Monthly Archives: November 2009
November 24, 2009
Yank the Weenie 2009 Results
Jerry White posted the results of the YTW rally:
Thanks to everyone to participated in the Yank The Weenie rally. It sure was a fun way to get to Dean Tanji's Bite The Weenie RTE at Pink's, Hollywood, CA. A brief overview: I selected a number of bonus locations from past rallies in the general vicinity of Pink's, and created a new rally. The "orgy factor" people have mentioned was a feature that multiplied points at a bonus if other rally riders were in the photo. It encouraged group riding and also gave some pleasant surprises when riders coincidentally arrived at the same bonus simultaneously. The top three teams plus one solo rider boosted each others' scores by arriving at the 500-point cigar store bonus at the same time. This nine-way bonus multiplier gave each rider 4500 points, the single richest bonus on the rally.Rider Place Points Mileage
George Zelenz, 1, 20530, 444 (George rode the rally with another rider. They should have tied for first place. However that team member presented his scoresheet 15 minutes late and was therefore not considered a finisher.)Team Ogden (The only two-up team. They sped up bonus acquisition by having Tom take all the photos.)
Chris and Tom Ogden, 2, 18023, 392
Robert Lamishaw, 2, 18023, 410Team Chaddock
Craig Chaddock, 3, 17868,405
Doug Barrett, 3, 17868, 391
Peter Perrin, 3,17868, 391
David Stoler, 3, 17868, 395Team Rallymaster (These guys rode with me, and were hampered by my insistence on starting near the Grapevine and not going out to Palm Springs. It wasn't the winning route, but it was fun.)
Tim Watts, 4,11733, 418
Bill Wood, 4, 11733, 418Brian Casey, 5, 9982, 342 (half his score was from the cigar store orgy.)
Team Turbo
Turbo Dave Hicks, 6, 8700, 281
Jim Hoffman, 6, 8700, 281
Mel Hamel, 6, 8700, 281Doug Webb, 7, 3864, 276
Margaret Peart, 8, 3811, unknown
Lorraine Hickey, 9, 3494, 239Team FJR (low mileage team)
Greg Marbach, 10, 1842, 54
Richard Hall, 10, 1842, 54Karl Zuercher, 11, 1264, 226
Lori Magers, 12, 1063, 75Thanks again to everyone who rode, and to those who contributed in
other ways behind the scenes to make it a success. You know who you
are.
Jerry
November 23, 2009
Yank the Weenie 2009
For the last several years, long distance guru Dean Tanji has hosted Bite the Weenie, an informal gathering of long distance riders at Pinks, the hot dog joint on La Brea and a favorite of celebrities and the common man alike. This year's BTW was held on Saturday, November 21st.
As an added bonus, Jerry White organized a companion rally he called Yank the Weenie. Jerry's a top long distance rider and IBR veteran, and YTW had just the right mix of challenge and fun to draw a big crowd of riders. Jerry published a list of 41 bonuses with varying point values. You started no earlier than 10am, and had to be at Pinks by 10:20pm to turn in your score sheet and related materials.
To make things even more interesting, Jerry added the 'orgy' factor. The point total of each bonus was multiplied by the number of rally riders who were there with you. If two riders were there, you got double the points; five riders meant five times the points.
I've been hammered lately at work, and did my ride planning literally the night before the rally. I decided on a conservative plan that would be fun, but not overly stressful. In a strange coincidence, my wife and our friend Mandy were planning to be in Lake Elsinore at about the same time I was, so I also planned on taking some time out to have lunch with them.
I had planned to be at the call box bonus near Running Springs right at 10am, but some last minute mechanical work on Carole's car delayed my departure until about 10:05. I made a high speed run east on I-210 to make up some time. As I neared I-15, my Zumo kept trying to take me off the freeway for some reason. As I got closer, I saw signs saying the freeway would be closed starting at 11am - I guess the XM traffic guys had it down as a 10am closure.
After a couple of recalculations on my part I found the call box for the first bonus (click on any picture for a larger view):
The bonus specified 'the handset', so I opened up the box:
Next was the Rim of the World bonus:
Next, down the hill to the Wigwam Motel in Rialto. The owner came out to talk to me - he'd had a few other riders stop by already, and knew there was a rally going on, but was a little perturbed about the whole deal. I spent some time explaining everything, and showed him the bonus listing for his motel, and that seemed to make him happier.
My GPS entry skills failed me again, and it took me an extra ten minutes to track down the mural on the side of the San Bernadino Convention Center.
From here, I headed down to Lake Elsinore for lunch with my wife and Mandy. I had a nice steak at the Lone Star, and relaxed for a while. After saying my goodbyes, it was up to 'The E', a hang-gliding launch spot in the hills overlooking Lake Elsinore.
As I pulled up, I found four other riders getting their picture taken. My friends Doug and Peter were part of the group, along with Dave and Craig. They hurried me into the shot, and we got a five-way orgy for this bonus.
Just as we finished up, a hang glider took off to the east:
Doug and Craig asked me to join them - they were heading east to Palm Desert, and the five-way orgy would help us all out. I had tentative plans to go west over the hills into southern Orange County, but quickly agreed to join up with the group. It's always fun riding with Doug, and I knew that sticking with them would maximize my points.
We headed over to the Kenworthy bonus:
I was really cold up the mountains with the sun setting, and put my Widder's for the ride down to Palm Desert. We got stuck behind a really lame cage going down the hill. There were no passing lanes or even dashed lines, and the cage would not pull out — by the time we hit the bottom of the hill, there were six motorcycles and seven cars stuck behind. It was frustrating at the time, but it worked out in the end.
When we got to the cigar store in Palm Desert, there were four other riders already there. We quickly took the group photos (well, as quickly as you take nine separate photos), for an orgy multiplier of 9. The base bonus value was 500, so I picked up 4500 points for this one bonus. If we had made a normal run down the hill, we probably wouldn't have met up with the other four riders. (It turns out that one of the riders in the group of nine was the eventual winner, George Z. Since I directly benefited his score, I'm taking partial credit for his win...)
Doug, Craig, Peter and Dave were headed up to Running Springs, so I parted ways and headed west. At first I was planning on heading over to the Crystal Cathedral and the Long Beach bonuses, but I knew I'd really have to push to make the southern swing and still get to Pinks in time, and I was getting really, really cold. (I've lost 30 pounds since April, and my Widder doesn't fit as snugly as it needs to to give me the most warmth.) When I reached the decision point, I veered north towards downtown.
On the way, I remembered the Donut Hole bonus in La Puente. It was just a brief detour and a quick stop:
I stopped by my house for a warmer under layer, then headed over to Pinks. I pulled in around 9:30pm, and got started finishing my paperwork. I wound up with just under 10,000 points - respectable, but nowhere near the leaders. I waited until Doug and the group pulled in to check on some details of the shared bonuses. I handed Jerry my packet (with cigar) at 10:10pm.
The line at Pink's was long, but I spent the time chatting with Lori, who rode her FJR down from Oregon, and with Doug and Ken Meese, so the time went by pretty quick. I had a spicy Polish dog with chili and grilled onions, which hit the spot. By this time I was pretty tired, so I headed home, and pulled into the driveway around 12:45am, with 39 miles showing on my fuel reserves.
A great, fun day, full of surprises and challenges. I sure hope Jerry does this again next year!
Here's my final route map (with both SPOT and GPS tracks). Click here for an interactive, resizeable map.
