Girlie Motorcycle Blog

I’ve been scouring the internet and the official IBR dispatches for clues.

The riders rolled out of Spartanburg, SC at 10:00 am today.  They are due at Checkpoint 1 in St. Charles, Illinois Wednesday, August 26 between 9 – 11pm Central Time. Scoring is to start any time after 5pm. Points get deducted every minute past 9pm with riders who fail to make it by 11pm being time barred. Riders will rest there until receiving their next leg bonuses at 4am on August 27.

What do we know?

• Suggested bonus points for this leg to be a finisher: 9000 points
  If a rider has not collected the suggested 9,000 points at Checkpoint 1 that does not mean that they will not be able to accumulate enough points in the next 2 legs to be considered a finisher.
   
• Bonus Theme:  Crime
  Each of the Bonuses has something to do with or is related to crime.
  
  
• Hours to ride for the leg: 10am Eastern (August 24) to 9pm Central (August 26) is 60 hours.  Obviously riders can’t do 60 hours straight riding. You have to factor in sleep, biological breaks and eating.  I just took a stab at what I think someone being kind to themselves could do using 2500 miles as my target:

  This is totally hypothetical. I’m not so hot with the math but, I’m pretty sure I have this right…

  Based on 1,000 miles per day.

  • 1000 miles per day x 2.5 days = 2500 miles
  • 60 Hours Available in the non-penalized Time Window
  • -20 Hours of Rest (2 8hr sleeps & 4 hours of assorted stops)
  • Leaves 40 Riding Hours
  • 62.5 mph    Moving Avg

•  Rally Participant Numbers that are open to solo-riding rookies:  53 to 101
  Could he have gotten every boys fantasy number, 69? We’ll know for sure in 10 more days!

Go, Catfish, Go!

Stay tuned for more updates!

The Latest News

Saturday – August 22, 2009

• Catfish arrives at the Rally start point in Spartanburg after 1am.
• He confirmed that he left New York with a fresh Pilot Road 2 up front and a car tire on the rear.  Cross your fingers that the Pilot Road 2 will have no issues pounding what will be in excess of 12,000 miles with the trip to South Carolina. He’s hoping to not require a tire change during the rally.
• Catfish completes his official odometer check and passes tech inspection.
• An oil change was completed in Spartanburg.
• Worried about carrying extra weight, our favorite pack rat was jettisoning anything that he deemed unneeded off of the bike and sending it home with his wife.
• Riders attended a sleep seminar as well as a media seminar

Sunday  – Less than 24 Hours before Take Off

The web is all a-flutter with news of the communication blackout outlined in the IBR media seminar on Saturday.  Any 2009 rally participant who is found to be communicating news of their rally trip publicly any time after 10am tomorrow (August 24) and through the 11th day of the rally is in deep doo-doo and will be disqualified.

That means no blogs, no texts, and no public SPOT tracker links. I personally think its crap, but it’s their rally, their rules. Not wanting to endanger Catfish’s ride in any way, I will not be publicly communicating any updates as I’d hoped to do, during the next 11 days.  Insert super-sad face here.

Riders have received their rally books and bonus listings. No doubt in this time when relaxation would be ideal, it must be in short supply.

What do we know?

• Rally Start
   Monday August 24, 2009, 10am
  Spartanburg,  South Carolina
   
• Check Point 1
  Wednesday, August 26, 9 – 11pm Central Time
  St. Charles, Illinois
   
• Checkpoint 2
  Sunday, August 30, 9pm – 11pm Pacific Time
  Santa Ana, California
   
• Rally Finish
  Friday, September 4, 9am Pacific Time
  Spokane Washington

We’re almost in the dark time

If I read any official IBR public updates noting Catfish’s progress, I will pass along a link.  I’m hoping to not hear from Catfish after 10am tomorrow for the 11 days following. That would mean he’s made it through to the other side.  Go, Catfish, Go!

Please join me in sending out thoughts and wishes of safe traveling to all those participating.

•    Official Iron Butt Rally 2009 Website

Sometimes you stumble across a blog and just connect with it. Maybe you like the writer’s sense of humor, admire their spirit or appreciate their writing voice. Maybe it’s something as simple as they post terrific pictures. I tend to like the motorcycle blogs that tell a personal story, be it big or small. I always appreciate it when someone links to fuzzygalore.com, so I want to return the favor or pay it forward.

Here are 3 motorcycle blogs I’d like to show a little link love:

• Bolty.net
  Be sure to check out Bolty’s posts about packing for camping on the motorcycle. Very detailed and thoughtful writing.

• Steady On The Humble
  New on the blogging scene but not in the motorcycle world. Sportbike riding with a bit of an adventure touring slant.
• MotoPhotoAdventures
  A new find thanks to ScootinDaValley. Interesting ride posts, thoughtful perspective and nice photos.

While standing in the Bridgeport ferry line next to our motorcycles, Kenny and I had the good fortune of meeting an incredibly interesting soul. He quietly stepped off of a casino bus that was parked next to us, also waiting to board the ferry which was due to arrive in 20 minutes time.

‘Those are beautiful, but not for me!’ he said pointing to our parked motorcycles with a twinkle in his eye. Sometimes people just emit a vibe that draws you in. He was like that. I chuckled and said something tragically inane like ‘Oh no, why’s that?’ This man in a summer tan sport coat and slacks and a dark blue cap began to casually weave what I came to decide was just a mere thread in the tale of his life into a fine spun fabric.

He went on to tell us about being in battle in Germany during World War II. After the conclusion of one particular skirmish he and his fellow soldiers found a German motorcycle. As the dust settled each of the men took a turn trying to ride on the motorbike. Tony smirked as he told us that he ended up riding himself into a row of hedges, knocked himself off the bike and got a face full of scratches. His riding career started and ended within a 5 minute span.

As the conversation began to flow naturally, Tony who is now 88 years old was more than happy to tell us about being a young man in the war. He stood no taller than me, at 5’7” but carried himself like he was 6’1“. It was clear that he had a quiet confidence in himself that he came to a good understanding of during his nearly 9 decades. He wore a single diamond stud earring and a long gray pony tail bound by rubber bands down its length below a navy baseball style hat. The front of the hat proudly bore the words Silver Star Conspicuous Gallantry.

When his number was called, he was given a nickel to head in to New York City’s Grand Central Station to go and get his Army physical. He chuckled out loud when he told us about the hearing part of the test which consisted of one question.

This gentle man who stood in front of us with an inviting smile, was in Normandy. He was called in 2 days early from his leave to head to Bastogne. He left home a young man who did not swear or drink and he came home ‘rough,’ he said. He went on to say that it took a long time to acclimate to being home, away from the things that he saw, away from the memories of things like waiting in a foxhole after laying mines in a field.

Because I cannot pretend to understand the many changes that a war will put a person through I can only assume then that his warm and open demeanor must have been the result of the last 60 years of practice. He was a delightful walking time capsule full of stories to be treasured.

I cannot help but feel like if it were not for me riding a motorcycle, I would never have shared 20 minutes with such a person. Sometimes in this life you cross paths with people whom you feel blessed to meet. Tony was such a man.

How about you? Have you ever met someone who affected you deeply while out on the road?