Not Superman Motorcycle Rally

Motorcyclists from twenty states and Ontario, Canada eagerly await the 6 a.m. start of the Not Superman Rally recently held in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Long distance motorcycle riders representing twenty states and Ontario, Canada converged at the Drury Lodge this past weekend to participate in the Not Superman Rally (NSR), a competition that pits riders against time, distance, and physical stamina while collecting a variety of bonuses.

This is the second year that rally master Jim Puckett has planned and directed the endurance motorcycle competition that is likened to a motorcycle scavenger hunt in many rider forums. Puckett has several years of experience participating in and assisting with rallies. The NSR used cutting edge technology to upload riders' rally information and digital photography.

Riders were able to register for a 12-hour or 30-hour duration format online and therefore they were able to download bonus location information a week in advance of the rally to assist them in route planning. Most rallies dispense this information the night before departure and that gives riders very little time for route strategizing.

According to Puckett, this year's rally had fifty-six motorcyclists registered to participate with twelve of the registrants riding 2-up as a couple. There was one female rider, Cindy Dietz, of Kansas City, Kansas riding a 2005 883 Sportster. There were 131 bonus locations in 22 states stretching from Nebraska to Florida, Texas to Ohio, including Kansas, West Virginia and Virginia. Riders collected bonus points by taking clearly described pictures of specific landmarks at a variety of locations.

Bonus landmarks that impressed some of the riders included Monument Rocks also known as Hole in the Wall, south of Oakley Kansas, Tower Rock Winery in Missouri, Rocky Falls in Missouri, Penn's Store in Gravel Switch, Kentucky, the barbed wire ball in Kansas and the giant coffee bean in Chicago.

"The important thing to remember about a competitive scavenger hunt rally is that not even Superman can get to half of the bonus locations listed," said Puckett. "The challenge is figuring out what bonuses you think you can safely ride to and capture with a digital camera photo, and make it to the finish line within the time limit."

Puckett stressed that safe riding is paramount and this rally included a mandatory 4-hour rest period. Riders gained bonus points for doing so and they were penalized if they did not stop. Full riding gear is highly recommended for all riders. That includes a helmet, boots, and gloves. A motto of long distance riders is ATGATT - "All The Gear, All The Time." As one rider put it, "there's no sense in having state of the art riding gear if you keep it in your saddlebag."

The possible outcomes that riders fear the most are being time barred because they arrive at the finish line late and thereby receive the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish), or to be disqualified because they did not follow directions. Keeping track of time and receipts with time and date stamps often proves to be a challenge for riders also.

The key to winning any competitive rally according to Corey Nuehring is to plan a reasonable ride, research all your bonus locations, ride in your comfort zone and have fun. Nuehring is this year's first place finisher in the 30-hour rally. He rode to Cape Girardeau from Marion, Iowa traveling 400 miles just to get here and participate in the competition. Nuehring has been riding motorcycles off and on for 19 years. He has participated in rallies for three years and this year's NSR was his fourth rally competition.

"I believe I finished 44th in my first rally. At the Cape Fear Rally, I placed 25th," said Nuehring. "I was disappointed in my finish at the 2008 Cape Fear 1000, as I left a considerable amount of points at the scoring table. It was a good learning experience, but I didn't want to wait until the 2009 rally to redeem myself."

To redeem himself, Nuehring rode his 2001 Honda VFR 1745 miles in 30-hours in the NSR and gathered 6100 bonus location points along the way.

Second place finishers, Mike and Betty Ann Ligons from Ellsinore, Missouri, a 2-up team on their Honda Goldwing, rode 1670 miles and gathered 5621 bonus location points along the way.

The third place finisher was Peter Delean who initially rode 1024 miles on his 2002 BMW R1150RT to arrive in Cape Girardeau from his home in North Bay, Ontario, Canada to participate in the rally. Delean then rode another 1640 miles in a 30-hour span, capturing 5295 points.

A friend of Delean's, Cameron Sanders who also lives in North Bay, finished fourth riding his 2003 ST1300 motorcycle 1571 miles, bagging 5259 bonus location points during his ride. The interesting thing about these two riding buddies is that they both rode different routes because each thought they had planned the best route to capture the most points in the time allotted. Sanders only missed a third place finish by a 36-point margin.

Competitors in the 12-hour rally found most of their bonus locations available in Missouri and surrounding states. Jeff and Karen Lautz from Glen Carbon, Illinois riding a BMW R1200RT took first place. Todd and Diane LeClair of Bonfield, Illinois garnered second riding a 2007 Goldwing and Lowell and Stacy Mattox of Wentzville, Missouri on their BMW K1200RS were the third place finishers. In comparison to the 30-hour format, these riders' bonus points ranged from 1100 to 1300 points.

By now, many of you may wonder why in the world anyone would put themselves through this grueling ride with the only reward being a trophy and bragging rights. For many, learning about the rally through rider forums or word of mouth peaked their interest to experience long distance competitive riding and to have fun in a different venue other than just riding the back roads.

"It sounded like a lot of fun and a great way to see some of the central USA, plus meet riders with similar interests," said Steve Short. Short is an Iron Butt Association six-year veteran and has been participating in rallies for two years. His next endurance rally, SPANK, will begin in Escondido, California and end in Tulsa, Oklahoma spanning six days to accumulate bonus points.

For John Frick of Cincinnati, Ohio, "It involved riding a motorcycle, it involved coming up with a plan, and it sounded like a challenge."

Next year's rally is already in the works according to rally master Puckett. While he will again offer a shorter ride, the 2009 Not Superman Rally will be a 48-hour format with a mandatory 6-hour rest period encompassing a 1000-mile radius from Cape Girardeau. Bonus locations could conceivably be as far away as Key West, Florida, the east coast, and somewhere in Canada. Puckett expects to attract competitors who will be participating in the Iron Butt Ride, an 11,000-mile ride completed in 11 days that is scheduled in August of 2009. Puckett believes the 48-hour NSR will be ridden by many as a warm-up ride for the Iron Butt competition.

When Roger Riley, who placed first in the Novice, No GPS class in the 2007 rally found out about the 2009 48-hour format, he said "I'm not Superman, but I think I can do that."

Further information about this rally can be found on the website located at www.notsupermanrally.com .