Wow, it got hot! And I am sure that kept some of you away from longer rides. I know heat is near the top of my least favorite riding conditions. Even though it was a lot warmer last week, we still had some good activity.
8 new finishers – (Tim Watts (063), John Cooper (183), Randy Knopp (205), Kenneth Weston (076), Beckie (237) and Butch (238) Dunlap, Chad Erickson (206) and Phill Kopp (229).
We also had 2 riders finish all 30 locations – Randall Studebaker (293) and Dylan Heck (102). These 2 combined with another pair of riders to provide a lot of entertainment as they traveled roughly 5,000 miles to close out their year!
1 more rider got their first visit of the year. So far, 151 riders have combined for 1,155 visits this year!
Some not so great news to report – Kat Delavar was in a very serious motorcycle accident a little over a week ago. I won’t share details here, but she is in pretty bad shape with some major life changes coming as a result. Medical bills are going to be significant and a GoFundMe page has been set up. If you are able, I know her family would appreciate any help you can offer.
There has been lots of activity over the past 2 weeks. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening:
150 riders have visited at least one locations (12 riders have collected their first visit in the past 2 weeks).
Those 150 riders have visited 1061 locations so far!
We now have 36 “Finishers” – new finishers since the last update include Dan Young (114), Bill Turner (184), Alex Filenkov (46), Randall Studebaker (293), Dylan Heck (102), Patrick Muldoon (355), Kerri Miller (37), Scott Shannon (78), James Woods (213), James Kirkpatrick (118), William Ariss (276), Glenn Geiss (244), Chris Coffman (327, Chris Thompson (180 and George Barnes (143).
One group of riders is on a great run and I expect 2 of them to collect location number 30 very soon. It started as riders 293 and 102, but their little caravan soon collected other groupies and now include 293, 102, 327 and 118. They have been bouncing all over the PNW collecting stops in every state.
Riders 102 and 293 visit GT03.
The caravan grows at GT14!
Their magnetic pull even attracted rider 143 for a visit in Idaho 🙂
Lots of good weather out there over the past couple of weeks, and we all love that!
Rider 61 visits Fields Station on what looks to be a very nice day.
I wanted to touch base on something that is difficult to describe in words, much easier to illustrate in pictures. We have told you that the picture you submit doesn’t have to be an exact match to the sample provided (other rallies are not nearly as forgiving on this point). We require your flag, your bike and the object described in the location guide (supported by the sample images). So what if you find a more interesting perspective, or maybe the sun is behind the object and makes it difficult to capture? We are pretty lenient as long as the object shows up in the photo. Here are a few examples to illustrate the point.
I hope this example shows how we try to be lenient in our approach to scoring to keep it fun for everyone. Just remember – you have to capture enough of the object described in the guide and shown in the sample image to get credit. A few riders have had their picture rejected because they didn’t do that.
This picture is obviously perfect! Who could ask for more? LOL…seriously, flag, bike and object (Grand Coulee Dam) are clearly visible in this shot.
Wait a second…he’s not at the coordinates provided in the destination guide! Doesn’t matter to us, he has his flag, his bike and the dam clearly visible. Perfect! The location he shot this from was Crown Point State Park – a unique perspective of the dam and town.
Night shots are historically difficult. It is tough to get a good exposure that captures the three elements together without some more advanced camera equipment. This one is creative because the rider used the laser light show on the face of the dam to illuminate the dam. He got credit!
OK, that’s it for this week. Try to enjoy yourselves out there and stay cool!
I know it has been a while since the last update. I was entered in a rally, then had an accident and have been at home recovering and trying to find a comfortable position to sit long enough to write a quick note.
We have had 13 new finishers (total of 21) since the last update:
(253) Bruce & Carla Wood
(260) Ken La Flam
(324) John Forrest
(325) Doreen Forrest
(119) Doug Blair
(177) Jim Hill
(316) Bart Romple
(117) David Hoeft
(103) Amie Bourn
(042) David Shellman
(347) Jenny Ladd
(348) Susie Biggs
(228) Paul Buechler
Great job to all of these new finishers!
I think the weather is finally improving and am hoping more of you find your way out and about to visit some of the locations. We have 138 riders with at least one visit (out of 267 registered).
One reminder for everyone – the GPS coordinates will get you very close to the required object at the location. Read the location guide for a description of what is required, and look at the sample picture to see exactly what we are looking for. All of the riders have done pretty well with this, but a few destinations have caused confusion.
Also, Steptoe Butte does have an alternate location at the bottom of the road to the top. The road up to the top is still in poor condition with potholes. The view is worth it if you just take it slow, but I understand there are people who are not comfortable riding on that road. That’s why the alternate location was added.
Here’s the alternate location for Steptoe Butte (GT16). Perfect example of using the alternate location 🙂
Some of you have been sending in additional pictures – we love it! Especially now since I won’t be riding again this year. Just remember to make the picture you are sending in for scoring the first attachment. Our scoring system does not recognize any extra pictures. I personally review each email we receive and DO see the extra pictures as well as the notes you add about your ride, so please don’t stop doing that 🙂
Rider 103 consistently sends us great pictures and posts even more to Facebook!
I guess in the grand scheme of things, I would rather have rain than days of 100+ temperatures. But it is getting harder to have that positive attitude about the weather. I now have to add not having to water the lawn to keep the HOA happy to the list – that should work for a few more weeks.
We still had more activity last week! 10 riders ventured out and collected their first visits and we had 3 new finishers (Rider 89 – Mike Mead, Rider 7 – Rod Barnes and Rider 185, Ben Ernst). Ben probably gets the record for our rally for longest distance to the first bonus (he hails from Texas), and the fact that he came up here twice to get the visits was very entertaining. Good stuff!
Update #1 – I updated the website for the new location and sample image for GT17 (formerly Aquarius Campground). The new location is a building in the town of Headquarters (at the end of ID-11). Headquarters is where you would turn left to head out to the campground. We will give credit for either location, but I encourage you to use the Headquarters location. Of note, one rider pointed out that planned construction on the NF road going out to the campground will have that road closed for several weeks later this summer.
Update #2 – The PCT sign (GT14) is finally accessible. I watched riders move steadily closer through the week, and I am sure the rain will further improve the road. The final picture was taken by rider 42 and shows him right next to the sign. He does ride a trike, so maybe the snow isn’t all the way gone…
Finally, I am headed out for a rally in Cheyenne next weekend and my ability to stay in touch will be reduced. There are lots of volunteers in the background to keep it all running, but if you send an email, be patient with me 🙂
Rider 128 got creative to get his visit done. His bike is in the distance. And we have proof of life for the sign 🙂Rider 42 got up close and personal. His flag is upside down, maybe a sign of distress? Perhaps he is still up there…Rider 185 is the first to visit the new location in Headquarters!
Another good week and business is picking up! But first, the business 🙂
Let’s talk about GT17 (Aquarius Campground). I went up there last week for the first time (I scouted it virtually for this year’s rally). One other rider had visited this year and provided me some feedback, so I really wanted to get up there and see it for myself. Bottom line – not what I would have picked if I had scouted it in advance. The roads out to the small “town” of Headquarters, Idaho are a lot of fun and worth the trip. The first section of the FS road from Headquarters to the campground is OK, but about 8 miles from the campground the road deteriorates and just becomes sucky. Add to that the widespread logging in the area and the scenery aspect is questionable, too. If you decide to go all the way to the campground, the Clearwater River flows nearby and that is pretty cool, but the ride out there is a slog.
So, what to do? I decided to update the bonus to a building in Headquarters. If you want to ride to the campground, you will get credit for it, but the building in Headquarters is also good enough. I will update the website in the next day or so. Sample images are also included below. We are making a solid effort to advance scout a lot more in preparation for next year. I really want the rides to be enjoyable, and crappy roads make that difficult.
We saw activity pick up in the last week as weather conditions improved. It is crazy to consider the amount of snow the Cascades have received this year. For example, Chinook Pass (up around Mt Rainier) still isn’t open. It is typically clear and ready to go by early June but WSDOT is saying a few more weeks. Late season snow has slowed efforts. I looked at historical opening dates and found that late-May/early-June is typical. It has opened as early as April 2nd (really an outlier) and as late as June 23rd in the past 10 years.
We now have 112 riders with at least 1 visit (9 in the last week).
Those riders have visited a total of 406 times (63 last week).
No new finishers last week.
We still have one location without a visit – Big Hole National Battlefield. I will say that at this time there is a crazy Texan on the move up there, so this one is probably going to fall soon 🙂
Personally, my favorite 2 rides so far have been out to Hells Canyon and out to Elk City. Hells Canyon is simply amazing with lots of twisty roads and good places to pull of for pictures. Elk City is a ride along a river that also has lots of twisty curves. Based on feedback in emails, others seem to agree. By the way, yes, I do try to read your comments on emailed pictures, so keep it coming!
Rider 183 took his Ducati out to Hells Canyon. I imagine that would have been an absolute blast to ride out there!Rider 119 visited Elk City last week. We waved at each other (he was inbound, I was outbound).As you can see, the sign at GT17 was fixed 🙂Here’s the new sample image for GT17. It is an either/or kind of thing. This building is located at the end of ID-11 where you make the turn to go to the campground (still 20+ miles away).
