Travel – Page 6 – The Jeep Guru

September 20, 2011September 22, 2011

Working the Coker Tire Challenge Rally

This weekend, Jennifer, Janice and I worked the Coker Tire Challenge Rally. I had helped earlier with the course layout so I knew where we would be going.

We met up with John and Rachel on Thursday afternoon. They had flown in from California to make final preparations on the route. We made a quick tour of the Coker Tire headquarters and got our badges and new T shirts. This time our goodie bag included a cool hat as well. We recycled our green shirts we wore at Great Race.

We met with John and reviewed how to operate the SEIKO clocks. It had been a couple of months since we had seen them but we remembered pretty quickly how to set them on the hour. We collected a check point sign for each Jeep and headed back to Cleveland after checking out a few of the familiar rally cars.

The next morning started early setting clocks in the dark at 7am. Jennifer’s partner was nowhere to be found. After a few calls we found he was confused on the start time and was running late. We made arrangements for an alternate place to meet Jennifer and left her at Coker to wait while the rest of the workers headed out to our positions.

We followed Rachel as she drove making a final check of the course measurements. This meant that she would not exceed 60 MPH even on the interstate. Our little caravan got some strange looks from passersby on the interstate. The outboard wheel unit for John’s rally computer always attracts attention.

We stopped in Kimbal and Jennifer made good progress on catching up. In fact, she was ahead of us before we got back on the road and we arranged for her to take a break and meet up along the route into Alabama. I dropped out of the caravan long enough to make sure every thing was OK with her and her partner and then we picked up the route.

We caught up well before check point one which was somewhere south of Stevenson. We all took some time to introduce our selves now that it was light. With the crew for checkpoint one in place, we moved on down the road.

Our caravan took us along the same route as the Crow Mountain Hillclimb where I will be working in a couple of weeks. We also passed the cool rock zoo along the way.

We dropped Jennifer and Jonathon at their control and moved on. Near Huntsville, we dropped off the other crew and then John, Rachel and I met for an early lunch. Due to the time zone difference, the Arby’s was just opening when we arrived.

Our checkpoint for the afternoon was a double. That meant cars would be passing us twice. The time around the loop was about six minutes so we had two cars passing us every minute for most of the time we were open.

We had a nice quiet place in a church yard on a lightly traveled road. However, we still had a few locals stop to see what was going on. Unfortunately one of the locals held up one of the contestants who was coming into our checkpoint as he was looking at us. They had to take a time delay.

After our checkpoint was over, we phoned in our results and headed up the route to find Jennifer who had moved to a different location for her afternoon assignment. We drove together to Corky’s farm to turn in our scores and eat some food grilled up by Sticky Finger’s catering.

We then headed out to the Walker Valley football game where Jennifer’s daughter was playing in the band. After the game, we headed home for some much needed rest.

We started early again the next day setting clocks at 7am. Jennifer had a new partner who arrived on time this day.

We headed north to Dunlap. We set up checkpoint one in the rain. Then we followed the route to check point two which was my assignment for the morning.

It was a nice hay field across from a house. The home owner came out and was excited to find that the Great Race was passing her house. She called her friends who stood in the yard taking pictures as the cars went by. “Now we know what the green dot is for!” we heard them say.

We were almost caught off guard when the first car passed us ten minutes early. But we had everything set up and clocked him in properly. The rest of the cars arrived in order and in their expected minutes. It was fun to watch the cars make their way through the winding farm road.

After we called in our scores we headed out to meet John and Rachel in Pikeville for our afternoon assignment. We realized we had a bit of time to kill, so we headed up to Sparta for lunch. We must have just missed John and Rachel there as we found they had stopped for lunch across the street from us. We met them in Pikeville at our expected rendezvous point and time.

We worked the last control of the day in a church yard near HWY 58 in Hamilton County. I think some of the contestants thought they had passed all the workers because several were very early to our checkpoint. They looked surprised to see us. Others got great scores at our checkpoint so they must have been paying attention.

We called in our scores as the cars were coming in. We met Jennifer back at Coker. Back at Coker there was a huge car show going on. Our fellow rally friend Tom Greig had come up from Atlanta to see the event. We walked around and admired the beautiful cars on display.

Then we visited T Bones bar for a snack and watched the crowd watch the UT football game on TV. After that, we headed back to Cleveland and hid the bed early knowing we had an even earlier start the next day.

Sunday we headed south at 6:20 am. We set out clocks in Trenton, Ga at 7:00am.

We dropped the first check point crew at a little church well before church time. Jennifer and Gary had a checkpoint on the brow of Lookout Mountain. They had a nice creek with a waterfall just behind them.

We were the last checkpoint of the day again. This meant we had to call in scores every few cars which adds to the challenge of recording their times correctly as they rally cars speed by. No one seemed surprised to see us this time and there appeared to be some really good scores on our leg. It was fun watching the old cars climb the hill to our checkpoint trying to maintain their assigned speed.

Back at Coker, Jennifer was doing multiple jobs for John as we collected equipment and scores. We finally got to sit down and eat just as Corky was announcing the results. The low scores continue to amaze me. I am not sure I could do as well with a computer much less with the limited vintage equipment they are allowed.

There were some very interesting cars running the rally. Harold Coker was running his Chrysler Airflow. Those cars are interesting in pictures but absolutely stunning when seen running on the road. There were several former race cars. The drivers of these seemed to enjoy pushing them to their limits as I sow several drifting them through corners. I bet Corky enjoys seeing them wear out their vintage tires as well.

The Coker Challenge is also open to modern cars and Street Rods. There was an interesting Willys Jeep in the event. It had a street rod independent front suspension and a Chevy V8. I don’t think it would do much off road but it was an interesting street machine.

It is always good to have a Jeep Cherokee when working checkpoints. It is easy to get off the road and opening the hatch makes for shade and light rain protection. Also there is plenty for room for check point sighs and other gear that we need to make working a checkpoint comfortable. Also, the on road manners of the Cherokee makes it easy to get from place to place quickly.

See our photo gallery

Thanks to Corky Coker and Hemmings Motor News for inviting us to a great event. I look forward to the next one. http://www.cokertirechallenge.com/

August 1, 2011August 1, 2011

Remembering the Battle of Athens 8-1&2 1946

I had never heard of the battle of Athens until recently. This spot where “The Friendly City” received national recognition shortly after WWII seems to be forgotten or more likely swept under the rug.

Yesterday, I drove through Athens and found the historical marker that marks the location of the old Jail. I drove on up to Fort Loudoun to see where the political corruption got its root in the area even before the removal of the Cherokee.

The politics of McMinn county had become increasingly corrupt for ten years or so leading up to the battle. While the real men of the community where away fighting the war, the corrupt politicians had tightened their strangle hold on the community.

Elections had become a total sham and the police force ruled the area with an iron fist or blackjack. Illegal whisky flowed freely at the casinos and night clubs. Political officials would occasionally roll an unsuspecting patron of his cash and then parade him in front of the church folks as an example of how they were cleaning up the very corruption they sponsored.

When the GI’s returned from War, they found the very freedoms they had fought for were no where to be found in their home of Athens, Tn. They also found themselves not too welcome by “The Friendly City.”

They formed their own non partisan political organization called the GI party. Their mission was to make sure ht elections were held fairly and that votes were to be counted as cast.

The voting fraud described from the period seems comical. There were the normal stories of the bally boxes being stuffed with names from tombstones. There were stories of having a midget hiding under the table where the ballot box was and pulling out ballots of the opposing party. And there were stories of busses going around from polling place to polling place where supporters would vote again and again in exchange for cash or liquor.

I am not sure why they even bothered with all that because the real fraud was in the vote counting anyway. Where the polls closed, the ballots were counted in secret and the results announced by the controlling organization.

The trouble began early in the morning when the GI part tried to make sure the polls were operating legally. The Sheriff in power had brought in mercenaries from all over east Tennessee and north Georgia. One of the GI poll watchers was shot early in the morning as a warning to others. Many others faced physical intimidation. However, the incumbents did not realize that the GIs were accustomed to facing death at the barrel of a gun and fighting for their lives. The GIs were not intimidated.

At the end of the day when the ruling party tried to take the ballot boxes away to be counted in secret, the GIs fought back. The boxes were successfully moved to the jail for safe keeping. However, the GIs armed themselves with what ever weapons and ammunition they could find and began a siege of the jail.

By morning they had defeated the sheriff and the corrupt politicians had left town. A new county government was formed from scratch. The episode made national headlines but was quickly forgotten.

The full story if told in an excellent book by Howard Cook. The book tells the story of Bill White who was instrumental in leading the battle of Athens. That is when he was not locked in his bedroom by his mother. The book tells of Bill White learning about political corruption from the Indian stories and visiting places like Fort Loudoun, Toqua and Chota near Athens.

The story continues to show how Bill was trained for battle in the Marines and how he faced death so that he was not at all intimidated by the sheriff’s guns when he got back home.

Swifter than eagles: Bill White and the battle of Athens, 1946 is an excellent story that captures not only the historical and political perspective of the story but also explains the personalities of the men behind the story. Cook gives the background not only of Bill White but of the area to put the two day episode in perspective.

It is a shame that the book is out of print and no electronic version is available. It make san excellent lesson in government and politics that I think we could all learn from these days.

You may find a used or collectors copy on Amazon:Swifter than eagles: Bill White and the battle of Athens, 1946 : a nonfiction novel Thanks to Sherry Crye for loaning me her signed copy.

July 22, 2011July 22, 2011

New trailer tires from eBay

I guess when you live in the country; you get excited by small things. My little red trailer has seen a lot of use over the years; mostly by people besides me. I have used it to help friends move furniture, my son has used is for a mobile coffee bar and it has hauled plenty of lawnmowers and other small bulky items. It makes a good substitute for a pickup truck.

The bed is made from a sheet of 4 by 8 plywood so it is about he same size as a pickup truck bed. The bed also tilts making loading and unloading easier. It has 4.80 by 12 tires on four lug wheels.

I have not seen my trailer in a while because my son has had it. He left it at my Dad’s place because the tires would no longer hold air. They had gotten in pretty sad shape with a lot of dry rot although the tread was still good. The leak turned out to be the valve stem. I had just let it set because it was always used more by other s than by me anyway.

When my Dad offered to buy tires so that we could use it again I quickly accepted the offer and began tire shopping. My first stop was Tractor supply. $57 each for the little tires sounded sorta steep. And I would still have to mount the little buggers. At one time they had tire and wheel combos cheaper than just the tires but that was a long time ago.

I shopped my other favorite stores, Northern Tools and Harbor Freight. They had similar prices. Still more than I thought the little tires should be.

I began searching ebay and found the tires at a more reasonable $42 each including shipping. But I decided to do a little more searching because buying the tires still meant that I would have to mount them. I have had bad experiences with little tires in the past. I much prefer mounting big heavy Maxxis mudders on my Jeep than fooling with the little trailer tires.

I found an auction for tires and rims for not much more money. I le the first one slip by and the second one went for more than I wanted to pay. But I was finally able to buy at less than $55 each. I had not noticed in the first auction that a hub was also included in the deal. When the packages arrived, I found that both wheels had a brand new hub attached.

I asked Dad to bring the trailer to me so that I could change them in my shop. I did not realize how bad the one tire leaked. He said he had to stop and air it up eight times on the way to my house. Good thing he had thought to bring his air tank. I had never bought a spare tire for the trailer.

I put the back of the trailer on the lift and raised it up enough to get the tires off the ground. I had forgotten that the wheels are held on by lug bolts rather than studs and nuts. I seriously considered putting on the new hubs I had just gotten because they had studs and nuts. But after spinning around the old hubs and feeling how smooth they ran, I just decide to put the new wheels on.

I had a bit of trouble getting the holes lined up since the trailer hubs don’t have an alignment pin like Volvos do. I finally learned to spin the hub cap and hold the wheel to line up the holes and get one bolt started. After that the others went in easily. With all eight bolts in and snug, I set the trailer down and torqued the lugs to 70 ft lbs.

I then began looking for a place to mount the one good tire for a spare. I still have not decided yet. Putting it on the tongue will interfere with the tilt mechanism. Putting it on the side with prevent loading wide items across the top of the rails. For now I will just leave it in the deck and move it around as needed.

I am looking forward to loading up some scrap metal and taking it to the recycler. It is nice to have my little trailer back home and with new shoes too.

[phpbay]trailer tires, 10[/phpbay]

June 22, 2011June 22, 2011

Off road in Vermont

Wheeling in Vermont

While pre running the course for the last day of the 2011 Great Race, I looked up and saw two Jeep Wranglers in a yard close to the road. I then noticed the blonde woman standing beside one. I then saw the Opal Justice stickers and I knew it had to be my Facebook friend Sue. I had never met Sue, but we banter on Facebook almost daily.

I stopped in the road and quickly backed up and rolled down the window. She knew we would be in the area and we were hoping to meet up after the rally. Neither of us had any idea that the route would take me past her home.

She met us at Hemmings in Bennington after the event. She and her husband invited us to go run a trail with them.

The next morning, we set out to meet her. We got a bit confused with Dorset and East Dorset but managed to make it to our rendezvous point just a few minutes late. Keith couldn’t make it, but Sue led us up a very interesting trail.

I was surprised when we turned off the paved road that there was a sign that said ”TRAIL.” We climbed up what looked like an old rail road grade. The trail was rocky and slightly washed but Janice’s stock XJ made it fine even loaded with three people and our luggage.

At the top of the hill, Sue led us to the coolest place I have ever been in a Jeep. We got to drive inside a cave. We parked with our headlights illuminating a deep pool of green water. The cave was formed by marble quarrying.

We spent some time hiking in the cave and exploring the cuts in the rocks. Sue told us of some of the many parties she had had in this cave over the years including her wedding celebration.

Sue took a more adventurous path out of the cave. She then led us to an overlook where we could see the entire valley. Next, we followed her up a challenging climb so that we could look down a shaft to the area where we had just been inside the cave.

After touring the top, we went back down and picked up her friend Lisa. Her Jeep was in need of repairs so she tagged along with Sue. We then took a trip across the ridge line toward the next town. This trail was very narrow and I was concerned I might get a scratch or two but I made it just fine. Only one rock scraped the cross member, but only gently.

At the end of the trail, we popped out in a working marble quarry. There were huge chucks of marble waiting to be transported down the mountain. The mine entrance was gated but we waked down to see the huge steel door that seals the entrance to the mountain. This is possibly the largest marble tunnel in the world.

We were somewhat concerned that the lower gate might be closed since no one was working at the quarry site and that we might have to re run the trail to get out. However, the gate was open and we were able to get started on our way back to Tennessee.

The short wheeling run was a great way to meet some friends and to end our long trek north. I have always wanted to drive a Jeep into a cave and now I have. Thanks Sue.

June 21, 2011June 21, 2011

Hotels

I have been staying in a lot of hotels lately. First was a trip to Galveston Texas and then a trip from Chattanooga to Vermont traveling with the Great Race.

The one thing I noticed in al the hotels that I stayed in this past month was that they are dark. The shift to energy saving light bulbs seems to be the cause. In most rooms, I had to get right under the lamps to be able to read my book.

All the hotels I stayed in used electronic key cards. Occasionally they would be deactivated by having them too close to a cell phone, but for this trip my keys always worked.

Another common theme for this trip was a lack of towels. In my previous experience, there were always plenty of towels. But in all these hotels, there was a bare minimum of towels.

Wifi varied greatly from hotel to hotel. The two worst were Holiday Inns. The signal strength was fin e on the router, but the actual link to the internet was slow and often dropped out altogether. In other places, I had trouble getting a signal in my room, but when I did get connected it was fast and reliable.

The hotel in Galveston we booked through Hotels.com. This was a very pleasant experience with low rates and no problems. The hotels for Great Race were handled by Great Race’s corporate travel agency. While I had no trouble with my room reservations, others traveling with us did. The only problem I had was waiting for the person with the hotel info to arrive and get our rooms arranged before I could check in.

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