Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial
2 years ago
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Locked and Loaded
Against my wise daughter's advice I am leaving a blog message tonight.
Yes, it's finally started! The 2009 Iron Butt Rally, which I have dreamed about and planned for well over a year, is underway. We had a long riders meeting this afternoon, then dinner, then the bonus packs were handed out. The theme this year is Crime Scenes. Every bonus location is the scene of something either notorious, grisly, or just plain stupid. I am trying not to pay attention to Higdon's interesting descriptions of each crime, and just focus on what's required to earn the bonus. Maybe later the descriptions will make for good reading.
My first bonus, which most likely everyone will go to, is the BMW factory close to Spartanburg. It's worth a significant 666 bonus points. BMW's "crime" is that they stopped making reliable motorcycles. From there I will head south to Pensacola, FL, and then wind my way back north through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. There is a tasty set of bonii in Ohio, close to Pittsburgh, PA. Then I'll head west on I-80 into Chicago. There is a series of bonuses in town that are small but will add up. Hopefully I can execute it all and still have plenty of time to rest at the checkpoint. I think it is a conservative route.
Last reminder: If any of this is ever posted publicly I will be disqualified and never allowed to enter another IBR. It doesn't matter how it gets out, I will be held responsible.
Final odo check tomorrow at 0830. Departure at 1000 sharp.
Nighty night.
Against my wise daughter's advice I am leaving a blog message tonight.
Yes, it's finally started! The 2009 Iron Butt Rally, which I have dreamed about and planned for well over a year, is underway. We had a long riders meeting this afternoon, then dinner, then the bonus packs were handed out. The theme this year is Crime Scenes. Every bonus location is the scene of something either notorious, grisly, or just plain stupid. I am trying not to pay attention to Higdon's interesting descriptions of each crime, and just focus on what's required to earn the bonus. Maybe later the descriptions will make for good reading.
My first bonus, which most likely everyone will go to, is the BMW factory close to Spartanburg. It's worth a significant 666 bonus points. BMW's "crime" is that they stopped making reliable motorcycles. From there I will head south to Pensacola, FL, and then wind my way back north through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. There is a tasty set of bonii in Ohio, close to Pittsburgh, PA. Then I'll head west on I-80 into Chicago. There is a series of bonuses in town that are small but will add up. Hopefully I can execute it all and still have plenty of time to rest at the checkpoint. I think it is a conservative route.
Last reminder: If any of this is ever posted publicly I will be disqualified and never allowed to enter another IBR. It doesn't matter how it gets out, I will be held responsible.
Final odo check tomorrow at 0830. Departure at 1000 sharp.
Nighty night.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Day of Rally Business
As you saw from my earlier email, we had a rider meeting about media and publicity. You saw the end result. Sorry if it was heavy handed or hurtful. I just wanted to be absolutely clear about the rules and the consequences to me for breaking them.
In happier news, today was a long but productive day. I started at 7:30 AM, moving my bike to the tech inspection area. I was the 4th bike there. By the end of the day all 107 bikes had been through. Tech was uneventful, as was the odometer check. Tom Austin's report yesterday overdramatized the difficulty of that ride.
Then there were a series of other lines to stand in: Registration, camera check, video deposition, DVD biography filming, and two seminars. My final certification and official handshake from Mike Kneebone happened at about 5:30 PM. I never had lunch.
There was an informal dinner at 6, but I opted out. I just needed some quiet time. Ordered room service and watched TV in the room. Then I started getting organized for tomorrow. Went down to the bike to fetch some stuff, and ended up spending an hour or two kicking tires in the garage and then the bar (O'Douls.) Tomorrow I have no obligations until 2 PM, the first of two rider meetings. I may go for a ride earlier, just to clear my head and get centered.
Game On.
As you saw from my earlier email, we had a rider meeting about media and publicity. You saw the end result. Sorry if it was heavy handed or hurtful. I just wanted to be absolutely clear about the rules and the consequences to me for breaking them.
In happier news, today was a long but productive day. I started at 7:30 AM, moving my bike to the tech inspection area. I was the 4th bike there. By the end of the day all 107 bikes had been through. Tech was uneventful, as was the odometer check. Tom Austin's report yesterday overdramatized the difficulty of that ride.
Then there were a series of other lines to stand in: Registration, camera check, video deposition, DVD biography filming, and two seminars. My final certification and official handshake from Mike Kneebone happened at about 5:30 PM. I never had lunch.
There was an informal dinner at 6, but I opted out. I just needed some quiet time. Ordered room service and watched TV in the room. Then I started getting organized for tomorrow. Went down to the bike to fetch some stuff, and ended up spending an hour or two kicking tires in the garage and then the bar (O'Douls.) Tomorrow I have no obligations until 2 PM, the first of two rider meetings. I may go for a ride earlier, just to clear my head and get centered.
Game On.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
In Spartanburg
The ride here was very nice. I started last night from Des Moines around 7:00 PM, and stopped for the night in Hannibal, MO. That ride was 242 miles. Today I left bright and early so that I could get through St. Louis before rush hour, and wound up crossing the Mississipi right around sunrise. I found myself going through Metropolis, IL, and stopped for a picture of the giant Superman statue. I rode the interstates for awhile, then took a detour through the Tennessee back roads, including the famous Tail Of The Dragon, also known as Deal's Gap. This road is billed as 318 curves in 11 miles. It was a lot of fun, better than I expected. Also the roads in and out of that area were also quite nice. I got to the rally hotel at about 8 PM, and went down to the bar to hang out with my rally buddies. Mileage was 821. I was in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Tomorrow is an off day, which I will spend fixing what needs fixing on my bike. My aux fuel cell is not filling the main tank. I suspect a pinched fuel line that was a side effect from the electrical repair in Des Moines. It's an easy fix. I have some replacement parts being delivered tomorrow to fix the flaky comm system too. Everything should be ship shape by the end of the day. Saturday I plan to be downstairs early to get a jump on the required rally check in procedures, which will probably take all day.
My fried stator. The black wires used to be blue.
The ride here was very nice. I started last night from Des Moines around 7:00 PM, and stopped for the night in Hannibal, MO. That ride was 242 miles. Today I left bright and early so that I could get through St. Louis before rush hour, and wound up crossing the Mississipi right around sunrise. I found myself going through Metropolis, IL, and stopped for a picture of the giant Superman statue. I rode the interstates for awhile, then took a detour through the Tennessee back roads, including the famous Tail Of The Dragon, also known as Deal's Gap. This road is billed as 318 curves in 11 miles. It was a lot of fun, better than I expected. Also the roads in and out of that area were also quite nice. I got to the rally hotel at about 8 PM, and went down to the bar to hang out with my rally buddies. Mileage was 821. I was in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Tomorrow is an off day, which I will spend fixing what needs fixing on my bike. My aux fuel cell is not filling the main tank. I suspect a pinched fuel line that was a side effect from the electrical repair in Des Moines. It's an easy fix. I have some replacement parts being delivered tomorrow to fix the flaky comm system too. Everything should be ship shape by the end of the day. Saturday I plan to be downstairs early to get a jump on the required rally check in procedures, which will probably take all day.
My fried stator. The black wires used to be blue.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
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