Our goals this year were fairly simple; 1) design a course with no errors; 2) craft instructions that were simple, yet challenging and 3) hope (& pray) that people came out to play. Not only were we successful in reaching all three of these goals this year, our rallyists had fun and not one complaint. (Whew!)
Thirty eight (38) cars joined us at the start on a glorious Saturday evening. Probably one of the best nights I had ever seen for a rally. Of the twenty eight (28) cars that reached the checkpoint, the top eleven (11) finishers were extremely close and the rest of the field did especially well. It's my thought that there were a good number of personal bests out there. Congratulations to all. Regarding the first eleven (11) finishers, every second (yes, every second) counted, just 8 seconds between 1st and 2nd and 16 seconds between 2nd and 3rd place finishers. One noticeable difference was that several cars (4-5) recorded "off-course" signs and then failed to erase or scratch it out once they got back on course. As noted, off-course signs counted for a whopping 100 points and cost one car 1st place. Although we placed 5 off-course signs along our route, it was only one that really gave you heartache on Lost Nations Road. We heard there was a bit of activity up there, including a visit from the Pound Ridge police department, but as I'm sure you noticed on the return, it was clearly marked as a private road. Another hiccup that threw people off was the 2nd "Speed Limit 30" sign on Reservoir Rd. If you don't know it by now, both signs were immediately on your right as you turned left onto Reservoir Rd., within just a few feet of each other. Also along this now-famous road was Martha Stewart's house. So what, who cares, but she, and her home, had made public news over the past few months. While it was all in fun, the bonus question wound up having no bearing on final results.
We scored on mileage this rally, so exercise caution in the future, read the generals and see if this matters, mileage did affect scoring results. In addition, we have also included a new "awards" category - Parent/Child. Since there were a few entrants and one team that did extremely well, we felt it was appropriate to reward this group.
While 3 cars came into the checkpoint in the wrong direction, we were glad they completed the course. Thanks to Gary and Debbi for registration and to Frank for your continued interest and support.
Best regards,
Diane and Don Mays