2007 Minuteman 1000
I write to remember.
I write to encourage others to remember and share their stories.
That’s how we learn.
Before I get carried away, I want to express my greatest thanks and appreciation to Rob Nye and all the Minuteman 1000 Rally staff for another great event. You have started and maintained such a great tradition for all to enjoy.
Special thanks to MAX BMW for their unselfish and unyielding support for the Minuteman 1000 Rally. Thanks for the host hotel upgrade….very nice indeed.
Congratulations to all the finishers. I only hope you had as much fun as I did.
The usual Minuteman 1000 routes, by nature, will lead you around New England, which is my normal m.o., but this year I would ride mostly upstate New York. The route sheets revealed several interesting bonus locations along the Northern boundary of the Adirondack Park and then over by the St. Lawrence Seaway. It would be new turf for me. I was looking forward to it.
Rallies to me are never really about trying to choose the “winning route”, but more like engaging in a very disciplined tour.
I mostly pick bonus location because of their interest to me, either because of geography or history. Not the best of tactics, but I have lots of fun.
But today, with good weather predicted to the West. Desirable bonuses with the added goodness of decent point value, it has the makings of a good rally. Even my kind of rally…..we’ll see.
05:30 6/9
It’s foggy, with a slight drizzle, but at least it ain’t raining. Much better than last year, and that’s all I got to say about that.
Because of the pre-rally listing of the bonus locations, I had my basic route planned. Nothing stated at the pre-start rider’s meeting was to change anything.
We formed into three columns and waited for the start. We would leave 3 at a time, at 1 minute intervals. Of course, when it was my turn, I stalled the engine. What a dope……
06:03 6/9
My plan was to head North from Mass on I-91 then to I-89 into Vermont. The Joseph Smith Monument sounded interesting cuz our boy Mitt is in the current Presidential Sweepstakes. So a Mormon bonus was a must see. A short hop landed me in Brooksville, home of the Floating Bridge (submerged is more like it.) You should GOOGLE this thing. Only in New England. Royalton and my first gas stop….check receipt…time, odo, location. Cool. On to Swanton.
I had been to the Carmen Brook Farm before, so to me this was an easy 1500 points, (not that I was counting). Real maple syrup. How does anyone enjoy that imitation crap from the grocery store? “this stuff is gold, Jerry, GOLD”
By now, any earlier overcast has given away to a fabulous blue sky and small puffy clouds. It just don’t get any better, (well, maybe $1.50 a gallon gas would be better) but not much else. Naturally I have to ruin the moment by realizing I have to pee so bad I can’t sit full weight on my seat, and it’s row after row of residential neighborhoods, no wooded areas and it’s now midday and people are home and up and about in their yards. The pain was getting brutal. I even thought of just stopping at some house and see if they would let me use the bathroom. Probably not. As fate would have it, suddenly I was at a McD’s. Well it shouldn’t be a total loss….”big mac, no cheese, small lemonade, please.”
Yum-o
(sorry Ms. Ray)
Across the islands of Lake Champlain and into New York. Life is Good……..
Next stop is Chateaugay State Prison (excuse me, Correctional Facility) in Chateaugay New York. Who’d have thought.
At this point I should probably mention that this year’s rally theme is Crime and Punishment. Which rightfully would lead a rider to assume he/she would be visiting a collection of prisons. Which nowadays can get a little dicey in this post 9/11 climate. With that being said, I now needed to photograph, with bike and flag, the entrance sign for Chateaugay Prison. You know, the one next to the other huge sign that proclaimed; “Go Away…Absolutely No Trespassing.” So I took my photo and boogied. But as I rode away, I did keep an eye on my rearviews…..
I was increasingly getting behind schedule because you can never maintain the same pace on the road that you so easily mapped out the night before in the hotel room. But if you just keep moving, you’ll be alright. My problem is I tend to futz around at each stop and burn more time than I should. I need to work on that.
The next stop on Rob’s “Magical Slammer Jammer Tour” was Ogdensburg. Yes, another prison to photo with bike and flag. It took me longer to find it than I would have liked, but that’s life without GPS. Into the visitor parking lot, position myself with the Visitor Processing Center sign, keep my 20 paces and click, I’m on my way. If someone was watching me from inside, they just didn’t care.
Route 11 along the seaway was a great ride. Smooth road, little traffic. I was impressed at the beautiful homes and manicured lawns that lined the river banks. Some really fabulous real estate. Stay focused dummy, this ain’t no garden tour… Next was Morristown and a gas stop.
All was good except when I asked for a receipt, the clerk tells me that lightning had struck the building the day before and the gas pump computer receipt generating thing-a-ma-bob would not print. Boy, I wish I had a dime for every time I heard that one…. So she gives me a register receipt, and I document all the info I can. Hope it’s good enough.
16:00 6/9
It is now two hours later than it should be for where I am. Goose Bay and Auburn are the money cards. The city of Bath ….maybe, if time allows. Find route 12 and get going. Like the route sheet says, Goose Bay is not really a town, just a group of summer camp cottages on the river. I locate the abandon cottage with hand pump out front….snap photo….record info on route sheet and be gone. As testimony to how nice a riding day it was, you have to realize how far behind I was, but I did’t care. I was having such a great ride. And rally.
Now at this point, if I had the gumption to ride to Philly, it would be worth a hefty point Combo Bonus. Sad to say, I had no interest in going to Philly. “I went to Philadelphia one time….and it was closed!!” – WC Fields. My thoughts exactly. My plan was to finish my Upstate route and grab the rest bonus. Slide back to Northampton and call it a day. ….so much for plans.
Where I wanted to go was Black River and photo the P.O. Well, I found the P.O. but no where on the building does it say where or what it is. So somehow I had to line up the building, the bike with flag and the only sign out by the road. I finally got the photo I wanted, but as usual, too much time had passed. GET GOING !!!!!!
Follow route 3 through Watertown and south on I-81 to Auburn. Easy looking on the map. Route 3 through town had NO pavement, NO shoulder, NO nothin’. I kept looking for David E B Smith’s “Bad Route Road” sign, cuz it sure fit. Finally, back on pavement and the interstate. South to Syracuse and west to Auburn.
The Auburn State Prison bonus was not only worth a lot of points (500) but it also had that added historical trivia component I always enjoy. The first electric chair execution took place here on August 6, 1890. William Kemmler was sentenced to death for committing a brutal axe murder. Unfortunately it did not go too well. The story goes that the generator failed before Mr. Kemmler was dead. After restarting the generator, he was zapped a second time. And we have all been quite consumed with Alternating Current ever since. I’m ready for the rest bonus now. But first, a quick side trip to Russia.
This bonus was suppose to be maybe 8 miles off the interstate for a simple photo of a “Town of Russia” sign. It’s now way after dark so clearly we have switched over to the evening portion of our program. Everything always takes longer in the dark…or something silly like that. I actually found the town of Russia after a much needed fuel stop in Poland. As an odd side bar here. The only station I could find for gas was closed, but much to my relief, the pumps were still on for Pay- At-The-Pump service. It was here that I received the best fuel receipt of my rally…all required info nicely printed and no additions or corrections needed. This from a station that was closed!! It was a Sunoco station. I made a note of it. I try to remember brands that have good or bad receipts for future reference. Back to work.
As you may have already figured out, this bonus was a typical “not as easy as it first appears” type bonus. Once I was in the Town of Russia, there were no signs to satisfy the bonus requirement. After stopping and asking some local folks gathered outside a church, I was to learn they had never seen a “Town of Russia” sign anywhere. Thankfully one of the gentleman did give me directions to the “Town of Russia Highway Department” building, but that of course was in Poland, New York. Go figure.
I never did find the Town of Russia Highway Department, but I did find a sign for some park that proclaimed “Town of Russia”. Yes, I was in Poland. But the Russians have always been in Poland…. Sorry, time to go.
00:38 6/10
I found my way back to the Thruway and headed east. I would stop at the first Service Plaza to claim my Rest Bonus, (a mere 2000 points). Food, fuel and a safe place to nod off. I walk into the Roy Rogers, order a sandwich and saved the receipt. Time to relax and enjoy the 2 hour rest bonus. I was totally alone in the restaurant, so I parked it in a booth with a long bench seat. Perfect to grab some shut eye. I wasn’t really planning on any amount of solid sleep, I didn’t feel tired, and sleeping on a bench just wasn’t that comfy. Besides I thought for sure some clerk would approach me with the inevitable “ hey pal, you can’t sleep here.” I thought, I’ll just close my eyes and let natural causes wake me.
Not so much. THREE hours later. No one bothered me, and clearly I was more tired than I thought. Classic rookie mistake, but that was little comfort since this was my eighth 24 hour rally, and my fourth MM1000. What was I thinking? After the mild panic subsided, I realized that the two remaining possible bonuses in my plan would have to be dumped. My focus would be to return to Rally HQ safely and not get time barred. Damn, it had been a great rally so far, I hate to have to rush it now. Never mind that, pack up and get going !!!
I was in Herkimer NY with 170 odd miles and just shy of 2 ½ hours to close the gap between me and Rob’s stop watch. Rule #1: Keep moving.
Rule #2: Only rule #1 matters.
At least it was all interstate back to rally end. It was o’dark thirty, so there was little to no traffic. I pushed the old shovel as safely as I could. I was fearful of doing +10 or even +5, because I would be an easy target. Single motorcycle, no place to hide, but any LEO fears vanished quickly when a New York State Police wagon flew by me in one big hurry. I don’t know what he was chasing, but it weren’t me. Past Albany and now make my way to the Mass Pike. It was now early morning and not really light yet, but I could see deer just along the tree line. One doe did leap and run across the highway, but it did so far enough ahead of me with a clear path that I was able to cruise by without incident. One of many praises. I had now stopped looking at my clock. Just ride. One last fuel stop. Check receipt. Get going.
At least the Mass Pike is free from I-91 west, so I was treated to “no charge” when I got off to run the last few miles north to Northampton and the finish. The weather was clear and warm. So that was a good thing. Arriving 6 minutes late, not so good. But I was not complaining, it could have been worse. I was safely back at Rally Central and thankful for a great ride.
06:09 6/10
There are several riders that I have met and remain friends with through participation in this rally. I enjoy that. They are loyal supporters of the MM1000, and even when they can’t compete, they come to volunteer and/or lend their support. When I returned Sunday morning, some of those riders were there, it was good to see them. Joe, Grayson, Alex et al. It is part of the reason I look forward to this rally, so much, each year.
In the final analysis, I finished 22nd, which is way down the list, but I had a great ride and lots of fun. Good job to all.
Some lessons learned….again:
· There must be something wrong with my speedometer, teenagers in Dodge Neons, roll by me like rockets on rails. Maybe they just drive really fast……
· Need to get a “Meanie”
· I really, really need to do something about my limited fuel capacity.
· Wearing goggles is not that comfortable anymore….it may be time for a new helmet.
Some positives:
· New electronic ignition worked flawlessly.
· I fabricate a new plexiglass map window which worked very well, except for the sun glare.
· The childrens plastic pen & pencil zip pouch worked great for protecting photos and receipts. Thank you LDRiders list.
All in all. Another banner weekend rally !!!!!!! See you all next year, and some of you in St. Louis.
Mark W. Collins
Kingston, Mass
