It was a dark and stormy night – no, really, it was! The first rally of the famous (infamous?) Finger Lakes Winter Series, The Route of Some Evo (a somewhat toned-down version of the traditional Route of All Evo, get it?) took place the evening of Dec 11. Before that day, it seemed like the rally would be relatively mild—an easy warm-up for the series. The early snows from the previous couple of weeks had subsided, and it had been unseasonably warm for a couple of days. BUT…a nasty front arrived on the scene, and things got, ahem, interesting.
Nine brave teams (a few dropped out at the last minute) departed Canandaigua, NY, that fateful evening to face the unknown. Strong wind gusts had arrived, and the warm days after the snow left the many dirt roads in the route rutty and muddy. Additionally, gusty cross-winds threatened to bump cars off the road and into the wilderness. To further thwart the mighty rallyists, the skies opened and dumped a brief spell of rain, but realizing it was to no avail, Nature relented. Instead, she gathered herself and dialed up the wind factor for the second half.
Added to the challenge of staying on-time over the twisty windy dirt roads of the glacially formed hilly terrain was dodging the many trees that partially obstructed the route! At one point, the rally was delayed while the Rallymaster/course opening and the chainsaw-equipped Car #1 cleared three trees blocking one stretch of the road. Our intrepid teams soldiered on; they braved and overcame the elements and turned in some pretty good scores to boot. All nine teams completed the route and gathered at the Applebee’s back in Canandaigua for nourishment and to share tales of adventure.
To be sure, the rally teams were not alone in the adventures of that night. The control crews had their adventures and overcame adversity as well. Checkpoint signs and laser signal lights were blowing over and had to be reset in the blustery conditions, which they did without complaint to uphold their honor and duty. There were reports of trees crashing down frighteningly close and cars hit with plastic trash cans propelled by the wind, but all were fine and joined in the after-event festivities. In the meantime, our sophisticated remote HIL (human in the loop) scoring system was toiling away, maintained by modest amounts of Chardonnay, so that scoring was completed and awards presented with little delay.
Congratulations to all for finishing, and reports were that everyone had a good time. Scores were not quite as low as usual, but very good considering the conditions. A fist raised high for the overall winners: Tom & Karl Meyer in Limited with 36 points over 14 controls, just nudging out Alan & Andy Smith in Equipped with 38.75. Also, a shout-out to Michael Letta & Kara Mayer for a very respectable score in Novice.
Much thanks to our Rally Crew – Greg Peck, Mike Toombs and Barb Lissow, Kurt Thiel, Chris and Joyce Bucknam, Shaun Hallam, Larry Wells, Rick Barnes, Jerry Kerwin as RRSS, and Gretchen Kriesen (HIL)!
Come join us for more adventures this season!
Standings for the Route of Some Evo:
Photo Credit to Marnie Soom, the photo is from the Ithasca Rally, provided for this piece. Great shot, Marnie! The RReNews Clan gave it a thumbs-up!
