Review of SMSCC First Friday Niter Road Rally (TSD Rally):
What is it?
Simply put, it’s an extremely aggravating navigational rally that requires the team to arrive at checkpoints (some manned, some unmanned) at SPECIFIC TIMES. If you are early, you get penalized. If you arrive late, same deal.
How to win?
Follow the instructions. Make no assumptions. If you go too fast for some of it, SLOW DOWN. If you go to slow, take advantage of requires pauses (i.e.: Pause 1.5 Min at Stop) and just don’t pause. If you make a mistake, or THINK you’ve made a mistake, pull over and figure it out quickly, then adjust accordingly.
What NOT to do:
Don’t panic! Very good chance that you’ll get caught in a “trap” by an instruction that is worded in such a fashion that you’ll do the wrong thing. That’s ok… just realize it and compensate accordingly.
Now… my thoughts:
This is by far the most stressful drive I’ve ever had. Not only did I have to trust my navigator (Amy), I also had to keep an eye on my AVERAGE SPEED (probably the most important and difficult part for the driver) AND adjust my timing for arrival at checkpoints accordingly. Doing this, with a stopwatch, is not easy… especially when trying to keep an eye out for road signs and traffic. Rally Computers are a thing and the higher classes use them, but I don’t see myself getting to that point in these types of races. I do enjoy these, but I’d rather invest my $ into RallyX.
Was it fun? Absolutely! Will I do it again? You betcha!!! Is it for everyone? NOT A CHANCE!
I do recommend that anyone wanting to try this to give it a shot. There are clever, and sometimes misleading, instructions that the navigator must relay to the driver and translate from shorthand language or diagrams. It makes it fun, but as I mentioned, stressful. We went off course twice, but still managed to finish in 1st place in our class. That’s what we call a TEAM EFFORT.
Recommendations for 1st Timers:
Driver: Don’t panic! Don’t have a lead foot. Have good awareness of the road and signage.
Navigator: Don’t panic! Don’t get carsick (seriously, you’re looking down a paper more than you are up at the road). Bring a reading light, some stuff to write with, a highlighter and a clipboard. If you’re driver can’t do it, be ready to do some math on the fly.
For both: HAVE FUN!
By: Bill Carrigan
