Harvest Rally 2013 A ride report...

[TBONE]

Harvest Road Rally Ride Report

I saw Daggy at the BMW mileage contest today, and thought about how much I miss his ride reports at GLMC rallies. So I thought I’d give it a shot and write one up for the Harvest rally this year.

On Tuesday before the rally I had my bike in for its 18K service and as “mechanic-extraordinaire” Earl Moon reviewed the service checklist with me he said, “You need new tires, sooner rather than later.” I hadn’t noticed the need for new tires, but now of course I was worried that I had been negligent. “Plenty of tread left” Scott Madson confirmed my thoughts that I could make it through the rally with these tires, as long as I don’t go to Minot!!! Early bonus listings had gone out to riders the weekend prior, and Minot was the long distance bonus. No points or combos were assigned yet, so riders were only able to plot out waypoints.

I baked a German chocolate birthday cake for Darryl D. as he usually is celebrating his birthday at the harvest rally. The last time we celebrated Darryl’s birthday, he told me that his wife told him that she wanted to bake a cake for him for his birthday. She asked, “What kind of cake do you want for your birthday? He said, “German Chocolate!” She said, “Oh, I don’t like that, what’s your second choice!” I thought that was hilarious. Friday night as the group gathered we were delighted by Becky and Cindy’s culinary skills and feasted on pasta, salad, breads and of course, cake. Sorry you couldn’t make it Darryl, we missed you.

Friday night the points were assigned to the bonus locations and combos were detailed. The theme had a “Norwegian” flare, included spelling UFFDA (that’s Norwegian for “Holy Cow!”) out of town names (I used Ulen, Frazee, Fosston, Dalton, and Alexandria) plus a stop at 100% Norwegian’s house, Bob Lindom.

After a spirited question and answer period, we dispersed to do some ciphering. Riders in pursuit of the Minot bonus were required to get 4 other boni in Minnesota plus Minot before tagging any other boni. This meant that you would be driving past many other boni on your quest to complete the Minot bonus. Minot riders could depart at 11PM Friday night. At 11PM many riders returned to HQ to see who was going to Minot and whether they would be “forced” to go to be competitive in the rally. Luckily no one decided to try for Minot due to the crazy bonus requirement or crappy, cold weather, or in Don Q’s case…slightly overserved? In Becky and my defense, we really did try to convince Don to text his wife rather than call her at 11:30! Doreen Q is a really good sport. I got very little sleep, thinking about my route, and how I didn’t think I’d have enough time to complete it. My GPS told me I’d arrive home at 6:40PM; I didn’t feel I’d have any cushion at all. I’d have to cut something out of my route…

Saturday, riders were treated to a continental breakfast with delicious coffee and handed their goody bag (Crown Royal bag) filled with yummy treats. Becky and Cindy really take good care of us! The goody bag was required in all the photos for the day. (Jayd must know a bartender to collect all those Crown Royal bags.) We lined up at 6:30 for ODO check and were allowed to depart at 7AM.
Myself and 4 other riders turned North out of the driveway and we lost Trent M 5 miles down the road as he turned to head east on 108 (Sebeka bonus.) The 3 riders and I continued North to Perham, then West on Hwy 10 to Frazee. As the riders turned west I could make them out in the early morning light. Jeff K, then Alvin B, then Mike H then me. I’m in a Concourse caravan!

Alvin dropped out first, turning South off of 10 to a completely unknown destination. (Dun villa UFFDA) and the three of us continued on to Frazee. In Frazee Jeff K peeled off for the UFFDA photo, and only then did it occur to me that I was in an UFFDA town! Good idea…I’ll drop my intended “Forada” and save some miles and a little time. I didn’t see Jeff K again all day. I stopped to take a photo at the fire department and was now alone as Mike H continued on to Clearbrook for the church bonus with no stop in Frazee. About 50 miles down the road I caught up to him and rode together to the first bonus, there he determined his heated gear was falling apart and I left him as he was retrieving the “spare” parts he needed from his luggage. Really smart to have spare parts. Clearbrook boni included 1 stop for Gnome combo (429 pts) and 1 stop for Church combo (2500 pts), then on to Gonvick, MN to purchase some lefse (501pts) from the fun-loving lady at the only grocery store in town, Vandy’s. The Lefse challenge combo included 5 stops related to lefse. The lady working in the tiny store was hilarious. She was so excited about our challenge and fired questions at me about where I was going next and where I had been and how long I would be riding today, etc. I bought the required Mrs. Olsen’s lefse and asked if I could buy one of her display pumpkins out front (442PTS). They weren’t really for sale, but she said, “OK, how about a dollar?” I said, “That sounds great!” She hollered “Good Luck, I hope you win!” as I loaded my pumpkin into a sidecase. Later in the day Scott M stopped and she asked him more questions and directed him to the lefse in the back of the store, she told him about the lady who was spelling UFFDA with town names, and he said, “Yeah, that would be my wife.” As he was leaving, she came out and told him, by the way…for extra points; you’re supposed to wash a “100% Norwegian” ladies car!” Luckily he didn’t fall for that trick.

I traveled on to Fosston, MN for an UFFDA “F” (292 pts) and then motored on to Ulen for a lightning quick stop. As the model of efficiency I planned to get gas, use that receipt for the Ulen lefse bonus (427 pts) (bring back Lena’s lefse or just a town receipt) and take an UFFDA picture (292pts). I had been to Ulen during the USA Grand Tour and knew the Ulen Standard Service could meet all my needs. I must have looked ridiculous (more on that later) as I scrambled to pump fuel, record ODO, place Crown Royal bag, take a picture, ask young gas attendant for a receipt, etc as the local coffee crew just looked at me as if I were from Mars. The final straw was as I was leaving I bent over to pick up my dropped glove and BONKED my helmeted head on the door frame. I didn’t look back, as I know my solo 3-stooges routine must have had them in tears. Later I learned that Randy and Connie G were also able to provide them with similar entertainment in their MC gear including Randy’s paper rain suit. Scott M actually stopped at Lena’s lefse, and in true Norwegian form she was selling it: 4 pieces for $6 or 12 pieces for $20… He visited with Lena for a while and learned a little about the lefse business and her basset hound.



On to Barnsville, MN to answer POTATO DAYS question (292 pts) and then Rothsay, MN for the Ole and Lena Pizza photo stop (500 pts) from 11AM to 1PM. In Rothsay I noticed a “Rat Rod” of sorts parked at the “Super Cars” lot and made a mental note to snap a photo of it on my way out of town (428 pts) At Ole and Lena’s I ran into Frump, Original Randy, and Don Q! They were bragging about the panoramic pictures they had from a town very near where I lived, that had a big collection of classic cars(232 pts each -350 for any Bel-Airs. I guess Jayd isn’t a fan of Bel-Airs….) They wouldn’t tell me where the cars were, so I proceeded to get my picture taken with “Ole and Lena” (AKA Jack and Marlene) After I looked at the picture of me with them, I had to laugh at how silly I looked. Frump kindly told me that I looked “weird” in glasses and I motored on.



In my night-long calculations, I had planned to drop Rothsay, because it wasn’t linked to any combos, but I was running a little ahead of schedule and put it back on the route with plans to drop something of lesser value as we were only allowed 30 stops/boni on our bonus tally sheet, and I erroneously thought the “Combo” points would take up a line too. Wrong. I planned on Lefse, Gnome, Church, Uffda, Harvest, Old Car combos, using 6 lines of my dance card. All day I was manually calculating how many lines I was using and it turns out I had plenty of lines available. Oh well, it kept me busy.

I dropped off I-94 for a quick picture in Dalton for UFFDA (292 pts) and met Shooter on I-94 just east of Dalton. I don’t think he waved, but he claims he did. In Alexandria I planned 3 stops, one at Target for a Starbucks gift card (623 pts), UFFDA town sign (292 pts) and Scandinavia Gift Shoppe question (197 pts) I met Randy and Connie heading South on Highway 29 and they waved!
I proceeded to Osakis to buy more lefse (1000 pts) at Jacobs Lefse Bakeri. My S&T route had me stopping at Jacobs closer to the end of the day, but they were only open 9-5 so I manually bumped them up in placement so as not to lose that combo. As I pulled up to Jacob’s Randy and Connie were just arriving too. We walked into the bakeri together and Connie grabbed the last 2 packages of lefse and held them in the air in a sign of VICTORY (no pun intended). “These are the last two packages!” she exclaimed. I should have grabbed one and said, “Too bad Randy doesn’t get one!” But I asked the crabby salesmen if he had more lefse, and he said, “yes.” We jabbered a little while he got more lefse and then we checked out. I asked him if he had had a lot of “impatient motorcyclists” in today, and he said, “Not as many as I thought I would.” I wasn’t sure what that meant and decided to avoid the small talk with this guy. We were shocked the lefse was $6 in Osakis, as none of us had paid more than $2-3 at the other stops, not counting Lena’s crazy math. Jacob’s lefse is by far the best though, and well worth the extra money. The almond cookies there are pure heaven. Adios Randy and Connie, on to Clear Lake, MN for the McDonalds Meats question (1000 pts) and then to Bob’s (425 pts) the last stop in my UFFDA combo.
I had been to Bob’s last year and knew his driveway came up quick after a curve and his driveway has little to be desired. Bob was there along with Heidi and Ed, Jayd’s sister and her husband. I said “Hi” to Bob and reminded him that I had been there last year. He said, “Yes, I remember you.” Hmmm…Heidi was super helpful and escorted me to the shed with all the cars, 3 classic cars and a rat rod. I learned over the years, that bike in the picture means “bike in the picture.” So I asked Ed if I drove into the shop (sand floor) would he help me get turned around so I could get out ? Sure! So I pulled in, answered the UFFDA question, took a picture of the Rat rod (428 pts) and took 1 picture (only 1 allowed) of my bike with the 3 old cars. Ed then pushed me all the way out and I thanked him and Heidi profusely for all their help. Ed asked where I was going next and I told him “New London” He gave me some directions to get there and I proceeded to New London, meeting Randy and Connie at the driveway.



Now is when my GPS started to crap out. The cradle wasn’t charging the unit, and it claimed to be on battery power. This however had been going on all morning and I was always able to “cancel” the shutdown. Allegedly I had been operating on battery power for 9 hours. I knew this couldn’t be true, so I jiggeled the GPS in the cradle to establish a charging connection and we continued on to Paynesville. The new highway 23 in Paynesville confused my GPS, so I pulled over and pulled out a PAPER MAP! I got back on track and continued on to New London (327 pts) for a gnome question and then on to Pennock for the Norwegian Church bonus (425 pts) Thank God my GPS held out and got me to this “middle of no-where” church, because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have found it. Super cool old church, considered to be the “mother Church” of 6 local churches. Definitely one of the best stops today. The gravel road getting there was a little squirrely and I was glad it wasn’t currently raining or it could have been a bugger.

Along the way I managed to find someone harvesting, so I was lucky and got that bonus (255 pts) I only saw one person harvesting all day! On to Glenwood to answer a Gnome question (300 pts) GPS really crapping out now. We’ll at least I can get to the last few stops on my own if I have to. On to Starbuck, meet Keith E in Starbuck, he waves. My GPS cannot seem to find the World’s Largest Lefse at Starbuck Depot Square. I pull over to ask a nice local if he can direct me to the lefse monument, and he looks at me and points at a sign just over my shoulder across the street notating the lefse celebration. Not sure how I missed that, I responded and walked over to document the year (327 pts).

On to the Holly Skogen Park in Starbuck for my last stop. It’s now about 4:45pm (?) roughly and I am elated that I will complete my route with 45 minutes to spare. I locate the park and proceed to the covered bridge to record my answer. No answer there. Go back to my bike and turn it off, grab paperwork to re-read question. “Inside the park is the Troll Church” Oh I must go “inside the park…” I enter the troll park, and I have to admit, this is one of the coolest places I have ever been. Somebody made this little magical park for trolls and all the buildings are tiny. There are different trolls along the path and we have to walk a fair distance back to find the church (501 pts) just before the church is a “grassy area” with really long grass. As I go to cross this area, I sink into water 2/3 the way up my boots! I quick switch feet to get to “high ground” only to sink in again. I do a quick “hot sand” sort of walk to get to the higher ground, and laugh “I hope this isn’t being recorded!” I find the church, answer the question, and I can hear another motorcycle circling the park and return to my bike to find Alvin B. I mentioned that this is a crazy park, and he doesn’t respond. obviously not in the mood for chitchat.

I head for home and contemplate a stop in Kensington for an extra 292 points, but figure my bonus sheet must be full by now, and I’ve lost count. My GPS goes completely dead, and I decide to call it a day. My goals now are to get home on time, not hit any deer, and not get a flat tire. All successful.

Lucky me, I got home in time to do the “Surprise Bonus.” From 5pm-6:30pm. A hula hoop challenge that was especially challenging as there was no marble or weight to the hoop, and therefore considerably more difficult to operate. I told Dana that I couldn’t claim the bonus, because my dance card was full. Unfortunately they were making exceptions to the rule, and everybody gets to..Yippee. I think I hula hooped for 3 seconds for a whopping 15 pts! It was a lot of fun though!

My total points for the day were 18945 in 603 miles. I rode about 160 miles of freeway and averaged approximately 53 miles per hour. I think I ended up with 20 stops.

Thanks to the staff for a great rally. I had a blast. The theme was very entertaining and I was amazed how many riders didn’t know what uffda meant, or what lefse was. I have been taking my Norwegian neighbors for granted. As always the food was fantastic, and I really appreciate all the riders coming from such long distances, especially everyone who came from Iowa. It was great to meet some new riders and look forward to seeing Keith, Trent, and Scott F at future rallies.
For dinner a delicious menu of yummy pork chops from McDonalds Meats, salad, baked potatoes, corn and of course LEFSE! I need to learn to take food pictures like Daggy….

[Cruzin]

Nice report Beth and one heck of a good ride

I do find it hard to believe my sister was helpful she is usually just a PITA

I hadn't heard the story about Scott in Gonvick...that is a good one

[LSGiant]

Great report thanks for taking the time to write the report and share your ride.

Congrats on being one of the best female riders I know. I would say the best but Connie's pretty good too.

[CruiserConnie]

Nice ride report, Beth! Randy and I did not plan quite as ambitious a route as you, so I never worried for a second about filling up my dance card... Holly Skogen Park was such a delightful place. At this point in the day I knew we didn't have enough time for additional stops, so I stayed a little longer to snap a few extra photos.

Thanks to everyone for a great rally. The Harvest Rally is one of my favorites and I've really enjoyed the past two years when it's been at Otter Tail Beach Resort.

Connie

[Frump]

Wow, that is a really awesome story. Thanks.

[ABNDVM]

Really nice report Beth. Looking forward to future rallies

Keith E