The March CVO Event: TSD Rally

[douglas.carter@platinum.com]

Hello all,

Well, it's here. With the New Beetle already hitting the showroom floor=
s,
next Sunday is March 22nd, and that means it's our next CVO event for
March. The TSD Rally is going to be a great time for all in the Midwest=
 to
get together for a "Sunday Drive" with a reason.

TSD stands for Time, Speed, Distance. Contrary to perception, a TSD Ral=
ly
is not a race, but a test of navigation skills and driver accuracy. Run=
 on
public roads and at legal speeds, this type of rally offers a unique
opportunity to compete against other drivers in a completely safe and l=
egal
venue. Armed only with a set of route instructions and a stopwatch, the=

objective is to reach your destination as close as possible to the targ=
et
time. The only problem is that you don?t know your final destination or=
 how
long it should take you to get there. Confused?
Here is how it works: When you show up for the rally, you will be given=
 a
set of route instructions. These instructions will be a list of point-t=
o
- -point directions, which often require you to read precisely, sometimes=

between the lines. The rally course will be divided into several sectio=
ns,
or legs. You will be provided with the average speed for each leg of th=
e
rally. But you won't know from the instructions where each leg begins a=
nd
ends. So it is up to you to stick to the posted legal speeds to obtain =
your
correct time.

Scoring will be explained in detail at the drivers meeting, but basical=
ly
you will receive a point for every second you are late to a checkpoint,=
 two
points for every second you are early to a check point, and 100 points =
for
penalties such as entering a checkpoint from the wrong direction. There=
 may
also be trivia questions to answer along the way. Obviously, the object=
ive
is to get as few points as possible.

It is often easier to be competitive if you have a driver and a navigat=
or.
For this reason it is a good way for a husband and wife to participate
together (as long as they co-operate). The navigator is the one who rea=
ds
the directions and checks average speed. It is up to the driver to
accurately interpret the navigator?s instructions and watch for changin=
g
speed zones, etc. Obviously good communication is very important to
successful teamwork here. However, you may wish to do it without the he=
lp
of a navigator.

The only thing required to participate is a safely operating vehicle an=
d a
licensed and insured driver. Other recommended equipment includes a
stopwatch and calculator to calculate your average speed from your odom=
eter
reading, and a clipboard to hold your route instructions and to make no=
tes.
Also come with a full tank of gas, and some munchies for the trip.

The rally will originate at Valley Imports on Sunday, March 22nd.
Registration will begin at 8:00am. There will be a driver?s meeting and=
 TSD
orientation at 9:00am sharp. A brief Tech Inspection of the vehicles wi=
ll
begin at 9:30am. The first car will take off at 10:00am sharp, and all
other cars will be released one at a time every minute thereafter. The
rally will take from an a hour and a half to two hours to complete. Aft=
er
the the final check point, all participants will regroup at Valley Impo=
rts
for prizes.

The cost to participate in the TSD Rally is $10. We hope to see everyon=
e
there. For more details, you may contact me here at this e-mail address=
.
For directions to Valley Imports, call (630)851-5700 or pull one of the=

slick PDF maps off of our cool website at http://www.chicagovw.org.





Hope to see you all there,




Doug Carter

Marketing Director
Chicago Volkswagen Organization








=