This article is for someone who has never done any kind of endurance rally / Scavenger hunt. This is what the AMA refers to as a Bonus Hunt.
As the organizer my goal is to have fun. Ask just about any event host and they’ll say they enjoy putting on the event and we want our riders to enjoy the experience as much if not more than we do. Sure it’s a lot of work but I have a project to work on all winter and lots of places to discover come spring.
The Muddy Minuteman (MM9), like the original Minuteman 1000 is designed to be enjoyable not only for the type A competitor but also the first time entrant, the adventurous and those that just want to have a good time.
My first suggestion is to decide which group do you want to play in. Do you want to test all your skills such as reading comprehension, riding ability, endurance and thinking on the fly? If so welcome Type A rider; this rally will test you like no other. From there you can tone it down, perhaps you don’t want to push so hard, want to ride with a less experienced teammate or you just want to play the game and see what it’s like. All of these types will find fun in this event.
Sunday evening before the start you will receive a .GPX file via email. It will have all the locations (except wild cards) and will be named with the bonus code and point value. For example PTWN10000 could be a bonus on Cape Cod and be worth 10,000 points. To find the bonus in the book all you need is PTWN. This is where you will find the instructions as to what is required. It may be as easy as take a photograph of a lighthouse or as complicated as reading two dates off a plaque and calculating the difference between them to answer a question. This is because just about anyone can do the miles, we’re looking for riders who can do the miles, follow directions and think on their feet.
It is highly recommended that you have the .GPX file loaded in your device(s) before you arrive to the start.
You will need to be at the rally site no later than 4pm on Thursday. You will need to have a valid copy of your registration, insurance and drivers license. You’ll also need 300/300 insurance coverage. This is more than state minimums; you can call your agent to have this coverage added for a short period of time. Because this also provides cover for an uninsured motorist I keep this on my policy year round. Your motorcycle will undergo a brief technical inspection and we may send you out on a short odometer check ride.
Thursday evening we’ll have a nice dinner in the dining hall and a rider’s meeting after. The rallybooks will be distributed at this time. If you spent some time routing you will want to read the instructions for the bonuses you selected right away. There might be a hike or other activity involved that will take more time than you allowed.
Saturday morning there will be breakfast at 05:00 followed by a final riders meeting at 05:45 and the start at 06:00. You’ll be free to chase points until 21:00 which is what the most competitive riders will do before resuming at 06:00 Saturday. For those with a more casual approach you are welcome to return to the start / finish and camp on site as early as you wish. Dinner will be served along with breakfast Saturday morning; the finish for the 33hr rally is at 15:00 with a one hour penalty window.
The most competitive riders will chase points from 06:00 to about 20:45 to get their camp set up by 21:00. They’ll cook themselves dinner (likely boil in bag) get up early enough to be packed and ready to go for more points at 06:00 the next day and return to the finish by 15:00.
The most casual riders will start at 06:00, have a nice stop somewhere for lunch and collect more points on their way back to the start for an evening of merriment. They’ll go back out sometime after breakfast Saturday grab a few points, have a nice lunch and be back by 15:00.
Routing and selecting bonuses
Selecting bonus locations and building a route is the hardest part of this game. Often rides plans are overly ambitious leading to stress. This is where you need to draw on your experience as to what your comfortable speeds are on various surfaces. The maxim planned speed on dirt should be no higher than 20mph which is what most New England states have as a default. 50 is the same on pavement, again unless otherwise noted. On dirt the otherwise noted will likely be faster, on pavement it will be slower. Most mapping programs calculate using the posted speed limit.
You may have a history of “beating the box” when it comes to ETA’s on short rides. The longer the ride the harder it is to beat the box because the box doesn’t allow for bathroom breaks, food, gas or collecting bonuses. Don’t try to beat the box in this rally. It won’t work.
My suggestion for a first time competitor or a more relaxed competitor is to design a route the week before the ride with plenty of slack. As you plan keep track of the overall rate of advance you’ll need to maintain to complete your plan. The more dirt the lower the rate; if I was going to guess I’d say 25 mph is about right. As an example the Iron Butt Rally top riders have a rate of advance of 45+ (and rising) but they’re on big street bikes rolling down the slab. Make some notes on when you expect to reach a bonus, if you’re falling behind know which one to eliminate.
If you’re a type A competitor you’ll want to bring a laptop, cables and be prepared to adjust plans on the fly; perhaps even shortly after you get the rallybook.
The core rallystaff are the same group that put on the Minuteman 1000 for 14 years and is made up of Iron Butt Rally finishers. We’re here to have fun and we want you to have fun too. With this in mind the only dumb question is the one never asked.
See you in August.
