Monthly Archives: March 2021

Despite all the concern about how slowly the calendar was moving through February and March, April 1st is indeed approaching. We now have 321 registered riders, and I am sure many of you are going to be out and about over the first few weeks of April visiting some of the destinations.

• Be safe. There is no race to be the first one finished.
• Read the rules and frequently asked questions one more time.
• As a reminder, your picture must include your bike, your flag with the number easily readable, and the destination object. We need to know you were there!
• The only way to get your picture scored is to email it to pnwgrandtour@gmail.com. We will not score anything from the Facebook page.
• Please remember to include your rider number and the destination code in your e-mail, preferably in the subject line. It helps us score your pictures more efficiently.
• The scoring team will be working through your pictures on a daily basis. Sometimes you might get a response nearly real time, sometimes not until the next morning. There is no promise of a quick turnaround, so please don’t wait around at the destination. Just make sure your picture has your bike, flag and the object visible 🙂

Remember, the object of this event is to have fun.

We look forward to seeing your flags out there!

And I thought 50 would be a good number when this all started!

Reminder – the rally doesn’t start until April 1st…

For those of you signed up and waiting on a flag, FedEx tells me the box arrives Monday, so I should be able to get them mailed on Tuesday morning.

I know most of your are getting ready to kick off this year’s rally as soon as it opens up. I was just watching the news this morning and saw that we were getting a good amount of snow over our nearby passes (I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, US-2 over Stevens Pass and US-12 over White Pass). I think someone needs to remind old man winter that Spring is finally here! It also serves as a good reminder to all of us – the weather can and will play a factor in your decisions about where to go and when to go there. Some of the destinations are at elevations that will cause weather problems early in the season. Please do your research and be safe! The responsibility for safely planning and executing your ride rests with you, the rider.

It was sunny elsewhere 🙂

Guess what your biggest obstacle might be this time of year…wind. It happens on any rally with a flag. Think about ways to keep the flag in place when it is windy. You want us to be able to see the flag number to get credit, and you don’t want to be the person who is the subject of a YouTube video showing them running down the road in full gear chasing a blue rally flag…

So it is time for the weekly reminder about what we need to see to get you credit for a destination visit:

• Your flag must be visible and readable.
• Your bike must be visible. At least enough of the bike has to be visible to tell it was a motorcycle.
• The object described by the destination listing must be visible. It doesn’t have to be an exact match to the sample picture I provided, but it should be obvious it is the same object.

Meet those criteria and we will be pretty lenient with our scoring. Miss the flag or the bike and you will be sad.

And one final reminder – we only score submissions submitted via e-mail to the address provided – pnwgrandtour@gmail.com. We will not score anything submitted on Facebook. We enjoy the pictures on Facebook, we might even like them or comment on them, but we will make zero effort to score them from Facebook.

Practice, practice, practice. Send something in to us and you will receive feedback. I have 5 people (including myself) scoring submissions this year. All 5 of us ride, too. Be patient – you will not receive real-time scoring in most cases. If we happen to be sitting at our computer when you send something in, you might get an immediate response, but there is no guarantee that will happen in the future. My promise to the riders is that we will work hard to score pictures every day, but if I am out riding, it may not happen until I stop in the evening.

One more planned update and the we are off and running!

I think rider 066 is either lost or is trying to set himself up for the absolute longest ride possible at the start of our rally (which, by the way, is April 1st). LOL…I love it! Taking the flag to the Florida keys. We also have registered riders in Alaska, so if they post a picture of their flag near some iconic Alaskan object, we will be set!

All flags have been mailed and most have been received. I only had 2 returned and they are now headed back to where they belong, too. We crossed a magic threshold of 300 riders this weekend. I ordered more flags and they should be here soon, so if you are signing up as rider 301 and above, be patient. Your flag will make it to you in time for the start of the rally (yes, still April 1st).

Quite a few great examples of good pictures have been submitted on the Facebook Group page. It is fun watching people get out there and practice. Next step, practice sending a few pictures to the required e-mail address. We will not score anything on Facebook. You have to submit the picture via e-mail to pnwgrandtour@gmail.com to get credit. Feel free to post your efforts on Facebook for others to cheer, but please know I will spend exactly zero seconds trying to score anything from the Facebook page. Also, please read the instructions for submitting your pictures. We need a rider number and destination code (WA1, for example) in the e-mail, preferably in the subject line (for example, your subject line be be “Rider 001 WA1” or something like that).

Sometime between now and the start of the rally (yes, still on April 1st), do yourselves a favor and come back to this web site and review the rules and the Frequently Asked Questions. It could save you from being sad later 🙁

Thanks to your generous donations to the YMCA, I wrote the first check for $1,200. The YMCA is going to recognize our efforts with a banner that will be hung inside the facility where I work. I’ll post a picture when the banner arrives. I am toying around with the idea of hosting a ride-to-meet later this summer at my local YMCA to get a group photo with the banner in front of the building. More info to follow.

Rally flags for registered and paid riders have been mailed and most have been received. There are a few of you still waiting – consider yourself at the mercy of the United States Postal Service. For those of you who recently signed up, I generally get the flags in the mail the morning after you sign up.

I’ve seen lots of activity in the Facebook group! Looks like people are excited for April 1st to get here. We are excited, too. I suggest you take advantage of the weeks in March to get out on a nice day and practice taking a picture of something with your bike and flag in the shot – just like we will ask you to do during the rally. Be deliberate. Don’t rush! Some of you are hardened rally veterans…this advice is not aimed at you. Many of you are enjoying a rally like this for the first time. Practice your technique to avoid frustration. We intend to allow a bit of leeway in how you photograph the required destination object, but no leeway will be given if we don’t see your flag with the bike you enjoyed that day. No flag, no credit. No bike, no credit!

Here’s an excellent example submitted for practice by Ron & Nancy Smith at one of the Washington locations (note – no, the rally doesn’t start until April 1st and Ron does not receive credit for this. Yes, you can ride to the destinations anytime you want and practice, but you will have to go back after April 1st and take another picture. I can look at picture metadata to see when it was taken. I don’t plan to do that unless I have questions…cheaters will be kicked out). In this case, the object was the green sign, and we can clearly see the bike and the flag with rider number. Perfect! Extra credit for a smiling face holding the flag…just kidding! While we enjoy seeing you, being in the picture is not required 🙂

Here’s another good example of what we are looking for. Imagine the building is the destination object. Our sample picture might have shown you the perspective from the street, but maybe Rider 146 (Todd Marley) decided it was safer to take the picture from the driveway. We can still see he is at the correct location, and his bike and flag with number are clearly visible! This is a great shot and he would get credit for it.

Practice! Take a picture, send it to pnwgrandtour@gmail.com and we will give you some feedback. Ask questions. Plan your rides. Enjoy the coming summer!

Finally, I am considering capping the total number of riders at 300. The rally has been growing at a brisk pace and I am concerned that the volunteers who help out (and also ride) will become overwhelmed with the possible number of submissions. Any feedback is appreciated.