One thing that we don't talk about much is what it feels like after a rally. This struck me this morning as I woke and unfolded myself to start the day.

My hands are stiff and swollen and my neck and shoulders are a bit angry. We often refer to the, "rally hangover," that we feel after events, but it's not because we drink. It's because of the punishment that our bodies take in the car. It can take us anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to feel ourselves.

Granted, Dave and I are not 21 anymore(not that we'd necessarily want to be)! :-)

Test day was great. With a large complement of crew and photographers, we headed into the Maine Forest and spent about 6 hours making runs on a 3.5 mile stage and adjusting suspension settings.

Some of you may not be aware that co-driver Dave is a talented driver as well. He campaigned our second Subaru for a couple of seasons and also instructs at the Team O'Neil rally school from time-to-time.

He was a valuable asset on test day and when we'd complete a run after making changes, he'd hold his thoughts until I told him what I thought. It was amazing that our assessments were almost the same every time.

Mark got some pics in a controlled environment(thanks to Bronson and our ham radio system) and no wildlife were harmed. It was a good day.

Thanks to all who came out: Drew, Ken, Bronson, Rob, Nate, Ryan, the other Ryan, Mark, Stan and Dave.

We did have a radiator fan break, but we found that the second, high-performance fan kept the car cool. We'll still replace the other for insurance. We also had a brake line rupture at the end of the last run. We'll be replacing both as a precautionary measure.

Look for pics on Mark's pixyblog site. The first is already up!

http://markfleming.pixyblog.com/

Cheers! John