Cape Fear No More

The final Cape Fear Rally has come and gone. It was number 10 and the last in a series of great rallies. I'm honored and happy I got to take part in this final event. For the last time the rally master (or as some like to call him rally bastard) Jim Bain and the Coastal Carolina Rally Krewe put on a rally like no other. This year it was participation by invitation. Not sure why Mr. Bain invited me (we have never met as I didn't make it to the finish last year - remember, mechanical issues!) but for some reason he took pity on me and maybe he figured that I should get a second chance...

Sunset on the thruway

On Wednesday afternoon April 15 I rolled out of the garage to ride over to my friends Steve and Lani. They live about an hour from Geneva, NY where my starting point was for the rally. Oh boy did it feel good to back on Blackie! As I rode down on the New York thruway I was enjoying the ride, marveling over how nice it was outside and that there was no snow to be seen, and Blackie started bunny hopping. I realized that I was running out of gas! Duh! Paying attention to when the gas light came on would have been good. So, I pulled over to the shoulder. Turned off the engine and called my friend Steve. Luckily I was not too far away from where he lives. He came to my rescue with some gas. While I was waiting for Steve I was watching traffic. You wouldn't believe how many people are either texting or looking at their cell phones while driving! It is insane! I saw a truck driver (big 18 wheeler) totally looking at his phone and not the road. Yikes! I also got to see this gorgeous sunset. Had a nice evening with Steve and Lani catching up and eating a yummy dinner. Slept like a baby.

Spent some time on Thursday looking at the rally book, the different bonus locations and trying to figure out the best route. A few things were painfully clear. I don't know squat about routing, my GPS is not ideal for rallies and the software it uses plainly sucks! Steve was trying to help me figure out things and get me going. Thankfully he has a great set up and we tried several different options of transferring from his computer to mine which wasn't the problem. The issue occurred in the routing software - it would not transfer the waypoints the way we set it up. Oh well! I finally got the route entered and decided that it is what it is. Had a lovely visit with Steve and Lani! Thanks again for your hospitality, for all the help and so great to see you both!

Ready to roll

 Friday morning it was time to head to Geneva for the start of the rally. Steve had decided to ride over with me even though he wasn't in the rally. It was sort of cool and misting outside. We got to the gas station where I was going to get my starting receipt and there were a few other riders there. I met funny guy Sal Terranova. What a hoot! I also put on my rain gear as the sky was starting to look very dark. Good decision, even though Sal called me a pessimist! Ha ha ha.

A little library

10 am came and off we went. After the starting receipt you  had to text the rally master your rider number, name, start time and odometer reading and then it was off to take the first photo which was of a statue called Peace. After that - it was a long ride. I  decided to skip the waterfall bonus and head west, mainly cause I wanted to score one of the Whispering Giants for the Team Strange Tour. Whoa! I can see how someone would think "why on Earth would she go get a Whispering Giant, it is not part of the rally". Well, there was no bonuses close by the starting location, other than the waterfall, so I figured I might as well put on some miles and grab the giant. This one located in Dunkirk. Now don't think I "wasted" all that mileage for nothing... I had a wild card located in Dunkirk - one Little Library. It rained the entire way from Geneva to Dunkirk. Just as it should be during Cape Fear.

 

Ong-Gwe-Ohn-Weh

Found the Little Library. Found the Whispering Giant. Was disappointed that it was covered in a wood box. But it still counts. Shortly after I left Dunkirk it stopped raining for a while. Had a lovely ride along the shoreline of Lake Erie. Continued on towards Pittsburgh where my next bonus was - another Little Library and then a plaque in a park. Right around Pittsburgh the sun came out and it got quite warm. When I got to the park for the photo of a plaque it was time to strip down and take the rain gear off. Continued on and got a few more bonuses.

Albert Gallatin

I really liked Friendship Hill in Pennsylvania. It is an historic site and the object of the bonus was to take a picture of the statue of Albert Gallatin. Truly enjoyed the ride through West Virginia. This state has some awesome roads! My route took me through hills and hollows, twisties and turns. Some of it after dark and quite interesting. At one point somewhere in the mountains - dark and yet fun - I must have crossed some gravel in the road because my rear tire slid out and luckily I was able to counter steer (and I didn't grab the break!) and continued on. My heart was pounding. Actually, quite an adrenaline rush! I had decided to take my rest bonus (worth a lot of points!) in Roanoke, VA.  I made it to the the hotel about 12:30 am. After a quick shower, I barely remember putting my head on the pillow. Out like a light!

Texas Tavern

Woke up five minutes before the alarm and ready to get going on Saturday morning. Enjoyed the sleep. I must be honest... I was beat when I rolled in to the hotel parking lot after midnight. It was clear that my body has not adapted to long rides yet after being off the bike for five months. Muscle memory takes awhile to come back. It was sunny and no need for rain gear. Hooray! Scored a few more

Proof that I was there

bonuses in Virginia. The first one in downtown Roanoke - the Texas Tavern. It sure smelled good from that place but no time to eat. As I was leaving this bonus location I noticed lots of people in running gear. Yep - there was a marathon that was about to start. So I got sent all around town in order to get out of there. I must say that Roanoke is a really cool looking town.  Once back on the road I headed for the historical marker for the Wreck of the Old 97 - a train that crashed in 1903 - in Danville. I asked a young man passing by if he could take my photo. He was intrigued with the whole event when I told him what I was doing. Now he was even more intrigued that I had ridden my motorcycle to his town, all the way from Vermont!  Snagged a few more bonuses before I crossed the border in to Cape Fear state - North Carolina.

Welcome to North Carolina

Wohoo! I was feeling good, doing good and enjoying the ride. Cruising down the highway just outside of Raleigh, heading towards the next bonus location, I went to change lanes and the rear tire of the bike felt really weird. I slowed down quite a bit and could feel the rear end wanting to fish tail so I pulled over in the shoulder. Got off the bike and noticed right away that I had a flat rear tire. Bummer! Got on the phone with the insurance company for road side assistance. Send tow truck, quick! Turns out I was only about 15 miles away from a BMW dealer. I called them to alert that I was going to "stop by" and Jon, the service manager, promised to get me in as soon as I got there.. Well, the tow truck took 1 1/2 hours to show up. Wasn't the drivers fault. The road side assistance operator gave him the wrong address for where I was. Ugh! But sometimes these things happen and I realized I wasn't going to make it to Wilmington, NC in time. No reason to be upset. So goes life. I am thankful that I realized what was happening and pulled over right away and that I didn't have a blow out doing 80 mph! That could have been bad. My guardian angels where with me.

Blackie on the tow truck

The tow truck showed up.  East Coast Towing. Not that I wish for anyone to have to utilize a towing service but this is a first class operation. Wayne, the driver was very nice and courteous and treated Blackie like it was his own bike He had a really cool attachment to secure Blackie and bring her on to the tow truck. Wayne felt so bad for me and for the fact that he had been sent to the wrong location. No worries We had a nice chat while he drove me and Blackie to the dealer Garcia Moto. What a place! They sell and service BMW, Ducati, KTM and Husqvarna. As soon as Wayne had Blackie off the truck Jon took her in to the service area. In the meantime I sent a text message to rally master Jim letting him know that I was out of the rally but would try to make it to Wilmington anyway. Met some really nice people while I waited for Blackie to get fixed up. Within the hour I was set to go and back on the road. It was unfortunate that I had ran out of time to make the 3 pm cut off. Oh well.

WE MADE IT!

A two hour ride brought me to Wilmington. Since I knew when I left Raleigh that I wouldn't make it within the time limit I didn't stop for any more bonuses. It sort of didn't make any sense. When I arrived at the Cape Fear Rally headquarters the scoring of the riders was in full swing. I saw some of my riding friends and also got to meet some that I only know from social media. It is always fun to meet the people you know form online. And I finally got to met the rally master himself - Jim Bain. What a jolly fellow (even though later that night during dinner when he was getting "roasted" it would be hard to believe he is actually a nice guy... ha ha ha.) He even gave me a hug!

Ronda, Jim & Jester

I went to see friends with whom I was spending the night. They recently moved to the area from Vermont. The shower felt heavenly and the snacks were tasty. It was nice to relax for a bit and just chill. I rode back to the hotel in time for the dinner, a very tasty BBQ! Lots of good food. Got to hang with my friends Lisa, Hammy and Molly and a bunch of nice folks I haven't met before. Once dinner was over it was time for some other good stuff. Marie Ann Peppers and Cinnamon from Ms. Marie's Peaceful Surroundings, an awesome animal rescue sanctuary, which is one of the charities supported by the Cape Fear Rally and rally participants told us how she met Jim and Ronda and how they became the parents of Jester. Then Jim and Ronda continued the story of how Jester became a family member. For people like me with soft warm hearts for animals and children it was hard to not cry but they were tears of joy. People who go above and beyond to help animals and children rate high in my book. The photo of Ronda, Jim and Jester was taken by Betty Ligons who gave her blessing for me to use it.

There were a lot of funny stories about previous rallies, mishaps and and I almost fell off my chair laughing when Chaz Fisher told the story about his first rally and his bike blowing up. And there were stories about

All 10 years rally shirts

lost wallets, forgotten rally flags and many great rides. It really was an honor to be sitting in the same room as many riders who have participated in all 10 rallies. There was some more roasting of Jim and then it was time for the results. There was the 10 hour mini rally and then the three different starting locations - Frostproof, FL, Brownsville, TN and Geneva, NY. Some of my riding friends placed well. I was just happy to be there and it doesn't matter to me that I didn't get to complete the rally. I did my best and sometimes things happen that are out of your control and I am glad it wasn't worse than a flat tire. It was a fun evening

After a good nights sleep and some tasty coffee I went out to brunch with my friends. It was a fantastic meal at a nice restaurant. While we were enjoying the food on the outside porch the first rain storm rolled in. I had checked the radar earlier so I knew it was only the beginning. Had a great time even though it was short. It was time to get back on Blackie and head home. I kid you not, I had not been on the road for more than five minutes and the skies opened up. It literally poured buckets and short of about 10 minutes, the entire ride from Wilmington, NC to Maryland was in pouring rain. Somewhere on the road I realized I had lost my SPOT. Dang!  I arrived at my friend Lisa's shortly after 9 pm and was relieved to be spending the night instead of riding in the rain. All of my gear got spread out all around the house to dry out. My so called water proof Klim gloves were completely soaked (disappointing). The Lee Parks gloves held up much better and they are not even water proof!

Woke up Monday morning and the rain had stopped. Hooray! Checked the radar and weather report for the ride home. Ooops. Chance of snow in southern Vermont. Oh well. Had a nice breakfast that Lisa prepared. Wish I could have stayed longer but I still had a seven hour ride ahead of me. Time to hit the road. The first 200 miles were dry and nice. I rode some of the back roads through Maryland and Delaware. It was glorious to see how far spring has come. Green lawns, cherry blossoms and

Rainbow over the Green Mountains

flowers blooming. Maybe I need to relocate a little south? Somewhere in the middle of New Jersey it started raining and it rained hard all the way to Albany, NY. Then came the wind gusts. I couldn't help but to laugh. It is par for the course that when I do long distance rides there is bound to be heavy winds at some point. But at least the sun came out and stayed with me until I entered Vermont. Right before I started the climb up to Woodford and Searsburg there was a beautiful rainbow. And then came the rain again. By now the temperature had dropped quite a bit and it was cold. Thankfully there was no snow and the roads where wet but clear. It was a chilly ride the rest of the way home and I was so happy to be pulling in to the garage and be out of the rain. After I unpacked and changed to dry clothes I went and got my dog Bailey. She had spent the days at a friends house. I jokingly say that she goes to camp. She likes it there and it always makes me feel better when I go on trips to know that Bailey is somewhere where she likes to be and where she is loved.

As I reflect over the trip, I think about the 2,100+ miles spent on Blackie, the great scenery I got to see, some of the hills and hollows I rode, fun roads, interesting bonus locations, nice people I met in the most unfortunate situation, good times with friends - both before, at and after the rally - how I got to be in the company of some really great long distance and endurance rally riders and be part of an event that is held in high regards by most riders who have participated in the Cape Fear Rally and enjoy some great camaraderie. I like to thank Rally Master Jim Bain for inviting me to the final rally, and for letting me spend my hard earned money on a kind of therapy that works for me - RIDING - and I hope he will get bored of not plotting and planning for a rally and come up with some new devious way of getting a group of people to anxiously await the stroke of midnight so they can register for an event that will be the beginning of new stories, memories and great rides. I for sure enjoyed this one.

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