Forza Mile - The Finish!

Thursday: The finish.

Today is the day that separates the drivers from the passengers, the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys. Four TSD segments, no Transits. Congested (especially compared to Nova Scotia!) roads and difficult navigation. Down the Maine coast from Bar Harbor to Freeport, via Fort View, Owls Head, and Pemaquid Point.

Above: The Bar Harbor cops check out just ahead of us. =)

We got a late start out of the hotel, following the Bar Harbor cops through the checkout. It was something of an omen.

The route provided us with a fairly complete tour of Acadia National Park... the first national park east of the Mississippi river. ...

Left: Acadia shoreline.

Above: Bar Harbor from atop Cadillac Mountain.

Left: Lamers, heh.

Unfortunately this took place on a timed segment, and one of the participants pretty much ruined it for *everybody* by driving like a lunatic in his red Ferrari Testarossa (not the one from yesterday's pictures!) through the park at well over the posted 30 MPH speed limit... like somewhere in the vicinty of 3X that limit! So, basically due to this moron the rest of us had to endure some harassment from the Law Enforcement division of the National Park Service. Smokey the Bear was *really* pissed off.

We were met not far inside the park by police, and told of the morning's moronic driving display, and were admonished not to repeat it, and were provided with an escort to ensure that we did not exceed the limit by any measure.

Not that we would, but *nobody* likes to drive with a cop in their rear view mirror, and having the escort significantly distracted from our enjoyment of the surroundings. Nothing is worse than being 'punished' for someone else's bad behavior!

Several times we were pulled over and told that "The road rally has been cancelled in the Park!"... which in so many words was:

"You are your kind are not welcome here... get out and don't come back!"

Above: The post-Testarossa police escort.

I refrained from taking any pictures of the cops as they leaned into our car and told us to get the hell out of there, as they seemed just a tad touchy. (not that has ever stopped me from doing so in the past!) I did however get a couple of discreet shots to illustrate the point above.

I'll take a minute to quote Rich Taylor from the route book:

"A Not-too-Subtle Reminder
This is not a race! It is a precision driving event, a time-speed-distance rally that can be successfully completed at legal speeds.
...
We've had no problems with stupid driving on any of our previous rallies, but some other events of this type have had to ask people to leave because they were driving dangerously. We won't hesitate to do the same thing.
..."

Speeding in a national park is a Federal Offense, and therefore qualifies in my book as an effective 'moron meter.'

We'll never get to enjoy this bit of road again on this sort of event.

After we leave the park, I do some quick figuring and map perusing and figure out a way to bypass a large section of the route and hop down US Highway 1. Our police escort through the park, along with a stop for photos at the Cadillac Summit, and a long slow run behind a 'Lamers' bus has left us with absolutely zero margin for error in making this full 96.2 miles segment on time. The US 1 shortcut saves us about 10 minutes, and we make the checkpoint easily.

We zero (whoo hoo! I did the math right! =) and I drive the next segment, a 64.5 mile/90 minute run to the Owl's Head Transportation Museum and lunch. The segment is uneventfull (other than a pair of wild turkeys crossing the road right in front of the car), but the driving and navigating is complex.

Above: The Owls Head Transportation Museum.

Above: The Boeing-Stearman trainer fires up.

We zeroed, with Dad at the wheel for the checkpoint... then Dad dropped me off for lunch and went off for gasoline. As I was sitting and eating, Rich Taylor auctioned off (for charity) two flights in a beautiful Boeing-Stearman trainer. I bid a couple of times, up to $100, but was outbid by two people. (damn!) I would have loved to gone up for a ride. It would have made my experience in pre-war trainers complete. Oh well, maybe next time.

Above: The unique 'Bi-AutoGo.' A Two-wheeled car prototype, with 'landing wheels.'

The museum has an awesome collection of aircraft, autos, engines, etc. I highly recommend a stop there if you are anywhere nearby.

Above: Fokker from Tacoma.

I could have spent all day here. The photos don't do it justice, but here's a sample...

Above: Scarab & Mini Bus.

Above: Stearman returns.

Back on the road again, Dad drives the next segment, a 49 mile/70 minute drive down the coast to Pemaquid Point...

Above: Overhead shot of the navigator's workstation. Watch, Pen, Route Book, Scorecard.

Above: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.

Dad continues his stretch of zeros at Pemaquid and I hop behind the wheel for the final segment of the whole rally back to the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. As the segment progressed Dad kept exhorting me to speed up as he calculated that we weren't going to make it. I kept thinking that we'd be fine. I should have listened to him, as every driver should know that even mathematically challenged navigators are better judges of time and distance than drivers. =)

Sure enough, as I came close to Freeport a slow lady in a Ford Escort... who - no matter what - was never going to let me pass, nor make any attempt to even approach the speed limit - erased my margin of error and delayed me enough that just missing one yellow light right in front of the Harraseeket made us 47 seconds late for the final checkpoint.

Oh well.

About half the rally was already there... including Court Cross and his 1937 Packard 1508:

I grabbed a nice vantage point tom watch the panic parade as the remaining Rally participants zoomed past Wayne Brooks at the final checkpoint... universally late....

The final dinner (awesome food at the Harraseeket Inn!) commenced shortly afterwards, followed by awards.

Final Results: Dad & I come in 9th Overall. Not bad, but way better than expected due to our grave mathematical blunder.

Astounding what a single tough day like today will do to standings, as we were ten places further back just 24 hours ago!

But even more shocking: We won our class!
The other three cars in our class screwed up even more than us!

Thanks for coming along for the ride! I had a great time, and I hope you enjoyed it too. Big thanks to Rich & Jean Taylor, and *all* of the folks at Vintage Rallies for the great time. Big thanks to my Dad, Charles Goolsbee for having me along.

Now head on back to the...



	Thursday: The finish. Today is the day that separates the drivers from the passengers, the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys. Four TSD segments, no Transits. Congested (especially compared to Nova Scotia!) roads and difficult navigation. Down the Maine coast from Bar Harbor to Freeport, via Fort View, Owls Head, and Pemaquid Point. Above: The Bar Harbor cops check out just ahead of us. =) We got a late start out of the hotel, following the Bar Harbor cops through the checkout. It was something of an omen. The route provided us with a fairly complete tour of Acadia National Park... the first national park east of the Mississippi river. ... Left: Acadia shoreline. Above: Bar Harbor from atop Cadillac Mountain. Left: Lamers, heh. Unfortunately this took place on a timed segment, and one of the participants pretty much ruined it for everybody by driving like a lunatic in his red Ferrari Testarossa (not the one from yesterday's pictures!) through the park at well over the posted 30 MPH speed limit... like somewhere in the vicinty of 3X that limit! So, basically due to this moron the rest of us had to endure some harassment from the Law Enforcement division of the National Park Service. Smokey the Bear was really pissed off. We were met not far inside the park by police, and told of the morning's moronic driving display, and were admonished not to repeat it, and were provided with an escort to ensure that we did not exceed the limit by any measure. Not that we would, but nobody likes to drive with a cop in their rear view mirror, and having the escort significantly distracted from our enjoyment of the surroundings. Nothing is worse than being 'punished' for someone else's bad behavior! Several times we were pulled over and told that "The road rally has been cancelled in the Park!"... which in so many words was: "You are your kind are not welcome here... get out and don't come back!" Above: The post-Testarossa police escort. I refrained from taking any pictures of the cops as they leaned into our car and told us to get the hell out of there, as they seemed just a tad touchy. (not that has ever stopped me from doing so in the past!) I did however get a couple of discreet shots to illustrate the point above. I'll take a minute to quote Rich Taylor from the route book: "A Not-too-Subtle Reminder This is not a race! It is a precision driving event, a time-speed-distance rally that can be successfully completed at legal speeds. ... We've had no problems with stupid driving on any of our previous rallies, but some other events of this type have had to ask people to leave because they were driving dangerously. We won't hesitate to do the same thing. ..." Speeding in a national park is a Federal Offense, and therefore qualifies in my book as an effective 'moron meter.' We'll never get to enjoy this bit of road again on this sort of event. After we leave the park, I do some quick figuring and map perusing and figure out a way to bypass a large section of the route and hop down US Highway 1. Our police escort through the park, along with a stop for photos at the Cadillac Summit, and a long slow run behind a 'Lamers' bus has left us with absolutely zero margin for error in making this full 96.2 miles segment on time. The US 1 shortcut saves us about 10 minutes, and we make the checkpoint easily. We zero (whoo hoo! I did the math right! =) and I drive the next segment, a 64.5 mile/90 minute run to the Owl's Head Transportation Museum and lunch. The segment is uneventfull (other than a pair of wild turkeys crossing the road right in front of the car), but the driving and navigating is complex. Above: The Owls Head Transportation Museum. Above: The Boeing-Stearman trainer fires up. We zeroed, with Dad at the wheel for the checkpoint... then Dad dropped me off for lunch and went off for gasoline. As I was sitting and eating, Rich Taylor auctioned off (for charity) two flights in a beautiful Boeing-Stearman trainer. I bid a couple of times, up to $100, but was outbid by two people. (damn!) I would have loved to gone up for a ride. It would have made my experience in pre-war trainers complete. Oh well, maybe next time. Above: The unique 'Bi-AutoGo.' A Two-wheeled car prototype, with 'landing wheels.' The museum has an awesome collection of aircraft, autos, engines, etc. I highly recommend a stop there if you are anywhere nearby. Above: Fokker from Tacoma. I could have spent all day here. The photos don't do it justice, but here's a sample... Above: Scarab & Mini Bus. Above: Stearman returns. Back on the road again, Dad drives the next segment, a 49 mile/70 minute drive down the coast to Pemaquid Point... Above: Overhead shot of the navigator's workstation. Watch, Pen, Route Book, Scorecard. Above: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. Dad continues his stretch of zeros at Pemaquid and I hop behind the wheel for the final segment of the whole rally back to the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. As the segment progressed Dad kept exhorting me to speed up as he calculated that we weren't going to make it. I kept thinking that we'd be fine. I should have listened to him, as every driver should know that even mathematically challenged navigators are better judges of time and distance than drivers. =) Sure enough, as I came close to Freeport a slow lady in a Ford Escort... who - no matter what - was never going to let me pass, nor make any attempt to even approach the speed limit - erased my margin of error and delayed me enough that just missing one yellow light right in front of the Harraseeket made us 47 seconds late for the final checkpoint. Oh well. About half the rally was already there... including Court Cross and his 1937 Packard 1508: I grabbed a nice vantage point tom watch the panic parade as the remaining Rally participants zoomed past Wayne Brooks at the final checkpoint... universally late.... The final dinner (awesome food at the Harraseeket Inn!) commenced shortly afterwards, followed by awards. Final Results: Dad & I come in 9th Overall. Not bad, but way better than expected due to our grave mathematical blunder. Astounding what a single tough day like today will do to standings, as we were ten places further back just 24 hours ago! But even more shocking: We won our class! The other three cars in our class screwed up even more than us! Thanks for coming along for the ride! I had a great time, and I hope you enjoyed it too. Big thanks to Rich & Jean Taylor, and all of the folks at Vintage Rallies for the great time. Big thanks to my Dad, Charles Goolsbee for having me along.
		Now head on back to the...