New England 1000 miles/24 hours rally this June! Who's with me??

This is my original post from last year...See post #5 for new 2015 rally info!

I'll be running my NC700x this June in the 2014 Minuteman 1000 rally. What is this rally I speak of ??? How about 24 hours or so of riding all over New England with a bunch of other enthusiasts and A: either earning your Iron Butt Association membership (complete 1,000 miles in the 24 hours) or B: getting a taste of what it would be like to run in the Iron Butt Rally (bonus hunting, scoring, etc) but way, WAY cheaper since it is only 24 hours (not 11 days!!). Great fun and believe it or not, you will visit some really interesting places, either historically or ???

I've run this rally a bunch of times and it is a hoot. Would be great to show up with a contingent of NC700x "beginner bikes" that are great for "commuting" and show some of these Merlot sipping, Starbucks drinking GSA owners what we can do! Or not

Anyway check out the link and if you have any questions fire away and I'll try to help. I will tell you that the folks running the show have all been to the big dance and know how to put on a safe, fun rally.....click here for >>>>>>Information
Here are some rally pics from when I ran in 2010 and 2011.

Registration ends May 20th so if you are on the fence, now is the time to take that leap
I'll be rolling into the host hotel from Maine at about 1600 on Friday and it would be awesome to see a few other NCs from this forum giving it a go. Again, this is a great way to earn your IBA backer plate (SaddleSore 1000/24 hours). No need to figure out your route or put in your paperwork. Rally Master has it covered!

If you want to try the 24 hour rally (Iron Butt Rally format) you can do that too! At the banquet the night before the rally start you will get all the point values for various places throughout New England...The more points you earn..the better! This is a lot of fun and most importantly...if gives you a great excuse to ride (as if you need one, right?).

Will be heading to Northampton, MA from Maine tomorrow afternoon (sneaking out of work early)...First rally on the NC and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with this machine. I haven't run a competitive rally since 2011 so this should be a good intro back into the sport for both me and the bike.

Maybe next time we can get a small contingent of NC riders up to Northampton? This is a fun rally and a great excuse (as if we need one, right?) for a nice long ride...

Weather should be fabulous...Finally!!!!

I wish I had seen this sooner Me and a fiend would have done it for sure.

Ok, calling all you riders that missed it last year (when I originally posted!)...the 2015 edition of the Minuteman 1000 rally will be kicking off June 5th 2015 (Saturday 0600) from Sturbridge, MA....read all about it here: mm1k main

If you are in New England and have thought about joining the Iron Butt Association, this is a great rally to earn your SS1000 (Saddle Sore 1000 mile ride). If you ever thought you might want to try running a bonus rally (similar to the Iron Butt Rally) sign up for the 24 hour rally and go for it. The guys running this rally know what they are doing and most are IBR vets..There is something for the brand new rally rider and also challenges for the veteran rally rider.

I'll be in Sturbridge in June running the MM1000 as a final shakedown for the Big Dance which starts a couple of weeks later in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hope to see/ride with some forum members in Sturbridge this June!

Hmm...I've been wondering if there was anything similar to the park n ride near my future home. Checking this out.
Edit : do you happen to know what the minimums are to finish the 24hr bonus rally? I don't see anything listed on the page.

Chestnut said:

Edit : do you happen to know what the minimums are to finish the 24hr bonus rally? I don't see anything listed on the page.

Click to expand...

The only requirement to finish the 24 hour rally is to ....Finish it! There is no mileage requirement or bonus point requirement to be a finisher. To be considered a finisher in the SS1000 division you obviously have to document your ride to the various locations the Rallymaster has selected.

Last year I rode about 950 miles in the 24 hour rally (Raise a Glass was the theme) and had bonus locations at various breweries, taverns and related. The White Horse Tavern (opened in 1643!!)) was one, located in Newport, RI. Another was a local brew pub here in Kennebunk, Maine (Shipyard Brewing). Even made it down to Connecticut to grab a bonus picture of an Indian behind the bar at the White Horse Pub...

A few years ago the theme was Reading is Fun-damental....Ended up collecting bonus points at each of the eight Ivy League colleges and universities and a bunch of libraries...



One year the bonus locations centered around places the Greatful Dead had played so I hit Madison Sq Garden in NY, the Fleet Center in Boston, the Civic Center in Connecticut and a bunch of other places:

Hmm... This is very tempting. I think I'll skip this one, I found a shorter one on the ride page that's more suitable since I'm still nursing and haven't ridden a whole lot lately. Hubby expressed an interest though, so maybe I'll be there as a guest.
Next year though...

Soooo.... $100 to do the 24 hr rally which you compete for points & $145 for the Saddle Sore 1K Iron butt thing. If you do the iron butt do you also get to compete for points? Also they said there were prizes for classes. What are the classes? I saw no mention of what the classes are, or what the prizes are. Any idea? How big is this rally? There's a link for registered riders but it's empty. Also there were rules about not having help from other riders???? So no riding together with anyone? Unless you're a team?

Also you should put a post in general discussion with a link to this thread to get a bit more visability

Thangmorian said:

Soooo.... $100 to do the 24 hr rally which you compete for points & $145 for the Saddle Sore 1K Iron butt thing. If you do the iron butt do you also get to compete for points? Also they said there were prizes for classes. What are the classes? I saw no mention of what the classes are, or what the prizes are. Any idea? How big is this rally? There's a link for registered riders but it's empty. Also there were rules about not having help from other riders???? So no riding together with anyone? Unless you're a team?

Also you should put a post in general discussion with a link to this thread to get a bit more visability

Click to expand...

Answers here:

mm1k main

While there are a lot of answers there. I wasn't completely sure what was going on for some of mgquestions, and others had no information at all. I did not want to make any assumptions. Have you done the minuteman in the past?

Thangmorian said:

While there are a lot of answers there. I wasn't completely sure what was going on for some of mgquestions, and others had no information at all. I did not want to make any assumptions. Have you done the minuteman in the past?

Click to expand...

Yes, in 2008. The route is mapped out for you. You have to collect receipts from various gas stations at the extreme corners of the route plus pick up a half pint of Dark Maple Syrup form a farm stand in the northeastern corner of Vermont. If you do the Iron Butt Association sanctioned Saddle Sore 1000 route you can also collect points in the 24 hour rally at points along the way if you want to. At the end of the Saddle Sore you get a membership certificate to the IBA and a Worlds Toughest Riders license plate backer and the bragging rights that go with it. If you win the 24 hour rally you get a plaque or something like it. The MM1K can be used as a stepping stone to the bi-annual Iron Butt Rally. This year's Iron Butt Rally starts June 29, 2015, from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

So riding with other competitors, yes, no? What are the different categories? I saw mention of solo and 2 up. Is that it? What kind of prizes are we talking about? Are you participating this year? Did you enjoy it in 2008?

Yes, riding with other competitors in the 24 hour rally. The Saddle Sore is a solo effort though you can ride with other people so long as you ride the bike you started with. I had a great time and I'm very happy I participated. The Minute Man crew puts on a very well organized rally. I rode the rally on a 2003 Honda Silver Wing scooter.

Thangmorian said:

Soooo.... $100 to do the 24 hr rally which you compete for points & $145 for the Saddle Sore 1K Iron butt thing. If you do the iron butt do you also get to compete for points?

Click to expand...

You certainly do!! Each "corner" of the route is worth points, plus, you have the opportunity to hunt for points near and along your route. For example, one year I ran this rally each picture I had of a post office was worth points, another time it was libraries. One year, each picture I had of a law enforcement officer (in uniform) holding my rally flag was worth points. You can earn points (a LOT) for buying Vermont Grade A amber maple syrup. Just make sure it is a pint, otherwise you won't get the 10,000 points (don't ask me how I know this!).

You can earn a BUNCH of points for stopping and taking a rest for a couple of hours. You will receive ALL the bonus locations days before the rally. That will give you time to sorta, kinda, plan a route. You won't get any point values for those bonus location until the the dinner before the rally. But, you will have an idea of where they are...once you get the actual point values you will then scurry to your room and try to map out a route that you can safely and comfortably ride in 24 hours that maximizes your points. Easy peasy <huge eye roll>.

Another great thing is that this is really two, yes two rallies in one... The SS1000 riders will be running their own rally (winners determined by bonus points earned) and the 24 hour rally riders will have their own winners (determined again by bonus points earned).

If I have never run a rally before, what would I do? I would run the regular 24 hour rally, just for the experience. If I was more interested in earning my IBA membership AND wanted to get a taste of what rallying was about? I would run the SS1000 and try to maximize my bonus points while still completing the route in time ..

Regardless which way you go, it will be a challenge!!

Have fun!

Thangmorian said:

Also you should put a post in general discussion with a link to this thread to get a bit more visability

Click to expand...

Great idea, I'm going for it!

Heading out tomorrow (Friday) about 14:30 from Maine and should be in the parking lot ready for the odometer check by 17:30...Will spend a couple of hours after the start banquet going over the rally book and any last minute changes to same.

At 06:00 the gun goes off and the fun begins!!

Looking like a really nice weekend....debating whether to stick in VT and NH collecting points or stay further south in CT and MA...either way it is going to be a blast...

Full report to follow ;-)

Good Luck to you ld, do us NC700X owners proud.

wish i would have seen this , next time . We should do a ride sometime soon though Ld_rider