MY PLANE CRAZY 1000

cberry

Premier Member
#1
Yesterday was the big ride (3/10/2016: 24 hour ride, commencing at 0545 on the 10th and ending at 0545 on the 11th) and tonight was the celebration. There were over 100 riders that participated in the rides. I successfully completed the 1000 mile in 24 hour ride with 1063 actual miles ridden in almost exactly 24 hours. There was also a longer ride of 1500 miles and about 8 people completed it. The weather was perfect and the traffic problems were typical, not serious.

The thrust of the ride was for us to travel to 12 different locations in a specific order which had warbirds on display. To prove that we were actually there we had been given a small banner with a unique serial number. We were to take a photo of the banner with the airplane in the background. Since the ride would extend into the night, alternative methods of compliance were also available. I only pictured 11 of the 12 warbirds because I was extremely fatigued and the twelfth one was beyond the starting/finishing point and I was almost….(I fell asleep at this point while writing this email on the 11th at about 9PM. I had gotten only about 3 hours of sleep immediately after finishing the ride up to this time.)

It’s now March 12th, and I am home continuing this email at 9PM, but again, I’m too fatigued to continue….Tomorrow is another day.

Time now: 2:40PM on 3/13/2016. Here are the SPOTWALLA tracks for the ride and the certificate of completion:

Spotwalla https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=fffa56de467879318 Certificate https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...xzWOQCCo/s512-Ic42/IMG_20160312_201503141.jpg

Summary of the ride: Right away I knew that this was going to be a challenge. I went the wrong way on I-10 (East instead of West)! Going the wrong way plus starting casually, 15 minutes after the official start time, really put me behind the clock. Only the first three stops occurred in daylight. The next 8 were all in darkness, making them harder to locate and harder to document. (Each stop had to be documented with a photograph and then emailed back to the judges in real time to count.) By the time I got to the fifth site I was sure that I was ‘tail end Charlie’. But, I wasn’t. Before I finished photographing that site 2 other riders showed up, and we helped each other complete the task (at 9:13 PM, 15.5 hours after START).

As I was leaving the fifth site (to try and get a motel room for some rest) I passed two police cars headed to the site with their blue lights on. My two unknown friends had to deal with them! The motel was full. So, onward with fatigue setting in rapidly. I mistakenly wound up on I-75 instead of I-4 on my way to Bartow and to recover I reverted to using my older generation GPS because the primary NAV GPS was programmed in Greek at this time of night. One of my unknown friends was at the site puzzling over how to get the proper photo in the dark as I arrived. We figured it out together and decided that we needed each other…two heads being better than one. Since this gent was on a different fueling schedule than I, and since he did not have an EazyPass, it slowed us both down. He made up for this handicap by remembering to walk back and retrieve our event flags. If we had gone on without them it would have been GAME OVER.

Our marriage of convenience was short lived. He took over the navigation duties (his Greek was better than mine) and we found site 10 OK. Next was a chip shot to number 11 and then the homestretch (120 miles on Interstates to number 12). UNFORTUNATELY, leaving number 10 my navigator made a similar mistake to the one I made at the beginning of the day: he went the wrong way onto the interstate. And, he was beyond signaling range for me to stop him. That was the end of him! Realizing his mistake just in time allowed me to jump the grassy divider on the approach to the interstate and get off. We were now both on our own.

After photographing number 11 at 3:33AM I calculated that I might have an outside chance to complete the ride as planned, but it would require no delays and no breaks. Reviewing my options on the 120 mile dash to the finish was difficult. My brain was now an amorphous mass (jello) and the one brain cell could not find the other one. Thinking and driving at the same time became impossible. I threw in the towel and pulled into a rest stop. The committee of two decided that the only sane thing to do was to drop number 12 and just go to the finish line. Which is what I did, emailing “Time’s UP, Tucked in, but DNF” at 5:44AM from my hotel room before going to sleep. End of story.
Lessons Learned:
1. It doesn’t always work, but, following the other guy may prevent me from going the wrong way on I-10 (again, its happened several times).
2. I will never know enough about my GPS, it is smarter than I am, and may be my adversary, not my friend.
3. Trust, but Verify! Whether it’s the GPS NAV solution or the friend you’re following.
4. Know when to quit! From one of my former lives the following flying truisms come to mind: It’s always better to be down here (on the ground) wishing you were up there (flying) than up there wishing you were down here. And, from my glider flying days…Don’t run out of Altitude, Airspeed, and Ideas at the same time.
Chuck
 
#3
I finished Plane Crazy at about 00:20 or about 18 hours. Long for an SS1000 but considering the 12 picture stops and the hour of traffic in Tampa I was satisfied. My finish was owing to preparation. I used Street View to find every plane (save the last one) and every "alternative signs". In Street View I recorded the coordinates of the spot at which I would take the picture. I loaded these coordinates into my GPS receivers and into my mobile phone (WAZE) and was lead to the EXACT location every time. I paid attention to the RM's warning about the road closure and used the alternate route via Albany (added less than 10 miles). I created a single page for each photo (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3fND6XvVgpbUkdRcWFGYWpsMXM/view?usp=sharing) and as I rode down the road I would memorise the text.

I took my pictures, read the requirement, compared my picture, emailed it to the RM and left. Picture stops were 4-9 minutes depending on the picture. My pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/RDWE2YhQTsD4ZDJt5

Other standard rally-mode rules; no chatting with riders, no stops for anything except pictures or fuel.
 

cberry

Premier Member
#4
John Z is correct to be confused. In talking to Mike at the debrief he decided to be kind to me and score my ride as a simple Saddle Sore 1000. I did the miles in the allotted time, and made a decision NOT to go for the twelfth photo in light of the situation at the time. It was I who had declared myself DNF in my email at 0544.

The experience of John Cooper is quite different than mine, and his experience is quite a contrast to mine. He's an ACE, I'm a NEWBEE. For my preparation before the ride I physically visited as many sites as I could....It was of marginal help because all of my visited sites were reconnoitered during daylight and each of those sites were pictured in total darkness during the rally. The weekend turned out to be a great learning experience for me.
 

Gerry Arel

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#5
Looks like it was a great ride - and a smart 'save' for still earning a certificate! Was sorry to miss this, looked like an awesome time with good weather as well. Thanks for sharing Chuck!
 
#6
I hesitated on commenting, but thought it might be benificial to share my take on the Plane Crazy 1000 and the JAX Party. My expectations to ride from Spokane to Florida did not culminate in a "race" to complete another SS1000, Plane Crazy or otherwise. I traveled 3500 miles one-way to meet like-minded ld riders. Who are they and why do they do what they do, and does it resonate with me? I am not an expert (less than 25 rides) and so focused that I haven't forgotten that even the base level ride of 1000 miles in under than 24 hours is daunting to some, if not most. This was my first foray using a flag. In the learning process, I moved from "bonehead" mistakes of fighting the flag in the wind and presenting it to the camera backwards! I talked with other riders, I collaborated with them too in trading photo ops. Eventually I learned to become more independent, and drape my flag over my bike with the target in the background. But, I so enjoyed meeting like-minded riders of various experience levels sharing the same quest. This was why I came.
I was able to hone my skills, meet riders with different skills and experience. And, most importantly, feel like the solitary riding I enjoy is also shared by a group of like-minded folk.
The JAX Party was fun. The people I met created that experience for me. The Plane Crazy was a new challenge and doable even with a flag and unfamiliar territory. I talked with other ridrs, I made mistakes in routing and flag protocol, but still finished in 20.5 hours ( about 3 hours longer than normal). And, even though I enjoy a cold one now and again, this was more important to me than the free beer at the awards ceremony!
The people I met made the the trip special. Thank you to the unnamed couple, the guys trying to figure out how to snap their shots, the guy doing his first-time ironbutt ride, and the veterans that shared their experiences. I appreciated it all.
--Chelsea
 

cberry

Premier Member
#7
+1 on what Chelsea said. SS1K's are hard on me and not my cup of tea. As you can see from my dance card I enjoy longer and more relaxed rides. I'm glad this organization is NOT a "One size fits all" club.
 
#8
+1 on what Chelsea said. SS1K's are hard on me and not my cup of tea. As you can see from my dance card I enjoy longer and more relaxed rides. I'm glad this organization is NOT a "One size fits all" club.
You probably already know about it but if not; Team Strange offers a grand tour that fits the "...longer more relaxed..." style. I am mostly an timed-ride or rally rider but I enjoy Team Strange GT's and I have 9 states so far.
 

cberry

Premier Member
#9
Thanks for the tip on Team Strange John. I will research it. Also , I meant to comment on your preparations for this ride. No wonder you finished so quickly. My digital skills have eroded with the newer generations of GPS and Base Camp. I need some serious tutelage and hands on practice. I'm all thumbs! I've been through the New England Riders "Learn Garmin BaseCamp for MACs" but can't seem to retain the info between ride preparations. Always a dead end or unanswered questions!