In 2004 I started hosting a 24 hour Iron Butt Style rally in New England. It was called the Minuteman 1000 and ran for 14 years.
After some discussion with friends old and new I’ve decided to bring back the Minuteman with a dirty twist.
The Muddy Minuteman will be three events in one.
First is a 33 hour scavenger hunt throughout New England with most of the bonus locations on dirt with some being on class IV + roads, jeep trails and single track. There will be a 9 hour rest bonus where riders can collect extra points for setting up camp and making their own dinner. Riders can take the rest bonus at any location, including the rally site.
This will start at 06:00 Friday August 12 and finish at 15:00 on Saturday August 13.
The second event is a 10 hour version of the same and will start at 06:00 on Saturday August 13.
The third option is to come hang out in Colebrook and ride some of the provided .GPX files.
Dinner will be served Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, breakfast Friday and Saturday, grab n go on Sunday.
The Rally will be based from Camp Bobriwka in Colebrook, Ct. Camp Bobriwka is a wonderful 300 acre spot with a rustic dining hall, bunk houses, pond side camping, a modern bathhouse and more. It’s a great place to basecamp for a ride or post up for a relaxing weekend. There are some luxurious tiny houses available to rent.
The Muddy Minuteman (MM) will be an scavenger hunt rally with no set route. Riders will be presented with a .GPX file with a wide variety of locations with varying point values. The value of each bonus will be based on its distance from the start, the difficulty of the terrain to reach it and the difficulty to accomplish whatever task is required in the rallybook The tasks can range from reading a marker to answer a question, taking a photo, or going on a short but perhaps steep hike to do one or both of the former.
The MM is designed for capable riders of large displacement bikes such as the BMW R1250 GS, Honda Africa Twin, KTM 1290, etc. The lower end would be defined by the Yamaha Super Tenere. There will be a separate class for smaller bikes and big singles.
There will be some mandatory requirements for both rider and machine. The bike will be inspected. GPS will be mandatory as will a tracker that can send data to SPOTWALLA and send / receive messages from rally central. A camera or smartphone that will geotag photos to a memory card is also required.
The point of the event is to have fun. Good clean fun. There will be a lot of rules and details to follow for the type A, competitive rider. Doing so well will result in a great ride with what for you may be some challenges a little outside your comfort zone (remember this when you think of riding alone). There will be trophies for the top riders and swag for all. At least a sticker.
I also know how painful it can be to put down a huge effort to get somewhere and get zero points because the camera didn’t work, the marker was gone or I put A instead of An in my answer. Point is we’re going to put the emphasis on the ride so as long as your tracking device works if you reach it, you bag it while the folks that got it right get the big points. There will be a minimum score required to be considered a finisher.
The 10hr rally will have more transits on pavement. I’m hopeful that it will have a good number of bonuses that are closer to camp yet not at all big bike friendly. Rather than have different books for two classes it can be leveled by having the GS rider go further.
Finally for those who love to watch, chill and go for their own kind of ride this is your spot. A big reason for this ride is to support the Camp. It’s an amazing spot. There’s a wonderful dining hall and some adjacent flat field for tents, a big fire pit, places for RV’s travel trailers and car campers. There are a few bunk rooms too. It’s near a bunch of great riding. You could also wear yourself out riding a smaller bike on property. Chef Don Stover and his crew will be providing meals.
This is planned for August 11-14. If you’re from out of town come on up for the Muddy Minuteman and stick around for Dirt Daze the following weekend.