The gentleman at Fred's Super Dollar Store and Pharmacy couldn't have been more polite. He appeared to have arrived at that point in life where the measure of age holds no authority, where the best approach is to treat today as today, tomorrow as tomorrow and to simply accept, for better or for worse, all of the days that had come before. Our conversation lasted only a few minutes, but it was surprisingly real. Keith told me how he's been enjoying a quiet life in Perry County, Tennessee for more than 20 years, and how that at the end of his work day at Fred's, he loves nothing more than to go home and relax on his porch. Keith told me he feels fortunate because he has a job. One in four of his neighbors doesn't.

Our visit was cut short by a phone call, but before picking up, Keith thanked me for visiting Linden and shook my hand. I went back to the garage to finish mounting video cameras on the bikes and tried hard to imagine the view from his porch.

Encounters like this one can really reveal the character of an area. The location for Rally Tennessee, like most rallies, is highly dependent on finding a place where more than one hundred miles of public road can be closed for one or two days without significantly disrupting the residents. This usually means that rallies are held in sparsely populated areas, or places with extremely willing residents. Perry County, TN offers both.

For instance, yesterday morning, we spent some time inspecting the roads that we will be running during our stages today. We hardly met a car or truck coming the other way. In fact, the roads here are so quiet that we had to make two emergency stops on the stages: the first, to allow a resident sow meandering down a lane to dash off into the woods and the second, a litter of puppies, nuzzled into their mom and nursing in the middle of the warm blacktop. I have a feeling that they'll be safer today- the action and noise should be enough to keep good mothers and their children at bay.

On second thought, I take that back. Despite their mothers strongest objections, children can't seem to resist motorcycles. There's no doubt that we'll see more than a few small smiling faces as we negotiate the transits today. We'll give them a thumbs up, maybe a wheelie, and definitely something to tell their friends at school on Tuesday. We're also bound to meet a few other interesting characters.

Like Keith, each of these people will be woven into our fabric of memory. It's all part of the rally experience and one that we hope you'll appreciate. At least until the action begins!

Part 2: Halfway there.

This morning, Joe Warner woke up ready to ride the buffalo. This was not a metaphorical prediction. He really wanted to ride the 10 ft high buffalo statue that welcomes guests to Loretta Lynn's kitchen. So before the rest of the team had awakened, Joe found his moment of Zen atop that fiberglass sculpture.

Faithful E-Rider readers will recall that the HP2 Enduro was dubbed "the Buffalo" some years ago by Doug Morrison, and Joe Warner is one of only a handful of riders to tame the beast in RallyMoto competition. Although Doug is sidelined from this rally with an injury, today Joe put in a performance that will no doubt make Doug proud.

Also missing this year are our Umbrella Gorillas, and from the look of the forecast this morning, it appeared that umbrellas (regardless of who was holding them) might be a necessary accessory. Fortunately, the rains held off for most of the day and a thick cloud cover helped shield the riders from the intensity of the Tennessee sun. This turned out to be a blessing, as some complications with road closures accumulated and the rally got behind schedule, finishing just after dark. The bikes were put in Parc Ferme for the evening, waiting for us to do this all again tomorrow.

It had been a long hot day in the leathers for everyone, but hydration and adhering to a scientifically researched heat management program helped everyone finish strong. TJ Jarrett, riding his G450X in RallyMoto competition for the second time after a season on an HP2, found a sweet groove, finishing the day with a smile and some impressive stage times.

Andrew Phillips, who could face down Darth Vader with his signature smoke visor, used the force to effortlessly slalom along the Tennessee ridge tops all day long.

The brothers Stratton each entered HP2 Megamotos in Rally Tennessee. It's fun to see Max and Ben mix it up on the stages. Even though they ride the same bike, they have distinctly different riding styles.

One of RallyMoto's most seasoned veterans made her first unofficial entry in Rally Tennessee this weekend. Just like the unregistered "bandits" who compete in the Boston Marathon each year, Sandy Warner solidly made her point when she unveiled her secret rally weapon that Jimmy Joe had saved for her in a private bunker. She is reported to have proclaimed "if Joe can ride a buffalo, I'm gonna ride a gator!"

Part 3: The Wrap Up

On Sunday morning, Sandy Warner put it best: "I feel like I forgot to sleep last night". After a full day on the roads of Perry County, TN on Saturday, all of the members of TEAM MAX BMW were feeling like the previous night's sleep just hadn't been enough. Sitting at breakfast and looking out at a drenching rain, we weren't exactly red-lining with enthusiasm for the day. That all changed when we stepped into the Linden Community Center garage where the bikes and cars had been impounded in Parc Ferme overnight. The sound of ratchets, the smell of racing fuel and the spectacle of teams prepping their vehicles for the weather were intoxicating. Before we knew it, our tools were out of the truck, roll charts were being loaded, and power bars were being consumed.

TJ Jarret started the day feeling better than almost anyone at the rally. After a multi-month string of incidents where things just seemed to be coming apart, Rally Tennessee, it seemed, was the time and place for that trend to reverse. After a handful of stages on Saturday that saw him finishing fourth or fifth overall, TJ was finding a comfortable groove on his G450X. By Stage 12, TJ had stepped to the top of the list and shared his first stage win in a tie with Max. On Stage 15, TJ popped a third place finish and his confidence kicked in to carry him through the dusky final stage of the day. TJ won Stage 16.

It's a nice feeling to start day 2 knowing that you're riding well. TJ was in good company on Sunday morning. Max, in addition to his victory with TJ on SS12, had finished 2nd overall on nine of the previous day's stages, riding his HP2 Megamoto within 10 seconds of the leader on every stage. Andrew Phillips, on a supermoto'ed G450X snagged 2nd place on two of Saturday's stages and had landed in 3rd place six times. Bill Conger, an instructor at the BMW Performance Center in SC and the defending champion of Rally Tennessee, held the overall lead going into day two.

Stage 17 was the first stage of the day on Sunday, following the same course where the shakedown stage had been held on Friday evening. A relatively short stage, the road climbs to the top of a ridge, makes a slight left after a crest, leading into a dirty right. During the shakedown stage on Friday, one of the drivers had mis-judged the corner after the crest and lost contact with the road, tumbling about 200 feet down a ravine. The driver and co-driver were understandably shaken, but otherwise all right. Things like this happen in rally and it's a major reason why the technical inspections of the vehicles are so thorough. The roll-cage construction, harnesses and other mandatory safety devices are intended to protect drivers who find themselves at the mercy of physics.

Tire science was the discipline that many riders were most concerned with for the morning's stages. Passing showers would wet the surface, and the warm asphalt combined with a consistent breeze would help some places dry more quickly than others. Positions 1-4 were up for grabs on the first five stages of the day. Although Max, Andrew, TJ and Bill delivered some of the closest racing that the RallyMoto circuit has seen to date, professional racers would describe the overall riding style on Sunday morning as tentative. Competitors with day jobs (everyone in the rally) would describe the overall riding style as smart. Joe Warner, Ben Stratton and Mike Warren each rode their own flavor of HP2 and ran consistently against each other all weekend without incident.

The incidents started piling up after the first service. We were in the pits enjoying the company and assistance of MAX BMW customers Gary and Jeff (a father and son who traveled all the way from Florida to ride their motorcycles and take in the experience of Rally Tennessee) when we heard that one rally car was caught speeding on a transit and was immediately ejected from the rally. It was a good reminder: you can go as fast as you want on a stage, but the transits are public roads and there is zero-tolerance in residential areas. Radio reports of cars off the racing surface seemed more frequent than usual, but in most cases, a roadside repair or a push from helpful fans was enough to get the competitors going again.

On Stage 22, our photographer thought he heard a bike stop and start up through the gears again somewhere on the stage. TJ's minor delay on the stage hadn't cost him much time, but apparently, the bag containing his stage notes chose to get off the ride when the bike stopped. The unfortunate consequence of this separation was that when TJ took off for the next stage, he was without notes and unsure of which stage start to report to. By the time he navigated to the correct stage, he was too late and was barred from starting. While TJ encountered trouble before the start of a stage, Andrew Phillips found his at the end of one. On Stage 25, Andrew gave new meaning to the term flying finish. By the time our team got his bike in the truck and made sure he was OK, the rally was over.

As we drove north, we had 20 hours of time to reflect on the rally. To those who weren't there, our absence from the final two stages may look like a job left unfinished. And while technically that's true, our time in Tennessee was our most productive rally yet. TEAM MAX BMW competed at or near the top of each of the 21 timed stages we ran in Rally Tennessee. We had 5 stage wins, 18 second place finishes, and 15 thirds. We learned some new things about the capabilities of our G450 Xs and HP2s. We explored our individual capacities for performance under difficult conditions. Above all, we reminded ourselves of the meaning of the word team.

Thanks again for riding along.