The New England Minute Man & Saddle Sore 1K 2013

I have always enjoyed a good challenge and when I found out about the New England Minute Man and Saddle Sore 1,000 ride I was excited. Without hesitation I signed up for this ride. It is not really a rally but more of an adventure tour and scavenger hunt. To this particular event there are two portions. You can either do the Minute Man or the Saddle Sore.

I signed up for the Saddle Sore. The ride starts in Northampton, MA and takes you through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. You have to visit some required locations and do what the rally book says. You have 24 hours to ride a minimum of 1,000 miles. You start and end in the same location and during the ride you have five mandatory locations to visit and can also collect bonus points along the way. If you make it and meet the requirements you qualify for a Saddle Sore/Iron Butt Certificate and become a member of the Iron Butt Association - The Worlds Toughest Motorcycle Riders. While the true Iron Butt Riders do a gruesome 11 day ride and Saddle Sore riders only have to ride the minimum of 1,000 miles in 24 hours they do count us "mini me's" as members of this fine association.

Riders lined up to head out

The forecast for the weekend  was rain, rain and more rain. On the ride down to Northampton it rained so hard that I was actually asking myself why I was doing this. Forget waterproof gear! There was nothing stopping this rain from making its way in through jackets, pants, gloves and boots. Yay! Thankfully most of it dried overnight in the hotel room.

The required Maply Syrup

Pouring bucket Saturday morning made it for an interesting start with riders lining up, trying to show their rider number and not getting soaked. And off I went. Considering I had made the rookie mistake of not bringing an empty memory card for my camera I knew that the photo bonus locations were out of the question, except for maybe a little practice, so I focused on the bonuses that did not require a photo and of course the mandatory stops for the Saddle Sore. First required stop would be Carman Brook Farm in Swanton, VT (northwest corner of Vermont) to purchase some maple syrup to be turned in to the point counters at the end of the ride. Many miles later and a very wet ride mandatory stop number one was accomplished.

Hello my dear Kanc!

Motor on East towards New Hampshire for the next mandatory stop. Managed to find a few non-photo bonuses along the way. You learn as you go along. For some reason Blackie was running rough and I was not getting the regular mileage per gallon. I guessed a partially clogged air filter but didn't find it too alarming. We entered New Hampshire and time for the next mandatory stop in Lincoln. Get a receipt from a gas station. Piece of cake. Not! The gas pump where I took gas did not have the correct date and time. Shucks! I spotted an ATM and went to take out money as back up. Correct date and time on the receipt. Onwards and to one of my favorite roads - the Kancamagus Highway. Love this piece of road. Hardly any traffic and at one point the clouds actually gave away to some sunshine and the rain stopped. Big smile.

In Maine

Great ride over the Kanc and in to Conway, NH for a quick pit stop, check air in the tires (thank you Marco for reminding me!) and picking up another bonus by shopping in a Cumberland Farms. I got a water. Now it was actually getting a little sunny and warm but I figured better play it safe so I continued the ride with my rain gear on. In to Maine and through the lakes region which I love. Next mandatory stop was in Bangor. I felt that I was too far off any of the non-photo required bonus locations so I continued my ride and in a moment of not paying attention I got on the Maine Pike going the wrong direction! I did not ride to the next exit but instead authorized myself to turn where only authorize vehicles can. Dusk was looming and I really wanted to make my way to Bangor before darkness fell. As I pulled in to the required stop I found other riders there. Got my needed receipt, a cup of coffee and a quick bite to eat. Did some time calculations and realized I would not be able to take the rest stop bonus. Darn! It was worth 75,000 points! This bonus is not mandatory but very helpful in scoring lots of points. Next year...

It was starting to rain again and getting cold so saddle up and ride along. It would be quite a long ride before the next mandatory stop in Rhode Island so I decided to take the scenic route. Yes, it does sound like an oxymoron to say scenic when it is dark, but it just meant I stayed of the Maine Pike and rode secondary roads instead. Portland, ME was pretty at night. So was Portsmouth, NH. The little I could see of a lit up Boston in the far distance was nice too. I took the outer loop to not ride through the city. Time for gas, restroom and a cup of Joe at one of the 24 hour rest stop areas. The kid who served me the coffee was fascinated  with me riding for 24 hours. I turned out be the "cool chick".

Getting the required receipt in Wyoming, RI was easy and boring and then back on the road. Now I had no choice but to ride on I-95 to get to the final mandatory stop in Connecticut. There was a definite change in the air and I could feel the rawness of the ocean while riding along. Thankful for my heated gear and the fact that I had not taken my rain gear off the entire ride. And happy that my iPod was still having juice to play music. Before I knew it I arrived in Milford, CT at the 24 hour truck stop. Time for gas which also provided me with the needed receipt. A few other riders where there and we all decided to ride back to rally head quarters in a group.

Sunday morning ride back to rally head quarters

As the sun started to make its way over the horizon we rode our final miles. It was easy to see that everyone was feeling the miles and hours in the saddle. I was thankful to have company and something to stay focused on. We all arrived back in Northampton for the check in. Arrival time and odometer readings were logged and then it was time to go over everything in the rally book. Make sure all mileage and times were logged and written correctly. Number the receipts and items to be turned in. Then the waiting began... the scoring. Computer issues. Data bases issues. Connection issues. Sigh. Never has a nap on a hard conference room floor felt so good! I finally got scored and could go and lay down for real while waiting for the riders brunch.

When all was tallied, said and done I got 8th place in the Saddle Sore category and received my Saddle Sore/Iron Butt Certificate. I met some really nice and cool folks during this rally tour and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I now have the "bug" to do more rides like this. Even with the pouring rain for more than half of the ride it was still enjoyable, fun and an experience I can't wait to do all over again. And next year - PODIUM!!!

Darn proud!