Big Money Rally Weekend Hunting.

The trials and tribulations of a BMR Newbie.

I had been planning this weekend jaunt for more than a week. When I saw that we had the chance for great weather and sunshine, I knew I had to hit the road and go look for some bonus points. This is a quick little ride report from my 950 mile ride. I made some big mistakes, stupid decisions but enjoyed the hell out of the ride.

I told my wife Jamie that I would be leaving at 8AM sharp no matter what the weather. It looked to be in the upper 30’s by that time according to my trusty weather app. Well, my app sucks and is not very accurate. It was 28° when I walked into the kitchen to get my cup of coffee. I decided to delay my departure by an hour. I left at 9am as it had warmed up to a warm 34°

My first stop was less than 2 miles from the house as I wanted to get my first bonus and to also make sure that my app was working. I picked up my first bonus points of the weekend. I headed off to visit a couple of airports in Springdale and Fayetteville. Things went smoothly and the weekend rally was on.

I rode down towards Fort Smith, with my route taking me towards Talihena Scenic byway. If you have not ridden this stretch of road, you are missing out. I did a spirited run up and back before heading down to Idabel OK. I picked up a couple of Creek bonuses before heading over to Detroit Texas and to pick up the big 6 points for the CT bonus list. I rode into that small “big named” town and found the sign that I needed to take the bonus picture and to document these points. All was well and good. I took the picture, submitted it and got a confirmation that the points were awarded. (More on this later) I jumped back on my trusty steed and pointed her in the direction of Bossier City Louisiana, my stop for the evening. It was 4PM in the afternoon and I was still a good 120 miles from my room for the evening. I realized that I would be riding some in the dark. To be honest it is not one of my favorite things to do. I hit the road and passed up a good 15 points, as I rode by a minimum of 5 creeks. It was getting cold and dark, my thoughts were more on the critters looking to make me a bonus prize.

I arrived at my room for the evening. Our friends Becky and Jeff had offered me a place to stay and I was more than willing to take them up on their offer. After I unpacked the bike, Jeff and I rode over to meet Becky and to have some awesome Cajun food. We ate at Crawdaddy’s Kitchen. The food was very good and we exchanged stories and enjoyed each others company. I want to thank Jeff and Becky for opening up their home to me. Jeff’s garage is AMAZING! Talk about the ultimate man cave… wow! Becky had spent the entire day at the Canton Trade Days event selling her delicious Whoopie Pies, then comes home and has to play hostess. Thank you both again for the hospitality!

Sunday morning arrived and the weather was fantastic. I had a quick cup of coffee with Jeff and then headed out to Barksdale AFB for the 2nd bonus of the day. I got the first one 100 yards from Jeff’s house so the morning was off to a great start.

I bolted over to Minden airport for more points then jumped over to Hope Arkansas. I took a couple of small off road adventures and bagged as many points as I could. The last big stop of the day was in London Arkansas to grab a small town big name bonus. I rolled into home in enough time to take a shower before the Superbowl started! Jamie made me home made pizza. It was a great way to finish up an awesome weekend.

I made a couple of larger mistakes. One where I did not place the placard in the picture and another you could not read the location. You can see all of the good, the bad and the ugly for my submissions here. All in all it was a great weekend. I can’t wait to do it again soon. Ride safe everyone.

See all of the pictures that I have for the BMR here.