The Adventures of a Rally Roadie

The first car went off at 8:01 from the Baymont and we eventually followed at 8:22 (add the start time to your car number and that’s your start time). Have done everything that we thought we needed: packed, fueled, did the odo check (numerous times). Off we go. It’s a 66 miles transit to the first TSD. It’s good to get going and get some of the nervous tension out. It’s a beautiful day. Clear skies and chilly.

We’ve been having some problems with the fancy, smancy rally computer so we start doing more odo checks on the transit. We keep finding ourselves with a correction factor for the odometer (the number that converts pulses from the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) to distance) that are too high. That means when the computer says that we are going 40 mph, weare doing something less. That means that we will always be slower than the official rally time for the TSD. Hmmm… Not good. We keep changing the factor until we get to the start of the TSD but we’re still off. This is gonna be ugly.

Did I mention that occasionally the drivers display for the computer go bonkers? The navigators display works right but the driver’s display becomes unusable. I use the display to tell me whether I ahead or behind the official time for the TSD. It’s bad enough that I don’t relly know what speed I’m going, now I have to try to get the info from across the dash from Yvon’s display and it doesn’t do the differential time. This is gonna be really ugly.

We start on time. I’m chasing the speedo – too high, too low. I finally calm down. Then the driver’s display goes  nuts. Try to keep up with the time differences on the navigator’s display is taking all my attention. Then to add insult to injury, the car that starts a minute after us, catches and PASSES us. Our odo setting is truly screwed. Okay. It’s the first TSD. Let’s hope it’s our last.

We stop for fuel and then go through Canadian Customs. We thoroughly irritate the Customs Inspector by not “waiting until the light goes green”. Of course, in the bright sunlight that’s shining on the “lights”, you can’t see whether the light is green or red. We take the tongue lashing for the light transgression, apologize profusely, answer all his questions and leave without delay when he lets us go.

As we pass the impound area just pass the Customs officer, there’s Marie and Dick pulled over and headed in for what’s going to be a 25 minute wait while the Customs people decide whether they’re going to search their car.More inane questions and more waiting. Finally, someone more senior arrives on the scene and asks what the holdup is. After some official shrugs, they let them go without the search. And they didn’t even look at our passports or any other ID. Sheeesh!

A 300 mile transit. We’re kinda loafing along until we get passed by some other rally cars. They’re really moving so we catch up and run with them until a fuel stop. Then more transit to the second and last of the TSD.

We’d been closing in on the factor corrections and when we run the TSD it looks like we’re a lot closer than we were for the first TSD. It’s a night TSD and it’s really dark. Kevin warns us that there’s a really dicey off camber turn about halfway in on the stage. That get’s us nice and nervous.

The TSD runs well. Right at the end of the TSD there’s a car in a snow bank and another car trying to pull him out. We nearly stop and give up a lot of time but we’re a lot closer than we were in the morning.  We might figure this thing ouyt. Plus, we may have fixed our display problems by changing the power connection for the rally computer.

Another 50 mile transit to the hotel. A couple of beers, some dinner, a driver’s meeting at 9:30 PM (the ice slalom for Day 2 has been cancelled) and finally to bed. Yvon is asleep in 60 seconds. Me in about 120 – 125 max.

Yahoo!

C8-)