TeamD Adventures

We left Anchorage early Wednesday morning.  We made it home today, Saturday, about 1pm.  Three days of 700+ miles each day to get to Portland.  Last night, we stayed at the Sumas Mountain Lodge.  It’s a very nice place.

We discussed the rally at length over dinner two nights ago with old friends and new in New Hazelton.  Gave us all a sense of closure.  (We recommend Rob’s Restaurant there, BTW. )  All in all, we had fun on the rally and we learned a few things, too.

It’s summer still in Portland.  The wagon is unpacked.  It was the right car to bring on the summer AlCan.  Marinus took it to get a wash and detail at the local car wash.  It’ll go to the Q-tip place soon.  The windshield has one serious rock chip, but the front doesn’t seem any worse for wear. There’s at least 50 pounds of mud underneath. The wagon has been appropriately named Bette after Bette Davis.  Jeff gets credit for that.

We’re weary, having driven 7,000 miles in the last 14 days.   The trip from Sumas to Portland seemed to take more than the 5 hours, more like 15.   We observed more troopers between Bellingham and Everett this morning than we had during the entire 2 weeks prior.  Still a great deal of stuff left to do: post photos, get Marilyn’s windshield repaired before Totem (instead of Bette), 2 weeks of laundry, etc.

wXYZ did well:  Jason (Z) on bike 17 finished 12th overall, 4th in class IV, his first rally. Webb/Hines (Y) in car #1 finished 4th overall, 3rd in class I.  The w was to have been Jones/Gould, but they were unable to attend this year.  We will see them though in 2012.  Congratulations go to Wallace/Kraushaar/Pierce in car #2 for their overall win and class II, Watt, bike 23, won class IVS, Chatigny, bike 20, won class III, Brisendine, bike 14, won class IV, Garner/Jenkins, car 8, won IIS, Hanson/Toney, car 5, won IS. Everyone finished the rally including all the staff.

The Summer AlCan has a different feel to it, not better nor worse than the Winter version.  Everyone just seems more independent.   It’s the extroverted AlCan compared to the introverted Winter version.  There’s still all the practical jokes, radio chat and competitiveness.   I think Glenn captured it best:  the team boundaries broke down and it became a group of ralliers traveling together.

All the cars in the driveway have a full tank of gas.  Must be another rally right around the corner.

See  you all on the road.

Ahhh.  We finished. Tuesday started with a troublesome TSD called Valdez.  A couple of transposed numbers and a few mileage reference problems resulted in the section being tossed.   We headed north and west to Anchorage.  In Glenallen, we ran a straightforward section and finally on the last day accomplished one of the goals we’d made at the beginning: gets zeroes at every control in one section.   The final section was called Wasilla.  Team 1 was troubled by a school bus, but our luck held out.  Bike 17 nearly didn’t run it due to difficulties with the bike starting a few minutes before the section started.

In the end we finished 2nd overall, and first in class I, 10 points behind car #2, Wallace, Kraushaar and Pierce in class IS.  Class II was won by car 5, Hanson and Toney, Class IIS was won by Jenkins and Garner in the yellow FJ Cruiser.

Results should be posted later at the new site:  www.alcan5000.net.

The 2012 Winter AlCan will follow a course similar to the 2008 one, except that it will end in Valdez, reputed to get the most snow of anywhere.  Sounds about right.

Time to head back home.  It’s Whitehorse tonight.

The Midnight Letterer’s Apprentice struck last night; our team cars have some additional bling today.

We had a quick TSD called Chena Ridge.  The factor and measurements are still driving us nuts.   But after that we made a beeline to the extreme control on the Denali Hwy.  It was a beautiful drive and the road was in good condition.  We switched off drivers and co-drivers with Jeff and Marvin.   Saw a bunch of swans in a lake along the road.  Still haven’t seen a moose.  But we did see a sea otter from the hotel restaurant by the harbor.

Valdez is a beautiful seaport.  It’s surrounded by mountains with glaciers and rains more than Seattle.  So far the weather has been good during our stay.

Tuesday takes us to Anchorage with 3 TSDs along the way.  Then it’s the awards banquet at the end.

We started in Whitehorse and then headed for a 2pm control in Tok, AK. Then finished the day in Fairbanks, AK. The Alaska Highway on the Canadian side of the border was full of frost heaves. We bottomed out the car a couple of times as did most cars. There’s one very big chip in the windshield. The road was better on the US side.  After a quick lunch at Fast Eddy’s in Tok, we started the Tok Junction TSD. Kacee and Oliver in car 6 had the best score of the day.

The mileages are big now. We’ll rollover 4000 today. We’ll do the Chena Ridge TSD and then go for an extreme contol in Cantwell by following the old Denali Highway. Bob Gobright walked up to the group in the parking lot last night. He works up here and has a place nearby.

Tonight we’ll stop in Valdez. Everyone is tired, but still having fun. Tuesday, day 9, is the last day.