2023 Iron Butt Rally

FOUR Honda ST1300s, 3 of them 2012 and a single 2005 in the mix.
I'm so excited I can't recall the names of the four riders at this moment... I think I remember two of them.
The PDF is another screen on my tiny phone...
 
Sadlsor said:
I see a chicken, a peach, a shack, and an interstate food sign.
My guess?
Chicken pot pie and peach pie at a roadside shack.
Wait... it's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives !!
Never mind; my guess quotient is way below par.
Disregard.
(But I'll be watching till the end, anyway!)
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I have to agree with you, tho at first I figured the contestants are trying to find the reason the chicken crossed the road. Here is an alternative to your diners, drive-ins and dives, but in the same vein. Having checked out a place or two, and read the book, it is not much of a cognitive leap to realize that road food is an oxymoron.
 
Eight o'clock in the morning, and no update yet.
C'mon, John / Rally Scribe, we know you've probably been up all night tracking riders and checking the call-in voicemails, but give a guy a bone!
This happens every two years about this time... Carly Simon is singing in my head.

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin' me late
Is keepin' me waitin'
 
lddave said:
The diesel powered K bike with its great mpg will need less fuel stops meaning more travel time during the rally.
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True, but I can imagine finding diesel fuel in an out of the way place might be difficult. If he fuels up on the interstates or truck routes, no problem.

It is looking like the first half of this rally is an eastern half of the US thing. Maybe later we will see a contingent heading to the far west.
 
Darn it!
I did not presume to be prophetic (Post #28) about the rally flags... see Rally 101.

"At 1:07am, Landry received a photo text, showing flag 88, hanging on a pole in Bar Harbor, looking so sad and abandoned by its hapless rider. Oh well. "

That didn't take long... :(
 
@Shuey, re the lost rally flag that was found on a pole. I thought the contestants had to take a selfie of themselves holding the flag in front of a landmark. Do some of the bonus locations simply require a pic of the flag on a sign or architectural feature?
 
(Not Shuey)...
Yes, typically the flag is featured (required!) In the photo at a given bonus location, adding proof the rider was there.
But rules may vary at each bonus, amplifying the importance of reading and following directions, and reminding everyone that clear thinking is vital to a successful Finisher status.
When you're stressed, fatigued, in a big hurry to catch up (or get ahead), or otherwise distracted... therein lies the voracious, looming Prodigious Penalty Points dragon.
And he will devour your points as quick as a deer strike or a flat tire.
Not to.mention, those devious, dangerous and dastardly rally masters who delight in throwing the contestants a curve ball slider, just for kicks.
(And once again, my Disclaimer: I am NOT an IBR contestant, never have been. Just another avid lurker and interested fan and admirer of these IBA people.)
 
Sunday Rider said:
Can another rider bring the lost flag to the rightful owner, or the penalties will be levied no matter what?
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No, the report on the lost flag on the IBR website said a contestant never ever ever touches another's flag. The report continues when the rider remembers his mistake and heads back to retrieve the flag, it is gone and in the possession of another rider. In this instance, the two riders made plans to meet up, presumably with the help of the IBR staff.

Go back to Mark's post, #47 and click on Rally 101 for the full description.
 
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That first checkpoint in Tulsa may be disastrous. 240,000 without power since Saturday night. 100 mph straight winds have trees down, power poles down, and general chaos as you might imagine. All intersections are stop signs and a good possibility the hotel will be without power. It's like a warzone in Tulsa right now.
Just checked the address of the Hotel. It is in one of the hardest hit parts of town. They may have a backup power but getting to and from it may be a problem. I stay at a Hilton Garden Inn midtown that is very near checkpoint one and it is closed due to storm damage.
This will be interesting.
 
That's often part for the Rally course... past runs have dealt with early hurricane season, and a running joke suggests the Iron Butt Rally Mistress has close ties with weather gods.
The same used to be said of Lord Kneebone in his day.
Weather and its dire results often tamper with the best riders' well-laid plans.
(And not that I'm counting, but it's been more than 24 hours since the last posted update.)
 
Regarding Rally Flags: Sadlor covered this pretty well. All riders are briefed . . . more than once, both orally and in writing to NEVER touch another riders flag left behind. For riders who loose their flag, they lose 5,000 points AND are required to have themselves in any photos in lieu of the flag . . . for the rest of the rally. Most bonuses ARE photo bonuses! In this case, the abandoned flag was noted by another rider at 1:00am'ish and appropriately left. A second rider at 3:00am'ish found the flag, reported it and rode off with it. As noted in the official post, the two riders were working out meeting up to exchange the flag.

Context from the riders perspective: they rode all the way to Bar Harbor, Maine, flag out, picture taken and . . . rode off without the flag. They rode for probably a couple of hours, noticed they left it and rode back to get it and . . . it was gone. Long day, middle of the night, hours wasted . . . heartbreaking. Both riders end up loosing valuable time getting to a link up point (I'm sure Rally HQ assisted in getting that worked out).

Regarding the deer strike: A two up team hit a deer, totaled their bike. One team member is fine and one goes to the hospital, is treated and released. Note . . . they were on the hunt for replacement bike to finish the rally with. If they find one, they lose 50% of all points earned while on the replacement bike, but . . . with point values increasing (normally) each leg, it's still possible to be finishers. Hopefully they'll find a bike.

In past rallies, this has happened before. It's amazing that a non-rally rider will hear of the problem and bring them a bike! Such is the community we are in, both within the IBA AND here on st-owners!

Shuey
 
lddave said:
I read the two up team dropped out too much damage to the bike.
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Hi Dave!

Yes, bike is done, but the team wasn't out yet according to the update on the IBR site. Report said they're going to take the night (last night) and decide in the morning (this morning) whether to try finding a replacement bike or not.

Well, they decided. An update reported . . . another site I monitor: "Lisa Rufo/Molly Hecker are out of the rally and will be heading home. Bike is totaled, front end is largely gone. Both are in good spirits, all things considered, and relatively unharmed in spite of Bambi's attempted murder. Attributes her minimal damage to the airbag vest she was wearing. Said her riding gear is trashed."

FYI: For the benefit of other readers . . . if they had decided to continue AND found a bike to ride; Leg 1 ends today. They would have had to first ride back to the scene of the deer strike and start from there. It's been done before, but depending on how far from Tulsa the deer strike occurred maybe it just wasn't possible to get there in time. I'm really glad they're ok.

Shuey
 
It looks like the group photo bonus is at or near Oologah, OK. Or would that be the checkpoint? What time do they have to check in by?
 
Not the checkpoint . . .

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

Shuey

PS: The Rally hotel . . . has power! Hopefully roads are navigable in Tulsa to get to it.
 
I've already read today's IBR update on their site, and the good news is John will be able to regale us with rich stories and frustrating setbacks and embarrassing exploits sometime tomorrow, after the scoring tonight.
And following the examples of Supreme Court interns or Senate subcommittee hotshots, confidential IBR information has been leaked by a rider, which on top of the rally flag fiasco, makes for two rules violations before the first checkpoint.
So put these incidents on top of the 2 crashes we now know about, and I imagine the Rally staff is NOT having a great time with this, at the moment.
Lest you lump me in among the rally rascals and reprobates, I'm not sharing anything not already posted on the site.
Makes me sad for the staff; they all have put in months of work to pull this off, and the two avoidable incidents by participants put a sour taste in the party punch bowl.
 
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