Working on the Railroad Rally

[Phil Tarman]

I'm leaving in the morning to ride to Driggs, ID, to get myself in position to ride to Big Sky Resort in Big Sky, MT, on Thursday. There's a BBQ Thursday night at the home of the Rally Hosts, Bob and Sylvie Torter, who are known in the LD riding community as the "V-Twins." We've been instructed to bring a knife so we can hack off a chunk of pig to eat. Fortunately, I won a knife at the Team Lyle Rachel Strange Insanity Rally in May.

We'll get the Rally bonii on Friday afternoon via email and then there's a banquet Friday night. The Rally is a 36-hour ride starting at 4AM Saturday morning. I've got a Spotwalla track that will follow my ride starting tomorrow morning. I think this will connect to you my track if you're interested. I'll check the link after I get to Driggs tomorrow and if it doesn't work, I'll try to post a link that will work.

The Working on The Railroad Rally link: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=e56e55c14dfcaa515

If you're interested in ancient history, here's the link to my May BunBurner Gold ride in the Team Lyle Rachel Strange Insanity Days Rally: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=d319555ae9d8eb525

I like to view the satellite version of the map. You can choose which way you want to view the maps by clicking on the tab in the upper right hand corner. If you click on a "dot" (or I guess it would be more appropriate to say, "If you click on a 'spot', you'll be able to see the time and the coordinates. If you zoom in on a spot, you can see pretty amazing detail in the satellite views. You won't be able to see me.

 

[Phil Tarman]

THE RIDE TO BIG SKY:

I didn't get away from Greeley as early as I planned. (Jim Rau will be greatly surprised by that!) It was 10:30 when I headed north. I took US-287 from Fort Collins to Laramie and then got on I-80. Wyoming doesn't exactly advertise one of its greatest natural resources, but it hints at it. Every five miles from one border to the next, there's a sign along the interstate that says, "Strong Winds Possible Next Five Miles." They could save lots of money on signs if they'd just put a sign at every border crossing into the state that said, "Strong Winds Until Next State."

I hit some fairly hard rain as I followed the northern edge of the Snowy Range but by Elk Mountain that ended and it was just the wind. The highway advisory signs said that winds of 35+ mph were predicted and they were right. The worst was the last 20-30 miles into Rawlins and then until Pinedale, WY. Between Rawlins and Rock Springs, I only could manage 38mpg. There were places going up hills where I had to shift down into 4th to maintain 70mph. Trucks would think they could pass the truck in front and then be stuck beside it for 5-10 miles, grinding along at 55 uphill and maybe getting up to 70 briefly on the down hills.

North of Rock Springs, the wind became a gusty crosswind. From Rock Springs to Eden, the landscape is rolling sagebrush country where normally I'd expect to see herds of pronghorn, but I didn't see any till Eden, where there were six by the roadside in an irrigated pasture. From Eden to north of Farson, you cross the track of the Oregon Trail. This is a section where the pioneers had to basically keep going for 50-60 miles to get from one water source to the next. Today, the Eden Valley is pretty country bookended by more of that sagebrush.

Pinedale is on the south side of the Wind River Range, which includes Gannet Peak, the highest point in Wyoming at 13,804'. I don't know what the attraction is, except that it's a pretty little town with a lot of touristy looking business, but there was a private Airbus 310 parked at the airport, along with a Gulfstream G5.

Probably the prettiest part of the whole ride for me was the descent through Hoback Canyon to Hoback Junction just south of Jackson. I staved off the rain for a few miles by stopping at Bondurant to put on my heavier gloves and heated jacket and close the zippers on my jacket. That kept me dry till Jackson, where the rain started falling harder as I started up Teton Pass (WY22). This is a 10% grade, both up and down, and has some 30mph switchbacks that are posted for 15mph. And naturally, with the rain falling hard and riding in and out of clouds, this is where some idiots started passing, ignoring the fact that they couldn't see as far as they needed to complete the pass of one vehicle, not to mention the other five or six that they passed in one maneuver. Fortunately, everyone survived.

I got to Driggs at 8PM, checked in to the Super 8 and ate excellent Mexican food at the Agave, a new restaurant in town. I don't know if it was something in the air in Driggs, or something in the room, but my nose clogged and dripped all night and I didn't get a very restful sleep.

I got away from Driggs at 11 and really enjoyed the farming country I rode through before I got to US-20 at Ashton. It was rolling hills, nice sweepers, great views and very prosperous looking. Almost all the wheat was already cut, but I saw a few fields that still needed combining.

West Yellowstone was its usual congested self, but the ride north to Big Sky went well. Twenty miles of it were in Yellowstone NP, where I didn't see a single solitary living animal except for a few ravens. From the northwest corner of the Park to Big Sky, the road follows the Gallatin River which keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Big Sky is spectacular -- makes me wish I was a skier! I guess people flying into here park their jets at Bozeman.

We've got a pig to eat tonight and I saw a picture of it down in the lobby as I was checking in. If a lot more people don't show up, we'll each have to eat 10-15 pounds. Plus, I presume, the trimmings.

I'll be taking more pictures during the Rally, but here's one at the north end of Yellowstone from today's ride.

 

[EX Winger]

Wishing you a successful rally and a SAFE ride ! I am with you in my thoughts!


Eldpn

 

[Phil Tarman]

Why is it that we seem to either ride in a headwind or a cross wind? Why not with the wind at our backs?

Chris

Part of it the fact that when we're riding at, say, 70mph, whatever wind there is is a factor in a wind vector triangle that includes that 70mph forward velocity. That means that the wind can coming from an angle of, say, from 65 or 70-degrees to one side and when it gets factored into that overall wind triangle, it adds more to the forward velocity.

However, I did have a 20-25mph tailwind that was coming from directly behind me for probably 100 of the 150 miles I rode today. It sure was quiet!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Wishing you a successful rally

I'm doomed! Not because you're with me in my thoughts, but because I didn't do adequate pre-ride preparation.

1) I should have tried working with Base Camp before today. (Duh!?)

2) I brought the wrong UBS cord and couldn't connect my GPS to my computer. Jim Owen, a former Iron Butt Rally, gave me one, but so far my computer's not seeing the GPS.

3) We had a pig roast tonight. I couldn't find it and it probably wasn't more than 300 yards from building I'm staying in. I would guess that I walked close to a mile before I finally found someone who knew where it was. By the time I got there the pig was a skeleton...a pretty good skeleton, but a very picked-over one. Almost all of the other stuff for the meal was gone. I'm sure that won't hurt me. The walk convinced me that I really, really, REALLY need to get to work on my physical conditioning when I get home.

 

[EX Winger]

sO sPRRY YOU MISSED OUT ON tHE MEAL!! BUT DONT BE LATE FOR THE POST RALLY BANQUET AS I AM SURE IT WILL BE A GOO MEA;!!

 

[EX Winger]

mY VISION SUCKS THIS MORNING BUT I AM TRYING MY BEST PLEASE FORGIVE MY TY POS

 

[Phil Tarman]

I'm taking a break from route planning to let things percolate in my mind. We had tech inspection this morning, then rode an odometer check, and got the bonus package at 2PM. My GPS is not talking to my computer, but I've figured a way to use Streets and Trips. I'm just going to have a lot of manual entry into the GPS.

The premise of the whole rally is that our bike is a railroad train. We have to pick up cargo and deliver it. We can only have four cargoes on board at any one time. We got 34 station cards, 22 timber cards, 24 ore cards, 27 crop cards, and two special cards.


I've got to figure out ways to pick up cargo and deliver it.


I've kinda' got a rough route in mind, and now I'm trying to figure out how to get cargoes together with the route.


If I could have an empty train when I got to Minot, ND (if I go there), I could haul a special cargo to Great Falls for 6591 points. Since a new rider has to score only 8,000 points to be a finisher, that may be what I do.

We have a banquet at 5:00PM, and then have to be on our bikes by 3:30AM.

My Spot Track is available at: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php...e55c14dfcaa515

The stuff before 4AM tomorrow morning is not the rally.

 

[RedLdr1]

My Spot Track is available at: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php...e55c14dfcaa515

I'm getting a bad link error...

 

[EX Winger]

Wayne,

the link probably wont work until after kickoff time.

Eldon

 

[RedBird]

Yes the last link given is bad, but the one in Phils 1st post works.

 

[mikesim]

I'm getting a bad link error...

So did I, but the link he posted in this first post works.

Mike

 

[EX Winger]

I have beem with him MOST of the rally ride from my desk of course! He is back into Big Sky , most lkley very worn, BUTT he mad a a very fine ride and I thinkhe will do very well in the placements, He rode big dog miles !!! I think he got all of 3 2/3 hours sleep last night , I went to bed shortly after him and he beat me up and was well on his way when I picked him up out of inont early this orning!

VERY E\WELL DONE PHIL!!

Eldon

 

[EX Winger]

Phil Just called me , He is scored as a finisher , he needed 8000 points and had 8001 for his score !! I won't try to give other details.

he is tired and was going to call home and then hit the shower
That's my story and im sticking to it!

Eldon

Eldon

 

[Comanche]

Excellent. Thanx, Eldon.

 

[junglejim]

Good job Phil! That was quite a ride.
Give us some details after you have recovered.

I've ridden almost all of those roads, but it was on three different days, on two different motorcycles, and in two different years.

 

[Woodaddict]

That's amazing. Can't wait for details

 

[Phil Tarman]

It was more fun (even when I was miserable!) than I can say. Although I have to admit that it wouldn't be everybody's notion of "fun."

I'll write a more detailed trip report in the next couple of days. I rode 3,204 miles on the trip and 1,800 miles in the Rally. I got credit for riding 1808 after they applied the odometer correction factor which had been determined by riding a 21.5 mile loop.

You needed 8,000 points to qualify as a finisher in the Beginner Class. I had the lowest place of any finisher (experienced riders needed 12,000 points and a minimum of 1420 miles. if I had gotten all the pointes I thought I had earned I would have been lowest placed finisher in the Experienced Rider Class. The winner of the Experienced Class rode a little over 2,000 miles and had 96,000 points. The winner of the Beginner Class rode something like 1500 miles and had 40,000+ points.

I've got a lot to learn, but I learned a lot.

 

[WVRider]

Sounds so Awesome Phil !