(left to right: Bonnie, Curtis, and Lisa)
Curtis and Lisa's Entry in Moss Motors' 2014 Motoring Challenge
Introduction
We accepted Moss Motors' challenge and started collecting photos on Memorial Day weekend.
The challenge is basically a scavenger hunt. We traveled in our MGB to various loosely
described locations and then recorded our presence photographically. Over 600 teams
competed in the 2013 Motoring Challenge. When 2014 results are available, we expect
a much larger number.
Moss' scoring system is explained in detail below. In short, most photos are worth
one point each. Some are worth two or three. It's possible to accumulate approximately
205 points. Lisa and I collected about 180 points.
Scroll down to see our photos. Note that we've used our camera's ten second self-timer
feature for almost every photo. (If I look out of breath in some of the photos, it's
because I sprinted to get there.)
We've had a LOT of fun with this, and we encourage you to accept the Moss Challenge too!
Per Moss' rules, each photo must feature our car and a facsimile of the Motoring Challenge placard
from the Moss catalog. (We laminated ours.) In most cases, the rules require we show an official
sign from the place we visited. Challengers aren't required to appear in their photos, but we think
it's lame when they don't. We resolved to pose for every photo wearing stylish BritishV8 regalia!
Note: there are 186 photos on this webpage. The Moss Motoring Challenge placard appears within the photos 183 times. Curtis also appears 183 times. Lisa appears 99 times. Family members and friends appear in quite a few of the photos too! And incidentally, BritishV8 t-shirts or sweatshirts appear about 298 times.
Please support the sponsoring companies who make British V8 possible, including:
"City, Village, Town, Township or Municipality"
We visited and collecting snapshots of "official" town signs. Moss awards one point for every letter of the alphabet represented, A through Z. We've collected all 26 points available in this category.
Arvada, Colorado - June 18, 2014
Brighton, Colorado - May 31, 2014
Cheyenne, Wyoming - June 15, 2014
Dacono, Colorado - May 31, 2014
Erie, Colorado - June 4, 2014
Fort Lupton, Colorado - May 31, 2014
Grand Lake, Colorado - May 25, 2014
Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado - May 25, 2014
Idaho Springs, Colorado - June 21, 2014
Johnstown, Colorado - June 15, 2014
Kimball, Nebraska - June 15, 2014
Leadville, Colorado. (The highest altitude town in U.S.A.!) - May 24, 2014
Mead, Colorado - May 31, 2014
Niwot, Colorado - June 4, 2014
Ogallala, Nebraska - September 2, 2014
Platteville, Colorado - May 31, 2014
Quantico, Virginia - September 13, 2014
(with Curtis' sisters Valerie and Ellen and Valerie's dog Kyrie)
Raymer, Colorado - June 15, 2014
Sterling, Colorado - June 15, 2014
Thornton, Colorado - August 10, 2014
Urbana, New York - September 5, 2014
Vail, Colorado - June 21, 2014
Wheat Ridge, Colorado - June 7, 2014
Xenia , Illinois - September 23, 2014
Yankton, South Dakota - September 3, 2014
Zebulon, North Carolina - September 19, 2014
(with Rick Hardin, Zebulon's Town Manager)
"County, Parish, or District"
We visited and collected snapshots of "official" county, parish, and/or district signs. Moss awards one point for every letter of the alphabet represented, A through Z. Interestingly, although there is no "X" county in North America, there is a an X fire protection district! Fire protection districts are civic/governmental entities with clearly defined geographic boundaries. Like counties, fire protection districts typically include multiple towns and villages plus the rural areas between towns. By finding an "X" fire protection district, we managed to collect all 26 points available in this category.
Adams County, Colorado - October 3, 2014
Boulder County, Colorado - June 2, 2014
Clear Creek County, Colorado - May 25, 2014
Douglas County, Colorado - July 20, 2014
Eagle County, Colorado - May 24, 2014
Fairfax County, Virginia - September 12, 2014
(with Curtis' motorcyclist dad and his sister Ellen)
Grand County, Colorado - May 24, 2014
Hall County, Nebraska - September 3, 2014
Iredell County, North Carolina - September 20, 2014
Jefferson County, Colorado - June 9, 2014
Kimball County, Nebraska - June 15, 2014
Lake County, Colorado - May 24, 2014
Morgan County, Colorado - June 15, 2014
New Castle County, Delaware - September 9, 2014
Oxford County, Ontario, Canada - September 5, 2014
Park County, Colorado - June 22, 2014
Quitman County, Mississippi - September 22, 2014
(I'm shaking hands with my friend Reco, who teaches small engine repair to younger guys.)
Rock County, Wisconsin - September 4, 2014
Summit County, Colorado - May 24, 2014
Teller County, Colorado - July 21, 2014
Union County, New Jersey - September 9, 2014
Vance County, North Carolina - September 19. 2014
Weld County, Colorado - May 31, 2014
(Are YOU Storm Ready?)
Xenia Fire Protection District, Illinois - September 23, 2014
Yankton County, South Dakota - September 3, 2014
Ziebach County, South Dakota - October 13, 2014
"U.S. States"
We visited and collected snapshots of "official" state signs. One point is awarded for every state visited.
We enjoyed traveling in our MGB GT V8 through 41 states in 2014!
Alabama - September 21, 2014
Arkansas - September 22, 2014
Colorado - June 15, 2014
Connecticut - September 9, 2014
Delaware - September 9, 2014
Florida - September 21, 2014
Georgia- September 21, 2014
(with Allen and Pam, a very sweet couple I met at the Georgia Welcome Center)
Illinois - September 4, 2014
Indiana - September 4, 2014
Iowa - September 3, 2014
Kansas - September 24, 2014
Kentucky - September 22, 2014
Louisiana - September 22, 2014
Maine - September 8, 2014
Maryland - September 11, 2014
Massachusetts - September 8, 2014
Michigan - September 4, 2014
Minnesota - September 3, 2014
Mississippi - September 21, 2014
Missouri - September 22, 2014
Montana - October 13, 2014
Nebraska - June 15, 2014
New Hampshire - September 8, 2014
New Jersey - September 9, 2014
New Mexico - September 24, 2014
New York - September 7, 2014
North Carolina - September 19, 2014
North Dakota - October 12, 2014
Ohio - September 4, 2014
Oklahoma - September 24, 2014
Pennsylvania - September 9, 2014
Rhode Island - September 8, 2014
South Carolina - September 21, 2014
South Dakota - September 3, 2014
Tennessee - September 22, 2014
Texas - September 24, 2014
Vermont - September 8, 2014
(Glenn from Pennsylvania stopped and offered to take the photo. I offered him a better job.)
Virginia - September 14, 2014
West Virginia - September 11, 2014
Wisconsin - September 3, 2014
Wyoming - June 15, 2014
Please support the sponsoring companies who make British V8 possible, including:
"Canadian Provinces"
There are 13 Canadian provinces, and one point is awarded for each province visited. We collected just one snapshot of an official Canadian provincial sign.
Ontario - September 5, 2014
"Moss Motors Facilities"
Challengers scored points by visiting Moss Motors' headquarters in Goleta, California and/or their warehouse in Petersburg, Virginia. They're worth three points each. We visited Petersburg, and thus earned three of the six possible points.
Moss Motors' East Coast Warehouse and Customer Service Center - September 16, 2014
(with our niece Ellie)
Please support the sponsoring companies who make British V8 possible, including:
"Destinations"
This was our favorite part of the Moss Motoring Challenge because it's more of a scavenger hunt. Moss provided an arbitrary list of forty types of places (e.g. "dude ranch") or signs (e.g. "duck crossing"). Most are worth one point each, but eight of the destinations are worth two points each. We earned all 48 points available for this category!
Airport, with Airplane - May 26, 2014
Aquarium - June 18, 2014
Art Gallery - May 26, 2014
Barn, with Car Inside. (Our thanks to Candi and Rocket!) - May 31, 2014
Brick Road - May 26, 2014
Botanical Garden - June 7, 2014
Bowling Alley - May 25, 2014
Brewery - May 26, 2014
Charity Car Wash - September 20, 2014 (with Dale Pilson, owner of Champions of Hope.
One hundred percent of their car wash profits go to the aid of homeless children in India.)
Covered Bridge - June 21, 2014
Cupcake Bakery - May 26, 2014
"Dead End" Street Sign - May 31, 2014
Duck Crossing Sign - two points! - August 17, 2014
Dude Ranch - two points! - May 23, 2014
English Pub - June 7, 2014
Farmers Market - August 2, 2014
Fire Truck - June 15, 2014
Harbor - September 9, 2014
(Rob was out jogging around Baltimore's Inner Harbor, but stopped to talk cars.)
Horse Track - August 17, 2014
Ice Rink - June 7, 2014
Island - two points! - May 23, 2014
Jail or Prison - June 21, 2014
Junkyard - August 10, 2014
Library - May 26, 2014
Laboratory - June 7, 2014
Main Street. (Three Main Street signs in one photo from Buena Vista CO.) - May 24, 2014
The National Monument - September 14, 2014
"On a Ferry" - two points! - September 10, 2014
(with Curtis' dad and his sister Susan.)
Parade - two points! - August 2, 2014
Pier - June 21, 2014
Playground - June 1, 2014
Ski Resort, with snow - two points! - June 21, 2014
Ski Resort, without snow - June 21, 2014
Skyscraper - July 20, 2014
Tunnel - September 1, 2014
(with niece Susie, nephew Richard, and extended family members Caroline and Selwyn!)
"Under a Full Moon" - June 13, 2014
Vineyard or Winery - June 18, 2014
Waterfall - two points! - June 21, 2014
WW1 Memorial - two points! - June 9, 2014
Zoo - June 7, 2014
U.S. National Forests
Moss awards one point for each of the first five National Forests a Challenger visits. There are ten different National Forests in Colorado, so this category wasn't very difficult for us.
Arapaho National Forest - May 25, 2014
Pike National Forest - May 23, 2014
Roosevelt National Forest - August 23, 2014
(with our niece Susie and with our dog Annie!)
San Isabel National Forest - May 24, 2014
White River National Forest - May 24, 2014
U.S. National Park Service Managed Sites
Moss awards one point for each of the first five National Parks a Challenger visits. Parks come in many different sizes and types, and we deliberately selected a diverse sample. Five for five!
Antietam National Battlefield - September 11, 2014
Great Falls Park - September 12, 2014
(with Curtis' dad and his sister Ellen)
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park - September 11, 2014
Rocky Mountain National Park - May 25, 2014
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts - September 16, 2014
(with our nephew Garrett)
Car Shows
Encouraged by the Moss Motoring Challenge, we participated in over a dozen car shows in 2014. Moss awards one point for each of the first ten car shows visited or attended. Moss also clarified that although a sign showing the name of the show is preferred, a photo with six distinctive cars on public display is sufficient. We collected all 10 points possible for this category.
"Platteville Rotary Club's 1st Annual Show and Shine" - June 28, 2014
"Oskar Blues' 1st Annual Car Show" - July 13, 2014
"18th Annual BritishV8 Meet and Car Show" - July 20-23, 2014
"44th Annual ColoRODans Car Show" - July 27, 2014
"1st Annual Westminster Brewing Co. Car Show" - August 10, 2014
"Humdinger Vintage Car Show at Mile High Harley-Davidson" - August 30, 2014
"MG Car Corral at the Vintage Grand Prix of Watkins Glen" - September 6, 2014
(with Caroline & Ray Waugh who own the red MGB GT V6 and long-term GT V8 owner Tom Rosser)
"Katie's Cars and Coffee" in Great Falls, Virginia - September 13, 2014
(with our dear friend Donnie)
"Ivy Stockwell Elementary Carnival & Car Show" in Berthoud, Colorado - September 27, 2014
(with some of that school's most charming and enthusiastic students)
"Cars and Coffee" in Lafayette, Colorado - October 4, 2014
(with Jenn, who's thinking of putting a VTEC engine in her Hillman Husky)
Bonus Points
Moss awards six types of bonus points.
(1) Sneak Peek Photos
Six "Sneak Peek" bonus points were awarded for submitting sample photos early in the competition.
We started late, missing the first opportunity, thus only getting 4 of 6 possible Sneak Peek points.
We submitted the "Library" and "Clear Creek County" photos (already shown above) for March-June
sneak peek points, and we submitted the "MG Donuts" and "Pawnee National Grassland" (below)
for July-August points.
MG Donuts! - June 18, 2014
Pawnee National Grassland - June 15, 2014
(2) With Charity / Fundraiser Cars
Moss awards three bonus points for photographs with any of the four "Drive Away Cancer" tour cars.
"Hope": The Drive Away Cancer Mazda Miata - September 16, 2014
(with Moss' Matt Stark and our niece Ellie)
(3) With Last Year's Winner
Moss awards three bonus points for photographs with last year's winner Bryan Hutchinson and his
MGB, "Maggie". We tried throughout the year to meet up with Bryan, but he moves around a lot.
At last check-in, Bryan was running neck and neck with us with about 175 2014 points. We did
however meet-up with PJ Lenihan in North Carolina. PJ placed fifth last year. PJ's travel reports
on message boards in 2013 inspired our participation this year!
With PJ Lenihan and PJ's MGB GT V6 in Kernersville NC - September 19, 2014
(4) Roadside Oddities
Moss awards up to two points for photographing roadside oddities. Here are five of our favorites.
Giant Farmer with Pitchfork in Longmont, Colorado - September 27, 2014
60ft Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, Minnesota - September 3, 2014
Sunny the Sunfish in Onalaska Wisconsin - September 3, 2014
30ft Crash Test Dummy, Glen Burnie, Maryland - September 9, 2014
80ft Dinosaur, Wall, South Dakota- October 13, 2014
(5) Signs That Say "Moss"
Moss recently announced they'll award two bonus points for photographing a roadsign that says "Moss" on it.
We found, photographed, and published ours before doing so became fashionable. Here it is again:
Moss Street in Golden Colorado - June 7, 2014
(6) Creativity
Finally, Moss reserves the right to award points for creativity as they see fit.
We would be so very pleased and honored...
In the meantime, here are a collection of favorite photos that either (a) didn't fit neatly into
the categories above or else (b) became redundant in the course of our travels.
Destination: Distillery (Spirit Hound Distillers in Lyons Colorado) - September 27, 2014
M.G. Oil Co. - October 13, 2014
Badlands! - October 13, 2014
Black Hills! - October 14, 2014
Studebaker dealer in a town with more horses than cars and no paved streets? - June 15, 2014
"Marmot Crossing" sign - June 21, 2014
Lisa took this while I was setting up for our "Under A Full Moon" photo. - June 13, 2014
The Motoring Challenge and car shows are two ways we share our passion for sports cars.
We feel it's especially important to welcome youngsters into the hobby.
"MG Bees!" - Friends surprised us with these little mascots. They've stuck for over 8500 miles so far.
Car Show: "The Golden Super Cruise" in Golden, Colorado - June 7, 2014 (Nice photo, but we
decided to replace it because Motoring Challenge pics should show contest participants.)
X-Town: Xenia, Illinois (alternate) - September 23, 2014
State: Texas (alternate) - September 24, 2014
Destination: Harbor (alternate) - July 14, 2014
Destination: Jail or Prison (alternate) - May 23, 2014
Destination: Skyscraper (alternate) - June 7, 2014
Destination: Tunnel (alternate) - June 21, 2014
Destination: Tunnel (alternate) - June 21, 2014
Destination: Parade (alternate) with Firetruck (alternate) - August 2, 2014
Curious about our car? Read her story here: Bonnie: Our 1971 MGB GT with Buick 215 V8 Engine.
Use by written permission from "britishv8.org" only.
