FJRForum Official 2019 Iron Butt Rally Tracking/Analysis Thread

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I have no idea (nor do I need to know) the identity of the rider near Homer, AK, this morning, but I can say with certainty I'm gonna be following him/her for the rest of the rally.
GO, HOMER, GO. Ride safely!
I just did a quick calc for them. 4300 miles in 68 hours is three straight BBGs. Only a couple dozen have done that...and none of them have done it in Alaska or Canada...or as the last three days of an 11 day rally. That's a MONSTER ride if they're still in it.

 
What do you think the chances are that the rider in Homer can make it to the finish? Looks like 4500 miles to Greenville and as of now its 73 hours to the finish. With no sleep they'd have to average about 62mph ...
Took a quick look at the weather and it looks pretty good up there right now so maybe its not impossible, but it seems like a tough stretch
Now from Whittier to Greenville, 4335 miles, in a little under 70 hrs. 2 border crossings and shortest route is through Chicago although he would have to be in Chicago by about 10 PM Thursday night. Looking bleak. I hope he stays safe.

 
It was very interesting to watch Matt and all of the rest of helper's [like the awesome dad from ND] attack the problems. Some times it was the best fix, some times it was a patch because there just wanting enough time or parts to do what needed to be done. I think the first tire was done at 3:00PM and I'm not sure when the last repair was completed but I know it was done with folks holding flashlights. My last pass through the parking lot was about 11:00PM and I was the only one moving then.

It also was very cool to see 4 frankin tanks {a rebuilt FJR gas tank that holds over 10 gallons] in one parking lot. AuburnFJR [2 up, pulling a trailer & fast] has one and they are just very cool.

It looks to me like Stich is still the gear of choice but we are seeing a lot of Klin also.

As you can see from the pictures on the day 8 report, the hard and software on these bikes as well as the riders are just amazing.

Ride safe and fast

Oh and go Wendy go!

 
the last rider in Alaska is really gonna have a tough time making Greenville in time.

 
I have no idea (nor do I need to know) the identity of the rider near Homer, AK, this morning, but I can say with certainty I'm gonna be following him/her for the rest of the rally.
GO, HOMER, GO. Ride safely!
I just did a quick calc for them. 4300 miles in 68 hours is three straight BBGs. Only a couple dozen have done that...and none of them have done it in Alaska or Canada...or as the last three days of an 11 day rally. That's a MONSTER ride if they're still in it.
Me thinks that rider is going (back?) to Homer to catch a boat home. Ideally cruise ship with open bar. NFW she gets to Greenville via bike in remaining time. Tough, anyone up there swung for the fence and they've got to be exhausted. Kudos to their bravado.

 
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It was very interesting to watch Matt and all of the rest of helper's [like the awesome dad from ND] attack the problems. Some times it was the best fix, some times it was a patch because there just wanting enough time or parts to do what needed to be done. I think the first tire was done at 3:00PM and I'm not sure when the last repair was completed but I know it was done with folks holding flashlights. My last pass through the parking lot was about 11:00PM and I was the only one moving then.
It also was very cool to see 4 frankin tanks {a rebuilt FJR gas tank that holds over 10 gallons] in one parking lot. AuburnFJR [2 up, pulling a trailer & fast] has one and they are just very cool.

It looks to me like Stich is still the gear of choice but we are seeing a lot of Klin also.

As you can see from the pictures on the day 8 report, the hard and software on these bikes as well as the riders are just amazing.

Ride safe and fast

Oh and go Wendy go!

Got to think Warchild likes the frankentank because it keeps the fuel in the stock location verses adding something on. It also reduces the chances of a fuel transfer and venting issues the aux tanks have.

 
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I have no idea (nor do I need to know) the identity of the rider near Homer, AK, this morning, but I can say with certainty I'm gonna be following him/her for the rest of the rally.
GO, HOMER, GO. Ride safely!
I just did a quick calc for them. 4300 miles in 68 hours is three straight BBGs. Only a couple dozen have done that...and none of them have done it in Alaska or Canada...or as the last three days of an 11 day rally. That's a MONSTER ride if they're still in it.
Me thinks that rider is going (back?) to Homer to catch a boat home. Ideally cruise ship with open bar. NFW she gets to Greenville via bike in remaining time. Tough, anyone up there swung for the fence and they've got to be exhausted. Kudos to their bravado.
I think the rider might have attached their SPOT to a bear.

 
It also was very cool to see 4 frankin tanks {a rebuilt FJR gas tank that holds over 10 gallons] in one parking lot. AuburnFJR [2 up, pulling a trailer & fast] has one and they are just very cool.
I have Harry's first frankentank, serial number 1
smile.png
It's 9 gallons, blue with 'Yamaha" on the sides. Nice contrast to my red 14
laugh.png


 
I have no idea (nor do I need to know) the identity of the rider near Homer, AK, this morning, but I can say with certainty I'm gonna be following him/her for the rest of the rally.
GO, HOMER, GO. Ride safely!
I just did a quick calc for them. 4300 miles in 68 hours is three straight BBGs. Only a couple dozen have done that...and none of them have done it in Alaska or Canada...or as the last three days of an 11 day rally. That's a MONSTER ride if they're still in it.
Why this crazy stuff is so much fun to WATCH.....just glad it's not me.....but what fun to watch. Wishing all riders well.

Ride safely.

 
Now from Whittier to Greenville, 4335 miles, in a little under 70 hrs. 2 border crossings and shortest route is through Chicago although he would have to be in Chicago by about 10 PM Thursday night. Looking bleak. I hope he stays safe.
At 13:00 EST the rider that was in Homer is nearing Anchorage. It is 69 hours from there to the finish. It is also 67 hours till 8am at the finish and 69 hours till the drop dead finish time of 10 am. (If my math is correct)

What follows is all just my opinion...

I don't want to seem pessimistic and I have no idea what rider that is. But after 8 days on the road I see no way that the rider can make it back to the finish without being time barred.

And I feel for that rider. Heck of a run for a rookie to run all those miles and DNF. If your a vet, well, you still have a 3digit number even if you DNF'd this time. I just hope they don't push themselves too hard and risk an unfortunate ending trying to make a finish that simply aint going to happen.

- Colin

 
Day 8 - The Fog Creeps In

Riders are entering a time during the rally that nobody can really understand unless you've ridden this 11 day monster before. Even if you've done it three times like myself, "The Fog" of Day 8 is a distant memory that's hard to describe. You can't put it in a description, but you can kind of describe around it....kinda what it feels like.

In 2013 I was riding past the many the oil fields of North Dakota and it was an extra-surreal landscape. The best approximation is a video below that also speaks to the larger experience riders are feeling these last three nights. You keep that bike pointed down a never-ending visual of perspective. The road extends to infinity as skinny thread and is 20 feet wide by your elbows. A landscape to your left and right that is of decreasing importance compared to that finish line you know is 72 hours......48 hours......24 hours......12 hours........6 hours......2 hours away. You literally feel like you're clawing your way back to the finish line. It's instinct at this point. Whether it's primal, genetic, or instinct....there's a basic need to crawl...to WILL yourself across that finish line. Yes, you're still snagging bonuses, but mostly you're on autopilot.

Your riding ability to turn left, turn right, and avoid things is still intact. Your reflexes feel sharp at least. But you wouldn't want IBR riders doing your taxes for you at this point. They've squeezed certain chemicals out of their brains that would make it impossible for them to do a basic high school course, but they're also incredibly cognizant of how 100 motorcycle RPM sounds and feels different, how the flow of air over a windshield is one or two mph different, how 10% humidity differences tell you whether its about to rain or not. You swear you can feel and see every vehicle connected to the pavement in North America.....an old lady just cut off a guy in Florida.....that Hyundai in Tucson has a low left tire.....Neo just walked by a woman in a red dress.

They're also egg-shell emotional at this point. In the course of a tank of fuel they can bust out crying for no other reason than they remember something a loved one said to them weeks earlier or laugh deeply as they read a bonus description Earls tacked on in the packet. The Garmin lady starts to sound kinda sexy, you've identified the pattern of the 80's channel on XM and know they're going to play a Human League song next. They're like Forrest Gump running across the country in the movie. They've seen every...single....sunrise and sunset for the past 8 days and will be seeing 3 more. They've watched the unimaginable colors of an Arizona sunset, the sprinting clouds below them from a mountain peak in Washington State, and the unexpected brutal beauty of long shadows over a prairie rustling in the evening breeze.
The riders are seeing America...and Canada. They'll be back at their day jobs about a week from now. But they have three more nights of this rally before they're home...safe. Send positive energy to them right now....they need it.
smile.png


Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies
And we walked off to look for America
Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America


Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera
Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
We smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery
She read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field


Cathy, I'm lost, I said though I knew she was sleeping
And I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America

 
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Day 8 - The Fog Creeps In
Riders are entering a time during the rally that nobody can really understand unless you've ridden this 11 day monster before. Even if you've done it three times like myself, "The Fog" of Day 8 is a distant memory that's hard to describe. You can't put it in a description, but you can kind of describe around it....kinda what it feels like.

In 2013 I was riding past the many the oil fields of North Dakota and it was an extra-surreal landscape. The best approximation is a video below that also speaks to the larger experience riders are feeling these last three nights. You keep that bike pointed down an never-ending visual of perspective. The road extends to infinity and is 20 feet wide by your elbows. A landscape to your left and right that is of decreasing importance compared to that finish line you know is 72 hours......48 hours......24 hours......12 hours........6 hours......2 hours away. You literally feel like you're clawing your way back to the finish line. It's instinct at this point. Whether it's primal, genetics, or instinct....there's a basic need to crawl...to WILL yourself across that finish line. Yes, you're still snagging bonuses, but mostly autopilot.

Your riding ability to turn left, turn right, and avoid things still seems intact. Your reflexes feel sharp at least. But you wouldn't want IBR riders doing your taxes for you at this point. They've squeezed certain chemicals out of their brains that would make it impossible for them to do a basic high school course, but they're also incredibly cognizant of how 100 motorcycle RPM sounds and feels different, how the flow of air over a windshield is one or two mph different, how 10% humidity differences feel and whether its about to rain or not. You swear you can feel and see every vehicle connected to the pavement in North America.....an old lady just cut off a guy in Florida.....that Hyundai in Tucson is too close to the center line.....Neo just walked by a woman in a red dress.

They're also emotional at this point. In the course of a tank of fuel they can bust out crying for no other reason than they remember something a loved one said to them weeks earlier or laugh deeply as they read a bonus description Earls tacked on. The Garmin lady starts to sound kinda sexy, you've identified the pattern of the 80's channel on XM and know they're going to play a Human League song next.

They're like Forrest Gump running across the country in the movie. They've seen every...single....sunrise and sunset for the past 8 days and will be seeing three more. They've watched the unseen colors of an Arizona sunset, the sprinting clouds below them from a mountain peak in Washington State, and the unexpected brutal beauty of long shadows over a prairie in the evening.

The riders are seeing America...and Canada. They'll be back at their day jobs about a week from now. But they have three more nights of this rally before they're home...safe. Send positive energy to them right now....they need it.
smile.png



Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes togetherI've got some real estate here in my bag

So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies

And we walked off to look for America

Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh

Michigan seems like a dream to me now

It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw

I've gone to look for America



Laughing on the bus, playing games with the facesShe said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy

I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera

Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat

We smoked the last one an hour ago

So I looked at the scenery

She read her magazine

And the moon rose over an open field



Cathy, I'm lost, I said though I knew she was sleepingAnd I'm empty and aching and I don't know why

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike

They've all come to look for America

All come to look for America

All come to look for America


Thanks for the post, Iggy.....out of likes for today. Sure hope the riders keep their eyes on the road and not on the fireball.

 
Iggy, unless you are a writer, you have missed your calling in life. That was an exquisite use of words!

Here's to hoping the rider in Anchorage makes it!

Does anyone have info on the "Frankentanks"? Who makes them? Website? etc...

 
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Iggy, unless you are a writer, you have missed your calling in life. That was an exquisite use of words!
I like to dabble as an amateur on a few things I'm passionate about. Thanks for the kind words. And thanks all for letting me riff here. Kinda wishing I had gotten to ride this rally. It's a REALLY good one.

 
I know from crossing into Canada, and coming back, that you have to be 'aware' of how you word your answers - especially "What is the purpose of your visit?"

Outta curiosity, what would a 'typical' answer for this question be for an IBR participant crossing into Canada?

 
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Outta curiosity, what would a 'typical' answer for this question be for an IBR participant crossing into Canada?
I always said "vacation" or "pleasure" heading into Canada. Short and honest responses. Only one time did I get a quizzical look when they had asked how long I'd be in Canada. I said "about a day" and they did the math with my destination of "Hudson's Hope".

"You can't make that in 24 hours!", they said.

I quickly replied, "I might spend an extra night in Prince George if that's OK?" and they went off alert. I figured telling them I was getting there by way of Banff and still 24 hours would probably make things worse.

Border crossing experiences are varied by riders. Everybody has at least one story, but I think most find Canada crossing to be usually easy and convivial northbound and sometimes like dealing with rogue mall cops coming back.

 
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I know from crossing into Canada, and coming back, that you have to be 'aware' of how you word your answers - especially "What is the purpose of your visit?"
Outta curiosity, what would a 'typical' answer for this question be for an IBR participant crossing into Canada?
As Iggy said, "Pleasure." This, of course, will be followed by other questions such as your destination. Short, direct answers are best. The only question I fib about is "How long do you intent to visit?" Adding a day or two to a 3,000 kilometer trip is prudent.

 
It could all depend on who were you riding with, and if you sent him to the border crossing before you with an expired passport...

It may also not help to tell them you intend to use condoms "for protection".

 
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