2017 IBR. The BIG one

Rich R said:

Hey Gang,
The ST was well represented at the IBR, both in bikes riding the rally, and supporters riding in to cheer the riders on their way.
It was Fing funny when Crane dropped his bike and almost domino-ed the line of bikes. Needless to say the FJR owner next to him was a little rattled.
This was my first time working tech at an IBR event and I have to say overall it went smooth. A testament to the care the riders pay to their steeds.
The GL of Dylan's was a work of art!
As the clock closed in on 10:00 on Monday, I was surprised how anxious I was getting!!!!! With such a great selection of bonuses and a Jeff Earls twist, it will be anyone's game.
It looks like a couple folks are putting in MONSTER RIDES!!!!! Will the heat take it's toll? Are they getting the rest they need? Will they use up their equipment early?
I can't wait to see the scores after the first checkpoint!
All the best,
Rich

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Rich - kudos for lending Maura your seat. She'd have been in a tough spot otherwise. :bow1:

Wednesday June 28 Sidebar #2, the next report is out and . . . it's chock full of rider comments, anecdotes and how the rally is being run. Jeff Earls' "strings" are a killer for planning routes. So many combinations to consider, no one will be able to evaluate all of them. It really is anybody's rally to win.

Shuey

BTW, slow server issues appear to have been resolved thanks to 2005 Iron Butt Rally Gold Medal finisher Doug Chapman who has donated his HUGE server pipes to the internet backbone to ease the load on the IBA and IBR servers. Thanks go to Doug and Dale Wilson (aka Warchild) for coming up with this solution so we can all stay 'tuned in.'

YOU CAN HELP!
Jaon Jonas owns and runs the SpotWalla page and gives it to us for free. The Google Maps background is not free to him. Every time you hit refresh on your browser it causes the SpotWalla server to redraw current positions which Jason's server is handling quite well, but it also causes a call for a new Google Map to be downloaded. The Google Map pages are billed to Jason's account and he has limits on how many maps over a given amount of time he allowed to request before Google "throttles usage."

What can you do? The automatic refreshes which occur every 5 minutes generally redraw the locations without calling for a new Google Map page. If that refresh rate isn't fast enough for you (how far do riders move in 5 minutes anyway), you can direct a refresh by clicking the GREEN count down clock instead of your browser refresh button and SpotWalla will update the locations without calling for a new Map from Google.

Shuey

PS: For those that find Jason's SpotWalla site to be a benefit, consider making a donation to his site to help off-set some of his expenses.

https://spotwalla.com/help/index.php#donate

I watched the spot page this morning and saw two riders headed to my town, Clovis, NM. I went out and rode with each thru town and talked to them at the stop lights and slow sections of town. They both seemed to enjoy the banter and the short ride with me.

And I'm surprised you can actually figure out who the riders are thru the spot page clicking.

good luck to Kit and Jon.

Shuey said:

BTW, slow server issues appear to have been resolved thanks to 2005 Iron Butt Rally Gold Medal finisher Doug Chapman who has donated his HUGE server pipes to the internet backbone to ease the load on the IBA and IBR servers.

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The single biggest thing they could do to alleviate that problem is allow reposting of the daily reports on forums.

--Mark

bkra13 said:

Rich - kudos for lending Maura your seat. She'd have been in a tough spot otherwise. :bow1:

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there has to be more story here, how can you not have a seat at the start?

ZIAMON said:

there has to be more story here, how can you not have a seat at the start?

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I read that she was trailering her bike to the start and the seat blew off somewhere along the way.

I was at the Allen, TX checkpoint today watching the guys roll in. Talked to Ken, he's in good spirits. A couple pics...

Blrfl said:

The single biggest thing they could do to alleviate that problem is allow reposting of the daily reports on forums.

--Mark

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Mark, although I think the server shortfall has been dealt with, I've sent a request for . . . permission to repost the reports. I'll let you know when I get a response.

Shuey

Shuey said:

Mark, although I think the server shortfall has been dealt with, I've sent a request for . . . permission to repost the reports. I'll let you know when I get a response.

Shuey

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They post them on ADV.

Leg 1 results are in. Ken (Kendoo) is in 15th place. Not bad for a first timer!

The guy riding the ST1100 is 11th!

paulcb said:

Leg 1 results are in. Ken (Kendoo) is in 15th place. Not bad for a first timer!

The guy riding the ST1100 is 11th!

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Way to get r dun Kendoo!! He'll bring out his A-Game in leg 3!!!

Awesome Ken!

Wolfe Bonham is in 9th. Wolfe is Ontario guy I recently met. Also a 1st timer. (Not a ST-O member)

Looking down the list I see Raven on a Caprinord. She's a member here.

Pullin for ya Kendoo

Cheering on the 1100!

Here is a spreadsheet showing points/mile.

https://docs.google.com/a/activeindytours.com/spreadsheets/d/1rHdxZq1_hUPfvYDpce3LcbwKIC7b_s5cvQsA8evR3g4/edit?usp=sharing

Still sorted by actual current placing but also shows their efficiency (pts/mile) rank. For fun I also created a column assuming that a rider averaged 60 mph for the miles they covered - how many hours were they on the bike during this 60 hour leg. Obviously the 60mph number is arbitrary...

Blrfl said:

The single biggest thing they could do to alleviate that problem is allow reposting of the daily reports on forums.
--Mark

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Shuey said:

Mark, although I think the server shortfall has been dealt with, I've sent a request for . . . permission to repost the reports. I'll let you know when I get a response.
Shuey

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Response received from Mike Kneebone is "Capacity is all fixed, it is better to point to them in case we issue a fix..."

Since, as noted previously, reports are being reposted on ADV and if someone wants to do it . . . I'd say go for it.

Shuey

Did anyone else stay near a screen last night watching the last of the riders heading towards the checkpoint before the DNF time? This is practically reality tv

I've been following Ken's ride closely and was anxiously waiting the standings after the first leg. #15 for a rookie (albeit one with lots of rally and LD experience) seems like a remarkable accomplishment! There are some top dogs above and below his rank. Sure will be interesting to see how things shake out over the next couple of legs.

I'd already viewed the spreadsheet showing the points / mile but adding that extra column showing the hours of seat time at 60 mph is quite fascinating. Thanks for doing that. The following is copied from another forum, and is a bit of analysis at the end of the first leg showing the correlation between distance travelled and points:

Jeff, thanks for the info about the additional couple of riders. I didn't realize Raven was in the rally and Wolf is an unknown to me. Have you talked him into attending OnSTOC yet?!?

The number of teams this year is something that I'm following as well. While I can readily see the advantage of having a navigationally-savvy pillion I don't see the advantage of riding as a team.

I wonder if Pat & Breann would consider making memories together in 2019?!?

Great first leg for Ken

Gizmo said:

I don't see the advantage of riding as a team.

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When the driver falls asleep, the rider can knock on his/her helmet to rouse the driver from sleeping.

I assume the rider cannot drive?