Here are a few of the questions about
Road Rallies that come up fairly often. If you have more questions, feel free
to email me at
1. "What is a Road Rally?"
-- A Road Rally as put on by the GLMC is more of an
overgrown Scavenger Hunt. You will be
given a multi page list of places, each with a point value assigned. You will then sit down with your maps and
figure out which of those places you want to visit in the time allowed. The list is BIG, you cannot go to all of them,
nor even half of them, there simply isn't enough time. Your goal is to decide which places you wish
to visit given the time allowed to achieve the highest score. Once at each place do EXACTLY what it says to
claim the points. (e.g.
At the giant pheasant sculpture in Henry SD, what year does it have cast into
the base of the pheasant? 75 points To claim these
points you would go to Henry SD, look at the base of the pheasant sculpture and
write down the year that is cast into the base. You would NOT take a photo of your bike with
the pheasant.)
2."What class will I be
in?" -- Classes will be based up on rider skill level, not the bike
itself. An experienced rider on a DR650
for example is still more effective than a rookie rider on an 1800 Goldwing. Classes
are as follows.
Rookie -- Those riders that are participating in their
first road rally, or who have participated before, but have done poorly.
Experienced
Riders -- Those riders that have participated
in one or more road rallies but have never won their class.
Expert Class -- Those riders who have won their class in the
past, known high milers, Iron Butt participants, or those who request to
compete as an Expert. (Are you an expert?)
Two-Up -- Any bike carrying two or more riders.
Rally master discretion does apply to
all class assignments.
3. "Do I have to put on a lot
of miles to win?" --
Easy answer, NO.
Road rallies are designed to reward smart riding and good route
planning. Those that put on high miles
do so because they want to, not because they need to to
be competitive. It is very rare for the
rider who puts on the most miles to win an event.
4. "Do I have to break the
speed limit to win?" -- NO, in fact, if we know that you broke any traffic laws
during the event you will be ejected from the rally. Speeding is unsafe, unnecessary, and illegal.
It will not be tolerated. Don't speed. Ride safe.
5."Do I have to wear a helmet
to participate" -- No, though we do want all riders to wear a helmet,
along with proper footwear, armored riding jacket and pants, leather gloves,
and eye protection, it is not a rule. HOWEVER,
all state and local laws apply, so if you wish to visit a state that does have
a helmet law, you must wear a helmet in that state to collect any bonus
locations there.
6. "Do I need a laptop computer
and GPS to be competitive?" -- NO, some rider do like to use GPS and computer
mapping programs, but they take time to operate, and a rider using paper maps
is often on the road long before the computer users due to the ease of paper
maps. Paper map users win a
7."It’s all just a bunch of
touring bikes, right?" -- Nope, bikes
range from a 250cc to 1800cc. It’s all
about the rider, 100 percent. A big
touring bike is often a disadvantage when the road turns rough, or there is a
lot of in town riding. Any reliable
motorcycle regardless of brand or size will work just fine. In fact we found bike size to be such of a
NON-issue that we no longer even class based on bike size, only rider
experience.