Rally Tennessee 2008

What a long, hot day it's been.
(Note: There's a special video reward for those who read to the end of this e-Rider message!)

This part of Tennessee is, like most rally venues, somewhat remote but scattered with small towns that are connected with the kind of empty country roads that a motorcyclist dreams about. You could spend days wandering the backroads here and odds are you'd encounter more wildlife on the road than other cars or bikes. During the course of our "recce" yesterday we saw dogs, guinea fowl, turtles, turkeys, woodchucks, salamanders and snakes all cross the road in front of us (the armadillo was consipcuously absent.) The other thing we saw was a circuit that will require our full attention tomorrow.


Less than one mile into our reconnaisance of stage one, a ribbon of road revealed itself to welcome us to Rally Tennessee. We'll get to ride this as fast as we can , with no one else on the road to worry about.


And turn after turn, we discovered more of the same.



The only thing that's inconsistent about the roads is the surface. Much of it has been chip sealed and in some spots is more seal than chip and in others more chip than seal:

The really tough stuff is reserved for the shoulders of the road. No doubt the rally cars will be hooking into this material and spitting it out onto the racing surface today:



After driving each stage forward and backward multiple times, it was time to suit up and test our memories of the course. Full leathers in 85 degree sun are warm when you're riding with a breeze. Standing in the sun waiting for your turn at the time control, is downright brutal. By far, the biggest safety threat for the RallyMoto riders today is managing body temperature and staying properly hydrated.


We left the hotel yesterday morning before seven am and arrived back here at nine. Fourteen hours of mental and mechanical preparation, with a few shakedown runs thrown in for good measure. We can only imagine how we're going to feel by the end of the rally today, after having run 16 stages and 289 miles through Perry County, TN.

And since you've read all the way to the end, here's your special reward: a short video clip of Doug Morrison on the shakedown stage yesterday afternoon.

Doug Morrison - Rally Tennessee Shakedown Section