Living in the Tunnel

playing with computers

2011-02-03T21:14:00.001Z

today we're playing in the conference room.

it is a great day in Bristol.
check the nice flower.

Moab to Ely

2009-10-15T16:09:00.000+01:00

Our plan after Moab was to take it easy continue west. We had only camped one night and we were looking forward to camping. Our destination was the Great Basin National Park which is just west of the Utah / Nevada border.

It was to be a short day so I encouraged Dillon to sleep in a bit. The short day also gave us time to have a nice breakfast so we walked down the street to a place that advertised the best whole grain waffles in the world.

obligiatory food shot

Now those that know me know that I have a "thing" for real Vermont Maple Syrup. As I like to say you can ruin a good pancake with fake syrup and save a marginal pancake with the real deal. That's why I always travel with a pint of product from my friends at the Carmen Brook Farm.

Being a cheap Yankee I've figured out a way to get the syrup "free" by making it a high point bonus in the Minuteman 1000. Dillon and I enjoyed our breakfast without Aunt Jemima thanks to rider #21, Jim Stoddard. Thanks Jim!

After breakfast we packed up, checked out and got on the road at a very relaxed time of 10am. With a short day planned I figured we'd be at our campsite by 4 or so. After the agressive pace of the last few days I was looking forward to dialing it back a bit. Our route included a chunk of Interstate before to Salina, Utah to pick up US 50.

US 50 through western Utah and Nevada is known as the Lonliest Highway in America and they are right. I put this on our route because both of us wanted to get away from civilization, or at the very least strip malls, fast food, neon and Walmarts. You won't find that on route 50. In between the few towns you'll go over a 100 miles with nothing except foundations of long since abandonded pony express stops. No water, no gas and absolutely no cell service. I was looking forward to this with some aprehension, should we have a breakdown in the desert I figured it could be up to six hours or more before meaningful help would arrive, assuming a good samaritan would stop and summon help from the next town. I discussed this with Dillon and we came up with a "disaster plan" that was pretty much put up the parawing, (shade) conserve water, watch out for sand critters and wait for help.

After leaving I 70, US 50 takes a jog to the NW, then merges with I-15 for a bit down to Holden before heading west to Delta, Utah.

As we approched the junction of 50 and I-15 Dillon informed me that a bolt holding the spare fuel can bracket on the sidecar was missing. We stopped and not only was the bolt gone but the angle braket was missing as well. This was sort of a big deal because the angle bracket secured the bottom of the carrier to the fender and made everything more solid. Without the bracket the carrier wanted to droop, distorting the body of the sidecar and making a bit of a racket when we'd hit a bump. We stopped at a truck stop but they had no material to make a bracket so I used a spare strap to take some of the load off the top bolts.

Feeling confident in the temporary fix we motored on. This leg was the reason we carried spare fuel and I didn't want to give up our reserve heading into the desert. We had about 14 miles to Holden before turning west into the desert where I planned on checking things over.

Just as we made the right turn out of Holden the alternator light came on. Great! Just what we need, electrical problems as we head into one area in the lower 48 where help isn't exactly handy, not to mention the closest BMW dealer might as well be on Mars.

I was somewhat prepared for this as common issue on the earlier GS's on the 2005 Iron Butt Rally was shredding the alternator belt. The belt had been changed prior to our departure and I was carrying a spare but the trouble light was only coming on at low RPM which meant it wasn't the belt. We had a brief discussion and decided to continue west to Delta.

We arrived in Delta around 2pm, as we slowed for town the light came on and stayed on. I told Dillon I didn't want to go further away from civilization without a better idea of what was going on so we stopped in front of an Ace hardware store with a Radio Shack. It didn't take long to figure out the problem, when I added the strap to the fuel carrier I tightened it up a little too much and introduced some chaffe to the wiring in the hack. Nothing like a real world shakedown, this was something that could have been done better in the initial build but was only realized after a few thousand miles.

From the start of the trip I told Dillon this wasn't a race, the Iron Butt Rally or a forced march. I joked back in February that at times the trip might be torture but it would never be punishment. The goal was to enjoy the country and each other. I declared that should we have a breakdown we wouldn't let it ruin the trip, we would simply rent a big ass Caddy with a kicking sound system and good AC. He asked me if we were going to need a caddy and I said no way. Memory fades over time but I think he was sort of rooting for the Caddy at this point.

We purchased what we needed from Radio Shack and went down the street to a hotel to find a shady spot to make repairs and if necessary to get a room for the night. Even though we had our first mechanical issue and it looked like we wouldn't be able to camp I was able to keep myself from popping a nut over the carelessness during the build although I admit it was close. I wanted to get fixed and get moving, the hotel had the halmarks of a crack den; multiple cars on blocks in the lot, shady people coming and going, plus an extremely malnourished woman tried to bum cigarettes or cash from Dillon while I was working on the bike. Not a happy place.

After a brief consutation with my friend Max Stratton of Max BMW Motorcycles (my dealer of course) we had most of the lighting we started with and decided to set off. I discussed our options with Dillon and while it might be a bit late to the park to camp we could see how it goes and continue on to Ely, Nevada for a room or we could stay in Delta. My goal for the trip was to leave as much of the daily decisions to Dillon when possible and this day he agreed that we didn't want to stay where we were, even if it meant getting to Ely late.

Off we went, departing Delta around 4:30, west into the blazing sun and out on the lonliest highway in America.

What a dick

2009-09-10T17:23:00.012+01:00

As we rolled into Moab I spotted a BMW R1200 GS Adventure heading the other way. I noticed he had a European license plate and mentioned this to Dillon, telling him that this guy was serious to go through the expense and hassle of shipping a bike over.

Continuing north into town I forgot about the GS while I looked for the home of Moab Off Road, the kind folks who helped me out in 2003. Every time since when I visit Moab I liked to drop in, thank them again and pick up a sticker for whatever I'm riding. I couldn't find their shop but I was able to find the one cheap motel in Moab.

Much to our delight the lot was filled with bikes with all but three bearing license plates from the United Kingdom.

There were 19 bikes and a Sprinter van in the lot. The riders were on expedition put on by Globe Busters and were in the first third of a trip from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. This is a hell of a ride going from as far north to as far south as you can go in North America. Only one rider has ever done the trip in its entirety unassisted including the infamous Darien Gap, everyone else has shipped their bikes around the Gap with good reason.

We spoke with the riders who were all very friendly and as curious to hear about our trip in the sidecar as we were their trip to Patagonia. They were taking their time as in 134 days to go 20,000 miles and staying at 119 different hotels. Average mileage was to be 200 per day.

I met the driver of the Sprinter whose name escapes me. He was a nice guy from New Zealand and has been in the employ of Globebusters for a few years, driving the Sprinter all over the world. While not a BMW mechanic per se he was a welder by trade and obviously very handy. I asked him if he was carrying any BMW Final drives and he didn't understand why I thought that with 16 R1200 GSes planning on going 20,000 miles each that perhaps one might munch a drive. I hope he doesn't remember my comments on the side of the road.

I also had a chance to chat with a few of the riders. Some were obviously quite wealthy and others had scrapped together whatever they could to do the tour, enlisting sponsors and in one case dedicating the ride as a fun raiser / attention getter for a good cause. With the cost of entry being $34,000 plus gas, consumables and 6 dinners a week it is a very expensive proposition. Breakfast was "included" as they were staying in cheap motels that offer up the cheerios, stale muffins and bad coffee in the lobby. That works out to $254 per day before gas, food, tires etc. Considering the only daily expense to the operator is the hotel (and like me they were headed to the cheapest room in town) he's left with somewhere in the area of $20,000 per bike to cover shipping, the Sprinter and dinner once a week. Good work if you can get it. Considering how badly they were being ripped off the riders on the tour were happy to be in Moab and looked like they were having a great time in a low (200 miles per day) stress environment.

Once in a while you meet someone and something clicks and I had the pleasure of meeting such as guy on the tour; he is no poser even if he was participating in a dog and pony show. In this case it was a guy named Paul. I came to learn that Paul has had more than anyone's share of hard knocks, from loosing a son to a violent crime to having his wife permanently injured in a motorcycle accident. Paul has taken his share of big lumps. Paul and his wife had already been all over the globe on two wheels unassisted; it was in Slovikia that they were taken out by a truck, ending their dreams of circumnavigation the globe together on a bike.

After recovery Paul's wife insisted that he continue his quest, albeit alone and perhaps with some support which lead Paul to be with this tour. We chatted a bit a few times, both about my trip with Dillon and his experience on the tour. It wasn't quite the adventure he envisioned but really, what is and what defines adventure anyway. If Adventure involves great struggle, risk and pain than very few will ever muster the stones to try. To me Adventure is setting off on a journey away from home and meeting the challenges of travel as they happen be it on a boat far from land or a motorcycle far from home. Paul and I agreed that while having a professional guide, a support truck and 17 other riders might not be Adventure in the spirit of the word it's still something special and unique. The tour leader must understand this to some degree as the van carried a few tents and riders were given the opportunity to grab a tent and head off on their own for a day or two. Paul was planning on taking advantage of this more than once. I hope it worked out well for him, 200 miles a day and the dog and pony show would drive me nuts and the tent option would be a welcome relief.

The mastermind behind Globe Busters is a guy named Kevin Sanders. Kevin has tons of miles on two wheels and is obviously a logistical wizard; planning such a tour with 119 hotels, 18 bikes, shipping and such isn't easy. I was looking forward to meeting him, if for nothing more than a sticker for my collection, plus meeting a true global adventurer is a big deal.

I also thought it would be fun to get a group photo but it was getting late in the day and they were having their weekly dinner out. Dillon and I had a huge lunch when we arrived in town so neither of us was interested in going out to dinner. The sandwiches were so big there might just still be a go box in the mini fridge in room 107 with half a sandwich. Dillon decided he wanted to spend some time in the air conditioned room with his laptop and I was happy to give him some privacy so he could be on line with his girlfriend. I thought it would be fun to have a beer with some BMW riders I had never met and would likely never see again. I found out what restaurant they were were heading to but it wasn't the place for socializing so I snuck a photo and continued with my evening.

I was back at the hotel a few hours later sitting outside enjoying a cigar and cold beer. As an aside it is amazing how much time a 17 year old boy can spend on the internet when he can video chat with his girlfriend. I didn't mind be exiled to the lot, the wireless worked fine and you can't smoke in the room so it was no big deal. A few of the tour folks wandered back and told me about a little bar behind the hotel that some of them were headed to.

I went around back and enjoyed a beer with the driver of the Sprinter. I was curious and had a good time learning about him and his work on the tours. It is quite a lifestyle, not terribly different from my days as a yacht captain, you go where the work is with little a care. He was a bit amazed that I had never heard of Kevin, he said the man is a legend and recognized everywhere in Europe but not at all in the States. He introduced me to Kevin as "the guy with the sidecar".

Kevin said hello and proceed to ask me "why a sidecar." He started giving me a ration of shit for not having Dillon on the back, "you may as well be in a car, what a joke." He said. I tried to explain the ideals of our trip and how we were able to carry more and enjoy things with the hack that would not have been possible on my GS but it was obvious that Kevin didn't give a shit. I bet he doesn't have kids, unlike Paul and some of the others who thought our trip was pretty cool. In the first 90 seconds of meeting this guy he made sure I knew he held two Guiness World records and that my trip was a joke. He took some pride in mentioning the fellow to his right was not only doing this tour and the China trip which I can only imagine is even more expensive. Considering the guy looked rich enough to buy a container full of bikes but too weak to pick one up off the ground I could see why Kevin would find him to be the ideal customer.

Then he got started on the Iron Butt Association. His driver also told him I'd done the rally as he'd noticed the IBA sticker on my bike and we chatted about it. Kevin said we do things all wrong and that we're just plain stupid for riding for mileage goals and such. I think the actual quote was close to "you're all idiots for riding the way you do." He said there was no way we could manage any level of competent riding after three hours in the saddle, nobody can. He climbed up even higher on his horse and told me in total seriousness that the only way to cover big distances safely is to ride for time, not mileage. According to Kevin the only way to do it is ride 3 hours and get off the bike for 20 minutes, repeat as necessary; "That's how I set the Guiness Records and it's the only way to do it safely." I asked him what he does for the 20 minutes and he said he has a snack, takes a walk, looks at maps or has some coffee. I then asked him how many hours of sleep a day he would get and he said "three or four."

At this point I decided that Mr. Sanders is just another arrogant pommy bastard and there was no point in waisting any more time with him. He's obviously never read the Archives of Wisdom on the IBA site or benefited from a 20 minute power nap, he prefers to chug coffee and eat candy instead while getting three hours of sleep a day. That's not Iron that's stupid. A good Iron Butt Rally rider will go farther and sleep more but again, there was little point in debating this with a bug eyed fuckstick from across the pond.

Back in my room I thought about my encounter with Mr. Sanders and his Guiness Records when finally I remembered why he probably hates Iron Butt Riders so much.

From the Iron Butt Association Web Site:

Trans Americas (Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina)

Name Home Town Date Motorcycle Mileage/Days

Dick Fish Cardston, AB CANADA 09/21/06 BMW R1150GS 14,423 21:2:8

Kevin Sanders Cambridge, ENGLAND 08/18/03 BMW R1150GS 34: 23:21*

Guinness World Record - however they stopped keeping records on this ride in 2003

It looks like Mr. Fish took almost 14 days off Mr Sander's precious Guiness Record. While the IBA recognizes Mr. Sander's achievement apparently Mr. Sanders still has his panties in a bunch over a guy making his 3hr theory look as stupid as it is.

Moab, Utah

2009-08-24T15:10:00.002+01:00

Moab is a cool place.

I've had a special place for Moab since the 2003 Iron Butt Rally, when I hit an oil spill a few miles out of town and had a nasty crash. Starting with the tow truck driver to the great folks at Moab Off Road I managed to get the bike all fixed up and was back in the rally the next day. I'll never forget hearing the phone ring at the shop and the owner getting a funny look as he said "it's for you". It was the tow truck driver telling me that while the town was too small for him to actually tell me his name, a gentleman named Clayton Stokes had the motor seize in his Econoline Van three miles up the road from where I crashed. Turned out Mr. Stokes had just left the local quickie lube after an oil change and his new oil was on the apex of my turn.

A few years ago I went back to Moab on the Crazy Uncle Tour and my buddy Dave suggested we visit the Arches at Sunrise. This was such an experience I wanted to share it with Dillon.

We left Howard without ever meeting the few soreheads and headed west on US 50. Up and up we went, cresting Monarch Pass at 13,000 feet, absolutely amazed at the people riding touring bicycles up the pass.

West side of Monarch pass

After Monarch we stopped in Montrose for some fuel. When I was planning the trip I wanted to see if we could do some high altitude camping or ride Emmegrant Pass which I did on the CU tour. It's a jeep trail with dramatic drops and incredible views, but I decided after riding the bike for a few days that the chances of making it up and down without smoking the clutch would be pretty tough.

I had a fall back plan for some remote riding. Thanks to my friends on Adventure Rider I was able to confirm that route 90 west from Montrose would give us a good taste of the wild without putting too much abuse on the bike.

90 is a forest road, graded dirt and gravel with just a few choppy sections. We took it easy and had a great time, Did I mention Dillon loves trees? He loved this road and all I sad was "you just wait till we get to Northern California."

We both enjoyed 90. I liked it because it was easy and accomplished part of our primary mission which is to get away from pavement, billboards and wal-marts. Dillon liked it for the adventure and the middle of nowhere feeling.

What's a ride in the country without encountering animals? We came around a turn and found a good sized cow in the road. Good thing Dillon had the camera ready.

While the woods were a lot of fun I was ready for pavement and Dillon was ready for Utah.

Howard Colorado

2009-08-18T04:06:00.005+01:00

According to the sign there are 1201 residents and a couple of soreheads living in Howard.

Fortunately the owners of the Sugarbush campground are not soreheads, plus they have wireless. We had considered going further west and camping at 10,000 feet but we don't have the right gear for anything under 40 degrees which is the forecast for 6,500 which is right about where we are.

We had another great day, if you can call riding Kansas great. I've done Kansas a few times and this was the first time it started to get to me, perhaps it is the constant push or pull required to keep a hack going straight for a few hundred miles. We've covered almost 2100 miles since Friday afternoon and I'm a bit sore up top, it's time to start the Advil routine.

We both have been ready to spend a night outdoors for a few days now, we're even ready to give up wireless. While our original route was a bit ambitious, no matter how you slice it 10 days is not a tremendous amount of time to go from Bristol to Portland when you want to avoid interstate, see stuff and stop to smell the roses. We're starting early and ending late with little energy to cook.

After dinner down the road we had a sunset discussion about the rest of the trip. The original itinerary was based on the three points of interest I got out of Dillon last winter. I've tried to make it clear that this is his trip, we can go any direction except east and of course we must get to Reed (college in Portland) on schedule. My only request is that we be in Marin Friday night to visit one of my best buddies and his wife who has hit little rough patch with her health. I can't bear the thought of not seeing her and making sure they both know how much they mean to me, plus I want to show off my son. Dillon doesn't know about the show off part but he knows I want him to meet my friends and he's game for the visit. We're going to cut out the Sequoia National Forest and General Grant's highway. This will give us three sub 300 mile days to Marin and a chance to relax the pace some. I'd like a couple of nights where we get to camp early enough to enjoy happy hour and cook together, that doesn't happen after a 500 mile day although with a plan to visit the Arches at sunrise a room in Moab is in the plan.

Before heading west from Pueblo on US 50 the most interesting sight of the day was either a few massive wind farms in Kansas or the sign on the back of a semi that appeared to be a hog taking a dump along with some slogan about not eating chicken or beef. That's a photo to be posted when we have the bandwidth. I'm psyched at how much better it will be from here.

It's apparent that Dillon loves the outdoors which is no surprise, he and his buddies have been camping in the woods behind the house for years. At one point I couldn't find him at the campsite until he told me to look up. My hack monkey is a tree climber too. I'm looking forward to sharing Northern California with him, after Marin we have three nights and four days to get to Portland and I'm looking forward to every one as well camp "for real" after Marin.

Just so long as he doesn't try to scale a redwood.

Great Bend, Kansas

2009-08-17T12:24:00.009+01:00

The interstate is great for covering ground efficiently, seeing strange billboards (Colt 45, works every time, as seen in Saint Louis) and blowing by big stadiums. We agreed that the Colts have a much more attractive house than the Chiefs.

Dillon is a great traveling partner and the perfect monkey (sidecar passengers are called a monkey). I had no idea how he would do in the hack and I am delighted with how well it is going. After Hamburg we hit it pretty hard to Effingham, IL covering a little over 700 miles in some 90 degree heat.

I took a tiny jog off route so we could go through St. Louis and see the arch. Dillon took three years of American History (and aced em I might add) which is great because I slept through AH. A good part of my current knowledge came from reading markers on the Iron Butt rally; In 07 I strung all sorts of Lewis and Clark sites together so we had some stuff to chat about.

The arch as viewed from the chair.

As we went west from St. Louis we got our first weather event of the trip. The sky started to get very dark and I started explaining the thought process that goes into dealing with storms. Do we stop now and seal up? When we do we'll get all steamy in our gear if we get lucky and miss rain, if we don't we could get totally soaked with can lead to hypothermia, even when it's 80 degrees out.

While I was explaining to Dillon that I might have blown the call we created a hill and I pointed out that what you see up there is a wall of rain, we're going to get very wet unless we make it to that exit before we meet rain.

I was off by about three minutes. We got under cover at a truck stop as it got really hairy, horizontal rain and lightning all around, good times! We literally just made it and I learned how tenuous the ME 880's tires can be in the rain as I broke the back end loose off the exit ramp. A decision was made to enjoy a truck stop lunch of hot soup and a sandwich. Meanwhile we could see the interstate get choked up as there were a few accidents to clean up. We passed on the pies as they were "boxed" i.e. not made on the premises.

In the 05 IBR I had an epic last day, a big part of which was a forced march from St. Louis to Denver on I 70. We stopped at a TA (truck stops of America) which brought back a flood of memories. I had a big fueling problem at the same stop four years ago next week, when the auto shut off on the pump did not work. I had my back turned and discovered this when I heard the hissing of fuel vaporizing as it ran down the tank and onto the motor; my training kicked in and rather than touch the handle I hit the emergency pump stop. Did you know that if you hit that button you stop every pump in the truck stop? Now you do. :)

We continued west to Kansas and the "tour du corn" as we like to call it. Did you know Kansas really is flatter than a pancake?

Entering Kansas (photo by Chacifer)

There's not much to say about Kansas, except to say the Best Western Angus is a wonderful surprise, especially the Angus part as I had a great KC strip for dinner. We said goodbye to Chace and took 159 south, not quite sure what we would find. I had wanted BBQ for lunch. When in New England eat Lobster, when in Missouri, try BBQ. This doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out but our rain delay and truck stop lunch pushed a pulled pork sammich off the menu so to speak but I made up for it with the KC steak.

Now all that stands between us an a night camping in the Rockies is the rest of Kansas and some nasty weather. Our plan was to get up at six, it's now 7:15, it's raining hard and the time between the flash and boom is under six seconds so Dillon is still sleeping and I'm blogging. I'm not opposed to getting wet but hard visibility cutting rain and lighting makes me happy to be in a hotel room vs on the bike.

Once the weather breaks we'll be taking 56 to US 50 and heading to the hills.

Right after I find some pepper spray.

2009-08-15T10:28:00.003+01:00

Hamburg Pa.

Our first day went very well. Departure was bittersweet for Dillon. He admitted to thinking about 'being strong" but got a little tender when he was hit with the reality that he was leaving home.

It isn't like he'll never come back or won't be welcome with open arms but this is different. He is on his way to start writing the book of his life and by choice he is doing it where his family is an all day plane ride away.

Life isn't about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself.

Being somewhat of a nomadic sailor boy, a motorcycle traveler and having been packed off to boarding school by the 7th grade feeling sad at a departure is not something I am used to experiencing. Watching Dillon drove home the magnitude of what lies ahead for the dillmeister. Fortunately he is a very smart kid and makes friends easily. I only hope that after breezing through High School with little hard work and great grades he doesn't fall too far behind before realizing that the Game is On.

The bike is running great and all systems are working remarkably well for being finished at 8am on the day of departure. I have one issue with an electronic stack on the shelf, it wants to bounce and launch off the bike, only the safety cords are keeping it all in place. I'll sort this out before we get going today. It is great to have a good intercom system and the Autocom I had installed at the MOA National is working great. We can chat with little effort up to 75mph which is great.

While I am New England born and bread and I love the area getting in and out of New England is getting to be more and more of a pain in the ass. No matter when you leave it will suck, leave at night and you have construction and lot's of idling behind trucks, leave during the day and you get grid lock and lots of time idling behind trucks although often not as much as in the middle of the night, only because of all the idiots in their cages.

Regardless we pushed on through, going over the Tappan Zee bridge and down 287. It added distance but made for a less painful experience than the GW bridge on a Friday afternoon. My SO, Chace is also heading west on her GS. She left three hours ahead of us and had to sit on the side of the Cross Bronx when her bike overheated. I joked that we were riding sweep but as we took a different route we would have seen her.

For our first night it worked out that Chace got us all a room in Hamburg at the lovely Dutch Motel. It shows the pervasiveness of the Internet that a dump like this has free wireless. Two beds and a cot for $80, chains can't or won't touch this plus we have an exterior door which is great for traveling with a bike.

Our goal for today is westward ho! I'd be pumped if we could knock off 700 miles but that may be unrealistic. Chace is heading to Boulder and we're heading to Colorado Springs so at some point we'll part company. Could be sooner than later as she wants to be in St. Louis tonight which is 835 away. One thing I got to say about Dillon, our stops yesterday were very quick to perhaps we can throw down a monster day. The sooner we get to the Rockies the sooner we'll be camping in the woods, eating meat and doing things best not put "on the record" :)

Two years

2009-08-13T19:22:00.003+01:00

Two years ago this week I was deep into the tunnel preparing the RTP for what as we all know as a less than satisfactory run at the Iron Butt Rally.

My last post was just about one year ago. I put the RTP back together for a Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles in 24 hours) to the IBA National Meet in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a fine ride and last fall the RTP won a major prize at the Larz Anderson Classic European Motorcycle Day.

I put it away and three weeks ago pulled it out and went to the BMW RA National Rally in Canaan, West Virginia. 600 down, sleep, party, ride 200 twisty miles in WVA and 600 back was a wonderful three days.

I was selected in the drawing for the 2009 Iron Butt Rally but along the way something more important and hopefully much more rewarding happened.

My oldest son Dillon was accepted early decision to Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

Now I've always wanted to take my son to school in a sidecar but various reasons always prevented me from getting the right rig. Somewhere around January I woke up and realized that if I didn't do this now I never would, plus what could be better than a little father son bondage on three wheels for 11 days? You can bet that for some time Dillon would say anything would be better but after seeing the construction of the rig and a few rides Dillon is with the program.

While financially painful it was easy to blow off my fourth IBR for a chance to go cross-country with Dillon. He'll only be a 17 year old freshman once and luck willing I'll get in the 2011 rally so it will all be good. Chances are it won't be on the RTP but that's a whole 'nother post.

Right now it's game on as we leave in 24 hours.

More to follow.. Or not.

2008-08-19T15:58:00.003+01:00

I'm back.

If you were a reader of this tripe and followed the 2007 Iron Butt Rally surely you know all about the self-distruction of the final drive on my BMW.

That's old news.

Those demons were exocised by earning one of these.

The fine print says I rode my RTP from Bristol, RI to Tulsa, OK in under 24hrs.

That's all we need to know and once again thanks to Max the RTP kicks ass.

Getting technical

2007-08-18T23:18:00.000+01:00

It has been a great few days.

On Thursday morning I left Rhode Island by 6am. I called Chacifer about four hours later..

"I'm bored"

She laughed at me and said I was really up a creek if I was bored after four hours.

As much as I like my little FJ cruiser it just isn't a good highway monster like the old F-350 with the Powerstroke but really neither is as fun as the bike for gobbling up mile after mile day after day. I could easily turn this into a million words on why I ride but at this point you either understand or you don't. I figure if you are still reading this lame blog then you get it so let's move on.

Thursday evening I made it to Cleveland and joined my friend Bob for a trip downtown to see Modest Mouse. Prudence kept me out of the mosh pit which was actually pretty tame compared to Lupo's Heartbreak in downtown Providence. We got back to Bob's around 11 and i thanked him as I didn't think we would see each other in the morning. I think he took this as a challenge but I was up and gone when he got up at 4:30; I wanted to get through Columbus where I stopped to take a nap.

The ability to power nap is key for the rally and I have always been good at it. I pulled into a mickyd's parking lot, put the seat back and 18 minutes later work up with no alarm, pulled out and felt great for the rest of the day.

I arrived in Saint Louis and went straight to the HQ of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America so I could wash the road grime off the bike and say hello to the office staff. I was an officer of the MOA until this summer and I have fond memories of the great team we have at HQ, which as a coincidence is just down the road from the Rally Hotel.

When I got to rally HQ I immediately sought out Dale Wilson (aka Warchild) and Tom Austin as I wanted to have my aux fuel tank inspected. Dale is the chief tech inspector for the rally and Tom is the chief tech guy for the association so I wanted their input right away. It passed the initial check for structural integrity but there were some concerns about volume so I was prepared for scrutiny at tech this morning.

As my practice (remember the ritalin boy thing) I was first in line for tech and after very close inspection it was determined that the total fuel capacity of my motorcycle is 11.45 gallons. The maximum is 11.5 gallons so I am 0.05 gallons short. Har de har har.

Har de Har Har

2007-08-15T14:52:00.001+01:00

It is my last day before departure and I got a lot to do. It is also my last day at work for two and half weeks so I got a lot to do.

This afternoon I am going to run by EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) for a sack for the mini Thermarest (Son Corbett lost the original) and some nifty socks, then over to Kingstown for an inspection sticker. I don't need a sticker as in Rhode Island you don't get one your first year but I don't want to worry about having to prove this at tech.

Then I will visit the original Sleddog and Chief of the Sled Dog Touring Team, Doug Mo for a ceremonial laying of the hands on the bike. I will also get a pair of original SDTT stickers which will be the only stickers on the bike, other than the blue reflective tape Pete put on yesterday.

So, I leave tomorrow, got a ton of stuff to do and I am blogging.

Hare de Har Har and a big Roger Ramjet to you, I'm almost outta here.

Come in Ground Control!

2007-08-14T15:27:00.000+01:00

With any competition there are rules and there will always be folks who look to exploit the rules for an advantage. This is what I learned from my time managing high end racing sailboats for the uber rich. I also learned that the rule book is a good way for someone new to the game to figure out what can provide a competitive advantage. For example in the Iron Butt Rally we are allowed a maximum amount of fuel. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that carrying as much fuel as possible can be advantageous.

Rules with absolute values (like 11.5 gallons) are easy to understand and enforce. It is the rules with terms open to interpretation that can cause problems for both the competitors and the people enforcing them.

The theme of the IBR is one rider, one bike and one ride. Over the years technology has enabled riders to use computers for mapping and planning, GPS devices for positioning and cell phones for communication, however the rule states that:

"Riders will not receive undue assistance during the event. In determining what constitutes "undue assistance," the rallymaster's determination shall be final. Close questions in the interpretation of this section shall be construed against the rider. See, §IV.A.4 for further details."

The IBR staff has a policy that they will not have a rule they can not enforce. When I first started paying attention to the rally (2001) a rider wrote about calling a friend who ran some "what-if" scenarios on the computer which he incorporated into his ride. From what I had read I thought this was against the rules or at least pushing the envelope a bit. In 2005 we were told that it was permissible to fax our route sheets to our support team with the stipulation that if any of the information were to become public and traceable back to any rider, said rider would be tossed from the event. With riders sending their actual bonus listings to friends the possibility of having someone plan your route is a real possibility. Also in 2005 there were a few "teams" were veteran riders who were not riding the rally were on hand to couch their charges and assist with things like bike maintenance and pre-scoring.

Personally I don't see an advantage of planning in a team setting and while I do see some advantage to having a coach on-site I think this is pushing the limits of what the rally is all about. I have to be careful about being a bit hypocritical is my bike and the effort of people like Max could also be seen as pushing the envelope, however it is something that is available to any rider, unlike the team gig.

So last night my ribbi, lifeline, coach, mentor and general all around good guy Pete Withers came by. Pete has ridden four Iron Butt Rallies and has retired from competitive events, except when I drag him out for one more rally. Pete is going to be my lead support call during the rally so we wanted to get together so I could give him copies of the latest mapping software. We also needed to discuss how we were going to handle file transfers.

Pete brought over his wife's nifty brand new Dell notebook running (more likely crawling) Microsoft's new OS, Vista. As an IT manager I have managed to avoid Vista, however now I was forced to watch it suffer as we discovered that Street Atlas 2008 (can't get much more current) won't load. Too funny.

To me it actually is comical because in the grand scheme of the ride weather or not Pete and I can exchange map files is meaningless, yet come next week people will look at my bike and think that Pete can ride it form his couch. The entire idea of having someone plan my route from the comfort of their couch is comical. My experience has me thinking that my best chance for a great ride involves doing my planning alone.

What is important is that when I have a question I know who to call for an answer. The question about where to go and how to get there will be answered on the bike, but trick questions like the local sunrise at the summit of Mt. Evens Co can be answered by anyone, even someone who doesn't even ride a motorcycle. That and mechanical help at the checkpoint is the extent of my plans for outside assistance.

Gimmie the Book!

One week

2007-08-13T19:06:00.000+01:00

One week to go.

I had a very productive weekend. Saturday I put the bike on the trailer and went up to Max's in New Hampshire for a final service. Two new tires a set of new tires on the spare wheels, switch to synthetic oil, new brake pads all around and I am good to go.

Sunday I spent the day alone in the garage and took all the body panels off so I could run a few comm wires and tidy up the autocom installation we did last week.

I think I am going to be very happy with the Autocom. A dark cloud / silver lining sort of situation developed as apparently the Garmin 2820 has issues with the stereo jack so Autocom highly recommends (in fact their cords demand) using the mono audio out incorporated into the power cord. I rode home from the installation using XM in mono and I thought it would work *ok* but when I got home I plugged in my I-Pod and unleashed the stereo potential of the new system. Rather than purchase a new XM receiver I went with Sirius because I think they have better music and they are introducing a Grateful Dead channel. (you can stop rolling your eyes now)

So I have the Sirius ready to go save a mount, other than this the bike is ready. I am getting down to the little details, earlier today I swung by a Kinkos to get a checklist page laminated. This will go inside the lid of the document box as a little reminder when getting fuel or bonus points.

So the big issues are all sorted out. All of my new Boxers have at some point before 16,000 miles transformed themselves seemingly overnight from a new motor to something perfectly run in and sorted out. With this bike the motor fairy visited about a week and a half ago or right around 10,000 miles. Oil consumption is nill, range is up and when asked the bike gets up like a scalded cat. The police model has a different final drive with a lower ratio which improves acceleration at the expense of economy at cruising speeds. I am happy with the ability to do low speed maneuvers with ease, the wonderful roll-on power and the fact that I am getting over 40mpg.

So with two more days before I leave for St. Louis I feel pretty good and I am getting excited.

Let's GO!

All better now

2007-08-10T14:40:00.000+01:00

Good morning,

The title of this Blog is Living in the Tunnel which is where I have been over the last few days and it has been very dark down there.

Actually the tunnel analogy comes from the amount of focus that I just can't help putting on the ride as the departure time draws near. Last February the IBR was "something in August" as we loaded HP 2's in New Hampshire for the Sandblast Rally. Then it was easy to think of something else but now with less than a week before I leave for St. Louis, it is all 'Butt, all the time.

As I have mentioned previously I had been having a hell of a time getting my cell phone to work on the bike. As much as I wanted to I just could not get the JM stuff to work as it should so I scrapped it and went with Autocom. I am much happier as now I can communicate. Unfortunately I lost the opportunity to have CB, which to me was the big plus to the JM, however I could never make even this core function work properly so it is no loss. To say it was a frustrating experience would be putting it mildly, I just can't imagine a company that provides little to no tech support and refers calls to the owner who doesn't take calls can stay viable. My faith was misplaced.

It is interesting how important a working cell phone is to many riders. I heard through the grapevine that Rebeca Vaughn has been fighting issues with her cell phone and JM system for a few weeks and that my buddy Jim Frens was also working on his comm setup.

For me the cell phone is critical for booking hotel rooms, checking on things like ferry availability and just plain shooting the breeze with a buddy when we need a little boost. Let's be honest with each other, no matter how much you like to ride a bike, doing the Tour Du Corn (Kansas) again can get a little boring. On a recent ride a "quick" stop for a necessary call was six minutes long, time an IBR rider can't afford to burn to talk on the phone, especially when multiple vendors offer phone in the helmet solutions.

In the IBR there are rules against outside assistance, however we are allowed to call a friend and discuss possible routes. We are also allowed to ask for information such as local sunrise at a specific altitude or to confirm opening times of a National Park for example. It has even become permissible for us to send our "ground team" a copy of the bonus locations, however it is frowned upon for a shore team to plan the actual route while the rider sleeps.

In 2005 there was a "team" approach to the rally by a group of riders. I am not sure it helped them with their routing and bonus selection but it did help when it came time to get ready for scoring.

Personally I don't subscribe to the team approach, nor do I want to trust my routing and bonus selection to someone who is a thousand miles away in the comfort of their home. I do believe it is valuable to have one or two buddies with rally experience to call for information and advice. I will have such a person available and I will be sending him my rally book. One of the big things I learned at the IBR National Meet last summer is that the very top riders plan alone. This struck a chord as in 05 I did my planning for the last leg with another rider and we convinced each other that going from Maine to the West Coast was smart. (it wasn't)

Once I have my route set in the computer I will be sending an electronic copy to a my "lifeline" and my friend Chace. This is not really for them to review the route but to have a copy of where I am planning on going should I turn up missing.

So now that I have the communication issues resolved I can focus on all the other details, none of which will make or break my ride but in total will make things go smoother.

10 days.

Can you hear me now?

2007-08-06T01:54:00.000+01:00

Today was a nice day for a ride even if it had to be up the Eastern Seaboard via the Delmar peninsula.

As I have said it is not about speed. Here is the money shot from the GPS.

As I have said it is not about speed, it is about keeping moving. As my last weekend of solid riding (I went the same distance yesterday) the bike is working great. I now have just over 11k and will easily get the next 1k so we can do a full service this weekend.

Part of today's ride was to decide exactly how important a integrated cell phone is to a competitive rally rider.

In short order I was able to conclude that I have been fooling myself into thinking that not having the ability to place and receive calls while moving would be no big deal.

In my first rally, the Butt Lite III I arrived at a hotel late at night with another rider. We had been riding for a long time and this was the junction where the road from nowhere got on the Interstate to nowhere and it was this one chain hotel or the ground. It was hot and really humid too.

So we walk up to the counter and the nice lady asks I was the rider who called. I said no and she said I was still in luck she had one room left. Five hours later as we left I saw LD legend Gary Egan trying to sleep on the ground while flies were having him for dinner.

That was 7 years ago. Now if you are out on the interstate highways on a Thursday - Sunday night and you don't get a room by 7 you are on the ground. I have the ability for my GPS to look up a location, give me an ETA and place the call but THEY CAN'T HEAR ME.

So I have been after this for over a month and we are down to under two weeks to go.

First thing tomorrow the plan of action generated on the ride gets put in play. The fairing will come off one more time and I'll have all the necessary parts to troubleshoot the whole ball or wax or I'll simply replace the whole lot.

All I really need is the GPS to work two ways into the helmet, then I have music, phone and traffic.

No big deal with 1 week to get it right.

Training Beverges

2007-08-05T12:35:00.000+01:00

It has been a busy and productive couple of days.

Last Thursday I got up early and went to Vermont to see Charlie and get a few details sorted out.

My list has gotten shorter but one major item remaining was a few minor modifications to the aux fuel system. My fuel cell uses a pump with a spring loaded check valve which is supposed to prevent any siphoning or flow through the system when the pump is not on. I feel it is very important to have precise control over when the fuel is transferred and on my run up to the Cabot Trail I discovered that on the interstate fuel will flow to the main tank. I also had an issue with the cap as the threads were too fine. The first time I saw it I thought it would be a problem but it took cross threading the cap in Maine to prove my point. This is why I am doing as many shakedown rides as possible to find these sort of issues.

I left a little later than I planned and I got to Vermont around 9am. Charlie and I got started and by 2pm we had a petcock and a new filler neck installed on the aux tank. This is great. When my reserve light comes on I know I have used 5 gallons and have two remaining in the main tank and 4.3 in the cell. At this point I can calculate current consumption, then dump in the extra gas.

Unfortunately we were not able to resolve the issue with the J&M system. I can hear everything wonderfully, however I can not place a cell phone call or get a response on the CB. Charlie and I confirmed the installation yesterday with no luck. I am in the process of deciding exactly how important communications are (vital if you ask) and what to do about it. J&M has a "unique" way of doing business and so far they have been helpful but not really effective. Today I need to decide if I am going to ditch the JM stuff and put in something else, or just go with what I have.

After spending quality time with Charlie I headed down to Heath, MA where my local club, the Yankee Beemers were having their annual Damn Yankees Rally. This is always a good time and since I was in the neighborhood I thought I would drop in and put up my tent before heading back to RI for the night. This way I could roll in Friday and not have to worry about setting up. I needed to get back to RI for some work (waiting for the UPS man actually) Friday.

My weekend included plans for some serious training, Sled Dog style.

One thing that is difficult to practice is riding somewhat fatigued or trying to simulate the way we feel on day 9. The Sled Dogs have prefected a method for emulating this feeling, the key ingredient is to have a destination of 500 or more miles away for the following evening, then proceed to consume mass quantities of "training beverages" the night before *and* limit yourself to under 5 hours of sleep. This also works best if you sleep on the ground too.

I executed this method to perfection by the use of Stella Atoris as the training beverage of choice and also were around people who became more difficult to converse with as my friend's "accents" became somewhat variable as the session progressed. At about 3am my coach said I was done and at 8 I was up and at em. I won't say I was my normal hyper self I tend to be first thing so I was a bit casual about my departure.

I had a lovely day putting down 550 miles in 95 degree heat on the eastern seaboard, riding from Heath, MA to Norfolk, VA. The NJ turnpike still sucks.

The bike ran great, the fuel cell worked as it should and life is grand.

Except I still can't make a goddamn phone call.

The missing box

2007-08-01T15:19:00.000+01:00

19 days

August 1.

I have been burning the numbers off a credit card ordering last minute bits and equipment. Using the very best of "Just in time" inventory control I have plenty of boxes arriving daily.

Tomorrow morning I am getting up early and taking the long way to Charlie's place in Vermont. By early I mean around 3 so I have six hours to throw on 400 or so miles. After the day with Charlie I will do a good loop to end up in Heath, MA Friday evening. It is possible I could throw in a Saddle Sore Thursday night / Friday which would be nice.

Saturday I'll leave to head to Virginia for a ship visit and if it all goes my way I'll stay in the mid-Atlantic for an extra two days and see a second ship before heading home. The alternative is Heath - Norfolk - Bristol, RI (office) - Charleston, SC between Saturday and Thursday morning, not that I am afraid of mileage right now but time is a bit compressed. It would be nice to have an extra 36 hours or so between Norfolk and Charleston to ride new roads rather than a few more burns up and down I-95

So today is a big day, both for work and the amount of stuff the boys in brown should be sending my way. When I arrived this morning the first wave had arrived and the driver was just leaving. Karen, our office manager told me his computer told him he had three boxes but he could only find two on the truck. This is not cause for panic as he may be getting the box at noon or it may be on a different truck for delivery before 4.

I wonder which box it is.

Is it the seat?
Is it the box from Bio-Relief? (you don't want to know)
Is it a box from Max?
Is it a box with vital cables from PC Connection?
Is it the box with the 3M clear paint protection film?
Is it something I forgot I even ordered but will really, really miss on day 10?

I have all of 19 days to figure it out.

Time accelerates

2007-07-31T14:50:00.000+01:00

20 days to go.

There is a number to give one pause, we are inside of the twenty day ring to the start of the rally.

On one hand I could (and probably should) have a good panic attack about my preparation right about now. The actual list of work to be completed is not really that large. I could make the list real short by simply having on item:

Get ready for the rally silly!

But that is a bit broad.

I am a detail oriented person or at least that is what I have been told. A number of years ago I was involved in the management and preparation of a new yacht for Key West Race Week, the largest and one of the most competitive regattas in North America. The captain of the boat who I respected greatly told me I was the "most detail orientated muth**rF**ker he had ever worked with which I took as a great compliment. I also took being called a workaholic a compliment too. I just like to be busy.

Once in while I get a bit freaked out over all the details on this bike, some of which I won't have time to get to. When I get worried I look back on my previous rides and break the game to its most basic elements. I have a great bike, the lights work and I can navigate. I don't need all the little extras to finish the rally but I do need to get my seat sorted out. Such is life at 19 days, my custom seat is giving me a wicked hot spot and it will be going back to Rocky for a little adjustment.

There is a huge amount of equipment involved in riding the IBR. I have been fanatical about trying to save weight, space and clutter by taking as little as possible. I will have two sets of just about everything with a plan to switch out at the mid-rally checkpoint back in St. Louis. Even so from things like an alternator belt and tools to lubrication for the ear plugs there must be space for everything and everything must have a space. I have got just about all of the "what" and most of the "where" figured out but I will still be refining this over the next two weeks. I remember a buddy giving me grief before the start of my first IBR as I packed and repacked the bike about a dozen times to make sure I knew where everything was and to try to calm rally jitters.

So in the next 15 days (I leave five days before the start) I will ride three thousand miles, spend a day in Vermont with Charlie attending to a few bits, spend a day at Max's getting full service and attend my local club rally (the Damn Yankees Rally) in western Mass. I have a mile long work list on the bike and will spend every spare moment testing, packing and fine tuning my set-up.

Also in the next 15 days I am kicking off a 100k IT project at work and will visit two of our vessels, one in Virginia and the other in Savannah, GA or Baltimore to get them up to speed with our vessel management systems. In a nod to Andy Goldfine's Ride To work day, I will ride to work on the ships.

Time to get crackin!

The Bug Light

2007-07-29T17:21:00.000+01:00

The motorcycle I am riding is a 2006 BMW RTP with the P designating that this bike is an Police Bike.

As the Iron Butt Rally has become as much as a navigational and routing exercise as much as a test of endurance a strong electrical system is very important. All BMW Motorcycles excel in this area with large alternators, however the RTP has a second battery and electrical system that is non-can bus and has various switched and non switched circuits. In my previous bikes the largest modifications came to the electrical system. By starting with the Police Motor the electrical system is ideally suited for modifications.

Here is a picture of the front of the bike. The extra lights are Hella FF200's on top, Hella Micro DE on the bottom and Hella Fog lights on the crashbars. The top two sets are HID.

The lights do an amazing job of night time visibility. I recently did a quick training ride from Bristol, RI to the Cabot Trail and back, much of it in the dark. The amount of usable light is awesome and the edges of the road are well illuminated. I saw many deer that I am sure were always there but now I can see. I like it when I get the full "cranial cavity reflection" and if they are not on the shoulder I am pretty confident that they are fully "jacklighted" and will not move.

All these lights are mounted on stock brackets that were on the Police bike that would be expensive and difficult to fabricate for a stock RT. The switch gear is also Police stock and I can have multiple configurations depending on needs.

Here is a good shot of the left side of the bike.

Note the custom bags over the authority crash bars. Storage is tight on the RTP so I had these bags made to handle tools, first aid and other items I need to have but hope to never use.

My tankbag is custom made from Linda Tanner at customtankbags.com. She is an experienced LD Rider in her own right and makes great stuff. She made the bag on the RT base and I had a custom bracket made up for holding the display. The display is hinged and most of the time will be in the down position giving me a clear view of the GPS units and bike instruments.

The police radio box has been replaced with a custom 4.3 gallon auxiliary fuel tank which brings the total capacity of the bike to 11.3 gallons. For the IBR there is a 11.5 gallon limit so I should be ok.

On top of the fuel tank is a Hardigg storm case which contains all sorts of electrical bits and a Panasonic Toughbook computer. The display on the tankbag connects via wirelesss to the toughbook so I can have navigation and other information at my fingertips.

The display up.

And the display down

For GPS units I have a Garmin 2820 and a 2610. In my opinion the 2610 is the best GPS available, especially for rally use and the 2820 is a nice toy. The 2820 also has XM weather, traffic and music, bluetooth for a cell phone and the ability to store MP3 and audio books. The Garmin is interfaced with the JB / BMW comm system. This gives me CB, radar, phone, music and navigational prompts into the helmet.

In the photo above you can also see the two volt meters (police bike has two batteries stock) and LED lights for the fuel management / transfer system.

Hydration is an important and vital consideration when riding the Iron Butt Rally. In the past I have used camelbaks but after a few days wearing water on your bike becomes a pain in the ass. For 2007 Charlie came up with the bubba keg cooler which is mounted on a custom bracket. It also has quick release fittings and an in line washer pump. I can quick remove the cooler and take it into a truck stop for ice and I can get a nice drink by pushing a button!

As you can see plenty of thought and effort has gone into this bike. As in the past I tried to identify ways to save time, increase comfort and make the bike as reliable as possible. I studied past Iron Butt Rally reports. One story involved going down a rocky driveway / access road to a bonus when a rider on a K11LT bottomed out on a rock and put a hole in his oil pan.

This should not be a worry for me as I have a custom bash plate. I am pretty confident that this is the only R12RT with a bashplate!

As much as I would like to say I did all this work myself I do not have the skills, shop or time to handle this. The project and this bike would not be possible without Max and his buddy / race project builder / back woods savant and all around great guy Charlie.

Charlie lives in a secret location deep in the heart of Vermont. I met him a few years ago when Max was way to busy on a Friday and threw me the keys to his sprinter van and asked me to take his turbo GS project to Charlie. I ended up not only meeting Charlie (an experience any gear head needs to savor) but I wound up helping out a customer of Max's with a flat tire too.

Charlie came up with the Bubba Keg Cooler, in comparison my idea sucked so I took Charlie's good advice. This was to become a trend in the project, I would describe the issue and my ideas to Charlie and between the two of us (well mostly Charlie) a fantastic solution would emerge.

I am going to have a great time with this bike thanks to Charlie and Max!

Let's talk about MAX!

2007-07-26T18:00:00.000+01:00

Good morning,
Last night's show with the Cat Empire was everything I hoped for and much more. They brought some serious energy to Lupos and I rocked the night away. it was a welcome diversion as I get a bit obsessive about the Rally.

Today's topic is the Man who makes it possible for me to have the coolest bike in the rally. This would be none other than Max Stratton, of Max BMW Motorcycles.

Max is about as over the top as you can get. I met Max during the 2003 Iron Butt Rally. Because of my crash in Utah I was well behind my anticipated mileage in Florida where I had planned on switching tires. I delayed the switch thinking that I had firm plans to get tires in New England.

As I headed north on I-95 I learned that my tire plans were not firm and that I was going to need to call in some favors to have fresh rubber in Maine. My buddy the Sheepshagger met up with the Tire Nazi and got the correct rear tire and then went to my house and got the front.

The issue now was how to convince someone to mount tires they didn't sell?

Along the way to the Maine Checkpoint there was a new BMW dealer in North Hampton, NH. I contacted them and asked to speak with Max whom I had never met. I ended up speaking with the head of the service department and after some creative groveling on my part he agreed to help me out.

I arrived at the store and the service manager and I had a bit of a miscommunication that was leading to a few tense moments. I decided that we would simply head up to the checkpoint which was at a Honda Shop and get at the end of the line for mounting tires.

The Sheepshagger intervined and guided me to a grassy spot for a nap and he worked with the service manager to get me all set. He also convinced the mechanic that even though the rims would not balance very well and the left fork was a little "bent", this was to be expected on a bike that had gone 8 thousand miles last week, with more than a few feet of that on its side.

When I awoke from my nap Max had returned. We were introduced and I gave him a brief description of the Iron Butt Rally. As someone who races cars in World Rally (think rally Subaru's in the woods) Max was intrigued. He offered me a shower and as result I arrived at the checkpoint looking a million times better than I felt.

After the rally I felt it was only fair that I give Max a chance to sell me the replacement for the KLT that I wore out in the Rally. He set me up with a R1150GS Adventure that we modified for the 2005 Iron Butt Rally.

In addition to supporting my LD riding, Max is big on supporting events. Max makes my 24hr Rally, the Minuteman 1000 one of the best by insuring our riders have the best bang for the buck in the sport.

Max also supports his customers who want to race through getting us involved in Rally Moto. He also sponsors track days, GS rides and much more. Obviously I will tell you to spend your motomoney with Max but hey I am biased. I will say that the buddies of mine that I have watched become Max customers would also tell you that Max ROCKS!

It is an honor to be supported by Max.

The Cat Empire

2007-07-25T15:19:00.000+01:00

Twenty Five Days to Go.

If I type it all out does it get any longer?

26 days to go and I am so not ready. I suppose that if the rally was on Monday I could be ready and that in my world I'll never actually be "ready" so I'll just do the best I can.

I have a few bike issues to sort out. I have had a chance to do the ride to the MOA National in West Bend with a long day being 600 miles and my little adventure on the Cabot Trail last weekend. My communications system is not quite right, I have a leak in the hydration system, my seat has a wicked hot spot and the aux fuel transfer system is not quite 100%. These are the big items.

On the little detail side the list is long and ever changing as I spend more time with the bike.

To address the issues above I need to strip all the bodywork off the bike which is a hassle and takes time. I don't want to do this more than once or at the most twice between now and the rally and I don't want to have it off for more than one day per session so scheduling is going to be key.

I also need to do a test load of my complete rally set up. I will be riding each weekend and doing simulated rallies while scouting bonus locations for the Minuteman 1000, an endurance rally I host along with the North East LD Riders in June.

Once I figure out where everything is going to live I can attack some smaller details such as installing the bungee buddies (tie down points) on the panniers and if I will need to add a small briefcase on top of the Storm Case.

So tonight rather than attack the bike I will be heading into Providence with my son Dillon and his friend Eva to see the Cat Empire at Lupos Heartbreak Hotel. I am a big fan of good music and I am delighted that my son and I can enjoy the same bands. He turned me onto the Cat Empire and I introduced him to Modest Mouse. It is a blessing and a curse when your 15 year old wants to borrow your I-Pod and your best headphones.

Speaking of Modest Mouse they are playing Cleveland, OH the night I leave Bristol for the Iron Butt Rally. I can't think of a better way to blow off a little pre rally steam than an evening with Modest Mouse so I have two tickets.

I think we could all agree that it would be really dumb to take the FJ to the show with the RTP on the trailer or try to park the whole rig at a hotel downtown. I'm looking for a like minded individual who might have a place in the western suburbs for me to leave the trailer for the evening. If you like Modest Mouse and want to see the show I am sure arrangements can be made especially if you might want to put a weary traveler on your sofa or even in a tent in the backyard.

It is NOT A RACE doggoneit!

2007-07-25T01:37:00.000+01:00

One of the greatest misconceptions of the Iron Butt Rally is that it is a race or we go flying around the country at mach 10.

Rather than get all wound up about this I will ask that if you are a rider next time you are done with a long ride on the interstate, think about going out and doing it again. And again. And again. For an Iron Butt rider your long ride is a half day of 22 half days. It is exhausting enough without trying to beat every car on the road. I like finding the right flow and using as much information as possible to avoid big tie ups. Better to sleep an hour than go 10 miles in a traffic jam.

I'll admit that on a Sunday ride with the Sled Dogs I like to ride a spirited pace with one or at the most two good buddies. After both IBR's my first ride with the Sled Dogs had me feeling like they were riding fast. The Iron Butt Rally is not about burning a tank faster, it is about going further on a tank and then doing it over and over again.

Running around at extra-legal speeds is simply too fatiguing and over the course of 11 days too hard on the equipment. The odds will catch up with someone who travels faster than the speed of surrounding traffic and if they are lucky it will only be a citation vs a wreck. Iron Butt Riders have an incredible safety record considering the millions of rally miles we have and road side chats with Law Enforcement cost more time than going the extra 10 mph was gaining. Best to stay under the radar so to speak.

Where the event is "time competitive" is, believe it or not, when we are not moving. Let's be realistic, in the modern IBR there are 20 or even 30 riders who are serious about doing their best which means they all have a chance at the top ten or even top five. The top tier is getting more competitive and everyone has the same mileage potential with a few having more than the rest of us so the gains will have to come when we are not moving or reducing the number of reasons we need to stop. I call it efficiency.

For example I block my time in the following increments

Six Minutes (Full load of fuel)
Ten Minutes (Full load of fuel, inside to get water and bars.)
Fifteen Minutes (Gas Major, includes some time in the washroom.)
Twenty Five Minutes (Nap on grass)
Rest Bonus (sleep)

the average rider on a 200 plus mile road trip will take 20 minutes to get gas and they may stop twice in such a ride. When in the my grove I can go 400 miles, stop 10 minutes and go at least another 200 before taking a 20 minute road side nap so I had 10 minutes less saddle time than the average, covered two to five percent more miles and had a nap. My goal is to either be moving, getting fuel, obtaining points or sleeping.

For eleven days.

What exactly is the Iron Butt Rally

2007-07-25T01:18:00.000+01:00

What exactly is the Iron Butt? It is an eleven day scavenger hunt on steroids. It is also a chance for you to meet all the demons you carry, even the ones you didn't know about. It is a grand game, a huge personal challenge and the motorcycle touring version of sprinting up Mt. Everest all in the name of fun.

The night before the start riders are presented with a Rally Book that will contain a number of locations scattered about the United States and Canada. Based on the information in the book riders develop a route that gets them to a mandatory checkpoint at a specified time.

Before getting their rally books, riders must pass a technical inspection to insure the motorcycle meets the rules. We are given a rally flag with our number, an emergency contact card we must wear around our necks and a name tag that must be worn at all functions including scoring.

The concept of the rally is simple, riders choose locations from the rally book to visit and complete specific tasks such as taking a photo, answering a question or making a purchase to claim the points associated with the bonus location. Additionally we can also get points for keeping a fuel log and taking minimum rest stops. It is a good idea to bag these points, they take little effort for something you need to do anyway. Unfortunately in 2005 I lost a fuel receipt that was also an anchor to a rest period. This one lost receipt dropped me from sixth to sixty-third at the scoring table after the first leg which was very difficult to recover from.

2005 was a tough rally for me. I had some personal issues that boiled over in the winter before the rally and it was difficult to get in the right frame of mind for the ride which likely contributed to my loosing the receipt. I also did not do a single competitive or documented ride between 03 and 05.

07 is going much better. I rode the Void Rally last fall with my good friend Peter Withers and we tied for first. I did the Cape Fear Rally this spring with a focus on some new navigation and paperwork methods and was happy with the result even though I had to pretty much disqualify myself for a rookie mistake.

For me part of the game is preparing the motorcycle. My background is in preparing ocean going sailing yachts for racing offshore such as Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda. Systems must be tested and able to endure the punishment of the event without failure. I believe in doing everything possible to identify situations where time can be saved and errors minimized. While it is a game with someone keeping score for me I really want to have a ride I can be proud of and have fun too boot. If I didn't think it was going to be fun I couldn't get up for it.

bloggledeegoop

2007-07-24T15:09:00.000+01:00

Welcome,

I am preparing for the 2007 Iron Butt Rally which is in 27 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes and 10 seconds from now., not that I am paying attention to time or anything. (you can stop trying to check the post time to the actual start time, I noted the time when I started blogging, silly)

This will be my third IBR. I finished my first in 2003 on a BMW K11LT. It was a great bike but it met it's demise on the rally. I hit oil outside of Moab, Utah and pretty much destroyed the left side of the bike. I got a flatbed into town and thanks to the good folks at Moab Off Road I was able to get the valve cover welded and rejoined the rally the next morning.

My dearly departed K 11.

After collecting myself I finshed the rally in 23rd place which was good enough for a silver medal. I felt pretty good about the finish and decided to try again in 2005.

For '05 I purchased a R1150GS Adventure from Max Stratton of MAX BMW Motorcycles. I'll talk more about Max later, he has become a good friend and a big supporter of my IBR efforts.

The 2004 GS Adventure I rode in 2005.

For 2007 I have a 2006 BMW R1200 RTP with the P standing for Police as in Authority Motor.

The intent of my blog is to discuss the build of the Police bike and what it is like during the final 20 or so days before the Iron Butt Rally.