Albuquerque, New Mexico, Friday October 4th. We arrive at the Rally hotel at about 3:30 in the afternoon, having ridden from Green River, Utah that day. We left my apartment in Milwaukie, Oregon about 3:30 Wednesday afternoon. Janene is riding her 2000 Bandit 600S and I�m riding my 1982 GL-500 SilverWing. This is the first LD rally for us both, and we are excited and apprehensive. As we are getting un-geared, a big, tall old guy walks over and introduces himself as Jeff Foster; the Rally Bastard, whoops, Master himself! He tells us where to check in, and lets us know that Jason Jonas went down on his odometer check ride, right on the I-40 entrance ramp. Jeff warns us that the ramp is under construction and is a mess.
We�re a bit tired from the ride, and while we are getting checked in and getting our rally shirts, we decide to get the 30-mile odometer check loop out of the way. We head around the side of the motel, to the inspection area, and get the bikes checked in. A quick tech inspection and odometer reading and Rick Morrison is telling me about the odometer ride, and again cautioning me about the freeway entrance ramp. Finally, we re-gear and take off for the odometer check loop.
All the way in this afternoon, Janene and I have been dreading doing this loop. We are tired after 1,400 miles of riding, hungry and just want to get our motel room, and a good meal. On the other hand, this IS the start of the rally, and damn if I�m not ready for it. Everyone was right, the entrance ramp was nasty, and Janene and I got separated getting on I-40 east bound. No problem, we�ve ridden together enough, I just slow down, knowing she will catch up when she can. Sure enough, here she comes. Going down the freeway, I�m talking to my self; �I�m doing a rally here!� I�ve been waiting for this day for over a year, and I�m enjoying even this part of it. We go to exit 178 and as we pull off, Janene comes zooming up beside me, cheering and grinning like a Cheshire cat. �I just hit 30,000 miles!� she tells me, �Right as we came off the exit!� I grin like an idiot, and give her a big thumbs-up. We pop over the freeway, and back to the motel, and both comment that it seems like the 30 miles were over before they started. It�s amazing how distance really is relative, and by the end of this trip, 100 miles does not seem that far.
We check into the motel, get diner and pop over to Target for some last minute purchases before the 7 PM riders meeting. Bonus listings are passed out and Ira Agins, the Route Master explains the rules and we head back to the room for route planning. I had done some simulated planning, using the Hopeless Rally package located on the Internet, and it really helps me now. I made copies of the New Mexico map from my Atlas, and using these, first I marked off the four �Trails�, each with a different colored highlighter. Next, I marked the bonus locations, with another color. To complete the Rally, you have to complete two Trails. Looking them over, looking at bonus locations, and hoping to find warmer weather, we both chose to do the two Southern loops; the SW Trail first, and the SE Trail second. I wrote down the stops I needed to make on a separate piece of paper, and marked my base route on the map, and then put both in my tank bag map case. I decided to do both Trail loops in a clockwise direction, my only reason being that at the end of the rally, when I was tired, I wanted to be on the Interstate, and not some 2-lane back road.
Janene and I had decided long before hand that we were going to run the rally independently. We had somewhat different goals, and it would be easier for us both if we did not feel we needed to watch out for the other. I wanted to get a few bonuses, and Janene really just wanted to do just the base routes. It worked out really well, and I�m glad we chose to run the rally this way.
Janene had been re-packing for the rally while I did my routing, and now I re-packed while she did hers. I wanted to limit my luggage to my tank bag and tail trunk, which meant a bunch of stuff wasn�t going with me. Since I planned to do the mid point rest bonus, I could leave some things in the room and pick them up at the mid point if needed. I went with my gold iridium helmet shield for the first part, and changed to the clear shield at the break. With careful packing, I was able to get everything in, leaving some room for the extra clothes I would be wearing in the morning. Finally, around 10, we are as ready as we�re going to be, and hit the sack, hoping to get 7 hours or so of sleep. Yeah, right. I actually got about 5 or so, which is a heck of a lot more than I�ll get in the next 36 hours.
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