Ride Report: Big Tex Rally
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Joined: Aug 2013
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From: San Antonio, TX
Ride Report: Big Tex Rally
While it is fresh on my mind, I thought I would give you my report on "The Big Tex Rally".
This is my first Ride like this, I have done a couple long Rides, to include an Iron Butt, but a rally like this, never before. My rider pack arrived nearly 2 weeks ago, so there was plenty of time to plan, re plan and plan again. The rules seemed simple, start at your pre selected point (4 Choices) and ride for 36 hours, taking pictures at all of your locations. Simple huh. To be considered a finisher you need 25,000 points and each location has a point value clearly described in the packet. So I planned my route.
The Rally Started on Friday morning at 6 AM, riders meeting at 5:30 where they hand out your Rally flag and place your Drivers license into a sealed envelope, finish with it still inside and unopened and get 5,000 points. This shows you weren't stop by one of the local Police officers along the route, and it does make things interesting to get a hotel room. There is a Mandatory rest period of 4 hours, and additional points for a rest period up to 8 hours, so I planned to take advantage of that.
Wednesday night I placed my bike on my trusty JS Jack and started the final prep of the bike, check tire pressure and all the fluids to make sure its ready.
The next Morning I finish packing and load the bike, placing a small cooler bag with water and chocolate protein bars (big mistake) in the side bag along with my reserve fuel can ( Thank goodness I did). All ready to take an easy trip to Amarillo, I live in San Antonio so its only 500 miles or so.With my bike still on the stand Helmet on Jacket zipped and gloves on I hit the garage door opener only to find that there are 2 cars in the driveway blocking my departure. Quickly I return to the house to find that my Lovely wife (in case she reads this) has taken her keys with her. So I grab my sons car keys, DEAD battery, are you kidding me! So a little pushing and off thru the grass, situation has been rectified and I am on my way. Easy ride up, so I thought I would scout out a few locations along the way, nearly half way up i encountered my first challenge. I had been riding a little faster than normal and I added a new LRS windshield and the combination seemed to be reducing my MPG, so I topped a hill and bling the fuel light comes on, no worries I can go another 35 miles, NOT. Not to worry, I had that cute little emergency fuel can, so I pulled over and attempted to use it. These cans are great, store in the back corner of the saddle bag and still leave ample room for other storage, my cooler bag. I am not sure who the engineer was that developed the filler spout, but apparently I am not smart enough to use it, wow did I struggle and yes I broke it, somehow. I was able to fuel it but the spout was called a total loss. Lesson learned, drop my fueling point to 150 miles and no worries. So the rest of the trip was uneventful and perfect weather, once in Amarillo I found my starting point and my Motel that was only a few blocks away, time for some rest as it was an early day.
Friday morning I arrived at the starting location, ready to go, met a few riders, mostly BMW riders and a few FJR's, I was the only Harley. I had heard to be prepared to change my route as they almost always give out these last minute bonus locations that are worth allot of points, so i figured I wouldn't get to leave until 6:15 or so because I would be re routing myself, nope the only additional bonus points to be collected was a mere 5,000 points for completing a Riders course at the finish, but you had to be there between 3-5, the rally ended at 6.So with no changes to be made all I have to do is wait until 6 get a fuel receipt and go. Most of the riders started warming their bikes, those BMW's sound so cute, and to see their faces when my 4"Rineharts came to life...Priceless.
Off I went, headed to Lubbock to the Buddy Holly museum, set the cruise at 80 and ride. 1st stop no issues, next head for Cross plains Texas, then Eastland Texas. Things were going great and I was ahead of schedule, hadnt seen any other riders, did i plan the wrong way, HMMM. So after several short stops time to head for Menard Texas, then back toward the hill country (my back yard). Quick stop at Dead mans hole and then Luckenbach. In case you didn't know it is also the vintage motorcycle show this weekend, so people were everywhere, but with all the people, no need for a tri pod this time, surely someone would take my picture, and for the guy that did, well he wont remember that he did it anyway. Now a short hop to Kerrville for my rest break, 900 miles for the day. So remember when i said they put your license in an envelope, yea rent a motel room without an ID. I finally got a room, and some food.
Day 2: Overslept by 15 minutes, planned to be out by 4:30 but it was 4:47 and the McDonalds that I spotted was closed. So I stopped for a cup of coffee, standing there enjoying this coffee while the clock was ticking, 4 sips into I had to go, throw the cup away and lets ride. Off to Leakey, in the dark, at 80 MPH can you say DEER. Found the marker with no problems, but finding the stuff in my tour pack was another issue, it was pitch black. Time to head to the Alamo, I wanted to get there early and beat traffic, that worked great. As I rode up 35, 3 miles from my house I struggled not to stop and have a cup of coffee with my wife, but I needed to get to Austin as this is a mandatory stop. Cruised thru Austin with no issues, things were great. Now headed to Bastrop and then Belton. Belton was a neat stop, local guy that had a pistol range set up for us, and you had to shoot your own rally flag! Very cool and challenging to many. The challenge seemed to be the window of opportunity, it was only open from 11-2, but it was 2,000 points. Hit that no problem, now off to Gatesville to find a cemetery and a specific headstone, sort of creepy but okay Now I am off to pay my respects to Billy the Kid, then to Hico to his Museum. Next stop was Glen Rose Texas, short stop and then Dallas. The Dallas stop was downtown and many riders avoided it due to traffic, I went for and got in and out with no issues, now to the finish and I have plenty of time to make the obstacle course. As i neared the finish I was going to be 20 miles short of the 1500 miles needed for a 1500 point bonus, no problem I will just ride on by. So after riding by and turning around I arrived at 1501 miles and it was only 4:30. The obstacle course was poorly managed and very unorganized as was the finish part of the event. they handed me a scoring sheet, and left me to figure out what to do. All in all it was a great event, I met some great people and had a blast, and I got 10th place!
I had a blast, it was a great adventure and I look for more of these events. So now to head home, not much to say about I 35 South, boring ride but my wife rode up and met me about the half way point, and we took a nice easy ride home,no need to push it and get any awards on the way home. So in closing I ended up with 2400 miles and the car battery is still dead.
Be Safe
This is my first Ride like this, I have done a couple long Rides, to include an Iron Butt, but a rally like this, never before. My rider pack arrived nearly 2 weeks ago, so there was plenty of time to plan, re plan and plan again. The rules seemed simple, start at your pre selected point (4 Choices) and ride for 36 hours, taking pictures at all of your locations. Simple huh. To be considered a finisher you need 25,000 points and each location has a point value clearly described in the packet. So I planned my route.
The Rally Started on Friday morning at 6 AM, riders meeting at 5:30 where they hand out your Rally flag and place your Drivers license into a sealed envelope, finish with it still inside and unopened and get 5,000 points. This shows you weren't stop by one of the local Police officers along the route, and it does make things interesting to get a hotel room. There is a Mandatory rest period of 4 hours, and additional points for a rest period up to 8 hours, so I planned to take advantage of that.
Wednesday night I placed my bike on my trusty JS Jack and started the final prep of the bike, check tire pressure and all the fluids to make sure its ready.
The next Morning I finish packing and load the bike, placing a small cooler bag with water and chocolate protein bars (big mistake) in the side bag along with my reserve fuel can ( Thank goodness I did). All ready to take an easy trip to Amarillo, I live in San Antonio so its only 500 miles or so.With my bike still on the stand Helmet on Jacket zipped and gloves on I hit the garage door opener only to find that there are 2 cars in the driveway blocking my departure. Quickly I return to the house to find that my Lovely wife (in case she reads this) has taken her keys with her. So I grab my sons car keys, DEAD battery, are you kidding me! So a little pushing and off thru the grass, situation has been rectified and I am on my way. Easy ride up, so I thought I would scout out a few locations along the way, nearly half way up i encountered my first challenge. I had been riding a little faster than normal and I added a new LRS windshield and the combination seemed to be reducing my MPG, so I topped a hill and bling the fuel light comes on, no worries I can go another 35 miles, NOT. Not to worry, I had that cute little emergency fuel can, so I pulled over and attempted to use it. These cans are great, store in the back corner of the saddle bag and still leave ample room for other storage, my cooler bag. I am not sure who the engineer was that developed the filler spout, but apparently I am not smart enough to use it, wow did I struggle and yes I broke it, somehow. I was able to fuel it but the spout was called a total loss. Lesson learned, drop my fueling point to 150 miles and no worries. So the rest of the trip was uneventful and perfect weather, once in Amarillo I found my starting point and my Motel that was only a few blocks away, time for some rest as it was an early day.
Friday morning I arrived at the starting location, ready to go, met a few riders, mostly BMW riders and a few FJR's, I was the only Harley. I had heard to be prepared to change my route as they almost always give out these last minute bonus locations that are worth allot of points, so i figured I wouldn't get to leave until 6:15 or so because I would be re routing myself, nope the only additional bonus points to be collected was a mere 5,000 points for completing a Riders course at the finish, but you had to be there between 3-5, the rally ended at 6.So with no changes to be made all I have to do is wait until 6 get a fuel receipt and go. Most of the riders started warming their bikes, those BMW's sound so cute, and to see their faces when my 4"Rineharts came to life...Priceless.
Off I went, headed to Lubbock to the Buddy Holly museum, set the cruise at 80 and ride. 1st stop no issues, next head for Cross plains Texas, then Eastland Texas. Things were going great and I was ahead of schedule, hadnt seen any other riders, did i plan the wrong way, HMMM. So after several short stops time to head for Menard Texas, then back toward the hill country (my back yard). Quick stop at Dead mans hole and then Luckenbach. In case you didn't know it is also the vintage motorcycle show this weekend, so people were everywhere, but with all the people, no need for a tri pod this time, surely someone would take my picture, and for the guy that did, well he wont remember that he did it anyway. Now a short hop to Kerrville for my rest break, 900 miles for the day. So remember when i said they put your license in an envelope, yea rent a motel room without an ID. I finally got a room, and some food.
Day 2: Overslept by 15 minutes, planned to be out by 4:30 but it was 4:47 and the McDonalds that I spotted was closed. So I stopped for a cup of coffee, standing there enjoying this coffee while the clock was ticking, 4 sips into I had to go, throw the cup away and lets ride. Off to Leakey, in the dark, at 80 MPH can you say DEER. Found the marker with no problems, but finding the stuff in my tour pack was another issue, it was pitch black. Time to head to the Alamo, I wanted to get there early and beat traffic, that worked great. As I rode up 35, 3 miles from my house I struggled not to stop and have a cup of coffee with my wife, but I needed to get to Austin as this is a mandatory stop. Cruised thru Austin with no issues, things were great. Now headed to Bastrop and then Belton. Belton was a neat stop, local guy that had a pistol range set up for us, and you had to shoot your own rally flag! Very cool and challenging to many. The challenge seemed to be the window of opportunity, it was only open from 11-2, but it was 2,000 points. Hit that no problem, now off to Gatesville to find a cemetery and a specific headstone, sort of creepy but okay Now I am off to pay my respects to Billy the Kid, then to Hico to his Museum. Next stop was Glen Rose Texas, short stop and then Dallas. The Dallas stop was downtown and many riders avoided it due to traffic, I went for and got in and out with no issues, now to the finish and I have plenty of time to make the obstacle course. As i neared the finish I was going to be 20 miles short of the 1500 miles needed for a 1500 point bonus, no problem I will just ride on by. So after riding by and turning around I arrived at 1501 miles and it was only 4:30. The obstacle course was poorly managed and very unorganized as was the finish part of the event. they handed me a scoring sheet, and left me to figure out what to do. All in all it was a great event, I met some great people and had a blast, and I got 10th place!
I had a blast, it was a great adventure and I look for more of these events. So now to head home, not much to say about I 35 South, boring ride but my wife rode up and met me about the half way point, and we took a nice easy ride home,no need to push it and get any awards on the way home. So in closing I ended up with 2400 miles and the car battery is still dead.
Be Safe
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