The last time any of us tried anything really silly was 2019, when Cal and Meg decided to try their hand on the National Stages.

Gord and I had plans to take another shot in 2020.

In March 2020, that changed, and we all know the script.


With things free gain, and the world returning to normal, it was time to take a shot. And what a shot.

No one can seem to remember the last time we had 5 ARMS based teams take on RBC. Even Pidge. Tomorrow we will change that.

Pearce/Sleigh
Conrad/Dine
VanDaalen/Fennel
VanDaalen/Grandmaison
deStetcher/Swann

Get your app downloaded, or view on desktop. https://rallysafe.com.au/

The stages proper are Saturday/Sunday for the 45th running of Rallye Baie Des Chaleur. Max entries for logistic reasons is 50. They have 49, oh baby!!

_________________
"Nos Ludos Intra Vehicula"

"That is on the floor..... in fifth..... 6500????..." -Buffum to Smith (140mph+, Rallye Charlevoix.....)

"A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS????"

"Great, now we're gonna get frikken' yelled at....."
"Let the record show that the evening degenerated at 2022hrs..... Duly noted..."

Early in the year folks started talking about making the trek. And some new folks too.

Like many activities, sometimes you reach critical mass. At best a couple cars make the trip every few years, but this year, it would be different.

With the vote to add RBDC to the ARMS Championship, that makes it even tastier for those chasing championship points.

Alan deStetcher had a really good year at Rally X this time around, securing the championship. With Mals Rotary still in need of triangles that spin, he made the offer to jump in the Co-Drivers seat. It's something he's done before, so not a shock, and his experience would be valuable to anyone who is exposing themselves to a bigger National event.

Gord and I were in. Why not, we were overdue. We didn't plan too many major upgrades to the car, but did spend a bunch of time making sure things were up to snuff.
Any upgrades we had planned would get a good shakedown at Lookoff, so that would be reassuring when the time came.

Jon Conrad hinted he could be convinced, but just decided which car to bring. His 22B replica being almost ready for exposure.... Tim took little convincing.

Cal and Meg made the required arrangements, and threw there name in the hat, and last up, Blu and Heidi who had been running together the last few years in local Sprint events, decided it was time to get their proverbial feet wet.

The list had been made...

_________________
"Nos Ludos Intra Vehicula"

"That is on the floor..... in fifth..... 6500????..." -Buffum to Smith (140mph+, Rallye Charlevoix.....)

"A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS????"

"Great, now we're gonna get frikken' yelled at....."
"Let the record show that the evening degenerated at 2022hrs..... Duly noted..."

Looking forward to the next chapter ….

So who was there? Well besides the large entry we also had huge assistance. As one needs when your going to drag a Region worth of cars to an out of province event. Service Crews are essential in Rally......

Car# 30

Jonathan "Hammerdown" Conrad.
Tim "The Noteman" Dine

Bruce "The Professional" Beverage.
Clay "The Apprentice" Ford

Car# 31

Cal "MrSubaru" VanDaalen.
Meg "Rallydancer" Grandmaison

Sasha "TheShredder" Brideau
Random Bassist from the Right Swipes (Andrew)
Brian "TheSocialite" Partridge

Car# 32

Ian "Thewheelman" Pearce
Gordon "NoteMaster" Sleigh

James "Wrenchminion" Whitman
Sonia "RallyGazelle" Meadows
Jordan "FluidTechnician" Sleigh

Car# 38

Blu "Don'tlift" VanDaalen
Heidi "ThePupil" Fennel

Steve
Kevin "TheWrench" O'Reilly
Carol and Nancy, the "Logistics Engineers"

Car# 40

Allen "CalmN'Collected" de Stetcher
Mal "RealeauxTriangle" Swann


Also in town was Daphne "MadamSteward" Sleigh.

Early on in the planning Daphne had been recruited by CARS to be a Steward of the event. This ment that while we enjoy her company, we had to maintain a professional interaction during the event proper. We weren't breaking any rules of course, but we reduced our interactions to simple head nods..... Much like an equestrian rider paying complements to the judge at a Dressage Competition.


To be cont'

_________________
"Nos Ludos Intra Vehicula"

"That is on the floor..... in fifth..... 6500????..." -Buffum to Smith (140mph+, Rallye Charlevoix.....)

"A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS????"

"Great, now we're gonna get frikken' yelled at....."
"Let the record show that the evening degenerated at 2022hrs..... Duly noted..."

Our plan would see a departure of Thursday AM. We so many folks going, we concluded it would be harder to keep the whole convoy together at one time than normal.

Team 30, 38 and 40 left Stewiacke at 0900hrs. Some members of #31 departed later, and Team 32, who was slow out of the gate and had stops to make, hit the road later than that.

Aulac would be the first stop. Home of Coffee and Fuel, which seems to be the lifeblood of such adventures. Some members had been advised to avoid neon coloured energy drinks.....

PuppyMonkeyBaby.......

_________________
"Nos Ludos Intra Vehicula"

"That is on the floor..... in fifth..... 6500????..." -Buffum to Smith (140mph+, Rallye Charlevoix.....)

"A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS????"

"Great, now we're gonna get frikken' yelled at....."
"Let the record show that the evening degenerated at 2022hrs..... Duly noted..."