By Fred Jewell

RCB Mileage Contest 2025

And now for something completely different – the Pony Express, RCB style! Yes, I know each year’s mileage contests are already completely different, and often don’t really have miles involved, but this year’s contest is truly different: It DOES involve actual miles traveled! Another big change is YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN. 3rd change is the raffle is going to be held at the RCB Christmas party (or holiday potluck, if you prefer) and I will proxy those contestants who aren’t able to attend the party. As usual, the contest is only open to RCB members in good standing, and the contest duration is from April 1, 2025 to September 15, 2025. No purchase necessary, the prize is a set of tires for your motorcycle, installed by A&S. Randy has once again generously donated the installation to the winner of the tires. Here are the details for the contest:

_ One raffle ticket will be awarded for every 1,000 miles traveled during the contest period, NO LIMIT. On April 1 contestants will text me at 916 230 0951 with a picture of their odometer showing their start mileage (please tell me who you are in the text). On September 15 do the same for the final mileage. The total miles will be rounded up or down to the nearest even 1,000 to award the tickets.

_ Bonuses: Remember I said The Pony Express, RCB style? There are bonuses to be earned in addition to the miles traveled, and they involve going to markers, monuments and/or signs relating to the Pony Express. In case you didn’t know, the Pony Express started in St. Joseph, MO and ended in Sacramento, and there are all kinds of signs, markers, or monuments along the way, and some even further past the end in Sacramento. Here is the list of those available to members to earn raffle tickets and the ticket value of each. Please tell me who you are and what bonus you are at should the picture not be clear. All are in California unless otherwise noted:

1. Dixon. At 6100 Silveyville Road there is a monument titled Halfway House. Take a picture of it and your bike for one raffle ticket.

2. Oakland. In Jack London Square there is a monument dedicated to a rider named Thomas Bedford. You won’t be able to get your bike there, just take a picture of the monument itself for one ticket.

3. Woodfords. At the junction of state routes 88 and 89 there is a marker for Woodfords Station and its relation to the Pony Express. Get a picture of the marker with your bike for two tickets.

4. Lafayette. At the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd and Moraga Road there is a monument for the Lafayette House and its relevance to the Pony Express. Take a picture of the monument for one ticket.

5. Martinez. At the corner of Main Street and Ferry Street there is a marker for the Morgan House. Get a picture of it and your bike for one ticket.

6. Orinda. Near the intersection of Highway 24 and Camino Pablo there is a monument to the Pony Express riders. You probably can’t get your bike near it so a picture of the monument will suffice for one ticket.

7. El Dorado Hills. On Joerger Cutoff road, near the intersection of Clarksville Road and White Rock Road, there is a marker for the Mormon Tavern (a contradiction in terms?). Get a picture of your bike and the marker for one ticket.

8. El Dorado/Mud Springs. On Pleasant Valley Road, next to the El Dorado Fire Station near Church Street there is a marker titled El Dorado (Mud Springs). Take a picture of your bike and the marker for one ticket. Stop in at Poor Red’s for a great lunch.

9. Kyburz. 9 miles west of Kyburz on US 50 near Ice House Road there is a marker titled Moore’s (Riverton) dedicated to the site of a change station for the Pony Express. Take a picture of your bike with the marker for two tickets. 
Update: The plaque is missing, but the monument is there. 

10. Meyers. At the corner of US 50 and Pioneer Trail Road there is a marker for Yank’s Station, a stage stop for the riders. Get a picture of your bike with the marker for two tickets.

11. Placerville. At the corner of Main Street and Sacramento Street there is a marker for the Placerville Pony Express terminus. You probably won’t be able to get your bike in the picture, so a picture of the marker alone is OK for one ticket.

12. Pollock Pines. At 5620 Pony Express Trail there are a couple of markers for the Sportsman’s Hall, AKA Twelve Mile House. Find either one and take its picture for one ticket.

13. Rancho Cordova. At the corner of White Rock Road and Gold Valley Drive there is a monument for the 15 Mile House remount station. You probably won’t get your bike close to it, so a picture of the monument is fine for one ticket.

14. Rancho Cordova. At the corner of Folsom Blvd and Dawes Street there is a monument to the Pony Express just off the sidewalk next to Rosie’s Country Kitchen. It might be possible to get your bike in the background of the monument for the picture, if not, the monument itself will be OK for one ticket.

SUPER DOUBLE SECRET DOUBLE BONUS:

Since the Pony Express generally followed US 50 across Nevada (the Loneliest Road in America and one of my favorite ways to go East) I have three bonus locations along it that, if you get all three, you can DOUBLE YOUR TOTAL number of raffle tickets! All sites are on US 50 in Nevada, starting first outside the town of Cold Springs, which is just east of the shoe tree. Just before you get to that bustling metropolis on your left are the ruins of an actual Pony Express station, and there is a marker there just off the highway on a dirt circular drive. Get a picture of your bike with the ruins and the marker in it. If you don’t feel like taking your bike into the dirt, and who can blame you, there is an asphalt lot just east of the ruins with its own sign. Take your picture of your bike, sign, and the ruins there.

Second is to continue on to Austin, where right before you leave town and get to the best section of road on the trip, there is an RV park called, ironically enough, the Pony Express RV Stop. Get a picture of their sign with your bike.

Third is to keep heading east to the city of Eureka (Nevada, NOT California, remember we’re heading east) and find the monument/marker for the Lincoln Highway. It’s on the sidewalk next to the county courthouse at the corner of US 50 and Ruby Hill Ave, and there’s a large bell and a plaque on the wall behind it. Try to get your bike and all three of those things in your picture. The Lincoln Highway was the original designation for US 50. If you stay in town there is a nice Best Western motel that has an OK breakfast. Dinner is your choice of two places in town, the Urban Cowboy is probably preferable.

EVEN BETTER THAN THAT, THERE’S STILL MORE!

For those who really like traveling and not afraid of putting on the miles, there is one more bonus location that could really increase your raffle ticket total. If you’ve already gotten the double bonus above, then keep heading east until you reach Ogallala, Nebraska. There is a park in town called the Tri Trails Park, and it has two Pony Express monuments in it. One is a triangular shaped boulder with two plaques on it, and the other is a metal silhouette of a Pony Express rider. Get pictures of both of those and you will double your raffle ticket total AGAIN, effectively quadrupling your amount. You must have already gotten the three bonus locations in Nevada to get this bonus. While you’re in Ogallala, visit the Mansion on the Hill Museum and the Petrified Wood Gallery. There are also plenty of motels, brewpubs and steakhouses to choose from to make your stay even more memorable. You might also take time to cool down with a swim in Lake McConaughy nearby, a lake I have gone water skiing in (a long time ago!) but it’s a man-made lake that my grandfather was an engineer working on it with the Corps of Engineers during the Depression. Small world.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!