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Ziggy Zaggy, Ziggy Zaggy!
Ride, Ride, Ride!

Our latest obsession, the Minnesota 1000, started June 14th, 2003. In 2003, Carrie and Ron Hanson, and Chris Berg were Team Newbie. We were only out to get our Saddlesore, have fun, and not embarrass ourselves. It was more fun than we could've imagined. By some weird twist of fate called "Angle Inlet" I managed to snag 5th place wood in the Touring Class weeks after it was over. Normally we are not competitive people but this wood was sweet, Carrie was jealous, and we wanted more. The hook was set.

The only other events like this remotely in the area were put on by GLMC. We signed up for the Fall Buffalo Run and the Spring Bonzai. Being 12hr rally's, the GLMC events turned out to be great learning experiences for us. If every minute counts in 24hrs, every second counts in 12.  Our route planning and our efficiency got better, and we pushed ourselves a little more each time. Team Newbie walked away with wood in the Buffalo Run and narrowly missed wood in the Bonzai thanks to a bridge not on our maps. To test our physical limits we did every Ironbutt ride we had time for and more importantly, had fun every time the key turned. 

1 year later we get crap for calling ourselves Newbie's, but it was finally time for our first repeat event, the Team Stange Minnesota 1000. There are many dedicated riders that play in this sandbox and they take their rallying seriously. In it's 10th anniversary, the Minnesota 1000(MN1k) is one of the premier 24hr events in the country. This brainchild of Eddie James and Adam Wolkoff attracts over 100 riders yearly. Not many other rally's of this nature can boast such success. We wanted to do well, and based on our recent experience we thought we had a good shot at bringing home some more of that sweet wood in our respective classes. 

One of the great things about the MN1k is it seems you are rallying more than just one weekend. You can start collecting mandatory bonuses one week before the rally. The mandatory stops require you to donate a few dollars and help the sponsors contribute door prizes and they are worth a few points in the rally. The Saturday before the rally was a beautiful day and we decided to hit them all ending at what is sure to become a new weekend hang out, Betties Bikes and Buns. 

Click the pictures to enlarge

Liar's Banquet  - Friday 6/25/04

The liar's banquet is a rally meeting and social session the evening before the rally officially starts. We arrived early so we could see all the bikes come in and socialize with other riders.  This year the rally started and finished at the Bayrischer Hof, a German restaurant in Montrose, MN. There were 2 large tents with a full beer garden and buffet. It was an excellent setup.

This event attracts a plethora of motorcycles. Many BMW's and Honda's but all the brands were represented well, This year the field included a unique 3-up entry, Metallic Waste. A Frankenstein of motorcycles with a sidecar, Metallic Waste was the brain child of one Shannon (lunatic) Bruns. It was an odd assortment of parts held together with bumper stickers and homemade parts. The 3 riders, Mark Foster, Sev Pearman, and Jim Winterer are wily veterans but there skills would be taxed for sure.  Side bets were placed on if they could actually complete a 1000mile day.

After check-in and socializing we settled in for a good German meal and a few beers. The riders were entertained with  German music and song. Life was good in Montrose. 

During dinner there were some door prizes awarded and the rally packets were distributed. You never know what to expect at these events. There is always the possibility you can find yourself starting the rally early or end up bowling. You just never know. The rally packets this year actually contained a list of 30 bonuses. They were going to give us the night to plan our route, or in other words, limit our sleep. It was clear more bonuses would be handed out in the morning to upset any plans we might make that night. Still we thought it best to go home, get the bonuses entered into the computer and plan a few routes. In this set of bonuses an obvious route to Illinois looked competitive. It was 1350miles but we thought it was possible by skipping a rest bonus if one was offered in the morning.  Riding in a group does have some disadvantages. We cannot cover as much ground as a single rider so our upper mileage limits are lower than many other riders. 

We finally pulled the plug on route planning around 12pm and tried to get some sleep. 

Liar's Banquet Photo's 6-25-04
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Rally Time! 6-26-04

Saturday morning was even nicer than Friday. We were up at 6:30 and made the trek out to Montrose. Montrose is outside of the Twin Cities area and doesn't have very good access to any freeways. We stumbled across Bob "498" Johnson and Critter on the way to the rally start and they followed us in with a quick stop for gas. Once again Critters CB wasn't transmitting very well and he was forced to listen to our taunts without any means of recourse.

At 9:00am there was another short rally meeting and the remainder of the rally packets were handed out. Another 30 bonuses were added to the list. These were meaty bonuses just to make sure any preparations Friday night were upset. We went about the familiar task of plotting them and making note of the big ones and any verbal corrections. When you take the time to plot every bonus it doesn't take more than a few minutes to scan them and see where the points are. The sleep bonus was relatively small compared to some of the larger bonuses further away so immediately we removed it from our plan. Still trying to work around a 1300 mile limit,  the second route we planned hit most of the larger bonuses on the way to St. Louis and ending at Jefferson City. (final route plan here Garmin Mapsource 6.1)  The route worked out to be 1350miles and total to 42,000 points. That mileage is about our maximum limit for 24hr rally riding, we have fast stops but our speeds are not overly aggressive. Critter was going over his route sheets across the table and mumbled "its gonna take 45,000 points to win this thing".  It's hard to trust anyone's judgment that goes by the name of Critter, but it made us feel a little better anyways.

As the 10:00am start rolled around and well over 3/4 of the entrants raced out of the lot.  I do believe any extra time taken for planning is well worth any delay in leaving. I love the planning aspect of these rally's and It's much easier to plan at a table than on the road. The computer was still busy loading the routes into our GPS's as I strolled over to a rookie friend, Paul Sundet. He rode with us in the recent Bonzai rally to get the feel for it but wanted ride this event on his own. He was busy planning routes through Wisconsin when I briefly mentioned he might want to look a little further south. I guess he was one of the last people to leave the rally.

At 10:15 we finally said farewell to Montrose and headed east to to closest freeway. It was a beautiful day for a ride to St. Louis. 

Rally Start Pictures 6-25-04
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Bonus Hunting in Iowa 6-25-04

It always feels good getting that first bonus. Unfortunately our route didn't have us picking up a bonus until well into Iowa. There was a small bonus in Owatonna but it was something we could pickup if we had time on the way back. There was a timed bonus just north of St. Louis that was not worth jeopardizing for small points. 

The trek down I-35 was uneventful except for an accident in northern Iowa and a few other rally riders passing us. A rare occasion occurred when we actually passed another rally rider. Without the benefits of our fuel cells, my GL1800 limited our range to a little over 220 miles at our speed. Our first gas stop was Williams, IA just north of Ames. Unfortunately the pumps were fairly busy and we needed to pull away from the pumps to free them up. Minnesota's own Wrecking Crew pulled in for gas shortly after. It feels good seeing experienced riders going the same direction you are. Better yet is standing next to one at a urinal. I wonder why Marty Lier wouldn't shake my hand?

After gas it was off to our first bonus by Marshalltown, IA. I had taken the time to map the location properly so we found it fairly easily with just 1 minor drive-by. This bonus was a large tree house but you couldn't see anything resembling a tree house from the road. The proprietor had a sour look after she came to greet us and discovered our purpose. Apparently she gets visitors like us more often than she would like.  The bonus wording was a little confusing but we make a habit of writing everything down. Our points were secure.

The next bonus was south of Marshalltown in Grinnell, IA. A bank of some importance to the rally masters was located there. The directions were clear and we found the bonus easily. There were lions flanking the entrance to the bank, quite regal. We did a quick u-turn to escape town on what apparently was a one-way street according to the scowls from other motorists. I'd like to take this moment to publicly apologize to the little old lady with blue hair driving the 78 Buick. 

Further south from the bank, the rally masters felt the need to expose us to a little art, Team Strange style. We've all seen the American Gothic painting, but this time we were the subjects. This was a situation where riding in a group pays off. You needed to get your picture with one other person in front of the gothic house. When we arrived, I felt pity for any solo rider attempting this bonus. It was on the outskirts of Eldon, IA but there was no one in sight. We struck a few poses for Mr. Polaroid and said goodbye to Team Strange Gothic and pointed our steeds south.

Iowa pictures 6-25-04
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Daylight hours, Missouri and Illinois 6-25-04

On our way out of Iowa and into Missouri, Carrie got tired of my steady cruise-control assisted pace and took the lead. In a move reminiscent of her 50yard lead through Topeka on the border-to-border,  she quickly drove by a scheduled turn. It proved to be a fortunate mistake since the designated route was gravel and likely to slow us down. The small paved county road that lead us to Hannibal, MO proved to be an exciting adventure. It had been recently patched most likely an hour before we had arrived. It was mesmerizing watching the tarry mist spray from the preceding rider's tires. 

We made our way into Hannibal, MO for a gas receipt. This was Mark Twain's home town, so of course it was on the bonus sheets. We pulled into a gas station close to the freeway and saw our first rally riders since Williams, IA. Brett Donahue and Allen Wilson had just finished fueling and were pouring over the bonus sheets. We didn't exchange many words, but I knew they would be headed to our next stop in Pittsfield, IL. Brett has a CB and knows we are always on channel 1. We'd have plenty of time to chat on the road. 

We beat Brett and Allen out of the gas station but missed the poorly marked freeway ramp. Finally getting onto the ramp I could see the Barney the purple dinosaur (Brett's purple Road Glide) headed our way. It wasn't very far down the freeway Brett and Allen caught us and we made contact on the CB. After some impressive stunts and showboating, Brett agreed to be our rabbit and we chased him to Pittsfield for a BBQ bonus. 

On paper the Pittsfield BBQ bonus looked daunting but with the clarification you really only needed an item that was labeled bbq. This meant bbq chips, sauce, etc. would qualify provided you brought it to the scoring table. Lays BBQ chips are easily obtainable at any gas station. 

After Pittsfield we head out to Ill 100 and turned south following the Illinois River into St. Louis and our last time limited bonus. This road turned out to be the highlight of our trip. In Minnesota, our Mississippi river run pales in comparison. With Brett leading a spirited ride down a scenic, canopied two lane highway, memories were made. Only the Barney Glide's locked brakes and CB chatter announcing a deer crossing woke us from the dream. 

We ran into our first problem when we needed to cross the Illinois river. The bridge was down to one lane with construction. There were signals setup to time the crossing, but while the east bound traffic was heading across some emergency vehicles came from the west, our side. The east bound vehicles were forced to backup across the bridge adding to the delay. It seemed to take an eternity considering our last bonus had a time limit on it. 

Daylight Bonus Photos 6-25-04
Click the pictures to enlarge

0 Dark Thirty 6-25-04/6-26-04

After the bridge we made our way to Alton, IL and the Reverend Lovejoy monument. The sun soon set and our worries began. The bonus sheet for the monument said it was available only 1/2 hour after sunset. When planning the route in Minnesota, sunset was around 9:20pm. The further south we went, the sunset time according to the GPS kept getting earlier and was now 8:55pm. This was quite worrisome since this bonus was a large part of our plan. We had resolved to call for a clarification if it looked like we were running late but we ended up being on schedule. (It turns out the time was only a recommendation about known availability since there is no way for the judges to verify your arrival time anyway). Once into town, my preplanned route was plotted to the exact location so I took over the lead. Chris has an eagle eye and spotted the tall monument from a distance and verified we were on course. The monument was up a large hill on a cobblestone street.  On the monument there were 3 different plaques and the bonus required an answer off one of them. The obvious one would have been under the tall structure but the bonus required an answer from a smaller plaque on the right. With our final time limited bonus complete we took a short break, enjoyed the fireflies, and said goodbye to Brett and Alan as they headed west to an Elvis bonus that was on our route later. While on break a distinct sound of a BMW oilhead with a Honda CBR pipe was heard. The wrecking crew had caught us from points unknown. I tried explaining the bonus location to them, but ear plugs and helmets translated my words to Latin. Only later would we find out they recorded the answer off the wrong plaque and been denied the points.

On our way out from the Lovejoy monument Carrie announce over the CB that it was odd we hadn't seen John Coons today. We had met John on the Border to Border and assumed he would've headed this direction. Reaching the bottom of the hill who did we see? Mr. Coons on his way up gave a friendly wave. Carrie's question was answered. 

We stopped for gas before our next bonus, a large ketchup bottle in Collinsville, IL. Though I had plotted the location accurately, the tight, canopied terrain surrounding the ketchup bottle water tower made it hard to spot at night. Luckily, eagle eye Chris again announced it's location over the CB before we drove past it. Once again we meet up with Mr. Coons and he graciously used his headlights to illuminate the sign for our photo. A couple of other riders showed up during this time as well. It's exciting to see friendly and familiar faces 600miles from home and it always puts a little wind in your sails. 

After the ketchup bottle we finally turned west to the Elvis museum in Wright City, MO. Driving through St. Louis around midnight is an experience I wouldn't wish on even the rally masters. Traffic was incredibly heavy considering the time. Making our best Valentino Rossi impersonations we wound our way through heavily trafficked interstate without incident. In the eastern suburbs we saw the familiar glow of Brett Donahue's HID's making there way back east towards the Ketchup bottle. We made our way to the Elvis Museum in Wright City, and though we stopped and asked a conveniently located pedestrian it's location, our plotted route took us within 100yards of the museum. 

Our last planned bonus was Jefferson City, MO. The only thing we had to do afterwards was ride. The traffic had thinned out appreciably at this point since most sane people had retired for the morning. On the way Chris transmitted that his speedometer was behaving funny. It was bouncing around and not giving an accurate speed. He immediately expected a broken cable but had failed to bring a spare that was sitting in his garage for just these moments. Luckily there was only one bonus remaining. If it had truly failed there was no way to fix it anyway. Jefferson City only required a gas receipt but gas ended up being hard to find close to the highway. We had almost driven through the town completely before we could find a convenient gas station and it wasn't pretty. It was the local hangout for the local college "after bar" crowd. More than once a screaming girl was hanging out the window of a passing car asking for a ride. I don't think she would've appreciated waking up in Montrose, MN though. Chris's speedometer cable was truly broken at this point. He couldn't claim the bonus but he had rode the distance with us anyways.

Our bonus stops complete, we turned north for the long drive through the early morning. This is where a GPS is handy. Arrival time back in Montrose showed 9:15am. It was assuming a fast drive time but it comforted us all the same. The lighting on the GL1800 proved its worth on the way north up highway 63 through the middle of northern Missouri and southern Iowa. Augmented with PIAA 1100s the high beams pointed out the deer clearly and provided ample time for braking (You can never have enough light though, I wouldn't be surprised if there are HIDs in my high beams next year.)  I lost count of how many times we went through the deer braking routine, but we always played it safe. We stopped for gas when we it was available since we were worried about availability and it slowed us down. We all hit a few minor walls in the wee hours of the morning but Carrie's strategic purchase of a German Polka CD at the liars banquet yodeled us on.  I prayed for the sun to come up and give us that glimmer of hope and the feeling of waking. The sun did come up just south of Des Moines. 

After we hit freeway in Des Moines, Carrie transmitted a rest was required. We had been awake for 24hrs at that point and she needed a little brake. We took the next exit hoping to fill our tanks but all the stations were closed.  We still had a 40minute window to make the finish so we weren't concerned.  Carrie hit the cement and shut her eyes for 15minutes. Chris and I settled for a poorly timed cigarette instead. Incredibly when I awoke her, Carrie was quite refreshed after only 10minutes of deep sleep. Once back on the road our arrival time had been trimmed further. We had another gas stop in William, IA and our window had dropped to 10minutes. It was going to be close. I sent our friend,  rally master Kerry a text message on the cell phone somewhere in Iowa so he wouldn't worry if we ran late. 

Luckily the traffic was moving well in the morning all the way through Iowa and Minnesota. We slowly passed a Sheriff in Owatonna and passed up the minimal points there. He shot a dirty look but I gambled he wouldn't pull us over for going a few mph faster than he was. We won the bet. My GL1800 and Chris's Concours were starting to push our fuel range as we got into the Twin Cities. Chris hit reserve outside the 494 loop and my low fuel light went on shortly after. The timing would be right to make it to Montrose but now we were worried about a fuel stop. We babied the throttles and made it to the finish with 15minutes to spare.

Somehow news of our route had proceeded us. As Carrie pulled into the finishing area after a 1350mile rally ride, Eddie James told her "I've had complaints you ride like a girl". Indeed. Some riders did not make it back in time and were disqualified. Our friend Bob "498" Johnson was missing but had called in with news he would be delayed. Our Highway 100 partners Brett Donahue and Allen Wilson had been delayed donating to Wisconsin's state budget and would not make it back in time. A few missed the finish by less than a minute. Heartbreaking.

0 Dark Thirty Bonuses 6-26-04
Click the pictures to enlarge

The Awards 6-26-04

Just when you think you're done, you're faced with the arduous task of scoring. This is just another aspect of rally riding that tests your cognitive ability after being awake for 24+hours. You need to assemble all your bonuses for presentation to the scoring judge. After 24hours of hard riding, it all hinges on these final moments. 

This year Team Strange took a page from the GLMC book and you were to score yourself first, then the judge would verify. It certainly makes the process go smoother providing you are coherent. Carrie and I tallied our points and checked them against each other. Hmmm, they don't match. One more time, yup, Carrie is correct. The 42,545 total matched our preplanned route exactly.   

Carrie went up for scoring and had an unlucky draw for a judge. A spot had opened up and it turned out to be our friend, Paul Ptak that waved her over. They reviewed the points and much to his chagrin, he couldn't find anything wrong with the bonuses. Until the self scoring total sheet. Paul reviewed the number of bonuses claimed by the rider. 0. The number of points claimed. 0. Though Carrie had filled out the rest of the sheet, an "official use only" looking area at the bottom for totals wasn't completed. Paul dropped his pen dramatically. Carrie turned to me as I was getting scored and said " I just lost all my points, I'm going to be sick". Luckily it was all for effect. A previous ruling had determined even if a rider didn't claim any points at the bottom of this sheet, the Judges were checking and totaling points in their own column and it overruled the riders own total. Paul is lucky he didn't end up with a black eye after that stunt. 

Many riders left after scoring and missed a wonderful lunch. After a few cold beers, more door prizes were awarded and then it was time for the class trophies. Rookie was first and as they got to 2nd place I looked over to our former Teammate Paul Sundet. He signaled a big thumbs up.  Paul put in a great ride and won rookie class. The Metallic Waste crew beat the odds and finished with 1006miles. Each crew member brought home wood in the 2 up class. Dave Nelson broke his streak of DNFs and avoided hitting any deer on Bob Young's Magna and claimed 2nd place in standard. Deb Nimz won Standard class on her Harely driving an impressive 1370miles.  

Next up was my touring class. As the awards wound up to 2nd place Carrie and I exchanged excited looks. Judging by gasps from the crowd when my score was announced, we had done very well indeed. I retrieved my 1st place trophy almost oblivious to happenings around me as the euphoria sank in. 

Carrie's and Chris's Sport/Sport Touring class was next. We wondered if Carrie's score would hold up and if Chris's broken odometer cable would put him out of wood territory. Despite loosing 5000 odd points at the table, Critter actually rode more than 2miles this rally and received 3rd place for his troubles and 33,471 points. Despite the cable break and only 677miles of bonus collecting, Chris was awarded second place. Carrie was close to doing cartwheels as she went up for her 1st place trophy.  This little girl riding a big bike was going to Expert class next year. 

The big dogs in expert class were next. An incorrect answer on the 5200 point Lovejoy bonus put Tim Conway into 4th, and Marty Lier and Mark Kiecker in 3rd. Steffan Fay, one of the overall winners last year, stayed consistent and claimed 2nd place. John McDermott won expert with 42,311 points. Incredibly our score had held up  so well, we ended up having the second highest score overall. 

With only the overall winner remaining we knew it had to be John Coons considering we saw him at the big bonuses. John was new to expert this year after winning the Sport Touring class in 2003, but he took home all the marbles with an impressive score of 45,021. Hmm. Critter was right on with his prediction. He may need to change his nickname to Carnack the Magnificent.

Awards photos 6-26-04
Click the pictures to enlarge

The End 

After the awards everyone prepared to leave. We received many congratulations from other riders and we apologize if we were somewhat detached and lost in the moment. The sportsmanship of all the riders was commendable. We headed back to Team Notso Newbie Garage headquarters to re-live the rally with friends and rally master foes over cold glasses of beer. The sun was setting by the time it was all over.

We want to thank Greg, Ken, Dave, Kerry, Eddie and all the rally volunteers for running another great rally. Every event these people put on is an experience of a lifetime.

Is it June 2005 yet?

See Chris Berg's ride report here   
See Paul Sundet's ride report here

Team Notso Newbie GPS Rally Stats
Miles:1342.2 Points:42,525 Moving Avg:65.9mph  Overall Average 57.2mph Moving Time: 20:21 Stop Time: 3:06  Total Time:23:27 

2004 Minnesota 1000 Results

*uncorrected
**odometer break

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Copyright ©1998-2003, Ron Hanson. All rights reserved
Last edited 05/14/2006