RALLY HO

Elizabeth Davis
April 15, 1979

Weekend driving used to be fun, an adventure, and exercise in mind over map. Used to be until freeways connected cities, signposts became irrelevant if you knew what exit to take and red lights became as numerous as gnats in July. But there is hope. There is rallying. Any two people with a modicum of common sense, a watch, a pencil and an ordinary car, may participate. Rallying is based on a simple premise-if a car maintains an average speed along a certain route, it will arrive at its destination at a precise time. Not that it's all so simple in practice, which is what makes it fun.The driver in a rally concentrates on the road while the navigator reads the instructions and watches the clock. The goal is to reach checkpoints along the course in a specified amount of time-no more, no less. "It's really an exercise of the mind," says Al Marsh of the BRANDED Rally Club which begins another season of TSD (time-speed-distance) rallies next week in conjunction with Montgomery County's recreation department. To introduce people to the concept of rallying, the club will hold a free workshop April 20 at 7.30 p.m. at the Bethes To register or for information call 468-4217. more…

ROAD RALLYING: OUTWITTING FOLKS WHO WANT TO LEAD YOU ASTRAY

PETER WOOD; Peter Wood, a Washington writer and rallyist,
often navigates for his son.
August 3, 1984

If you're one of those people who get confused a mile outside the Beltway, the idea of taking up a road sport in which the main objective is to make you take a wrong turn probably seems like a lost cause. But for hundreds of drivers, rallying is an attractive sport. No special equipment is required and, unlike other motor sports such as road racing and autocross, no nerveless driving skills are needed. All you need is a road- worthy car that can be driven at speeds up to 55 miles per hour, and an ability to concentrate on road signs. more…

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Scott W. Moore
April 27, 1990

IT'S A DREAM sport for computer programmers in need of fresh air. A crossword puzzle on wheels. Parcheesi where you're a game piece. Algebra brought to life like few teachers could ever imagine. Welcome to the world of road rallying, where it doesn't depend so much on where you go, but how long it takes to get there. more…

ACCURACY'S THIS RACE'S RALLYING CRY

FAST CARS DON'T HELP DRIVERS FINISH FIRST
Jackie Spinner Washington Post Staff Writer
November 11, 1996; Page B3

NORTH BEACH, MD. -- With the Chesapeake Bay frothing in their rearview mirror, Gordon and Rita Wagner situated themselves inside their candy-apple red Honda Civic del Sol yesterday, ready for a perfect Sunday drive. In the minutes before they started off on a tour of the back roads of Calvert County, Rita Wagner, 75, with husband, Gordan, 80, behind the wheel, was madly punching numbers into a calculator. more…

CAR AND DRIVER AND NAVIGATOR

Dave Nuttycombe
April 11, 1997; Page N6

WE'D BEEN DRIVING about an hour when we saw the ostrich. Two, actually, but the plural of "ostrich" is a particularly ugly word. Maybe it wasn't an ostrich. Might've been an emu. I have no idea what the plural of that is. And I have no idea what that horned beast was, either, but we spotted it shortly after spying the flightless birds. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a goat. I'm betting it was a gnu. Fortunately, we only saw one gnu. more…