Reading PA – Towson MD
Fri October 5, 2018
(~ 693 miles)

In the days leading up, rally pack information was distributed to riders in three primary phases by email.  First we received some general instructions for how the rally would work, especially including start and finishing procedures. It became very clear to me that this rally staff was extremely detail oriented (read: bastard-like), and reading comprehension would be a key factor in maximizing points in this event.

One particular twist was the the stipulation that your rally clock wouldn’t stop until you actually handed in your final scoring envelope at the finish (rather than when you arrived at the finish as per most other rallies I’ve ridden). This meant we had to subtract some time from the total 31 hours to allow for scoring prep. We decided to treat it like a 30 hour rally, giving us a full hour at the finish to go through all our photos and bonus listings before handing everything in.

Part  2 of the rally pack came out one week prior to the start and consisted primarily of the electronic source files for all the bonus locations in several formats. This allowed us to so some initial processing of the information and see the playing field on a map.

Strangely, only two point values were used in this rally – plotted bonuses were either 13 or 39 points. We speculated wildly about what this might mean in terms of a puzzle or restriction on gathering order. When Part 3, consisting of the detailed rally book with bonus descriptions was sent out two days before lift-off, we were surprised to see a very straightforward ride ahead of us – no combos, no over-arching puzzle, and no restrictions on bonus collection order. The test routes we’d created were still valid, so we just needed to fine-tune and pick our best one.

Friday morning started surprisingly relaxed for the day of a rally, probably due to the late-ish start time. Starting times were staggered across the three rally start locations so that the rally staff wouldn’t be overwhelmed with text messages from the entire field. We Reading starters were first up, and the process was thus: get a proper business receipt for anytime between 08:20 and 08:30; then text that receipt information to the rallymaster either in a very specifically formatted text string, or as a photo of the receipt next to your bike’s odometer (IBA style).

We awoke in plenty of time to get our shit together, shower, and get some hotel breakfast down in the lobby of the Days Inn, while chatting with our friends. Due to the simple bonus points assignment and the geographical layout, we suspected we’d be seeing a lot of each other on our routes today.

We got to our chosen starting gas station about 30 minutes prior to the start, only to see most of the other Reading field of riders already there or arriving just after us. More parking lot chit-chat ensued as watched the clock, ready to be released into the wild.

As the final minutes ticked down, Char geared up to be ready at the bike, while I went inside to stand in line with a pack of mints, waiting for 08:20 (cash register time) to arrive. I cashed out exactly on the minute and wished the other riders luck as I jogged back to the bike so we could get this party started. The weather was forecast to be overcast and in the 60s today, pretty much perfect weather for rally riding, IMO.

Our chosen route would take us in a spiral clockwise pattern today, heading south and west, before circling around to the east, back north of Reading and over to the Jersey shore. The first bonus stop was a unique motel in Strasburg PA, about 38 miles from the start, on the mostly divided US-222. The “rooms” at this establishment are re-purposed caboose train cars, and we had to have three of them in our photo, along with Char and the rally flag (which both needed to be in every photo unless specified otherwise).

We made good time down to the bonus, but saw at least four other rally bikes (including good friends Ken and Felicia Aman) just before or at this bonus, confirming our prediction that many of us would have similar routes today and this would be a competitive finish!

We’ve enjoyed Turkey Hill ice cream from the freezer section before, and the next bonus was the large cow standing outside their museum in Columbia PA. On the way, the Amans caught up to us and we ended up riding in caravan, visiting the next six bonuses more or less together.

We crossed the beautiful Susquehanna River on US-30 and picked up I-83 north. A quick off-on exit in Newberry allowed us to stop at this local donut shop for a pic of their signage. Reminds me of the famous Randy’s Donuts sign out in California, though not as large.

We crossed back over the river in Harrisburg and circled to the east of the city to head north on US-22 along the river. Char and I had ridden through the Duncannon area together on our first long road trip to Alabama a few years ago and it was cool to see the Red Rabbit Drive-in still going strong.

A short stint on US-11 snagged us the purple dragon outside the Lumberjack Kitchen restaurant. We saw a few more riders on our tail as we headed back south to Harrisburg by backtracking on the same route.

We picked up I-81 to I-78 for a good long stretch on the slab eastbound. Exiting in Shartlesville (I like saying that name), we found our way southeast to the village of Centre, where we found a fork in the road.

Continuing southeast, we cut back over to US-222 north of Reading, skirting Lake Ontelaunee. We pulled in for fuel at a convenient Sheetz station along the highway, ending our tandem streak with the Amans (who have a tail-dragger aux tank), though we would continue to see them coming out of bonus locations ahead of us for most of the day. I missed my aux tank capacity, but the stock ST tank did right by us on this rally, netting us 220 – 240 miles per tank, despite our lively pace and extra weight. A great pillion like Char is more of a strategic advantage than a tank is, anyhow (romantic, huh?). 🙂

Garmin routed us off the highway to take us through the entirety of Kutztown, including smack dab through the center of the university there, which straddles the main drag. Delays were relatively minor, and we were still on schedule. Down a couple side streets we found artist Keith Haring’s “Figure Balancing on Dog” sculpture on prominent display in a town park.

I’m not sure what happened on the GPS next – either I missed a turn and it auto-recalculated or it simply made yet another poor routing choice. Our Basecamp route would have us cutting north to I-78, to then pick up I-476 for a jog several miles south to the next bonus in Quakertown. Instead, we ended up staying on 222 direct to I-78 (476 appears to be limited-access) for a few miles to PA-309 south. That brought us through a bunch of local traffic and a big accident delay near Coopersburg, caused by an oversize load truck going off the side of the road.

Waze to the rescue! We avoided the worst by taking a back-road loop to get around the mess. Then we contended with several more stop lights and strip-mall traffic (my absolute least favorite riding) to finally arrive at the giant barbell stored in the rear parking lot of a fitness facility.

My buddy James had gotten there ahead of us (probably by taking the correct fastest interstate route), and we headed out of there about the same time. We had to reverse direction on 309 back towards the accident, but now we had Waze on full alert and knew when to turn off on the local roads to get around the back-up, while James headed straight into it (sorry James! :)).

We got back up to I-78 and settled in for the long run east to the New Jersey coast. Traffic was fairly heavy, but kept moving along. We stayed alert and aggressively pursued passing opportunities when they arose. “Right except to pass” really doesn’t seem to mean anything anymore in most parts of this country. Folks simply move left and stay there so they don’t have to actually think about driving when other cars merge in. It also allows them to use their phones with minimal distraction from other people on the road. >:(

New Jersey isn’t the first place I think of for desired riding locales, though the northwest part of the state is quite nice. I’d never been to the south Jersey shore and was curious to see what it was like, once we’d decided that’s where the points were. First, however, we needed to get through the traffic snarl in the Edison/Woodbridge area. Traffic lights galore on US-1, and there was nothing for it but to remain patient. We got our photo of this tin fireman sculpture, which required us both to dismount the bike in the buffer space of a little traffic island, since the rally book specified getting the front of the sculpture.

We picked up the Garden State Parkway south over the Raritan River. Soon after merging, I noticed a car pacing alongside us in the left lane. When I looked over, he rolled down his window and motioned down to the rear – it was clear he was telling us we had an issue, so I immediately checked mirrors and pulled into the breakdown lane. I put on the flashers and Char dismounted to look at the bike, while the car also pulled over about 100 yards ahead of us.

A BIG gentleman, who looked like he works out a lot, got out of the car and began jogging back towards us. I wasn’t sure of his intentions (had I passed him at some point along the way?) until he got close enough to hear through my earplugs that he thought the rear tire was flat. Inwardly, I chuckled and shouted our thanks but that we were running a car tire so it only looked odd for that reason. He gave us a smile and thumbs-up and went back to his car. We got moving again quickly to make up the lost time, but feeling good that someone (in NJ of all places!) was kind enough to worry about two strangers on a bike.

We picked up NJ-36 in Hazlet over to Middletown, where we saw Ken and Felicia just exiting the Mt. Mitchell Scenic Overlook Park as we arrived. Monmouth County’s 9/11 memorial is located here and is quite a remarkable sight. The eagle is carrying a mangled I-beam from one of the WTC towers in it’s talons, flying away from the distant New York skyline. Of all the bonuses we visited on the rally, I would have liked to have spent a bit more time here to explore the park and memorial and reflect on the view and memories of that day.

That glimpse of the Amans would be the last riders we would see until later that night. We continued on SR-36 out onto the barrier islands of the Jersey coast, enjoying a very nice view of the ocean before the road became tucked away behind large earthworks built to shield the swanky oceanside residential properties from the anger of the sea. Traffic was much lighter now – the post-season plus today’s non-beachlike weather was thankfully keeping people away, allowing us a brisk run south.

We followed 36 inland and picked up NJ-18 down to Neptune, where we skitched back east to NJ-71. In Belmar, we captured this replica of Bruce Springsteen’s famous Fender Telecaster cross-breed guitar, outside the public library.

We paralleled the coast a few more miles on 71, before crossing the Manasquan River on SR-35 back over to the barrier islands. It was a very nice ride along these stretches in the seaside communities, reminding us of some of the seaside hotspots in New England like Salisbury and Hampton Beach. We knew we would not want to be riding through here in the full swing of summer.

In the town of Tom’s River, there was a small mini-golf place along the main drag where we caught this classic Mufflerman lying down on the job.

We turned west, crossing the sound to the mainland, and picked up the GSP for several more miles southbound. We exited in Stafford on NJ-72, crossing back out to the barrier islands. On the way out, I got a kick out of the GPS map showing the canal neighborhoods off to our right, where there were apparently hundreds of waterfront homes alongside a carefully constructed maze of canals, granting everyone eventual access out to the sea.

This seaside community of Beach Haven seemed a bit more down-to-earth and less swanky than those to the north. Our quarry was the super-sized salt water taffy standing prominently outside a candy store along the main drag, and hard to miss.

 

We retraced our steps back out to the Parkway and continued south another 20 miles or so to the town of Galloway NJ. Next up was the yard of a retired carpenter named Stanley Hammell, who collected old glass insulators (from telephone and power utility poles) for 20 years and decorated his yard with them. Even the fence itself is constructed from old utility poles and crossbeams. We were directed to get the photo from the corner furthest from the driveway – probably to give the family a bit of privacy. A pretty neat stop!

Our final stop on the coast was in Margate, just south of Atlantic City. Neither of us had been in this area, and weren’t sure what to expect – dealing with casino traffic, etc. But those worries were for naught, as we headed out to what is apparently the quieter end of the island, via the Downbeach Express toll road ($1.75 EACH way!) to see Lucy the Elephant.

Built in 1881 by a land speculator to attract development, she is now a National Historic Landmark. No crowds while we were there, however, and we got our job done quickly. The motorcycle needed to be in the photo for this one.

Luckily, there weren’t a whole lot of “daylight-only” bonuses in this rally, because night was falling and we had several more to go before turning in for the night. We were still doing very well time-wise and running pretty much right on track with our plan. After a bit of frustration getting turned around by missing the correct entrance onto the Parkway, we finally got moving west on the Atlantic City Expressway, leaving the coast behind us.

Exiting in Hammonton, we followed US-206 several miles north into a more rural area, noting lots of construction signs indicating one-lane roads and flag men, but not hitting any delays. We then saw a couple staging points where construction trucks and workers were beginning to gather – it would seem that some night roadwork was about to get started… and we had to go back the same way. The last thing we wanted right now was to be stuck waiting for lines of one-way traffic to clear the construction zones.

Mighty Joe the gorilla is a big statue outside a gas station with the same name, along this blue highway. It was installed by the store owner in memory of his bodybuilder son Joe, who died of a brain tumor in 1999. The seller apparently bypassed several better offers on the gorilla due to the reason behind the father’s purchase – nice little story.

We made it back through all the marked constructions zones just before 20:00, which looked like the time when all the workers were about to punch in for the night. Whew, close call!

We zigzagged west to Winslow for the next bonus, another Mufflerman statue, this one customized to look like the MAD Magazine mascot, and knows as the “Halfwit”. We ran into the Jim & Donna, another two-up team, at this bonus.

The GPS routed us another zigzag path on several back roads to take us southwest to rural Deerfield, where the next bonus awaited us – a viking-themed Mufflerman statue. We caught up to and followed behind the other couple along the way, but ended up departing this bonus ahead of them.

We took US-40 west, stopping off in Woodstown for another large cow statue along the way.

We picked up I-295 for our crossing into Delaware and joined I-95. Exiting in Newark DE, we located the medical office park where we needed to go next. As we circled to find the entrance, Char spotted a group of several deer standing by the driveway within the park. I took it slow down that lane, and the deer weren’t spooked at all, looking at us indifferently as we passed within maybe 30 feet of them.

We located the large doctor’s bag sculpture that we needed and got the pic, ensuring not to over-expose the white flag. In these situations (among others!), it’s very useful to have a pillion holding the flag so you can direct her to stand just right!

The deer were still feeding in the same place on our way out, and I gave them a little toot to try to move them away from the road a bit, since the Wilson’s were hot on our tail.

60 miles on I-95 into Baltimore MD went quickly, though I kept eyes peeled for critters. I’d heard some not-so-good tales from riders about traversing this city (including someone who’d had a brick heaved at them), so I was also on full alert for the “city wildlife” as we entered the local streets shortly after 22:00. There were two Friday-only bonuses in Baltimore worth 39 points apiece, so getting here before midnight had been a primary goal of the route. We’d be taking our rest bonus in the area, and then bagging three nearby Saturday-only bonuses in the morning (a strategy that several other riders noticed and used as well).

Luckily, the neighborhoods we went through didn’t seem too rough and we found this BUS stop on a brightly lit corner by a theater. We were outta there in about 20 seconds.

A mile or so on local roads back east near I-695, we pulled up next to two other rally bikes, including our two-up friends, the Arsenaults, to make our final bonus stop before resting.  Cateraptasaurus is a six-ton sculpture created entirely from old construction equipment…cool!

The mandatory REST bonus for this rally is three hours, with an additional point per minute added for every minute between 3-6 hours. So we planned to take the full six hour rest to maximize our points for sitting still. I’d purposely chosen a hotel outside the Baltimore city limits, not being familiar with nor wanting to deal with the logistics or security of an urban hotel stay. The Comfort Inn in the suburb of Towson MD had decent ratings, seemed like a good compromise along the nearby loop highway, and would allow us quick access back into the city early the next morning on our way south towards DC.

I had previously identified a 24-hour Marathon gas station in Towson near the hotel, but hadn’t dropped a waypoint for it. We spotted a Marathon and pulled in – it was one of those with the security glass and no real store to speak of, but we were already there and they confirmed they were open 24/7 so we went with it and checked into our REST bonus at 20:54. Of course, no receipt paper, so I had to go request one at the window and the guy was friendly enough.

I usually just grab a quick sandwich or something from the gas station when checking in to my rest to save time, but they had nothing more than candy-bars here. We tried Burger King first, but only their drive-in was open and we weren’t sure how to deal with that in our tired state, so we tried McDonalds (keeping in mind that we were limited to 6 miles total on the odometer during the REST bonus). Once again, drive-in only, so we sucked it up and pulled around to order some food. As we pulled out, I noted ANOTHER Marathon station just a bit further up the road in the other direction – much more modern-looking and with a convenience store. Oh well!

Having just killed a half hour of our rest with our little tour of the local fast-food establishments, we got to the hotel and went inside, not expecting anything but the normal quick check-in. Not to be! They were having computer issues, which apparently prevented them from finding an available room for us. Long story short, we stood there impatiently hovering over them, making it clear that we needed to get in a room NOW, please, as we needed to get going early in the morning and were on a schedule.

After about 15-20 minutes or so, they got things sorted out enough to get us checked into a room, now about an hour into our rest bonus. On top of everything, the hotel was very outdated and felt a bit ratty for the price we were paying, but nothing to be done about it now. At least it seemed secure and we had our receipt in hand.

Luckily, there were no changes needed for tomorrow’s leg, so we ate, showered, and plugged everything in to charge before hitting the hay for a solid four hour sleep.