Escape to Wisconsin report. Our first D.N.F

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. Not terribly warm mind you, it was only 34F when I went out for my morning run. We even took our MGB out for a spin (with the roof up). It was looking like a great day for a road Rallye.

As we arrived at Paddy Ryan's bar in Hudson, WI we were even further cheered to see so many new faces turning up for their first attempt at road rally. Seventeen cars were registered for the event and about two thirds of them were new. Good news for anyone who would think that road rally is on the decline. The hope is, of course, that they come back for their second and third rallies. 

We were allocated number 17 to run as a kind of sweep to help out any of these newbies in case we found any looking lost by the side of the road. Our little Scion was not equipped to handle proper sweep duties like hauling someone back on to the road.

At 3pm we were treated to the sight of some 14 other cars heading out on the rally. As the last car, we waited around with paperwork just in case the late arrivals turned up. They didn't, so at our appointed time we set out. 

It had been a long time since our last rally so we used the odo check leg to get used to reading the instructions and communicating the information needed between the two of us, and by the time we reached the start point of the rally we were feeling pretty good about how things would go.

The sight that greeted us at the start point was quite impressive. A line of many and varied cars, Porsches, Subarus, a brand spanking new Camaro, a Fiat 500 and even a Mazda MX-5 with the roof down. Of which mention has to be made of the crew of Randall and Van Hagen for staying out with the top down. The cars heater was needed, but not all the time apparently. It did kind of make me feel like we should have taken the MGB. But as any MGB owner will tell you, the heaters in one of them aren't the best.

As the rally route unfolded in front of us we were treated to sweeping vistas, and steep hills both up and down. Grit and dirt on these steep hills from winter road care made me wonder if we wouldn't come across a car that had run off the road at one of the many hairpin bends on these slopes.  
Running last, we were presented with reasons to take time delays wether it be passing information between control points or getting stuck behind farm equipment and locals out for a leisurely drive. Sometimes I'd sit back and take the delay and sometimes I'd try and get back the time. I found it very hard to be disciplined enough to stay back and keep the delay constant. In the end trying to get back the time probably contributed to our downfall, but we weren't to know that at the time.

One of the most enjoyable parts of a road rally is the breaks along the route, where you get a chance to mix with the other entrants to share experiences, socialize, and make new friends. As for the most part before the race you spend so much time going over the rally instructions it's difficult to find time to stop and chat. Even by the first rest stop in Knapp there were stories to share of wrong turns and other hiccups. 

The second rest stop in Menomonie is the one that the wife and I look forward to the most. For UW-Stout there is where we first met. There have been changes in the town but it still looks like the place we hung out together all those years ago. 

With memory lane tripped along we joined the other competitors at Riverside Park in the town. We had a chance to socialize a bit more and I even met a rally beginner who was a reader of this blog! I know many of the local Rallye regulars read along with this to humor me, but to meet someone you don't know who reads and enjoys these ramblings makes you feel pretty good. The clear consensus among the entrants was that everyone was enjoying themselves. So hopefully everyone will come back for more.

One by one the cars headed out on the third leg of the rally. We were feeling pretty good about our progress not knowing we were about to become very disappointed. 

The hilly nature of the course has been noted already and our little Scion, with almost a quarter of a million miles on it, was certainly feeling every one of those miles, and a short distance before the final timing control the car gave a cough, the check engine warning light came on and it decided to travel at no more than 30 mph. I suspected that perhaps we'd cooked the automatic transmission fluid, but when the check engine light comes on for something as innocuous as not getting the fuel filler cap on correctly you can't be too sure. So we forlornly coasted into the timing control and told Rallymaster Clarence Westberg of our woes and that discretion was the better part of valour and we'd withdraw and limp home. 

Suspecting the tranny fluid as the issue we rested up in Elmwood to give things a chance to cool down. Restarting the car after 10 minutes or so my suspicions were sort of confirmed as the warning light stayed off. I suppose we could have rejoined the rally but knowing there would be more of the same hilly terrain in the next section, and not wanting to make things any worse (should it not have been the tranny fluid) we drove away from Elmwood. It did not help our low spirits to see the cars lined up ready for section four as we turned right up Highway 128 and headed away out of town.

Our first D.N.F.  The drive back was glum and quiet. Not even the sight of the Wallace and Grommit Austin A40 Van on our Garmin could raise a smile amongst us.

By the time we reached Elk River, 20 miles from home we had cheered up enough to get some amusement from our Garmins breathy pronunciation of the words Ramp (R-Haamp) and Ten (T-Hen).

Now a few days later things aren't so bad and we are looking forward to our next event. Very probably the Waterloo rally in Iowa on May 17th. I'm sure we'll get the Automatic transmission fluid refreshed before then.

Spring has sprung.

The title of this post is not a sad pun on anything that has happened to the suspension of our car on an event. Far from it. We haven't even been out on a Rallye since our time assisting on the Lucas Flamethrower.

At long last the snow is disappearing from Minnesota and the Spring time road rallies are starting to appear. These are the ones in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area aver the next few weeks.

April 26th Escape to Wisconsin out of Hudson, WI

May 3rd Badger Burrows, Madison, WI

May 17th Waterloo, Davenport IA.

I fear that work commitments may well preclude me from entering all of these events. But after what has seemed an age without anything going on it is good to have activity again.

Springtime also sees one of the great European classic car rallies. The Tulpenrallye, or Tulip Rally in the Netherlands. This years event runs from May 4th to 10th starting in the Netherlands, passing into France and Germany before finishing in Noordwijk in the Netherlands. 

The Tulpenrallye was first run in 1946 which was among the "golden years"of road rallying. Winners in the past have included legendary rally names like Roger Clark, Walter Rorhl, Timo Makinen and Pat Moss. However since 1992 the rally has been limited to cars built before December 31st 1971, and the event became known as the Historic Tulip Rally. 

Rules for the event are pretty strict. You can't use cellphones (only in an emergency) and the timing and measuring equipment is limited too, These restrictions however, don't have an effect on the number of entries. There are 216 entrants in four classes for the 2014 event. 

The event can be followed through its website, Tulpenrallye.nl where you can select an English language version of the site, there is also a full set of race regulations on the website to follow. On the other hand, if you have an iPhone there is an App for the Rallye available from the App store. With it you can review the entrants, keep up with their progress, and watch videos of the event too.

Perhaps the Tulpenrallye should be on my road rally bucket list. All I need to do is find a family member or friend with a pre-December 1971 car who will let the wife and I drive it through Europe for four days.

Classics come to Minnesota

This advert appeared in this months Classic and Sports Magazine. A Trans America Classic car rally. The cars registered include a 1936 Bentley and an Aston Martin DB6 Vantage. The entrants include a one time English political leader, now a Lord. The cars should be in Minnesota about the 17th June. Maybe book the day off work to see some great classic cars.

I'll be lost without (my) Tulips

Disturbing news reached me earlier this week. "Tulip" the road book creator App for the iPad had disappeared from the Apple App Store. This news was further compounded by the fact that the website of the developer, Longhaul software had disappeared too. If this App is lost to Rallymasters it will be a sad day indeed. This was a very handy piece of kit. Simple to use, it made producing, and sharing Road Rally instructions an easy task. You could take your iPad out on a route recconaissance, plot the route and make edits as you went along. It was certainly invaluable during the Rum Runner Rallies development. 

There is other software out there for producing Rally Roadbooks. But nothing specifically for the iPad as far as I can see. It will be interesting to see if the App returns or a replacement appears. As the last time the IPad OS upgraded Tulip didn't function and had to be upgraded too. What will happen during the next major iOS upgrade? I may have to buy myself a new iPad so I can keep the old one with the old OS just so I can keep using Tulip.

Above: It was simplicity itself to produce a page like this using Tulip

Keeweenaw Winter Rally report.

My thanks go out to Jay Nemeth-Johannes, Navigator of the winning car at the Keeweenaw Winter Rallye for providing this write up on the day. There is no doubt that everyone had a good time.

On Friday afternoon, Jim Jurgenson and I packed up his WRX and headed out on the 5 hour drive north from Milwaukee up to Houghton, Michigan.  We were off to run the 19th Annual Keweenaw Winter Rally on March 15.  This was the second attempt because the original date of Feb 22 had been cancelled due to –cough-cough- too much winter.  Seven foot snowdrifts had blocked most of the course and rallymaster Scott Carlborn was forced to postpone the event.

The drive up was uneventful, except that there was a freezing rain when we reached the Upper Peninsula that made it difficult to keep the windshield clear.  Got a good night’s sleep and then met Clarence and Kate Westberg at Suomi’s for some Swedish pancakes.  Suomi’s is as much of a Houghton rally tradition as Cornish pasties and is highly recommended.  We all decided we were both running in unfamiliar territory, so we would enter the same class and compete against each other.  Clarence was experimenting with GPS measurements and the program he is developing.  We had the Timewise 798, but Jim was driving for the first time in 20 years and I am usually the driver.

Nine cars registered with 2 in equipped, 1 limited, 3 in stock and 3 novices.  Scott had a short rally school and explained the road conditions out there before we all headed off into the Michigan wilderness.  The odo check went smoothly and 9 cars gathered at the end point.  Clarence and Kate were up front doing lead car duty, and Jim and I were at the end, doubling as sweep.  Fortunately, Scott’s course was bulletproof and we were never called on to round up lost souls or pull anyone out of a ditch.

The roads were utterly fantastic.  2-4 inches of fresh snow lay on top of a packed base.  We seldom saw bare pavement, even on the county highways.  The skies were clear all day and the countryside sparkled with reflected sunlight.  The course took us through a lot of forested areas, where the trees came right up to the road.  There were a lot of curves and elevation changes, just what we were hoping for.  The CASTS were all around 40-50 MPH, and that led to some tail out drifts and a few near yumps.

One issue we ran into was that the fresh snow would pack into our wheel wells and turn into ice.  After a few hours, we had no suspension travel left and the ride became very rough.  The weather also had caused a lot of frost heaves to develop, making this a definite e ticket ride.  

The control workers were well trained and friendly.  Scott used stickers with out times and everything ran smoothly.   Locations were good, usually on straight sections where you could see the control ahead and adjust speed.  We stopped for a meal break in Kenton at a bar called Hoppys.  The entry fee included a chili lunch, and whomever was responsible really knew how to make a good chili.  It had a nice level of spice and a good mix of meat and beans.  We spent 45 minutes visiting with the other teams, and then back out feeling refreshed.

We picked up a few points here and there, trying to adjust our correction factor to the changing conditions, but mostly Jim and I were just learning how to work together.  As the event went into evening, a full moon rose.  Everyone was marveling at it while waiting out times.  The moon was bright enough that we didn’t bother to mount the driving lights, and usually didn’t even turn on the high beams.  We sailed through the evening section and even finished off the second last leg with a 0.

We arrived back at the hotel a bit after 9 and were told to order quickly, because the kitchen was going to close soon.  They had a nice shepherd’s pie on the menu, and the burger was also tasty.  Scott had scored off the logs, so results were ready very quickly.  Scott had arranged for several sponsors to provide door prizes and people got to select in inverse finish order.  There were some very nice prizes.  In addition, anyone wanting one could have an LSPR t-shirt.

When all was said and done, we managed to finish first overall, but it was a matter of chance that we beat Clarence and Kate.  Both of us were experimenting with teams and equipment and left lots of room for the other team to win.  More important was that everyone was all smiles at the end and talking about the wonderful roads and the quality event that Scott put together.  I look forward to running it again.

Results

Class A:
1st Jurgenson/Nemeth-Johannes 35 


              2nd Westberg/Westberg         40

Class B:
1st Mroz/Bialas            587

Class C
:1st Ayers/A. Johnston             198

             
2nd G. Johnston/Frydrych 454


             3rd Yarroch/Paulowich           657

Novice:
1st Shapton/Shapton         586


             2nd Wood/Wood         835


             3rd Vickery/Daughery         1143

Below: Some scenes on the Rally courtesy of the winning team of Jim Jurgenson and  Jay Nemeth-Johannes.

Above: Driver Jurgenson clears ice from the wheel wells of his car.

How I went from my first Road Rally to Rallymaster in 12 months. (part 1)

On September 28th 2013, I was stood at timing control one watching the first car arrive, and get timed on the first Rum Runner Road Rallye. I have to admit to feeling somewhat pleased with myself. After all. I had only been road rallying a year and here I was, my first road rally as Rallymaster. I glowed internally with pride for a few seconds and then got in my car and zipped off to check on the other control point workers.

It was, indeed, exactly 12 months to the day since my wife and I had competed in the Coulee Classic Road Rally, and we were immediately taken with the sport. I’ve always loved driving around, discovering new roads and new scenery, not knowing what was around the next corner. The family Sunday afternoon drive was a staple of growing up. I’m lucky that my wife, Lorrie also enjoys getting out and about enjoying the countryside. The fact that there is a type of motorsport out there where one can drive around on new roads not knowing what’s around the next corner was for me, too good to be true.

Everyone was so friendly and welcoming at that event, making us feel a part of the crowd that I quickly joined up with the Twin City Road Rally club, and attended the monthly meetings which were really just an excuse for a drink, good meal and a natter. Being in with the club we learned more about what to do and competed in a few more road rallies in the midwest. But for us, living North of Minneapolis it was never a short drive for us to get to an event. Ninety minutes was the shortest drive I think, more than two hours was regular. I started to figure that the only way to get an event that I would have a shorter drive to would be to put one on myself. I dropped this nugget into a TC Rally Club Facebook conversation one day and before I knew it the next rally club meeting was devoted to how to put on a road rally. Lorrie and I were the only others who turned up, so we got a lot of one-to-one advice. So much information was thrown at us it was just a blur at times. Much of this we’d pick up later as things progressed.

First thing was to join the SCCA, the governing body. You have to be an SCCA member to get the event sanctioned and insured, in case of any mishaps. So I sent in a family membership for Lorrie and I. 

“Why did you do that?” I was asked when I presented her with her membership card. I explained it was no more expensive as a family than for me as a single. Besides, if we were to put on a Road Rally it might be more advantageous for both of us to be members. You, dear reader, should note this apparent lack of enthusiasm with scenes I shall relate that occurred a few months down the road.

So, in my spare time I would go for drives around Princeton looking out potential rally roads and started to read old rallye books for ideas looking at how things were done in the olden days, what I’ve read in these books has definitely shaped how the Rum Runner series of events are developing. 

When I started out I had no idea what made a “good rally road”. We’ve driven on some wonderful scenic roads in Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, along the Mississippi river and close by on the rallies we’ve taken part in. But there was nothing like that around Princeton. Then as I was driving round I began to realize that if I’m enjoying driving the section of road then surely rallye entrants would enjoy them too. Sure enough, interesting fun bits of road began to manifest themselves. Using iPad Apps like Google Earth and Pocket Earth along with RallyTracks on my iPhone plotting a Rallye route became quite easy, and I soon ended up with a course that I thought people might enjoy. 

Then it became time to get a second opinion. I took Lorrie out on the course to see what she thought. At this point we still only had no more than four rallies under our belts, but we knew what we liked.

As we cruised around the course Lorrie started to share her opinions and I began to realize that her seeming lack of interest of a few months previous had disappeared. 

“Your checkpoint needs to be over there, around that corner. They won’t be able to see it as they approach from here.” 

“This is good. They might not even see the turn down to the checkpoint.”

Someone was clearly enjoying this road rally lark more than they were letting on. 

With that, we had a rallye. Now it was time to start organizing properly. Organising properly means paperwork.

But let's leave that for another day...

This weekends fun and games

The road rally circuit moves on to Houghton, Michigan for the Keeweenaw Winter Rally. Postponed from two weeks ago due to heavy snow. There's still a lot of the white stuff about to make the event fun. It's a days drive for us out to the UP of Michigan so we're passing this year, being unable to get the day off work. Maybe next.
I'll look forward to seeing pictures.