A Rookie's First Rally, the 2002 TATT

First, great big thanks to the organizers of the Thin Air Tourist Trophy (hereinafter referred to as TATT because I'm way too lazy to write that all out.), Bob, Bill, Brian, Frank, Becky and everyone else with the Thin Air Heads. Heck of a job and a whole lotta fun. Take a bow; you've earned it and I'm definitely coming back.

I've done a couple IBA rides, but I've never done a rally and I've been wanting to do a Long Distance competitive rally for a while now. Just when I get all worked up to do one, bang, my job disappears last summer. And as you all know, the job market is LTO currently and it's been ugly. But then I found out that this year's TATT was being held about 2 miles from my house. Well, can't do any better than that. No hotel room charges, and I know how to get to the rally point. So, I said why not and sent in my money.

So, last Friday (July 26th) rolls around and I get all my stuff together for tech and get the bike all LD ride ready and off I go for that long 2.5 mile ride. I get over there and there is tech, sign in, etc. I get teched, go off for my odometer check. I came out over the amount which I thought was pretty strange, but then I realize it's probably from going right lane to left lane to right lane to get around all the slow people going up and down I-70. You know, if I wanted to do the speed limit I'd be in the slow lane.

We sit around and chat with all these new people. I see Sam Liles, and then George Barnes roll in, some very cool equipped bikes. One nut on a ZX12. and one really rally tricked out K11LT. Lot of BMWs here, some Gold Wings, lot of Concours, pretty good mix. No KTM's though.

Then we go off to the meeting where they explain all and hand out the base route but no clues. The first day's base route goes basically up Coal Creek Canyon (CO-72) , across Peak to Peak, down US-34 through Loveland, into Ft Collins, up US-287, across Snowy Rrange through Battle Pass, down into Craig, back US-40 over Berthoud and home. The 2nd day goes down the Deckers road (CO-67) through Canon City, Florence, down 165 through Colorado City and then basically up I-25.

I'm thinking on this as I head home. I decide there is no way I'm doing Peak to Peak (PTP), that it's not worth the aggravation. My only goal for my first rally is to finish and have a good time. Do not DNF, do not miss a checkpoint, etc.

So, 4:10am comes awful early. Even the roosters aren't up. I come into the meeting room at about 4:40 (I was late, it was hard to wake up). There is only one rider pack left there. Mine. Everyone else must have been waiting for them to be handed out. You couldn't leave til 5:30am anyway, so I didn't think 10 minutes would matter.

I start going through the pack, and luckily the questions are basically in order of where you are going, plus there are extra bonuses. Pictures of a mine with a sign containing the word "mine" are worth 50 points. Pictures of Continental Divide passes are worth like 100 for the 1st 4 passes, 150 for the next 2 or 3, then 200 for any after that (progressive bonuses). And pictures for buildings/places with a sign containing the word "fort" are also a progressive bonus (100/150/200) to honor Col. Jim Young. Regular clues are worth from about 25 to 120 or so points, so these wild cards could really add up, especially the progressive ones. And there are five cities that are not on the base route that if you go to are worth from about 70 to 130 points, but the cities are pretty out of the way. The checkpoint is in Encampment, Wyoming, and it's open from 11am to 1:30pm, miss the checkpoint and lose half your points for the day. You have to be in by 8:30pm, or points start being deducted up til 9:30pm at which time you are time barred.

I make out my plan, decide it's doable, and I should have fun and there are loops in it that I can cut out if I get behind. I decide it's a good plan and I'm going to stick with my plan. Do or die and all that. I have no idea how well it's going to do, but I'm going to finish and have fun.

I go off, I'm the very first one out. More being ready than anything else 5:30am. First clue is one about a number on the Coors' brewery. I know where that is. For each clue, you have to provide not only the exact answer, but your odometer and the time, so they can recreate your route, so you can't cheat. For each picture (Polaroid) you have to get your rally number (a heavy stock piece of pink paper with your number on it, handed out in the morning) in the picture, plus whatever you are supposed to take a picture of, plus milage, plus time. As I turn onto 19th street I realize "oh, Colorado School of Mines is right here". Duh. Free 50 points. I see the sign, stop, flip up and hook up my sign. I'm taking the picture I see 3 bikes go flying by down 19th. About 30 seconds later I see them coming back after flipping a U and they realize what I'm taking a picture of. I get the Coors one, run through town and go up to Rocky Flats. This is my daily commute, so I know where this one is too. I then backtrack and go to the middle of Denver for a very obscure one. But it's out of order (it's the very last clue) and it's worth 111 points. It's at 8th and Vallejo. I get down there about 6:30am and cannot find it. I'm just about to get off the bike and take a picture of the corner to prove I was there when I see it. It's right on the corner but it's behind a fence on the part of the road that doesn't go through. You have go back a block each way to get back to the corner. I get that pic and then I-25 north to Fort Collins.

Like I said, I wasn't going to do PTP. I didn't want to do it, and upon looking at it, it didn't seem like to me there were any points there. I decided I would go up I-25, get the clue at Ft Collins (about 60 points), get gas in Cheyenne (a bonus city another 100 or so) and then go into Laramie (where the route restarted and lots of points). I go up to the clue at Ft Collins, get that and get back on the freeway and realize "duh, FORT Collins, idiot, 100 points" I get off at the next exit and finally find a city limits sign. Now I get back heading towards Cheyenne. I get gas at that Diamond Shamrock (for the 4th time in as many weeks) and go towards Laramie. So, now with the extra "Fort" of Fort Collins I got more points in way less than time than going up PTP. I think this was my best part of the plan. Nobody else did this route that I know of. I get those and then go over Snowy Range road. There are a couple clues there, and then I go up into Saratoga. You just need a receipt in Saratoga, so I get gas. I go to the bathroom and realize that the toilet paper dispenser says "Fort Howard" on it. Hey, why not?

I take the picture. It got disallowed but you know, at least I was thinking. :-) I see my first fellow rallier. For the next clue after the checkpoint, you need two people, one to take a picture of you. I ask him, hey do you want to go do this? He says sure, and off we go. We get to Encampment and it turns out that the clue is right at the checkpoint, so we didn't need help as the fine ladies helping out would do it for you. We get that clue, but the checkpoint isn't open yet. I hang out for 20 minutes waiting for it to open. Get some water, take a break, clean face shield etc. This was really good. I had wanted to be early at the checkpoint and it gave me lots of time in the afternoon to do whatever I wanted. AT 11am exactly I get signed out and off we go. The guy on the ZX12 is the other fellow rallier (whose name I totally forgot, sorry) and we go up to Battle Pass. Battle Pass crosses the Continental Divide.

Now here I owe Randy Bishop a huge thanks. I couldn't figure out how I was going to get the number sign to stay on a sign. He says "duh, duct tape". Ohhhhhhhhhhh, man, I would have NEVER thought of that. Thank goodness I live close. I threw some in the saddlebags after Friday night's meeting. The ZX12 beats me to the sign, he's getting done, I pull up, tape it on (windy, it's Wyoming after all), snap it, put it back together and gone before ZX12 pulls out. He passes me again, we find the next clue, again I leave first. (this goes on for a while). We basically collect every clue along the base route, go through a HUGE cattle drive before Baggs (that's like #8 for me, I'm getting good at moving the cows, maybe I should be a cowboy?) and we go into Craig.

I see ZX12 getting gas in Hayden (only 130 miles? Man, small tank or bad mileage) and I go into secret plan mode. Being a local who rides a lot has huge advantages here. 20 mile road. I grab 20 mile road, so I get Twenty Mile Mine (50 points), plus Oak Creek (93 points) skip the two worthless Steamboat Springs ones (maybe 50 point total) and I get to skip Steamboat Springs and it's traffic totally. And it maybe took me 10 more minutes to get back to US-40, for about a 100 more points. Plus I had more fun on 20 mile road. Get the clues up US-40 and get both Rabbit Ears and Muddy Pass then go off up CO-14 towards Walden.

See another rallier, my 2nd, but he's a little busy talking to the nice state trooper on Hwy 14. :-) Grab the clue along hwy 14, go into Walden and get that receipt (secret city, like 90 points), then go down 125 through Rand (clue) and then down Willow Springs pass (not only is this one sweet road, but it's a Continental Divide pass.). I now have 4 passes, all these clues and I'm doing well, going to easily make it back in time. Get a bunch of clues along US-40 (every one), skipped the two up the canyon side (west of Granby, not worth enough points for the mileage to me) and get Berthoud Pass. This was slow going dealing with the traffic on this part of 40, but I expected this.

I decide at Empire to go west on I-70 and get a picture of the tunnel. I had asked how I could do this in the morning meeting as the actual sign is inside the tunnel where you can't stop. The rallymasters said to take a picture of the tunnel entrance itself. Of course you can't get close now after September 11th. I put my sign up on another sign and back way up and it seems to work. But now I want to turn around and go east to get on Loveland Pass. I know Loveland is much closer to the east side than the west. Well, the turn around over the tunnel is now closed. Shoot. How am I going to do this? I get on the road and go west. As I get to the other side I pull off at the station and flip a U turn. On the freeway. Is this illegal? :-) I see another rallier pull the same move right behind me. LMAO I go back east to the Loveland exit. Run up to the top, get the picture, help my fellow law breaker get his and go back down.

There is a clue in Idaho Springs, plus I realize that Arco Mine will be there. As I'm going down Main Street I see a sign for the Edgar Mine, so I flip around and go get that one (more dirt) and then get the clue and then the Arco Mine. So like another 150 points for maybe 20 minutes of work. I go get Buffalo Bill's grave clue (eek, you gotta get off the bike? and climb? :-) ) and run back down to I-70. It's about 7:15. I decide to go get the Fort Restaurant near Morrison and then if I have time Fort Logan Cemetery. BTW, I would have thought of neither of these, they were given as suggestions on the rally sheet. I know where both are, so that helped. As I was leaving the Fort restaurant, Randy Bishop pulls in. I ask him "what do you think, should I just go eat food or go get Fort Logan?" He says "go eat." I think "that guy is trying to psych me out, I'm going to go get Fort Logan just for him saying that. :-) " I do and see him getting there as I leave. I roll back in and time out about 8pm. I organize all my paperwork and hand it in. Grab some food for the first time all day and drink lots of water. I rode about 750 miles in about 15 hours. Rally time is MUCH slower than riding on IBA rides. I was amazed.

I'm pretty beat though. About 9pm I go home, feed one very hungry cat and decide that I'm beat. I figure I'm not last and I'm not first and I really have no idea how other people did. I saw almost nobody all day. I figure that tomorrow I'll just ride the base route and make sure and finish.

Again, up at 4:10am (although the rooster was up this time) and off to the hotel around 4:40. I get my packet and start planning and someone says scores from yesterday are up. Oh, hey I wonder how I did. I walk up to the front to get my score. I look for my name and find it and I'm in ...FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in FIRST PLACE????????? Holy cow!!!!!!!! No way. And I'm in first place by like 300 points. I have about 2300 points after one day. I am utterly floored. I had no idea. I say outloud "I had just wanted to fool around today but now I'm going to really have to try." I have witnesses to prove it. Darn, that changes my whole plan. So, of course, I changed my original plan (bad move #1), and got pretty aggressive (bad move #2)

I'm off right at 5:31, about the 3rd person out. I run down US-285 to Tiny Town. One clue was a big picture of Red Rocks, but I decided it was pretty dark and I didn't want to wait for it to lighten up to make sure I got the picture, although it was pretty good points. Then down to Pine, and didn't do BuckSnort Salon because I knew it was a dirt road, although I didn't know how bad of shape it was in. (turns out it was bad move #3, it was an easy road, oh well, was like 70 points). Run down to Deckers and get those points then got aggressive. There are no more points on the base route til Woodland Park. I figure I'll take the cutoff to Sedalia over the dirt road (now don't ask why I can do this dirt road and not the Bucksnort Salon road), get those points, then go down to Palmer Lake and then do the Colorado Springs points and then meet back up with Woodland Park. Well, Deckers to Sedalia is a lot longer than I thought (bad move #4). I was hammering though and that's a sweet road when no one is on it so no matter what I had fun. Grab Sedalia bonus, decide to blow off Palmer Lake (only like 25 points), get the Air Force Academy B-52 (man is that sucker big) picture and as I'm getting off the interstate to the AFA, I see a sign that points to the other side of the highway and says "Western Mining Museum". Sweet.

I get the B-52, and then get the Mining Museum. So like 130 points for only the time of one stop. Get the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame one, then jam up US-24 to Woodland Park. Almost got nailed for going "5 over" in Colorado Springs on the freeway but luckily the BMW is invisible to radar. Must be, cuz he had me dead to rights for a wee more than "5 over" and he didn't even look at me. Weird huh?

Go up to Woodland Park, get that clue, then go to Florrisant and get that one. Remember the line earlier about being aggressive? I know that this road goes through to Cripple Creek, I can get Cripple Creek (70 points) and then the Victor Mine (50 points) and then cut back down that back road that Dave B pointed out a couple years ago and then get to the checkpoint in Florence. Well, that road is a lot longer than I thought. It took me 1.5 hours to get 120 points. Bleech. And totally wore me out. Was not worth it at all although the roads were fun, but not good for rally time. Get the clues down hwy 9, then I get onto US-50 going into Canon City and see Gold Mine Rock Shop. Sweet. Get that picture and see a Fort something or other campground. Double sweet, but I'll come back for it. Get the clues in Canon City and then go off to Florence. The original plan (which I had already violated like 3 times so far) was to get all these points along the base route, get the checkpoint at 9:30 and then go get Fort Carson, a couple close ones to the checkpoint then go back west on 50 and go collect Monarch, Cottonwood, Tennessee and Fremont passes, along with all the mines in those areas. You don't think that was a wee aggressive do ya? Well, it's now like 11am, I haven't gotten these clues and the checkpoint closes at noon.

Going to Cripple Creek was a STUPID move. I figure I'll go get the checkpoint then come back and get these points going west again. Getting a few points here or there isn't going to matter if I miss the checkpoint. I go into the checkpoint. It's at a Carl's Jr. I am SORELY tempted, but barely even get off the bike. Sign in, sign out and I'm outta here. I am late, I gots to go. Grab the extras back along the route, then go get that Fort Campground something on 50. I get that and as soon as I start going west again, there is a Fort Royal horse something or other and the sign only faces east. You can only see it going west. Sweet. I pull in, this guy sitting on the porch (probably wondering why a biker wants to ride horses) says "can I help you?" Yep, here, hold this, as I hand him my sign. Move quickly and make time. So, I got like 300 points within 500 yards between the 2 forts and the mine.

I go SLOWLY up 50. If I see one more mini-van with Kansas plates... Realize I am way behind. Decide to not do Monarch because there is a ton of traffic going east and I'll have to fight it back down. I'll go up and do Cottonwood (no traffic) and then the two by Leadville plus the mines in Leadville/Climax. I get gas in Buena Vista and then go up Cottonwood. Well, the road is under repair. 3 miles of dirt road. Eeeek. (didn't say 3 miles of dirt when I started).

Its pretty well groomed but it's still a dirt road through the forest and only about 1.5 cars wide. I get behind this Jeep Grand Cherokee who is just poking. And c'mon, I'm on a 650lb touring bike on a dirt road, I should NEVER catch a car. This idiot STOPS on a steep uphill. I was beyond pissed. I almost lost it, did a nice little slide and got around him and took off. I finally get back to pavement and well the red mist is flying. And so am I. How likely is it that there is a cop here? We will not discuss anything more than 5 over regarding this issue. Get to the top, snap the pic go jam back down. If it was moving, I passed it. Fly back down the dirt road, get onto US-24 going into Leadville. Decide that the mines aren't that important. The passes are worth 200 each, the mines are only worth 50. It's just a little before 3pm. I jam down and get Tennessee pass, and jam back, run off down Fremont. Get that one, see a sign that says "Denver 111 miles"

Oh boy, I thought it was only like an hour and a half. And I do realize it's Sunday afternoon so I'm going to get hosed in traffic. Forget the Climax mine, I gots to go. If I get to Idaho Springs by 4:15, there are points I could get there for a mine I saw yesterday but didn't get a picture. I've messed up bad. I have ridden a lot of miles for little or no points. The rally masters are very good at giving you enough rope to hang yourself with. Every minute after 5pm is 15 points off. That's huge. That means 3 minutes is one mine. I gots to go, tick tick tick.

I am flying down Fremont pass and then go down I-70. Going pretty good and there isn't much traffic going up the tunnel. Could it be? Could I luck out and there is actually no traffic? Bahahahhahahahahhaaha. No. It stops dead at Georgetown. Oh boy. I get off and go down the frontage road. This works great until the stop sign in Downyville which nobody can figure out. I get back on the freeway and putter. Sometimes we go 30, most of the time we stop. Bah. Tick tick tick. Plus the bike is slowly overheating. Finally it's 4:30pm and I'm just west of Idaho Springs and I decide that I have got to go. Tick tick tick. Gee Officer, my bike it overheating, see it's air cooled and... I start puttering down the shoulder. Not very fast, not trying to be a jerk but you know, I GOT TO GO. Tick tick tick tick.

Finally at the 6th ave off ramp and you go up the big hill and traffic clears out as it goes from 2 lanes to 3, I throw it in Terry Mc gear and away I go. Tick tick tick. Zing zang zoom, I am outta here. I go. I roll in at 4:50pm. I am utterly and totally beat. I have ridden 550 odd miles in about 11 hours at rally speeds and I've totally hosed myself. I can feel it. I picked a good route and totally overreached. Well, I'm sure I still did pretty well, I mean I had a GREAT score yesterday and hey, top 10 maybe on your first rally ever is nothing to sneeze at. I walk in, turn in my paperwork and go to the cooler. "Hey, got any more water?" Because I haven't eaten all day, my bike is totally out of gas (I have maybe 15 more miles worth of gas in it) and had half a bottle of water and a small bottle of Gatorade. All day! Nope, but there is beer in there. Is it cold? Yep. Sweet!!! Bam, 1 beer gone, grab another one and go back outside. I'm not sure but I don't think you are supposed to drink beer after being totally beat and dehydrated, but hey, it was good and I deserved it. :-) We all talk for a while and stand around, and some people came in late and I did finally find some water and started drinking that (but the beers were soooo good :-) ). Found some chips floating around and started munching. I had eaten nothing all day. I told you I was behind. You know I'm in a hurry when I fail to remember to eat.

They did the banquet and had some good stories. I think everyone had a good time, I know I did. They started giving away things (like 3 sets of tires.) I didn't win anything, although our table was pretty lucky like 6 of the 7 people won something or finished top 10. They named #10. #10 had only 300 more points than I had yesterday. SWEET I made top 10!!! I happen to be sitting next to Randy Bishop who told me he was in 2nd place yesterday, so we were both hoping for pretty good. He's gotten a 2nd, 4th, and 5th and was looking for a 1st place plaque to fill out his wall. They keep going and they get 3rd place and it's not Randy or I. (it's John Langhan (sic) who won the '02 Rendezvous). So we look at each other, cuz we know it's him or I. They do the couples class and Rick Rolf (who is as funny in person as he is on email) and his wife won that, George Barnes and his daughter missed the 1st checkpoint on Saturday and got 2nd, Sam and his wife got 3rd). And Rick did not win the Tourist Trophy. You get the plaque when you win, but there is also a traveling tourist trophy that gets the Overall Winners name on it and that person gets to keep it for a year. Then they have to come back to "defend" their title. Pretty neat really. So, it's either Randy or I.

And 2nd place in the 2002 TATT goes to ... Randy Bishop. At this point I knew I had won, and so did Randy but I don't think anyone else realized. I was so excited. I mean, I don't ever win anything. I'm competitive as all heck but I don't win anything outright very often. To actually even have a shot at the win on my very first competitive rally was just unbelievable. To actually win? Man. I'm still blown away 24 hours later.

They announce my name, 1st place Solo Class, Overall Winner of the 2002 Thin Air TT.

So many congratulations, so many nice people. Randy over there shaking his head going "man, I knew I shouldn't have told him about the duct tape". :-) Ok, probably not, because we are a helpful bunch, but it's still funny.

Barely managed to get my helmet on for the ride home. :-) But yeah, I'd call it a great weekend. They say I have to come back to defend it. I'm thinking man, I won it, where can I go but down??? :-) Like my BBG, I don't have to do it again right? Nope, I'll be back.

So next year, everyone here needs to come out and play because it was a great, great time. Half of the top 10 consisted of rookies (I asked Bob and he said that NEVER happens).

Brian Hopkins
99 R11RT "EvilBambi"
2002 TATT winner
SS BB BBG

p.s. Man, this stuff is addictive.

(Originally posted on the LDRider list 07/29/02. Posted courtesy of Brian Hopkins.)