2009 Iron Butt Rally - Official Daily Reports

[cbolling]

I was really looking forward to following the spot trackers.

[wheels_up]

I totally understand, and agree with the "no outside help" rule.  and even the no live reports or tweeting etc, but not being able to follow the spot really sucks. Though I guess, for legal reasons, I can even understand that.  

I was really looking forward to wasting work hours following the rally via SPOT.

I have two very close friends who were in the 1997 IBR. Cell phones were the latest technology for getting outside help back then. One of the above close friends has a wife who rides well and is extremely proficient at mapping. I'm pretty sure her husband did not have a GPS. She mostly did telephone call "research" for him. Traffic calls, weather checks, motel bookings, ferry bookings, etc.

I hope Dale has figured out a way to stop that kind of outside help because, although not as effective as a team of experienced LD motorcyclists, the bulldog nature and motorcycle competentcy of the above referenced wife was quite effective. This was not Rick Morrison's wife by the way.

Jim Puckett

[2wTraveler]

Fact of the matter is that IF a rider wanted to cheat, they will find a way. I don't think the spirit of the IBR is to cheat your way to the finish. I'm not familiar with the media angle. I'm not saying some anti's may or may not be watching, but in my experience even other motorcyclists I encounter have never heard of the IBA. I think the media could give a rats ass about us.

Looking forward to the daily reports, It's 10:06 here my guess is the riders are "off like a prom dress" by now

I think if you wanted to complicate it to where cheating is too difficult you would have fewer bonii (maybe 10) and have a person stationed at each bonii with a listing of the next 10.

As is stands with reporting to the outside world blocked...they don't call em "RallyBastards" for nothin.

[Warchild]

Day - 1 is now online.....  August 23 - The Curtain Rises


And here's a cross-post of mine from FJRForum:

All riders are out the gate.

This is the fastest Release I have ever done... it is a new record for us: 101 heavily-laden motorcycles were GONE in 5 minutes, 20 seconds.... a blistering rate!

No spills getting out the gate, either.

Iggy and Marbach are deadly serious this time..... I released them together, but they are not "teaming". I believe Marbach is headed to Martha's Vineyard... not sure if Iggy is or not.

Turbo Dave seems very relaxed.... I want him to be a Finisher bad. Hope his routing is decent... in order to be a Finisher, riders need to average about 9000 points on this leg. (This doesn't mean they need to bag 9000 bonus points, as they get 1000 points for their fuel log, additional points for arriving at the checkpoint on time, etc, etc).

All the FJRs got off with no problem at all. Terry Neely is so excited, he is quaking in his boots on his FJR, as are all 19 FJR1300 riders. Mike Evans is relaxed and confident. He may be the Dark Horse among the FJR riders... some may recall he had a podium Finish in 2007.... 8th Place, IIRC.

[hotspice]

Thanks for the updates Dale.

Let the games begin  

[JohnF]

Day - 1 is now online.....  August 23 - The Curtain Rises



All the FJRs got off with no problem at all. Terry Neely is so excited, he is quaking in his boots on his FJR, as are all 19 FJR1300 riders. Mike Evans is relaxed and confident. He may be the Dark Horse among the FJR riders... some may recall he had a podium Finish in 2007.... 8th Place, IIRC.[/i]

Dale...don't overlook the Bobsie Twins from MN...Derek D and Peter B. They were 1-2 in the ButtLiteIIIII and have had podium finishes in every rally they have entered in the past few years. If they don't get the rookie jitters or have mechanical failure, look for both of them with top finishes.

JEF - Cincinnati, OH

Cinn

[katego]

thanks for the updates Dale! I look forward to reading the daily missives. Too bad about the SPOT trackers. Would be cool if SPOT would sponsor the really & provide trackers + public tracking for everyone. I am not really understanding how being able to see the trackers creates an advantage for a rider.

-k

[MacGyver]

It might be fun up at Martha's Vineyard.   You DO know that Obama is staying up there right now.  So EVERYONE who gets on the ferry will be searched (possibly dismantled)   Bikes carrying big odd looking fuel cells beware....  

[discochris]

thanks for the updates Dale! I look forward to reading the daily missives. Too bad about the SPOT trackers. Would be cool if SPOT would sponsor the really & provide trackers + public tracking for everyone. I am not really understanding how being able to see the trackers creates an advantage for a rider.

-k

Banning public SPOT viewing has nothing to do with rider advantage. It has everything to do with liability.

If rider A is in Minneapolis at 8 am, and then the same rider is in Fargo at 10:30 am (240 miles), it's not hard to do the math to figure out how fast rider A had to go to make it that far in that short amount of time.

Now suppose rider A plowed into a pack of schoolchildren and it was found that they were broadcasting this publicly, AND that they were part of an organized rally. I suspect most people can figure out the result of that.

A well-known rider lost his overall 1st place in the Minnesota 1000, and (I think) is banned from Team Strange events for broadcasting just this sort of thing via a public satellite tracking system.

[katego]

ok, that sortof makes sense... but isn't that data still going to come out if the rider uses a SPOT, whether it is publicly broadcast or password protected in real time or not? (not trying to be critical of the organizers' decisions - just curios for the reasons).

-k

[DNA]

I think it is both - but more likely the fairness issue is the excuse.

Remember, you have the option of riding with a SPOT, it is not mandatory, and personally if i did have one I would only let my family and very good friends know about it.

I could see LE using the information pretty effectively as well to gain some tax money - especially if they were tipped by a competitors support group that a certain ugly farkle bike was moving through in 60 minutes...

[Nodaclu]

EDIT: Never mind....no matter how hard I try not to, all my post was going to do is stir up crap, and that shouldn't be the focus here.

It will all play out on its own in due time anyway....

DiscoChris...consider deleting your post with my quote if you would. Otherwise we're going to end up with 10 pages diluting this thread, and that wasn't my intent.

[2wTraveler]

I'm keeping my lips sealed about it for the duration of the rally. Iam still waiting for my BBG to be certified, don't want to get bumped to the back of the line.

I wonder if there is a bonus that awards points to the rider who predicts the number of derogatory comments about the new rule on the internet closest.

[discochris]

EDIT: Never mind....no matter how hard I try not to, all my post was going to do is stir up crap, and that shouldn't be the focus here.

It will all play out on its own in due time anyway....

DiscoChris...consider deleting your post with my quote if you would. Otherwise we're going to end up with 10 pages diluting this thread, and that wasn't my intent.

What post?

[hotspice]

What post?

Good-on-ya

Now, back to waiting for the Day 1 report  

[discochris]

Riders may - if desired - work as a "team" together, but if they do, they must "declare" this teaming to the rallymaster prior to departure. Further, the team MUST ride together, and score every every bonus together. If the team arrives at the next checkpoint and the "team" members do not have identical bonii collected, it's MAJOR, MASSIVE penalty points. Bottom line: if you team with another rider, than you "never, ever leave your wingman".

Not sure how much Dale will be checking in on this thread, but I do have a question about the "team" rule.

If rider A and rider B don't plan their route together, but because they separately planned a similar, or the same, route, and they ride together all or part of the way, is that going to be penalized even though there was no apparent intent beforehand?

On smaller rallies, I know I've happened across other rally riders along the way, and on occasions would ride together with them for part of the rally. Is this essentially prohibited?

[Nodaclu]

What post?

LOL.....awesome. Thanks!  

[connick]

Not sure how much Dale will be checking in on this thread, but I do have a question about the "team" rule.

If rider A and rider B don't plan their route together, but because they separately planned a similar, or the same, route, and they ride together all or part of the way, is that going to be penalized even though there was no apparent intent beforehand?

On smaller rallies, I know I've happened across other rally riders along the way, and on occasions would ride together with them for part of the rally. Is this essentially prohibited?

The way I read it, the teamwork bit applies to route planning only.  If you don't plan and route your ride as a team, then the team rules do not apply.  Just because someone else is riding a similar or same route as you, does not make them your teammate... only collaborative route planning does that.

[JohnF]

Dale, like others I don't know how much time you have to read and respond.  

Could you give us the ruling on help from the outside at a checkpoint. Or, what is proper etiquette from a friend of a rider  at a checkpoint?

For example, a rider needs a restock of cliff bars from Wal-mart...is a non-participant allowed to make the run to the store while the rider rest, works on bike, etc?

I understand best etiquette is to stay out of the way, and don't speak unless spoken to...but would like to know what the IBA's position is on this type of rider assistance.

TIA

JEF - Cincinnati, OH

[Warchild]

 The first mechanical problem on the 2009 IBR belongs to.... hang on to your hats.... a 2003 BMW K1200LT.

But it's not a final drive... but it appears to be clutch-related in some form/fashion. The bike is limping to Atlanta to try to effect repairs.

The first Suzuki Rotary RE-5 is out of the rally.... it belongs to Barry Bertram, and it's the one that looked to be in better condition of the two RE-5's!    Don't know the specifics of the failure, but he appears down and out somewhere in West Palm Beach FL area.