2015 Iron Butt Rally

... And good luck and have fun Garry and Eric.

Shuey said:

Best of luck to Garry and Eric, have fun . . . but ride safe!

For those who might want to follow along for the next 12 days or so, here's some places online you might find interesting.

Here's the rally site, from which you can select to read the daily report by Chris Cimino and/or check out the SPOT showing all the rider locations. Note, identities are classified, but you can see where riders are. The Day 3 report is already up (there isn't any Day 1 or 2 reports that I know of).
http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2015.cfm


Shuey
IBA# 423

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Just to clarify - that was the MINUS Day 3 report that had been posted when Shuey made his post. The -Day 2 report is now up as they cover the riders arriving to the start, going through tech etc as they approach the start of the ride.

Awesome collection of links he put together and am glad someone else added the FJR forum link - their thread is always a good one...

Yep . . . it wasn't until I saw the -2 Day Report that i figured it out this morning. Glad you beat me to it smunderdog!
Shuey

smunderdog said:

Just to clarify - that was the MINUS Day 3 report that had been posted when Shuey made his post. The -Day 2 report is now up as they cover the riders arriving to the start, going through tech etc as they approach the start of the ride.

Awesome collection of links he put together and am glad someone else added the FJR forum link - their thread is always a good one...

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Day MINUS One report is up! http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2015/Day-1.pdf

*Sniff* - there are exactly ZERO ST1100s in the rally this year. Guessing this is the first time that has happened since the late 80s.

... and only 3 ST1300's.

Riders all received the bonus locations for ALL 11 days of the rally ahead of time so they could be loaded into their computers. That doesn't necessarily mean they had days, off the clock, to develop their routes and ride plans. What they don't have are the point values and descriptions of what the requirements are at each location to gather the points.
They get the details of what's required at any particular location, the evening before the start of a leg, for that leg only. Other data points are a mystery until the start of the leg they're on.


As far a sleep goes . . . bwaaaa haaaaa haa haa! Your a rider, you get your rally book sometime after 6 pm on Saturday and you have until 10 am the following morning to read through a rally book of 30 pages or so, evaluate bonus locations, travel time, distances, estimating amount of time to satisfy requirements for individual bonus locations, guess at fuel stops and . . . geesh, when am I going to sleep next and how much can I get? Solving the puzzle is the initial challenge followed by, can you and your steed . . . go the distance?

Oh yeah, and in addition to the bonus location information there's other requirements to keep track of like required telephone check-in windows. The time zone differences between where you are and when you have to make a call can easily trip you up.


Great pics going up already and the write-ups are just super.


There's a URL created for start pics, unpopulated now, but going live soon I hope. I'll be looking for a video of the start to show up somewhere shortly after all the riders have left the lot!
www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2015.cfm


Safe ride wishes to all . . .


Shuey

I know Del is at the start he made the trip from Houston.

Does anyone know if we can get a list of the Boni now that they are under way?

I heard that to be a finisher you need 50 national parks in 25 states.

Hey Dave. I'm guessing you read the same input from Ignacio as I did.

Where are the boni and when will we (non-riders) find out about them? In the past, bonus information for each leg started being discussed AFTER that leg was finished. There will be great discussions on line from insiders as to who went where, were choices with the pack or something extreme and even unthought of by the rally masters. Until then, IBR experienced riders will be commenting on their thoughts as they watch the same information unfold as we see.

Your guess might be just as good or better than the 'voices of experience.'

Here's what "Ignacio" (IBR veteran), who is on-site in Albuquerque input earlier today on another forum,

"Another detail to the National Parks theme before the rider communication black-out began I gleened from multiple sources....the baseline requirement for the rally is 50 national parks & 25 states in 11 days.
If Petroglyph was included it would at least mean National Parks and the next tier of National Monuments are included in the possible bonus list. Whether other tiers like National Historic Parks or Sites would be included I'm not sure, but am sure that the west is littered with possible sites and a big loop from ABQ west and north is probably likely. Two main tracks seem to be developing with the Northern folks--possibly headed to Bandelier NM."

Enjoying the suspense (after a good night's sleep),
Shuey

lddave said:

I heard that to be a finisher you need 50 national parks in 25 states.

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Someone posted a picture of a parks pass on a bike on Facebook and commented that there seemed to be a rush to get them even though they might not be needed.

Maybe the bonii are in areas surrounding the parks?

--Mark

I didn't see anyone mention Tom Loftus but he is on the list of registered starters. It appears he is now astride a 2015 BMW R1200GSA instead of his ST1300. I think this makes #6 for him doesn't it?

There are 59 NP's in 25 states California has 9 Alska has 8 then its Colorado and Utah if its just NP's thats really tough but if National Monuments are included that will make it a bit easier. Looks like a large group headed for the Petrified Forest.

SteveST1300 said:

There are 59 NP's in 25 states California has 9 Alska has 8 then its Colorado and Utah if its just NP's thats really tough but if National Monuments are included that will make it a bit easier. Looks like a large group headed for the Petrified Forest.

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looking at the spotwalla page, the two main routes most riders are taking are due west and north east out of Albuquerque.

bwoodsom said:

... and only 3 ST1300's.

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And no ST1100's. I'm shocked and chagrined.

It appears all the riders heading to the petrified Forest are aiming for the group photo bonus. Also Tom Loftus is now in his 10th IBR with 7 finishes and 2 DNF's in his past.

Day 1 report is up - had a good laugh about the last photo included in the report.

I woke up this AM with a realization... They planned the IBR with the theme of "National Parks" to be run during the week of Independence Day! Arguably the busiest time of year for the park system! Oh boy are they some evil minds or what?!?!

For those who read the Day 1 report during the day, Chris added to it at the end of the day. You might want to take another look. The start of the new material is . . . clearly marked.

http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2015/Day1.pdf

So, you're sitting on your bike, in the parking lot, motor running, waiting to be released to start your Iron Butt Rally ride. You feel and hear your motor running as your trusty Steed vibrates in the symphony of sound surrounding you from all the other bikes. What are you thinking? Don't stall, don't fall over . . . don't embarrass yourself, at least that's what I was thinking.

If you want to see how Warchild empties over 80 bikes out of a parking lot in under 4 minutes, here's the video of the start yesterday:

https://youtu.be/QUSZw-WIt3U

You'll note that there's no guessing when you'll get to go, you don't just head out after the bike next to you, no . . . you wait until the arm points specifically to you, then go, as you'll note in the video. Start to roll before and you'll get stopped until . . . whenever Warchild decides to let you out of the box.

Shuey

SteveST1300 said:

There are 59 NP's in 25 states California has 9 Alska has 8 then its Colorado and Utah if its just NP's thats really tough but if National Monuments are included that will make it a bit easier. Looks like a large group headed for the Petrified Forest.

Click to expand...

Here's some clarification on what's required this year. Copied from another site I'm watching:

"Yes, to be a finisher riders must collect 50 national "parks" and from 25 individual states, or 24 states and DC, which for the rally is treated as a state. Points mean nothing in regards to making it to finisher status this time. IOW, no minimum points level to be a finisher this year.

Yes, you can collect more parks or states. No rider should have any trouble getting 50 parks from the list of nearly 350 specific parks, recreational areas,etc.

However,it won't be difficult to screw the pooch and not get 25 states.

Yes, every bonus has a point value. Yes, it may be that the point value for a bonus may be different for different legs...

Yes, it may be possible to collect the same location more than once, if on different legs, or not, depending on the route the rider needs to get their states.

But it won't count for another state or park, just get the rider more points.

Points will dedetermine placement among the other finishers. Riders do collect those points all during the rally.

But the smart rider that just wants to finish will ignore point values. Only getting the 50 minimum parks and at least 25 individual states will make them a finisher.

Points only come into play once a rider has accomplished finisher status.

Hope that helps clear up some things."


It bares repeating, if you're not a "Finisher" then points have no value, you do not pass GO, you do not collect a 3 digit IBA number.

Shuey