The Tennessee Off-Road Challenge
Monteagle, TN - June 23-25, 2000

TSD (Time, Speed, Distance)

The idea here is that each navigator was given very vague directions to follow on paper. The directions were basically icons, arrows, and maybe a few words. In addition, notes on distance were also given from point to point. The distance was measured on Dave Cagle's TJ. Keep in mind that his TJ did not have stock wheels, therefore, his odometer was not 100% accurate. So, Dave drove one mile on the street with his TJ and marked the start and end points. The competitors were then told to drive that same mile and note the difference on their odometer. Dave came up with the "perfect" time to do the run but did not disclose it. The drivers were told to drive the speed limits and to keep their trail speeds reasonable. The closest finishing time to Dave's would win the event.

Each page had a chart with distances between turns. Also, icons and arrows indicated things like forks in the road, stream crossings, turns, etc.

Each driver was let go at an interval to keep them from catching up with each other (hopefully).

 

Navigators took the time to plan as best they could.

 

Bob Hazel was the official timer for the event.

 

We drove out about 25-30 miles to try to catch some of the competitors as they drove by. The ride was real 4-wheeling in beautiful woods. The land was private but Tennessee Off-Road has rights to wheel there, so we got to run some fairly little-traveled trails.

Amazingly, down a very rough and primitive section of trail, is Bryant's Cove Church. This tiny little church was a nice waiting spot to catch a rig or two as they passed by. We then headed to the mud-pit area.

 

 

The mud pits weaved through a 1/4 mile section of the woods and could prove to be treacherous if not driven correctly. The ruts were like ponds in sections.

Rooster tails were the norm as everyone tried to get through the deep spots.

 

fairly little-traveled trails.

 

Some areas of the mud were more like still creeks. There simply was no way through without getting messy.

This was the last we'd see of Peter Ruby's Wagoneer. Breakage prevented him from finishing.

 

 

We happened to come across Team 1, who had been working on their Dodge since the night before. Broken steering parts and separated springs kept them from getting out of the woods. Kyle Updegrove's Nissan Pathfinder would replace the Dodge for the remainder of the competition.

Back in Monteagle, the final spots were hit and everyone returned to finish up.