FJRForum Official 2023 Iron Butt Rally Tracking/Analysis Thread

[Ignacio]

Special Notes for Participants and Watchers of this thread

1. The Iron Butt Rally is for the riders and not the followers. The organizers, volunteers, and all of us on this thread will be focused on rider needs and making sure they safely get home to their loved ones. While we have the privilege of a special virtual seat here, we're not going to add any drama that potentially distracts from riders' experience and safety...or the event organizers...or the stated goals of the Iron Butt Association.
2. Rally participants will be off-line during the event, meaning they will not be on Facebook or other social media and will be limited only to communications that are allowed by the event rules and IBA staff. The rally bonuses will NOT be shared with anyone not participating in the rally so don't ask. Leave the riders alone; don't try to contact them or hunt them down to chat. They are on the clock and are focused on one thing and one thing only.
3. For riders support request, please create another thread in this area. Riders need tires, parts, spare bike, spare things, etc.....please create a separate thread and do not cross-posted to this analysis/tracking thread.

The Iron Butt Rally is starting Monday, June 19th and there will start to be reports and notes from the event probably around Friday or Saturday before. Since the 2007 IBR, this forum have tried to keep the threads up-to-date and current as much as possible with facts, inside details from veteran finishers, and a focus on FJR riders in the event.

FJRForum Management



Official website including Daily 2023 IBR Reports
https://www.ironbuttrally.net/

Tracking Page
https://www.ironbuttrally.net/tracking/

Iron Butt Rules
Fresh for 2022 - https://www.ironbuttrally.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ibr2023_rules-22.pdf

Staff List
https://www.ironbuttrally.net/volunteer-staff/

Bonus Listings (usually come out the day after a leg starts)
https://www.ironbuttrally.net/bonus-listings/

2021 IRON BUTT RALLY HEADQUARTERS/START

All Start and Finish activities at:

Pittsburgh Airport Marriott
777 Aten Rd
Coraopolis, PA 15108

CHECK IN WEEKEND
Saturday, June 17

Tech Inspection/Odo Check 7am - 4pm
Last Chance Dinner 7pm - Sold Out

Sunday, June 18

Tech Inspection/Odo Check 8am - 10am
Rally Check In 8am - 11am
Start Banquet 5:00pm - Sold Out

RALLY START
Monday, June 19
Motorcycle Impound 8am
Rally Start 10am EDT

CHECKPOINT 1 INFORMATION
Wednesday night, June 21, 2023, 8pm - 10 pm CDT
Doubletree Warren Place
6110 S Yale Ave
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01pm
Scoring opens at 5pm

CHECKPOINT 2 INFORMATION
Saturday night, June 24, 2023, 8pm - 10 pm MDT
Sheraton Denver Tech Center
7007 S. Clinton St
Greenwood, Village, Colorado

Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01pm
Scoring opens at 5pm

RALLY FINISH - Friday, June 30, 10 am EDT

Pittsburgh Airport Marriott
777 Aten Rd
Coraopolis, PA 15108

Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01am Scoring opens at 5am
Finishers' Banquet 6:30pm - Sold Out

FAQ For Watching Riders

Q: Why are there orange icons mostly on the GPS tracking and occasionally a green?

A: Orange are breadcrumbs and the default transmission. Green means they pressed the "OK" button and usually mean things like, "I'm OK. I snagged a bonus. Something interesting happened. Other colors (e.g. yellow or red) are possible, but indicate "Help" and "911" respectively. If yellow occurs, certain people are notified the rider is concerned about something. While we likely wouldn't see a red...authorities are notified.

Q: Why do they appear to jump, pass each other, or not quite be in sync with the current time.

A: Transmissions occur nominally every 10 minutes or so, but can be delayed a bit more in the aggregate page for all riders. While we can't see the full details of the timestamp other than the date, delays are likely up to 20 minutes or so. And since rider's units are not necessarily synced up with each other--this can give the illusion of jumping. Treat the locations as an estimation.

Q: Why don't the numbers match up with riders and jump around?

A: They've done this on purpose so individuals can't be tracked for competitive, safety, and other reasons. Rider numbers are randomly rotated several times throughout each day. The page is meant as an aggregate indicator of where the field of riders generally are.

Q: Why can't I see individual riders GPS tracks?

A: Individual riders are allowed to share their individual pages with family and close friends subject to very strict rules including not sharing on social media or publicly as part of the large "going dark" rules. They can face serious scrutiny and/or penalty if they do...so are guarded in who they give access. If you known somebody, please don't bug them during the rally. If they didn't share with you before the rally--it's a choice. Remember this is THEIR rally...not yours..

Q: Can I come to a checkpoint and see what's going on?

A: Yes! You're encouraged to. Just please follow these principles outlined by Lisa Landry, Rally Master: "We love spectators and the energy they bring to event, not to mention the support offered to riders. We ask that you park away from the designated rider area and be sure to leave space for riders to easily access the hotel from the parking lot, especially as we get into penalty minutes."

 

[Bounce]

I'm on the edge of my seat!

 

[Ignacio]

John Harrison is going to be the official scribe this year. He last helmed the position in 2013 and has put up the daily report "-3". Riders and staff are arriving to the Pittsburgh area (I started and finished there in 2013) and I'm sure things will start to get busy in the morning.

https://www.ironbuttrally.net/day-3-gathering-ingredients/

 

[Bounce]

Tech Inspection today? With makeups tomorrow?

 

[RFlagg42]

 

[Slonishku]

I've seen a small. low res image of the rally poster. Has anyone seen one better?

 

[Ignacio]

I've seen a small. low res image of the rally poster. Has anyone seen one better?

This 1800'ish pxiel one is the best I've seen so far.

 

[eddiememphis]

Looks like food is featured,, but those mountains...

Alaska?

And what is the guy in the lake towing behind him?

 

[eddiememphis]

And reading John Harrison's update, it includes this- "I do know Jeff has cooked up another menu masterpiece designed to challenge even the best rider’s abilities. The 2023 IBR has all the ingredients for another epic rally!"

 

[RFlagg42]

 

[Ignacio]

Day -2 report is up. Of particular note is two sentences I've been sitting on my hands about for over a year now when I visited and stayed at Chris' house in Ireland and sworn to secrecy:

Kirsten Talken-Spaulding somehow skated by with this infraction in previous rallies (probably by talking sweetly to the tech crew to distract them from their solemn duties), but she was caught this time. Maybe it was having Chris McGaffin as her pillion who broke the spell?

Read that and let it sink in.....that's not a joke.

 

[Slonishku]

It looks like a lot of food in the theme...
The chicken crossing the road... Maybe a choice for the riders about a transcontinental option or a food theme option?
The lake almost looks like the lake of oil created near Bakersfield due to a gusher from an oil drill.
In the lower res version, I thought the water tower was the Pensacola Beach beachball tower, but it looks more like the giant peach tower in Gaffney, South Carolina.
I'm pretty sure a stop in Saguaro National Park will be in there somewhere.
There are a LOT of "Roadkill Cafe" places around the country, from Pennsylvania to South Dakota to Arizona... and roadkill meat salvage is a state sponsored thing in Alaska.

 

[RFlagg42]

From the poster, my prediction is that more important than the theme itself, there will be five categories of bonuses (that # is based on the exit sign) and similar to 2017, the real trick will be how to optimally sequence them to get the most points....

 

[Niehart]

Matt, I'm glad they just let them tape over the offending stickers. Some have some real meaning to the riders.

 

[Ignacio]

Matt, I'm glad they just let them tape over the offending stickers. Some have some real meaning to the riders.

There's a magical mixture of seriousness, hazing, and empathy to find resolutions to these issues. As tech inspector I found, accidentally, a mid-pack guy with a fuel cell once that was 0.1 gallons too much and made him go get a "fuel dipslacement device" that was 11 pounds of chain from Home Depot. Or watching Dale talk to the guy that had a cooler in the way of his license plate was priceless.

 

[Niehart]

I remember that.

 

[eddiememphis]

Wow! Third leg is six days long. Denver to Chicken, AK. is 3000 miles.

Then to Pittsburgh is 6700 total.

And there is a chicken on the poster...

 

[Ignacio]

The Rider's Banquet of the 2023 Iron Butt Rally has concluded. Lisa Landry, he IBR Rally Master and Jeff Earls, the Rally Planner, made their presentations and answered questions submitted by the Rally Rider's. Then the rally packages were distributed. Now it's up to the riders to come up with the perfect rally routing to win this rally. At this point, everyone one is a winner.

At 10:00 am EDT Monday, Warchild, will wave the riders off and we will find out the Rider's solutions at this rally's conclusion.

 

[Ignacio]

Looks like about 112 initial riders. More two-ups than usual. Source is at https://www.ironbuttrally.net/2023-ibr-riders-2/

 

[FJR Steve]

@Ignacio the link to the .pdf is working fine (down here in Oz)