Rock-n-Ride 2019 - Day 2

Rock-n-Ride is a 33 hour scavenger hunt rally where participants are required to take a minimum of a 4 hour rest stop.  Riders are awarded 30 points for every minute so a 4 hour stop is worth 7,200 points.  Riders may choose to take up to a max of 6 hours at the 30 points per minute rate for a maximum rest stop point value of 10,800 points.  Any additional rest does not add to the point total.

My rest stop started with my check-in receipt at the Red Roof Inn in Tupelo, MS at 12:54 a.m.  I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to pack and get a bite to eat.  With the bike ready to go, I collected my check-out receipt precisely at 6:54 a.m. thus maximizing my rest bonus point value.

In somewhat of a stupor, I headed out to collect the 5 bonus locations in Tupelo.  The first was a small monument with a plague of Elvis, one of the "Elvis was here" series.

The second stop is rather significant, if you think about it.  At this hardware store in Tupelo, Elvis' mother had brought him to the store to buy a bicycle.  Elvis wanted a .22-caliber rifle instead.  They compromised and purchased Elvis his first guitar.  And shall we say, the rest is history.

Another significant event happened at that monument, for the first time in over 30 years, I dropped my bike.  I had pulled up to the location and backed into the parking spot.  As I usually do, I read the rally book about the bonus and document the bonus before getting off the bike.  Having done so, I went to put the bike on the sidestand and it just kept on going.  By the time I realized what was going on it was too late.  I was fortunate to provide enough resistance that the bike made a soft touch down on its left side.  I stepped off to turn and kick myself.  Good fortune, however, was going my way again as Erin and Jeff Arsenault pulled up right at that time.  Jeff helped me right the ship and a quick inspection revealed no damage.  Being a bit red faced, I snapped my picture and headed off for my next stop.

Just a few blocks away is a city park with another Elvis statue.  Sidestand down first! Read, document and snap and be on my way.

Not even a mile down the road is the Elvis birthplace park.  Two bonus locations were on the grounds of the park but on opposite ends.  First was a statue of Elvis at 13 years.  The second is a dual statue of young Elvis dreaming of becoming the star standing behind him.

Leaving Tupelo I headed to a nearby small town of Tremont to capture another historical marker.  Fortunately, the early hour allowed me to infiltrate the blocked off streets to get near the bonus.  The town was hosting a BBQ festival and it was quite tempting to call it a day and stay for some good eats.

Next up was probably my favorite bonus location of the rally, the Coon Dog Cemetery in Alabama.  Arriving from the south, Mr. Garmin attempted to run me off down a goat trail but just a short ways in I realized that this wasn't right and headed back out to the highway where I finally ran across the road sign for the Coon Dog Cemetery.  Like the sign says, only Coon Dogs are allowed to be buried here.


Back on the highway heading towards Huntsville, AL, was able to capture an easy bonus at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

I've always dreamed of visiting the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville but have never had the opportunity.  The bonus location visit only whetted my desire to go back.  A nerd's paradise.

Also in Huntsville was another "Elvis was here" bonus at the Von Brann Center.  We had to capture this specific marquee which, of course, another festival was going on nearby.

Now it was time to turn for the barn and capture locations along the way.  Having decided to not attempt the excursion into downtown Nashville with the NFL Draft, the Marathon and some other event going on, I grabbed my only Nashville bonus as it was just outside the loop.  The RCA Studio B is famous for being the recording spot for many legends of Nashville including Elvis, Roy Orbison, Charley Pride and Dolly Parton.

North of Nashville and just across into Kentucky I was forced off onto some beautiful back roads to capture another piece of Americana, albeit a fairly new one.  It is the 2nd "Fork in the Road" that has been a bonus location during a rally.  I believe the other was in Pennsylvania.

I was fortunate that the Garmins saw fit to route me again on some back roads that made good time into the town of Bowling Green, KY.  I needed to stop at a Steak 'n Shake and purchase a Strawberry Shake for 350 bonus points.  I walked in and ordered and the hostess said that I was the second person that she had served requesting just a strawberry shake.  I explained to her and the folks waiting to be seated about the rally and that this is a special bonus to honor the late mother of our rallymaster, Lynne Carey.   After paying, I asked the hostess if she could have the staff make the shake a chocolate shake instead and they laughed and said Yes.  After not eating anything since breakfast early that morning, that shake hit my stomach like a bomb!  Back at the bike, I grabbed the receipt and took a photo of it next to my odometer like we normally do with all other receipts.  Oops.  I was supposed to take the photo of the receipt with my rally placard.  I would be initially denied the 350 points but after other riders had made appeals, everyone that made my mistake was credited with the 350 points.

My last stop was at the Corvette museum.  This is the location, across from where Corvettes are made in Bowling Green, where a sinkhole developed directly below the main floor of the museum destroying several priceless Vettes.

The ride to the finish at Barren River Lake State Park was uneventful.  I arrived with about 20 minutes to spare and gathered my documents to prepare for scoring.  I guess the rally adrenaline decided to wear off right then and my cold arrived with a vengeance.  I felt like I could hardly walk in the door.

After all was said and done, my score of 36,235 landed me solidly in 4th place for the second year in a row.  Of the Ohio starters, the 3 in front of me are the same participants that finished ahead of me in last year's Void Rally.  I've got to figure out how to break through.

My route looked very similar to others.

After another awesome dinner of catfish and fix'ns it was off to bed to commiserate with my cold.  The ride back home Sunday was uneventful and allowed me to ride across some beautiful areas of southern Kentucky.

Thank you Lynne, Jesse and the rest of the staff on putting on another great rally.