FJRForum Official 2015 Iron Butt Rally Tracking/Analysis thread

[Colin24]

Ack! Ignore me as well. As of this post rider have a tad over 51 hours to be back to the CP. I was shorting them a full day.

......

Thanks my feline friend for figuring out where I went foggy.

Okay, time for another favorite anecdote. (I must be on a roll today or sumthin!)

So there I was, day 1 of Leg 3 of the 2013 IBR. Out of the gate I had hovered up all the bonii in the SF Bay area and I was heading north for Vancouver. I had been running a couple hours with another rider chatting on the CB before we split an hour before I crossed into Oregon.

This turned out to be the first time I was able to review my planned route for the rest of Leg 3 since leaving the checkpoint that morning. So I start doing the math in my head. Okay todays Tuesday so once I get to the hotel for the night and considering I have to be in Pittsburg on Friday 9am so that's X days (approx). Then I look at the distance I need to travel do the math.

I can't remember the exact numbers but suffice it to say the answer I came up with was short on time for the route I had planned by about a days worth of riding. Crap, did I screw the pooch on my route plan? Is my math off? I mean the North Loop on Leg 3 of 2013 didn't have much wiggle room for different bonii and a bunch of other people were doing it so it must be possible! So I did the math again, I was short again. So I started to re-plan my route to drop some bonii. This didn't work either as I realized I would have to turn right and head for Pittsburg RIGHT NOW just to make the final checkpoint window. And that didn't make any sense.

WTF!!!! For the next 3 hours as I drove through the beautiful forested mountains of Oregon I repeatedly (in a mild state of panic) kept re-planning and re-doing the math trying to figure out how I could make this leg happen. At times I was even holding my hand up and counting off the fingers as I walked through the days of the week. But every time I came up a full day short. I was starting to freak out that I had made an epic route planning blunder and was now watching my 2nd IBR spiral into DNF.

It took a little over 3 hours before I finally clued into the fact that it was indeed Monday and not Tuesday. Did the math again and it finally all worked. Actually rechecked my work several times not trusting myself after all this time but I now had it right. The relief at realizing that I had not made a mistake was fantastic.

To this day I do not remember one iota of that ride through Oregon!

------

So Mr. Iggy got the math a little wrong and he's at home comfy and rested on his couch. Imagine the possibilities for errors by the riders as the rally wears on and the cumulative fatigue builds in!

- Colin

 

[LKLD]

I should have studied calculus, as this all is sounding Ukrainian to me.

I find it interesting to see where the masses are, and then see where the rogues are. It would be really intriguing to hear the rogues logic....or lack there of, in their decision process.

 

[Tyler]

Padre Island National Seashore must be worth a Gazillion points.

I can't decide if I'm watching brilliance or madness

Sometimes you have to have a little bit of both to make it work...

 

[JKent]

I'm I missing something...?

“To be a finisher of the 2015 Iron Butt Rally, a rider must visit 50 US national parks in 25 states 1before 10 AM (MDT), July 10, 2015.”

Is a "park" the same as a "monument", "seashore", "battlefield", "historic site"....?

If not, finishers will be Alaska bound at some point (there are not 50 "parks" in lower 48) and the group photo will only be a souvenir.

 

[Ignacio]

I'm I missing something...?

“To be a finisher of the 2015 Iron Butt Rally, a rider must visit 50 US national parks in 25 states 1before 10 AM (MDT), July 10, 2015.”

Is a "park" the same as a "monument", "seashore", "battlefield", "historic site"....?

Already covered 2 pages back. At the very least bonuses are including monuments, historic sites, and other "national" things that are not strictly "parks".

 

[Hello Kitty]

If you look at where they're going, it certainly appears that landmarks, seashores, etc ARE in the mix.

 

[JKent]

I'm I missing something...?

“To be a finisher of the 2015 Iron Butt Rally, a rider must visit 50 US national parks in 25 states 1before 10 AM (MDT), July 10, 2015.”

Is a "park" the same as a "monument", "seashore", "battlefield", "historic site"....?

Already covered 2 pages back. At the very least bonuses are including monuments, historic sites, and other "national" things that are not strictly "parks".

Thanks. That would have been very interesting... Those riding for "finisher status" and those riding for a "win."

 

[jwhite518]

Re rest bonuses: Spoke to a rider this morning. There is a rest bonus in this leg, with points given on a variable basis for time up to 8 hours.

 

[JKent]

If you look at where they're going, it certainly appears that landmarks, seashores, etc ARE in the mix.

Thanks. I wonder for whom...?

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jim Owen is a pilot.

 

[user 213]

You peeps are seriously chatty.

A couple of things from someone not in the rally, but an IBR finisher in'13 and who was at the start banquet/rider meeting.

The group photo bonuses- the riders have to be in the photo taken by IBR staff. With their flags visible. Their own photo, if one is taken, means nothing. Riders were specifically told there would be leeway given,in regards to visibility of flags on these bonuses. Mainly because of the nature of a large group photo.

Those bonuses are only good at the specific time window listed, AND the riders must get there early enough to sign in with the photo staff!

Get there early or late and they may NOT count that as a park OR a state grabbed.

Bonuses: the parks they grab must come from the bonus listing. All parks/monuments/etc. are NOT on the list.

The requirements to bag a bonus vary,but most require the specific picture riders are given in the bonus pack to be duplicated. That may be of the visitors center, a plaque...or maybe old faithful...during an eruption!

As you may guess, the farther away or more difficult to get, the more points it is probably worth.

Stamps don't do it for this NPT.

Eric V.

 

[LowAndSilent]

Day 2 is up: https://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBr/2015/Day2.pdf

 

[puppychow]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Ignacio" data-cid="1241211" data-time="1435671022"><p>

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="puppychow" data-cid="1241145" data-time="1435636970"><p>Plenty of smaller obscure parks which are much easier to get in and out of and which would be virtually deserted.</p></blockquote>

Great observation! None of us have the actual packet and maybe they've included deeper level bonuses beyond "National Park" or "National Monument". What if that packet are contains "National Historic <em class='bbc'>Sites</em>", "National <em class='bbc'>Memorials</em>", "National <em class='bbc'>Landmarks</em>" or levels deeper? If so, the notion that those rogue riders could be alternative riders striking out on their own for less congested and easier in/out points.<br />

From what I can say, yet not knowing if I am divulging too much, national monuments etc are included.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Ignacio" data-cid="1241211" data-time="1435671022"><p>

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="puppychow" data-cid="1241145" data-time="1435636970"><p>Plenty of smaller obscure parks which are much easier to get in and out of and which would be virtually deserted.</p></blockquote>

Great observation! None of us have the actual packet and maybe they've included deeper level bonuses beyond "National Park" or "National Monument". What if that packet are contains "National Historic <em class='bbc'>Sites</em>", "National <em class='bbc'>Memorials</em>", "National <em class='bbc'>Landmarks</em>" or levels deeper? If so, the notion that those rogue riders could be alternative riders striking out on their own for less congested and easier in/out points.<br />

From what I can say, yet not knowing if I am divulging too much, national monuments etc are included.

 

[Dan S]

this armchair rallying is so much fun. The rider heading for Fort Clatsup must not be planning to go any further north because he jumped over to the north side of the Columbia from Bridge of the god's to I5, I assume to bag WA.

 

[lddave]

I'm trying to figure out why there is still a rider in Big Bend. That's a day ride from Albuquerque. He should have been out of there hours ago. Again, I'm thinking he knows something we don't.

He is actually in Del Rio not Big Bend any longer...just don't know why! :-\ That stretch of I-10 is 80 mph speed limit. The trucks run 80 and everyone else is pushing a ton.

On I 10 between Fort Stockton and Junction there was large police enforcement. 10 Department of Public Safety cars running radar last week . Hi way 90 theirs is very little enforcement. Fort Davis is an historical site .

 

[eddiememphis]

A lot of activity around Yellowstone.

 

[user 213]

LEO enforcement is not quite the problem this year that it might have been in the past.

IBR staff is watching speeds this year and riders have a clear threshold to stay under. A reasonable and prudent threshold.

 

[Twigg]

wrt to the Group Photos.

It was made quite clear that the Rally Staff simply needed to see that a definite Rally Flag was being held. There was no requirement for the number to be visible.

It was even stressed that with so many riders, in a potentially windy situation, getting ALL the details in perfect order would be nigh on impossible.

 

[Mudslide Miller]

Knowing absolutely nothing about SPOT other than it showing where you are, what are the green & yellow vs. the orange?? Is that just indicating movement vs. inactivity?

 

[RenoJohn]

They do have to sleep sometime don't they. Considering some traffic and stops I still think there cutting it close but what do I know.

Higher mileage riders can average 1150 miles a day over the course of the rally including rest bonuses and down time at checkpoints. What we will be seeing though in the next few hours I think is apogee for most and the rubber band will start tugging the mass back towards ABQ.

Ack! Ignore me as well. As of this post rider have a tad over 51 hours to be back to the CP. I was shorting them a full day. They have to be in ABQ by 8 p.m. Thursday. Rubber bands and apogees aren't even close to happening yet....I think we're going to see a lot of movement in that mass that goes even farther north into Montana and west into Oregon.
Thanks my feline friend for figuring out where I went foggy.

Laughing with ya. Here we are at our desks and we can't get the math straight! How are the riders supposed to figure it out??In BMRx time was a BFD and everything is run off of one timezone (affectionately referred to as RenoTime) Some riders used countdown timer apps on their smart phones to help them ...and I'd imagine at least some, if not many of the IBR riders are doing the same.

Here is a countdown (and PLEASE double check the linked live version LOL) (I tried to embed this on the forum but was unsucessful)



LIVE TIMER (generated by a smartphone app)