They are open and I get my picture of T-Rex!
Okay off to the next, Fire Fighter Museum.
10:00; This is the turn off to the museum, check rally pack……available 11:00-15:00! DAM!
Okay there is a bonus at a mile marker down this road so I’ll get that fist…….. Hmm, the mile markers don’t look right……… check the rally pack…….. Wrong road! DAM!
Okay back to the Fire Fighter Museum, nope not open yet. I guess I’ll wait.
10:30; another rider shows up.
11:00 Six riders waiting and no one here yet, someone calls the phone number on the door, “I’m at my daughters baseball game, I can be there in 10 minutes”. Got my donation made and receipt and off to the next, 25 mile each way gravel road worth 9,999 points! How bad can it be, I’ve ridden gravel roads on street bikes before. OH MY GOD! The only reason I didn’t go down is my butt was clenching the seat so hard that the bike couldn’t fall, I do about 20-30 mph on the worst parts of it, no one could do faster! Then on the way out a guy on an RT blasts past me doing about 65 going in! But I got the points!
13:00; 5 hours into the rally and my GPS shows I’ve done about 100 miles! I need at least 1088 to finish!
Time to make up some miles!
Got some more Bonuses and look at the rally pack, Gas station receipt in Nephi, fine that’s not too far. I don’t need gas but am able to put about 2 gallons in and I’m getting hungry so I grab a sandwich at the Arby’s in the gas station and fill out the bonus…….. Gas or any receipt! DAM! Wasted time topping of my tank! Oh well, I put both receipts in the file.
Time to grab the GPS bonus and head back.
19:15 Show up at the check point, “Do you want to do the push ups?” 50 points each for up to 25 push ups done. “No, I’m just trying to finish**”.
Check the second half rally pack and enter the second GPS bonus, half way through and my GPS is showing 489 miles! Okay what is far away? North east corner of Wyoming? Not that far! Wendover NV? Good that’s over 100 miles each way.
20:30; Good, got the bonuses in Wendover, where from here? I80 just inside the Utah/Wyoming border! That got to be at least 100 miles the other side of Salt Lake City! So I ride into Wyoming and turn around, get the bonus and back to SLC. Its cold at 7000’ at midnight!
Sunday; Back in SLC and I head to the second GPS bonus.
03:30: back in SLC, GPS shows 998 miles, I need more miles! I run back west on I80 and get another 50 miles or so then to the airport for another bonus.
04:30; Got the airport bonus and about 1,084 miles, time to head to the capitol building, got my picture and time to head back. There is a bonus for a picture of or signature from a LEO and I’ve got two hours to kill, “No, I’m just trying to finish**”.
06:00; At the gas station next to the check point ready to get my 6pack of cold beer, soda or water….. Utah doesn’t sell beer before 07:00! Well I decided I was going to get beer so I wait for an hour for my beer!
07:15 hours Sunday June 25 I turn in my paper work, my GPS said I did 1,100 miles…….. Is it right? I didn’t check the odometer at the beginning so I don’t have any idea what my bikes odometer said.
Corrected miles from the rally master? 1,124 Miles! I did it! I finished!
It didn’t sink in until about 16:00 Sunday that I did it!
** My #1 goal was to finish and #2 was to make the top 50% of finishers, I got 21st out of I think 67 finishers but I could have done even better if I had tried for these bonuses. Oh well I made my goal for my first long distance ride.
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