The Marriott in Pittsburgh is enveloped this morning, not in fog, but smoke from the Canadian wildfires. While not as bad as the smoke in Missoula, Montana in 2013, the current smoke maps show red and purple ratings for this area. The fires are north of the Great Lakes, so the riders will not have active fires to ride through to get to the finish like the ’13 riders did….
The following updates are being relayed based on information drifting in from various sources. The information may or may not be entirely accurate, but we are posting the best information currently available to the rally staff. If it proves to be less than 100% accurate, hopefully it at least allows for some speculation… Lionel Ramos hit a huge pothole on I-80 west of Rock Springs in Wyoming. The front rim…
Breakfast was served at 3:45am and the rider meeting started at 4:00am on Sunday morning. Jeff has served up 34 pages of deliciousness for the riders to consider. Who will suffer from biting off to much, or over eating, or indigestion? Who will be satisfied with a safe choice and who will take the spicy adventure? Who will order the best dish and be ready for the dessert awaiting them…
Checkpoint 2 is at the Sheraton Tech Center in Denver. The weather is awesome! However, not all of our riders have been enjoying their local weather conditions. Riding for days in the rain is a challenge. Everything eventually gets soaked, even with the best gear. As long as a rider is moving, they can stay pretty dry with proper gear. But stopping, opening bags or panniers, collecting bonuses, taking photos,…
Friday was a travel day for the rally staff. We transferred our work room from Checkpoint 1 at the Warren Place DoubleTree in Tulsa to Checkpoint 2 at the Sheraton Tech Center in Denver. After going far too long without sleep, a couple of us utilized the travel time for a brief, but needed nap along the way. Lisa Stevens seems quite pleased with herself for getting her man Tobie…
Rider meetings at 4:00am are always interesting. Sometimes they are rote, with the handing out of the next leg bonus list and coordinates being the main focus, along with posting the standings from the just-completed leg. Sometimes, riders are reminded in no uncertain terms that what the staff has been seeing or what has been reported is unacceptable behavior on this rally. The rider meeting at Checkpoint 1 was one…
Your scribe got behind on writing, partially due to being summoned to help with scoring to alleviate the backlog of riders arriving near the start of the penalty point window. Only one rider was in the penalty window, which was a minor miracle, given how far out some of the riders on the east side of the country were just a few hours earlier. The scores and bonuses each rider…
There are days when the scribe must sigh deeply and report on things which are unfortunate. It is particularly unfortunate to have to post such things when bringing you news of Day 02. But this is not the first time, nor is it likely to be the last time the scribe is faced with such a task. Lisa Rufo and Molly are recovering after a deer strike totaled their motorcycle,…
A warm, sunny morning in Pittsburgh, not at all like the rain during the 2013 rally, which was the last time the IBR started in this city. Beautiful weather and no rain in sight. Such a great day to start an epic 11 day motorcycle adventure. Riders will need to not only balance their rest and riding time, but their motorcycles too. The riders all were required to be at…
The Sunday night Start Banquet featured chicken or pork, with sides and salad, plus great dessert choices. It was all very tasty and no one should have indigestion as a result of the food. However, some riders may be ralphing, instead of routing, as they try to digest the contents of the rally packets which were handed out at the end of the meal. This rally is shaping up to…