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Utah 1088

R

REBECCAV

Guest
Wow. July 1st already. This summer is flying by. And itÔÇÖs been a week already since I arrived in Salt Lake City to compete in the 2005 Utah 1088.

I left Milwaukee at 03:30 on Monday, June 20th to meet my friend George in Cheyenne, WY and ride around for a couple of days in CO and UT before heading to the rally. It turned out to be a good idea and good prep for the rally ÔÇÿcause guess what? The roads in CO and UT are REALLY different than in Wisconsin. :)

And how. We took our time and did some exploring on the 21st and 22nd and slowly made our way to UT. My favorite road was probably COÔÇÖs 141 from just south of Grand junction to Naturita. Here are our bikes somewhere in CO:
 

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The middle of nowhere:
 

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Must... go back... to Colorado.... soon....
 

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On the morning of Thursday the 23rd we headed for Salt Lake City and the rally. Actually to the rally BBQ. Not only is the 1088 one of the premiere 24 hour rallies in the country, it is an entire weekend extravaganza including the BBQ, golf outing, rally and more. Our host for the weekend was Rallymaster Steve Chalmers, known in the LD community as ÔÇ£The Original Rally Bastard.ÔÇØ When I arrived at the BBQ I was greeted by Steve personally and I told him that it was good to meet him and that I was happy to be at the 1088. He told me that maybe I should wait until after the rally to say that. Heh. Confidentially, Steve is a great guy and a total sweetheart, but for goodness sake donÔÇÖt tell him I told you so.

HereÔÇÖs Steve introducing the 2005 Utah 1088 rally shirt at the BBQ:
 

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The BBQ was wonderful, and on Friday morning most folks headed to the Utah 1088 Golf Tournament. I decided to forego golf knowing that IÔÇÖd have plenty of opportunity to embarrass myself on the rally itself, and I chose to explore the Salt Lake City area. Friends Mike and Alex (who I met at the GM400 and the Minuteman) from upstate New York and I went to breakfast and then to Antelope Island. ItÔÇÖs the largest island on Salt Lake, and has been designated a State Park. We toured a ranch that was in operation during the 1800s and early 1900s and kept our eyes open for the islandÔÇÖs Buffalo herds, but didnÔÇÖt see any.
 

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After the trip to Antelope Island we rode back to rally headquarters and I registered for the rally, did my odometer check, and passed the tech inspection. Then I went to my room to try and switch from touring mode to rally mode: I took my topcase off of my bike, laid out riding gear for the morning, got my maps out, and got organized. Really well organized. At 1900 hours the first of two riderÔÇÖs meetings took place.

Among other things, Steve gave us the low-down on how the rally would be run. If youÔÇÖve never done a rally before, you win by getting the most points, in this case, within a 24 hour period. You also had to ride at least 1141 miles. This rally is scored by earning points for going to various bonus destinations and arriving at checkpoints within time windows. You prove that you were at the bonus destinations by collecting a receipt, answering a question, or taking a Polaroid picture. Serious moto-fun ladies and gentlemen.
 

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After the riderÔÇÖs meeting it was off to dinner with friends, then to bed early to try and get some rest.

At 07:00 Saturday everyone gathered for the second and last riderÔÇÖs meeting. At about 07:15 Steve started calling out rider numbers and handing out rally packs with the route and bonus options. After getting my rally pack I ran back to my room to create a route. We could take as long as we needed with choosing our routes, but we had to wait until 08:00 to leave. We had to have our rally packs with all supporting pictures, receipts, etc. returned in exactly 24 hours (08:00 Sunday) or not be a finisher. I studied the sheets, finally chose a route, and was one of the last ones to leave at 08:45.

My first bonus destination was just west of rally HQ on I-80 and I was feeling confident of my plan for the first leg as I accelerated onto the freeway. About halfway down the onramp, my bike hesitated, and then lost power. IÔÇÖm putting along at 55mph with the throttle wide open. The bike sounds like itÔÇÖs running hard but the RPMs are really low. WTF? There goes my rally. I make it to the first bonus, turn off the bike and am trying to decide what to do. Call the local dealership? Ride the rally and see how it goes? Go back to the hotel and hang out at the pool? I start up the bike and it runs normally. Dang. I decide to ride the first leg of the rally and see what happens.

At the first checkpoint after no further bike problems I explain my dilemma to Steve Chalmers. All day IÔÇÖve thought about my bike dying in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night. IÔÇÖve pictured headlines like ÔÇ£Milwaukee motorcyclist dragged into mountains by crazed coyotes.ÔÇØ And ÔÇ£Lady biker attacked by pack of scorpions.ÔÇØ I decided to head to the dealer. Fortunately on the 1088 you can miss one of the three checkpoints and still be finisher. That is, IF I can still ride the 1141 minimum miles. WeÔÇÖll see. My plan is to get my bike fixed, pack some miles in somewhere, and make checkpoint #3 in Scipio between 04:00 and 06:00.

BMW of Salt Lake was great ÔÇô they took my bike in back immediately and the whole staff was as nice as could be, but they couldnÔÇÖt find anything wrong with my bike. Huh. IÔÇÖve now lost about 3 ?¢ hours of the rally and couldnÔÇÖt make the second checkpoint. And IÔÇÖm still worried about getting stranded. So I decide to put some miles on so that I can finish and head for the third checkpoint. Here are some pictures from around dusk. Utah is beautiful.
 

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The middle of nowhere yet again:
 

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After making the third checkpoint I head back to the rally HQ. At the exit to the hotel I pull over and am trying to calculate my total mileage taking into consideration that my odometer reads about ?¢ mile over for every thirty miles ridden or so. Math is not my strong suit, my mind was a bit fuzzy from riding all night, and I wanted to be damn sure of my numbers. While I was sitting there figuring, a patrolman pulls up behind me, walks up to me and asks me what IÔÇÖm doing and if I need help. I tell him that IÔÇÖm doing some math. ÔÇ£Where are you going?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, to the Holiday Inn right there, but I might keep riding a bit more.ÔÇØ So hard to explain. ÔÇ£OKÔÇØ he says and drives off. I get back on the freeway and ride another 30 miles to make sure that IÔÇÖve got enough miles to finish and end up with around 1180 miles total, just squeaking by.

HereÔÇÖs me at the finish line with a celebratory brewski. Watching everyone ride in and finish, then standing around listening to stories is one of the best parts of the event. Great people. Great banquet too on Sunday evening. Total swag-o-rama. My friend George ended up winning by the way, which was a great finale to an amazing week.
 

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great report and photos! all that and bike troubles too? fantastic.

oh and for future reference, scorpions travel in "flocks," not a "pack."

;)
 
Good job BG not trusting your bike and finishing anyway is an accomplishment. Try a can of techron and a new filter. Could have gotten some bad gas somewhere.
 
That sounds like such a cool ride. Kind of like orientiering, but more fun.

(I may have to hunt you, and/or other experienced riders down at the national and learn more about this...)
 
That sounds like a lot of fun BG! Congrats on just finishing, I doubt if I could handle that many miles in 24 hours.

I couldn't agree more on Colorado. If you haven't already seen them, here a some pics I took there a couple of weeks ago. Can't wait to go back!

http://barrybuelow.fotopic.net/c588204.html

Barry
 
einnar said:
That sounds like such a cool ride. Kind of like orientiering, but more fun.

(I may have to hunt you, and/or other experienced riders down at the national and learn more about this...)

I'll talk you into joining me in the Buffalo Run.... :stick
 
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