Leg 2
August 27-Day 4 up at 03:30 for a quick shower then off to the 04:00 riders meeting. It started raining sometime in the night and looked like it was going to rain all day. After a quick riders meeting, they handed out the leg 2 bonus packets. Once they were handed out, everyone headed for their hotel room to plan their route. I worked on my route until 09:00 still not finished with day three or four but I knew I had to get going if I wanted to make my first two bonuses (both had time restrictions). I knew to make them I would have to average about 62 mph (doable). I was within 30 miles of my first bonus location when I hit a road close sign; several bridges were being worked on so I had to detour. I saw a fellow rider taking a picture of the road closed sign and reminded him that if there was away around the closed sign picture would not be accepted. I ended up getting to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Visitor Center 45 minutes later than I wanted too so I knew I had about 30 minutes to spare to get the Hobo Museum my second bonus. I picked up my receipt at the gift shop and off I went. I arrived at the Hobo Museum with 15 minutes to spare but they closed early. So I took a picture of the front of the building and went to the nearest gas station to get a receipt for my time stamp proving I was at the museum on time. After grabbing this bonus, it was off to the Horseshoe Casino and then set up for the barb wire museum in Kansas another time restricted bonus.
August 28-Day 5 started out getting to the barbed wire museum where I had to purchase a shorty barbed wire. After that it was off to Colorado for another time bonus, on the other side of Denver at the Coors Brewery Wellness Center. I made it with plenty of time so I picked up another daylight bonus the Public Safety Center close by and then I grabbed the Coachlight Motel and RV Park and Old Homestead House Museum. After bagging this bonus my GPS sent me out of town on a dirt road to my next bonus location. I stopped before turning on the dirt road and decided no way! I back tracked out because it was dark and no way to really see where I was going. My next bonus was the courthouse in Colorado Springs. After bagging that bonus, I want to get as close to Trinidad and the next bonus as possible. I was getting tired and decided to call it good at Pueblo, CO but just my luck the County Fair was going on and there wasn’t a room to be found. I ended up riding another 20 miles to Colorado City, CO.
August 29-Day 6 I made an adjustment on the fly to my route, I decided I needed to pick up more bonus point. I knew that I would come in right at the finisher level 27,000 using my current route. I grabbed the Ludlow Massacre Memorial outside of Trinidad, CO and instead of heading to Santa Fe; I turned for Fort Sumner and Billy the Kid’s grave site. I grab my picture and headed for Lincoln County Courthouse snapped a quick picture and headed for Los Lunas and the Burger King for a receipt. This is where I made one of my mistakes of the rally. If I would have headed south I could have picked up about 2500-3000 extra points, but didn’t realize until it was too late. After getting the Burger King bonus, I headed for my last daylight bonus Window Rock in AZ. I made it with 2 hours to spare, did my call in bonus and headed for Prescott, AZ and the Hastings Book, Music and Video store. I arrived just before mid-night took my picture and found a hotel asking for a 04:30 wake up call. Once in the hotel room, I was trying to see how I could add a few extra bonuses (tombstone OK corral, Geronimo Memorial and two others around Phoenix, AZ) before heading for the Salton Sea and Santa Ana, CA the second checkpoint.
August 30-Day 7 I jump out of bed I over slept by 30 minutes and decided that the extra bonuses were out. I was going to grab the Salton Sea bonus and head for the second checkpoint. This was going to make the last day a low point count but probably the right thing to do. So off I went heading for I-10 the back way. This was a great road for tearing up the tires but not for rallying. Early in the morning on mountain roads you eventually see deer and boy did I get an up close look at a few. After getting out of the mountains, I finally made my way back to I-10 and heading for CA. I remember laughing to myself about how I was going to get an early start and beating the heat, it was 108 degrees on I-10 and I still had to get the last bonus before heading for Santa Ana. So off I went to Salton Sea (the weirdest place I visited) It was supposed to be a big resort place that collapsed (not sure why). I snapped my picture of the sign “Welcome to Bombay Beach”. I remember thinking as I left who would ever live here? As I was on my way out, I saw Jeff and Milinda pass me. I arrived around 15:00, an hour before the checkpoint opened and 4 hours before penalty points started, so I checked into my room and verified all my data. I also went down to the bike worked on my electrical short in my running lights and called it good. I went to the scoring table at 18:00 and this time I didn’t miss anything and walked away a little disappointed only getting 28,683 points but at least this time I didn’t leave anything at the table. I did make that mistake in my route when I was in New Mexico but I was still over the minimum for finisher status.
So I went down double checked the bike, helped a friend with a tire change and headed for bed. I knew the next day would come quick.
Below is my bonis locations for Leg 2 and a map of my route the Blue is the Leg 2 bonus stops.
Leg Bonus Description Points Penalty
2 Checkpoint #2, Santa Ana, CA
2 Rest Bonus - Leg 2 4001
2 Hastings Books Music & Video 2211
2 Window Rock, Arizona 342
2 State Recreation Area 752
2 Ludlow Massacre Memorial 641
2 Old Homestead House Museum 3464
2 Public Safety Center 405
2 Wellness Center, Coors Brewery 1389
2 Coachlight Motel & RV Park 329
2 Courthouse Castle Rock 188
2 Horseshoe Casino 354
2 National Hobo Museum 4013
2 Barbed wire museum 4306
2 Austin Post Office 507
2 Calvary Cemetery 485
2 Historic Courthouse Lincoln 615
2 Billy the Kid grave 872
2 Burger King 206
2 Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center 991
2 Call-In Bonus 1 8-28-09 - Leg 2 499
2 Call-In Bonus 2 8-29-09 - Leg 2 501
2 Arrival Points - Leg 2 100
2 Gas - Leg 2 1500
Totals for leg 2: 28671
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