Fredericksburg VA – Southeast MA
Sun Oct 13, 2019
(~578 miles)

We headed back down to the banquet room after quickly showering and a change of wardrobe. Rally staff were still working on final scoring as the riders milled about, enjoying a drink or two and telling more stories. We sat with our fellow New Englanders and discussed the routes we had taken and our varied rally experiences. We learned that both Team Jerin and the Amans had also managed to successfully claim 14 fast food bonuses…this was going to be interesting!

At long last, we were all urged to our tables and the feast ensued. The food always tastes so good after a rally! When it was announced there was extra cheesecake available on the dessert table, I fairly raced Jim Owen to claim some (he won, of course).  🙂

Our esteemed and comedic rallymaster, Scott LaShier, took the stage at the appropriate time and related some of the history of the VOID rally for newcomers to the event. Watching Scott perform is always worth the price of admission and he had us all chuckling with his sharp wit.

When it was time for the awarding of trophies, Scott went over some stats regarding 2-up teams vs solo riders, stating that, similar to last year, three of the top five spots in the PA starters were 2-up teams. He felt there is an inherent advantage for the 2-ups, and had decided to create a separate awards class this year. This supposed advantage has been debated in rally circles, and I’m not convinced, but it was the rule of the day for this event.

Steve Giffin, rally veteran from Pennsylvania, despite NOT having a co-pilot, turned in an amazing ride (as usual), the only rider to secure FIFTEEN fast food stops, and won the PA starting field outright. Team Jerin outscored us by some 1500 points to take second overall and top 2-up finish. Char and I managed to secure third in overall points, and second place in the 2-up class, only a scant 400 points over our good friends, the Amans.

No question about two-up 1st and 2nd place here!

 

After chatting with other riders, it was clear the rally routing was set up very well this year, with multiple options for high-placing routes, although Long Island was definitely a must for the PA field. A few of the others had gone north into Massachusetts for the 4-5 bonuses in that region, then taken a ferry down to Long Island for a night mission across NYC. The ferry crossings had been pretty rough and the Arsenaults’ bike had even taken a digger after they were forced by the ferry crew to leave the bike, without any tie-downs.

We made plans to ride north with Team Jerin and Bob in the morning and agreed on a time to meet at breakfast. We were among the last in the banquet hall, thanked Scott for another great rally experienced and retired to our rooms for much-needed rest.

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The hotel breakfast was OK and served its purpose. We got out to the bikes and on the road by around 08:30, first stopping to fill our rally-spent tanks at a nearby station. We followed a similar route to the way we’d all used last year, avoiding the DC/Baltimore metro areas in favor of a quieter and more scenic route following US-301 northeast through Maryland. We also elected to forego I-95 and the Garden State Parkway by picking up I-476 north into PA to I-78, then I-287 to I-87.

Crossing east over the Hudson River always feels like coming home.

We couldn’t end this trip without actually stopping at a diner to eat, so lunch was at the trusty Red Line Diner in Fishkill NY. No rally flags needed for these pics!

After a good lunch with friends, including a generous slice of pie, we said our farewells in the parking lot since the others would be verging off on to the Taconic Parkway. Char and I continued on the familiar trek across Connecticut via I-84, then chose US-6 into Rhode Island to avoid the Mass Pike Sunday backup.

We chatted about our rally as we rode and agreed that even the trek through Long Island and Brooklyn had been an interesting and worthwhile adventure. As hoped, the rally had taken us to places we may not have otherwise ridden, to see something different and enlarge our perspective on the world. It had been great fun to figure out the puzzle and then execute our plan successfully. And it is always a pleasure to see again the friends we’ve made from far-flung states and share these riding experiences for future sessions of storytelling and lies.

Trip Stats:

Trip Miles: ~2141
Rally Miles: 1258
# bonuses: 40
Inches of seawater navigated: 8
Pie: 3

Claimed Photo Bonuses (in order):

MOES, EDNJ, GLXY, PEYE, PSRD, RYER, WEND, EDLI, TIMS, JMSB, ZONA, MDRN, MCDS, DUCK, CATF, CHEK, JRSH, BRNN, FIVE, BYWY, HIGH, WHCT, HOFF, MUST, TACO, OYST, PCNJ, CHIC, EDPA, LOMA, ARBY, REST, PERD, CRAB, HARD, EXDN, LEAP, BOJG, SMTH, BUZN, DQUE