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2003 Buffalo Run Ride Report

Team Newbie^TM Rides Again! 

Saturday - Going to the Rally 

We left for Milbank on Saturday in the early afternoon. A lazy ride out highway 12 on a beautiful day helped set the tone. We arrived at the Milbank Super 8 around 5pm, and a social gathering was held at the City Limits Steakhouse at 6pm. This was the last opportunity to stock up on calories before the granola bar diet that was sure to come the following day. "Lunatic" Lee Bruns and Bob "the other Bob" aka "498" Johnson were great hosts. A bonfire followed dinner at Bob's farm, not many made it that night, but it was fun all the same.

Sunday Morning - Rider's Meeting

The next morning a rider's meeting was held at 7am. Rally sheets were handed out and riders could depart after 8am. After the Minnesota 1000 we learned how important a laptop would be for route planning and entering bonus points into the gps. During the MN1k we had assumed we could plot our route that evening from the comfort of home and I had no way to upload waypoints to the gps from the laptop. Doing it manually is time consuming and we ended up relying on paper maps. This time I came equipped with a usb/serial converter. Bonuses were entered by number-pointvalue-combo#-time limitation format (example 33-2500-2-4pm). Doing it this way helped do route adjustments on the fly. 

This strategy would've been easier if there were less than the 75 bonus points available. Descriptions of some locations were intentionally vague. Carrie read off the locations and I typed away.  It took us until 8:15 to enter all the waypoints and we forgot to enter some of the GPS bonuses. Afterwards I spent 15minutes planning a route that would hit a large combo bonus, had an escape route, and plenty of smaller points in between. There was an 800mile mileage limit for this rally also. There would be no way we could approach that with a group of 4 riders and 1 bike being 2-up, so we tried to keep it around 600miles. Good planning usually makes up for any lost time on the road. 
The original garmin mapsource route plan is here. 

Rally Time!

Off we went, we picked up some quick 78 points that were only 20miles away in Summit. We recorded the date on the old bank building and scored. It feels good to bag those first points. We turned north and headed up I-29 towards our first big combo bonus north of Fargo. As we went, we would stop and pick up boni on the way. I had the rally packet in a map pouch on my tank. As we approached each bonus, I would read off the requirements over the cb so everyone new what they needed to do. 

The second bonus was a quick stop in Peever for the date of the first VFW there. In and out, nice and easy 62points. Our third stop was different, the Nicollet Tower in Sisseton. This bonus was 150 points, but it required counting steps up to the top of the tower. It's not that difficult if you have all day, but counting them while on the clock is nerve racking. While counting the flights of stairs and stairs in each flight would be simple, It also leaves you open for a Rally Master trick. Carrie and Lisa climbed the tower counting steps while the rest of us counted from below. A consensus was reached. 83 wooden steps, 1 concrete.  

Third stop, Victor's Steakhouse. Named in honor of Bonzai winner Victor Wanchena. This little place was tucked into some trees and hard to see from the road. With a picture of our bikes and sign we collected the 165 points. 

The next spot provided multiple opportunities. It read "give the name of the Bison ranch 1 mile north of Christine". It was 200points, but there was also a 900 point bonus in the rally packet for getting a picture of your bike and a live buffalo. Score! There were indeed buffalo at the buffalo ranch. The proprietor of the Eagle Valley Bison Ranch drove in and with a quizzical look on his face. We explained why we needed the photo of his Buffalo. He kindly offered to let us pull into the paddock so we could get a good picture of his Bulls. Ummm, no thanks!

After we were back on I-29 it was obvious we would need gas in Fargo. Doing South/North Dakota freeway speeds 2-up really hurts the GL1800's range. First we would stop in and see some gals about some Hooters though. We ran in a collected some souvenirs and dragged a hooters girl out for some photos. There were extra points for bringing a hooters girl back. I gave my brother a call who manages a Hooters in Fort Collins. He knew 1 gal there but she was not working that day :(   The gas line was long after our Hooters stop, but we filled as quickly as possible and hit the road. 

The Two Towers

On to our first combo bonus. The tallest structure in North America. I thought this would be an easy one. All of us except Carrie had gone to college in Fargo so we knew the area, and Kerry and Chris had both been to the tower before. As we approached, we saw 2 tall towers miles apart. Both very similar except 1 tower had a smaller tower next to it. Kerry and Chris developed a sudden case of amnesia and couldn't remember 2 tall towers. Kerry seemed to recall a smaller tower next to the biggest one so we routed to that one. On the way we ran into gravel. This wasn't normal gravel. It was the loosey goosy variety that hadn't seen rain in 2 months or a grader in years. To make matters worse, the washboards kept tripping my tip over sensor causing me to loose power intermittently. For all of us It was interesting to say the least, especially my passenger perched an extra foot in the air.  We drove up to the tower and everything looked like we had guessed correctly. 2060ft said the sign. Sounds right. It had tower registration numbers, "tower numbers" were a required part of the bonus. So we took our pictures. About the time we were going to head out, some young folk cruised up on 4wheelers.  "What are you doing?" they asked.  "We're taking pictures of the tallest tower of course. This is taller than the other one isn't it?". Their answer was cause for concern. "I think the other one is taller" said the littlest one. Darn. We pulled out the Rand McNally. Sure enough it listed the tallest tower as 2063 ft, not 2060ft. And the TV station's call letters were different. We asked the kids to make sure they told any other motorcycles coming this way that this was the tallest tower. And let the air out of their tires for good measure. They wanted too much money though :(  More gravel for us. It took us an additional 25minutes to reach the other tower. The road was better, but the signage on the tower was worse. No Tower Registration Number. The only numbers we could see were the station call letters. We thought maybe the Rally masters had incorrectly thought the other tower was the tallest. We took our pictures at both locations so we were covered either way.

After the tower fiasco I started to worry about time. We lost close to an hour with our mix-up. Kerry monitored our overall timeline while I routed to bonuses. We decided to skip any of the bonuses that were out of our way, just to insure we could grab the 2nd Tower in Garden City, SD. On the way south, we picked up a 50 point bonus in Erie, ND. There was a broken Prestone Thermometer there that read 10degrees. Next up was a bizarre collection of lawn ornaments north of Buffalo, ND. Take a picture of your bike with....., you guessed it, a buffalo for 200 points.

We drove past a 265 point bonus which was 35miles out of the way in Kathryn, ND to reach Lisbon, ND. We stopped to gas up in Lisbon and it turned out to be our longest stop of the day. We did a little shopping, eating, and banking. I don't recommend doing this on rallies. Our timeline was compressed even further. Afterwards, we hit the local Old Soldier's home to find out who made the Vietnam era tank sitting in their front yard. 250 points says it's Ford. We met Greg Anderson on the way out. Kerry had forgot to pay off the Old soldiers to delay him though :(

Heading south out of Lisbon we passed a 67 point bonus in Kidder and went straight for bigger fish in Britton. This should've been an easy stop if not for Bob's trickery. For 100 points "who was the veterans war memorial dedicated to in front of the county courthouse?"  It was very easy to find, but after reading the memorial we were shocked to not find any names. Kerry circled the right side of the building, I ran around the left, looking for additional memorials. Chris started turning over leaves and Carrie searched for secret panels. Alas, we were stumped. I spoke with the sheriff and explained my predicament. He assured me that was the only memorial and there were no names on it. Thinking this was another Rally master mistake, we wrote down everything on the memorial, and  Kerry took a picture for proof we were there and headed off. Unfortunately for Kerry, he forgot to record his odometer reading at the bonus.

Detroit Cemetery was the bigger bonus in the area at 350 points. Some participants might have overlooked it due to the Detroit, MI reference or just couldn't find it. The instructions said it was just west of Britton. It was 16miles west of Britton. We originally stopped at a wrong cemetery but a maintenance worker set us straight. Being this far west disrupted the route I had planned. Instead of going back to Britton, we'd head south to pickup 2 more bonuses on the way to the second Tower. 

The Phantom of the Opera

Verdon, now known to us as Chris Berg's Bane, was the next stop. Population 7. No wonder, it is home to a very old and very haunted Opera House. Verdon was off the highway down a little 1/2 mile dirt road. The road was in better shape than the others we had traveled so far, but that would not stop the phantom of the opera. You see, as we left, Chris was in the rear. Little did we know the phantom of the opera was chasing him. As Chris was just about to turn onto the pavement, the phantom kicked his rear tire out from under him. "Chris is down, Chris is down" rang the CB. Kerry turned around to help him up while we waited on the shoulder.  Chris limped around, his ankle was sore, but the aftermarket crash bars did their job and saved the Concours from extensive gravel damage. It took a little time to start the flooded bike, but Chris would not be denied a finish at this point in the rally. 

Conde was the next stop and a little south of Verdon. The bonus just needed the population as posted on the sign at the north edge of town. 203 people and 187points. It turns out, the sign at the south edge of town read "Population 187". More GLMC trickery outwitted by Team Strange reading comprehension, well, that and we were lucky we saw the north sign first.

Our final stop was our 2nd large tower in Garden City.  There were highways that went around, but County Road 4 was a short cut. To Chris and his ankle's delight the GPS showed no gravel. We passed a 75 point bonus in Bradely to take the short cut and conserve on time. The GPS was telling us we'd arrive back in Milbank with only 20minutes to spare and we could see 2 towers in the distance again. We were anticipating another tower scandal that would consume those minutes. Cty Rd 4 was rough pavement, but we could still keep our speed up, that is, until County Road 4 turned into loosey goosey gravel. Doh! We were 1/3 of the way there, so we plowed on. It couldn't get any worse we thought. We were 1 mile from the tower, 1 turn away, when the road closed sign appeared. Doh! Doh! The road went down and Tee'd between 3 bodies of water. The water level was apparently high sometime earlier and the road was getting washed away. I decided to risk it and head through it. It was a narrow track but passable. After fighting off the seagulls camped on the road, I radioed the others to follow.  There was no repeat of the Tower scandal this time. It was obvious which was the bigger tower. The tower was right on the last stretch of pavement. If we had come in from the east we would've made much better time. We took our pictures and secured our 2500points. Now we just had to get back to Milbank and pickup a cold 6 pack for 500 more points.

Instead of heading north, we went east into Watertown, SD for gas and our six pack bonus. The GPS stayed true to our our arrival time the whole way back and we started breathing again. We passed Ken Bryant who was actually heading west out of Watertown.?. Where in the world is he going this late in the rally? We thought he was doing the tower bonuses also, but he was a good 30 miles away from it at that point. We thought we would need to tell the Rally Masters he would be late, but he ended up turning around and finished on time. We pulled into the Super 8 with 18 minutes to spare. Decades early by experienced rider standards.  Many bikes pulled in after us. At 8pm, the GLMC atomic clock rang and anyone arriving later was time barred. We could still hear bikes racing to get in. Poor Molly Gilbert arrived just 30 seconds too late. 

The Aftermath:

Upon return we sat down and scored ourselves. It took a while double checking everything, but we all came up with 7097points. Except for Kerry. He was 100 points short. You see, Kerry, one of the Team Strange MN1k 2003 Rally Masters forgot to follow the bonus instructions in Britton. He did not record his odometer. I'm sure some 2003 MN1k participants who lost points at the table will relish that thought. Sweet, sweet justice. 

Victor Wanchena proved he is still the master of time and walked away with first overall for the second time in a GLMC event. He had a monster ride with 700miles and 8346 points. I'm sure it would've been double that if he had succeeded in getting the Laura Ingalls Wilder girl come back with him. Paul "Hootis" Noskowiak placed first in touring in his first rally, that was very impressive. Paul works for Brett Donahue and will soon be family. Brett will make sure Paul is scheduled to work during all future rallies :) Steffen Fay came off his MN1k win with 7371 points and a first place in Standard Class.  Also in standard, Greg Anderson, another 2003 MN1k Rally Master did follow all the instructions and was rewarded with a 2nd place standard with 7227 points. And the last MN1k Rally Master, Ken Bryant placed 2nd in Two-up with his daughter and 4840 points. 

The awards presentation went well for Team Newbie this time. As a whole we had the 5th highest point total and highest points per mile. Lisa and I received first place wood in the Two-up class, Chris received 2nd place wood Touring, and Carrie walked home with the Neil Smith Efficiency Award for most points per mile.  Odometers are not very accurate of true miles traveled and breaking ties based on slight variations without correction is always cause for debate. All of our mileages were slightly different, I had 580, Carrie had 575, Chris had 573 and Kerry had 582, even though we rode the same 557mile route per the GPS. I pretty sure Chris didn't slide that far on gravel to come in with the lowest mileage, but technically he had the most points per mile.  The awarding of places within our group was slightly confusing but, at least 4 out of 5 Team Newbie members was holding wood at the end of the day. 

Some riders went home after the event, others stayed at the hotel and slept, still others went to another fine bonfire at Bob Johnson's place. Lies were told, old friends met, and new friends made. The party didn't end for us until 2am! It was the best labor day weekend we could remember. Thanks GLMC for a great time! You put on a first rate rally.

The nice weekend continued as we went home. Barney Glide brought up the rear for half the trip. And finally, Harley riders waved to us.  

The Fallen

Poor Chris ended up paying for his wood and sacrificed a limb. Upon return to Minneapolis, a doctor's visit revealed a broken bone in his ankle. Chris will get a Team Newbie Purple Heart to hang beside his wood. He's still quite happy. Can't you tell?

Final Results: GLMC Buffalo Run 2003

TOURING CLASS
Victor Wanchena BMW 700 miles 8346 points 11.92 PPM
Paul "Hootis" Noskowiak BMW 727 miles 7391 points 10.17 PPM
Chris Berg Kawasaki 573 miles 7097 points 12.38 PPM
Carrie Hanson BMW 575 miles 7097 points 12.34 PPM
Kerry Person Honda 582 miles 6997 points 12.02 PPM
Michelle Matheron Kawasaki 602 miles 6165 points 10.24 PPM
Joe Steve Kawasaki 691 miles 5700 points 8.25 PPM
Mike Senty BMW 699 miles 5525 points 7.90 PPM
Jack Weidenbach BMW 603 miles 5127 points 8.50 PPM
Critter Honda 720 miles 4815 points 6.69 PPM
Brett Donahue HD 714 miles 4303 points 6.02 PPM
Alen Wilson BMW 643 miles 4208 points 6.54 PPM
Lute Mullenix Kawasaki 480 miles 2859 points 5.96 PPM
Larry Stitzel Honda 489 miles 2734 points 5.59 PPM
Ken Johnson Honda Time barred.
 
STANDARD CLASS
Steffen Fay BMW 713 miles 7371 points 10.34 PPM
Greg Anderson BMW 683 miles 7227 points 10.58 PPM
Brian Chut   552 miles 5750 points 10.42 PPM
Keith Collins BMW 648 miles 5740 points 8.86 PPM
Lindsey Roe BMW 567 miles 5328 points 9.40 PPM
Dan Pagel      637 miles 3837 points 6.02 PPM
Pat Stitzel Honda 502 miles 3234 points 6.44 PPM
Dustin Ross Suzuki 502 miles 2359 points 4.70 PPM
Charles Rice Ducati Time Barred
Stephen Pate Honda Time Barred
Molly Gilbert BMW Time Barred
 
TWO-UP CLASS
Ron Hanson/Lisa Berg Honda 580 miles 7097 points 12.24 PPM
Ken Bryant/daughter Yamaha 726 miles 4840 points 6.67 PPM
Loren and Glenda Molder Honda 487 miles 3240 points 6.65 PPM
Scott and Pam Ross Honda 470 miles 2659 points 5.66 PPM
 
FUNKY CLASS
Frank White Honda CB1000 549 miles 4625 points 8.42 PPM
Bill Rufenacht BMW R100/7 623 miles 3837 points 6.16 PPM
Mike Austad Moto Guzzi 850T 496 miles 2741 points 5.53 PPM
mike Marzitelli Honda GL1000 50 miles 228 points 4.56 PPM
Dave Nelson Honda Cb750/1100 Time Barred
Donna Lamme BMW R90/6  DNF

Team Newbie Rally Stats
Miles:556.9 Points:7097 Moving Avg:64.1mph  Overall Average 49.9mph Moving Time: 8:41 Stop Time: 2:29

Final Garmin GPS route

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Copyright ©1998-2003, Ron Hanson. All rights reserved
Some pictures compliments of Lisa Berg
Last edited 12/24/2003