Dale McNeely, rider #86 - a DNF but a great story (apologies for any formatting issues):
Hello Everyone:
Well, it has been an interesting couple of days. Here’s my Rally update, and the end of my
Rally, unfortunately.
As I was traveling through 120°F heat in Phoenix on Tuesday,
I kept hearing a noise; I couldn’t ascertain from where it was coming.
After spending that night in Needles, where it was a mere
115 degrees at 10:30 pm, I woke up to 90°F.
It hadn’t exactly cooled down overnight.
As I left town, the noise persisted; I figured it was the new clutch I
had installed right before leaving home.
I then headed to California, specifically Hwy 395 which
runs north and south on the eastern side of the Sierras. This was absolutely fantastic riding and as I
collected a few bonus points, I realized that I was going to be early into the Reno
area checkpoint. So I did what I do
best. I bit off a little more than I could chew….I headed to Bodie (a ghost
town off of Highway 395) and collected a very nice big bonus point total. I had decided that I needed to know where the
noise was coming from; so on my way out of Bodie I took my ear plugs out and
realized the noise I was hearing was not laughter, it was my transmission!
I figured I could get to Markleeville, collect one more
bonus, and then head towards Reno and into civilization where I may be able to
get cell coverage and a tow. My luck ran out in Markleeville!! Greta (my 2004 GS1150 Adventure) said no
more, bucked me off, and then laid down.
As I had no cell phone reception, I had to walk about ½ mile in
motorcycle riding boots, into town and find a phone. Luck was on my side and the local bar was
open! YEAH!! I could call a tow and drown my sorrows all at the same time!
After staying on hold with AAA for a few minutes, the
young girl running the bar asked if I were okay. I said I am hold for AAA. She said you will be here all night if you
continue to wait for them and gave me the name of the local tow company. Quickly
to my rescue was Woodford’s Towing Service, owned by the absolutely most
fantastic people. We laughed all the way
to Boomtown, outside Reno, where the Butt Lite checkpoint was in full swing.
So imagine this…..we pull into the Boomtown parking lot,
Greta proudly displayed on the back of the flatbed tow truck, with the other
Butt Lite Rally Riders watching, and thanking their lucky stars this was not
them. My ride of shame…. (See picture).
After letting Lisa, the Rally Master, know I was back, I
immediately started doing research on-line to find a transmission. I stayed up late and found nothing.
The next morning I had to declare myself DNF (Did Not
Finish). I’m not sure which is worse, my
DFL (Dead effing Last) finish on my last rally, or not being able to finish
this one! Darn it!
So on Wednesday morning, I rented a car, headed home to
get the Toyota, rented a motorcycle trailer and immediately headed back to Reno. I got there just passed midnight on Thursday
morning, and had to remove the rear wheel and disconnect the drive train to
wheel Greta onto the trailer. I then proceeded
to head home. I finally reached home at
5:30 am Thursday morning, and have been sleeping ever since. Now I have to wait until 2018 before I can
try to finish this rally, as Butt Lite is a bi-annual event.
But overall, it was fun…especially being on my home turf
on Highway 395, one of my favorite rides.
I was just coming into my stride, figuring out this rally stuff, when
Greta let me down.
If I had not DNF’d I would have been about the middle of
the pack, at least at the mid-point of this rally. And trust me…that would have been totally
fine with me! I’ve attached a few
pictures showing you the different ways of earning points. I guess we’ll all have to wait until 2018’s
Butt Lite for this story To Be Continued….
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