I just came across a video I made 17 years ago. It documented the epic journey of two of my friends and I back in December 1994. We drove from Fresno to Santa Barbara and then participated in the 24th annual Santa Barbara to Las Vegas StarLite Road Rally. The StarLite was a 14 Hour ‘Monte Carlo’ style Rally sponsored by the Santa Barbara Sports Car Club. This was the second year in a row we competed in the Rally…hence Part II.
My friend Steve is a Mountain Man and the epitome of a former hippie and rugged individualist. He owns 60 acres in the foothills. No Electricity or Running Water. Self-Reliant, Mechanic, Welder, Artist, Farmer.
My friend Robin and I have been going to Vegas most every year for a decade. He’s a distance cyclist, computer Geek and all around good guy.
For those of you who don’t have a clue what a Monte Carlo Style Rally is, it’s a competition where your car must cross 12 checkpoints at an exact point in time (measured to within .01 of a second). For each second you get to a checkpoint early or late, you are penalized one point. The entire course is laid out mathematically, so if you go the exact speed limit you hit the checkpoint at the perfect theoretical time. You can also be disqualified for breaking any law…so it’s not a race…not quite. You are given maps and cryptic directions that guide to an ‘inmark’ from which you can see the checkpoint off in the distance.
What actually happens is that everyone drives like a bat out of hell to get to inmark and then they just hang out until they think it’s the perfect time to leave for the checkpoint. If you stop after leaving the inmark but before the crossing the checkpoint you are penalized 500 points. If you appear to be getting to the checkpoint too soon, you use a rally technique known as creeping. Creeping is driving as slow as possible without stopping until you trip the timer wire.
There are always a number of exotic cars involved. There were 120 cars participating that year including an original Shelby Cobra, many Vettes and Porches. We decided to go luxury and had rented a 1995 Lincoln Towncar which had 100 miles on it. It got a few ‘looks’….as in ‘You’re driving That?” The first car left at 9:00 PM from San Marcos High School and cars were spaced 1 minute apart over two hours.
The three of us made quite a team on the Rally and in Vegas. After 600 miles of Road Rally and 12 checkpoints, we were a grand total of 56 seconds off theoretical perfect. It was our best rally ever. We got to our room (at the Casino Royal no less) at 1:45 PM Saturday. We had all been awake over 30 hours….living on cigarettes (hey everyone smoked back then), coffee and bad jokes.
I have some great video in Vegas including the time Steve made me pull over so he could puke. We moved on from CR to MGM where we were upgraded to a beautiful suite.
This was the MGM of the OZ buffet days where Tin Man and Scare Crow, Cowardly Lion and Dorothy made the rounds (and Toto too). They had the Emerald City that would constantly suffer bad weather, and the huge theme park with live entertainment. I even got Steve to dance with a dinosaur.
We kicked around Vegas Drunk and laughing…pretty much never even catching our communal breath until it was time to leave…broke, exhausted and finally sober. When everything was said and done, we put 1,500 hard miles on that poor Lincoln Towncar.
It was a great trip and the next to the last StarLite Rally ever. I have fond memories of that trip that were just rekindled by watching my movie.
July 4, 2012
A man was found dead Tuesday after the tractor he was driving went over a steep embankment on a foothill road north of Millerton Lake.
California Highway Patrol officers said the man—a 61 year old from Friant—was apparently driving a David Brown tractor south on Anderson Smith Road when he drove off the edge of the road and down an embankment. The man was thrown from the tractor.
The incident was reported by a neighbor shortly after 3:00 PM Tuesday, but investigators don’t know when the accident happened.
Rest in Peace Steve. You’ll be missed by a lot of people, my friend.
My friend Steve is a Mountain Man and the epitome of a former hippie and rugged individualist. He owns 60 acres in the foothills. No Electricity or Running Water. Self-Reliant, Mechanic, Welder, Artist, Farmer.
My friend Robin and I have been going to Vegas most every year for a decade. He’s a distance cyclist, computer Geek and all around good guy.
For those of you who don’t have a clue what a Monte Carlo Style Rally is, it’s a competition where your car must cross 12 checkpoints at an exact point in time (measured to within .01 of a second). For each second you get to a checkpoint early or late, you are penalized one point. The entire course is laid out mathematically, so if you go the exact speed limit you hit the checkpoint at the perfect theoretical time. You can also be disqualified for breaking any law…so it’s not a race…not quite. You are given maps and cryptic directions that guide to an ‘inmark’ from which you can see the checkpoint off in the distance.
What actually happens is that everyone drives like a bat out of hell to get to inmark and then they just hang out until they think it’s the perfect time to leave for the checkpoint. If you stop after leaving the inmark but before the crossing the checkpoint you are penalized 500 points. If you appear to be getting to the checkpoint too soon, you use a rally technique known as creeping. Creeping is driving as slow as possible without stopping until you trip the timer wire.
There are always a number of exotic cars involved. There were 120 cars participating that year including an original Shelby Cobra, many Vettes and Porches. We decided to go luxury and had rented a 1995 Lincoln Towncar which had 100 miles on it. It got a few ‘looks’….as in ‘You’re driving That?” The first car left at 9:00 PM from San Marcos High School and cars were spaced 1 minute apart over two hours.
The three of us made quite a team on the Rally and in Vegas. After 600 miles of Road Rally and 12 checkpoints, we were a grand total of 56 seconds off theoretical perfect. It was our best rally ever. We got to our room (at the Casino Royal no less) at 1:45 PM Saturday. We had all been awake over 30 hours….living on cigarettes (hey everyone smoked back then), coffee and bad jokes.
I have some great video in Vegas including the time Steve made me pull over so he could puke. We moved on from CR to MGM where we were upgraded to a beautiful suite.
This was the MGM of the OZ buffet days where Tin Man and Scare Crow, Cowardly Lion and Dorothy made the rounds (and Toto too). They had the Emerald City that would constantly suffer bad weather, and the huge theme park with live entertainment. I even got Steve to dance with a dinosaur.
We kicked around Vegas Drunk and laughing…pretty much never even catching our communal breath until it was time to leave…broke, exhausted and finally sober. When everything was said and done, we put 1,500 hard miles on that poor Lincoln Towncar.
It was a great trip and the next to the last StarLite Rally ever. I have fond memories of that trip that were just rekindled by watching my movie.
July 4, 2012
A man was found dead Tuesday after the tractor he was driving went over a steep embankment on a foothill road north of Millerton Lake.
California Highway Patrol officers said the man—a 61 year old from Friant—was apparently driving a David Brown tractor south on Anderson Smith Road when he drove off the edge of the road and down an embankment. The man was thrown from the tractor.
The incident was reported by a neighbor shortly after 3:00 PM Tuesday, but investigators don’t know when the accident happened.
Rest in Peace Steve. You’ll be missed by a lot of people, my friend.
