Doc1647545523

Since this 3-state, 700 mile rally was just a weekend, I'll try to keep my part of the thread short. I didn't take many photos and hope that Brian (Coaster) and Chandler (Robochan) contribute their stories and photos. My apologies for the low-resolution pics. The rally started and ended in Dayton with an overnight in Buckhannon, WV. Saturday morning 50 teams staged in front of the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio HQ in downtown Dayton: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/lineup_zps12124c41.jpg Rally North America rallies are timed road rallies with a scavenger hunt type of theme. When your team's time starts, you're handed a route card with clues to 8 or so checkpoints between your starting line and the finish point. The clue might be just a photo. It may be a description such as "the world's largest horseshoe crab" http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/crabshell_zps5cdda1a2.jpg or something a little more vague, such as the bed and breakfast with the "best front porch view in Ohio." When you find the checkpoint, you need photo evidence that you and your co-driver were both there. Chandler at Hillbilly Hotdogs in Lasage, West Virginia: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/hillbillyhotdog_zps6dea5921.jpg Mothman statue attacking me (Point Pleasant, WV): http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/mothmanattacks_zps68d83fdb.jpg Some of the checkpoints are tricky. One description spoke of an Indian massacre, General Anthony Wayne, the Treaty of Greeneville, and a 12 foot marble obelisk. Unfortunately, those clues tend to point you towards Fort Recovery (not the checkpoint). The real checkpoint was in the Big Bottom Memorial State Park, where the actual obelisk was neither 12 foot tall and did not match the picture "clue." http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/obelisk_zps8f777017.jpg When our internet address brought us close but not to the right location, I figured we could just ask townspeople on the street of Stockport, Ohio, where the obelisk was. Unfortunately no one we could find knew anything about the memorial, nor were they familiar with the term "obelisk." I felt that I was among a tribe of humans who did not speak my language. Also, you often don't have cell phone signal, internet access, or assorted other navigational failures. At some points, paper maps were our best friends. We were on some great roads and saw some beautiful fall colors. After dinner in Buckhannon, we went to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum which was operated from 1864 until the feds shuttered it in 1964. It is the largest stone building in the U.S. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/Weston_State_Hospital_zps0f451abd.jpg The only larger hand-cut sandstone structure in the world is the Kremlin. At its peak, it housed 2600 mentally ill patients. Pretty scary how the mentally ill were abused in the past. There were ghost tours, flashlight tours, and paintball. It is quite the place to see, and I recommend it if you're in the area. Day 2 was the same general schedule as Day 1, but with different roads through West Virginia, Hocking Hills and southcentral Ohio. We had finished in the top 10 Day 1, but improved on that Day 2, but still not in the top 3. Shortly after crossing the finish line in Dayton, another driver pointed out to me that I had a tire going flat. It was a puncture on the inside sidewall, and of course no tires close to my size could be found in Dayton on Sunday afternoon. We brought the car back to Columbus Sunday night on a roll back and the great folks at Wheel Medic replaced the tire and had me on my way early Monday morning. Besides the "timed" awards, there are awards for best costume, best decal job, longest traveled, hard luck, and so forth. I'm hoping the other contributors to the thread have some photos showing those. There were themes including Smokey & The Bandit, Wayne's World, and this one which had something to do with champagne and drivers dressed as priests (I never quite got the whole thing straight in my mind): http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/2014%20Ohio%20Valley%20Rall/champagnecar_zps816e350d.jpg The monopoly crew dressed as monopoly board characters and got photos of the monopoly property streets they encountered during the rally (e.g., Baltic Avenue, Park Place, and so forth). These rallies are very inexpensive compared to the Bull Run, Gumball Rally, and such, and teams come from all over the U.S. and Canada to compete. This year, over $100k has been raised for charity by Rally North America. For information on the 2015 rallies (The Smoky Mountain Rally and the Ohio Valley Rally), go to the website here: http://www.rallynorthamerica.com/ Smoky Mountain Rally registration for rally veterans will open in a few weeks, November 1st. Registration for the general public will open December 1st. The 2014 summer rally (The Route 50 Rally) is recounted by Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire in a two-part video available here: http://www.rallynorthamerica.com/node/9 His videos give a very good feel of the rally. If you're interested in knowing more about the rally, feel free to contact me. CR members interested in participating in the 2015 rallies will be meeting informally sometime in the next couple of weeks. Many thanks to those who donated for our team, thanks to our business sponsor, Wheel Medic, and thanks to teammate Robochan who was an excellent navigator and probably one of the best drivers in the rally.

The car looks great, you look happy, and your family's well provided-for. You went from a more expensive car you weren't enjoying to a more affordable car you love. Carpe diem! :thumbup:

Clay, Mike, Sam: let's get those CTS-V's signed up for track day ..... we need to sort out the "luxury and fast" category in real life. I've heard enough about what the magazines say the quarter mile times are. I'm going to bring that old black boat of mine--it should be easy prey for those "Corvette-powered" cars of yours.

Photos and stories to come. Got back late Sunday night. No podium spots, but finished in top 10 for day one and either 4th or 5th on day two. I had a flat tire right at the finish line. :lolguy: Terrific weekend, very fun. Perhaps Brian and Chandler will chime-in here. I'm tied up at work most of the week. Brian and his wife shot this video of the line-up on Day 1 to give you an idea of the competition: David Patterson (That Dude in Blue) also drove in the Rally and will produce a video on the experience. I'm sure there will be plenty of videos and photos popping up by next weekend.

Because you generated $92 in kickback to be donated to CR's general fund besides saving yourselves $3 each at the gate. Thank you! I hope you all had a great time at IFO. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/FallIFOcheck_zpse3d19a9c.jpg

Very impressive. Congratulations on a truly great season. :thumbup:

Team CR raised $1,510 and will be starting in position #4. The event has raised over $25,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio. Many thanks to all who contributed.

Alabama might be a good state for you to navigate while your team member drives. Sure, maybe in a month or two we can make a thread and invite anyone who wants to get some info about the rally and also invite previous rally participants.

The Smoky Mountains Rally will be July 13-16, 2015, Knoxville TN to Savannah GA. Pre-registraton dates are not yet determined, but should be announced in the next 60 days. To stay up to date, check their website: http://www.rallynorthamerica.com/ There usually are 2-4 teams of CR members competing.

Darren (Agent Orange), thank you for the donation. It is much appreciated. We're over our original goal and $20 short of overtaking the #5 team. We'll see how the next day or two play out.

Thank you, Brad. I consider any amount generous ..... I even appreciate the people who wish us well but aren't comfortable contributing any money. We're all in different circumstances. This charity hits close to home on a number of levels. Cody Converse, whose name is on the rally, had epilepsy but that didn't diminish his enthusiasm for cars, driving, and rallying. He became friends with Scott Spielman (Spieldawg on CR, one of the founders of Rally North America) and had been looking forward to participating in a Rally North America event after he turned 18. Cody died in January of 2013 just a few months short of reaching that goal. His cause of death was determined to be SUDEP, a poorly understood cause of death in those with epilepsy. His family requested that memorial contributions be made to the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio. Scott then put together this Ohio Valley "mini-rally" in 2013 and named it after his friend Cody, with proceeds to benefit epilepsy services and research. Chandler, my co-driver, noted when he was putting the rally stickers on the car that he was born the same year as Cody Converse. The coincidence drives home the point that these "car guy things" that we all do routinely -- drag racing, car shows, autocross, rallies -- these are things that others dream about, but may never achieve. Maybe they are held back by dire circumstances, overwhelming obligations, physical limitations, or in Cody's case an untimely death. We need to appreciate that we are truly "living the dream" and be thankful for that opportunity and work towards sharing our enjoyment with others.,

Welcome, Brian. I'm glad to see you joined CR. You'll find a lot of RNA alumni here. You did a great job with the truck, BTW. I'll see you at the starting line in Dayton in a few days.

Well, CR really came through. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/emoticons/party0024.gif Sean (Crossle), Bob (DTA09), and Tom (GRN96WS6) -- you've put us over our goal. We've raised $1,055 so far. There's still time to donate and become part of the team. Many thanks for the kind words and support from Columbus Racing. I'll make a thread after we return giving updates and a rally report with photos.

Grant, that was very kind of you. :thumbup: It is appreciated, my friend. We're just $70 from our team goal thanks to you.

Jones, I knew I could count on you. Many thanks, my BRZ brother.

It would be about 25 guys if we just got the prior CR participants to go again. What a blast that would be. :fuckyeah:

Aaron, thank you for the generous donation. It puts us in easy reach of the $1,000 goal. We're holding our own at 6th place in a field of 50. It was great having you and Jess competing in Rally Dixie. That rally had a great showing by Columbus Racing, and there were seven podium finishers from CR, all rookies! http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Rally%202012/winners.jpg I hope you and your wife can make it on the Smoky Mountain Rally in 2015.

I believe it is Thursday midnight to count for our team. However, the Foundation would accept donations at any time. The cars are positioned according to their fundraising. The highest fundraiser takes the first spot and starts the rally first. Second highest next, and so on.

Thank you, Will. Very generous of you. The Ohio Valley Rally stays close around Ohio. This year I think we'll only be in Ohio and West Virginia, 700 miles total, all done in one weekend. I used to see other short rallies in Ohio, but to my knowledge, they are no longer running. Also, the big summer Rally North America event is being shortened. Last summer's US 50 Rally was a bit long for many people. The 2015 "big summer" rally will be in the Smokey Mountains and will last from July 13-16 (Knoxville to Savannah).

Many thanks to old friends Farkas and Jim Rose. Your gifts were very generous. Mike Murphy, WOW! You're a CR member for a couple of weeks and you stepped up with a donation. Thank you. I'm impressed. And after all the terrible things I've been saying about you ...... To CR sponsors Wheel Medic, Bruce Hill (HER realtor), Lora (Coldwell Banker realtor), and Derek at Best One, many thanks for your ongoing support and sentiments. Ben, thanks for your support as well. Stretch, thanks for your support and the compliments. My co-driver Chandler did 90% of the decal work. Since this is my 7th rally, the novelty of applying and later removing stickers has diminished for me. Today's flurry of donations has moved Team CR up to 6th in the field of 50. We've raised $735 of our $1000 goal. So far the rally has raised $21,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio. A heartfelt thanks to you all.

It's like getting a new car for 16k. That kind of deal doesn't come along very often. Someone will get a great car. GLWS.

Thank you, Rick. Thanks Mojoe. Very generous of you both.

http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/driverside_zpsb1b377da.jpg Less than a week away, and Team CR is in 14th place (in a field of 50 teams) in fundraising. But I'm confident that if we make our team goal of $1,000, we'll be in one of the top five positions for the start of the rally. It's not too late to donate. Just follow the link in post #1. Even a $10 donation will be much appreciated. All donations go entirely to the charity and you're emailed a receipt for taxes. Thanks in advance for your support. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/rear_zps26a20f5a.jpg

How do you feel this would compare in brightness to a Wicked Laser Torch? It's rated at 4100 lumens -- do you feel that's exaggerated? Obviously the light you build will do many more functions than the Torch and has a much longer battery life. I might be interested in a custom build after you have your sponsor status resolved. Thanks for making this thread.

Columbus Racing was well-represented at the Fall IFO. I saw about 25 members I knew, and there were no doubt many others I either didn't see or else I don't know you to see you. CR took three top spots in the Car Show. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/emoticons/champ.gif Jeff (Bigfoot) took Best Exotic with the Lambo: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Fall%202014%20IFO/Jeff_zps90ca549a.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Fall%202014%20IFO/Jeffcar_zps187a368d.jpg Kevin (KD93R1) won best Mazda with his perfect RX-7: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Fall%202014%20IFO/Kevin_zpsb5a476c4.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Fall%202014%20IFO/Kevinscar_zps8bf051a6.jpg And I took 1st Place among the BRZ/FRS's: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Fall%202014%20IFO/Doc_zpsf11b28bb.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/Fall%202014%20IFO/Doccar_zps44d2a973.jpg Here's the gallery: http://www.thefoat.com/ImportFaceOff/photo_album/IFO+Ohio+2014+Sept/album_id-nDKD9tWTRWuM11rgJW8N%2BQ%3D%3D/ If I've missed anyone from the racing or the show, feel free to post here. In a few weeks I'll post the check for CR's kickback from the flyers.