Dialing It In

Life looks better with a new foot peg.  And a longer fuel cell vent hose.  And for Erik Lipps, a planned new tire, and an unplanned but now also new shock, brake pads, and some electrical wiring. The weekend before rally start (and preferably BEFORE tech inspection) is full of tweaks, jiggers and sometimes all out replacements on bikes, gear, and supplies as riders finish dialing it in.

Kirsten in her tech (Trek) inspection shirt

Kirsten was at Leo’s South before the doors opened. They completed the foot peg replacement and gave assurance that the scrapes were only cosmetic.  Then it was back to Rally HQ to begin the multi-stop process of final inspections. The day turned longer than planned when staff realized a paperwork problem and she had to make a trip to the notary, after running the odo check twice because her GPS didn’t zero out the way it was expected.  She wasn’t the only one. UK riders and IBR veterans Kevin and Lynda Weller also had to run the odo route twice because of a snafu but were relaxed and ready at lunch. (The odometer check compares the actual mileage of a known route to a bike’s odometer reading to see if a bike runs high or low on mileage – key to determining close standings and efficiency at the finish.)  Japanese rider Yohinori Ishii, after receiving some engineering assistance getting his scooter’s fuel cell up to snuff, followed a staff member through the odo route. The written directions were a challenge without having the time to translate.  Ishii is already drawing fans among rally watchers for attempting this on a Bergman 400, never mind the language barrier.

Mark Crane arrived by mid-day to begin his check-in process, everyone exclaiming, “Mark!  You’re a day early!”  His infamous leisurely pace through past check-ins preceding him.  Nancy Lefcourt, adjusting to the time difference, took advantage of some extra sleep and cruised through the check-in by mid-afternoon.  After they came out of the final check with Rally Route Master, Jeff Earls, Troy Martin and Eric Bray exclaimed, “Well, I’m as ready as I’m gonna be.”  Lisa Erbes (a.k.a. Rally Master of the Butt Lite) is READY to roll.  Her dream to ride the IBR for the first time about to come true as co-pilot with Jim Winterer, who is a multi-time IBR and Butt Lite veteran.

Tom Loftus rode to Minneapolis with the intention of starting his 10^th Iron Butt Rally.  The ride out however convinced him that his body, just a few weeks after surgery and recovery, is not quite up to 11 days in the saddle.  He’s looking at routes to the Texas checkpoint, and planning ahead for an international ride in a few weeks.  You can’t keep a great man down (although I did promise to hold his arm on Monday as the riders launch).  Long-time rally veteran German Gerhard Memmen-Krueger gave rally dog Riley a pat on the head yesterday.  (See more photos at the IBR Start Photos link, including a shot of rally ambassador Riley.)  Gerhard’s characteristic wide smile is fully in place as he looks ahead to Monday.  Aussie Olaf Moon arrived with his bike repairs made early Saturday morning.  He was last seen grinning and striding purposefully through the HQ lobby with after completing his check-in process.

The rookie riders’ meeting is happening now.  Later today is the required all riders’ meeting.  And tonight, the full rally pack and the bonus locations for the first leg will be released.  There is A LOT of speculation around Rally HQ about the theme of IBR 2017.  Looks like animals, real, imagined, and extinct are all part of the plan for this journey – leading some to try and google small butterflies in the poster to see what their native range may be for a routing clue.  All will be revealed.  And in the meantime, just make sure you know where your towel is.