Indeed! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />






ThatÆs about as good a place to start as anyà



After our run of the Welder trail on Saturday, followed by a mighty fine dinner on Saturday night, we were all sitting around the campfire, with our bellies full, reminiscing and laughing about all of the dayÆs events. --- Inevitably, it was suggested that we all go out and hit the trails againà however, I think most of us were pretty shagged-out by that time, so the idea didnÆt quite catch on.


Then Doug came up with the idea of going over into the adjacent field (a former horse arena, now taken over by the ATV and MX crowd, complete with a couple of earthen mounds for the purpose of [i]ôHold my beer and watch thisö acrobatics[/i]) where everyone could take their turn behind the wheel of Joe's 1st gen SAS Rodeo, while blindfolded and receiving directions via walkie-talkie!

With it being so late at night, there were plenty of empty cups lying around the campsite to serve as pylons, and it sure wasnÆt like we had anything better to do, soooooooooooà


The 'Blind Rodeo Derby' was born!
(Unofficially sponsored by Darlington Off-Road Products <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )


Things got started with Turtle Too being guided over the obstacles and through all of the æconesÆ, with nothing but DougÆs voice to serve as her eyes, calling out ôMy sideö û ôYour sideö û ôOKö û ôForwardö û and ôSTOP!ö --- And Rubo hanging outside on the rock bar to insure there was no peeking. --- She ran the whole course without so much as one cone being touched! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />


Afterward, the rules evolved rather quickly, creating another sort of challenge altogetherà

By the time that Rubo took the wheel as the second competitor, there was a completely new twist. --- Steph remained in the vehicle as a passenger, providing chatter, blatant misinformation, and basically any other distraction that she could think ofà And as if one person providing disorientation wasnÆt enough, before long the æoutside observerÆ was in on the act too û filling both ears of the already befuddled driver with more conflicting instructions than you could possibly imagine!

The side-splitting laughter that resulted was undoubtedly the most painful IÆve experienced in more than 20-years! (And that was before IÆd even had my turn behind the wheelà it got a whole lot worse! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> )



When DougÆs turn came, Rubo had the honor of calling-out the instructions û but since Doug was now relatively familiar with the course, Rubo and I conspired to completely rearrange the format û sending Doug off on a wild goose chase, all over the field. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

Despite his suspicions, Doug went everywhere that he was directed û and somehow managed to make it all of the way through, even though RuboÆs instructions were almost unintelligible because he was laughing so hard into the walkie-talkie.



By the time that I climbed aboard JoeÆs Rodeo for my turn, my face and abdominal muscles absolutely ached! --- Steph secured the blindfold over my eyes, and away I wentà with the events taking place something like this:


Doug (on the radio): ôOK, forward.ö
Steph (in my right ear): ôNo, your side!ö
Rubo (in my left ear): ôNo, no, no - go MY side!

Doug (adamantly): ôDude, I said forward!ö
Rubo: (contradicting): ôDonÆt listen to him! û Go MY SIDE!ö
Steph (sounding very worried): ôNO!!! û MY SIDE!ö

Doug (laughing): ôSmiley, donÆt you know æyour sideÆ from æmy sideÆ?ö
Steph (sounding genuinely sincere): ôDonÆt you trust me?ö
Rubo (leaning-in close to me): ôFloor it!ö
Me (answering everyone): ôNO!ö

Doug (still laughing): ôAlrightà Your side, 180*ö
Steph (urgently): ôNO! û ThatÆll put us right in the lake! û MY SIDE!ö
Rubo (agreeing): ôSheÆs right û DonÆt listen to him!ö
Me (with tears streaming down from the laughter, soaking my blindfold): ôIÆm not listening!ö

Steph (sounding panicked): ôGO MY SIDE!ö
Rubo (disagreeing this time): ôNO, MY SIDE!ö
Doug (about to loose it): ôNo, more your sideà Hard!ö

Rubo (insistently): ôGO!ö
Steph (reaching down and pushing my foot on the gas): ôYes, GO!ö
Me (LMAO): ôStop it!ö
Doug (regaining some composure): ôEasyà OK, straighten out.ö
Steph (still insistent) ôNo, YOUR SIDE!ö

Rubo: ôMY SIDE!ö
Steph: ôNO, MY SIDE!ö
Doug: ôPull my finger!ö


And so it wentà

Somehow or another, I managed to make it through without hitting any of the cones myselfà but I honestly have no idea how! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />


Before it was over, most of us had taken two turns each û and laughed throughout almost every second of it. --- And yes, youÆre free to draw your own conclusions as to why we had all of those empty SOLO cups! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />



I just want to thank everyone involved (especially Joe!!!) for providing perhaps the most memorable and unbelievably hilarious experience of my adult life!

I have no doubt - We will definitely be doing it again! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />


<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />