2009 IBR: The Catfish has Landed. Touchdown at Checkpoint 2 – Santa Ana, California

Catfish 2009 Iron Butt Logo IBRClosing in on Checkpoint 2

Checkpoint 2
Sunday, August 30, 9pm – 11pm Pacific Time
Santa Ana, California

Sunday August 30

It looked like Catfish was making good time along Route 10 from Phoenix into California. Knowing that he’s riding a conservative ride I speculated that he was very clear on and comfortable with how much time he had left to make it to the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Ana. He was making good use of his last remaining hours before 9pm at Checkpoint 2 to pick up bonuses. He was spotted stopping off around the Salton Sea. The temps around that area were showing highs over 100 degrees today, so he must have been cooking out there.

He touched down in Santa Ana at around 7:00 PST.

Spoke to Catfish from Checkpoint 2. He was his usual irreverent and cantankerous self. Considering he’d been baking in the heat across Arizona and California for the day, he was surprisingly chipper. I think he’d said he pulled into the checkpoint hotel lot, didn’t stop his clock yet and just went directly to shower. Temperatures for his final day of leg 2 steadily hovered above the 100 degree mark, topping out at around 115.

At one of his gas stops today, he bought a bag of ice. He refilled his hydration system; put some ice in his pockets and down his shirt to try to keep his body cool. At 115 degrees the moving air is like a hair dryer. During a short but poignant rant about why in God’s name anyone would actually choose to settle in this part of the country, in his characteristic Long Island accent he said, ‘If I woulda bought a steak I coulda made beef jerky in my tank bag, it was so f’n hot.

Counting our Lucky Stars

Apparently one rider named Rick struck a deer and another rider, Bill from the Ramapo MC club had a serious accident heading for one of the North Dakota bonuses.  We’re wishing Bill a speedy recovery.  I’m always thankful to see ‘Catfish’ pop up on my cell.  His gang of friends here at home are all glad he made it through his leg safely.

The third and final leg of the Rally kicks off after the 4am riders meeting tomorrow (August 31). Hopefully the riders get a good night sleep in their air conditioned rooms. The Rally train is heading for Spokane, Washington. This last leg is the longest of all at 99 hours. Riders must be at the Spokane checkpoint before 9am on Friday September 4.

Checkpoint 3 – Rally Finish
Spokane Washington, 7am-9am PST
Scoring opens at 4am
 

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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1 Response

  1. goldenchild says:

    Thanks for all the up dates Fuzz! Reading all of them make me want to add myself to the IBR lottery… but… I think I’m still years away from living out that dream.

    At the very least, the up dates make me want to go out and try a 50CC, but then I remember of the pain…

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