Jump to content

Recommended Posts

This was my first rally. I didn’t do well but it was exciting though. I know you are supposed to ride these things alone, but if I do another, I think I will ride with someone else.

I have no pictures to show for my days riding. With all my less than stellar decisions, I didn’t have time. I didn’t stop for so much as a sip of water in 419 miles of riding and still got a 5 minute time penalty, didn’t reach 2 of my destinations, and didn’t log down proper information on another that I did make it to.

First thing in the morning my gps “crashed” (first mistake not knowing that it would crash with that much info) a couple of times after I input all my route information and that wasted a bunch of time that I needed to be using for optimizing my route. I left the start with just 2 minutes to spare and without having time to study my map. I left on my route trusting to the gps.

My route took me to San Clemente for my first points stop. The GPS said the fastest route from there to the Salton Sea was Ortega Highway (wrong, second mistake). I make it to the Salton Sea, and then headed for my next stop which was the desert tower off the 8 freeway near Jacumba. I then headed for Border State Park where the border fence hits the ocean. 118 miles from my last fuel at Westmorland I found myself pushing my now empty bike up the shoulder. I had a rather difficult time finding gas. A nice guy at a tire shop gave me a lift to a station and got some fuel. I jumped on my bike after fuel and jumped on the closest highway going south which turned out to be the 125 south. I had never been there before and found out it was a toll road. On the plus side there was no traffic on it and I cruised, for all of about 3 minutes until it ended. I went up to the toll booth and it was $4.50 for 3 minutes of use?????? (decided to stop counting mistakes at this point and just try to survive)

By this time I wasn’t feeling the love anymore. Made it to border state park and drove around there like a bozo for about 15 minutes without finding what I was looking for, so I called it a day and headed back to San Diego BMW, but not before taking the wrong ramp and heading south on the 5 in Mexico traffic to the next exit to turn around. By this time I was contemplating blowing off the final check in and just finding a bar (I was quite thirsty), but I went back to check in 5 minutes late.

I met quite a few interesting people at the diner and awards banquet. I came away with a wealth of information. Heck if I just learned from all my mistakes, I learned way more than anyone else there. The coolest thing on the trip was the Desert Tower, do yourself a favor and take the time to stop there.

I can’t even imagine how much work it must have been to put this thing together, kudos to Sandiegoland, he did an awesome job. Randy was there manning the checkpoint in the morning and in the evening and helping Craig pass out goodies. SDAR also donated a bunch of prizes. The only other member I saw riding was N2TM. His score was much better than mine.

I look forward to riding another one of these sometime and doing much better, however I doubt it will be quite the adventure this one was. Ken

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow Ken! That is a lot of riding for one day. I almost got to go but was blindsided with errands etc.. I would like to try one with you one of these days but WOULD probably debate the route along the way. :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Gosh Joliet, you truly had an adventure ride! :lol: I got tired from just reading about it. I have done 800 miles in a day (a long time ago on a BMWRT) and I can tell ya, 400 is quite enough.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the fire hydrant. Sounds like you had a good time anyway, wish I could have attended but I was running down the coast.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You did get a listing on the stats for high trip ODO for the day... :lol:

http://www.thumbwave.com/lowcal250/2009.htm

The real heart breaker of the day (and I haven't told him yet) is that one of the guys that tied for 2nd could've placed first had he selected to eat at Lake Wohlford or La Posta.

I'm glad you came in. Rally's really highlight the stuff that doesn't groove right for you, whether it be a GPS or a saddle for example. For example I found out on a rally my GPS can only take a route with 50 waypoints. It won't truncate it -- it simply says no to loading it. I learned that one under pressure and I'll never forget it... :lol:

IMG_6343_1.jpg

Ken in the background prior to fuel management deficiencies...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Gosh Joliet, you truly had an adventure ride! :lol: I got tired from just reading about it. I have done 800 miles in a day (a long time ago on a BMWRT) and I can tell ya, 400 is quite enough.

When I was younger I did over 1000 miles in less than 24 hours about half a dozen times. My best was 1180 in 21.5 hours, that included crossing the continental divide and cutting through Yellowstone Park, much of it in the rain. Not something I would like to try these days.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I look forward to riding another one of these sometime and doing much better, however I doubt it will be quite the adventure this one was. Ken

I forgot to mention the cool garage-themed awards Ken help manufacture... an idea from my wife Lisa to combine motors and maps:

IMG_6302_1.jpg

It's an outline of San Diego County. Those that placed got one painted and mounted to a mat, all others got to take an unmounted one (see: non-breakable keep-sakes) with 2009 LowCal 250 and the their score written on it like a PN. Thanks Ken!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That has to be one of the most creative trophies I've ever seen. Great job!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That has to be one of the most creative trophies I've ever seen. Great job!

I agree. Too bad we don't have a more creatively shaped county, ya know....like Italy or something. :blink::lol: :lol:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Gosh Joliet, you truly had an adventure ride! :blink: I got tired from just reading about it. I have done 800 miles in a day (a long time ago on a BMWRT) and I can tell ya, 400 is quite enough.

When I was younger I did over 1000 miles in less than 24 hours about half a dozen times. My best was 1180 in 21.5 hours, that included crossing the continental divide and cutting through Yellowstone Park, much of it in the rain. Not something I would like to try these days.

Yeah, I used to do the same kind of stuff on BMWs- bomb up to San Francisco for the weekend, etc. I still get the urge to do so, but don't have the bike for it. But I still know all the roads...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At 419 miles for the day you were about at my "Ass Limit"........I think the furthest I've ridden in one day was about 550 hard/twisty miles riding south from Oakhurst to Ramona via Kings Canyon, Sequoia, the Mighty 190 through Porterville/Kernville, etc. on my road bike......logged close to 500 on my 620 ADV coming back from Sedona last Sept (about ~150 miles of it on dirt)........but I really just don't enjoy the riding experience, on ANY type of bike/seat, after about ~350 miles in one day.....that said, the rally/navigating concept sounds different and fun.......perhaps I'll give it a go next time around.....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That has to be one of the most creative trophies I've ever seen. Great job!

Thanky! I thought it was a cool idea... but wasn't sure how it would pull off until I drew it up in AutoCAD.

Some remarks on Ken's run... ('cause he asked a ton of questions before the rally).

I wanna emphasize that Ken took on the four-corners option which was a gamble to win the rally. The rally only required visiting two corners. For a first time ralliest (especially in a noob friendly rally like the LowCal) don't get the impression you HAVE to take on an exhausting route... unless of course you get caught up in the competitive nature of the thing. <_<

Regarding the high miles and sore bottoms... oddly enough... these rallies are really about route efficiency and getting the skills down actually help you limit the miles (or wrong kind of miles) when you are out touring or traveling by motorbike. When I am out touring (especially 2UP) we really benefit by figuring out the shortest way to see the most stuff (and on the choice roads too!). If you've looked at any of my long touring ride reports you'll see they are routed specifically to be off freeways and interstates, limit daily miles, and maximize the best sites to visit. Example: http://thumbwave.com/dl650/11st0506/index.htm

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Man you guys are awesome. I think I need more padding on my skinny butt because I can't even dream of pulling that kind of mileage at this point. Thats one cool trophy

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I look forward to riding another one of these sometime and doing much better, however I doubt it will be quite the adventure this one was. Ken

I forgot to mention the cool garage-themed awards Ken help manufacture... an idea from my wife Lisa to combine motors and maps:

IMG_6302_1.jpg

It's an outline of San Diego County. Those that placed got one painted and mounted to a mat, all others got to take an unmounted one (see: non-breakable keep-sakes) with 2009 LowCal 250 and the their score written on it like a PN. Thanks Ken!

That's awesome Craig, Lisa and Ken!!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
At 419 miles for the day you were about at my "Ass Limit"........

Let us not forget about the 50 miles I rode to get down there and back, that didn't count for the actual ride :o .

When I pulled in to check in with Randy the first thing I noticed was Cody. My mind was suddenly thinking quickly and clearly again. "Randy + Cody = Truck". Therefor

"Randy + Truck = Cooler" with cold beverages. However I figured the calculation wrong, it should have been

"Randy + Best behavior representing SDAR at someone's business = No Beer" :ph34r: Oh well, it wasn't my first disappointment of the day :good:.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×

Important Information