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What is the Dustball Rally?
Dustball Rally is a long-distance, on-road driving event created by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, with a focus on quality driving roads. (Interstates are boring!) Find Your Road drives are tours/rallies for the purpose of fun and exploration, not races/racing; participants are not timed, and there are no prizes for arriving first. Dustball got its name from four required elements and the inspiration that sparked it all.
When did Dustball Rally start?
Dustball Rally started in 2005 to honor an El Paso rally legend, Willie Williams. Other than running in the 1979 Cannonball Run, Willie was an SCCA rallymaster and competed in dozens of major rallies all over North America, including the ALCAN 5000.
Originally conceived as a single event to honor Willie's life, Dustballers pushed for the growth, expansion and evolution of Dustball experiences year after year. To date, Dustball has operated annually with every event being a success while maintaining a high retention rate. As an event created by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts - Dustball started with a passion, not a business plan - and that passion is profound in all our events.
What different types of Find Your Road drives are offered?
There are currently five types offered:
What is a Main Event?
A Dustball Rally “Main Event” is a non-timed, gimmick rally lasting a week and traversing 2000-3000 miles of the best public driving roads in the United States and occasionally Canada. Main Events occur every Summer, usually at the end of July. Main Events typically have around forty teams participating.
Main Events typically follow this rhythm:
Because only the starting point and final destination city are the only details known to the participants at the start of a Main Event, the Dustball Rally organizers book all hotel accommodations on behalf of the participants, in advance. These hotels can range from a luxury hotel in a major city to a hotel-casino in a small town. The cost of these accommodations (but not meals, room service, gratuities, etc.) are included in the participants’ registration fees.
Each day’s route is a closely-guarded secret, and printed route instructions provided each morning are often intentionally vague and/or require puzzle-solving to decipher.
What is a gimmick rally?
A gimmick rally is a scavenger hunt in which participants stay on the lookout for “gimmicks”, or challenges, as they traverse the designated route. Gimmicks may include counting numbers of items on the side of a building, filling in the blank of a named location, taking a photo alongside a giant stuffed bear at a rest area, or any other number of questions. Gimmicks are intentionally designed to be challenges that participants must physically encounter to solve, as opposed to looking them up using Google or Bing.
At the conclusion of each main event, the team that has solved the most gimmicks receives the Gimmick Award which includes a trophy, bragging rights, and free admission to the following year's Dustball Rally main event.
The gimmick aspects of a main event are sometimes optional; many teams skip them and focus solely on enjoying the drive.
What kind of equipment is recommended for Find Your Road drives?
A: Dustball Rally can be enjoyed with any range of gear or equipment. Minimum requirements are a road-legal vehicle and the gimmick/direction sheet provided to you at the start of each day. At this point, most teams run a two-way radio to enable car-to-car communication, as well as the Telegram messenger app. Other useful items include a GPS, paper maps, pens and pencils, spray windshield cleaner, a roll of blue shop towels, tire repair kit (if you don’t have a spare), 12V compressor, duct tape, super glue, and of course, a properly tuned turbo encabulator.
Note that you will commonly be in at least a small group with other people, and if you do need something others will help. A big part of the spirit of Dustball is helping your fellow drivers. So never feel shy to ask for help or advice (but not help with gimmicks)! If you suffer mechanical failure every Dustballer within a reasonable distance will show up to help out. And it’s all part of the story.
Also note that on the Main Event in particular you will often be in areas where there is poor or no cellular service, so do not rely solely on a mapping application that requires connectivity! Either download maps in advance, or figure the route out before you lose service :), or be comfortable with paper maps.
What radio gear is recommended for Dustball drives?
A: Currently, the standard is a Baofeng Long-Range Two-Way Radio that costs around $80. Some teams run CB radios, but these have dropped out of favor.
To improve range and quality, it is best to get a longer antenna on the handheld, or get a magnet-base antenna that mounts outside your car.
The frequency used during Dustball events is part of FRS/GMRS channels, and those radio sets you can find at Walmart work on the same frequencies. Note that those have a very short antenna and limited power, and really only work on very short ranges.
Of special note: Radios that are not tuned to the Global Dustball Channel are strictly prohibited. Everyone needs to know what everyone else is doing on the road, and private or closed radios running communicating between cars that do not use the Global Dustball Channel are grounds for expulsion from Dustball.
How do I program my Baofeng radio?
A: At any Dustball Rally there will be a number of current and/or recovering programmers/engineers. They are typically found in the nearest bar some hours before the drivers meeting, sitting there with laptops. They’ll be easy to spot. If you need your radio programmed they’re happy to help. Buying them a beer or other beverage is always appreciated :) And they will tell you stories of past Dustballs and freely dispense advice. Danny, Henry, Jay are common suspects, but there are others. And if you’re comfortable helping others flash their radio, let us know!
I’ve heard there are pranks?
A: Occasionally, motivated by adrenaline, alcohol, or some combination of the above, Dustballers will leave mementos of their nightly adventures on each other's vehicles. A good prank rule is this: Do not do anything to someone else’s car that you would not like done to your own. Until that point, fair game and the more creative the better. Paper stickers, glitter, shaving cream, sticky notes or silly string that can damage paint, or things like food items that can rot and stink are prohibited. Keep in mind that even vinyl stickers or other things that might be OK on paint can cause real damage to a wrapped car. Anything that leaves permanent damage on another vehicle, or in any way affects its mechanical integrity (i.e. letting air out of tires) is immediate grounds for expulsion. If you are unsure a prank may be harmful to a car, test it on your own hoopty first, including removal of it. When in doubt, don’t.
What should I NOT do on Dustball?
The following are prohibited and can be grounds for expulsion on the spot:
1). Overly aggressive driving. Dustball Rally practices “spirited driving” and a cornerstone of the journey is a curated selection of the best driver’s roads in the country. However, don’t be a dick. Overly aggressive driving includes unsafe passing in blind corners or double yellow lines, high speed passing of semi trucks, endangering other motorists, speeding through towns, and otherwise driving such that there is universal agreement that you are a liability risk to the good name of Dustball Rally. Safety first: This is a rally, not a race.
2). Running from the police. Do not do anything that could implicate other participants as a criminal just for running Dustball stickers - if you risk ruining it for everybody, then you’ll be expelled before that happens. If you do get pulled over: stay polite, take your medicine, but try to avoid sharing details on the rally, especially where we’re going.
3). Private Radios. Do not bring a radio set that is tuned to a channel other than the one everyone else is using (“Dustball Global”). This can create unsafe situations where your “group” is doing something coordinated, but nobody else knows what you’re doing.
4). Driving beyond the limit of your OWN capabilities. Remember: we are driving on public roads, and there are a lot of unknown surprises out there.
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