I am back from the Adventure Palooza '21 weekend. WHAT A BLAST! Dale & John and team put on a GREAT event. Sean & I (team Derelict Bus with Stovepipe Mod) rode the South route--one of several routes to choose from. The experience is a mix of:
- Adventure motorcycling
- Skills challenge
- Scavenger hunt
- Photo & Video creativity
- Navigation challenge
- Time management
- Camping
When Sean & I signed up, we both were thinking the scavenger hunt thing might be fun, but lets make it more about the route and the riding. However, once we started and collected about 3 of the points, our focus shifted to collecting those points and pushing for a win!
We came in 6th place out of about 20 teams. We got beat by a team named "7 Arms of Fury". One of their riders has only his right arm and rides a KLR650! What an amazing dude! The winning team was 3 women named "Mascara~N~Mud". They were IN IT TO WIN IT for sure. Turns out one of the secrets to winning is around bonus points--which you earn for great photo and video submissions.
The game used the GooseChase app. There were 4 types of points to capture.
- [PV] Photo or Video of something specified
- [T] Text. "What year was the church built?"
- [G] GPS. The app would simply capture your location and a map screenshot
- [W] Washer. They had 2" metal washers stamped with 3 digit numbers. You had to find the washer attached to a tree, rock, railroad tie, etc. then submit the number.
The route included plenty challenging sections. I took my loaded F800GS into some ATV trails a smarter person would have skipped. I'm pretty sure I rode down a couple spots I could not have ridden back up. (I'm not so bright.) All the challenge sections had alternate route arounds.
For most routes the game opened on the app 6 am Fri morning. The Southern routes were longer and more challenging so opened Thur morning. Some folks took advantage of that so had an extra day to get the miles and points in. Sean & I started the South route about 7am Fri. We were pushing hard and fast but still had to get very creative on Saturday to make it to the farm by 6pm. We had to select a few strategic points to skip and route faster pavement between the last points. Most of the points were worth 500 to 1000 points each. If you were late to the farm, you lost 500 points every 15 minutes!
At the farm North of Mexico, MO, there were around 250 folks and a sea of motorcycles. They had a stage with a live band, a big tractor wheel fire pit, BBQ, drinks including beer and coffee, awards ceremony, and a slideshow of all the photos & videos that came through the GooseChase submissions. Camping was very nice--blessed with perfect weather. In the morning, they served a good breakfast. There was a skills challenge course to enjoy but I was mostly wiped from all the riding to get to the farm!
A highlight at the farm was hanging out with the Hackney Boys! Their team missed 1st place on the North route by 100 points!! They got to take home a sweet plaque for their effort.
Camping on Fri night was kind of every man for himself--wherever you ended up when it got dark. Sean & I did not make it near as far on Fri as we hoped. Sean found an abandoned campground. All the signs were long gone and there were weeds growing through the asphalt. We really enjoyed camp. However, the evidence around the site made it clear this spot had been a meth cook location. What could go wrong?
On Sunday, Sean & I enjoyed a twisty back highway ride from Mexico back to Willow Springs where our trucks were parked. We definitely plan to ride the 2022 event. I am already pondering what tricks to pull out to go for the WIN.