Butt Lite IX Recap - Day 3 - Rest is Wonderful

Day 3 started in Auburn, AL with every electronic device I had screaming nasty noises at the same time. I was afraid that I would sleep through if only one was going off.  Another shower to shake the sleep off (oh man, I didn't want to get out) and I sit on the bed with the stark realization.  I have to put back on all the funky smelling clothes that I so desperately stripped off last night.  Ugh.  Rather than subject everyone in the breakfast area downstairs to my odoriferous textiles, I pulled out my checkpoint clothes to wear downstairs for breakfast and to pack the bike.  Leaving it to the last moment I held my breath and pulled on the smelly clothes.  Apologizing profusely to the hotel host, I got my receipt and verified the check-in and check-out timestamps.  All good and a bit over 8 hours.

Setting off to the northeast into the brightening day I left the interstate to go to Griffen, GA for the Doc Holliday (DOC) bonus.  The added benefit of this was to help me avoid Atlanta rush hour traffic.  It still took a while dealing with outer suburban roads and the multitudes of traffic lights. I think this is where I developed the callous on my left middle finger from all the clutch action.  Being a cemetery, it was a daylight only bonus which worked well with this revised plan.

Setting out from DOC it was another 90+ miles up to Athens for the stadium picture at the U. of Georgia Sanford stadium.  The requirements were very specific to take the picture of the backside of the scoreboard where there is a large Georgia logo and the words University of Georgia Sanford Stadium from the Sanford Drive Bridge located just below the sign.  Unfortunately, the bridge was closed for construction which meant that I needed to circle all the way around the stadium to a spot on the northwest corner where the scoreboard could be seen.  After a quick call to the Rallymaster to confirm that this was an acceptable substitute photo. I captured the bonus and moved out.

At this point there were few worthwhile bonus locations within reach so my revised plan had me continue east to the 96H bonus in South Carolina about 95 miles away.  And it was again getting hot early.  I was going through my water supply at a really rapid pace. As I was working my way towards Ninety Six (yeah, that's a name of a town), I had this nagging feeling that I should invest the additional hour and a half to go get the somewhat nearby South Carolina stadium bonus. Hmm...safety margin or not?

Rolling in to the 96H bonus I was in trouble. The heat again was zapping my energy. I was staying hydrated but I just couldn't fight off the nods.  The short walk to collect the bonus helped somewhat but it was going to be struggle to make the rest of my plan and arrive at the checkpoint before midnight.  I wish that I could have stayed longer as this Revolutionary War site was interesting and I had never heard about it.

I don't like to think about it but it was time to start dropping bonuses to make sure that I made the checkpoint.  I really needed the extra off-the-clock planning time in the morning.  Obviously, the South Carolina stadium bonus was off the table.  Looking ahead I decided that 2 low value bonus locations would require too far of a deviation off my path to be worth it so they were dropped.  Possibly a late 3rd bonus would be dropped if necessary.

Heading north I connected with I-26 finally able to make up some time.  The next bonus a few miles south of Spartanburg was just off the exit ramp. The Kate Berry historical marker was set in with another historical marker so again, following procedure, I checked the rally book before claiming the bonus.

Fortunately there was a gas station/convenience store directly across the street for a quick fill, pee break and water re-provisioning.  Skirting Spartanburg, I continued north on I-26 trying to make it to a time restricted bonus in Brevard, NC.  Approaching Hendersonville, NC, the Garmins screwed me again and led me off on US64 through downtown Hendersonville and continuing on a heavy traffic 2 lane road all the way to Brevard.  Of course, 2 miles further up the interstate would have dropped me off on the 4 lane divided SH 280 that would have saved me a good 10 minutes.  Not having the route in CoPilot on my iPad was really starting to hurt.

Finally arriving in Brevard with about 25 minutes to spare, I headed to the White Squirrel Shop where the requirement was to purchase anything with a white squirrel on it.  We were instructed to bring the item and the receipt to the scoring table in order to receive the bonus.  I picked up a cute little white squirrel stuffed animal to give to Karen when I got home.

I must confess that I was looking forward to this part of the route as it was on familiar territory.  The short run from downtown Brevard to the Cold Mountain (CLD) bonus was up US276 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. And I do emphasize up as this is a spectacular road that passes some beautiful waterfalls.  Leaving town I was able to catch up with a couple that I recognized from the rally on their Goldwing.  I knew that he was a fairly aggressive rider so I fell in behind him as we started the ascent.  You can say what you want but it's an impressive sight to witness a competent rider manage a fully laden Goldwing up a twisty mountain road.  It is silent beauty at work.  Arriving invigorated at the summit we both park at the Cold Mountain elevation sign.  Yes, this is the Cold Mountain that the movie was based on.

I got out ahead of them as we descended the other side of US276 (equally enjoyable ride) and headed for Waynesville for a westward turn on US74.  I would get to blast through the Nantahala Gorge hoping that I could avoid getting trapped behind a semi or other slow driver.  Thankfully the road was clear and made my way to a roadside park where we had to capture a name off of a large concrete memorial.  Again, it was imperative to capture the text exactly as it was written: all caps, punctuation, and spelling.

With that task complete it was now time to enjoy my favorite road in North Carolina, the Cherohala Skyway.  This is a combined state hwy of NC and TN with no driveways or intersections, just sweeping curves and prime asphalt.  The moderately high value bonus was located right at the mid point.  I made my way through Robbinsville and turned off on NC143 to get to the start of the Skyway.  Boy, I didn't recall it being so twisty tight to get over to the base. Time sucking away.

Finally, I reached the beginning of the Skyway and started the ascent to the ridgeline.  The sun had just set and the dusky sky clear made for an absolutely glorious ride.  It seemed like I had the entire ridgeline all to myself.  A few other BL riders were going the other way but no one seemed to be going my direction.  After bagging the bonus and enjoying the view, I continue my trek westward towards Tellico Plains in the fading light.  Oh my, I had never run the Cherohala on the Trophy before and it was pure bliss.

Arriving in Tellico Plains forced me into my last choice of the day.  I could continue to my next planned bonus which would take about 20 minutes or I could skip it and head for Knoxville.  The Garmins said I had about a 5 minute cushion.  At this point I was satisfied with the ride and also knew that it was a good 2 hours from the checkpoint ahead of me.  Turning north I headed for Knoxville and my last stadium bonus at the U. of Tennessee.  Being season ticket holders for the last 3 years, I was familiar with the access in and out so this was going to be quick work.

Rolling off of US129 onto Neyland Dr it was a left on Lake Loudon and a right on Volunteer Blvd.  A quick stop at the top of Payton Manning Way for the money shot of the stadium.  Exiting out on Phillip Fulmer Way back to Neland Dr, I picked up I-40 east to make my way to the checkpoint.  As I-40 turns more directly eastward and the beginning of I-81, I was giving thanks that the road construction with the accompanying 10 mile backup was on the other side of the highway.  That would have been bad.

For those that are not familiar with the area, I-40 at the TN/NC border follows a fairly narrow gorge through the mountains and is fully of high speed sweeping turns.  I wish that I had a radar detector so that I could have enjoyed it more but it was fine like it was.  Approaching my destination, I exited onto US276 and, seeing that I had plenty of time, I ducked into a gas station to fill up.  It was a short 4 miles to the checkpoint where I was given a green slip of paper with my rider number, ODO reading and time of arrival.  Having arrived before midnight, I was eligible to receive the Leg 2 bonus packet 2 hours early tomorrow morning.

There were a lot of riders already here so finding a parking place at the Maggie Valley Inn proved to be a challenge after riding 2700 miles for 3 days in the sweltering heat.  I finally got settled and proceeded inside with my materials for scoring.  I have one hour to prepare my stuff and present myself to the scoring marshal. A buffet of fried chicken is waiting for the riders as we sat down to go through our materials and fill out our scoring sheets.  Satisfied with my scoring sheet, my rest bonus receipt, my squirrel and receipt, camera, and all the contents of the rally pack including the envelope, I present myself for scoring at about 12:15 am.

I'm directed to the pre-scoring table where my pictures are copied off the camera SD card onto the original thumb drive and rally pack items are accounted for.  I'm handed back the thumb drive and told to take a seat in the queue.  I overheard the Rallymaster state that they were surprised by the number of early arrivals.  That carrot of an extra 2 hours of off the clock planning time was being taken.

Finally I was directed to an open scoring table and started the process.  The scorer would look at the score sheet, look at my photo and check the reference photo.  Now long after starting the scorer calls the Rallymaster over to point out that all my photos are dated in June instead of July.  Oops, 100 point penalty.

Lesson Learned:  Absolutely check and double check the date and time on all rally cameras.

Ok.  I can deal with that.  Five minutes later he asks me where my Arkansas stadium photo is.  WHAT???  It's not on there?  I walk around behind him and we check the thumb drive and my SD card and sure enough, no photo. $&$^# and *#()#& and (#*($#(@.  There goes my stadium combo. 2500 hard earned points down the drain.  I'm simply crushed.  I vaguely make out that my next 3 bonus photos are also missing.  I'm barely listening to him as I'm trying to figure out WTF happened to my photos.

I have gone over it in my head time and time again trying to figure out how the photos were deleted or otherwise lost.  This was a new camera which was a mistake. I was carrying it in the top box with my other stuff which subjected it to being rattled around more than it probably should be.  I don't know.  I just don't know.  It is my routine to check the photos at the bonus and each time they were good.  Four bonus pictures in a row were missing.  If you look back in the report you will notice the four picture bonuses where there is no picture.  It just doesn't make sense.  At this point I'm pretty much 1/2 pissed and 1/2 resigned to my fate.  Pretty embarrassed as well to make such a rookie mistake.  The scorer moved on to the OLT bonus of the Old Trace sign and I didn't care at this point.

Lesson Learned:  It's hard to say, perhaps I should have used an old camera. Maybe I should have carried the camera in my pocket like I usually do.  I don't know at this point.

Wrapping up I got my score. Dejected I gathered my stuff, tucked my tail and sauntered off to check-in, shower and go to bed. It was 1:45 am and I needed to get up at 5:45.

Below is an analysis of my plans, results, scores and placement on a daily basis assuming nothing else changed.  What a heartbreaker.

	Day 1		Day 2		Day 3
	Plan	Result	Plan	Result	Plan	Result
Score	12267	12267	11293	11293	11573	7628
Ranking	14	14	21	21	20	69