Dancin' Shoes - Leg 3 Begins

Wes - breaking the bead
in the Rally HQ parking lot

Leg 3 of the IBR is where you find out if your dance partner has the moves...or just steps on your feet.  After a tire change at the TN checkpoint, Kirsten’s dance partner has a new set of shoes to start, and a change of oil and final drive fluids.  The report from the road is that the RT feels SOOOOO good today.  It’s always wise to keep your dance partner happy- a big thanks to George and Wes!

The riders departed TN to head back to ABQ by whatever route seems to get each rider what they need.  Some still need states, some need parks, and some are hoping to efficiently route around the country dragging a bucket to scoop up all the big points typical of Leg 3 in the IBR.  The competitive standings have been known to jump 15+ places in Leg 3.  The final rider’s meeting was at 6:00 a.m. this morning.  Somewhere shortly thereafter,  the standings were announced to the riders and she didn’t believe it.  Mike Kneebone said Kirsten had moved from 27^th to 5^th and she said, “no!”  Apparently she had a similar face to Curt Gran, who also had a similar reaction after the standings were read at the Leg 2 checkpoint during the 2011 IBR (still one of my favorite pictures of our dear friend).  I think Curt was laughing down this morning.

Curt Gran at the end of Leg 2 of
the 2011 IBR

So this is Leg 3.  Everyone knows the whole field can easily shuffle again.  Craig Brooks apparently already has (and he’s the only one) all the states and parks he needs to be a finisher, so he can just ride around for the next 4 days wherever he wants to!  The IBR is such a solitary pursuit that the only thing to do on Leg 3 is to keep riding your plan.  Kirsten rolled out in overcast skies at a nice 71 degrees this morning…. to go over some of the same roads she was on yesterday.  Remember that the full field of bonus locations/ parks is open on every leg, but the points may vary.  And if riders re-visit a park, they can keep the points, but don’t get to double-count the same state nor the same park in their overall tally.

One more moment from the road - in the blur of heat, then torrential rain, then cold, then flooding of Leg 2, she told me about one very cool image that stays in her mind.  She and another rider happened to be leapfrogging between bonus locations in TX.  At one point, he was in front of her on a classic long open road of the TX landscape when off to the side, there was a huge burst of fireworks.  She said it is a beautiful picture in her minds-eye.  Bike, road, open space, fireworks.  She also had two road runners run out in the road in front of her just like the cartoon.  But I’m not sayin’ there’s a connection between the two…

7,000+ miles on - smooth but not sparkly