FJRForum Official 2015 Iron Butt Rally Tracking/Analysis thread

[Jaugie]

Picked up 2 new friend request I assume were from here, But I cannot share to your FB wall you will have to watch it from my page sorry.

 

[Ignacio]

I'm seeing places in play including Canyon de Chelly NM, White Sands NM, Mes Verde NP, and a variety of other places usually green on maps.

Thanks to Tobie for permission to use few spiffy pictures to post here:

Commander Warchild telling the various motorcycle pilots how they will depart the parking lot at 10 a.m. including a reminder that any bike that fails to launch will be thrown over the side of the ship into the sea.

I was the first motorcycle out in 2013, but I can assure you the bike in front of me was not as well equipped as this ABQ NMSP police bike is in 2015!

My personal favorite of a red amongst the sea of gray, graphite, an midnight blues. It's also gratifying to see Warchild's knees are performing without having to exercise any warranty claims to date.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Haha...I found myself in that first picture, as I was there for the start.

Also, those are NMSP bikes, not APD. That specific bike belongs to Motor Trans which is a division of State Police but concentrates on commercial trucks. They will stop non-commercial vehicles, but usually give more leeway as their primary assignment is big trucks.

 

[Dan S]

someones taking a "short cut" on Summit Rd. (201) they are about 10 miles west of Fort Defiance and I assume headed north toward Canyon de Chelly NM - only 27 more miles of dirt road. I'll bet they get dishonorable mention in today's official report.

And 2 riders deep into Mesa Verde. i hope that's worth a lot of point because it takes forever to drive thru that place.

 

[Tyler]

What happened to all the colorful hair do's?? Just temporary color? Thought they might have to do the whole rally with the dye jobs... :lol:

 

[Ignacio]

The first dispatch now that riders are underway has been released!

Oh my!

 

[BluesCruiser]

Another excellent report from Chris! reading between the lines a bit we can "guess" a few things about the boni...

>The photo-bonus at Petrified Forest was apparently not worth waiting around for for many of the Westward-Ho Riders.
>Looks like riders are having to collect stamps from at least some of the bonus parks. Ranger Diane at the Petroglyph visitor's center said they were collecting stamps, and why else would those 2 lonely riders ride that LONG and SLOW road up to the visitors' center at Mesa Verde! That is definitely going to make it interesting.
>At least 1 rider (know anyone with a SPOT home on the Isle of Man?) is definitely choosing his or her own journey down through country roads; toward Carlsbad NP perhaps?

 

[SFCJCA]

Another excellent report from Chris! reading between the lines a bit we can "guess" a few things about the boni...
>The photo-bonus at Petrified Forest was apparently not worth waiting around for for many of the Westward-Ho Riders.

>Looks like riders are having to collect stamps from at least some of the bonus parks. Ranger Diane at the Petroglyph visitor's center said they were collecting stamps, and why else would those 2 lonely riders ride that LONG and SLOW road up to the visitors' center at Mesa Verde! That is definitely going to make it interesting.

>At least 1 rider (know anyone with a SPOT home on the Isle of Man?) is definitely choosing his or her own journey down through country roads; toward Carlsbad NP perhaps?

I wonder if the riders realized the one hour time difference between AZ and NM. There are a lot of riders at the Petrified Forest a little early.

 

[Colin24]

To be a finisher of the 2015 Iron Butt Rally, a rider must visit 50 US national parks in 25 states before 10 AM (MDT), July 10, 2015

When I ran in the IBR 2011 we had to visit all lower 48. It wasn't till the second day where it dawned on me to do this but I took a piece of paper and listed all 48 states on it. Then as I finished each state I crossed it off the list. I did _not_ want to miss a state. This ended up being a lifesaver as I could quickly look down and see just how far along I was on the overall rally at any point.

If I were running this year I would have a similar piece of paper (or sharpie on the windscreen) . Every time I bagged a State Park I would add 1 to the count of parks. Then I would write down the state I was in (if I hadn't already done so). This would give you an easily read running total of where you are in achieving your goal at any one time.

You would not want to be the one who misses by just one (read the reports for 2011 if your curious). You dont want to show up with 50 parks in 24 states, or 49 parks in 26 states. And I am willing to bet when its all said and done there will be at least one person who makes a mistake on their math. It will really suck for them, but will make a great story . We will see in 11 days.....

- Colin

 

[Ignacio]

And I am willing to bet when its all said and done there will be at least one person who makes a mistake on their math. It will really suck for them, but will make a great story

.

That's foreshadowing I hope doesn't come true......ick. Great idea though, maybe some rider(s) might be lurking here.

I found myself in a similar situation in 2007 as I was doing the call-in bonuses and debating myself on voice mail which day of the rally it was. I found myself making IIII III type hasmarks on my SPOT unit with a Sharpie to keep track.

Meanwhile, I predict Crane will go specially out of his way to snag M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I this year.

 

[Hello Kitty]

I'm assuming more than 25 states, or more than 50 parks would be acceptable as well? Limiting them to 50 seems cruel - if one isn't accepted, it would be too devastating! But it could have a serious impact on park choices!

 

[Ignacio]

I'm assuming more than 25 states, or more than 50 parks would be acceptable as well? Limiting them to 50 seems cruel - if one isn't accepted, it would be too devastating! But it could have a serious impact on park choices!

I'd assume (or at least wager) it's a minimum too.

If you're one of those sniffy type pooches (as Chris better alliterates in his dispatches) I would imagine Tom spent hours of main-frame time designing in rewards for riding efficiency. It could be that a winning route is the right 25 states and the right 50 parks....while a 2nd place route could be 25 states and 51 parks...or 26 states and 50 parks. The mind boggles.

I wonder if Mr. Owen still has a smile on his face and how many helmet fires there are at this very moment?

I like to think as the field of SPOT-minions is peeling off into increasingly fractal directions Mr. Austin's Leg 1 Excel spreadsheet is currently hewing close to his evil plan.

 

[LKLD]

162 and 141 have gone rogue.

 

[BluesCruiser]

It just struck me that for those of us who have not yet done the IBA 50/25 Parks Challenge, this IBR is going to provide some really excellent guidance!

 

[Hello Kitty]

You probably mean to be funny, but I disagree. You have an entire year to do the NPT and it is so worth spending time in these wonderful places, that you'd be nuts to stamp and dash. At least watch the movie most parks have and browse the visitor's center. Spend some time on the back roads, etc. These rider ain't doing any of that!

 

[Cherrybark]

Davis Mountains State Park followed by Big Bend National Park and maybe Big Bend Ranch State Park out in West Texas are interesting destination to watch for "The Rogue Rider".

And, as other have commented before, thank you to the FJR Forum community for this excellent forum thread.

 

[Jaugie]

Davis Mountains State Park followed by Big Bend National Park and maybe Big Bend Ranch State Park out in West Texas are interesting destination to watch for "The Rogue Rider".
And, as other have commented before, thank you to the FJR Forum community for this excellent forum thread.

I think you can leave the state parks off the list.

 

[Ignacio]

This is a cool group photo. Many riders in that picture at Petrified Forest National Monument this afternoon. I see the 01 flag in there, many others, and interestingly NOT some others. Hmmmm.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

That is a very cool photo. All that rain in the background over the desert must be because of the gathering of motorcycles. I know I cannot ride mine anywhere without causing rain.

 

[RenoJohn]

image

This looks like it may be a great event to follow ...getting organized on this end. Still building a few cheat-sheets to help folow the action..here is a snapshot of what things look like now.

Seemingly minimum # national parks + minimum # state qty. What fun

+ picture match and most bonuses not confined to a single leg. Can't help but wonder if point values will change over the course of time?

Much of this kinda sounds familiar!

Cheers to all riders,and safe miles and many smiles.

RJ (btw when was the last time I posted? is this facebook? BubblerGPS? Myspace?)