Slipstream - August 2007

∂Photos by Charlie Davis
A Newbie’s First Rally School
by Peg Kierstead
When my husband, Steve, and I (two brand new members
of the PCA’s Maverick Region) arrived at the Hackberry
Country Club for the June Rally School, we knew we
were in a good place. Long-time members and other newbies
were all welcoming and pleasant people.
During a
lunch of
chicken salad
sandwiches
and fresh
fruit, rally
mistress Teri
Davis got
down to
business. As
she went
Teri Davis diagraming an intersection through her
detailed
review of General Instructions, Supplemental GI’s, the glossary,
and the pink sheet we found ourselves lost in a flurry of papers,
but we relaxed when Teri assured us it’s a game and it’s about
having fun.
Getting into our Cayman and lining up for the start had a
calming effect, and I felt a thrill as I counted down the seconds
to our start time. (I must add “Note to Newbie: basic rules of
safety still apply.” We almost pulled through a stop sign without
realizing cross traffic did not stop.)
It was fun working our way through the transit zone and
leg one; we looked for road signs, remembered notes, and compared
our time against the instructions. New phrases and concepts
rolled off our tongues: CAST, notes, counting pauses, “Is
this a T?” We arrived at Checkpoint One in good time, and then
it all fell apart. There was a road we couldn’t find, despite two
attempts, and we just drove back to the country club.
There we found a lively discussion in progress. A poll was
taken: “Did you find Belt Line?” A strange mantra was heard:
“ONLY ONLY ONLY.” (This refers to a lane sign with three
arrows describing the only way each lane could turn. Many
people never saw it; apparently the group found a trap Teri hadn’t
intended.) We newbies also learned an important fact:
checkpoints are not indicated in the instructions.
Then the rally mistress returned, recapped
the discussion of misses and problems, and put
the whole thing in focus. We learned where we
had gone wrong and that we weren’t the only
ones fooled.
Steve and I left the rally glowing with the
aftereffects of time well-spent, happy to have
met some nice people and to have challenged
ourselves with a new activity. I feel an obsession
coming on.
June 10 Rally
Series Totals
Points Entrant Rally 1 Rally 2 Rally 3
263.0 Shoffit Wendy 98.3 164.7
261.5 Shoffit James 96.8 164.7
194.5 Perrine Betty 97.8 96.7 0.0
194.5 Perrine Clay 97.8 96.7 0.0
190.0 Mayo Jan 98.3 91.7
185.8 Frick Dave 97.8 88.0
185.8 Frick Jean 97.8 88.0
156.3 Kierstead Peg 156.3
156.3 Kierstead Steve 156.3
104.5 Stephan Debbie 104.5
104.5 Stephan Troy 104.5
98.8 Fickes Ed 98.8
98.8 Fickes Sharon 98.8
97.8 Hughes Hanna 97.8
97.8 Hughes Kevin 97.8
96.8 Bowen Jim 96.8
96.8 Pelchat Janet 96.8
96.8 Shoffit Jasmine 96.8
96.8 Waddell Bob 96.8
96.8 Waddell Lady 96.8
95.8 Kuykendall Bob 95.8
95.8 Kuykendall Lourdes 95.8
91.7 Davis Kevan 91.7
90.5 Williams Mark 90.5
90.5 Williams Virginia 90.5
86.0 Bradley Ethan 86.0
86.0 Bradley Richard 86.0
49.3 Briggs Bobbie 49.3
49.3 Briggs Frank 49.3
0.0 Nannis Erica 0.0
0.0 Nannis Joel 0.0
0.0 Fella Henry 0.0
0.0 Woodward Sarah 0.0
0.0 Havelaar Marylou 0.0
0.0 Havelaar Ron 0.0
Driver Navigator Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Total
James Shoffit Wendy Shoffit500 6 500 1006
Steve Kierstead Peg Kierstad 31 500 500 1031
David Salaki Scott Ripley452 190 500 1142
Dave Frick Jean Frick 500 236 500 1236
Ron Havelaar Marylou Havelaar 500 500 500 1500
Catherine LaCroix Mark LaCroix500 500 500 1500
Henry Fells Sarah Woodward 500 500 500 1500
Clay Perrine Betty Perrine500 dnf 500 dnf
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