Sit down. Grab a drink. There is a lot to go over.

The evening started simply enough with the odometer check taking the teams out to exit 20 on I-90.

Leg 1 was a short regularity running the length of High Point Way to Preston. There were no traps in the instructions and only a single speed change. Half the field zeroed this leg and the other half was early. It can be tough to keep your speed down to 25MPH through the rolling landscape.

Leg 2 began on Upper Preston before heading NNE toward Fall City, then turning West ONTO Issaquah-Fall City Rd. The subsequent OR instruction offered two chances to hurt your score. The half directing a L AT STOP should not have been used because the road to the left was Issaquah-Fall City Rd. Teams should have used the other half of the OR which directed CSD 1/10. From the original 34, the new speed would be 33.9, not 30.6. Missing the ONTO was worth a 20L penalty. Catching the ONTO but getting the CSD wrong was a smaller late penalty. The leg ended on Duthie Hill Rd just before reaching 202. Based on scores, it looks like half the cars missed the ONTO.

Leg 3 started a little way East down 202 running teams up W. Snoqualmie River Rd to turn left on Tolt Hill Rd, then cut back South on 290 Ave. Teams were faced with several forced turns where the road ahead was a dead end. The sole trap was executing L AT STOP at a crossroads which was actually a forced left by the combination of Protection ahead and a dead end to the right. This one was also worth 20 late and appears to have caught about half the field.

Leg 4 took things up a notch.

It began with a fast stretch up 202, then up Ames Lake Rd to Union Hill Rd and turning into the area North of Broadhurst. R AT 260 was the first course following trap, recycled from June. Teams (on NE 45) reach a T at 260. However, Protection (backwards facing stop sign) on the left means the instruction can’t be used here. If used at this location, off-course cars proceed up 260, curve around to 50, then go North on 264 after taking a longish pause. On-course teams would execute R AT 260 one intersection later than the off-course teams. Going right at the sideroad at NE 45 & 260 NE brought you to On Course route control CP9. The route control slip reduced the pause for the next NRI. This was a distraction, as on-course cars should not execute that NRI (an ITIS), because Protection forces them left (North) on 264.

With on and off courses rejoined, all teams reach Union Hill Rd and loop around to re-enter this gridwork again at a different point. The route wound back to NE 45 & 264 NE, this time approaching from the opposite direction. Looking for L AT STOP ITIS followed by R AT STOP, teams reached a stop sign, with a DEAD END visible to the left. The backward facing stop on the road ahead made the Through Route right by Protection. On-course cars would execute L AT STOP by going straight and then R AT STOP when they reached 260 NE. Off-course cars used R AT STOP at 264 NE, skipping the L AT STOP ITIS. Both routes made clockwise loops of equal length before rejoining on NE 40. Both routes had route controls, with a 30-point penalty for those entering Off-Course control CP10.

A couple of teams created their own traps.

Recognizing Protection at NE 40 & 260 NE but failing to the take the next right was one I hadn’t anticipated. There are only two intersections on 260, so after missing NE 45, you’ll never find a place where R AT 260 could be done. That team ended up driving into CP10 (the Off Course control) for the wrong reason, but they did manage a graceful recovery.

Several teams made a mistake that really surprises me. At the instruction BR 1ST OPP, half the field made an ACUTE RIGHT. As intersections go, it is not the easiest to see as you approach. The only visible sign is across the road, so the instruction included the comment (“NE 50 ST” SOL). If you BR at that sign, you’ll be on 272 NE as intended. NE 50 is actually a protected side road off of 272 NE that comes up just after making the turn. Half the cars treated all of this as a single intersection and turned a full 135 degrees ending up on NE 50. A BEAR RIGHT (BR) is a turn of obviously less than 90 degrees so controlling for someone making an ACUTE RIGHT was not anticipated. Upon observing this happen (via the Rallymaster app’s map view of the event) a hasty Broadcast Message [NRI 54 was a turn of less than 90 degrees, putting you on 272, not 50.] was sent out to get those cars back on task and prevent others from making the same mistake.

Leg 5 was a short and simple route to the finish. A CAST 35 at “25” was easy to do as the numbered streets counted down 27, 26, 25… The CAST 25 at “15” played with this as there is no street between NE 16 and NE 14. Teams found “15” as the advisory for the roundabout.

The experiment of using a handful of Richta route controls as off-course markers (with no penalty) proved to be useful. Two teams encountered these. Based on timestamps of when these occurred, I believe both were cars that performed the unintended acute right. One team may have been lured into following the other. Eventually their paths diverged, and each found a different off course marker. I’m labeling it a success because both teams returned to the intended route and reached the finish.

There was some commentary about going through residential areas. The areas used for the scored sections on this event have nearly zero traffic after dark. Going through them at this time of year at prudent speeds is safe. Tearing through them trying to make up lost time is not. Use only moderate overspeed and/or Time Allowance to keep everyone safe. Running in the evening darkness of September and October, it’s safer to be doing 24 in an empty neighborhood than it is to be doing 44 in the sticks when the deer make an appearance. Some of the roads used in September absolutely should not be used in the summer months when our rallies are happening in daylight. Drive though there before dusk and you’ll find people on horseback, on bicycles, and walking their dogs.

It is always a challenge to refine a route (and its instructions) as things can change radically based on time of day and lighting conditions. The ONTO trap of leg 2 doesn’t change much. The critical sign is easily visible by daylight or headlights. Leg 3 had several forced turns, each with the DEAD END or NO OUTLET in front of you and in your headlight. The trap intersection is wicked, because there the critical sign is quite close but not in your headlights. It’s easy to see before dark. On leg 4, the critical DEAD END sign (used twice) is farther from the intersection but in plain view. The downside to really good headlights that have sharp cutoff is that it becomes much harder to see what isn’t in their field.

I’m still wondering how to improve that BR instruction. The sign reference feels like a requirement to me. There could be a shaky argument made that 272 AVE is actually the 2ND OPP. Maybe BR ON 272 AT “NE 50 ST” SOL would have been better.

I’m pleased everyone completed all of the legs and made it to the finish. It must not have been all bad because one SOP team managed an outstanding score of 36. Based on which route controls they passed through, it looks like they fell for the Protection trap (R AT 260). This turned out to be beneficial for them as they tended to be running early and the trap penalty of 20 lateness gave them a 7L instead of a 13E. Even if they had finished with 42, it would still be 1st overall by a comfortable margin. Good job!

See you next month,

Mike