2007 UTAH 1088

Friday, June 22nd.
It is the Friday night @ 2200 hours; I've gone to bed early in preparation for the upcoming Utah 1088 rally that begins tomorrow morning. Thinking, planning, thinking...

It is now @ 0300 and I'm still not asleep. Can't shut off brain. Can't....sleep.

What has driven me to this craziness?

Back up to January this year. Sitting in a classroom at Camp Williams, UT. I met another soldier that starts up talk about motorcycles. Motorcyclists in the Army are easy to spot with that large black dot on their boots where the shifter is. He introduces himself as Jason Wiscott and he rides a Ducati Multistrada. I'm riding a 02 Triumph Sprint ST. He begins to tell me of a ride he did last year, called the Utah 1088, a 24 hour endurance rally. That sounds cool I say. Maybe I could do that.

Research begins! Start with www.utah1088.com. Rider stories, announcements, application. The cost seemed a bit high but I was assured it was worth it. My wife didn't think so. "Why don't you use that money and spend a couple of days riding?" So I did. In May, Jason, myself, Jeff Powles (Jason's friend from Orlando, FL and Utah 1088 veteran) and my buddy and business partner, Bruce Heller. We spent 2 1/2 days exploring southern Utah's roads. For full ride report, "Everything Good in Utah," click here. Returning from this trip, I knew I still couldn't pass up doing the Utah 1088. I had to devise a way to get an entry fee, (hey, I'm married with 3 kids. Nothing's cheap.) Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Sponsorship! My business partners gave me a thumbs up and I was in action. Thankfully, Steve "RallyBastard" Chalmers, accepted my very late entry. I was now rider #83. I have heard that Steve likes to keep entries limited to ~75 but does go over on occasion.

Now to get ready. I sold my Triumph in March for a more versatile bike and I found that in a 02 Suzuki V-strom, that had been fully farkled. Thanks Mike! Bike preparations included a new air filter, new rear Tourance and new Givi windscreen. Oh yeah, and some shark teeth grahics that Steve later asked if I had taken those off an A-10 Warthog. Warthog...My new name for my lovely bike!


Thursday, June 21st.
Each year Steve hosts a BBQ at his house for all the riders and either their spouse or girlfriend, but NOT both. This was a good chance to meet some of the other riders, check out their bikes, eat some good grub, etc.. I actually felt nervous, this being my first time doing this rally. Heck, I've never done a rally! Never ridden my bike for 24 straight hours. Never ridden my bike nearly anywhere close to the time and distance I was preparing to do! Thankfully, the first three riders I meet have also never done the 1088. They were police officers from the San Fransisco bay area. Lots of bikes started to arrive and I got to see first hand what people who ride long distances do to their bikes. Multiple GPS, radar detectors, auxiliary fuel tanks, custom seating and fairings to name a few. My bike was setup with GPS and my custom seat was a wheelchair cushion I had borrowed from work (I work in Physical Therapy), and at the end, it had worked like a charm. No Monkey Butt here! I would have liked to stay the whole time but family business called in the form of my son's soccer tournament. Friday was tech inspection.

Friday, June 22nd
I gather all my gear and head to tech inspection and odometer calibration. Sign in is painless and quick. Fill out the forms, sign the release, get the goodies (long sleeve t-shirt, water bottle, key chain with my rally number on it). I complete the odometer check with 16.0 miles on the bike odometer and the GPS. Later, my registration and license are sealed in an envelope for the rally. Major points will be lost if it returns opened! More looking, gawking, at bikes and meeting some of the riders. In my research I had read past rider stories many times to help my understanding of what I'm getting ready to do. I met Matt Watkins with his FJR. I had spoken with Jeff Powles on what to do, not what to do, what to have, etc....

At 1900, our first rider's meeting begins. As is customary, Steve hands around "The Rock" to those with stupid questions or comments.














Steve receives a special t-shirt!



















My Vstrom at tech inspection. This year's rally winner, Mike Schmidt is close by with his GS.















Initial ride plan formed:
1. Do not be a DNF
2. Have Fun.
3. No speeding tickets.

Saturday, June 23rd.

I finally fall asleep around 0330, just in time for my 0445 wakeup!
Packed, dressed and ready to go and I realize just after I locked up the house that I left my helmet inside along with my house keys! After 5 minutes or so of knocking on the door and talking threw the window, my wife wakes up and opens the door, just a bit irritated. It's 5:35 now and I also need to stop off and add air to my tires as the PSI dropped overnight somehow. I'm finally on the road and beating feet around I-215. I make the 20 miles in near record time to the hotel and rally. Jason and Jeff are already there and getting ready. I pull up with them near the start line ( a move that saves us very soon! ).

6:15 AM Rider's meeting
Some rehashing of the rules.
6:45 AM
Packets are handed out; starting with number 1. I'm #83. Damn I hate waiting. Ride planning begins. The first leg is fairly short, with Checkpoint #1 in Nephi, UT to the south, opening at 10:00 to 11:30. Looking at possible bonus points were: Wendover (~1200 pts), Idaho border (~1200 pts), GPS bonus (Antelope Island for ~9000 pts) and of course, the slow ride for ~8900 pts. Ride plan changing with looking at collecting bonus points. In fact, doesn't appear we'll be riding on any part of the main route for the first leg.

7:00AM
And they're off!
Being at the front meant first go at the slow ride. You are allowed 2 tries but the line gets long and waiting isn't an option for Jason and I. I was 5th person to go and I didn't go 15 feet before my foot went down! Embarassing as I just about drop my bike, everyone is watching and I was the first not to make it. Damn. Jason follows and just makes it. Damn. The next 6 hours I cannot stop cursing myself for missing the slow ride bonus! Time for the GPS bonus.

We head up I-15 easily to the exit and head west to Antelope Island. $4 for the entrance, we are greeted with some nasty foul air on the causeway leading out. The roads on the island scream for 60+ mph but the posted limit is 25MPH! We soon passed one unhappy rider that had been pulled over! Time to slow down. We find the first bonus easily. A trail head sign.

We slowly ride out, on the lookout for officer friendly but encounter none. Passing thru Syracuse, we are the last two bikes before they close the road for a parade. Apparently, Steve knew this would be happening! I felt for those behind us trying to get around this.

We beat feet down I-15 towards Nephi for checkpoint #1, arriving around 10:30. Paperwork in, we receive Packet 2, with the rest of the route, checkpoints, and bonuses laid out. Time to plan!

The route had the rally head down to Salina, over to Loa, snake it's way down to Bryce and around Hwy 12 to Torrey for Checkpoint #2, which opens at 17:30 to 19:00. As Jason and I scan all the bonuses, one jumps out: a Keno ticket from Las Vegas bought on 23 June, worth over 29,000 points! Some quick calculating and we know it's no problem. In addition, there is a bonus at Cove Fort (~5500 pts), one at Kolob Canyon Visitor's center (~5200 pts) and another in Mesquite for (~9800 pts). Obviously, we're gonna have to skip Checkpoint #3 for this and get a good arrival time at Checkpoint #2 to make it happen.

Our new plan B:
1. Collect major points!
2. Have fun.
3. No speeding ticket.

First bonus of leg #2: Pushups.
Jason knocks out 60 and is the pushup leader! My turn: I knock out 40 and rest for a second before I can knock out some more. No Luck. Apparently, once you stop, you're done. Lesson learned. The Pushup bonus was the ONLY difference between 1st and 2nd place this year, with the winner doing 8 more pushups than his riding buddy! Oh the pain!

We get back on the road around 11am, headed for Salina, then out to Cove Fort and back to Hwy 72 for some more bonuses. We catch the bonus for a highway sponsor along the way (Whistle Pig Ranch) for ~555 pts. Our bonus at Cove Fort was the number of spires? on the top of the north side (6) for ~5200 pts. Along Hwy 72 south to Loa, we identified the name of a creek and the name of a gulch. Relizing we're gonna make Torrey way early, we head back along Hwyt 24 for another hwy sponsor bonus. We arrive in Torrey at 5PM, enough time to chill out, eat a Subway sandwich and down some more fluids. Our plan was to skip the bonuses further south in order to make it to Checkpoint #2 early for a good start on Vegas. Plan working well so far, but Jason's Multistrada has a problem; the kickstand is no longer working and it appears a bolt is missing or sheared. Fortunately, he had a centerstand added 2 days prior!

17:30
Off again! West on Hwy 24 to meet up with I-70. I-70 to I-15 South. So far the temps haven't been bad, esp. in central UT. Passing into St. George however, the temp rose and rose. I had begun to think that the black color I chose for my riding jacket was the wrong color! A good solution I used to help fight the heat was to douse a bandana with ice water and tie it around my neck, not to mention drinking 2 100oz Camelbacks by this point already! The temps in St. George had reached 100+ deg. and by 8PM had not noticeably cooled off and as we headed further south, it only seemed to get hotter. Gas in Mesquite provided a chance to cool off. I-15 between Mesquite and Vegas is a long, straight slab with more than it's fair share of Semi trucks. At one point, Jason and I passed a semi that was in the process of rolling over a 4' x 8' plywood sheet and we were showered in splintered plywood; Jason taking a piece in the collarbone. But no injuries thank goodness. Arriving in North Las Vegas, we had to decide: Is North Las Vegas as good as Las Vegas for a Keno ticket? We decide that Steve might just be picky enough, so downtown we go.

11PM: Keno tickets in hand with the numbers: 6, 7, and 23 and we're off!
To this point we have seen NO ONE else and are beginning to wonder whether we read something wrong. We pull out the paperwork again and read it. No. Nothing wrong here. I think that us being the first to leave the last checkpoint, just gave us a lead. We did finally pass riders as we headed out to Mesquite for a casino token. We even found ourselves riding along with the Torters on their beemer but as some point they vanished behind us. One of the dangers of riding at night is by the time you seen something in front of you in the road, it's too late. So it was with a large semi tire tread that I nailed around midnight. I love the Vstrom 19" front tire as it rolls well over things and now I'm awake!

Midnight:
Jason runs in to Virgin River Casino for some chips and has a bit of a problem getting them from the staff but succeeds at a poker table. Time for more drink (Helloooo Red Bulls! My new friend. ) To this point I've felt good, never really tired, thanks to an occasional Red Bull and many lemon drops and alot of fluids. But now it's getting late and the ride thru the Virgin River gorge is getting sketchy. I'm thankful for bright lights on both our bikes and soon we are passing thru St. George on to our next stop at exit 40 for Kolob Canyon visitor's center for a GPS Bonus.

We get a chance to get our cold gear on as the temps are dropping quick with the elevation change. The skies are bright with all the stars and it feels very nice out. But with the late hour, we decide we'll definitely need to stop more often, not to mention keeping an eye out for forest rats.

0400
Passing thru the Fillmore-Beaver region of Utah is taking forever. It's cold. There's cones. Minutes are passing slower than ever.

0500
Ipod dies.

0530
Light is peaking into the scene slowly. After several stops for gas and drinks, we are feeling a little better. The sunlight is soooo welcome, but as we sit in Fillmore, we realize we really need to beat feet at the pace we are going.

0800
We pull into the Hampton Inn. Plenty of time to spare and in one piece. Jason almost nailed someone's duffel bag that had just fell off the roof of their car on I-15 heading into the valley. A state trooper was hidden on the inside along the I-15 corridor; we hit our brakes, I thought way too late, but he didn't pull out.

Paperwork turned in. Time to head home for 2 hours of dreamless sleep.

1300
Awards Banquet

Good food had by all. Awards and recognitions for top ten riders. Door prizes in the form of Widder certificates and sets of tires are some lucky winners. I just want to know how I did.
In the end, Jason placed 11th and I placed 14th! I'm stoked and never expected that kind of finish with such a large group. Seems our plan was a good one! Now, on to next year!

Lessons learned:
Bring back up Ipod (kid's).
You can't drink enough fluids, really.
More lights on bike would be a good thing.
Do more pushup training!
More bonuses!