The First Circumconus Travel Bug Race

December 6, 2003

Hello TBers.

In geojed's anyone for a race thread, we have been talking about a race for a long time, so I finally put some ideas together:

The First CircumConUS Travel Bug Race

Travel bugs will follow a counter-clockwise route around the US. The required stops are visits to the following states: California (starting state and cache), Texas, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, Washington, and back to the starting cache IN THAT ORDER. The bugs must trace the states in this order so any skipping of these goal states means backtracking. All other states and countries can be skipped.

The details can be found on the web page: http://users.rcn.com/brad.32/geocaching/tbrace.htm

... maybe it should be hosted on geocities or something in the future.

I think it is sufficiently different in intent and timing from the Great Cannonball Run and won't interfere with participation in that race, if it starts in the spring. There isn't a date in the Cannonball Run thread for the 2nd, but there is mention that it would be later in the spring (after March).

I don't know how long it will take bugs to complete the route.

Edited December 6, 2003 by brad.32

9.4k · December 6, 2003

Good idea to start along the southern border of the US in the winter. My Cannonball Bug was snowed in for 2 months due to cachers being afraid to hunt in the snow.

Is interference appropriate for this new race? It was encouraged for the Cannonball, but very few bugs went through my state. This race sends bugs from CA to TX, so there will probably be a lot coming through New Mexico

1.3k · December 7, 2003

Ah, what the heck. I'm in.

December 7, 2003

Is interference appropriate for this new race? It was encouraged for the Cannonball, but very few bugs went through my state.

Well, I left interference out of the draft rules, because I figured there wasn't much to be done about it either way.

Added a new rule:

"After the start, no TB racer owners can handle ANY of the racers. The actions of third parties are not under the owners' control."

4k · December 7, 2003

Is interference appropriate for this new race? It was encouraged for the Cannonball, but very few bugs went through my state.

Well, I left interference out of the draft rules, because I figured there wasn't much to be done about it either way.

Added a new rule:

"After the start, no TB racer owners can handle ANY of the racers. The actions of third parties are not under the owners' control."

This sounds like fun, and I don't mean to start a long winded discussion on the matter, but I foresee some unscrupulous racer hiring a "hitman" to either slow up other bugs, or speed up the progress of their own bug. Is this even an issue? I know it is impossible to track. Is it part of the race? Should I just go back to lurking now?

December 7, 2003

The actions of cachers (and muggles) along the way is a lot of random interference already

Directed interference by friends and enemies of racers is an issue, but, as you wrote, it would be very hard to track. It's part of any TB race. Personally, it's not something I want to encourage, but there's nothing that can be done to prevent it. I hope people won't do (too much) "unsportsmanlike conduct", but everyone should have fun with the race.

There are too many rules already.

9.4k · December 8, 2003

I would rather have a rule that says participants may not handle ANY bugs than allow someone to move their own bug on a planned trip around the country.

Since I'm probably not going to have a bug in this race, I'll have to decide if I'm going to be a 'roadblock' for bugs moving from CA to TX (all in fun, of course)

December 8, 2003

Sounds like it could be fun. But intentional interfence of any kind by any other cacher seems to remove a lot of that fun. I would hope that this would not happen. I realise some people my think of this as "part of the game", but I would hope they could find a better game to play.

December 8, 2003

I changed the wording of rule 3 to clarify interference:

"After the start, no TB racer owners can handle ANY of the racers. The actions of third parties are not under the owners' control. They have a long race to run, so negative interference is not encouraged. Please be considerate and fair to the racers and help them on the way."

There's not much else to be done. Cachers will do what they want to do. As Sparky wrote when he started this long-winded discussion , it would be hard to prove intentional negative interference.

I asked in the Cannonball Run how much interference that race actually had. I've never followed the progress of a bug that I thought I would go hunt for, but finding a particular bug and grabbing it as it passes through seems like a difficult thing to manage with the random movements.

4k · December 8, 2003

As Sparky wrote when he started this long-winded discussion , it would be hard to prove intentional negative interference.

I'm sowwy.....I'm vewwy, vewwy sowwy!

It does sound like fun, though!

December 8, 2003

Any chance of a humble Canadian Getting in on the Action here ? Should we make it a North American Race ? With 3 additional stops in the Atlantic, Ontario and BC Provinces ?

Just Wonderin'

DirtRunner.

December 8, 2003

Travel bugs will follow a counter-clockwise route around the US. The required stops are visits to the following states: California (starting state and cache), Texas, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, Washington, and back to the starting cache IN THAT ORDER

Since I'm from MN, would I be eligible to start a bug here, have it continue counter-clockwise to Washington, then to CA,Texas,Fla,ME then back to me in MN?

I'd need to establish a starting/ending point though. I suppose if more than 1 Minnesotan was going to play, then we would need 1 central starting cache for all of us?

Would we need more than just me in MN?

Or, would starting people mid country really throw a wrench into it?

I'd be interested in playing - sounds like alot of fun - but can understand if it would cause way too many problems.

Edited December 8, 2003 by Pto

9.4k · December 8, 2003

I changed the wording of rule 3 to clarify interference:
"After the start, no TB racer owners can handle ANY of the racers. The actions of third parties are not under the owners' control. They have a long race to run, so negative interference is not encouraged. Please be considerate and fair to the racers and help them on the way."

There's not much else to be done. Cachers will do what they want to do. As Sparky wrote when he started this long-winded discussion , it would be hard to prove intentional negative interference.

I asked in the Cannonball Run how much interference that race actually had. I've never followed the progress of a bug that I thought I would go hunt for, but finding a particular bug and grabbing it as it passes through seems like a difficult thing to manage with the random movements.

Thanks for clarifying. My Cannonball racer went in circles for months after a very slow start. I can't prove interference, but that's how it goes. I don't plan on interfering with racers for this race, cause I know how hard it is for the bugs just to move forward.

December 9, 2003

It does sound like fun, though!

December 9, 2003

Any chance of a humble Canadian Getting in on the Action here ? Should we make it a North American Race ? With 3 additional stops in the Atlantic, Ontario and BC Provinces ?

Everybody is welcome join the race, you just have to get the bugs to me on time (by New Years).

Sorry, but the race is already long, adding stops in Canada would make it longer and would probably push the race into next winter.

Maybe next year someone can propose a race that includes Devon Island and Huixla That would probably take two years.

December 9, 2003

Since I'm from MN, would I be eligible to start a bug here, have it continue counter-clockwise to Washington, then to CA,Texas,Fla,ME then back to me in MN?

I don't want to keep track of a bunch of different starting and stopping points and the logistics of multiple people retrieving the finished bugs. That's why the track comes back to the Bay Area. Nobody was interested in collecting at another end.

People might recycle bugs so mileage from the start of the race would have to be tracked, but that would be easy offset to apply at the end, but starts and stops from multiple locations would be a logistical mess.

Unless you enter a railroad spike (there are several of these TBs), the postage shouldn't be bad.

If you think it will be fun, then enter Any "vehicle" / hitchhiker or just the tag will do. (Not much character in just a tag though.)

December 9, 2003

I got mine in the planning stages. I have to email my local admin to verify that my idea is doable. If so my racer will be headed down soon, if not my back up racer should still make it in time to start the race

4k · December 9, 2003

It does sound like fun, though!

Just so we're all clear on this, I was talking about the race being fun, not the interference with TB's.

Thought I'd clear up any misconceptions before I get anymore nasty email.

December 9, 2003

It was clear to me Sparky.

On another note (saving posts since y'all are probably getting tired of my globular cluster avatar)...

So far the only people who know about this race are the people who frequent the forums and people they might have told. If I made a GC event then more people would be aware, but they would only be local to the event (SF Bay Area). How are people from around the country, continent (e.g., more Canadians), and world to be pulled into it? ... without expanding the race course to include the world.

4k · December 9, 2003

What if you posted a note in each of the "Regional" forums?

December 9, 2003

Everybody is welcome join the race, you just have to get the bugs to me on time (by New Years).

Ah, I missed this part when reading yesterday- I'll have to see If I can put something

together- If I am successful, I will send one along!

Great Idea! Should be fun to follow over the next year!

December 9, 2003

What if you posted a note in each of the "Regional" forums?

That is a great idea.

I just made a post in each of the US regional forums. It doesn't sound like there are too many TBers in other countries across the Ponds, from the posts about tag access, so I'm not going to post in all those. I don't think there would be much interest in a CONUS race there.

Edited to add...

honeychile: Is that sort of flooding/cross posting allowed? Seriously.

Edited to add...

Nevermind, I've been warned and told it's not allowed.

Edited December 10, 2003 by brad.32

4k · December 10, 2003

What if you posted a note in each of the "Regional" forums?

That is a great idea.

YAY! Sparky had something positive to add that someone else actually liked!

Or were you just being sarcastic? That's ok, I can take sarcasm...really <sniffle> I can.....I'll leave now <sniffle>....it's snowing and blowing a blizzard outside, but I'll be fine....<sniffle>

December 10, 2003

Yes, I liked the idea.... the moderator(s) of the other forums didn't. That type of posting is considered spam, so I received a warning for it.

December 11, 2003

My bug is ready, whether he is allowed to actually win a prize is questionable, but he's going to be in the race...

http://www.geocaching.com/track/track_detail.asp?ID=53229

2.5k · December 12, 2003

OOH! Count me in for this! I have a bug all ready to go that I was going to drop, but the cache I went to drop it in was missing! The poor thing's been on my case to drop her somewhere else!

December 12, 2003

Well my original plan was nixxed by our local admin. I kind of thought it would be, that is why I emailed them before trying to submit the pages. So now I am getting my back up racer ready. He won't be a slick as the original plan, but he will not require admin approval either, so no worries about not making it. All I need now is to get the right racer donated from a local Boy Scout. Should be headed to the start line in a week or so :huh:

December 14, 2003

What if you posted a note in each of the "Regional" forums?

That is a great idea.

YAY! Sparky had something positive to add that someone else actually liked!

Or were you just being sarcastic? That's ok, I can take sarcasm...really <sniffle> I can.....I'll leave now <sniffle>....it's snowing and blowing a blizzard outside, but I'll be fine....<sniffle>

I posted a reply about this, but it was during my probation period after the warning, so those posts were a waste of time, anyway...

Yes, I thought it was a good idea, however, it is/was against the forum guidelines, so it wasn't really a good idea in the bigger scheme of things.

Meanwhile, the awards for the race have been fleshed out on the race web page. I don't know what the awards were for the Cannonball Run (for perspective), so I made up something.

:lol:

4k · December 14, 2003

I posted a reply about this, but it was during my probation period after the warning, so those posts were a waste of time, anyway...

Yes, I thought it was a good idea, however, it is/was against the forum guidelines, so it wasn't really a good idea in the bigger scheme of things.

Well, that's kind of stupid, isn't it? I mean, what's the problem with letting people know about something that will most likely benefit the users and the site in general? I understand why they have rules against cross-posting/flooding, but I don't think this really falls under the reason for those rules. Well, sorry I suggested it if it got you into trouble with TPTB. I thought it was a good idea. Anyway, good luck with the race, I'll be sure to follow it, even if I don't have time to get my bug ready.

May the best bug win!!!!

December 14, 2003

If I made a GC event then more people would be aware, but they would only be local to the event (SF Bay Area). How are people from around the country, continent (e.g., more Canadians), and world to be pulled into it?

People from all over go to events. Recently I met canadians at one and some folks from CA and NJ. It is likely that I would be there from AZ if you were to plan an event in late Jan! Visiting San Mateo would be old home week for me. Count me in event or no. :lol:

December 14, 2003

team PEZ and GA_Cacher from marietta, georgia will be entering the race. we look forward to keeping in touch with you all!

good luck everyone!

team PEZ

December 15, 2003

Do we have an ID for the start/finish cache? I am working up the info scroll for my racer now and thought it would be nice to have this on there.

December 16, 2003

I've been working on that, bazzle...

The race web page has been updated with the start and the destination caches.

EELBOY's 1st Event Cache! (GCHB3D) is going to be the release cache for the race. He is going to add info about the race in the cache description.

The destination cache will be As Seen From the Sky! (GCC32A).

Getting closer.

Edited December 16, 2003 by brad.32

December 16, 2003

Coolness

Sunday Drive is nearing the completed stage and should be on the way down soon. Just needs race decals and wheels

December 17, 2003

The 3 members of Team Skeeter Feeders will each be entering a bug.

We will try to get them in the mail by the end of the week.

- TheStosh

December 19, 2003

OK... Sunday Drive is ready...

Will be headed to the start line by Monday :mad:

Edited December 19, 2003 by bazzle

December 19, 2003

Cool bazzle :mad: Lots of painting details.

Are the rest of the entrants going to post pictures of their racers?

1.3k · December 19, 2003

Are the rest of the entrants going to post pictures of their racers?

:mad: As mine is now in the hands of the USPS... probably not.

December 23, 2003

Currently there are seven racers on hand or that have been checked into the starting line cache, and there is one more still in the mail.

The race page now has a link to the list of racers with their pictures from their geocaching web pages

ONLY 7 shipping days until the race...

Edited December 23, 2003 by brad.32

1.3k · December 24, 2003

Thanks for the photo Brad!!!

Anyone who wants to see what Frogeus Phil looks like, just visit http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?ID=59796

January 4, 2004

:huh: The race has begun

We had a good turnout at the launch/release/starting line event and all the racers are on their way. Good luck to them as they make their way to the first stop: Texas.

The first item now that the race is underway is for you to vote for the most creative or unique racer for one of the race awards. Since polls haven't been implemented in the new Groundspeak forums, please visit the race page (http://users.rcn.com/brad.32/geocaching/tbrace.htm) to see the status and then click through to the list of racers, or go directly to the list, and vote for one.

Thanks.

Edited January 4, 2004 by brad.32

1.3k · January 4, 2004

Does that rubber chicken even fit in an ammo box?

January 4, 2004

At least the chicken is flexible. Stumpy is pretty tall.

I just added another picture to the event page that shows the bugs more from the side:

http://users.rcn.com/brad.32/geocaching/racepictures.htm

Vote.

January 4, 2004

What a pity. I just heard about this race today. I would have loved to put in an entry.

Maybe next year.

My best to all your racers

White Owl

January 5, 2004

bons pointed out in another thread that they all haven't been logged out of the event cache yet. All of the 26 racers were physically taken by the people who attended the starting line event, so eventually they all should be retrieved by those people.

January 7, 2004

All the racers have been retrieved from the event cache.

As long as I'm posting something...

The voting for the most creative, so far:

Rank Votes Bug Name

1 7 Sparky

2 3 Sunday Drive

3 3 Carl the Canoe

1.3k · January 11, 2004

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=59796

"I'm in the lead! I'm in the lead! I've made it to Florida! On to Maine! Go! Go! Go!"

"But you didn't stop in Texas"

"Bah! They always said there are two things you can't avoid in life, Death and Texas, and I'm going to prove them both wrong. I'll live forever and never see the Lone Star State! Now quit bothering me boy, I'm off to Maine! Fetch me a Lobster!!!!"

---

For anyone in the area: When I lived in Lake Park (a decade ago) there was a great crab place by the bridge in West Palm Beach. It used to have these "I got the crabs at ..." tourist stuff. I can't think of the name of it. I want to add a note to his page saying he'd love to eat dinner there but I just can't think of the name of it (and I have no clue if it's still there).

January 12, 2004

Bummer dude!! No Texas... No Prize . May as well still be in California...

January 12, 2004

Same pick up team in CA, same problem. It's back to TX for "Tou-can Play"

:unsure:

1.3k · January 12, 2004

Problems? What problems? We have Lobster! This is Florida! Either I charge New England soon or I get to enjoy Spring Break while the rest of you are sweltering in New Mexico!!! :blink:

Frogeus Phil cares not for prizes! He seeks adventure! Parties! Rules are for people who wear way too much clothing and drink while sitting down. He will hunt tigers in India while riding on an elephant and still return soon enough to be kissed by California girls (whereupon he will magically transform into "The Prince formerly known as Phil"). All this will be his while you languish in a Travel Bug hotel outside of Philadelphia.

But for now, we eat Lobster! :unsure:

The First Circumconus Travel Bug Race

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment