2011 IBR - The Inside View

[Tyler]

All of my SpotWalla pages went blank :huh:

Anyone else having trouble??

me too.

Mine did as well for a bit but they're back up now...

 

[Dan S]

There were a heck of a lot more than 15 that rode to Blaine. I believe Warchild put the number closer to 90% of the field headed there, and judging by the number of bikes we saw headed back southbound as we headed up I5 towards that corner, I'd say Warchild was right.

Oh, no, no, no... you have to be referring to someone else; I never said/typed that. I would *suspect* a rather hefty number would dash up to score Blaine, if just to have that in their hip pocket for Legs 2 and 3.

But 90% of the field? Pretty sure that's not accurate, though I do not know the actual number of riders who scarfed up Blaine.

There were some excellent arguments by IBR vets I talked to the morning of the Start who described why they are blowing off the 4-Corners altogether. Mostly because of the reasons already provided by IBR vets in this thread:

• later in the rally, we may determine 4800 points may be a piddly amount in the grand scheme of things.
  
• if the above is true, that's waaaaaay too many miles for minimal points.
  
• as hinted by rally staff, the smart money bets on ever-increasing capital point values later in the rally.
  

I counted 14 SpotWalla handles headed for Blaine, 9 headed to Olympia, and the rest went east on I90. Some of the handles seem to come and go. I suspect one turned off their Spot when they finally picked up a call form Lisa, hoping no-one would notice they were heading back to the beginning.

I counted 4 that went from Blaine to Olympia and Salem - 334, PAC, 421, mtm. I think they all did Boise too but I'm not sure if all have been to MT yet????

Remember that only about half the field are on SpotsWalla

 

[TriggerT]

Still working for me. What is 517 doing in Lincoln, he / she has been there for hours.

 

[FJR-Richie]

Don't google "Hammered Horsecock". Trust me.

 

[Timmer]

All of my SpotWalla pages went blank :huh:

Anyone else having trouble??

me too.

I, too, lost it. I ended up going back to the main IBA page and re-clicked on the SPOT link and that fixed it for me.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Don't google "Hammered Horsecock". Trust me.

You didn't find any music videos there, eh? Just wondering.

 

[dougc]

All of my SpotWalla pages went blank :huh:

Anyone else having trouble??

Been working all morning for me and I've been on it almost continuously. Working now at 11:48am PDT

 

[CraigRegs]

All of my SpotWalla pages went blank :huh:

Anyone else having trouble??

Blanks out on me once in a while, too. Reloading refreshes it.

 

[Dan S]

And John and the almost new :yahoo: Triumph is staying with the back of the pack. I would have lost money on my side of that bet.

Go John Go!

John has become my Turbo Dave from the last run.

IF turbo Dave was able to ride this IBR with as much effort as 2009 he'd be in like flint. It's challengers like Dave that I identify with.

 

[Warchild]

I'm enjoying following this and trying to keep the folks over on the FZ1 board updated on Fazer Phil's progress.

Please tell our Yamaha FZ1 brethren the Frazer Phil is actually doing rather splendid thus far.

He is among that lead group that is currently clustered about the Minneapolis area right now....

 

[gixxerjasen]

Please tell our Yamaha FZ1 brethren the Frazer Phil is actually doing rather splendid thus far.

He is among that lead group that is currently clustered about the Minneapolis area right now....

I'll definitely do that for sure. I appreciate the update.

 

[Niehart]

Frazer Phil's small windscreen will be put to the test soon, some big ass rain and hail storms ahead of him. Though knowing where Phil is from, he has spent some serous time in rain storms, not sure about hail though.

 

[stryg8r]

TA pointed out Harrisburg Pa is worth 1000 points. He also mentioned Gold Metal status could be had by doing the 48 plus 4 corners.

I offered a GPS to Sakala's help team but he is set up. When asked how he was she commented he is refreshed after a 8 HOUR rest bonus ! Lot's to speculate.

More speculation:

Assuming Gold Metal status is points based again this year, does this give us some insight on what future capital point values may be? I would think they could not increase that much or it would negate the value of the 4 corners.

 

[LD Hack]

Call me a purist, but the Iron Butt Rally is supposed to be an idividual experience - one rider's challenge against extremely difficult circumstances. Personally, I want to fail, or succeed on my merits only. I want the experience to be mine.

Concur with this assessment.... for whatever reason, Doug decided otherwise, so... he is paired with rookie Chris Ogden on his BMW R1200GS. Do they even know one another before Seattle? I don't know... I wish them luck.

There are advantages to a team, from my experience with Jim Winterer during IB5k. Planning is one, decisions along the way another. Biggest disadvantage is break down. A final reason is the fun factor; namely if you're not thinking you'll be one of the top 3 or so places, then factor in the fun of riding/sharing the IB experience. That was huge with Jim and I during IB5k, and in other rallies. I even rode a good part of IBR 07 with two other riders, a three rider team, prior to the IBR team rules. With the right team, placing decently is not out of the question either, as proven by a number of teams on the LD rally circuit.

Team rules are per-leg. Team up for one leg, ride solo on another, unless rules changed this year.

 

[FJR-Richie]

Don't google "Hammered Horsecock". Trust me.

You didn't find any music videos there, eh? Just wondering.

Definitely some videos. I assume there is some easy listening background music as well!

 

[Bungie]

All of my SpotWalla pages went blank :huh:

Anyone else having trouble??

I'm guessing with the traffic that page is getting, he's caching the output, which is difficult to do when the file is locked and in a race condition. Short answer, stop hitting the damn refresh!

 

[wheatonFJR]

So, are the "favorites" looking to be in good position?

How bout the noobs?

 

[SkooterG]

More speculation:

Assuming Gold Metal status is points based again this year, does this give us some insight on what future capital point values may be? I would think they could not increase that much or it would negate the value of the 4 corners.

I had wondered the same thing. My guess is point values will go up, but you still get a 'Gold' finish by completing the 4-corners no matter what your total points.

Just a guess however.

 

[robeth]

Just chiming in to say how much I'm enjoying my second IBR here (first was 2009).

As others have stated, it's great to read every post, especially from the experts.

Thanks to all for adding to the excitement (not excrement!!).

A very thrilling 11 days for sure.

Wishing all the participants the best.

Keyboard safely.

 

[Bounce]

90 people currently viewing this thread!

All y'all are slowing down the server refresh times for me. Some of you go do something productive. You're hashing my buzz.