Christmas Lights Rally 2016

It's holiday time again! Who doesn't like to get out and enjoy the Christmas lights displays on houses and in gardens that people spend days, weeks and even months preparing?
We do, and so do other members of the Twin Cities Rally Club. Every year TCRC member Mark Larson puts on a Road Rally based around a tour around some of the best lights in the Twin Cities metro area. The rally has been a Christmas fixture for many years and is very popular and a good turn out is guaranteed, drawing members of the TCRC, both road rallyists and stage rally crews too as well as the general public.
The location for this years tour was the same as last year, South St. Paul and Inver Grove Heights. But with many, many lit houses in the area, we were not guaranteed to see the same lights again. Some of the major displays were kept on the route, but there were also new ones to see, and as one of the property owners, (or perhaps it really was Santa) told me that every year the day after Christmas he's in the stores looking for new elements to incorporate into the following years display. So even the same displays change over the years.
Lack of snow in Minnesota imparted a different feel to the event this year. It certainly made driving around easier but there was a definite atmosphere missing that only snow at Christmas can add.
As usual my wife did the driving and I navigated using the map given to us at check in. We then headed out touring the lights and answering questions on the displays we saw on a pre-prepared sheet.
Having just finished my first stage rally as a co-driver I have to say that it was often easier to do that than navigate the route of this event. At least in the frozen Minnesota forests I was only concentrating on one set of instructions, whereas here in addition to following the route, I was keeping an eye out for limousines and mini coaches as well as trying to answer the questions along the route. Questions like "How many lighted Poinsettia plants are there between 54th street and 59th street?"

"How many lights on the tree?" Just kidding, that wasn't one of the questions.

How many Santa's? Snowmen? Polar Bears?

Minions seemed to be very popular choices for displays this year.

Plotting this route must've been quite the task for organizer Mark as he managed to keep nearly all the displays on the right hand side of the car so people wouldn't have to worry about crossing roads in front of traffic to get a closer view of the displays to answer the questions.
This is not a serious rally at all, and much hilarity often ensues at the scoring after the event when peoples interpretation of what constitutes a star or a snowflake differs from the official results. The generals for the event state. " A snowflake is not a star and a star is not a snowflake" and  also stated "you are expected to know the difference between a camel and a donkey." With so many of the answers to the questions being down to personal perception sometimes there were elements of a trap rally involved
I said this last year and it's worth repeating again. That if your local rally club is looking for something different as a holiday celebration then you might want to look at an event something like this. We're already looking forward to next year.
With that I'll say a big thanks to Mark and crew for putting the event on and I'll leave you with a picture my favourite display on the course. Merry Christmas!

A Santa recreation of the famous Belgian Manneken Pis statue.

Nemadji Trail Rally - The in car video

Now let's take a look at the in-car footage from the Nemadji Trail.

Stage one: As I mentioned in the blog post we almost forgot to turn the camera on. You'll get a feel for how slippery the conditions were as we enter the first corner, aquaplaning on the slushy, icy mud. All the way along the stage you see how very busy Dan is with the steering wheel, I was so busy concentrating on the course instructions I was barely aware of all that activity. On a lighter note, watch out for the snowmen built by the course marshals as we travel along the stage. I think there's four, perhaps five. Perhaps the fifth one was the one placed on the route for the 000 course inspection car driven by Joe Lipinski to demolish.

Stage two: About halfway through the stage you'll hear me give the instruction "entering the complex" this was because I couldn't read the instructions as they were printed on the course notes. Coming from the other direction, as the trail looked totally different here was no problem with reading the instructions. In another area of the course you'll also hear me describe a very, very long right as "superduper long" I doubt this term will enter the rally lexicon. 

Stage three: We did actually forget to turn the GoPro on.

Stage four: I think some caution is evident as we set off on the final stage, the most important thing for us to do now is finish. But by the end of the stage we are flying as much as the conditions would allow us to "fly". In the dark, everything looks different again. Even though we travelled the same 8 miles of road four times each time it was different. As we cross the finish at the end of the stage our joy at completing the event is evident.

In closing, I want to properly thank Susi Little and her team of volunteers for putting on the event. An event like this can't be put on without a great team of volunteers, even more so when you realize that Susi was actually co-driver in one of the other cars as well. The course workers were clearly having a great time, witness all the snowmen built along the stage. Next year I hope to see even more snowmen and perhaps a Christmas tree or two lining the way.

Nemadji Trail Rally report

The big day arrived.

It doesn't seem like it was September when Dan asked me if I'd be interested in co-driving for him, it all went by so fast. All the fun and games of fitting seats, dismantling gear boxes and studying in car videos was about to bear fruition.

Duquette, MN is only 90 minutes drive from home, so my wife and I arose early for a Saturday to make the trip up there. It's a small town, all you can see from the main road is a store, the community center and a bar, all of which were "Rally Headquarters".  When we arrived activity was just starting, but pretty soon the place was teeming with car transporters and rally cars with workers busying themselves with all kinds of tasks.
My co-drivers tasks will eventually include supervising the set up of our service area, but as it's my first rally and I have novice entrants briefings to go to, coupled with the fact it's a small regional rally and there's not much to do I was excused that.
I was able to register the car and collect my Rally America license, this was a big deal for me. I felt "official". I just wish I'd taken a better picture...

I don't like the picture at all, it's my fault, I took it.

Novice briefing is important. Lets face it I'm about to do something dangerous.
Very dangerous. If we have a serious "off" it's not like NASCAR where aid would be there to us in seconds. Here, in the middle of a forest in the winter it might be as much as an hour before medical assistance could arrive. Procedures are in place to make sure aid gets to incidents as soon as possible and it's every entrants duty to know them. I will have to attend mandatory novice safety briefings for at least the whole of next year to make sure I'm familiar with them.
With the all important safety out of the way Dan and I clambered into his F-150 and went out on recce to check the stages. We had been given course notes, but it was important to get out there and see if we agreed with them and make our own notes, we certainly felt the need to make changes. Seeing the course for the first time was a shock. I had watched some in car videos of the course and I immediately notice that the course looked nothing like the videos. We might as well have been on a different set of roads.
The Monday before the event had seen about 4" of snow fall on the stage route, but unseasonably warm conditions during the day and some nighttime freezing during the week had left the course in a mess. Frozen sections covered in snow, and muddy, slushy sections with no traction. In some places the inside of a curve was frozen and the outside a slushy mess or vice versa. Some of the more experienced drivers said these were some if the worst conditions they'd seen.
One particular short section mid course caused me some problems, for no matter how hard I tried I just could not say the instruction.
"Left 5 short, Right 6 over crest short, Left 6 short into Right 3 into Left 3 into Right 3". So Dan decided on. "Entering complex, Right 3 into Left 3 into Right 3." I could say that. If the car was lined up right it was almost a straight shot through the fives and sixes, so calling them was almost a moot point.
With that tongue-twister conquered we headed back to service for lunch and some pre-race reflection.
I strolled around the service area looking at the other cars, wondering what it would be like when I got nervous, for I had been so busy doing things I hadn't had a chance to dwell on it. I didn't eat much for lunch for I had been cautioned that perhaps I should take some dramamine for motion sickness just in case. But I'd left it at home, so I wasn't going to give my stomach an excuse to deposit its contents all over the inside of the car. It turned out I needn't have worried.
I chatted with a few other crews, everyone was very friendly. Even more so when they found out it was my first event.
The appointed hour grew near, and we changed into our race gear. Still no nerves.
I was strapped fully into the car for the first time. The belts were awkward to find, the central catch seemed too far away. Nothing seemed to fit properly. It was a good job crew chief Ben Anderson was on hand to adjust the belts to fit.
I'm in. The HANS is strapped down. Head movement is more than I thought it would be. Arm and body movement is almost non existent.
"I can't reach to turn the GoPro on." I told Dan. He knew where to find the on/off button so our efforts would be recorded.
With that, the engine fired up and we were on our way. Pulling up at MTC 1 on time and heading out to the stage.
It was only a short transit to the stage start and we were soon lined up at the arrival control with everyone else I handed my scorecard in for the first of many times.
"Hello." Said the control worker. I knew that voice. It was Dave Fuss, Twin City Rally Club member whom I knew well. It felt good to see someone I knew just as I was about to set out. I remarked to him that it was nice to see a friendly face.
One by one the cars departed.
"Look at that." Dan muttered to himself as he watched a car leave. "No traction. It's taken over 20 seconds to do that 300 yards to the first corner."
The start line. The starter counted us down.
"Ten seconds!" His voice was clear despite the burbling engine note of the car and my crash helmet blocking other sounds out.
"Shit Dan! We've not turned the GoPro on!"
He calmly reached back and it beeped into life.
"...Four, Three, Two, One, GO!"
We're off.
I'm not going to bore you with a blow by blow account of the runs, you can watch the videos when I have finished the editing and posted them.
I wasn't nervous, not at all. The level of concentration it took to keep one eye on the notes and the other on the road obliterated everything else from my thoughts. I was peripherally aware of Dan working the steering wheel hard and at times I felt the back end slide around. It wasn't until I saw the in car camera footage that I saw how incredibly busy Dan was at the wheel. Occasionally I glanced up to see where we were and would catch a glimpse of one of the many snowmen the course workers had made along the route.
Just over 12 and a half minutes later we crossed the finish line. Stage 1 done. I've done something I never ever thought I'd do.
We were exhilarated. The conditions had been dire but SS1 was in the bag.
We were all allowed about half an hours respite before turning around and heading back. It was a chance for everyone to laugh and joke and compare experiences out there.

The car rests at the turn around.

Then it was back in the car to head the other way. The course looked totally different coming from the other direction. The abbreviated instructions to get us through "the complex" worked and I was now relaxed enough by the end of the stage to wave to my wife who was a stage worker on the last corner. In a smidge over 12 minutes after we left stage 2 start we were at the finish line. Our scorecard was marked and we headed to the mid event service. Even though we had completed two clean runs Dan wondered if perhaps we hadn't flattened a tire.

mid event service.

Ben was on hand at the service to check things over. No puncture, no damage. Perhaps a fender was a bit loose. I want to put out a big thanks to Ben for being there for the car on a Saturday afternoon in December in the middle of Minnesota.
A handful of trail mix and a Gatorade and we were off back to the stage. This time it was dark. The course once again would be totally different.
It was an eerie sensation watching the car headlights sweep across our field of view illuminating the way, sometimes things were a little indistinct, but my calling of the route helped to find the way. All to soon SS3 was over and there was another half hour break to chat and compare notes.
We pulled up to the start of stage 4.
The final stage.
We had 8 miles to go to finish our first rally together. Crashing off now is not an option. Not on the last stage. We had no idea how we were doing. If we had known we might have pushed harder and had an accident. The most important thing was to get to the finish. It was a cautious start, but after a while we were up to speed and Dan was in his groove. I'd seen his confidence grow in the last run. He went from repeating my instructions to him early in the run to asking for them by the end.
We weren't heroes entering the final corner but we sure as heck did gun it down the final 300 to the finish.
Now we were ecstatic! First bumps all round! We had finished our first rally together!
Heading back to the final control there were mixed feelings, we were happy that we had finished but the conditions had put paid to any fast times. We had enjoyed ourselves and had a good time overall.
The car was trailered and everyone gathered around for a final time to discuss the goings on. Cigars were passed around because I had completed my first rally. The camaraderie amongst the crews is something else. Everyone laughs and jokes together afterwards. Even during the service break there was sharing of tools and bits, everyone is everyones friend and we're are all out to have a good time. I was made to feel very welcome every step of the way, so a big thank you to all my fellow competitors, both drivers and co-drivers for that.
With cigars smoked and the world put to rights, we headed into the awards ceremony. I had no expectations of winning anything. This was a good competitive in class G2 so fourth or fifth would be very good according to Dan. So imagine my shock when after checking the results Dan walked over to me, shook my hand and said.
"Congratulations partner. Third in class. We scored a podium."
Seriously?
I was amazed. I wasn't prepared for that. Those conditions that were bad for us were just as bad for everyone else. We had made good decisions, worked well together and ultimately it paid off.

The happy crew of car #958 with their trophies

The trophy.

At the very start of this quest I labelled the experience "Interview at Nemadji". If we worked well together and were successful then I'd probably be in the co-drivers seat next year. I think I passed.
So with that, we will see you at the Headwaters Rally in Walker, MN in May.