Monday, June 15, 2009
  
Do unto others...
Three reasons for us to head north to the Seattle area converged last weekend. Monte came upon a screamer deal on a new slot car track, but we had to pick it up in Puyallup. And NWRC's Friday Nighter was the night before Professor John's all-day slot car enduro in Auburn. Two out of three went well.

Turns out I had no use for the CDs I'd selected for the drive in my dad's pickup - it played only tapes. But the truck ran well, despite the sticker in the window stating it's due for an oil change in August 2006. We dropped off the truck in Puyallup and drove on to Bellevue for the rally.

It had been some time since we'd entered an NWRC rally, and we were greeted at the start as long-lost friends. I reviewed their rules to refresh my memory. ITIS and OR use Action Point. MBCU cancels an ONTO. We're ready!

I read the NRIs on the odo - looked to be a busy event with lots of speed changes and pauses, a couple of ONTOs, and a stack of OR instructions announcing a trap.

The event contained only one trap. I spotted it before we ended the odo. An ONTO followed by a series of ORs.

Checkpoint 1 snuck up on us, and we crossed the line 4 seconds early. Oops! Suburbia transitioned to verdant cow valley. I was pleased to see the defunct Carnation Dairy had been converted to a kid's summer camp. The Giant Carnation Cow Statue never looked happier!

So we get to the ONTO trap intersection. The obvious main road curves to the left, with a protected straight off. Two road-naming signs, on the same corner as the STOP sign, identify the three roads at this intersection.

We review all relevant information, check for concensus, and follow the protected route curving left. The next checkpoint slip informs us that their intended correct route was straight using ONTO.

When our out time arrived, we were still discussing how this might end. Monte was sure that once we explained our interpretation, the rally officials would make appropriate scoring adjustment. I was more pressimistic. If they thought it was correct when they wrote it, and the checkout crew believed it to be correct - and since it's the only trap in the whole event - they'll be prepared to defend it, right or wrong.

So we set it aside and went into rally forward mode. The checkpoint slip had introduced a note making all dead end roads valid rally roads. We passed up an opportunity to visit a clearly visible route control on a protected straight off. That was Leg 3. Leg 4 toured us back into suburbia to the pizza parlor.

Unfortunately my prediction was correct. We cited their own rule stating that road identifying signs with an arrow or point identify the road at that location. "Everyone knows that the road straight ahead is that same named road." Screwed by local knowledge.

But that's not what really irritated us. It's on page 10 of Cascade Sports Car Club's Rallymaster Guide: "Do not exploit confusing signs that do not clearly identify road identification...If called upon to recommend a scoring decision, be fair and be generous to the contestants. Send them home happy and wanting to run your next event."

Despite our stay in a Holiday Inn, we didn't wake up any happier. Fortunately the rest of our trip went well. We loaded the track into the truck, our team finished second at the enduro, and our drive home was uneventful.

All's well that ends well, I guess. The next time we wander north for a road rally we'll be greeted as long-lost friends.