[Fwd: [AJD] Our 115 mile Tractor Ride is done!]

Wed Apr 27 21:34:26 PDT 2005

Here are some of the things we do to prepare for our
rides:

1. Scout the route very well beforehand by car to be
sure it can be done. Note any problem areas, such as
roads with no shoulders or areas with traffic
congestion and figure out how to handle them. Plan
beforehand where you can make your rest and lunch
stops. Potty stops can be a challenge, too, unless you
are pulling a porta-potty with you.

2. We checked with DMV and Highway Patrol beforehand
and got so many conflicting answers as to what was or
was not required that we just gave up on them and went
anyway. I sometimes get the feeling they would rather
have us just go ahead and do our thing without even
telling them. We had the highway patrol eyeing us
several times along the way, but they never stopped
us. And remember that a tractor ride is not a parade.
On a parade, individual units can be bunched together
as close as you want. On the road during the tractor
ride, you are subject to all traffic laws. Since you
are a slow moving vehicle, the  vehicle code (at least
in California) requires 300 feet separation from other
slow moving vehicles. This is so that faster vehicles
may safely pass and pull in between the slower
vehicles when necessary.

3. Here are the rules we hand out to each driver-

These are the safety rules that must be
observed during the run:

1. Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) triangle is required on
the back of all tractors.
2. Ignition Kill Switch reachable from the operator's
seat is required.
3. Working brakes are required.
4. Valid Driver's license is required.
5. No riders are allowed.
6. All traffic laws must be followed.
7. Maintain adequate spacing between tractors (300
feet) to allow other vehicles to pass safely.
8. Abide by the decisions of the event coordinators.

4. When you are on the road, just remember to be alert
and safety conscious all the time. Most drivers are
not used to encountering slow moving vehicles,
especially a whole group of them. While most motorists
are courteous and very interested in our activity,
there are a few who get impatient and these can cause
problems.

5. Try a short tractor ride the first time or two,
maybe ten or fifteen miles before you attempt a long,
multiday ride. 

6. Remember at 7 mph, you will see things from a whole
different perspective than you do at 70 mph. You'll
notice the mama duck and her new babies, the  crop
just coming up or being harvested. I guarantee you'll
have fun, so don't put it off, just do it!

John Boehm
Woodland, CA
Visit my web site at http://vintagetractors.com

--- Ed Allandar <eallandar at rohrerbus.com> wrote:
> I think we'd all be interested. Our local club has
> been trying to put a one
> day drive together for this September. So far all is
> going well except one
> township, is really being a difficult. I'd be very
> interested in anyone
> else's experiences in setting up a trip.
> 
> Ed Allandar
> Duncannon, PA 17020-0100
> 717.957.5114 Direct
> 717.418.4401 Cell
> 1-800-735-6700 x223 Toll free
> 717.957.4884 (fax)
> eallandar at rohrerbus.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>
[mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On
> Behalf Of
> Steve Bachman
> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 10:13 AM
> To: John Boehm; jdlist
> Subject: [Fwd: [AJD] Our 115 mile Tractor Ride is
> done!]
> 
> 
> john,
> 
> thanks for sharing your endurance run story.  what a
> great idea!!
> 
> can you share with me any of the logistics involved
> with planning this neat event?  i am involved with a
> local farmland/farmer preservation organization
> in eastern PA  called the Rural Preservation
> Association
> of Northwestern Lehigh County (RPA-NLC), and we work
> to
> promote the importance of preserving agriculture in
> our township
> versus 'growing houses and raising blacktop feilds'.
> 
> something like this (on a much smaller scale) would
> be really neat
> to do.  so instead of inventing the wheel all over,
> i would
> appreciate knowing what hurdles
> (traffic,refueling,police interactions
> etc)
> you overcame.  i was involved with planning
> our townships 250th anniversary parade 2ys ago, but
> this is a
> different puppy altogether.
> 
> feel free to reply privately unless others are
> interested
> in this too.
> 
> again, a great story!
> 
> thanks,  steve bachman  germansville pa
> scbachman at agere.com
> 
> 
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [AJD] Our 115 mile Tractor Ride is done!
> Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:00:03 -0700 (PDT)
> From: John Boehm <rustyacres at yahoo.com>
> Reply-To: Antique John Deere mailing
> list<antique-johndeere at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> To: Antique John Deere
>
<antique-johndeere at lists.antique-tractor.com>,Antique
> Tractors
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> 
> Our local club completed a 115 mile, two day tractor
> ride on Thursday and Friday. We dubbed it the "Red
> Bluff Endurance Run" as the route was from the towns
> of Yolo to Red Bluff in the northern Sacramento
> Valley. We've done one day, 20 mile tractor rides in
> the past, but lots of people around here thought we
> were crazy to attempt 60 miles per day, back to
> back.
> We weren't so sure ourselves but decided to give it
> a
> try, even if only this one time. 79 year old Floyd
> Percival had the idea, pushed us to make it a
> reality,
> and he drove every mile of it.
> 
> Well, we made history, as this was the first
> multi-day
> long distance ride attempted in California. Five
> tractors started, and all of them completed the run
> with only minor mechanical problems. Six other
> tractors joined us along the route, with five of
> them
> finishing with the initial five. We had a great
> support crew who went along and made it all
> possible.
> 
> We even had a newspaper reporter and photographer
> accompany us the first morning. They printed a
> feature
> story on our run on Friday. I've copied their story
> to
> a link  on my web site, as their web site has an
> onerous signup screen. You can see us in our glory
> at
> http://vintagetractors.com/RBER.htm
> 
> John Boehm
> Woodland, CA
> Visit my web site at http://vintagetractors.com
> 
> 
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