Hi guys,
Small world. I met Smitty at the BMW dealer (Grassroots) before registration, although he had no idea who I was and vice versa. Very nice bike Smitty, and he seems like a stand-up guy as well.
I was on the RT because the FJR is a ways from being ready for prime time.
The run went well. Made two critical mistakes that cost me a second place tie with a good friend, Karl Snell.
I knew it was a good route because the top three riders (Meese, Karl and Cam) and I were together or a few minutes apart at each bonus location.
Mistake 1 was in Chicago. Last bonus. Take a photo of the red brick building at such and such an address; get there and there is no brick building at that address. Go up and down the street, instructions are pretty clear about the address though so I keep coming back to the wood building. Finally decide to take a photo of the wood building there, a small museum, and scoot back to the Cape. Maybe there was a mistake in the address, who knows.
Turns out the building is BEHIND the wood building on the same property. Hell of a place to hide a library. So I missed it (drop 200 points). As I was taking off with the picture of the wrong place in the camera, Meese was pulling in. Meese didn't make the same mistake.
Mistake 2, was not entering the gas log as a bonus, even though it was pre-approved, meaning my receipts were in order. Just wasn't on my list (drop 150 pts).
Had I not bailed on Chicago, and had I remembered to enter the gas bonus on the self-scoring system, I would have been right there with the big boys. Good lessons there somewhere. It's easier to stick with the bonus when you're there than it is to try to make up the points later somehow. Got to learn to think like a dog. When you have the bonus by the seat of the pants why let go until you've devoured it.
Gotta say we saw some very pretty areas of Wisconsin and Illinois. I was pleasantly surprised.
Next rally for me is the IB5000. Trying hard to get everything installed on the FJR, but it's almost a full time job.
Will be seeing some other FJR Forum folk there as well. Do say hello.
Brick1 reporting from Cape Girardeau, MO.
