I am glad to see that everyone enjoyed following along with the madness. Everyone was lucky to have the IBR vets in the room adding some context to what you are following. Some of what they were surmising was even true
This was my second IBR, the first one being in 2013, ridden on a BMW R1200GS Adventure.
My initial thoughts on the rally:
- The theme added to an incredible IBR experience. I can't count the number of amazing roads I found myself on as I approached a national park/monument/battlefield/etc... My Leg 1 ride was more scenic than some vacation rides that I have purposely planned. Now, I will admit I felt some initial trepidation once I realized what the format would be since the legs were not going to be discrete events. Things you did on the earlier legs would affect your actions on later legs--and most importantly we had incomplete information since point changes to the bonuses on later legs would determine if you pursued the right strategy early on.
- I would like to offer my congratulations to RiderX, DaJuice, and Lipps. All three had a world class performances on Leg 3.
- Al Holtsberry is the man. Amazing that a 79 year old rode that rally like a champ. I saw him several times in high temperatures during Leg 1 and he was just trucking along with a great attitude. I always smiled when I saw that stock, red FJR while I was on the road.
- I admire the long ride that the four bikes made the last night from Little Big Horn in Montana. I think many LDRiders can make that ride under ideal conditions, but the last night of the IBR is not ideal conditions. If you get too tired to remain on the road, you must pull off and take a break, and all four of them risked not finishing the rally in order to get those last points. It gave Jon and Ande a podium finish and the distinction of being the highest placing two-up couple in IBR history.
- This was my first rally on the FJR; I hadn't even had time to run a 24-36 hour rally on it prior to the IBR. My first impressions of the FJR is that it will take any abuse you can give it and keep on ticking. I prefer the ergonomics of my old GS, but I enjoy the performance, quickness, and speed of the FJR. I also wanted super-reliable and I have no complaints.
- Madco throttle lock is a perfect design and by far the best throttle lock I have ever used.
- Tires:
- I used a car tire on the rear and only had about 7,000 miles experience using it prior to the start. My thoughts was that (1) I was fairly certain that I could not make it through the rally on a single rear tire, (2) at the end of the day, there are many interstate miles during the typical IBR, and (3) I never want to risk an unplanned tire change on the IBR so that left me with no choice of doing a planned wheel change or using a car tire. I can say with certainty that using a car tire on an event like the IBR (11 intensive days of riding), is absolutely more tiring than using a motorcycle tire. I had to use much more pressure on the handlebars throughout, regardless of what type of road I was on. I felt it in the palms of my hands, in my triceps, and in my traps. It also just isn't as fun as riding on a motorcycle tire. I can't really say what I would do next time until next time happens, but as of right now, I would probably have a wheel ready and do a rear wheel swap at one of the checkpoints. Having said all that, I did enjoy the confidence that the car tire gave me during some torrential downpours.
- Front tire was a PR4 GT. It is severaly cupped after the rally. The last 24 hours it felt like I was on a washboard surface any time I had the bike leaned over. I have heard from some that the car tire increases the cupping effect on a front tire, but I don't know whether that is true. Visually, there still seems like there is plenty of tread (maybe I'll take a pic and attach to this post). I am pretty sure that Erik Lipps felt that as the rally wore on, that wouldn't be able to get through the rally on a single front PR4 GT and arranged for a tire change at Checkpoint 2.
- As Erik Lipps and I descended from the Colorado Monument near Grand Junction, CO, Crew Dawg Dave came tearing up in a SUV, screeched to a stop, ran out of the vehicle with a camera, and started waving us through yelling "Go, go, go....". After all that, apparently he still didn't get a good pic, but it was a little funny once I realized what was happening.
- Really impressed by the forum members in Albuquerque that helped folks out like Josh, and those members from anywhere else in the country that I have not heard about--I'm sure you're out there. Really selfless actions that makes a huge difference to a fellow rider in the middle of a very demanding event. I don't know all their names but HotRodZilla and NMRoadRunner stand out.
- Thanks to Jason Jonas for Spotwalla. Great site. Part of a recent upgrade to the site, I uploaded my intended track to my page for Leg 1 and everyone who was following my page couldn't stop raving about it. As predicted, I was unwilling to invest the extra time to upload my track for Legs 2 and 3.
That's about it for now.
Thanks to 101st Pathfinder for taking my pic at Old Faithful....