2007 Iron Butt Rally - Official Daily Reports

The 2007 Iron Butt Rally - Day -3Friday, August 17, 2007

On the outskirts of St. Louis, the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield, Missouri is serving as the headquarters for the 2007 Iron Butt Rally. Riders have already begun arriving. On Saturday and Sunday, before facing the obstacles of the 11-day ride, they will be running a gauntlet of technical inspectors, document checkers, videographers, and public relations advisors. Today, many riders will be anxiously awaiting last minute maintenance and tire changes on their motorcycles which they have scheduled to have done by local motorcycle dealers that they are unfamiliar with. Others will be trying to fix problems with last minute modifications to their motorcycles that cropped up on their ride to St. Louis.

Facilities available to riders here at the hotel include two steam saunas. One is located in the Fitness Center; the other is in the parking lot. Yesterday, it hit 100° F with the humidity near 100%. Today, the high was only 94. Tomorrow, during tech inspection, it's supposed to drop all of the way down to a chilly 90°. There is a chance of thunderstorms this weekend, but the forecast looks good for the start of the Rally on Monday.

Unlike in previous years, riders will not be visiting checkpoints spread around the country. There is only one checkpoint and it's right back here in Chesterfield. After the riders leave at 10 a.m. on Monday morning, they will be on the road for about four and a half days before returning Friday night, August 24th. At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, they will receive their bonus listings for Leg 2. They will then be on the road until Friday morning, August 31st when they will once again return to Chesterfield for the finish. For the next two weeks, between now and the finishers' banquet, I'll be monitoring the Rally and preparing daily reports.

Two years ago, on the last day of the 2005 Iron Butt Rally, veteran Rally Scribe Bob Higdon wrote, "I think the time has come for me to move over and let someone else take over the scribbler reins." I remember thinking, "I pity the poor ******* who has to replace Higdon; that's a tough act to follow." It's going to be made even more difficult by the fact that there is only one checkpoint in this year's rally, giving me only one opportunity to see all of the riders between the start and the finish. The fact that the second leg of this year's rally is almost a week long will make it difficult to quickly prepare a written description of what transpired on leg two based on information collected at the finish.

Although a number of riders randomly call Rallymaster Lisa Landry's cellular phone during the course of the rally, I need a more systematic source of information that will let me know how everyone is doing, not just the riders who think they have the time to chat with Lisa. I remember reading about one rallymaster's attempt to keep tabs on riders by having them check in by telephone during the course of a 24-hour rally. It was an unmitigated disaster. Having dozens of riders calling the same phone number resulted in lots of busy signals, missed messages, and hard feelings. I experimented with whether leaving messages in a cellular phone mailbox might work. In theory, a big cellular service provider would be able to accommodate dozens of people leaving messages in the same voice mailbox at the same time, right? Unfortunately, things often go haywire between theory and practice.

As explained by the comic strip character Dilbert, "The goal of every engineer is to retire without being blamed for a major catastrophe." To achieve this goal, engineers learn that you have to test things before you put them into service. After convincing myself that the Verizon Wireless voice mail system was developed by Lucas Electric, I've set up and tested a more reliable system to receive periodic reports from riders while they are on the road. 24 separate telephone lines are serving an IBR-dedicated voice mailbox back at my office in Sacramento. On three separate occasions, riders will be given the opportunity to earn big bonus points just by calling the number and leaving a brief message telling me where they are, where they have recently been, and where the next bonus is that they are heading for. I'll be including summaries of that information in my daily reports.

I will also be reporting on information I collect from Rallymaster Lisa Landry, IBA President Michael Kneebone, and numerous other IBR staff who make this event possible. Chief Technical Inspector Dale "Warchild" Wilson will undoubtedly have some amusing stories of rider efforts to get through tech inspection this weekend. Assisting Dale this year, will be LDRiders Listmeister Joe Denton, Art Montoya, Jim Peterson, and Bob Broeking. It always makes for some high drama when a motorcycle flunks tech inspection while the clock is ticking toward the end of the tech inspection window on Sunday.

Other IBR staffers I'll be working with this year include Jim and Donna Fousek, Dave McQueeney, Ed Otto, Dean Tanji, Roger and Karen Van Santen, Verne and Bonnie Hauck, Susan Murphy, Dennis Bitner, Bill Shaw, and my wife Helen Austin. They will be involved in various elements of the rider check-in process. Steve Hobart is also helping out. He told me his official duties consist of being Lisa's go-fer. Higdon is here too, preparing to give the annual benediction on Sunday night.

The IBR staffer who is sure to be the source of the most heartbreaking and amusing stories later in the rally is Ira Agins. Ira is running the scoring table this year. Hopefully, Ira will be able to report that someone has managed to top Michael Smeyers performance during the 2005 Rally when he rode all the way from Denver to Key West and back for a bonus photo that was missing his rally flag.

The ultimate source of the tales of triumph and tribulation during the next two weeks will be the riders themselves; they are an amazing group of people.

Only 326 people have ever finished the Rally since it was first held in 1984. 41 of the riders in this year's rally are returning veterans. More than half of the field will be riding the Iron Butt Rally for the first time.

The returning veterans include 1999 winner George Barnes, who is clearly capable of becoming the first two-time winner of the "modern" version of the Iron Butt Rally that was first run in 1991. (Under the old rally format with two dozen or fewer riders, George Egloff tied for first in 1984 and then won the 1985 Rally.) Another returning veteran is Jim Owen, who was denied victory in the 2005 rally by a mechanical failure only 12 hours from the finish. Other veterans who were top ten finishers in previous rallies include Eric Jewell, Chris Sakala, Jeff Earls, Marty Leir, **** Fish, and Alan Barbic.

Most of the "rookies" in this year's rally are road-hardened veterans of numerous other endurance rallies and "extreme" Iron Butt Association rides who have worked long and hard for the chance to get to the starting grid. Steve Broadhead is a good example. He has done more than a dozen "Extreme" rides including twice completing a Bun Burner Gold "Trifecta" (riding 1500 miles in 24 hours three days in a row). This ride has also been completed by rookies John Tomasovitch and Curt Gran. They have demonstrated that they can do the miles. During the next two weeks we will find out how well they can handle something even more intimidating than three BBGs in a row: an Iron Butt Rally bonus listing.

Another rookie who is a potential top ten finisher is Alexander Schmitt. Alex won the 7-day Butt Lite rally last year, the rally that comes closer to the Iron Butt Rally than anything else.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, a few entrants have never competed in an endurance rally and never even completed a multi-day Iron Butt ride. Their acceptance into the rally is either the result of the element of chance involved in the drawing for positions or Michael Kneebone's twisted desire for personal amusement.

One of the endurance rally virgins is Alan Bennett, who will be riding the smallest bike in the Rally; a 250 cc Kawasaki Ninja. His lack of rally experience combined with his diminutive motorcycle put Alan in what is known as the "Hopeless Class." (It should be noted; however, that Leon "The Animal" Begeman rode a 250cc Ninja to 12th place in the 2003 Rally.)

Although he has competed in several 24-hour rallies, Mark Collins qualifies as a Hopeless Class entry by virtue of the motorcycle he is riding. Mark will be aboard a 1972 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, a bike he has owned since 1979. It has 199,000 miles on the clock. The engine has been rebuilt twice; once at 80,000 miles and again at 150,000 miles. The transmission has also been through two rebuilds. Mark has upgraded the Glide with dual plug heads, an electronic ignition, an H4 headlight, and a Russell saddle. But, in keeping with the vintage of his ride, he is one of the only riders in the Rally that won't be using a GPS. He is also one of the few riders not running auxiliary fuel. Mark's bike was already safely tucked away in the parking lot this afternoon. It's out there on its side stand right now, leaking oil, so it's apparently running just like when it was new.

Although some would consider any motorcycle more than 30 years old to be in the Hopeless Class, Joel Rappoport would disagree. He will be riding the BMW R60/6 that he purchased new 31 years ago. It's the only motorcycle he has owned since then. When it crosses the starting line, it will have over 435,000 miles on it, but it's fresh from a rebuild of the engine, transmission, and rear end at 430,000 miles. Joel has also upgraded the bike from the original drum brakes to double disks up front. He has upgraded the charging system to 400 watts, which allows him to run extra lights and heated gear. The stock H-4 headlight bulb has been replaced with an HID low-beam. A long since discontinued Windjammer III fairing will keep him out of the wind. Two pair of HID auxiliary lights have also been added. He's not expecting to have any mechanical problems and he considers his bike "the most comfortable place on Earth." It's possible that the motorcycle is better prepared for the Rally than Joel, who has never before competed in an endurance rally.

Donald Jones rounds out the Hopeless Class entries. He has only finished one 24-hour rally and he is going to attempt to finish the Iron Butt Rally on a 1978 Honda GL1000 "Old Wing." In his application for the Rally, Don explained his choice of this bike by saying, "I like working on old things."

There are 10 women entered, 5 riding pillion and 5 piloting their own bikes. They are far from hopeless. The veteran pillion riders are Rosie Sperry (riding with husband Tom) and Donna Phillips (riding with husband Jim). The rookies are Silvie Torter (riding with husband Bob), Lisa Kappenberger (riding with husband Reiner), and Lynda Lahman (riding with husband Terry). All of these two-up entries have rally experience, but after their 11th place finish in the 2005 Iron Butt Rally, the Phillips would seem to have the best shot at a top ten finish.

Of the women riding their own bikes, Rebecca Vaughn, Karol Patzer, and Vicki Johnston are Iron Butt Rally veterans. The 2 rookies are Maura Gatensby and Lisa Stevens, both of whom have significant rally experience. Lisa, who finished second behind Jim Owen, in last year's 5-day SPANK rally, and Vicki, who has twice finished among the top 25 in the Iron Butt Rally, would seem to have the best shot at a top ten finish.

The wide range of rally experience described above is consistent with the wide range of life experiences represented by the entrants. The riders range in age from their late 20s to their early 80s! Based on my review of the applications, the youngest rider appears to be Andy Mills, who is 28. Andy is a Powertrain Test Engineer for Polaris Industries, the company that builds the Victory Vision he will be riding. Andy has been riding motorcycles for about 17 years, longer than many of the riders in this rally that are decades older. He's done well in many endurance rallies, including taking first place in the Minnesota 1000. He was doing very well during the 2005 Iron Butt Rally until a tangle with a tire carcass on the very last day.

The oldest is 81 year old Hans Karlsson, who will be piloting a 900 pound Gold Wing. To give you an example of how his age has been slowing him down, in the last 5 years Hans made a 32,000 mile trip from his home in Louisiana to the tip of South America and back; a 12,000 mile trip to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and back; a 7,000 mile trip to Nova Scotia and back; a 16,000 mile tour of all 49 continental states; another 16,000 mile tour of Australia and New Zealand, and a 26,000 mile ride around the world, during which is rode in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Mongolia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, England, and Ireland. Just last year, he rode 25,000 miles while touring in Canada, Europe, and Africa.

The range of professions (or past professions for those who are retired) represented by this year's crop of riders is as broad as the range of ages. It includes accountants, advertising professionals, aircraft mechanics, airline pilots, air traffic controllers, architects, automotive parts and service department managers, chemists, chiropractors, college counselors, electricians, engineers, financial planners, firefighters, flight instructors, general contractors, geologists, graphic artists, gynecologists, heating and air conditioning contractors, information technology (IT) professionals, interior designers, investment advisors, janitors, journalists, lawyers, log home builders, machinists, management analysts, massage therapists, mechanics, military officers and personnel, motorcycle dealers, physician's assistants, pig farmers, police officers, portfolio managers, psychologists, psychotherapists, railroad workers, realtors, restaurant owners, sales managers, salesmen, software developers, stone masons, teachers, and truck drivers.

What brings this diverse group together is a common desire to compete in what has been billed as "The World's Toughest Motorcycle Competition." For some of them, the goal will be just to finish. Many others will be trying for a top 10 finish. More than a dozen riders probably think they have a shot at winning this thing. Some riders will undoubtedly have lowered their expectations by the time they are scored at the first checkpoint. Many riders will have lowered their expectations by the time they read the bonus listing for the first leg on Sunday night.

Tom Austin

August 17, 2007

Copyright © 2007 Iron Butt Rally, INC, Chicago, IL USA

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Bounce said:

The first BMW failure has been reported, too. "Richard Buber's having transmission trouble with his 2002 BMW R1150RT." They are asking for anyone in the country with a good tranny to ship to STL. They have a mechanic but not the parts.

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rickcorwn said:

Bounce said:

The first BMW failure has been reported, too. "Richard Buber's having transmission trouble with his 2002 BMW R1150RT." They are asking for anyone in the country with a good tranny to ship to STL. They have a mechanic but not the parts.

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Actually they have the parts, they're just in Atlanta and their looking for some one heading towards St Louis to haul them up there.

Anyone here??

Contact Bob Wooldridge

BMW of Atlanta

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The 2007 Iron Butt Rally Day -2Saturday, August 18, 2007

Today was the primary day for tech inspection and rider check-in for the 13th running of the Iron Butt Rally. The parking lot of the Doubletree Hotel in Chesterfield, Missouri is filled with motorcycles that are anything but a representative cross section of the motorcycles purchased by the general public. Cruisers and sport bikes dominate the U.S. motorcycle market. But cruisers are about style and sport bikes are about speed. The Iron Butt Rally is about efficiently riding long distances.

There have been some exceptional long distance rides done on cruisers and sport bikes, but they are just not the optimum type of motorcycle for this event. With the exception of Brett Donahue's extensively modified Harley-Davidson Sportster and Alan Bennetts 250 cc Kawasaki Ninja, everyone is riding a motorcycle in the "touring," "sport-touring," or "dual sport" category.

Among the touring bikes, the most popular models are Honda Gold Wings and BMW K1200LTs. In the sport-touring category, the most popular models are the Yamaha FJR1300, the BMW R1200RT and R1150RT, the BMW K1200GT, and the Honda ST1300 and ST1100. The most popular Dual-Sport models are the BMW R1200GS and R1150GS, the Suzuki DL1000 and DL650 (aka the V-Strom and the Wee-Strom).

Of the 97 motorcycles entered, there are 42 BMWs, 27 Hondas, 14 Yamahas, 5 Suzukis, 3 Kawasakis, 3 Harley-Davidsons, 1 Buell, 1 Triumph, and 1 Victory. The oldest is the 1972 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide ridden by Mark Collins. The newest are the 2008 Kawasaki Concours 14 ridden by Chris Cimino and the 2008 Victory Vision ridden by Andy Mills.

Honda's representation on the IBR starting line is roughly proportional to its share of the U.S. motorcycle market. In 2004, Honda had 29% of the market and about 28% of the riders in this year's rally will be on Hondas, but none of them are Hondas popular cruiser or sport bike models. The are all Gold Wings and STs, touring and sport-touring models that have a good reputation for reliability and have the alternator capacity necessary to run the auxiliary lights and heated clothing used by most Iron Butt Rally riders.

This year, Yamaha will also come close to matching its percentage of the U.S. motorcycle market, which is about 15%. When most motorcyclists think of Yamaha, they think of sport bikes like the awesome 1000 cc "R1" and the 600 cc YZF-R6 or cruisers marketed under the "Star" brand. There are exactly zero Yamaha sport bikes or cruisers entered. All 14 Yamahas are the FJR1300 sport-tourer.

Suzuki and Kawasaki are significantly under represented based on their share of the U.S. motorcycle market. The old Kawasaki Concours has been a great long distance bike for the money, but it is rather long of tooth. The company's representation in the IBR may increase with the all new Concours that has just been released. The new "Concours 14" wasnt really available in time to be fully prepped for the Rally, but hasnt stopped Chris Cimino. Chris will be riding a nearly showroom stock 2008 model Concours. He has done little more than add some auxiliary lights, bar risers, and a throttle lock.

Suzuki doesn't really build a touring or sport-touring bike. The 650 and 1000 cc V-Stroms are probably the best rally bikes they make.

The two makes that have the most dramatic difference between their U.S. market share and their percentage of the bikes on the starting grid are BMW and Harley. Harley had 28% of the U.S. market in 2004. Including the Buell, only 4% of bikes in this year's rally were produced by Harley-Davidson. The lower percentage is explained by the fact that Harley's touring bikes dont enjoy the same reputation other brands have in the areas of handling, braking, reliability, and performance.

BMW had 1.4% of the U.S. motorcycle market in 2004 and accounts for 43% of the starting grid this year. In other words, BMW is OVER-represented by a factor of 30 based on its market share. Although final drive reliability has been an issue in prior models, BMW builds some truly great motorcycles for long distance riding, including the K1200LT, the K1200GT, the R1200GS, and, my personal favorite, the R1200RT. BMW's tend to be lighter than the competition, have much higher alternator capacity, great ride and handling, stunning brakes, and good fuel economy.

A number of the motorcycles entered in the rally this year can be comfortably and efficiently ridden long distance right off of the showroom floor. But the vast majority of the motorcycles that went through tech inspection today are equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, upgraded lighting, GPS, and custom seats. Many have aftermarket windscreens, handlebar risers, throttle locks, aftermarket luggage, radar detectors, custom hydration systems with drinking tubes, 12-volt receptacles for heated clothing, tank bags with waterproof holders for maps and bonus listings, CB radios, and other communications gear. Tire pressure monitoring systems are installed on a number of motorcycles this year.

An example of the lengths that riders will go to in modifying their motorcycles is Rob Nyes BMW R1200RTP: https://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/IBRB/

The amount of electronic gadgetry on Robs bike is mind boggling.

The extensiveness of the modifications riders make to their motorcycles for long distance riding comes at a price. Most riders have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars preparing for this event. Some of the modifications are relatively simple; some are unbelievably complex.

A decent auxiliary fuel system can be assembled for a few hundred dollars if you start with an off-the-shelf high-density polyethylene tank and mount it to the sub-frame under the pillion seat. At the other end of the spectrum, I think I set the record for auxiliary fuel system extravagance in 1999 with the $4,000 I invested in a hand-formed aluminum "tail-dragger" cell for my K1200LT. That record has now been shattered. The custom Kevlar and carbon fiber tank that Bob and Silvie Torter had built to increase the fuel capacity of their K1200GT to 10.5 gallons looks like it came right out of the BMW factory. Its mounted on top of the stock tank, making it look like the bike has an enlarged OEM tank. The finish is flawless; the color matches the rest of bike perfectly. There are a number of motorcycles entered in this rally that cost less when they were brand new the cost of the Torters custom tank.

Although the Torters tank sailed through tech inspection, others werent so lucky. Rob Nye announced that he had a 0.1 gallon cushion, telling tech inspector Joe Denton that his custom auxiliary cell was designed to be exactly 4.4 gallons so that he would be at 11.4 when added to the 7.0 gallon capacity of the stock tank on his BMW R1200RT. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the look on Robs face when he was informed that the capacity of the stock tank on an R1200RT is 7.1 gallons, not 7.0. His 0.1 gallon cushion had just been converted to zero cushion requiring an actual fuel capacity measurement.

For the next two hours, Rob nervously awaited the official fuel capacity measurement. Joe Denton warmed up the electronic scale, carefully measured the specific gravity of the gasoline being used for the measurement, checked the calibration of the scale, and then weighed the fuel container before and after filling Robs cell. Rob struggled to do the math in his head while waiting for the laptop computer to be booted up that does all of the calculations automatically. The final result: a system total of 11.45 gallons, under the limit by 0.05 gallons.

Closer still to the limit was Dennis Powell. He declared the capacity of his auxiliary tank at 4.7 gallons. When added to the 6.6 gallon stock tank on his GL1800, the total should be 11.3, comfortably under the 11.5 gallon limit. But Denniss tank was a one-off product built by someone the tech inspection crew had never heard of. Since it wasnt an especially complex shape, Joe Denton calculated the volume from the external dimensions. Accounting for the wall thickness, the calculated volume was 5.1 gallons, putting him over the limit by 0.2 gallons. His use of the "Im just a poor pig farmer plea was useless. The tank would have to have the official test during which it is filled with gasoline. By removing a fuel filter from the system, Dennis was able to get his official reading down to 11.51 gallons, which rounds the 11.5 standard.

There were no close calls with the noise testing. Everyone passed with flying colors except for **** Fish. **** failed with flying colors, setting a new record for the noisiest motorcycle ever tested during Iron Butt Rally tech inspection. The aftermarket exhaust system on his Buell Ulysses was enough to wake the dead blasting out 113 decibels on the official test. The standard is 105. Because the decibel scale is non-linear, 113 is not just 8% louder than the standard. It was more than double the perceived loudness of any other motorcycle in the Rally.

Although he grumbled about the results, failing the noise test was obviously not a surprise to Mr. Fish. Why else would he have brought his stock exhaust system with him? It was sweaty work for **** in the parking lot, but the bike will be making much less of a racket when it leaves the starting line on Monday morning.

Most other problems identified during tech inspection were related to paper work. A surprising number of riders showed up with registration and insurance documents without matching vehicle identification numbers. That wasnt a problem for veteran Karol Patzer; because she totally forgot her registration papers for her 1988 BMW K75. Hopefully she will find some way come up with the necessary documentation. She has been looking forward to being part of the first mother-son team to finish the Iron Butt Rally. Her son Tony DeLorenzo will be riding with her on his 2007 R1200GS Adventure.

Several riders had serious problems today that were unrelated to tech inspection and check-in. Richard Bubers 2002 R1150RT is a sick puppy. The transmission began failing on his ride to Chesterfield. Several people of have been trying valiantly to arrange for an emergency transplant. The latest word is that a replacement transmission will arrive tomorrow and transplant surgery will be performed.

The Brunsvold father-son team of Arlen Sr. and Arlen Jr. no doubt expected that the Rally would bring them closer together. Turns out a bit too close. After getting though tech inspection just fine, Arlen Jr. T-boned Arlen Sr. out on a short ride to check out a rough running problem with the Arlen Srs. R1200RT. Neither Arlen Sr. nor his BMW R1200RT sustained damage that cant be quickly repaired. Arlen Jr. is also okay but his Harley-Davidson Road King is apparently out. Team Brunsvold has less than 24 hours to come up with a replacement for the Road King.

In addition to the problems the Brunsvolds and Richard Buber have to deal with, there are three riders yet to complete tech inspection. Paul Allison, a rider from Great Britain, didnt finish the installation of an auxiliary fuel tank on his rented Gold Wing early enough to get it inspected today. He has plenty of time tomorrow. Eric Jewell arrived too late to start the process today. Rick Miller isnt due in until tomorrow.

Following the completion of tech inspections and rider check-in, the riders meeting is at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. The pre-rally banquet begins at 5:00. The first leg bonus listing will probably handed out by about 6:30 p.m. Although the official start isnt until 10 a.m. on Monday, the Rally will really begin when the riders see the bonus listing. Many may be thinking they will have plenty of time to figure out an optimum route and then get a solid 8 hours sleep. They are wrong.

Tom Austin

August 18, 2007

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Warchild said:

Tech Inspection Day - This was BRUTAL for some of the entrants.....
Also note how EVERY SINGLE Yahama entered in the 2007 IBR is a FJR1300! B)

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2007 Iron Butt Rally, Day -1Sunday, August 19, 2007

Only three riders had to get through tech inspection today, but the

parking lot was still bustling with activity as many riders proceeded to

violate Rule Number 5 from the Iron Butt Association Archives of Wisdom:

"Avoid adding accessories or doing maintenance immediately before a

trip."

Actually, many of the riders violated the rule last week and are today

trying to fix problems that cropped up on their ride to the start of the

2007 Iron Butt Rally.

Chris McGaffin, who flew in from Ireland to ride the rally on a borrowed

Kawasaki Concours, posted a message today on the LD Riders list asking

for assistance with a buzzing noise in the bike's Autocom system.

Imagine that, a noise problem with a communication system.

Former top ten finisher Eric Jewell flunked tech inspection for failing

to have a ground on his auxiliary fuel tank. Fortunately for Eric,

electronics guru Roger Sinclair (www.irishspanner.com) volunteered to

pitch in and resolve his problem.

Thanks to Gateway BMW, Arlen Brunsvold, Sr. was able to get his R1200RT

repaired following the tangle with his son yesterday. Gateway did not

have the necessary parts in stock, so they stripped them off of a bike

on the showroom floor. Li'l Arlen will be on a new Harley-Davidson, but

it won't be ready for delivery until Monday morning. The father-son

team will be late for the start, but at least they are still in the

Rally. Starting a couple of hours late won't mean all that much over

the next 11 days.

Since yesterday, word has spread about **** Fish's record (and eardrum)

shattering exhaust system on his Buell Ulysses. **** failed the noise

test and had to replace his aftermarket exhaust with the stock system.

Several people were asking just how loud ****'s bike was. When someone

asked how it compared to a Screamin' Meanie, the crack tech inspection

team leapt into action. Matt Watkins volunteered his Meanie and set it

on its highest sound level. The sound meter was calibrated and placed

exactly the same 20 inch distance from the Meanie as the distance used

to test exhaust systems. Matt fired off the Meanie and everyone covered

their ears. I read the sound meter myself: 111 decibels, high enough to

cause permanent hearing loss, but no match for the Buell. ****'s 113

decibel reading will stand as the highest noise level ever measured

during tech inspection at the Iron Butt Rally for at least the next two

years.

Riders Meeting

The Riders Meeting started today at 2:30 p.m. Rider and journalist

Chris Cimino was called on to provide a briefing on how everyone needs

to be careful in talking with the press both during and after the rally.

His main message was to avoid being trapped into responding to questions

designed to create the impression that the Iron Butt Rally is a contest

of speed. Chris made it very clear that excessive speed or reckless

operation are grounds for disqualification and that anyone who claims to

have ridden in an unsafe or reckless manner will stripped of finisher

status should they be so fortunate to achieve that objective.

Chief Technical Inspector Dale "Warchild" Wilson explained the procedure

for the start tomorrow morning, during which odometers will be recorded

and rider identification tags will be punched. Riders were advised that

"you need to be at your motorcycle at 8:30 a.m." tomorrow morning. They

were then reminded that "you need to be at your motorcycle at 8:30 a.m."

On at least three other occasions, riders were told "you need to be at

your motorcycle at 8:30 a.m." Based on past experience, the question

rally staff has tonight is exactly how many riders will not be at their

motorcycle at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning and will end up being having to

wait until all other riders have left before their odometer check is

completed.

Ira Agins then informed the riders of some last minute changes to rules.

All of the couples riding 2-up were asked to stand. They were then

informed that, in this year's rally, one of the team members has to be

in every photo. A substantial amount of time was spent on the question

of what constitutes "daylight" when the bonus requires a photo to be

taken during daylight hours. Time was also spent on how to document a

"rest bonus" and when riders need to make corrections on a gas receipt.

Finally, Lisa advised riders "to not do something stupid" and to make a

safe return their highest priority.

Banquet

The banquet buffet began at 5:00 p.m. As riders were finishing their

dinners, Bob Higdon admonished them to make their highest priority

finishing safely and to, "Do what you can not to embarrass yourself."

He then spent several minutes reminiscing about some of the more

interesting events in past rallies.

Rallymaster Lisa Landry wasted no time in handing out the identification

flags and envelopes containing the bonus listings. Each rider was

called to the podium to receive their package in the order that the

rider numbers had been assigned. Rider number 1 was George Barnes,

winner of the 1999 Rally. Rider number 2 was Chris Sakala, the 2nd

place finisher last year. Rider number 3 was Jeff Earls, the 3rd place

finisher last year. Rider number 4 was Eric Jewell, three times a top

ten finisher. Rider number 5 was Marty Leir, twice in the top ten.

Number 6 went to Jim Owen, number 7 to Brett Donahue, number 8 to Alan

Barbic, number 9 to **** Fish, and number 10 Peter Leap. Although the

rationale for the rider number assignments was not stated, the first ten

numbers went to riders who are likely to finish at the top of the heap.

Rider after rider made the trek to the podium as their rider numbers

were called out. Numbers 11 through 19 went to nine riders whose

resumes indicate they have a good chance of placing near the top:

11 - Tom Loftus

12 - Andy Mills

13 - Jim Frens

14 - Tom Melchild

15 - John Langan

16 - Doug Chapman

17 - Chris Cimino

18 - Bob St. George

19 - Bill Thweatt

Numbers 20 through 30 went to riders who are riding together:

20 - Jim and Donna Phillips

21 - Tom and Rosie Sperry

22 - Bob and Silvie Torter

23 - Terry and Lynda Lahman

24 - Reiner and Lisa Kappenberger

25 - Karol Patzer

26 - Tony DeLorenzo, Karol's son

27 - Arlen Brunsvold, Jr.

28 - Arlen Brunsvold, Sr.

29 - Lisa Stevens

30 - Tobie Stevens, aka Mr. Lisa Stevens

Numbers 31 through 39 went to some of the riders from outside the U.S.:

31 - Paul Allison from the U.K.

32 - Gerhard Memmen-Krueger from Germany

33 - Chris McGaffin from Ireland

34 - Richard Keegan from Ireland

35 - Bill Watt from British Columbia, Canada

36 - Don Wescott from Nova Scotia, Canada

37 - Steve Broadhead, from Alberta, Canada

38 - Mike Hutsal, from Manitoba, Canada

39 - Stephan Bolduc from Quebec, Canada

The remaining numbers, which appear to have been assigned in no

particular order, were given to riders that range from top ten hopefuls

to "hope to finish":

40 - Robert Joers

41 - Vicki Johnston

42 - Don Kulwicki

43 - Mike Langford

44 - Greg Marbach

45 - Rick Martin

46 - Ken Morton

47 - Jim Mulcahy

48 - Peter Murray

49 - Bob Mueller

50 - Rick Neeley

51 - Rob Nye, introduced as "our rally's biggest techno geek"

52 - Glenn Pancoast

53 - **** Peek

54 - Paul Peloquin

55 - Dennis Powell

56 - Joel Rappoport

57 - Brian Roberts

58 - Alex Schmitt

59 - Mike Senty

60 - Jack Shoalmire

61 - Tom Skemp

62 - Jim Simonet

63 - Carl Stark

64 - John Tomasovitch

65 - Rebecca Vaughn

66 - Bill Wade

67 - Matt Watkins

68 - Jim Winterer

69 - Kendall Anderson

70 - Doug Bailey

71 - Michael Boge

72 - Mark Collins

73 - Art Garvin

74 - Maura Gatensby

75 - Mike Getzendanner

76 - Steve Branner

77 - Curt Gran

78 - Norm Grills

79 - Kevin Healey

80 - Dave Hinks

81 - Chip Hyde

82 - Don Jones

83 - Hans Karlsson

84 - Vance Keeney

85 - Homer Krout

86 - Mike Langford

87 - Alan Bennett

88 - David Bordeaux

89 - Mike Evans

90 - David Derrick

91 - Fred Droegemueller

92 - Richard Buber

93 - Gregg Burger

94 - Joe DeRyke

95 - Don Catterton

96 - Bob Collin

97 - Rick Miller

On second thought, there may have been some basis for the last number

being assigned to Rick Miller. In past rallies, that "honor" has

usually been reserved for someone who has managed to irritate the

rallymaster. I would like to provide specific information, but Lisa had

"no comment."

Following the rider number assignments, Michael Kneebone explained the

information contained on a sheet of paper that every rider had been

given entitled, "2007 Iron Butt Rally Medal Levels." He explained that

riders who want to be considered "finishers" need to try for about

70,000 total points on the first leg, consisting of 50,000 bonus points,

10,000 for a good fuel log, 7,155 points for a rest bonus, and 2,000

points for a call-in bonus. To earn bronze, silver, or gold medals, the

required point targets increase significantly.

Leg 1 Bonus Listing, Who is "Manly" Enough for Goose Bay?

When the riders were instructed to open the envelope containing the

bonus listings for the fist leg, those who were hoping to get some

routing help from friends back home were dismayed to see that the bonus

listings were printed on red paper. Kneebone then asked, "Does

everybody understand what red paper does when you try to fax it."

Kneebone then reviewed some of the first bonuses in the massive Leg 1

bonus listing. The first bonus is good for 52,000 points, but it

requires a picture of your motorcycle in front of the Arizona Memorial

at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Obviously, no one will

be able to ride to the West coast, obtain round trip transportation for

their motorcycle to Hawaii, and make it back to the checkpoint on time.

Kneebone acknowledged that this bonus is impossible and made the point

that it has been included to make riders realize exactly that: don't

assume all of the bonuses are possible.

Assigning 52,000 points to Oahu was just part of the mind game being

played. If a 52,000 point bonus is impossible, then who in their right

mind would give a second thought to a bonus worth 75,527 points?

Perhaps the leader at the end of Leg 1, who will earn 75,527 points for

a picture of their motorcycles in front of the sign at the Goose Bay

ferry terminal in Labrador, Canada.

Most of the bonus codes used in the bonus listing are cryptic

alpha-numeric character strings (e.g., ME, RM, R6) to assist with data

entry at the checkpoint. The bonus code for Goose Bay, Labrador is

"MANLY."

The round trip to Goose Bay and back is 4,456 miles. Based on mileage,

it sounds doable, but the pavement ends long before Goose Bay. Based on

the default speeds in a typical mapping program, riders can expect their

average speed while moving to be only 48 mph. An estimated 92 hours are

required for the round trip because there are a lot of miles on dirt

roads. The last 675 miles to Goose Bay is mostly dirt. Based on

default speeds, there is time for only 13 hours for rest from Monday

morning until Friday night. But averaging just a few miles per hour

above the default speeds could provide a few more hours of rest time.

Plowing through 123 separate bonuses will take a long time, but riders

will eventually figure out that anyone who can make Goose Bay will be at

the front of the pack at the end of Leg 1. **** Fish is one of the few

people on the planet that has already ridden to Goose Bay. He is also

one of the most experienced dirt riders in the Rally. He has a chance

to make it. He also has the guts to try it. Tomorrow morning we will

find out if **** or anyone else is going to give it a shot.

Another high point bonus in Canada is Perce Rock, which is worth 33,000

points. It's available only about 4 hours each day during daylight low

tide. Perce Rock might look like an attractive turn around point for

riders who are not willing to risk Goose Bay. A round trip to Perce

Rock is only 3,518 miles and it doesn't involve dirt roads. Other

bonuses have to be chosen carefully because of the narrow windows during

which the Perce Rock bonus is available, but there is plenty of time to

add other bonuses on the trip up and back. The riders were all given

tide charts at the banquet and Rob Nye was called to the podium to

explain how to read them. Everyone knows that daylight low tide at

Perce Rock occurs at about 1 p.m. local time.

Most riders won't give a second thought to Goose Bay and many will be

concerned about building a route around Perce Rock. Less risk is

associated with a Southern loop with a turn-around in Key West. In past

years, Key West has always been a "sucker bonus." Will that be the case

again this year? During the 2005 rally, Key West was a popular choice

on the first leg because it was big points for a simple ride with

relatively few other bonus options to complicate route planning. That's

not the case this year. There are more than a dozen high point bonuses

that can be easily scored on the way to Key West and back.

Regardless of the turn around point they choose, virtually every rider

is going to head for Gateway Arch to score their first bonus of the

rally. At 3,565 points, it's too big to ignore given its proximity to

the starting line. Since it's only a 23 mile ride to the Arch, and

since the bonus is only available during the first 3 hours after the

start, there will likely be a parade of over 90 motorcycles all headed

for exactly the same spot. When everyone lines up to obtain a receipt

from the Arch parking structure, it's going to be more of a mob scene

than the start of the rally. But it's going to be the easiest 3,565

points on the leg. It's a "must do" bonus for any rider who is thinking

clearly.

Dean Tanji's son, Colin, will be waiting for the parade to arrive at the

Arch tomorrow morning with his camera rolling. The video should be

priceless.

Tom Austin

August 18, 2007

Copyright © 2007, Iron Butt Rally, Inc., Chicago, IL

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2007 Iron Butt Rally, Day 1Monday, August 20, 2007

There has never been a more dramatic start for an Iron Butt Rally than occurred this morning in Chesterfield, Missouri. Although there were threatening skies all morning, there was little more than a light mist in the air as staff members recorded outgoing odometer readings and I collected information from the riders regarding their basic route plans. We walked down two long rows of motorcycles arranged side-by-side, one row facing the other with an empty parking lot aisle in between.

A ten minute riders meeting began at 9:45 a.m. during which Chief Technical Inspector Dale Wilson reviewed the starting procedures one last time and Rallymaster Lisa Landry announced a few minor corrections to the Leg 1 bonus listing. Following Lisa's comments, Dale told all of the riders to mount up and be prepared to exit the parking lot one-by-one when he pointed to them. At the very instant the meeting ended, the deluge began.

It didn't just start raining, it started pouring with the intensity that causes cars to pull off of the freeway and wait it out on the side of the road because windshield wipers won't keep up. Dale, Lisa, and other rally staff that were working the start were soaking wet in less than a minute. (To the surprise of Bob Higdon and many riders, Lisa did NOT melt.)

Riders and staff alike were no doubt contemplating whether the cloudburst was some sort of omen. But almost as soon as it had begun, it quickly tapered off to a light drizzle just a minute before the start, leaving the superstitious to ponder the mixed message being sent from above.

At exactly 10:00 a.m. Dale pointed to Rob Nye; "Go!" Next was **** Fish; "Go!" One by one they pulled into the center aisle and headed for the exit where the Chesterfield Police Department had stopped all other traffic and provided a clear path to U.S. 40, the nearest limited access roadway.

Another new record was established. 94 motorcycles crossed the starting line in 4 minutes and 59 seconds; 1 motorcycle every 3 seconds.

Reiner and Lisa Kappenberger's Gold Wing was the only motorcycle left sitting on the starting grid. The battery had died and it wouldn't start. Following a jump start, the Kappenbergers continued on to the Gateway Arch. Five miles down the road the bike died. Reiner took a taxi to purchase a new battery while Lisa stood guard over the bike. After installing the battery on the side of road, they continued to the Arch, scoring the bonus before the end of the time window.

The Brunsvold father and son team also failed to leave the starting line on time. They were still at the local Harley dealer where Li'l Arlen's new-to-him Road Glide was being prepared. Thanks to the not quite lightening-like speed with which the dealer transferred the auxiliary fuel tank from the old bike to the new one, it was almost 5 p.m. when they finally rolled out of the parking lot. They were still planning to make Perce Rock. Hopefully, they can make schedule changes as necessary as the week progresses.

Doug Chapman's FJR1300 left the starting line on time, but all was not well. His alternator was producing less than 12 volts at idle. Even at elevated rpm he wasn't seeing more than 12.5 volts, significantly below the normal reading of 14 volts. The only person more concerned about this situation than Doug is Dale Wilson. If the FJRs don't prove to be more reliable than the BMWs in this year's rally, Dale is going to require Prozac.

Off to Gateway Arch

As expected, almost every rider headed for the 3,565 point bonus at Gateway Arch, the famous St. Louis landmark. (**** Peek is the only rider who told me he was definitely not heading to the Arch because he was going to try to make New Orleans before dark.) The bonus instructions for the Arch are as follows:

Take a photo of the large display entitled "The Builders" and bring a receipt from the Arch Parking Structure. Located on the bank of the Mississippi River in eastern Missouri just north of the intersection of I-55/I-70/I-64. Parking is available in the Arch Parking Structure on Washington Avenue, just east of I-70. The display in located in the Visitor Center under the Arch.

The parking structure is at the north end of the arch. There are entrances to the underground Visitor Center at both the north and south ends of the arch. Even though it's only a few hundred feet away, you can't see the south entrance when walking to the north entrance. So all the riders headed for the north entrance. As they walked down the steps to the entrance they got their first surprise of the rally; everyone has to go through a metal detector to gain entrance. It's sensitive enough to detect keys, cell phones, pocket knives, and numerous other items that the riders were carrying.

As the riders waited in the queue that forms at the metal detector, Lisa, my wife Helen, and I had a leisurely drive to the Arch and walked to the south entrance where there was no line. We got right in and walked to the large mural where the riders needed to take their bonus photo. A number of riders had already made it through security and were busy taking their photos. Several riders who were just walking in looked at us in stunned amazement and asked, "How did you beat us here?"

The normal tourists in the Visitor Center seemed quite puzzled at the scene they were observing. There were piles of riding suits and helmets strewn everywhere. Several of the tourists approached the three of us to ask questions, probably because we were relatively normal looking people who seemed to be acquainted with the weirdoes in the funny outfits running around with the Polaroid cameras. We were asked questions like, "Why are all of these people with the snowmobile suits taking pictures of flags with numbers on them?" But the absolute best question we got was, "Is this some sort of a senior citizens tour?" Some of these bystanders were quite observant.

We hadn't been in the visitor center for 2 minutes when Lisa noticed a Polaroid 600 sitting on a trash can. Someone had apparently left the camera behind. George Barnes noticed it too and made some comment about the rookie mistake that had obviously been made. George had already gotten his photo and hustled off to his next destination.

20 minutes later, the Polaroid remained unclaimed. Then we noticed George Barnes coming back from the direction of the parking garage. George sheepishly picked his helmet off the floor where he had left it.

As Jeff Earls was leaving with his bonus photo, he suggested this bonus should have been named "the goat rodeo."

Where They Are Headed

I didn't get a chance to talk to every rider before the start today, but I did get basic routing plans from over 80% of the riders. Based on my survey, about 60% of the pack is headed for the 33,000 points available at Perce Rock. A little under 20% of the riders are headed for Key West and a little under 20% are doing a loop somewhere in the Northeast, Southeast, and or Midwest that does not involve either Perce Rock or Key West.

A single rider is headed for Goose Bay and it's not **** Fish. It turns out that Chip Hyde is the only rider who thinks he is manly enough for the Goose Bay bonus (which is code named "MANLY"). He's an Iron Butt Rally rookie and relative unknown. When I mention that Chip Hyde is the only rider going to Goose Bay, the next question is usually, "Is he riding a GS?" It's interesting to see the look I get when I say, "No, he's on a Gold Wing." "You have got to be kidding me," is what I hear next.

Nobody I've talked to thinks a rookie on a Gold Wing has a snowball's chance in hell of making it to Goose Bay and back. But this is someone who has ridden the infamous Haul Road between Fairbanks, AK and Prudhoe Bay. Maybe he is going to surprise everyone. It would be one of the greatest accomplishments ever achieved in the history of the Iron Butt Rally if he pulls it off.

I asked **** Fish why he changed his mind about Goose Bay. He said, "It's not a good choice. I would have to average 53 mile per hour from here to Goose Bay and back and do nothing else. I would be fried and I would have abused my motorcycle on the first leg." I responded, "Do you realize how many people you are disappointing?" **** replied, "Do I give a ****? I'm riding this for me." **** had obviously come to his senses since declaring that he was going for Goose Bay on the previous day.

Perce Rock is obviously a much easier bonus than Goose Bay, but it does require dealing with a fairly narrow time window. The bonus instructions are as follows:


This bonus requires two photos.


 
Photo #1: Take a picture of Perce Rock from the bottom of the stairway. Your ID flag does NOT have to be present in this photo. This photo must show that the tide is out! These are fast moving tides; no wading this year Tom! Depending on weather conditions, you may access Perce Rock for approximately 2 hours before and 2 hours after low tide.
 
Photo #2: Walk out to Perce Rock, place your flag on the rock and take a closer photo.
 
WARNING: This bonus requires a short walk across the ocean floor; however, the footing is treacherous and should not be attempted unless the water has subsided during a low tide. Tides in this area are extreme and fast-changing, rising 6 to 8 feet per hour! Perce is located on the eastern end of the Gaspe Peninsula on Provincial Rte-132. To get to the access stairwell, turn right on Rue Biard.

In contrast, the Key West bonus is available 24 hours a day. It's worth far fewer points (8,999), but there are many relatively high point bonuses that can be bagged along the way.

The people headed for Perce Rock include seven of the riders assigned numbers 1 through 10: Chris Sakala, Jeff Earls, Eric Jewell, Marty Leir, Jim Owen, **** Fish, and Peter Leap. Rider number 1, George Barnes, and rider number 7, Brett Donahue, are headed for Key West. Rider number 8, Alan Barbic is taking a loop that includes the Midwest and Northeast, but not Perce Rock.

Seven of the next nine riders are also headed for Perce Rock. They are Tom Loftus, Andy Mills, Jim Frens, John Langan, Doug Chapman, Bob St. George, and Bill Thweatt. Tom Melchild and Chris Cimino are doing routes that involve neither Perce Rock nor Key West.

Four of the five 2-up teams are heading for Perce Rock too. They are Jim and Donna Phillips, Tom and Rosie Sperry, Bob and Silvie Torter, and Reiner and Lisa Kappenberger. Terry and Lynda Lahman are headed for Key West.

If the majority are right, a route based around Perce Rock is likely to produce a greater number of points than a route based around Key West. The likelihood of the majority being right would seem to be reinforced by the fact that routing guru Jim Owen is headed in the same direction. But, perhaps George Barnes has found a way to make more points out of a Key West-based route. Maybe Chip Hyde will surprise everyone and return from Goose Bay with 75,527 points. We will know a lot more in two days when the riders call in to report their progress.

Tom Austin

August 20, 2007

Copyright © 2007, Iron Butt Rally, Inc., Chicago, IL

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