Leg 2 Launch (v. 2.0)

** Updated with new information from the rally blog - see the fine print below.

In honor of the Butt Lite 8 (BL8), Kirsten got into Reno at midnight, just missing the early check-in by seconds.  Sigh.  She proceeded to get 5 hours of HARD sleep and feels better today.  Not 100% she said, but better.  She spent the last couple days freezing in 40-50 degree temps.  When she got to the gate at Banff National Park, there was sleet in the air and snow (yes snow!) swirling around her helmet.  And a rainbow – the strongest rainbow ever and it just stuck with her as she rolled in.  The young woman at the gate was very friendly, noting that there had been a few other motorcyclists coming through.  After a minute, another woman came to the window and said, very deadpan, “Are you with Team Strange?”  Hah!  Hard to hide the adventure.

View from the cockpit at the gate at Banff NP on Leg 1.  The grease pencil note is a reminder of the upcoming days on Leg 2: WTFS…. but after staring at that for a few thousand miles, Kirsten came up with an alternate shorthand….

Speaking of adventure, here’s a Leg 1 Flash Back from the IBR 5000 in 2010.  At the end of Leg 1 then, she had rallied her way back from a really bad tire kerfuffle – with a LOT of support and assistance from the LD riding community—and happily arrived at that checkpoint in very last place.  These are the kinds of things that we post (AFTER the successful finish of this Leg 1, we all have our little superstitions) to remind us how fickle rallying can be.  One bad tire, or one county in Montana without power so you can’t fill up with gas (seriously?!) and a good ride can go very bad. 

As Kirsten presented herself for scoring this morning, our friend Andy Kirby leaned in saying that she was a little greedy with her bonuses in Canada.  But after scoring, she was just happy to have gotten all the points she was aiming for.  Rally-watchers know that if you end a Leg with no points left on the table, it’s a good day.  

Raven scoring Kirsten’s Leg 1 in Reno.

**At the rider’s meeting, the current spread was announced and has now been posted on the Butt Lite rally site.  Readers must remember what we said earlier - the combo bonuses may bring some riders a windfall of points at the end of Leg 2.  Also remember that the final leg of the rally generally means all kinds of shifting – only a few thousand points currently separate the lead riders.  But as of the beginning of Leg 2, with all due full qualifications stated above, Kirsten is currently (whispering…so as not to draw attention from the rally gods….) in 2nd place.

Moving on – the animal viewing tally now includes: antelope, moose, Sandhill crane, raccoons, coyotes, chubby sheep in a field, and black cows in the middle of the open range road with no warning signs (she thought of you Jim and Heidi Frens as she did a hard brake and swerve!)  Because she got into Reno later than planned and decided to sleep rather than route (a spouse approved decision), she is riding off into Leg 2 with a generally good idea where she’s going (i.e. aim for the first bonus and then take it from there).  Thus begins Day 4.