Sod-Busters hold weekend off-road rally It's been a cold, wet weekend—not so good for doing yard work, but great for messing up your yard. Sod-Busters held their spring On-Road, Off-Road Rally this afternoon. About 40 drivers made the trek from the South Bend Motor Speedway to the club's property near Darden. The course was about 50 miles from start to finish. It was made a little shorter than normal to help offset rising gas prices. “The thing is when your off-roading your locked in four wheel drive, your spinning tires revving the engine up having a good time so yeah, your going to use a little bit more fuel,” said Sod-Busters member Terry Kurtz. “We wanted to keep this small and short enough where people can come out and have fun and not worry about the gas prices so much.” Sod-Busters is getting geared up for the spring Mud Bog, which is coming up on may 25th. Click here for the article Get down and dirty at tons-of-fun holiday Mud Bog NATURE BOUND: WALKS, TALKS & PROJECTS KAREN RALLO Tribune Staff Writer SOUTH BEND -- Engines will roar and mud will splatter during the South Bend Sod Busters and Pomp's Tire's annual Memorial Day Weekend Mud Bog on May 28.   Official Mike Weaver talks with competitor and truck owner Dawn Masuth in the staging area before the competition in last fall's Mud Bog. Tribune File Photo "This is a family friendly event for any 4x4 vehicle," says Jim Renner, the club's public relations manager. Any vehicle is welcome. Some 130 to 150 vehicles competed last year, from families in their Ford Explorers to boggers with customized trucks towed on trailers. The club goes all out to make sure the whole family has fun, with multiple contests for all ages, complete with an announcer from the South Bend Motor Speedway. Trophies are awarded to winners in all divisions. For those too young for a driver's license, there's a minimudder, featuring a 15-foot-long mud pit that's about an inch deep -- ideal for kiddie vehicles. Hummer rides around the property also are offered. "People come to have a good time. They can come out and camp on the grounds (although there's no water or electric hookup). They even bring tents and coolers," Renner says. But the real purpose for getting down and dirty is to raise money for Hospice of St. Joseph County. "Last year, we raised over $5,700. It's a good cause," Renner says. One of the most popular events of the day doesn't require a vehicle. It's Dash for Cash. Children and adults get a chance to run through a pit of mud for cash awards. At the end of the event, the winner gets a cash prize, and everyone gets sprayed off with a hose. (So, dress appropriately.) Gates open at 8 a.m. Cost is $10 for spectators and $15 to compete. Children 12 and younger are free. Sod Busters' off-road property is on Sycamore Road, just off Darden Road and near the Indiana Toll Road underpass. To learn more, call (574) 276-5727 or visit www. sodbustersoffroad.com.

Off-road rally tests driving, scavenger skills

Scavenger hunt on wheels

When it comes to fun, there's nothing quite like a scavenger hunt.

Put it on four wheels, and extend the route over nearly 100 miles of country roads, and it can get really interesting.

That's just what happened one recent Sunday morning for the South Bend Sod Busters' Spring On/Off Road Rally. Trucks and SUVs of all sizes gathered in the parking lot of the Auto Zone on Lincoln Way East in Mishawaka. The drivers and their navigators signed in, and received a list of clues which would get them to the first checkpoint.

One by one, at timed intervals, off they went, to wander the back roads and test their vehicles on some unusual terrain. The scavenger hunt took them through Osceola, Granger, Edwardsburg, Berrien Springs and Buchanan, ending in New Carlisle.

Tim McClanahan of South Bend climbed into his "big, black GMC extended cab" for the rally. His first time in the Sod Busters' rally, he saw it as a learning experience.

His son, Tim McClanahan II, served as navigator. He mostly does mud bogging with his '98 Chevy short bed, but was looking forward to the challenge of the rally.

Riding along as "nagagator," as the elder McClanahan joked, was Dennis Zell.

"I've done this before," Zell stated, smiling. "I'll get out and hook up the strap so they can pull him out" when the checkpoint tests get too difficult.

Definitely a friendly and lively group, the rally drivers and those riding with them were eager about the event. Masonic lodge brothers Tim Miller and Mike Lewis of Elkhart took Miller's '95 Jeep Cherokee through its paces during the course of the day.

"This is my fourth time," said Lewis. "I'm the navigator and kibbitzer." The idea of wandering down dirt roads or over piles of tires appealed to him because "I work for the railroad, and I like rough rides."

Miller and Lewis belong to Tread Lightly, another four-wheeler's group. "I like to tread lightly through nature without tearing things up," Miller explained. He came to the rally to get out with his friends and enjoy the outdoors.

Promoted as a family event, the road rally brought out many couples and kids. Betsy Williams handed the keys of her 2002 Ford Explorer to her son, Jack Shepp, 18, of New Carlisle for the day.

"He's a good driver," Williams remarked. "He'd probably be more nervous if I was driving."

While Jack's brother, Adam Shepp, 15, of South Bend, served as navigator, Williams planned to ride in the back seat and read the newspaper.

"It's gonna be fun," Jack noted.

Kathy Peterson of North Liberty was hoping, as navigator, not to get her husband, Pete, lost in their "little, wimpy Durango." A member of Sod Busters, Pete was trying the road rally for the first time.

"It's a way to take out aggression," Pete grinned. "It's better than kicking the cat."

Actually, the rules of the rally required drivers to be safe. The drivers had to arrive at the final destination with their drivers license still sealed inside an envelope. If, for any reason, they had to open the envelope, they would be disqualified, according to Mike Filipski, chair for the event.

"It's not a speed competition," added Jim Renner, who drove his H1 Hummer in the rally. The successful completion of the challenges at the checkpoints earned the teams points, which would determine the winners.

The checkpoint at Edgar Wolfe's property at Beech and Cleveland roads challenged the endurance of the competitors. They used Wolfe's own "proving grounds" where he tries out the jeeps and trucks he races off-road to perform three tests.

Hooking a large log onto the front of the vehicle with a strap, the vehicles were driven backward around a curving, dirt track. Then, they drove through a pit of tires. The bravest souls with the most heavy duty trucks even got to climb over a sizable dirt hill.

"We wanted to have something difficult for the guys with the bigger trucks," said Wolfe.

Drivers of smaller vehicles could opt not to do the tests better suited for regular four-wheel drive vehicles. Either way, the task of getting from checkpoint to checkpoint, then to the barbecue at the end, was good, clean fun.

"The vehicles hardly get dirty," Filipski commented.

For some, that doesn't matter. "We build them so they'll take the punishment," said Miller. "The idea is: build it, drive it, repair it, drive it again."