Carol and Jeff's 2009 Iron Butt Rally Ride Report
Readers Note:
Many pics are imbedded here, enlarge them by clicking the pic. Additional pics are available by clicking the links in this report.
All the pics with captions can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/2009IBRPICS
The spotadventure report can be seen here http://tinyurl.com/2009IBRSPOT
Sixteen months have passed since we were informed that we
had been selected to be participants in the Iron Butt Rally of 2009. Our rally
is over! Our story is about to be told. I am typing this introduction from the
roadside, on I-90, 117 miles west of
Sixteen months ago, when we received the email from Lisa,
informing us we were in the Iron Butt Rally of 2009, we had mixed emotions. Of
course, we were excited, but with no prior rally experience, we werent sure if
we had bitten off more than we could chew. The tasks ahead, involved getting
not only our bike ready, but ourselves both mentally and physically prepared
for the ultimate long distance rally.
We put out an initial call for help on the ldrider discussion board. Curt Gran, Rebecca Vaughn, Gary Klinker and Mike Tomsu were quick to respond. Our first
meeting, in the spring of 2009, quickly showed us how much we had to learn.
Curt and Rebecca were especially concerned about our complete lack of rally
experience. They strongly suggested that we enter at least one, if not several
rallies before the start of the IBR. We took their advice to heart and entered
the MN1000, 24 hour rally, taking place in June of 2009.
Successfully completing that rally, gave us some much needed
confidence. After the MN1000, we parked the BMW in the garage and rode as
individuals for the summer, instead of a two up team. We spent the summer with
our family, especially our younger children. We knew that everyone was going to
be making a sacrifice, allowing us the 18 days needed to attend the rally.
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Two weeks before departure to
We rode to
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The next two days involved a lot of hurry up and wait. The bike needed to go through tech inspections, which consisted of an odometer check and verifying that we really didnt have any extra hidden fuel. Our digital camera had to be certified, along with three memory cards. We had to perform a video deposition that stated we were of sound mind and body and were aware of the risks of the rally. We had to show proper proof of insurance for the bike and ourselves. After a brief scramble to procure some updated insurance documents, all was well.
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There were two, 30 minute workshops, which were mandatory
for all riders. One was on managing sleep and the second was on handling
publicity. One of the biggest concerns of the IBR is an unwarranted, public
perception, that what we are doing is unsafe and involves undue risk. A long
distance rider is not cultivated overnight. It takes many years of riding, in
all types of situations and circumstances before one can even consider being a
long distance rider. Just like you wouldnt wake up tomorrow morning and
attempt to climb
I have read many comments, both before and after the rally, about how a number of people think we are a group of egotistical maniacs trying to further inflate our egos, by riding in this rally. Nothing could be further from the truth. Safety is the number one concern of every rider involved in this rally. The Iron Butt Rally does not define any person. It does not make a person better than anyone else. This is a personal challenge that is done on a personal level for all of those involved. Everyone in the rally is an experienced rider. Everyone has choices to make that determine the course their rally takes. Our goal, when riding this year, was to complete the rally safely and have a great time while doing it.
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The theme for the Iron Butt Rally was Crime Scene
Investigators. We would be traveling around the
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Sunday afternoon, during the final riders meeting, a chip
was handed out with all of the waypoints for leg 1. We were told to make sure
we could open the file and view the waypoints. Leg 1 had 200+ bonus locations.
We knew it was going to be a busy night. Next we went to the riders banquet.
It was like our last supper, where we could eat and enjoy the company of other
riders. After the meal, our rally packs were handed out. After everyone
received their rally packs the room quickly emptied. The rally staff offered to
give some tips to rookies. We gladly stayed to listen. We were told that
finding a good route was the key. We should select the higher point bonii and build our routes around them. We were also
encouraged not to attempt to go to Marthas Vineyard or
Here is what we had to work with for leg 1:
http://tcfjr.goption.com/ibr/ibr2009-leg1.html
It took us until 1am to have a route we were comfortable
with. During the routing process, we selected the larger bonus locations and
built our route around them, staying away from Marthas Vineyard and
Day
1 Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday morning was filled with rally jitters. We had to be lined up by 8:30am, in the circle entrance, in front of the hotel. Our bike was given the final seal of approval and we were ready to ride. We had a large breakfast at the hotel, eaten next to the bike, before the start. At exactly 10am, Dale (Warchild), began the mass exodus of bikes. All 101 bikes were directed to leave the hotel in a one by one fashion and given a police escort to the highway. There was extreme pressure not to drop the bike while making the slow speed turn, in front of the big crowds and all of the cameras. It was the most awesome experience, to be part of the group.
Here is the link to a video of the start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1anzAHh8gTo
and more start pics:
Our first bonus stop:
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BMW Visitor's Center 666 points Monday, August 24
1400 Highway 101 South 10:30 am to noon
N 34 53.417 - W 82 10.540
Park in the visitors lot nearest the coordinates and
walk approximately 100 yards to the museum entrance.
Once inside, take a photo of Ed Culbersons
1981 R80G/S, Amigo.
Category: Failure to keep making one of the more
reliable Iron Butt motorcycles ever built.
In 1985-86 Amigo became the first vehicle to
travel the length of the western hemisphere nearly from pole
to pole. Ridden by Ed Culberson, a retired Army office
and chief MSF instructor, the motorcycle survived
unimaginable hardships during the journey, including a 12-day
trek through the
section of the Pan-American Highway, 67 miles of trackless
jungle between
never previously been traversed by anyone except on foot.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: BMW Approved: _________
Because this bonus was worth 666 points, everyone in the rally made this their first stop. We arrived shortly before 10:30am. As a group, I dont think we represented ourselves very well. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. A number of riders took their photo before 10:30am and either had to come back, or fail to get the 666 points. Reading comprehension is everything.
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Our second bonus was 154 miles away in
O'Kelly Memorial Library 209 points Daylight hours only
N33 50.282 - W083 54.177
Take a photo of the front of the library.
Category: Witchcraft.
Laura Mallory demanded that local schools remove
Harry Potter books from their libraries because in her
analysis (not having read any of the books) they are an
"evil" attempt to indoctrinate children into the Wicca
religion.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code: LGV Approved: _________
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Jeff and I became very adept at collecting these bonii. One of us had to be included in every picture, along
with our rally flag. As we pulled up to the bonus, I recorded the information
on the sheet, handed Jeff the camera and stood, with rally flag in hand, in
front of the proper location. Im sure our speed at these bonus locations gave
us extra, valuable sleep time. We were on to the next location in under one
minute.
Bonus number three was a total of 168 miles from the start:
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McCray's Tavern 208 points Anytime
N33 57.388 - W083 59.376
Take a photo of the exterior of McCray's Tavern.
Category: Attempted murder.
Pornographer Larry Flynt,
on trial for an obscenity charge at the nearby courthouse, was gunned down and
paralyzed by a sniper after he and his lawyer had eaten lunch
near here on 3/6/1978.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code: LAW Approved: _________
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This was what Jeff and I called a drive by bonus. Photo
taken and data recorded in less than one minute.
We had a seven minute fuel stop and on to bonus number four.
262 miles from the start:
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Floyd/Chatooga county line
on US-27/GA-1 646 points Anytime
(aka
"
100' NW of S Little
N34 24.932 - W085 14.068
Take a photo that shows both the
and Mile 0 signs at this location.
Category: Reckless driving, flight, improper passing,
leaving the scene of an accident.
On 9/5/2007 on US-27 between Summerville and Armuchee Justin Patterson, 22, reached speeds of 154
mph on his 2002 Suzuki Hayabusa.
He was trying not to be late to the Georgia State Police barracks to
pick up his Class M motorcycle license. How did that work
out for you, Justin?
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code: AMU Approved: _________
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It was a hot drive to bonus number five in
Jackson County Courthouse 195 points Anytime
Courthouse Square,
N34 40.300 - W086 02.040
Take a photo of either side of the historic marker
on the south side of the courthouse lawn.
Category: Perjury, false rape claim.
Two white hobo women accused nine black teenagers of
rape on a Southern Railroad train running
between
atmosphere, eight of the defendants were summarily convicted
and sentenced to death. Though the case
was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court twice, all
defendants, forever known as the "Scottsboro Boys,"
served between 6 and 19 years in prison before being
released.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code: SCB Approved: _________
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Another fuel stop put us on the road to bonus six in
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Meriwether Lewis National Monument 1,014 points
Daylight hours only
(7 mi east of
N35 30.688 - W087 27.629
Take a photo of the Meriwether Lewis memorial column.
Category: Unexplained death.
Meriwether Lewis, 35, former secretary to Thomas
Jefferson and co-leader of the Lewis-Clark expedition
across
hand. The broken column is intended to represent a life
tragically cut short.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: HOH Approved: _________
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At this bonus location, we finally took the time to remove
our helmets and have a snack. We met Turbo Dave and Terry and Lynda Lahman, yet again, at this stop. We chatted for a bit, took
our bonus photo and had a snack. We learned that Turbo Dave was also headed
east, so we drove with him for a few hours. Not far from the last bonus, on the
side of the road, we saw Terry and Lynda Lahman. They
were pulled over, with their helmets off and their topcase
open. We waved, and they didnt seem to be in any distress. We thought perhaps,
since they were veteran rally riders, that we were missing something. Should we
stop and do the same? It was another Iron Butt Rally mystery. As twilight was
nearing, we needed to stop and switch Jeffs visor on his helmet and refuel. We
waved a hearty wave to Turbo Dave and were once again on our own. We were
headed into the depths of the wilderness in
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Bonus Seven.
We were now 618 miles from the start
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Courthouse square 214 points Anytime
N35 29.709 - W085 00.722
Take a photo of the historical marker on the
courthouse square.
Category: Illegally teaching evolution.
The trial of John Thomas Scopes, accused of teaching
evolution in contravention of state law, was held
here in July 1925. Scopes was represented by Clarence Darrow. The prosecution was headed by
fundamentalist Baptist William Jennings Bryan, a three-time
candidate for president. The marker notes that
"Scopes was convicted," though that hardly
was the end of the story.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code: DAY Approved: _________
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This was another drive by bonus.
We found the location and snapped the photo in under a minute. However, the
drive to the bonus location itself was on very twisty, windy roads. Some of the
roads had complete switchbacks on them. Perhaps this would have been better to
be attempting during the day. The true definition of the worlds
toughest riders, was apparent in trying to obtain this bonus. We fueled again,
because we werent sure we would find open stations, due to the remoteness of
the area we were in. On to the next bonus.
Bonus Eight: 739 miles from the
start and in a very remote location.
Brushy Mountain Prison 124 points Anytime
TN-116, about 0.8 mi north of Petros
N36 06.263 - W084 26.913
Take a photo of the sign with wording "Brushy
Mountain State Penitentiary / Established 1896" at the
entrance to prison.
Category: Prison escape.
James Earl Ray, assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
escaped from here briefly in 1977.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: RAY Approved: _________
This bonus location was a prison, located up in the mountains. Jeff kept trying to tell me that it would no longer be a working prison, but simply a tourist location. Boy was he wrong! It was definitely a working prison, on roads that made Deals Gap look easy. Once we arrived at the prison, there were night creatures making scary sounds. Let me make it very clear-large night creatures, making very scary noises. There was a working prison in front of us. No one would be able to hear us scream! As you can see by the photo, I was truly terrified and just wanted to get out of there.
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I was very relieved as we were
headed back to civilization. As we were riding down the mountain, a large,
dark, huge cat of some type ran just in front of the front tire. Jeff and I
were both relieved the bobcat (?) was as afraid of us as we were of it. We
found a cheap motel in town (Super 8 in
Another Iron Butt mystery can be
revealed here. As we put our head on the pillow, our brains were working top
speed, thinking about everything we did and what we yet had to do. There was no
quiet drifting off to sleep. Our minds would be (safely) racing cruising
at 100mph legal
speeds and suddenly we were in a dead sleep. It is the strangest feeling.
Day 2 Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Our screaming meanie
went off way too early. We jumped out of bed and were packed up and on the bike
in 20 minutes. We needed to travel to the ninth bonus location, which was
940miles from the start.
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BB&T Bank 511 points 9:00am 4:00pm
N36 50.729 - W086 53.280
Obtain a postcard in the lobby of the bank that
reproduces the mural of the robbery.
Category: Bank robbery.
Jesse and Frank James, Cole and Jim Younger, and
others struck this bank on 3/20/1868. The historical
marker at the site of the old bank building is on the NW
corner of 6th &
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: RUV Approved: _________
This turned out to be another drive by bonus location. I
recorded the necessary information as we approached the bonus location, hopped
off the bike and Jeff snapped the photo. It had now become apparent that I had
developed an annoying new neurosis. I was constantly touching the rally flag,
bonus pack, cell phone, camera and adventure book (contained all fuel
receipts). Sometimes, I would touch them in simultaneous succession, just to
make sure they were there. If I couldnt immediately locate one of these items,
my heart would skip a beat, I would stop breathing and become incredibly tense.
This routine would happen, 40 or 50 times per day, for 11 days. Im sure my blood
pressure averaged 185/145 for the entire rally, instead of its normal 95/68.
Not sure this was productive or healthy, to say the least. I always slept with
all of these items within reach. Even typing this, makes me want to collect all
of those items and touch them. Im sure at some point, therapy will be
necessaryJ.
Bonus ten was 1189 miles from the start. We stopped for fuel
and rode to the bonus location:
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Harlan County Courthouse 517 points Daylight hours
only
N36 50.841 - W083 19.291
Take a photo of the front of the courthouse.
Category: Murder, labor violence, bootlegging.
This county never stops bleeding. Magistrate Bob Pope
was gunned down in this court by John Scott on
8/19/1890. Because of labor unrest among coal miners,
by the 1930s the entire county was known as
"Bloody Harlan." As recently as 2002 the burned body of a candidate
for sheriff was found in his car on KY
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: HAR Approved: _________
This bonus location, due to its higher point value, was 90
minutes off the beat and path. We drove quickly through the twisty roads of
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The two lane, twisty road, down the
mountain was as filled with as many slow moving vehicles, as it was going up.
We were riding with purpose, because our day was, once again, built around a
daylight only bonus. We needed to keep moving. We had to continuously pass slow
moving cars and trucks. As we were reaching the bottom of the mountain, we were
passing a slow moving delivery truck, the truck suddenly put on its brakes. We
both knew, instantly, that it was going to turn left. Jeff sounded the BMW
horn, the truck slowed, let us pass, and them proceeded with its left turn.
Another example of why one always needs to operate at full capacity while on a
motorcycle. Jeff explained to me the exit path he would have taken, had that
truck decided to make that left turn, as we were passing. A deep breath, a
check that I had our rally flag, rally pack, camera, adventure book etc. and
all was right with the world.
Once again, we needed to make a fuel stop. It was the
perfect time to make our Call-In-Bonus. These were essentially free points
given for making a simple phone call on the correct date and time:
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Call-In Bonus - no specific location 250 points
Available August 25, 2009
Noon 11:59:59 pm Pacific
Call xxx-xxx-xxxx and leave
the following information:
Your name, your rider number, your location
(city/town and state/province), the last bonus you scored, and
the bonus you are headed for. While it is not required for
this bonus, if you have a quick story, please leave
it also!
Time: _____________ Odometer: _____________ Code: CI
Approved:
Bonus eleven was our next
destination. Unlike the previous morning, we had not really eaten a full meal
since the following morning. The temperatures were climbing, and fatigue was
taking its toll. As we were approaching the next bonus, 1307 miles from the
start, we were both feeling the stress and heat. I saw the sign that we needed
to photograph and pointed to it. Obviously, Jeff couldnt see where I was
pointing and rode past it. We had to make a tight gravel U-turn. I was
frustrated and according to Jeff had a bad tone. We proceeded to both have a
bad tone with one another. We arrived at the bonus location, recorded our data
and snapped our photo. We also snapped at one another!
N37 34.827 W082 10.805
Take a photo of the historical marker
identified as "Election Fight."
Category: Feud.
Hatfields and the McCoys. A Hatfield was stabbed. Later, three McCoy brothers
were captured, tied to paw
paw trees, and shot. The feud the subject of stories,
movies, songs, poems, and nursery rhymes
lasted about 1,350 years.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code: MCR Approved: _________
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After taking our required photo and making sure I could
touch everything. Jeff and I found ourselves yelling at one another. Wow-was it
happening already? We had read horror stories of couples not working well
together. How could bliss turn to a terse verbal altercation, this fast? The
instant Jeff yelled, I unplugged our communication
system. The words I missed are now a true Iron Butt Mystery. As I am told,
Jeff gave me a heart felt speech (diatribe) of why he reacted the way he did.
After about five minutes, Jeff tapped my leg. I plugged in. He asked if I had
heard what he said. I explained that when he yelled at me (which is a very rare
thing), I had simply pulled out the plug. He told me it was too bad, because he
had said some very important things. Suddenly, we were at the next bonus
location.1311 miles from the start.
Historical marker 845 points Anytime
Intersection of Ferrell and Mate Streets
(across the street from the
BB&T bank)
N37 37.369 - W082 09.927
Take a photo of the state historical marker.
Category: Strikebreaking.
For years the Stone Mountain Coal Company vigorously
resisted efforts of coal miners to unionize. On
5/19/1920 a shootout led by police chief Hatfield
took place in which three miners and seven detectives
hired by the coal company were killed.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: MTW Approved: _________
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How could the next bonus location be so close? We were still
trying to finish our argument. Jeff once again drove past the bonus. I said it
was located on
Moving onand thats just what we did (although I still would
like to hear the 5 minute speech I missed while unplugged). We were moving on
to the next bonus location (number 13), 1403 miles from the start:
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Moose Family Center Lodge 159 points Daylight hours
only
N38 24.731 - W081 50.627
Take a photo of the front of the
Category: DUI, illegal possession of prescription drugs
(Viagra).
Jon Bobits* girlfriend
confessed that she was performing oral sex upon him at the time he crashed the
car
he was driving along this city block. At the police
station Bobit counseled her to "Shut up."
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: MFC Approved: _________
This was another, well needed, drive by bonus. Data recorded, photo snapped and on to the next bonus 1419 miles from the start:
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Child Enrichment Center 162 points Anytime
201 Donnally St
N38 21.417 - W081 37.996
Take a photo of the sign identifying the building as
the
Category:
For years William Mucklow
pretended to be feeble-minded and in need of day care at his home. But his
real goal was to fondle the breasts of the home care
workers who attended him and changed his diapers.
He was sentenced to one year of home confinement
without visiting nurses. We presume that he also
resumed changing his own diapers.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: CEC Approved: _________
We
met another rider at this location. Not sure who he was, but we exchanged
pleasantries and were on our way. We had to fuel twice, before we were at our
final bonus for the day, 1650 miles from the start:
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Historical marker 589 points Anytime
Approximately
N40 42.851 - W080 35.301
Take a photo of the historical marker.
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a masterful and
relatively courteous Depression-era bank robber, was shot and
killed by FBI agents and local police in these fields on
10/22/1934. In one scene in the 2009 movie Public
Enemies John
Dillinger congratulates FBI agent Melvin Purvis on
gunning down Floyd. Purvis was indeed
present at Floyds capture, but three months after Dillingers death.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code:
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Yes-I
bet this would have been a nice drive during daylight. However, at night, the
roads were very twisty and not fun. They were difficult. The curves were marked
45mph and we could only make 20mph at best. We crossed over bridges that seemed
like they were foot traffic only. As we approached the bonus location, we
came upon a number of high school kids. I think they were having their own
private party, filled with private party accoutrements (no one inhaled), and amazed that
anyone, much less a weighted down BMW motorcycle would be approaching them, at
that late hour. We finally located the bonus sign. Jeff pulled up on the grass
and did a wide; slow speed u-turn, on wet grass. His riding skills never cease
to amaze me. If that were me, I would be tipped over in a muddy puddle. We
recorded our information and took our photo. I think I can honestly say that we
were exhausted, from the long day. We had a morning bonus that we could obtain
at 8am CST. We found a hotel 8 miles from our morning bonus. There was a
McDonalds across the street from our hotel. We pulled into the drive through,
just as they were closing. We ordered two 1/3 lb. Angus burgers and took off
for our hotel in
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We
checked into our rooms. We were both really tired. We ate our dry Angus
burgers. Jeff drank fuel flavored scotch from our extra fuel cells. Warchild wouldnt let us put fuel in them, so we filled
them with scotch. To me, the scotch tasted wretched. I got my emergency bottle
of white wine. We instantly fell asleep even though our brain was still working
overtime. It was a very long day. To me,
this was the most unpleasant day of the rally. I didnt want to argue on the
rally anymore. We had to function as a team, not as a dysfunctional unit.
Day 3 Wednesday, August 26, 2009
After
a restful 6 hours of sleep, we were up and on the bike by 7:30am CST. We
arrived at our next bonus location, number sixteen, and 1659miles from the
start. There were already at least 25 bikes there. It was great to see many
other riders and hear some of their stories. Of course, I got another giant hug
from my new friend Turbo Dave. I feel so privileged to be his friend.
Sturgis House 1,031 points 9:00am noon
122
N40 37.170 - W080 34.836
Purchase a key ring from Susan Anderson ($2.00;
please have exact change) and take a photo of Floyd's
death mask in the basement. Note: Your ID flag does
not have to be in the photo for this bonus.
Category: Autopsy.
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, following his
death by gunshot wounds in a field a few miles north of town on
10/22/1934, was brought to funeral home here and
embalmed in what is now the dining room of this
magnificent Victorian B&B. Local citizens paraded by his
corpse until the body was removed.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: ELO Approved: _________
All of the riders formed a very respectful line as we entered the house. Upon entry, we found out that it was and beautiful Bed & Breakfast that was completely empty. The owner said we could have stayed there last night and she would have prepared us a great breakfast. So much for not thinking ahead. That was certainly a lost opportunity, but a beautiful location. Someday, I would really like to go back and enjoy it.
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We
continued on our way, knowing that today we would be heading into Checkpoint 1
in
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Total Waste Logistics Las LLC 149 points Anytime
N41 08.031 - W080 42.669
Take a photo of the Total Waste sign at entrance to
the site.
In July 2006 George Finnerty
was charged with littering his own property. He was then the county's litter
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: TWL Approved: _________
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This
was a very muddy stop. We took the photo and moved on. As we were riding, Jeff
realized that there were two more bonus locations, on the way to
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Drifters Restaurant & Lounge 137 points Anytime
N41 35.912 - W087 10.740
Take a photo of the exterior of restaurant.
Category: Bank robbery.
Within hours of Kenneth Cunningham's release from
prison following a bank robbery conviction, he robbed
another bank in
work.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: DRL Approved: _________
 |
This
was a very fast drive by bonus that we got and left. Now on
to the final bonus before reaching
At
the final bonus of leg 1, I had to go inside and obtain a finger print card. I
entered the museum gift shop and asked for assistance. The kind lady running
the gift shop looked up at me and charged me the $3 entrance fee and told me
where to go. It took me about 5 minutes from start to finish obtaining my
fingerprint card. After I completed the bonus, I looked at the receipt. To my
dismay, the kind giftshop lady gave me a senior
citizen discount. It had only been a week ago, when I was questioned as to
whether or not I was 18 and I had to produce a photo ID. I guess the rally was
really taking a toll on my appearance. To this day, that really bothers me.
Dillinger Museum 144 points 10:00am 5:00pm
N41 34.239 - W087 27.758
Obtain a fingerprint card with your fingerprints.
This bonus requires the payment of an entry fee.
Category: Museum of crime.
Artifacts of John Dillinger's
life are here, a comprehensive collection of nearly everything you ever wanted
to know about the FBI's most famous nemesis but were
afraid to ask.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: HAM Approved: _________
Now
we were just under 2 hours away from
The
first person I saw was Voni Glaves. I had been talking to her on Facebook and recognized her by her red clothes. The instant
I got my helmet off, she was there with a big hug and a smile. It was so great
to meet her in person. We stopped the clock with Ira, got our scoring sheets
and checked into our room. It was great to be there, leg one was not yet
complete. We had to do our scoring. Since I hadnt eaten anything all day, I
needed to eat something so I could focus on all of the paperwork. There was a
large buffet set up in the scoring hallway. I got to-go plates of lasagna and
salad for Jeff and myself. I inhaled the food and proceeded to organize all of
the paperwork. Jeff was very anxious to get the paperwork done and go to sleep.
I kept telling him that this was the most important part and I wasnt going to
rush anything. I made him proof all of our gas receipts. Since we werent
carrying auxiliary fuel, we didnt need to keep a fuel log. We simply had to
have all of our fuel receipts that showed the date, time, city, state, gallons
purchased and have our odometer reading written on them. Jeff reviewed the
receipts and fixed one missing number that would have cost us 100 pts. I
gathered up everything and brought it to the scoring table.
My
hands were shaking as we approached the scoring room. I saw Rebecca Vaughn and
gave her a big hug. Since we were friends, she was not able to score us. The
first thing that was proofed was our camera chip. All of our photos had to be
in the proper low resolution. We didnt lose any points for improper photos. Next, on to a scorer. We sat in front of a very nice rally
veteran, whose name I cant recall. He was the kindest man in the world. I
would later give him a huge hug at the next two checkpoints. He spent the next
two hours going through all of our receipts and pictures as we meticulously
presented every piece of paper for point credit. There was the bonus location
where we had to produce a finger print card. It was our last bonus stop. I
pulled out the finger print card, with great pride. He looked at Jeff and said
Wheres yours? We both froze. We didnt realize that we needed two. He said
that we were two people and we needed two cards. I was about to cry. It was my
mission, not to lose points at the table. Our scorer went over to Bob Higdon,
to ask for clarification. Bob said that we only needed one card. We had a big
sigh of relief. It was an arduous, nerve
racking process. In the end, we didnt lose any points at the table. Something
we owe thanks to Curt and Rebecca for. They gave us meticulous pre-rally prep
about the scoring table. It certainly paid off.
After
the scoring table, we met Curt Gran in the parking lot. I had requested
additional hard boiled eggs, for leg two and Jeff requested grease pencils.
Curt had both in hand. We gave him a quick hug, grabbed a second helping of
food and off to bed. The rally pack for leg two would be distributed at 4am the
next morning. That left us 5 good hours of sleep. We checked in with family
and friends. Thanked them for not coming to
Not
five minutes into our deep sleep, the hotel phone rang. I sprang awake with a
start. It was the Milwaukee Journal reporter, who had been attempting to
contact us via email, since the start of the rally. We had simply chosen to
ignore him, since we were focusing on our ride. He wanted to meet with us and
interview us. I explained to him that he had just woken us up and I was not
happy about it. He than proceeded to ask us if he could interview and
photograph us in the morning, when we received our rally packs for leg 2 at
4am. I was very angered with him, and curtly explained that we were focusing on
our ride and he needed to leave us alone! He was obviously unable to interview
any of the rally participants and here is the link to his awful cut and paste
story, containing mis-information:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/55125477.html
The
one comment that was made under the story is why people like this should not be
writing about the Iron Butt Rally. I intend to write to this reporter and set
him straight once my ride report is complete. We dont need misinformed people
like this writing about the adventure, safety and community, we as long
distance riders enjoy!
Day 4 Leg 2 Thursday, August 27, 2009
We
awoke this morning at 3:30am and quickly went to the area where Leg 2 rally
packs were to be handed out. Almost everyone was already there eating
breakfast. We enjoyed a quick bite to eat and rally packs were distributed at
exactly 4am. Here is what we had to choose from:
http://tcfjr.goption.com/ibr/ibr2009-leg2.html
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We
ran back to our room to begin routing. Once we got to our room, our key would
not work in the door. We were convinced that we would be standing outside our
door while everyone else would be leaving with their perfect routes in hand. I
had to run over two building to try to find someone to unlock our room. I passed
a maintenance man in the hall and tried to stop him. He said he had to help a
customer and would get back to me. I continued on, two more buildings, until I
finally found someone at the front desk. I explained our dilemma. The lady at
the front desk explained that a maintenance worker had already been dispatched
and the room should be open. While I went on my adventure, Jeff went into the
room next door, a rally riders room, and called for help. I made it back to
our room and we began the routing process.
By
7:30am, we had a basic route worked out and we were packed and on the bike.
There wasnt time for me to write up a clear bonus sheet for Jeff to have in
the tank bag and for me to follow. We just had basic codes on paper. The route
we had planned had three daylight only bonii on it. We
had to ride effectively to achieve our goals. If we werent quick with our
bonus and fuel stops, our route would not be effective. We had to keep the
wheels rolling until we bagged those first three bonii.
Once we stopped for the night, I would have time to proof the route and
determine if the goals we set for the next three days would also be obtainable.
After
the first 30 minutes of riding, we found ourselves in a torrential rain storm.
It was not pleasant to ride in the rain, but there was no other way. We planned
our route and we now had to ride our plan.
Our
first bonus was located 356 miles from the start of Leg 2.
National Hobo Museum 4,013 points 10:00am - 5:00pm
(formerly the Chief movie
theatre)
N43 05.787 - W093 48.102
Obtain a stew card.
Category: Vagrancy.
For most of American history vagrancy was a status
that could lead to immediate arrest and
incarceration. This museum celebrates that almost forgotten
lifestyle.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: BUM Approved: _________
We
arrived at this bonus location. Rick Miller was also at this location along
with a few others. The doors were locked and a sign stated that the hours of
operation had been changed, due to the start of school. We snapped our photos
of the signs and locked doors, called the rallymaster
and proceeded to get a fuel receipt in the same town of
 |
On
to bonus number two, 522 miles from the Checkpoint 1.
Roseman Covered Bridge Gift Shop 2,135 points 9:00am
5:00pm
N41 17.575 - W094 09.000
Purchase a book mark from the Roseman
covered bridge gift shop.
Category: Adultery.
Clint Eastwood, playing a photographer on assignment
from National Geographic, and Meryl Streep,
playing a farmers wife, hooked up in The Bridges
of Madison County. This was one of the bridges
used as a photo backdrop in the film.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: WIN Approved: _________
Bonus
number two required a 5 mile, gravel road into the hidden gift shop.
Fortunately, the rain had subsided. We didnt take any chances at this stop and
we purchased two book marks for $1 each. We were ahead of schedule and on to
bonus number three, 547 miles from Checkpoint 1.
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Police Department 365 points Daylight hours only
N Division & N 2nd Sts
N41 30.286 - W094 19.113
Take a photo of the exterior of the building showing
the historic comment on second floor window.
Category: Bank robbery.
Bonnie & Clyde knocked off the bank at this
location on 4/16/1934, about one month before they
themselves were ambushed and killed in
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: STT Approved: _________
 |
This
bonus was a simple drive by bonus that we obtained in under a minute. We refueled and were on to bonus number four,
641 miles from Checkpoint 1.
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Horseshoe Casino 354 points Anytime
N41 14.406 - W095 53.044
Take a photo of the Horseshoe Casino sign at the
entrance to the parking lot.
Category: Neglect of a dependent person.
In April 2007 Cruella de Vil* was arrested for leaving her senile, mute husband in a
car in the casino
parking lot for over an hour in 28oF temperatures while she gambled. She taped a sign to the window
of the car that read: "I have a disability. Do not
be alarmed. I am resting. Please do not call security."
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: CBL Approved: _________
 |
We
had completed our day. We were now driving towards the bonus that we would
start with in the morning, since it was a daylight only bonus. We saw that we
had the opportunity to add in another bonus along the way. That is exactly what
we did. We went to bonus number five, ~700 miles from Checkpoint 1. This was a
daylight only bonus, which we were still able to capture.
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Jesse James house 386 points Daylight hours only
N39 45.337 - W094 50.725
Take a photo of Jesse James' house from the street.
Category: Assassination.
This is the house where Jesse James was living with
his wife and two children when he was shot in
the back of the head by Bob Ford on 4/3/1882. Curiously,
although there is a bullet hole in a wall of
the house, the autopsy report states that there was no
exit wound in James skull.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: JJH Approved: _________
Reptile house
 |
After
achieving this bonus we needed to get fuel. I was very excited, and said we
could use that receipt as our rest stop bonus. It was still quite early. We
stopped and got gas and I also purchased two, huge cans of beer. I knew we
would be checking into a hotel and would get at least 7 hours of sleep. We
found a Days Inn located in
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Rest Bonus no specific location 4,001 Must start on Friday, August 28, 2009
Stop for four (4) or more hours. Document this stop
as follows:
___ at the start of the rest period, obtain a machine
generated receipt with date and time from a
location, for example, a gas station, a motel, a store, etc.
___ at the end of the rest period, obtain a dated,
time receipt from the same or nearby location in the
same town.
Our preference is that you also include your motel
receipt with this bonus if you motel it, however, it is
not required.
WARNING:
We are giving you wide latitude on this bonus with few restrictions so that you
may have
the flexibility to use it as needed. However, we want to
stress that if you are caught bending the rules
in the slightest, you will be expelled from the rally.
This bonus DOES NOT mean =get a receipt and
go collect bonuses. It means stop and rest.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: R4 Approved: _________
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Day 5 Friday, August 28, 2009
Upon
reviewing the rally pack one last time, I noticed that the time was different
for the first call in bonus, than I had originally thought. I thought it was
12:00pm to 12:01am. It was reversed. Im so glad I took a second look or we
would have messed up that bonus:
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Call-In Bonus - no specific location 499 points
Available August 28, 2009
12:01 am to noon Pacific
time
Call 916-273-5200 and leave the following
information:
Your name, your rider number, your location
(city/town and state/province), the last bonus you
scored, and the bonus you are headed for. While it is not
required for this bonus, if you have a quick
story, please leave it also.
Time: _____________ Odometer: _____________ Code: CIA
Approved: ______________
Wow-it
was already Day 5. It seemed like the rally had just begun. Time was flying by.
We stopped in at a gas station and bought something so we would have our end rest
bonus receipt. Now on to the work of collecting bonii for day 5. Bonus number six was located 822
miles from the start of Checkpoint 1.
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Jesse James Bank Museum 253 points Daylight hours
only
N39 14.811- W094 25.163
Take a photo of the
Category: Bank robbery.
The James/Younger gang pulled off the first daylight
bank robbery at this site, killing one person, on
2/13/1866.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: JJB Approved: _________
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This
was a drive-by bonus and we were on to bonus number seven, 835 miles from
Checkpoint 1, which was a time restricted bonus. We arrived a few minutes
before 9am and had to wait to take our photo.
Jesse James Farm and Museum 540 points 9:00am
4:00pm
N39 23.388 - W094 19.256
Take a photo of Jesse James' grave stone.
Category: Outlawry.
Jesse James, perhaps the most infamous robber of the
Wild West, was born and is buried here.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: JJF Approved: _________
 |
Bonus number eight, 887 miles
from Checkpoint 1, another drive-by bonus.
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Garmin, Inc 238 points Daylight hours only
N38 51.291 - W094 47.838
Take a photo of the corporate sign at the indicated
intersection.
Category: Difficulty of getting an RMA number.
This is the home of Garmin,
inventor of a GPS touch screen that delaminates when you touch it and
hard drives in a GPS intended for use in off-road
vehicles. What could go wrong with these concepts?
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: OLA Approved: _________
 |
On
to bonus number nine, 1173 miles from Checkpoint 1. This was a time restricted
bonus from 10a-4:30p. We arrived in plenty of time to obtain our two pieces of
barbed wire. What a strange request.
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Barbed Wire Museum 4,306 points 10:00am 4:30pm
120
N38 31.462 - W099 18.675
Obtain a "shorty"
wire at the museum's gift shop.
Category: Cattle rustling.
The barbed wire did more to stop castle rustling in
the west than an entire armory of Colt 44s. Who
would have thought an interesting museum could be made out
of the subject of something so
mundane? And what is the inside of your tank bag going to
look like after youve ridden around for a
couple of days with the barb digging gaping holes into
anything that brushes against it?
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: BAR Approved: _________
When
we arrived at this checkpoint, another rider was there. Tom Loftus. It was good
to see someone else from the rally. We took the time to say a few words and
then we all moved on.
 |
We
were now on to bonus ten and what turned out to be our final bonus of the day.
We had to ride 1569 miles from Checkpoint 2. We rode into
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Old Homestead House Museum 3,464 points Anytime
N38 44.749 - W105 10.490
Take a photo of the
Category: Prostitution.
At a time when $3 represented a good day's work,
madam Pearl DeVere charged $250 for a single
night's lodging at this former brothel.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: CCK Approved: _________
 |
Jeff
and I were both very tired. We now had a serious choice to make. This is one of
the times where the rider is in control of the rally. We had to drive back down
the mountain and another 2 hours to reach the next bonus,
that we had planned for the morning. We wanted to be there at 6am. We
decided that we were tired and it would be safer to drive down the mountain in
the morning. Either way, it would be dark and there would be numerous deer on
the road, at either time. We drove to one of the beautiful old houses that were
hotels and casinos. Jeff went inside to see if they had any rooms available.
From the look on the outside, I thought the rooms would be very expensive. Jeff
came out with a discouraged look on his face. He said they only had one room
left, but it had a shared bathroom. I said that would be fine, and asked the
price. He said $50. What a deal. Jeff went back inside and snatched up the
room. As we walked into this beautiful building, I saw that they had a fancy
restaurant. They had a Friday evening special of two pounds of crab legs for
$13.99. The restaurant was open for another two hours.
We
unpacked the minimal amount of luggage off the bike and went to our room. We
both looked and smelled horrible, but decided that we were too hungry to shower.
We looked at each other and knew it was time to eat. We sat down in the
beautiful dining room and our server arrived. She asked us if she could get us
anything to drink. We looked at each other and in unison ordered a gin martini.
Im sure this goes against every experienced rally veterans rally rules, but
we felt we owed it to ourselves. The first few sips of that martini tasted so
good. We decided that this was the best rally day ever. We laughed about all
the adventure we had had so far. We were certainly wondering where all of the
other riders were. We marveled at how fast the time was flying by and how, to
this point, the rally didnt seem all that difficult. I ordered the crab legs
and Jeff ordered a steak. Our food arrived shortly and we inhaled it, along
with a second martini. Our wonderful dining experience obviously ate into our
sleep time, but we felt like it was worth it. After supper, we went to the
beautiful, shared bathrooms, showered and quickly went to bed. We were in a
beautiful room for the next 2 hours. Our alarm woke us at 3am, and by 3:20am
we were riding back down the mountain.
Day 6 Saturday, August 29, 2009
It
was a long ride down the mountain. I can honestly say that we were much more
alert in the morning than we would have been, if we rode down the mountain
Friday night. We spotted numerous deer on both sides of the road. Fortunately,
they didnt leap in front of us. At the bottom of the mountain, we stopped for
gas and hot coffee. We knew, at that moment, that we probably had the most fun
night of any rally rider. (The added bonus here was that we were a two-up
couple). Even though we were short on sleep and could have used the time we
spent dining in
Up on
------
Up on
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one
 |
 |
Bonus
eleven was 1696 miles from Checkpoint 1.
Golden,
N39 45.394 - W105 13.152
Take a photo of the entrance to the
Category: DUI.
Peter Coors, president of the brewery of the same
name, had his license revoked for blowing a
breathalyzer score of 0.088 on May 28, 2006, nowhere near the
unofficial record of .727, set by
Vidmantas Sungaila of Lithuania, but
good enough for Goldens police department.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: GDN Approved: _________
 |
We
arrived at this location at 6:00am. It was still very dark. The directions
started that we needed to take a photo of the entrance from the parking lot.
There was a huge sign and the front entrance. We discussed the proper photo to
take, and voted on the front entrance doors. From here, we rode on to bonus
number twelve.
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Ludlow Massacre Memorial 641 points Anytime
Exit 27 off I-25
(13 miles north of
N37 20.357 - W104 35.009
Take a photo of the stone monument that memorializes
the victims of the massacre.
Category: Strikebreaking.
This is the site of the worst strike-breaking
massacre in
associated with the United Mine Workers. On 4/20/1914 after a
series of fights between miners and
the Colorado National Guard during a period of several
months, a fire swept through a tent city on this
site, killing more than 20 people (including 11
children).
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: LUD Approved: _________
We arrived at this bonus location with ease. The land adjacent to this bonus was filled with prairie dogs. There were hundreds of them. They were all so cute; I had to stop for an additional photo.
 |
 |
Before
leaving for our next bonus, we realized that we could score a few hundred more
points if we slightly adjusted our route and replaced bonus location LLU with
KID and LNM. I was disappointed with this move, because the bonus location we
were dropping was a Burger King. I was planning on a bonus lunch. However,
points won out over hunger and we adjusted our route. While organizing our
changes, it seemed like the appropriate time to execute our second call-in
bonus:
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Call-In Bonus - no specific location 501 points
Available August 29, 2009
Noon to 11:59 pm Pacific time
Call 916-273-5200 and leave the following
information:
Your name, your rider number, your location
(city/town and state/province), the last bonus you
scored, and the bonus you are headed for. While it is not
required for this bonus, if you have a quick
story, please leave it also.
Time: _____________ Odometer: _____________ Code: CIB
Approved:
We were now headed for bonus
location twelve A (since we adjusted our route).
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Billy the Kids grave 872 points Daylight hours only
On NM-272, near the southern junction with NM-212
(Behind the Old
Old
N34 24.248 - W104 11.595
Take a photo of the headstone of Billy the Kid's
grave. There is a replica grave at the Billy the Kid
Museum. That is not an acceptable substitute. The
actual cemetery is located on the grounds of the
Category: Banditry.
This is the final resting place of William (Billy the
Kid) Bonney and two of his associates. The grave
stone has been stolen repeatedly over the years, so this
one is made with reinforced concrete.
Billy was gunned down near here by Sheriff Pat
Garrett on the night of 7/14/1881. His last words, in
Spanish, were, Quin es?a (Who is it?). Garrett
himself was shot and killed outside of
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: KID Approved: _________
This
bonus seemed simple enough. It was just a picture of Billy the Kids original
gravestone. Why it took us 30 minutes to find it, is beyond me. We stopped
right by it the first time, but thought the directions were being tricky. We
drove around on gravel roads for 30 minutes. Finally, we stopped in front of a
senior center and I went inside. I took off my helmet and must have looked very
strange. 20 elderly people looked at me like I was a smelly space alien. I
asked a lady where the original grave stone of Billy the Kid was. She pointed
me back to where we just were. All of the elderly people laughed at me. Someone
asked why I would want to see that. I thanked the kind lady and hopped back on
the bike. I told Jeff to go back to where we originally started from.
Gravesites seemed to be our nemesis on this rally.
 |
Once
this intense search was over, we headed for bonus 13. It was an addition to our
route, but we felt it was a good choice:
Historic Courthouse 615 points Anytime
US-380, west edge of town
N33 29.624 - W105 23.428
Take a photo of the front of the historic courthouse.
Category: Jail break.
Awaiting hanging for having killed a sheriff, Billy
the Kid (aka Henry McCarty, William Bonney, and
Henry Antrim) escaped from a holding cell here on the
top floor of what was then the Murphy/Dolan
store on 4/28/1881, killing two guards in the process.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: LNM Approved: _________
One
would think that a courthouse in
 |
 |
On
to bonus number fourteen. We were now 2427 miles from Checkpoint 1.
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Pancho Villa State Park 411 points Anytime
Near the intersection of NM-9 and NM-11
N31 49.567 - W107 38.553
Take a photo of the official scenic historical marker
in the park that is entitled Pancho
Villas Raid.a
Category: Invasion of continental
In the first invasion of the
horses. Gen. John Pershing and 10,000 army troops chased Villa
back across the border but could
not catch him.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: CMB Approved: _________
Before
reaching this bonus location, we drove through
As
we were traveling along the
It
was now getting really dark. There were a lot of warning signs for animals. We
saw large deer by the side of the road, that really
scared us. We approached bonus fifteen and got our photo.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Geronimo memorial 1,059 points Anytime
Approximately 35 miles northeast of
N31 41.743 - W109 07.741
Take a photo of the Geronimo memorial.
Category: Insurrection.
This is a stone memorial to remember the surrender in
September 1886 of Geronimo, an Apache
chief who fought against
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: GER Approved: _________
Our
original plan was to ride another 2 hours and get one last bonus for the night.
We saw a sign that said: Watch for Animals next 100 miles. I said to Jeff that
perhaps we should be done for the night and find the next hotel. Jeff concurred
as we rolled into Douglas, AZ. There wasnt much to choose from, but the Motel
6 looked great. Jeff drove through town to see if there was any food available.
It seemed everything was closed. I really didnt care. I wasnt hungry; I just
didnt want to ride with animals the next 100 miles. We checked into our sleazy
Motel 6, only to find another rider who had just pulled in. He was relived to
know that he wasnt the only desperate rider. He also said the warning sign
about animals convinced him to stop. We checked in. I went to the next door
gas station and purchased two giant cans of beer, a giant turkey sandwich and a
large bag of Cheetos. Life was good and we were safe
from animals. We found sleep arrived quickly that night. We got a refreshing
5 hours of sleep.
Day 7 Sunday, August 30, 2009
We
awoke after a restful night sleep, only to find Terry and Lynda Lahmans bike parked next to ours. We were up and out at
sunrise. We quickly grabbed bonus sixteen, 2619 miles from Checkpoint 1.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
OK Corral 811 points Anytime
Near
N31 42.836 - W110 04.055
Take a photo of any sign in the area that identifies
it as the site of the legendary gun fight.
Category: Shootout.
The gun battle between the Earp
family and the Clantons on 10/26/1881, though it
lasted no more
than 30 seconds and left just three dead, has come to be
considered the most famous shootout in the
history of the Old West. It occurred down the street at a
vacant lot near the corner of 3rd and
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: OKC Approved: _________
 |
The
morning was crisp and the scenery was beautiful as we drove through
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Truman-Randall house 435 points Anytime
N33 01.619 - W111 23.258
Take a photo of the historical marker in front of the
house. Note: The marker misspells the name
Randalla as Randell.a
Category: Stagecoach robbery.
Pearl Hart, the first female stagecoach robber (and
the last stage robber of either sex), was captured
near
the building was added by a physicians widow in 1922
after he was murdered by his nurse. Caution:
Do not do anything stupid here; the home is currently
owned by a lawyer.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: TRH Approved: _________
 |
This
was a very easy bonus to find. We wondered why it was worth so many points. It
was leaving the bonus that gave us our explanation. We were now riding through
twisty mountains and the temperature was already at 100 degrees. We both began
drinking all of our extra water. It was another hour and fifteen minutes before
we reached bonus eighteen, 2831 miles from Checkpoint 1.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
N33 37.070 - W111 55.207
Take a photo of the
Category: Terrorism.
Hani Hanjoor, the September 11
hijacker who flew into Pentagon, took flight training at CRM Aviation
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: CRM Approved: _________
 |
We
quickly took our photo and moved on. I was now beginning to feel like Drew was
right; we had died and gone to hell. I had my gloves off so I could easily use
my cell phone and manipulate papers. It felt like my hands were on fire. I felt
waves of heat coming at us. Each wave was getting progressively hotter. I was
finally unable to hold my cell phone because it became too hot to touch. The
best way I can describe the feeling is like taking a blow dryer, holding it six
inches from your face and blasting it on high. Thats how our entire body felt.
Jeff kept reminding me to drink water. He was worried about me becoming
dehydrated. I drank and drank and drank.
We
finally stopped for gas. We refilled all of our water containers. It was so
important to stay hydrated. Yes, we stopped at bonus nineteen, 2929 miles from
Checkpoint 1.
2009
IBR Leg 2
Hastings Books Music & Video 2,211 points Anytime
N34 33.511 - W112 28.961
Take a photo of the exterior of the building
identifying it as Hastings.a
Category: Theft, credit card appropriation.
A thief stole a woman's purse. Later the criminal and
victim found themselves together by accident in
this bookstore, she to complain about $200 charges on her
credit card and he to buy some more
DVDs with her card.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________ Code:
HBM Approved: _________
 |
We
now faced the painful ride to
State Recreation Area 752 points Anytime
N33 21.437 - W115 44.040
Take a photo of the "Welcome to
Category: Engineering malpractice.
In 1905 a levee broke, diverting the
before being brought under control, creating a lake almost
400 square miles in size.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: BOM Approved: _________
We
saw a number of riders going to and from this bonus. Everyone looked exhausted
from the heat. How can people live in this area? The heat was horrible!
 |
 |
 |
We
were now two hours from Checkpoint 2 in
We
continued on our way to
|
Nearly
dead from the heat, we finally rolled into our hotel. We rolled into the hot,
underground parking lot and began to take off our riding gear. The underground
lot was filled with what I call Iron Butt Groupies. These were people who
wanted to ride motorcycles or be in the rally, but really were just in the way.
I took off my sweat filled helmet and began to get my riding jacket off. I was
greeted by an eager groupie who wanted to ask me hundreds of questions about
my experience. I just wanted to drop dead and be left alone. I tried to smile
and say I just needed to get my scoring pages organized.
We
walked into the cool air conditioning of our hotel. We checked in and were
given two warm cookies. Even holding the cookies made me want
to puke. I had had enough of the heat and I was ready to drop. We found
a luggage cart and unloaded the bike. Jeff was going to change the tire, while
I brought all of our luggage to the hotel room. At the
moment, pushing that luggage cart took everything out of me. I was dripping
with sweat, I couldnt stand my own smell and there were throngs of people that
wanted to touch and talk to me. I was ready to scream. I abruptly pushed the
luggage cart to the elevator. I ran into Bob Higdon in the hall. He asked me if
I was having fun. I gritted my teeth and told him to ask me after scoring. He
just smiled that Bob Higdon smile.
I
entered the elevator, the doors were closing, a hand
stopped the doors. Oh no, it was an Iron Butt Groupie. He followed me into the
elevator. I knew he was going to talk. I looked at him and told him I thought I
was going to be sick. He scrunched in the corner and stayed away from me. When
the elevator opened, I retreated to our room, or so I thought I would. I had forgotten
our room number. I was standing in the hall, dripping with sweat and exhausted.
I was about to cry, when I realized I had the hotel phone number in my cell
phone. I called the hotel and they told me our room number. I entered the cool
room and flopped on the bed. I took a few minutes to get a grip, knowing Jeff
was working on changing the rear tire in the heat. I had to begin getting our
papers ready for scoring.
I
washed my face with cold water and began proofing our fuel receipts. I found
that it was far easier to just write out a fuel log. That way I could make sure
our receipts had all of the correct information and that they were all in
order. This took about 40 minutes. Than I began to organize our sheets for the bonii we would be claiming. I wanted to make sure we had
all the correct information on the rally sheets and everything appeared
logical. This also took 40 minutes. Jeff finally called from the parking lot
and asked me to bring down the empty luggage cart.
When I arrived in the underground parking lot, many riders were there along with Rally Groupies. They were much easier to deal with now that I had a chance to get cool and settled. Jeff asked if I wanted the good news or the bad news first. I said bad news. He informed me that when he removed the rear wheel, he noticed that the weld on the muffler clamp had cracked off. He used steel safety wire borrowed from Jacques to wire it back together so our exhaust system wouldnt fall off during the remainder of the rally.
 |
| From |
I was now having fears that the BMW was going to let us down during the final
leg. Jeff said that he felt it would hold and not to worry. The good news was
that we had a new rear tire.
 |
We
stopped the clock with Ira and went up to the room to finish scoring. Jeff
showered and then helped me go through our pictures and proofed my work. We
felt confident that we would have a 32,000 point, second leg. We only needed
27,000 points, for this leg, to be considered finishers. We were excited about
how well we had done. The fun memories of
We
went through the stages of the scoring table. I can truly say that I hate the
scoring table. Our gas receipts and call-in bonuses were correct. All of our
photos were correct. Now it was time for our sleep bonus. For a moment, I
thought that we did our sleep bonus on the wrong day. The sleep bonus was to
take place on August 28 and we began ours on August 27. Were we about to lose
4000 points? Our scorer put up his had to ask for clarification. Toby Stevens
came over and explained that as long as we had proof that we rested for at
least four hours, on August 28th, we would get the points. It was OK
to start the sleep bonus early, we didnt need to get up at midnight and get
another receipt, as long as it was for the proper duration of time on the
actual date required. Again, reading comprehension was everything. I could have
blown 4000 points with the wink of an eye.
We
finished the scoring table without leaving any points at the table. I was
however, very shook up by the experience. Jeff finally realized how easily
simple mistakes can happen, that can cost major points. He saw many people
losing points over silly mistakes. He told me he would be a more active participant
in helping me double check everything during leg 3. I was relieved to have
another set of eyes watching over the paperwork.
We
went back up to our room, not having any clue how anyone else had done on leg
2. We packed up our old wheel and dirty clothes to ship back home. I had sent
clean clothes and something to wear for the finishers banquet. For a brief
moment, I wanted to send that clothes back home. The scoring table still had me
shook up and I doubted whether we would be able to be actual finishers. Were we
in over our heads? I showered and went back to the scoring room for food. Maybe
it was the intense heat, or maybe it was fatigue. Whatever it was, I hoped I
would feel better in the morning.
Day 8 Monday, August 31, 2009
We
were up at 3:15am and we went to the meeting room where the final leg would be
handed out. An awesome bag breakfast was waiting for us. There were far fewer
riders who had arrived early for breakfast. This was in contrast to the start
of leg 2. The riders who were there looked very
drained from leg 2. I think the intense heat had taken its toll on just about
everyone. There were stories about a number of riders who had struck deer, had
single vehicle accidents, or simply were to exhausted
to continue.
At
4am, were we urged to continue to be safe, enjoy our adventure, because we were
a special part of the long distance rider community.
Everyone was told to make it safely back to the finish in
http://tcfjr.goption.com/ibr/ibr2009-leg3.html
Wow-what
a choice. We had originally talked about riding to
We
were riding to our first location of leg 3. We would be headed to
We
were on schedule for our first bonus:
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mountain Meadows memorial 4,835 points Daylight hours
only
UT-18 between
Take a photo of the memorial cairn. The parking lot
is
about one mile from the main highway on a dirt road.
The road may be closed during rain. If so, take a
photo
of the memorial that overlooks the valley to the west.
It
is a short walk from the parking lot nearest the
highway.
In September 1857 the Fancher
party emigrant train from
site. On September 11, after a five-day battle, the
assailants approached the embattled pioneers
under a truce flag. They convinced the emigrants to
surrender peacefully and to be led out of the
valley under guard. On a prearranged signal, however, the
Mormon militia shot and killed 120 men
and women, leaving only 17 small children to survive. It
remained the worst mass murder in the
country's history for exactly 144 years until the terrorist
attacks of 9/11/2001.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: MMM Approved: _________
 |
This
was an interesting photo to take. As I was reading the description, I had no
idea what a cairn was. Google was I friend. I learned that it was a man made
rock formation, usually in a conical shape. We saw a number of other riders
arriving or leaving this bonus. I guess others had the same idea of getting out
of
Our
second bonus for leg 3 was also a daylight only bonus. We had the opportunity
to use our National Parks Pass, as our GPS directed to go through
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UT-163 3,063 points Daylight hours only
About 10 miles south of Mexican Hat,
N37 06.289 - W109 59.129
Take a photo of the area looking southwest
toward the mesas of
Category: Negligent homicide.
A bus crash killed nine and injured 20 a few miles
south of here when it inexplicably went off the road
and fell down cliff on 1/6/2008. If the scene in the
distance seems eerily familiar to you, that is
because it is the spot where Forest Gump decided to stop
running.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: GUM Approved: _________
 |
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nV0Gvpnc7WKOXJ-8Lp03MA?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AZUPsc6oa52Ofw7y9ub10w?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0p2w2yZ_cjxuZh-iJ6opUw?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/N5fRucxOtEHzRdxGvrxRcA?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink
When
we arrived at this bonus location, Jacque and Jennyfer
were also there. We stopped and chatted with them for a bit. They did not have
any plans for the night or any plans for the next bonus locations. We told them
that we were going to refuel and find a hotel for the night. They also wanted
to do the same. We refueled in Mexican Hat, UT and stayed a few miles away at the
Kokopelli Inn in Bluff, UT. There was a family store
next to the motel that made pizza. We all ordered pizza and beer.
Jacque and Jennyfer went to their rooms for route
planning, while Jeff and I went to sleep.
Day 9 Tuesday, September 1, 2009
We
awoke bright and early so we could be at the third bonus at sunrise. We were
just outside of
We
arrived at our next bonus while it was still dark. We met Bill Thweat and Bob Elliot. Bill was eating a Pop-Tart and
handed me a half eaten piece and told me to eat it. Because he said it with
authority, I did. Jeff and I later laughed that eating half of Bill Thweats Pop-Tart was the same as kissing him on the mouth.
The
skies finally lightened and we all obtained our photo.
 |
UT 313
N38 28.223 - W109 44.356
Take a photo from the southernmost point of the park.
This requires very short hike from the parking lot to
overlook the
the plaque that is labeled A Layer Cake of Time.a You
may have to pay a small fee to enter the park.
Category: Gun molls, suicide.
Thelma and Louise in the movie by the same name drove
off a cliff near here in 1991, a scene that
was to stand in for the north rim of the
lengthy chase and, rather than face lengthy prison
sentences, took a shortcut to
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: DHP Approved: _________
We
were now on to our next daylight only bonus back in
 |
N39 32.421 - W107 19.319
Take a photo of Doc Holliday's grave stone.
CAUTION: The
cemetery is located on the outskirts of
Glenwood Springs atop
hike up a dirt trail in extreme elevation and almost
certain
heat. The hiking trail begins near
11th and 13th streets. Do not even think about attempting
this climb if your physical health is questionable.
Category: Gunfighter.
Welcome to John (Doca)
Holliday's grave. He was a dentist turned gambler and fearsome gunfighter,
most famously assisting the Earps
in the gun fight at the OK Corral. Despite all odds, he died in bed
on 11/8/1887 at the Hotel Glenwood after a lengthy
battle with tuberculosis. He was 36.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: DOC Approved: _________
We
quickly moved on to bonus number five. At this stop, we ran into Vance Keeney.
He was another real nice guy and Im glad we had the opportunity to get to know
him. Jeff liked his cool well worn leather riding outfit We
took our bonus photo and moved on to
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Police car 4,568 points Daylight hours only
22 miles south of
N40 27.245 - W106 10.916
Take a photo of the police car and its occupant. It
is parked next to the Rand Yacht Club on CO-125
on the east side of the highway.
Category: Crime fighter.
This town has found a unique way to maintain a
constant vigil by its small but dedicated police force.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: COP Approved: _________
 |
On
one of our fuel stops along the way towards the sixth bonus stop, we had to
make our first call-in bonus. We got this out of the way and acquired a number
of easy points.
Call-In Bonus - no specific location 749 points
Available Sept 1, 2009
Noon to 11:59 pm Pacific time
Call 916-273-5200 and leave the following
information:
Your name, your rider number, your location
(city/town and state/province), the last bonus you
scored, and the bonus you are headed for. While it is not
required for this bonus, if you have a quick
story, please leave it also!
Time: _____________ Odometer: _____________ Code: CIC
Approved: ______________
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As we were at one of our fuel stops, we noticed that there was a smaller bonus
location, right along the way, that we could easily
stop for, so we did:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
JJs Bar 267 points Anytime
N41 18.553 W105 35.688
Take a photo of the exterior of the building.
Category: Hate crime
Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the
as the Fireside Lounge, on the night of 10/7/1998. They
subsequently robbed, pistol whipped, and
tortured him, leaving him tied to a fence in the mountains to
the east of town. He was found comatose
18 hours later and died a few days later. The killers
are serving life sentences.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: LRM Approved: _________
This
was a quick drive-by bonus that just added to our point collection.
Before
sunset, we made it to bonus six Crazy Horse. Here we ran into a number of
riders, Dan Porter and Dennis Powell, just to name a few.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Crazy Horse Mountain 4,980 points Anytime
Entrance, Avenue of the Chiefs
(US-16/US-385, 4.5 mi north of Custer)
N43 49.192 - W103 38.377
Take a photo of the large sign pointing the way to
the entrance to
Category: Destruction of private property.
A vandal took a hammer to Korczak
Ziolkowski's magnificent sculptures that used to line
the entrance
leading up to the visitor's center. In 1939 Ziolkowski worked as an assistant to Gutzon
Borglum on the
Mount Rushmore memorial before beginning this epic
project in 1948. After the sculptors death in
1982, the work continues on this memorial through his
family. In their 60+ years of labor on this
monument, the Ziolkowskis have
never accepted a dime of government funding.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: CHM Approved: _________
N43 54.355 - W096 35.216
 |
We
took another look at the bonus locations and saw, yet another, which we could
obtain before we reached our hotel for the night.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Old Style #10 Saloon 218 points Anytime
Deadwood,
N44 22.626 - W103 43.804
Take a photo of the Old Style #10 Saloon.
Category: Assassination, bragging to death.
While playing cards in a saloon tourist legend has
it that this is the place, but it really isnt on
8/2/1876 Bill Hickok was
shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall. The killer was tried but
acquitted in a territorial court. Later, after bragging about
how he'd fooled the law, McCall was tried
again for Hickok's murder
(double jeopardy didnt apply, since
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: DWD Approved: _________
 |
We
ran into Dan Porter again, at this bonus. We now were off to find a hotel to get
our sleep bonus taken care of. We checked into the Bear Lodge in
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rest Bonus - no specific location 6,003 points Must start on Wednesday,
September 2, 2009
Stop for 5 or more hours. Document this stop as
follows:
___ at the start of the rest period, obtain a machine
generated receipt with date and time from a
location, for example, a gas station, a motel, a store, etc.
___ at the end of the rest period, obtain a machine
generated receipt with date and time from the
same or nearby location in the same town
Our preference is that you also include your motel
receipt with this bonus if you motel it, however, it is
not required.
WARNING: We are giving you wide latitude on this
bonus with few restrictions so that you may have
the flexibility to use it as needed. However, we want to
stress that if you are caught bending the rules
in the slightest, you will be expelled from the rally.
This bonus DOES NOT mean =get a receipt and go
collect bonuses. It means stop and rest.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: R5 Approved:
Day 10 Wednesday, September 2,
2009
We
awoke quite early. I guess neither one of us were used to that much sleep. Jeff
had been reviewing our route and said he cut out a number of bonus locations
and miles and we would still come up with more than enough points. We could be
a silver or bronze medal finisher. We were both excited about those possibilities.
We then realized we only had ten minutes left before we were supposed to be
back on the bike. I quickly made new route sheets for us to follow and we began
the last part of our long journey towards the finish.
Devils
Tower was the next stop. This bonus said it wouldnt be open until 9am. We
arrived 10 minutes early, but waited until 9am to take our photo.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visitor's Center 5,837 points 8:00am 7:00pm
(Next to the parking lot at the base of the
formation) (After Sept 1: 9:00am 5:00pm)
Devil's Tower,
N44 35.418 - W104 43.219
Take a photo of the painting that hangs above the
fireplace in the visitor's center. Note: Your ID flag
does NOT have to be in this photo.
Category: Cross-breed adultery, bear baiting.
Although at least 20 tribes of Indians have treated
this spectacular site as a sacred place, few of their
legends describe clearly why they have wound up antagonizing
the bear in such a fashion as the
painting suggests. The
that his wife, who had been hiding some deep scratches on
her back, was actually having an affair
with a very large bear. If true, that could easily
account for the ill will between the species.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: DTW Approved: _________
 |
Once
again, we had our route planned with four more daylight only bonii that we had to obtain by nightfall. It would be a
very busy day. Our next set of bonii
were in
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Summit Hotel 1,818 points Daylight hours only
Big Sky Ski & Summer Resort
1 Lone Mountain Trail
(About 10 miles west of Big Sky,
N45 17.051 - W111 24.015
Take a photo of the Summit Hotel at Big Sky resort
from the parking lot in front of the hotel.
Category: Abduction.
Kari Swenson, an Olympic biathlon star, was abducted
by two mountain men in the woods not far
from here on 7/15/1984. They thought she would make a
fine wife for the younger kidnapper.
Swenson was wounded and one man was killed in the
course of her rescue.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: BSK Approved: _________
 |
 |
We
were now almost two hours behind schedule. We had another large daylight only
bonus that we werent sure if we could still obtain. I told Jeff we should do
our best and attempt it. The drive down the mountain, from Big Sky Resort, went
much faster than the drive up. When we were 40 miles from Lolo Hot Springs, we
were stuck in a town with a lot of detours. We were worried that we would be
driving in circles and be denied the daylight bonus. We finally got on the
right roads. We made our next bonus with another 15 minutes of daylight left.
We were very relieved.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lolo Hot Springs Cabins 1,245 points Daylight hours
only
US-12, .3 miles south of town
Lolo
N46 43.496 - W114 31.962
Take a photo of the business sign from the highway.
Category: Literary murder.
In the movie A River Runs through It Norman
McLean's brother is beaten to death in a gambling hall
near here, presumably because of a gambling debt. Paul
McLean was actually beaten to death in
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: LHS Approved: _________
Stack visitors area
Anaconda,
N46 07.393 - W112 55.887
Category: Industrial pollution.
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We were now done with all of our daylight bonii. We were tired and hungry. We took the time to stop
in at a Subway and grab a bite to eat. It felt good to take a break and have some
food. Our plan was to keep going until the end. We would Iron Butt Motel when
we became too weary to ride safely. We were now on our way to
ZZ Streetrods sign 1,079
points Anytime
N46 16.692 - W118 57.720
Take a photo of the ZZ Streetrods
sign.
Category: False police report.
Daniel Kuch told police
that he had been wounded in a drive-by shooting near here. It was
subsequently revealed that the
could get some time off of work and avoid an upcoming drug
test.
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: PSO Approved: _________
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This was an easy bonus to collect. We took our photo and
were on our way. It came to our attention that we were really close to the
finish hotel. In fact, we were driving right by it. We had more than enough
points, at this point to be finished with the rally. It was 1:30 am on
Thursday. We could really be done. We chose, however, to play it safe and keep
collecting bonii.
Jeff and I were both getting tired. We found a large rest
area that had trucks on one side and cars on the other. The car area was empty.
We pulled the bike in and parked. The weather was comfortable. There was a
slight gentle breeze. The moon looked almost full. There were gentle train
sounds nearby. We both stretched out on the pavement and fell asleep instantly.
Our screaming meanie woke us up in twenty minutes. We
couldnt believe how comfortable and pleasant the night was and how fast we had
fallen asleep. We determined that we liked this Iron Butt Motel so much, that
we would stay another 45 minutes.
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We woke up refreshed, even though it seemed like we only got
an additional five minutes of sleep. Before we left, it was time to make our
final call-in bonus:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Call-In Bonus - no specific location 751 points
Available September 3, 2009
12:01 am to noon Pacific
time
Call 916-273-5200 and leave the following information:
Your name, your rider number, your location
(city/town and state/province), the last bonus you
scored, and the bonus you are headed for. While it is not
required for this bonus, if you have a quick
story, please leave it also!
Time: _____________ Odometer: _____________ Code: CID
Approved: ______________
Day
11, Thursday September 3, 2009
As we were riding towards our next bonus location, the wind
started to really pick up. We arrived at 3:30am. We were in a very secluded
state park. There was a visitor center, but the doors were locked. I needed to
use the restroom, so I found a quiet spot. The wind was now whipping and the
trees were all swaying. I got settled next to the bike and I was about to fall
asleep. Jeff said he wanted to scope out where we had to take the next photo
and that he would be right back. It was completely dark and the wind was now
howling. I told Jeff that there was no way I was staying alone by the bike and
I was coming with. I was too scared to stay alone in the dark. We hiked up a
hill and found what we thought was the bonus. After reading the instructions
again, we learned we still had farther to hike. We proceeded up the hill to the
actual bonus sight. Now knowing where that was, I thought we could get some
rest.
We both found a comfortable spot, on the pavement, next to
the bike. The wind was making an eerie sound, but I got used to it quite fast.
Suddenly, we both heard the sound of footsteps coming towards us. We both
jumped up and shined the flashlight around us. There was nothing there. Maybe
we were hearing things. We tried again to go to sleep. Just as I was starting
to dream, I heard the sound of more footsteps coming towards us. Im sure this
time I screamed. Jeff was already up with the flashlight. There was nothing
there. Now I snuggled next to Jeff, I was exhausted but terrified at the same
time. I was having terrible thoughts related to the Blair Witch. For the next
hour, we played the sleep, footstep game. We never really got to sleep.
Finally, Jeff shined the flashlight up. We realized that we had been trying to
sleep next to an apple tree. Every time the wind whipped, apples would fall
from the tree, making the sound of footsteps. Boy did we feel stupid. We were
now too pumped full of adrenaline to sleep. The horizon was just beginning to
lighten. We hiked back up the hill to take our bonus photo.
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Note how NOT rested I look in this one...stupid apples
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We were now headed to our final bonus location for the day,
in
We twisted our way up the tight mountain roads. I spotted a
family of deer along the side of the road. We made a quick stop. The deer just
all looked at us but never moved. There was no cell service anywhere along the
mountain. We certainly didnt was to hit a deer, run out of fuel, or breakdown
now. We spent hours, winding our way up the mountain. The GPS said we had
another 16 miles until we reached the bonus. It told us to turn,
there was a no trespassing sign by the gravel road. We decided to take it
anyway. The GPS said that was the way to go. We drove on this windy, bumpy goat
trail for about 3 miles. The road was becoming something that wasnt safe to
drive on, so we turned around. I was worried that our exhaust system was going
to fall off at any moment. We got back to the no trespassing sign and met
another rider. His GPS directed him to the same place. We decided to document
our experience and take a photo. We couldnt call Lisa, because there was no
cell service.
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We went back down the mountain and called Lisa. She gave us
new, crude instructions, which we attempted to follow. We found another gravel
road. This one was far more treacherous. It was complete washboard as it
twisted around the mountain. I think even the goats would have a hard time on
this one. After 5 miles of this road, we came upon another no trespassing sign.
We took a photo and drove back down the mountain. Jeff had to make a number of
u-turns as we were scouting out the bonus. There was one time when we came so
close to a tip over. I knew Jeff was getting fatigued. It was certainly showing
as he was paddling u-turns. Jeff never paddles a u-turn.
We were now faced with a decision. Do we drive 19 miles back
into Condon, refuel, and attempt to find the bonus location again? Do we stop
and nap and then try to find the bonus location? Do we call it a day and drive
the four hours to the finish hotel? We discussed our options. We decided that
the safest thing to do was to refuel and head for the finish hotel. The roads
leading to the bonus were very challenging. We were worried that the exhaust
system on the bike would fall off. We were tired.
We now felt deflated, because we spent 3 hours trying to
reach a
Young Life Christian farm 3,874 points Daylight hours
only
About 18 miles southeast of town
Antelope,
N 44 49.908 - W 120 29.112
Take a photo of the water tower.
Category: Biological attack, immigration fraud.
In 1981 Indian con man Bhagwan
Shree Rajneesh established a cult city here on a
64,000-acre plot
of land, attracting thousands of devoted and determined
followers. Almost immediate conflict with
neighboring ranchers arose, principally over land use issues. In
1984, seeking to depress voter
turnout in a state election, Rajneesh cult members
introduced salmonella into ten restaurants in The
Dalles, poisoning more than 750 people. To this day it remains the worst biological attack
ever
experienced on
Date: ________ Time: _________Odometer: ________
Code: BAG Approved: _________
We decided that it would be best if we simply rode to the
finish hotel. I was concerned about Jeff and whether it was a good idea to ride
back without resting. Jeff said that he was fine, but he just wanted me to talk to
him for the entire 4 hours. We had an interactive conversation for that entire
ride back. One of the issues we needed to discuss was, if we were going to
attempt to get the last bonus on our list. It was 75 miles from the finish
hotel. We were supposed to obtain a receipt from Zips Drive In. The hours were
5am-7am. If we got a receipt right at 5am, It would
take us 90 minutes to get back to the hotel, if nothing went wrong. The penalty
phase began at 7am. We would lose 50 points per minute for each minute late.
After 9am, we would be time barred and lose everything we had worked for and
not be considered finishers.
We were going back and forth on whether we should attempt
that bonus. We were disappointed, because we felt that we had lost 3,874 points
by not being able to get the last bonus we attempted. I was also worried about
the scoring table. Even though I was careful with all of our receipts and Jeff
helped review all of the instructions for the photos, what if we made a
mistake? I was so worried we would mess up the rally and not have enough points
to be considered finishers.
I was starting to think that we should have just taken
another nap and went back on the search for the missing bonus. We kept
ourselves alert and safe on the long drive to the finish. We refueled a few
blocks from the hotel. As Jeff was driving the bike off the center stand, he
almost drove directly into a planter. At this moment, I knew it was time to
stop. It was no longer a safe or wise choice to keep riding.
We pulled into our hotel. There were already a few other
rally riders who were there.
As we were unloading, I saw Tom Austin. He said we still had
another twelve hours and we should be out collecting bonii.
I explained to him where we had been and how long we had been riding and that
we determined it just wouldnt be safe. I explained we were going to decide if
we were going back out to Zips in the morning, after
we had a chance to rest. Tom looked me in the eye and gave me a big hug. He
thanked me for making a good choice and staying safe. In the end, that was what
the rally was all about.
I was anxious to review our rally pack and add up our points
for this leg. I was afraid we had made a mathematical error and we wouldnt
have enough points to be finishers. Once in the room, I had the laptop going,
and papers flying. I was punching the keys on the calculator, frantically
trying to see how many points we had. My first try gave us 69,000 points. We
still needed 8,000 more points. I was now in tears as I tried again. Wow-this
time it was much better. I came up with 84,251 points. This was without the
Antelope bonus that we were unable to find. This made us bronze medal
finishers. We determined that if we were to risk it and go to Zips, it wouldnt change our finisher status. At that
point, we decided it really wasnt worth the risk. If anything went wrong, we
risked not finishing the rally. We decided together that we were done.
Jeff was relieved. We ordered room service and showered. We
ate and fell fast asleep.
I didnt sleep well at all. I was tossing and turning about
the scoring table. What if I messed up the sleep bonus or the call-in bonii? What if I took the wrong photos? What ifs kept running through my head. By 3am we were up and
showered. I went over all of the paperwork one last time. I put all of the
additional unused rally papers in our envelope. I remembered the words of Curt
and Rebecca. Take everything with to the scoring table. Once you sit in that
chair, if you dont have the papers, you dont get the credit.
At 4am, we arrived by the hotel entrance. Dale (Warchild), needed to record our final odometer reading. He
wrote this on our scoring sheet. I than ran to Ira at the scoring table and
yelled STOP THE CLOCK. Everyone laughed, because we still had three hours
before the penalty phase began. Ira checked us in and we moved on to the
scoring table.
Our photos were deemed the right size and we were told we
could pick a scorer.
I chose Lisa Stevens. I wanted a female to score our last
leg incase something was wrong and would need to cry. Lisa carefully went
through every fuel receipt. We had made 20 fuel stops on the last leg and took
a long time to verify all of the information. Our fuel receipts were in order.
Lisa asked for the fuel page so we could declare the points. I began searching
through the papers and couldnt find it. Jeffs face went white. I told him I
brought everything with and I was sure it was there. I had it in our envelope.
Everyone had a huge sigh of relief. That was the very last piece of paper I
stuck in the envelope before we went to score.
Lisa went through the remainder of our photos and receipts.
Everything was in order. We had documented the bonus we were unable to find.
Apparently, there were a large number of riders who had the same issues as we
did. Bob Higdon said that there was going to be a staff meeting and that issue
would be resolved before the banquet. We had enough points to be declared
finishers. We didnt lose any points at the table. We were bronze medal
finishers! Jeff had tears in his eyes as Lisa gave us a big hug. We had
completed our journey safely, early and we had a ton of fun in the process. We
felt like we were on top of the world. On top of all that, we were almost
considered well rested.
We now watched as many of the riders, who had gone to Zips rushed in. It was so great to see everyone. The look
of relief and accomplishment was on everyones faces. It was great to be a part
of this experience.
Jeff and I decided that we wanted to get something to eat
and celebrate. We walked into downtown
At 6pm we went downstairs for cocktails and the finishers
banquet. Before handing out the rewards, Bob Higdon announced that anyone who
attempted to go to the Antelope bonus and documented it would get the 3,874
points. We were thrilled. This now gave us a final score of 88,225. If we would
have gone to Zips, our final score would have been 90,595. It would not have
changed our finisher status. We were proud of ourselves for making good
choices. We were bronze medal finishers and did so safely, while having a ton
of fun.
All of the finishers were honored at the banquet. There were
special awards for the top ten finishers. All of these guys are great riders.
They rode a very great rally and truly deserve the honor that was bestowed upon
them. Congratulations to all who participated in the rally!
The
Journey Home
We decided to take three days to ride home to
Our return ride was uneventful, UNTIL we were 117 miles from
our lakehouse in
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More roadside pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bDj8KWnjMJdOKrL0IfWTnw?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/abW9kAWOQ4wMuqXxHnUHQg?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oJKDMAJCpt0TgV6uVfIbCg?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jt3J4VPm51I0k6scDrud_g?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tmE4RFLiCR3eUWSDCKOUIw?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mNSAQmBg4WDRflTjerebIw?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/drtfCfIaHlwwmjG_vLC47w?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mGTomdIX2qCvuKj-HnX2UQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_3uloyrdCruV4iiGfntrjQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sA_cw4rnWi3nn06w9k3RRgauthkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GcT0bCugytYHlfPFf9I3NQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7iz0cUa95whHE99073FnaA?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EpivYlhg0PlmddvHRNkLOw?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OVRfjR0ZzRMiCI8cEZiDNQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CiV2Mhbw34MYQyFdCizQYA?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uj8PioB2qWz6b5bPcaVOOQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L0fk_ds87Mm8odUg3Ye2Fg?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPu6bqDwcu3Mg&feat=directlink
Upon getting home and taking the Beemer apart, Jeff
determined that we had a defective fuel pump. We also found that the newly
installed alternator belt was frayed also ready to go at any moment. The
positive battery terminal wires had also worn through their insulation and
needed to be repaired. This along with the broken mount for the muffler, were
all things that could have left us stranded, by the side of the road. A new
mounting part for the GPS was obtained from Don Graling.
Jeff replaced the fuel pump, and the muffler welded. Fresh fluids, a new
alternator belt, and a complete service, and now the Beemer is
ready for another ride.
Epilogue
It has been exactly one week that we have been home from the
rally. We had a trip of a lifetime. I want to give a special thanks to our
family and friends who made those 18 days possible. Thank you to Mandy, Jim,
Cindy and Pop-Pop, for helping to take care of Nikki and Bradley and all of our
pets. A special thanks to Colin, who not only watched over Nikki and Bradley,
but acted as a responsible son. You kept everyone safe and maintained the house
for us. You helped other family members with Nikki and Bradley and helped
entertain at the lakehouse. Without your help, we
wouldnt have been able to accomplish our goals. We are very proud of you.
Also, I have to add a special thank you to Fred. He sent
witty emails that kept us entertained as we rode across the country. He also
emailed the reports from Tom Austin and Warchild, so
we could read them as we were riding. Thank you for being a true friend.
In conclusion, we had a safe and fun rally. Our goal at the start, was to simply finish the rally. We far exceeded our goals. We certainly could have pushed ourselves harder, but Im not sure we would have enjoyed the same outcome. I think I can honestly say that we would both like to enter the rally again in 2011. A lot can happen in two years and that is something we will consider when the time comes.
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