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 84Winter 2014 | IRON BUTT MAGAZINE  and late checkpoint window times at both ends of the leg. You want to under- stand what flexibility there is in your plan. Assemble the Whole Each of your subsection solutions may be beautiful on its own. It may not, however, work well in combination with other sections of the entire rally. That’s OK. Through your work on the subsection solutions, you’ve gained an understand- ing of the limits of each. It may be that to completely solve one section,you need to stretch your limits. That could leave nothing left to incorporate other pieces. That may also be OK depending on the relative value of each section. Knowl- edge of the requirements of each section allows you to make those trade-offs. Your goal now is to assemble your knowledge of each section into a cohe- sive plan for the entire rally. Do you push hard in the morning before that first checkpoint to grab some special bonuses, knowing that this will have you arriving late in the checkpoint window? Do you instead bypass opportunities to arrive at the checkpoint early in the window and gain an extra hour on your next section? Do you go all in to complete one thread, or does it make more sense to get % of each of three threads? Do you plan to be at the optional checkpoint or head out  miles in the opposite direction? Those questions cannot be answered unless you know the pros and cons of each choice. You should have a solid answer to the why/why not for each decision. The opposite approach would be to thumb through the rally pack, find the largest value bonus, and simply make a loop that includes it. In some rallies, you may be given the pack before the banquet. In that case, you can expect something to be added or changed at the banquet. The intent there is to mess up your plan. If you already have a handle on the whys and why nots, those late changes can either be dismissed out of hand or incorporated easily. This understanding will also help you make intelligent rerouting deci- sions on the road if required. Is there a huge traffic jam in the oncoming lanes on your planned return route that way after grabbing a bonus? You may need to drop a bonus later to avoid an hour delay in traffic. The trade-offs from your planning can make the reroute seamless as you vector a different direction to a previously unplanned bonus. Now take all your chosen section pieces and build the entire rally plan. This is where mapping software is a huge advantage. You need to know that the entire assemblage is within your distance target, including time for fuel stops and rest. If you find the total to be beyond your comfort, pull something out to bring the distance down.That may cause you to take one big bonus out on a leg, but now you find you’re at a checkpoint earlier. It’s possible you can add a few smaller bonuses on the next leg that aren’t too far out of the way. Lock It In and Ride It Out Now you’ve got your plan assembled. Lock it in. This step could take the form of loading planned route sections into your GPS unit. Aside from your routes, you should load every bonus location into your GPS. This is for rapid rerout- ing and contingency planning as needed. If you are without a GPS unit, create an ordered list on a sheet of paper to reside on top of your tank bag. You should include notes about expected arrival times for each bonus. That will give you a benchmark to determine if you are on target as you ride. In either case,you need to have strong knowledge of when you need to be at critical points in your route.For example, the checkpoint may be open for three hours, but your route plan requires that you arrive no later than one hour into the window.If you find yourself running late, you can mentally plan ahead for subse- quent leg adjustments before arrival. Now that you’ve got your rally plan locked in, put everything away. Pack it up for quick assembly in the morning. It’s even worth doing a partial pack on the bike before heading to bed. You’ll sleep better with knowledge that your plan is sound. Second-guessing yourself while trying to sleep is a terrible feeling. The next morning at the rally start, listen carefully to the last instructions from staff. Finish your packing, eat, hydrate, and go ride your plan. You spent hours putting that plan together. You owe it to yourself to see how it works out.Only make adjustments as needed to deal with unplanned traffic and weather conditions. You may have some extra time if you find yourself ahead of your marks; be careful with that time. While it may be tempting early in the rally to use it to go for an unplanned bonus, it is usually better to bank it. You may want that extra  minutes late at night for a quick nap or as contingency time in case of bad traffic. Do not get flustered if you see other riders heading other directions. Trust your plan for the duration of the rally. You have no real idea if their plan is better or worse than yours, nor will you until after the rally. Ride your plan! Remember the idea I introduced in the beginning that complexity can be your friend. Always remember this: the more complex a rally, the higher the probability of mistakes – mistakes by you and your competition. This is by design. Devise your plan in a systematic fashion while you are rested. That early plan- ning time in the rally is when you will be at your sharpest mentally all weekend. Then lock it in and ride it out.Late in the rally, trust yourself and your good plan- ning decisions. Keep a cool head and let others make mistakes. At the end of the rally, you’ll have the chance to analyze and discuss other rider’s plans. Learn your lessons from that and apply to them to your next rally plan. hopes of saving children and defeating the disease. From Iron Lung to Iron Butt is heart wrenching in many ways. It must have been difficult for Bob to share many of the intensely personal thoughts and feelings described in the book. And it could not have been easy for Lahman to get the details down on paper in such a moving and powerful way.The result is a truly inspiring story. From Iron Lung to Iron Butt by Lynda Lahman covers  pages and lists for $.. It is available at a discount on Amazon.com in paperback or as a download on your Kindle. All proceeds from this book are being donated to The Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus pro- gram. FromIronLung toIronButt continued from page  BookReview