2009 Iron Butt Rally - Official Daily Reports

[Codive]

****, Iggy is now farther away than SkooterG.... me no likee....
SPOT snapshot as of 8:40 pm PDT.... less than 12 hours remaining.....

Who is ""NW"? I don't know anyones SPOT ID :blink:

 

[dcarver]

In checking Iggy's possible routes back to Spokane, almost any road he chooses will have plenty of forest rats to worry about. Both he and Scooter will probably cross at the 24-hour Eastgate border crossing onto US-95, which should be quick.

They better not choose Porthill border crossing. It closes at 11 pm. Then again, if a rider crossed Porthill at 11, could they make Spokane 0700 PST? This is why I don't do this rally stuff, :lol:

 

[Bounce]

Wondering what I used to do with all the spare time I used to have, before getting addicted to news of this rally? Will there be some kind of program to help us with the withdrawals, when it's all over?

yes. There are many 24 hour rallies running each year. Sing up and ride some of them.

 

[Allan B]

Davo is, I hear, WEST of Lethbridge which has, again, sent my "possible" routes out the window. Is he doing the IBA National Parks tour as well? :lol:

Cheers,

Allan

 

[tcfjr]

They better not choose Porthill border crossing. It closes at 11 pm. Then again, if a rider crossed Porthill at 11, could they make Spokane 0700 PST? This is why I don't do this rally stuff, :lol:

On Google Maps, they give two choices for Iggy's route from Edmonton to Spokane. The first is Hwy 2 south to Calgary, then west on TC-1 past Banff, then south on 93 to 95, over the border at Eastport, then US-95 to Coeur d'Alene, with a quick 35 miles on US-90 into Spokane. I've been on 93 from Banff to Radium Hot Springs at night, and it was crawling with vermin - my rental car almost got sideswiped by a moose that was a foot taller than the car. I'm not sure how fast you could reasonably expect to go on that road at night, no matter how good your aux lights are.

The second route is Hwy 2 south past Calgary to Fort MacLeod, then west on Hwy 3 over Crowsnest Pass to Cranbrook, then south on 95 like the other route. This adds 10 miles, but: a) Hwy 2 is mostly on the plains; B) parts of Hwy 3 have protective fences; and c) there will be a lot more traffic on those roads than on Hwy 93 up north, so it should be a faster route.

Either way, it will be take a serious effort - but he's done it before.

 

[dcarver]

QUOTE (Allan B @ Sep 3 2009, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Davo is, I hear, WEST of Lethbridge which has, again, sent my "possible" routes out the window. Is he doing the IBA National Parks tour as well? :lol:
Cheers,

Allan
Is Davo TurboDave or another Dave?

 

[Allan B]

QUOTE (Allan B @ Sep 3 2009, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Davo is, I hear, WEST of Lethbridge which has, again, sent my "possible" routes out the window. Is he doing the IBA National Parks tour as well? :lol:
Cheers,

Allan
Is Davo TurboDave or another Dave?

Davo is the Aussie, "Davo" Jones on the C-14. Since he be from Downunder I have been keen to follow his rally in particular.

I have no idea where TurboDave is, unfortunately.

Cheers,

Allan

 

[Udjeni]

QUOTE (Allan B @ Sep 3 2009, 10:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Davo is, I hear, WEST of Lethbridge which has, again, sent my "possible" routes out the window. Is he doing the IBA National Parks tour as well? :lol:
Cheers,

Allan
Is Davo TurboDave or another Dave?

No, Davo is an Aussie riding a Kwak.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

They better not choose Porthill border crossing. It closes at 11 pm. Then again, if a rider crossed Porthill at 11, could they make Spokane 0700 PST? This is why I don't do this rally stuff, :lol:

On Google Maps, they give two choices for Iggy's route from Edmonton to Spokane. The first is Hwy 2 south to Calgary, then west on TC-1 past Banff, then south on 93 to 95, over the border at Eastport, then US-95 to Coeur d'Alene, with a quick 35 miles on US-90 into Spokane. I've been on 93 from Banff to Radium Hot Springs at night, and it was crawling with vermin - my rental car almost got sideswiped by a moose that was a foot taller than the car. I'm not sure how fast you could reasonably expect to go on that road at night, no matter how good your aux lights are.

The second route is Hwy 2 south past Calgary to Fort MacLeod, then west on Hwy 3 over Crowsnest Pass to Cranbrook, then south on 95 like the other route. This adds 10 miles, but: a) Hwy 2 is mostly on the plains; B) parts of Hwy 3 have protective fences; and c) there will be a lot more traffic on those roads than on Hwy 93 up north, so it should be a faster route.

Either way, it will be take a serious effort - but he's done it before.

I did the latter route (for the most part) last month. I wouldn't want to do it in the dark, and mostly two lanes if I remember correctly. Well patrolled. But I've seen Iggy's Aux lights in action... absolutely blinding. And he's certainly an excellent rider.

 

[Allan B]

They better not choose Porthill border crossing. It closes at 11 pm. Then again, if a rider crossed Porthill at 11, could they make Spokane 0700 PST? This is why I don't do this rally stuff, :lol:

On Google Maps, they give two choices for Iggy's route from Edmonton to Spokane. The first is Hwy 2 south to Calgary, then west on TC-1 past Banff, then south on 93 to 95, over the border at Eastport, then US-95 to Coeur d'Alene, with a quick 35 miles on US-90 into Spokane. I've been on 93 from Banff to Radium Hot Springs at night, and it was crawling with vermin - my rental car almost got sideswiped by a moose that was a foot taller than the car. I'm not sure how fast you could reasonably expect to go on that road at night, no matter how good your aux lights are.

The second route is Hwy 2 south past Calgary to Fort MacLeod, then west on Hwy 3 over Crowsnest Pass to Cranbrook, then south on 95 like the other route. This adds 10 miles, but: a) Hwy 2 is mostly on the plains; B) parts of Hwy 3 have protective fences; and c) there will be a lot more traffic on those roads than on Hwy 93 up north, so it should be a faster route.

Either way, it will be take a serious effort - but he's done it before.

I did the latter route (for the most part) last month. I wouldn't want to do it in the dark, and mostly two lanes if I remember correctly. Well patrolled. But I've seen Iggy's Aux lights in action... absolutely blinding. And he's certainly an excellent rider.

The way Aussie Davo was heading, I think he may be taking the second part of the second route (above) on Highway 3. That looks to be quite hilly and bush covered - not all that flash at night?

I wish him safe passage and anyone else contemplating this route.

Anyone else heard anything about other riders?

Cheers,

Allan

 

[BIODSL]

Dan Schutter and I were kicking tire in the parking lot of the Red Lion when who shows up...TurboDave! He made it in at about 11 pm looking pretty tired but not having lost his sense of humor. He's convince he doesn't have enough points to be consider and official finisher, but I have to say I'm pretty damned impressed he's here at all after how hard the heat hit him before CP 2. He's grabbing some zzzzs before scoring at 4 am.

 

[Cal24Master]

I just talked to Alan. He is just past Billings Montana with 531 miles to go in a little less than 7 hours. He is going to be well into penalty points, but should be a finisher. He is well aware that he headed right through the same section of I94 where Eddie James hit the deer on the last day of the IBR in 2003. It is going to be extremely close.

Mark Crane is just outside of Tacoma Washington. He is about 400 miles from Spokane.

Matt is about 350 miles out, but has the border crossing at Eastport to deal with.

The Eastport crossing is open 24 hours, but here is something to think about: I know of at least 7 rider that are all going to be going through customs there in the next few hours. These riders include the leaders, Jeff Earls and Jim Owens. In the past, IBR riders have not been exactly welcomed with open arms at the border crossings. None of them are going to be going unnoticed at this time of day. The first ones through may not be causing any red flags, but the later ones could very well get delayed. It will be interesting.

 

[Allan B]

Wow! Thanks for the updates folks. Good to hear that TurboDave is home and safe. Boy, there is a bunch of guys 'n gals still out there in the dark... I hope and pray that they, too, make it back in one piece.

I suspect Aussie Davo is still in the hills somewhere in Canada, my guess is around Elko area.

We wait some more

Cheers,

Allan

 

[Cal24Master]

As we count down, as far as I can tell the following riders are all in the same 50 mile stretch of road: Bob and Sylvie Torter, Maura, George Barnes, Matt, Greg, Jim Owen and Jeff Earls. They should all be hitting the Eastport crossing in the next 2-3 hours.

 

[Allan B]

As we count down, as far as I can tell the following riders are all in the same 50 mile stretch of road: Bob and Sylvie Torter, Maura, George Barnes, Matt, Greg, Jim Owen and Jeff Earls. They should all be hitting the Eastport crossing in the next 2-3 hours.

If I am guessing right, Davo should have about 350km left to go to Spokane and will be coming down that same stretch of road to the Eastport crossing. Maybe one and a half to two hours before he gets there and another two hours to Spokane? How's my guessing?

It could be a busy night for those stationed there

Cheers,

Allan

Edit: Time there is now about 0200 hrs PDT? DO I have that right?

 

[Cal24Master]

Right now I see Skooter between Coleman and Sparwood, Iggy, George, Jim Owen and Jeff Earls are all between Sparwood and Elko, Maura is past Moyie and the Torters have been at the crossing for about a half hour. It is hard to tell for sure until the next updates come.

 

[FJR Steve]

Where's Davo (Aussie Dave) Tom?

 

[Allan B]

Mmmmm... Skooter has a very long night in front of him, he will need to be careful. The next four have not so long a night but still a fair bit of riding to do, for sure. The others seem to be on target to get back comfortably (I hope).

Thanks for the updates Tom. I have nothing concrete to add, I am just working out approximate position based on what I can glean form other posts and marking it off on Google Earth. So I guess Davo is a little South of Cranbrook by now unless he has taken a power nap somewhere.

These folks have got to be getting a tad weary about now.

Fingers crossed for all of them.

Cheers,

Allan

 

[Warchild]

Well, it's 2:30 am, and I am walking down to the Finish Line..... it is Time! B)

 

[beemerdons]

Well, it's 2:30 am, and I am walking down to the Finish Line..... it is Time! B)

Thanks Dale for all of your hard work in keeping The Faithful informed. I have been up once an hour to check the progress.