Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 IRON BUTT MAGAZINE | Winter 2014 Routine, Routine, Routine Another lesson I learned was the importance of doing the same thing each time I refueled or stopped to bag a bonus. On an earlier rally I lost two receipts and vowed it wouldn’t happen again. Every fuel stop I would dismount the bike, refuel, retrieve the receipt, open my tour pack, check the receipt for date/time/ location and record mileage, put the receipt in a tethered zipper pouch, then close and lock the tour pack. Bonus recording was done with a similar efficiency: recheck the bonus requirement, take a picture, check the picture to insure the requirement was met, and re-secure my rally flag, bonus book, and camera in Tour- pack, then close and lock tour pack. Rest Since the number one objective of any long-distance event is to get home safely, knowing when to stop to rest is paramount. Several times,a one-hour stop afforded me enough rest to safely complete the day in one piece. In this regard, don’t argue with yourself. If you’re tired, stop! You won’t finish if you’re in an accident and injured (or worse). Know Thy Gear Be intimately familiar with your equipment. I experimented with several mapping programs,including Garmin BaseCamp and Microsoft Streets and Trips and chose BaseCamp because it was easier to upload a route into both of my Garmin GPSs. I experi- mented with an Excel spreadsheet to presort bonuses. I grouped bonuses in sequence in one-day increments, which helped me keep track of time against the bonuses remaining for the day. These were uploaded to the Garmin  and . I recommend carrying a paper map with the bonuses on it (two copies), which I used to visualize the route and adjust the plan on the fly. In the Battlefield , I made the mistake of putting my GPS on “motorcycle mode.” As a result I saw every back road in Florida in the  hours,  minutes it took me to complete the -hour rally! I did not make the same mistake in the Five ’N Dime. In “Truck Mode,” the  will keep to the inter- states, avoiding secondary roads, while affording a higher aver- age speed. Also, routing in and out of bonus locations may be shorter if “U-Turns” is enabled in the GPS. Clearwater Kristas Dimmable LED Motorcycle Lights Clearly, There’s A Brighter Idea. Stock Motorcycle Headlight NEW NEW 6000 Lumens / 2400 Lumens / 2000 Lumens / 800 Lumens 916-852-7029 www.Clearwaterlights.com My bike for the IBR Hopeless Class was not ready, so I rode my  Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited. It has high-output LED lights and all the necessary farkles. With a . gallon alu- minum aux fuel tank mounted behind a HD solo Police Seat, the bike has a -mile range between fuel stops, and is the most comfortable motorcycle I’ve ridden to date. Conclusion Like most LD riders, I have a type A personality and don’t give up a challenge easily. Dropping bonuses due to fatigue was a hard, but important lesson. Because I’d lost so much time on the East Coast, diverting from Butte was the right decision. On the last day, as I rode up towards Salt Lake City, Utah through Arizona on I-, I thought about the decision. It had put me back on track to garner three major bonuses in San Francisco and Los Angeles and assured my finish. While overreaching had cost me the podium, I still landed in th place with over , miles on the odometer. Kneebone was right.The experience of riding in a multi-day rally proved to be invaluable. The lessons I learned from com- peting in the Five ’N Dime will certainly help me be competi- tive and successful in the  IBR. Finally, my hat’s off to John Cooper, who finished third, and Bucky Dent for his second place performance. Erik Lipps won the rally hands down with a gazillion points — I am in awe! The high point of the rally was,for the rest of us,drinking single malt scotch at the hotel bar on Rallymaster Steve Chalmer’s tab! PREPPING