Today was the 50th running of the Covered Bridge Rally, my reason for this New England journey. I’ve run this event maybe ten times, have even won it before. The first 49 runnings were all organized by the same gentleman, Ted Goddard, who unfortunately passed a few months back.

One hundred competitors gathered from around the country (including teams from California and Alaska), we told stories before we started, at the lunch break and at the awards ceremony. The New England Region of the Sports Car Club of America had a tremendous display of memorabilia, including a listing of almost every competitor who has ever run.

We all told tales of Ted, then headed off into the woods. I haven’t competed in more than two years, so I was very nervous. My partner Frank is still a regular on the event circuit, so he just dropped himself into the navigators seat and was ready to go. I climbed into the driver’s seat of his Subaru and quietly, calmly … freaked out.

All of the big names were here and I hadn’t tried to time a line in 24 months. What was I thinking?

I calmed myself, muttering Ted’s mantra: If you don’t know what to do, do what Ted would want you to do.

What would Ted want me to do? Have a good time.

So, we did.

Ended up second.

Ted was always right on that sort of thing.