What

What the heck is a “Ball of Twine”?

First off, it’s “World’s Largest Ball of Twine,” or can be shortened to “WLBoT.”

At its simplest form, a WLBoT is just a purpose for a ride. The term was taken from the eponymous roadside tourist trap. (Fun fact: there are actually 4 sites claiming to have the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, each using different criteria)

It can be further defined, for our riding purposes:

  1. The primary function of a “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” is to provide a destination for a ride, not the visit itself.
  2. A “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” can be defined as an off-the-beaten-path destination or attraction that meets at least 2 of these requirements:
    1. Cheesy
    2. Tourist-Trappy
    3. Have Haunted or Extra-Terrestrial overtones
    4. Historically significant to something insignificant
      1. For example, a “George Washington Slept Here” sign does not fit, while a “George Smith Slept Here” or “George Washington Shat Here” sign would.
    5. Has no real reason to exist other than for people to visit it
    6. Just plain unique in some strange fashion
  3. A “visit” to a site is defined as any of the following:
    1. Entering the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine”
    2. Photographing tour members with the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine”, or
    3. Stopping to look at the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” and making fun of it
  4. A “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” visit counts as long as the riders, including at least one tour member, arrive via motorcycle. These things are best shared, so it’s recommended that you ride with someone.
  5. Others may join the visit (the more the merrier), but non-riders do not count toward visit credit, and may not complain about the destination, route to/from the destination, or activities along the way.
  6. “World’s Largest Balls of Twine” with extra coolness may be revisited, but do not count as additional destinations.
  7. At least one “World’s Largest Balls of Twine” should be visited per month between May and September (full-on riding season), inclusive.

 

 

“The point of the journey is not to arrive. Anything can happen”

                                                   ~Neil Peart, Prime Mover