Ever the wanderer and collector, I’m signed up for Team Strange’s “Love & Merci Grand Tour” this year.
Click here for Full GT Rules
Brief recap: a “grand tour” event is a scavenger hunt by bike usually lasting several months. You are issued a numbered rally towel or placard and must seek out various bonus locations via map and GPS. Snap a photo of the required subject along with your rally number and sometimes your bike in the picture, then submit for points at the end to win fabulous prizes (i.e. bragging rights and tales to tell around the campfire).
I love these events because they give me an excuse to plan out routes throughout the season, to far-flung locations and see things I might otherwise not. You usually pick up a bit of historical knowledge along the way as well, making the armchair research bit quite interesting. In this case, I’d never heard of the “Merci Train” – train cars filled with thank-you gifts by French citizenry and shipped to the US in thanks for all the supplies donated by Americans across the country during the war. Most of these cars are still on display in various places across the US, sometimes with nearby museums showcasing some of the gifts that had been included, or photos of same. Google it, it’s pretty cool.
The Merci Train cars make up the primary focus for this event, but the other theme is “Love” with a few specific bonus locations related to that word/emotion, plus points available for city/town combinations where the first letters of the towns spell out L-O-V-E. Statue of Liberty replica statues are the final piece of the puzzle – there are apparently 200 of these buggers on display scattered around 39 states dating from the 1950s (see http://www.cheyennetroop101.org/liberty/ for more background). I assume this has to do with the French presenting us with the original statue (which is also worth points BTW).
Rally flags should be going out within the next couple of weeks. I’m hoping the snow continues to avoid this part of New England, allowing an early start to collecting some bonus points!