Butt Lite IX Recap - Day 1 - We're Outa Here

As usual, I woke up about 5 minutes before my alarm was set to go off on Sunday morning.  We would be starting at 8:00am sharp with a mandatory rider meeting in the parking lot at 7:30.  Pack, load up the bike, set GPS units on, fill and place water jug, slam down a darn good breakfast, checkout.  A lot to do before 7:30.  Oh, the breakfast buffet had foil wrapped sausage and egg burritos. Score!  I discretely slipped 4 of those puppies into my jacket pocket as they are perfect for chowing down on as you're rolling down the highway.

Approaching 7:30 fast, riders began to gather in the parking lot for last second instructions.  Anticipation was high that the Rallymasters would spring some sort of twist to the rally during this meeting.  Thankfully no surprises were revealed.

Credit: Rick Corwine

Karen McCauley & Mariah Thompson (youngest participant ever)
Credit: Rick Corwine

The meeting lasted less than 10 minutes so we all set in to wait for 8:00 in the parking lot.  No one wanted to leave in case the cones were picked up early and we were released.  Resolution set in that we were about to do this for real.  A year of anticipation and preparation was ticking down to zero.  Eighty-seven bikes (including a trike and a Spyder) stood by to launch.

This was not going to be an orchestrated departure with police escorts like the IBR.  At 8:00 am the cones at the end of each parking lane would be picked up and it was wide open.  We were expected to be professional and courteous as we made our way out and everyone was to no surprise.

First stop was across Lexington to the campus of the U. of Kentucky to photograph the football stadium.  I imagine that it was quite a site as 80 or so motorcycles made haste from the hotel to the stadium.  The bonus value was only 1 point but it became a critical piece of the Stadium Combination Bonus (9 of 14 SEC Stadiums visited = 2500 points).

Departing Lexington (which is absolutely maddening when you're in a hurry) I picked up US60 heading off to my next bonus.  US60 fed into one of the best features of riding in Kentucky, the Parkways.  In this case it was the Blue Grass Parkway that resembles a interstate class highway with no one on it.  You can cover ground quite quickly as rabbits (cage speeders) come and go routinely.

Nearing Mammoth Cave National Park I exit I-65 behind two other riders.  This would be Garmin pain spot #1 as all of our multiple gps units point us towards a small unmarked local road.  The state route wound around the small hill/mountain whereas this local road went over it.  The twists and turns to go up the hill was a real time suck and was indicative of what was to come in this rally.  "That's where the magenta line was going so I followed." said far too many riders including me.

After getting back on track the WFC bonus was nearby. We had to take a picture of the grave stone of a local cave explorer.  I was encourged that I arrived just ahead of super big dawg Eric Bray. I took it as a sign that I was on the right track.  Of course, he probably had already visited 5 bonuses by now.








Next up was the second of my stadium visits, Vanderbuilt University in downtown Nashville.  After exiting the highway I notice Eric on my tail so I waved him around to take the lead hoping to benefit from his experience.  As we pulled up to the bonus location we discovered the complete lack of a suitable parking spot so, following Eric's lead, it was up the diability ramp onto the sidewalk....just as a campus police cruiser passed behind us.  Oh crap!  Fortunately, he continued on his way and paid us no mind.

Heading out from the bonus Eric and I took separate ways and that's the last that I saw of him until the checkpoint 3 days later.

I probably could have planned my route a bit better at this point as I headed south with the goal of capturing some restricted time bonuses in Arkansas and looping back north to Fayetteville.  In hindsight I should have reversed this loop and would have been able to pick up some smaller bonuses along the way.  Woulda Coulda Shoulda.

Up ahead was a bonus along the Natchez Trace.  Like the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Trace is a National Park and law enforcement is handled by federal personnel.  It is bad news if you get nabbed speeding through these parts so adherence to the speed limit was necessary.  Up ahead was the Meriwether Lewis grave site monument.  Luckily part of my routine to first record the bonus in my rally scoring sheet, then read the bonus requirements in the rally book.  Expecting to capture the monument, the rally book stated, "Take a photo of the Meriwether Lewis marker with this text (and more)."  The text was the contents of a historical marker a short distance from the monument.  Fortunately I was awarded full points for this bonus but I need to do a better job of framing the photo and capturing ALL the text.  I got what was listed in the rally book.  It's the ...and more... part that could have been in contention.

LESSON LEARNED: Spend time to properly frame the bonus photo.

Off the Trace and back onto normal roadways, it was time to make up some ground.  It was starting to get really hot (mid-90's) which would affect my riding later.  Running into Brownsville, TN, I needed to capture a piece of Americana.  The Billy Tripp Minefield Cemetary is a large outdoor sculture garden filled with odd pieces of metal objects from water towers, girders, etc.  Billy's will includes instructions for his cremated remains to be interred somewhere in the minefield.  Doesn't get any more weird than that.

Luckily I was able to blast through Memphis and cross the bridge into Arkansas. It still impresses me seeing the pyramid structure that is now a large Bass Pro Shop.  Less impressive is southeast Arkansas. Oh boy, is it tough to stay awake heading south along the banks of the Mississippi River.  Lots of fertile farmland for sure but straight roads, intense heat and humidity, and fatigue combine for a serious case of the nods.  Just south of Barton, AR was a historical marker for the Lick Creek Skirmish (LIK) that followed the Battle of Arkansas Post.


Continuing further south into SE Arkansas I made for the Arkansas Post (ARK) bonus.  This was both a Revolutionary War and a Civil War site.  Fortunately getting to the bonus was down a small tree lined country road that opened up into a beautiful shaded shoreline next to a body of water.  After locating the specific historical marker required, I took a few extra minutes to stretch, cool down, and most importantly hydrate.  This helped with the nods tremendously.

Next up was a run westward through Pine Bluff and up to Hot Springs.  Leaving the ARK bonus, the Garmins routed me onto State Hwy 212 which followed the Arkansas River. I regret not stopping to photograph the miles of roadway set atop the tall river levies.  It was something new to me and was interesting.

Heading westward in the afternoon, I returned to dealing with the heat and humidity along with now facing directly into the late afternoon sun.  This made for a hazy arrival into Hot Springs.  It had been over 30 years since I had been to Hot Springs and now remembered just how cool of a town it was.  As boring as southeast Arkansas is, the northwest part of the state makes up for it in spades.  Just beautiful with great motorcycle roads.

The bonus here was on the summit of West Mountain. At the summit park was a trailhead sign that I needed to take a picture of to document my visit.  It was a real shame that I couldn't spend more time here.  I was the only person at the summit and it was so peaceful.


Continuing my way north, it was time to ride Arkansas State Hwy 7, probably the most famous motorcycle road in the state.  Being right at dusk I basically had the highway to myself. It was glorious.

The next bonus was another time restricted spot that was open until 10 pm.  I was going to cut it rather close so it made the ride up Hwy 7 even more enjoyable.  Being now in the Central Time Zone, I would be arriving in Dardanelle just at sunset which was just after 9pm local time.  Already in the shadows of the setting sun, I started to make my way up Mt Nebo on a series of 10 mph switchbacks.  Slowed by the turns (it's amazing that Garmin still thinks you can travel this road at 55 mph) and cager traffic, this was turning into a real time suck.

Upon reaching the crest of the mountain I encountered 2 herds of deer that simply were not afraid of cars, motorcycles or people. I literally had to ride around deer just standing in the road.  You could reach out and push them away if you wanted to (btw, not a good idea as deer are normally covered in fleas and ticks, bad ones.)  The bonus was this interpretive sign at the crest of the overlook. Several cars of lovers were here as well and I'm sure that they didn't appreciate my headlights nor my camera so I made haste to finish my business and leave.  Back through the cow-like deer and down the time sucking swtichbacks I was finally able to head to my last planned bonus of the day.

Blasting out of Russellville on I-40 I quickly reached the turn off on US71 north to Fayetteville and the home of the U. of Arkansas.  The bonus was to take a picture of the statue of legendary coach Frank Broyles near the stadium.  It was easy to reach even in the dark of night.  By now, if memory serves, it was approaching midnight.  As I was setting up to take my picture, two other riders arrived so we took turns holding my new 12,000 lumen holy mother of goodness sun bright as day flashlight.  It was the first time I had used it in pitch dark and we all winced at the instant daylight.  Well, it made quick work of the pic so we headed back to the bikes.  My routine after taking a pic of the bonus, I always switch to playback mode to check the photo. Yep, it's there. I even took 2 pics just to make sure.

I had planned on taking a short break just outside of Fayetteville but I was feeling pretty good so I continued on to the next bonus in Beaver, AR.  I knew that I was in the backwoods when accessing the town of Beaver was by way of a single lane bridge AND leaving town was also on a single lane bridge.  Our bonus was to take a picture of the second bridge.  Given this was a 24 hour bonus, the Rallymasters accommodated the impossibility of photographing the bridge by allowing us to shoot a pic of a small monument just off the east end of the bridge.  Document, shoot, check, pack, go.  No problem.

Shortly after leaving Beaver I hit the brick wall. The heat and fatigue descended upon me with ferocity and I limped into Eureka Springs.  Luckily I found a small shopping area located in front of the local HD dealer and stopped to lay my head on a park bench.  A local, who for whatever reason, was sitting in his car in the parking lot and decided to come over and have a chat.  After several hints that I was going to take a nap, I finally had to let the guy know that I needed to go and walked away.  I think I was asleep before my head hit my makeshift pillow.

...to be continued...