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Blue Ridge Mountain Sports Car Club

Presents:

Wheeling down The Road

A Leaf Peepers Road Rally

When:  Sunday, November 1st, 2009.

Start: The Jefferson Ave public parking area, on Rt. 18, Washington PA, between E. Wylie & Tyler Aves. N40°10.916’  W80°15.786. (descriptive directions below).

Registration: begins at 11:00 AM, and the first car starts at noon, so be there as early as possible to have as much time as you need to read and ask questions.

Cost: $10 per car (driver & navigator)

Description:   Rallymaster Jenny Ladd sez:

Join BRMSCC for a trip to Wheeling to cross some bridges!

Starting on the west side of Washington PA, we’ll head west to the Ohio River, and explore the ridge-tops and creek valleys enroute. Although the weather turned cold a little early this year, we’re hoping that there will still be some color to be seen as part of the beautiful countryside we’ll be visiting. This will be a timed rally with long legs, no course following traps, and lots of historical markers along the way. New-comers should not have any trouble following the route. “Tulip” instructions are being used, and no MRDs, just the concept of “principle road.” Most of the turns are mileaged, so it’s a tour where the challenge is in the timing.

Since we’re covering a lot of miles, the rally is in three sections and two short breaks with ample rest-room facilities and snack possibilities. We’ll finish up around dinner time at the Bob Evans restaurant on Rt. 40 not too far from the start.

While this is a “Peepers” rally, it will be unlike the previous peeper rallys, where contestants had to give mileages for the indicated object or view. Peepers are photos of possibly interesting or significant things that are passed on the rally route. Sometimes they’re just goofy signs. For this event, they’ll be used as on-course references, and most of them will have mileages on them. In fact, you may not get to see the exact scene as shown in the peeper, as it was a photo of something that may have mooooved on, or be lost to the ages. The items that contestants do have to find on this rally are all the historical markers on the rally-route. Trust me, there are quite a few, and even some amusing duplicates. 

Other: VERY IMPORTANT: The Wheeling Suspension bridge has a TWO (2) TON weight limit!!  We will be passing over this historically significant open-grate bridge, so please be mindful of this limit and leave the trucks and behemoths at home.

Directions:

From Pittsburgh, take Rt. 79 south. At the Rt.79/70 split, take I-70 west, and follow instructions for:

From New Stanton and parts East via I-70:

Take Exit 17 (Rt. 18/ Jefferson Ave) which is the first exit after the I-70/I-79 interchange. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right on E. Wylie Ave., then left at light on Allison Ave (corner with GetGo). As soon as you're under the interstate, turn right into parking lot - adjacent to Aaron's (appliance/electronics rental).

From South and/or West approaching on I-70:

Take the Exit 17 (Jefferson Ave/Rt.18), turn right on Jefferson Ave. Turn right onto parking lot. (it doesn’t get much simpler!)

What beginners should bring with them:

For starters - there should be two of you in the car: a driver, and a navigator (who isn't inclined to get car-sick reading while moving, or has an antidote for it).

Bring a mechanically sound car* that has a tenths -reading odometer (a resettable trip odometer can be a help), a clipboard, a four function calculator, several working pens, a set of highlighters (for marking up the route instructions) and post-it notes. 

If you can choose between a mechanical odometer that "rolls" and a digital display, the mechanical will enable you to interpolate to the hundredths. If you only have the digital tenths, then you'll have to do a lot more "guessing" in between the numbers clicking over. We have folks who have gotten good at this with practice!

While every team has their own procedure, it's useful to be able to highlight things like speed changes, and free zones (remember - there is a tutorial to get you started!) so that "on the road" it helps you remember them better.  The post-its are to stick on your dashboard to remind the driver of the assigned speeds and what the active course following priorities are. 

Also - having a good map of the area that includes secondary (and tertiary roads) can be very helpful if you get lost and can't regain the rally course. 

*While a cell phone and a AAA membership can't hurt, a lot of the time, we'll be travelling on roads that are well off the beaten track, and you may not have much of a description of where you are!  "Well - we got here by turning left after "Snodgrass", then right at T, and left by protection... "  While a GPS unit probably won’t help you very much while running the rally, it may be very useful for telling AAA where you are if you break down.