Submitted by Chris Comly:
This was my first multi day rally and overall the fourth
rally I had completed. I have made some
big mistakes during past rallies and have learned much from them. I knew the Butt Lite would be a physical
challenge due to the distances involved, but I did not realize it would be a
mental one as well. I did my 100 CCC in March 2014 as a test to see if I was up
to the challenge of stringing multiple 1,000 mile days together and I was
surprised at how I was able to rise to the occasion. I thought that would be a good comparison of
what to expect. Boy, was I wrong!
Before I go into the details I want to highlight two
individuals who got me to the start of the rally. If it were not for their generous help, this
report would be a completely different report. Instead of a rally report it would be a report
of disappointment and of my wandering about MN on my bike until the last day of
the rally. I should have been a DNS (Did not start) due to a catastrophic
failure of the rear sprocket on my bike. I want to publicly thank Chuck from
Bikes Built Better in Horsham PA and Brian from Mid Ohio Harley Davidson. Both came to my aid on July 4th
with the parts I needed to get back on the road and make it to registration for
the Rally. Please, if you are near their
businesses stop in and support them.
They bring a new meaning to customer service and going above and beyond
what anyone has a right to expect.
Wednesday July 2 – Trip out, Day 1 – Willow Grove PA to
Breezewood PA – 180 miles
This report starts with the trip out. I left Wednesday
July 2nd after work so I could get some miles done as the trip out
was 1200 or so miles and I wanted to have time for some Tour of Honor
stops. Of course I had a late meeting so
I was unable to leave early, and we had some nasty storms come in just before I
was ready to leave. My departure was delayed until 9:30 pm so I was only able
to make it as far as Breezewood PA. At
least it was 180 miles and 2 ½ hours I did not have to ride on Thursday. The
trip to Breezewood went smooth, although I did have a few lingering showers and
a cool light show. Had some concerns that my auxiliary fuel tank would not feed
properly but it was working perfectly.
Things were looking good for a smooth trip out and a smooth rally. Got in around midnight
Thursday July 3 – Trip out, Day 2 – Breezewood PA to Minnetonka
MN (err Springfield OH)
Was up and out of Breezewood at 5:45 am. Had 1,100 miles planned for the day and that
included picking up 5 Tour of Honor memorials along the way. All was going smoothly and the miles clicked
away. Stopped in Zanesville OH for a
Tour of Honor stop and got that done. As
I was getting back on the road I noticed a slight shudder but everything was
smooth after that. I shrugged it off as
a tar snake and kept going. I should
have stopped …
Approximately 100 miles down the road as I was passing by
Springfield OH I saw a Harley Dealer and thought about stopping, but I had
enough shirts and was on a schedule.
Again, I should have stopped …. A
short 5 miles down the road at around noon I heard a metallic clatter coming
from the rear of the bike and I instantly chopped the throttle, pulled in the
clutch, and pulled onto the shoulder. I
walked around the bike and the first thing I noticed was my drive belt
drooping. Odd I thought, since if it had
broken it would have simply fallen off.
Then I saw it, my rear sprocket was cracked and broken in several places
around the bolt holes that hold it onto the bike, and there was only one bolt
remaining and it was hanging. Took a
closer look and realized the bolt holes in the wheel were all elongated and the
threads stripped out, with what appeared to be one bolt broken off inside the
wheel.
I spent a few minutes trying to
get the bolt to bite so I could get the sprocket attached to the wheel so I
could get off the highway and get to the dealer, but it was pointless. As I was
giving up and thinking of my other options, namely calling the dealer or HOG
(Harley Owners Group) and asking for a tow, a truck with a bike trailer pulled
up and the driver asked if I needed help.
He was on his way to look at a bike and offered to take me to the Harley
Dealer, Mid-Ohio Harley Davidson. I
graciously accepted and a short time later we were dropped off. Unfortunately,
in the time that has elapsed I have forgotten his name.
The dealer got my bike right in and on the lift. Shortly thereafter they confirmed my wheel was
toast as well as the sprocket. To make
matters worse, they didn’t have the parts in stock. After some searching they
found a sprocket at another dealer not too far away and made plans to ship it
with a Saturday delivery. That took care
of the sprocket, still needed a wheel. I
called the shop that inspects my bike, Bikes Built Better in Horsham PA and
discussed with them. They agreed that if
my wife dropped off a wheel they could confirm it was the correct one and could
ship it with a Saturday delivery. That
was the best we could do. Since I had to
be in Minnetonka for tech inspection on Saturday, and the rally started Sunday
at 8 am, I thought my rally was officially over before it began and I would
make the best of it by roaming around Minnesota and the surrounding states for
a week.
However, I got a call that turned out to be a ray of
hope. Chuck from Bikes Built Better
called me back and said that he had a wheel, tire, and sprocket for a 2007
Sportster that would fit, AND he would deliver it to me in Springfield OH! I was flabbergasted! I confirmed that I was hearing correctly, and
he said yes and that I should get some sleep since he’d be there around 1am. I was back in the rally!!!
I got a ride to a hotel from the General Manager of the
dealer. He offered his card in case I
needed anything and I settled in for the day.
I had a thought that perhaps the sprocket for a 2007 would not fit since
at one point they changed to a narrower belt and sprocket but could not recall
the year. I put a post on the XLForum
that I frequent asking the question and dozed off. A few hours later I checked and sure enough,
a 2007 sprocket was only 1 inch wide and my belt was 1 1/8 inches wide. Called the GM of the dealer back and asked
were the sprocket was and if we could go get it on Thursday (July 4th). Unfortunately, that dealer was already closed
for the holiday and would not reopen until Monday. A narrower belt would also solve my problem,
however they did not have one. Then I
got the second shock, the GM told me he would call me back. About 30 minutes later he called and informed
me that he would go pick up the sprocket from the other dealer and bring it to
me on Thursday (July 4th).
Once again, I was flabbergasted. Here this dealer was going out of his
way on a holiday to pick up a part approximately 40 miles away from another
dealer who was closed, and was bringing it to me at my hotel. Talk about supporting stranded riders! With that, I dozed off.
Sure enough, at 1am Chuck called and he was close. He picked me up, we went and got my bike, and
brought it back to the hotel. We tore it
down and replaced the wheel. We checked
to see if the sprocket he brought would fit my belt and as expected it did
not. At 3am we were all set, except for
a sprocket. We decided there was nothing
else to do but sleep, so we did.
Friday July 4 – Trip out, Day 3 –Springfield OH to Minnetonka
MN
At around 11:00 am the new sprocket arrived. We got that installed, and the bike was ready
to go by noon. I thanked Chuck profusely, and we were off in our own
directions. Time down was 24 hours. I had 700 miles to go to Minnetonka.
I decided to bag the Tour of Honor stops and headed
straight to the host hotel. Ride out was
uneventful, and I got in around midnight.
Saw a group sitting in the lobby that were obviously part of the rally
and they greeted me, however they were out of beer and the bar was closed, so
off to bed I went for some much needed rest.
Saturday July 5 – Registration and Tech Inspection - Minnetonka
MN
Awoke, gabbed some breakfast, and went to register. Registration went quickly and smoothly, and I
was off to Tech Inspection. At Tech
Inspection they confirmed that my registration and insurance were current and
matched the VIN number on the bike. I
was running my stock exhaust so no sound check was required. Since I had an auxiliary fuel tank they
confirmed it was securely attached to my bike, and did a quick volume check to
confirm I was under the fuel limit. With
that done, I was all set. What a trip it
had been so far, and the rally had not even started!
I had some free time so I went for a ride and got some
supplies to eat on the road. Also headed
to St. Paul for the Tour of Honor memorial there so I got that one as
well. Then it was back to the hotel for
the rookie meeting where we got to ask questions from two IBR finishers, and
then the rally meeting. Reviewed the
basics, how they wanted the score sheet completed, etc. Then it was dinner and finally the moment we
were waiting for: We received our rally packs!
A review of the rally book revealed a checkpoint in Austin TX on
Wednesday morning from 4-6 am. At 6am
penalty points begin to accrue, and at 8am we forfeit all bonus points for leg
1. Bonus locations stretched from I-35
west to California. From there we were off to plan our routes and sleep.
Sunday July 6 - Leg 1, Day 1 – Minnetonka to Great Bend
KS
The day started with an odometer check and rider’s
meeting. And of course it was
raining! At the rider’s meeting we were
handed an additional bonus sheet. I
checked the new bonus and while it was 500 points it was off my route and I
decided to skip it. Of course I now had
an extra page to keep track of since it was considered part of our bonus pack.
We were released at 8am and we were on our merry way.
Getting out of Minnetonka was much more difficult than it
should have been. It seemed that all of
the south bound highways were closed due to construction. I picked my way through detours and finally
escaped Minnetonka. I’ll always wonder
if the rally masters planned that! All
was going well as I sped south. Needed
to take a quick break so I ducked into the Iowa Welcome Center to use their
restroom. As I got off the bike I stuck
my finger in the ring of my key ring so I would not lose the key since my
raingear prevented easy access to my pockets.
When I returned to my bike a few minutes later I noticed my key was no
longer on my finger. Uh oh, not a good
start. I did have my spare in my
pocket but still, how could I lose it so
quickly? I retraced my steps twice and
nothing. Then I had a thought, maybe it
got stuck in my rain gear. Stripped it
off and there it was! Of course, I had
just spent over 20 minutes on what I thought would be a 3 minute stop.
From there I continued on my way and bagged the Iron Butt
Iowa bonus in Webster City IA. Then I was off to Osawatomie KS for a photo of
the John Brown statue. During the ride I was checking my GPS for any bonus
locations along my route. One popped up
that was fairly close and only added 45 minutes to my ride. I knew I had a hard time of 9pm-9:15pm for
the full points for the Keeper of the Plains bonus in Wichita and by adding it
I still would get there by 8:55. I made
the decision to add the Whispering Giant in Troy KS. Modified my route and was off to Troy KS for added
bonus which I got with no issue. I was proud of myself for making the extra
stop (temporarily).
From there it was off to Osawatomie KS for a photo of the
John Brown statue. I got to Osawatomie KS and got the picture of the statue and
headed for my next bonus in Independence KS, the home of Miss Able, the first
space monkey. When I got to the bonus location at 7:20 and realized it was only
available until 7pm! OOPS! So much for my brilliant move in picking up
the extra stop! I had added a 197 point
bonus to my route that cost me an 844 point bonus! Not good planning on my part and lesson
learned, have the time restrictions of all boni handy so I can factor that into
my decision making.
Shrugged that off and I continued on until I arrived at
the Keeper of the Plains monument in Wichita at 9:05 and saw the flames were
lit meaning I could grab the full value of this bonus. I also noted that there were several other
riders present which I thought was a good sign.
Got my photo and was off. I
booked a room in Great Bend KS and while en-route was being pelted with
bugs. I saw another bonus not far off my
route and adding it would add 45 minutes to my ride. I opted to skip it since my plan was to stay
conservative for the first leg. I
arrived in Great Bend without incident around 12 am. Total miles ridden was approximately 900.
Monday July 7 - Leg 1, Day 2 –Great Bend KS to Comanche
TX
Awoke and was off by 6:30 am. Other than getting a later start than planned
the day went according to plan and was pretty uneventful in the beginning. I headed to the first bonus which was close
by in Pawnee Rock KS. There I bumped
into another rider and ended up following her for a bit even though the pace
was a little faster than I liked on state highways. Sure enough, I saw a KS state trooper going
the other way and after he passed us he turned around and pulled me over. We chatted for a bit and he asked some
questions about why I had two GPS units and wanted to know about the Spot
tracker, but after a check of my license he let me go without a citation which
I was happy about. How many times have I
told people to ride their own ride when doing a group ride? Now it was time for me to listen to my own
advice!
Next bonus was the Sod House in Cleo Springs OK. I had to laugh when I saw this as a bonus
location since I had visited there many years ago when I was a kid. I had family in the area but unfortunately no
time to stop. Got my photo and was off. Next
up was the MT Scott bonus. When I got
off the bike to hunt down the bonus I felt a little light headed and recognized
it as a sign that I was getting dehydrated.
Got the photo and worked my way down the mountain. Once down I stopped at the first gas station
and drank two bottles of Gatorade and sat inside to cool down for 30
minutes. From there it was off to Wewoka
OK for the Seminole bonus. Then it was an uneventful ride to get the IKE bonus
in Denison TX, LEMON bonus in Wortham TX, and the DRPEPP bonus in Dublin TX. Stopped
for the night in Comanche TX around 12:00 am with another 900 or so miles down.
Tuesday July 8 - Leg 1, Day 3 – Comanche TX to Austin TX
(Checkpoint)
This day was the big day for this leg with a planned 1200
miles. I was set to leave the hotel
around 5:30 am and as I took a look at my rear tire it seemed like it was more
worn than it should have been. A quick
check of the tire pressure and it was down to 15 PSI. Great!
Pumped it up to 40 at the gas station across the street and was on my
way. First stop was the BALLINX bonus in
Ballinger TX. Took the photo of that and
was on my way. Then it was on to Iraan TX and the OOP bonus. It seems the creator of the comic strip Alley
Oop was from there. Got that bonus down
and continued on.
I was making periodic stops to monitor the tire pressure
and it seemed to be slowly losing air. I
continued to monitor the tire pressure and added air as needed. Since our
checkpoint was at a BMW dealer I would see if they could replace it for me. Next
stop was the MCKAVET bonus in Ft McKavet TX. Things were clicking along fine
and other than my thoughts of what I was going to do about my rear tire
everything was fine. I ran into some
traffic in Laredo TX after I-35 ended and it took me a bit to pick my way
through it. Made the CHAPS bonus in
Zapata TX without issue and continued on my way. I noticed that it seemed like every other car
was border patrol, TX State trooper, or local police. I cannot recall ever seeing so many law
enforcement vehicles simply driving. Had
a short rain/thunder storm that lasted about 15 minutes. Got to my next stop which was the ELCHRISTO bonus
in South Padre Island TX.
Now one more to go and I was off to Austin and the end of
this leg. Got to Goliad TX for the
GOLIAD bonus and took my photo of the hanging Tree. Now I was done and on my way to Austin. I had the AUSBAT bonus in Austin on my list,
however I opted to skip it for a few more minutes of sleep. Arrived at my hotel later than expected at 4
am which was the time the checkpoint opened.
Not being sure if I could leave the checkpoint, I opted for a quick hour
of sleep before I headed over.
Wednesday July 9 – Checkpoint Austin TX
Checked In and picked up the ARDYS bonus which was at
that location. This was a photo of a
very tired rider and the Iron Butt Rally flag for Ardys Kellerman.
I then finalized my paperwork and was scored. All was going well and I was confident I had
everything I needed. To date in my vast
experience of rallying (all three rallies) I had yet to lose points at the
rally table. I was proud of that and
even recall commenting on it to my scorer.
Of course that all changed when he checked the rally book and stated
that the Ballinger TX bonus called for recording “To whom was this marker
dedicated” I of course, had taken a very nice picture of the marker. So nice in fact, that had I reread the
requirements before going to scoring I could have answered the question. Instead, I had lost 370 points. My total
miles ridden in this leg were 3,075.
Once scored I found the owner of the dealership and
inquired about getting a new tire. He
said that should not be a problem. We
were informed there was a riders meeting at 8:45 am and we could leave before
then if we desired. I headed back to the
hotel for another hour’s worth of much needed sleep. Returned at 8:30 for the
rider meeting, and spoke to the dealer about my tire. Unfortunately they did not have a 16 inch
rear tire in stock, however one of the staff used to work for the Harley Dealer
and called and made arrangements for me to head straight up there once released
and they would do my tire.
At the rider meeting we were updated on the top ten
riders, status of those who were out, and were given our rally books and
released at 9am. Did a quick read of the rally book and noted there was a 500
point bonus for purchasing something at the dealer. Others were buying shirts, stickers, you name
it. I was looking for something small so
it would be easy to pack, inexpensive just in case I had to turn it in and would
not get it back, and not breakable just in case it had to be in the same
condition as when I bought it. What did
I get? Ear plugs at the cost of $.50.
From there I went straight to the Harley dealer and they
got me right in. I decided to spend the
time planning my route. I saw there was
a large 2500 point bonus for bowling near Dallas that was between 12 and
3pm. I decided that if they finished my
bike in time I would head straight up, however if they didn’t I’d stay and
finish my planning. My bike was rolled
out at 12:30, and there just was not enough time for me to make the bonus so I
spent another hour or so finishing my plan.
Wednesday July 9 - Leg 2, Day 1 – Austin TX to Lanoke AR
I left the dealer between 1:30 and 2:00PM after finishing
my planning and eating a few hot dogs. Due to the late start this was to be a short
day of around 500 miles. I made one
bonus, the location of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco TX. My stop was uneventful however I heard other
riders were chased off. From there I had
a 5 mile ride on a gravel road which was a joy, but after that it was clear
riding. Next bonus location was a
Whispering Giant bonus, which is essentially a 20 ft or taller wooden carving
of an American Indian. This was located
in a riverfront park in Little Rock AR.
Got off the interstate around 10 PM and there were police and people
everywhere. Every other turn resulted in
a blocked road. Finally made it to the
area of the park, only to be greeted by someone telling me I could not go down
into the park since it closed at 10pm. I
had already spent too much time in that city and was too tired to try and
negotiate my way down, although in hindsight I should have tried or gotten room
close by and tried at 5am. Instead I
skipped that bonus and made it a few miles down the highway and stopped in
Lanoke AR around 11:20 PM. Distance
traveled for the day was about 500 miles and I was able to only get two
boni counting the one at the BMW dealership.
Thursday July 10 - Leg 2, Day 2 – Lanoke AR to Steubenville OH
Left the hotel at 5:40 am and headed east. First stop was
a small roadside cemetery where I had to record the dates on a specific grave
and the name of the Brown who was born in 1776 and died in 1860. Recorded that information and I was on my way
to my next stop, Kentucky Stonehenge in Munfordville, KY. Picked that up without
incident and was off to my next two bonus locations in Sugarcreek, OH. One was low to moderate at 199 points but
there was a second across the street at 1023 points where I had to take a
picture of a large cuckoo clock. I was
tired so I made an extra stop or two so I could rest which cost me some time.
This was a hangover from getting 2 hours sleep before the Austin checkpoint and
a hard lesson learned because I had to drop 2 500 point bonus locations since
the cuckoo clock was time limited and I had until 9pm to take the photo. Plus it had to be while it was in action and
that was only every 30 minutes. Got
there in plenty of time to take a photo of the monument, answer a question from
a relatively long newspaper article that was part of the monument, and got the
cuckoo clock in action.
From there it was off to Hopedale OH for a photo of a
motorcycle memorial. This memorial was
on the property of an American Legion post.
Sounded like a relatively easy one, NOT!!! First, I had trouble finding the
memorial. GPS coordinates so far have
been spot on. For this one, my GPS
wanted to take me up someone’s driveway and thought it was a road. I could plainly
see the driveway and house, no memorial unless it was in the living room and I
thought that unlikely. There was a
construction site next door and I checked that out, nothing. Was about to phone the RM but had a thought. My GPS did not recognize the street I was on
as a road. This had happened in the past
and I drove for a bit and the GPS “found itself” on a road. I went ¼ mile down the road and I saw an
intersection and a sign for the American Legion post and the memorial. Followed that road to the building and
nothing. Drove around the building and
noted a small gazebo on top of a hill so I went to it and eureka, I found
it. Got the photo and then I noted that
I had to record the nicknames of three riders who were memorialized on bricks
on the ground. Now of course there are 100’s of bricks and I needed to find
three specific ones. Found one right
away and recorded the nickname as “KMRO”
Thought that was odd but shrugged it off. A few minutes later I got the next one. Then it was a loooong search for the final
one. Could not find it! Looked again, literally going brick by brick
in the dark looking for it. Along the
way I found a second brick for the first rider so I crossed out KMRO and wrote
down “Photo Taking Hillbilly” That was
more like it and I was sorry I didn’t know the story since I am sure it was a
good one. After what seemed like forever
I finally found the last one.
From there I should have gone to Morgantown WV, but
realized that would take me 2 hours I really didn’t have because I knew I had a
big day ahead of me for the final day and would need more rest, so I dropped it
as well. I was now heading towards Pittsburgh
for my hotel which would set me up for 4 bonus locations close together for the
following morning. Then my tired brain
started thinking it would take me an hour or two to get there and I would get 4
hours sleep before a 24 hour ride to the finish. We had a variable bonus for the sleep bonus
and could get as many as 3600 points for 6 hours sleep. The 1200 points I would get from two extra
hours of sleep was slightly more than the bonus locations I was going for in Pittsburgh,
plus I could start my day an hour closer to the finish. After taking 3 times longer than I should of
I made the call to skip the bonus locations in Pittsburgh and find a room
closer to the next bonus location in East Liverpool OH. I stopped in Steubenville OH around midnight.
Friday July 11 - Leg 2, Day 3 – Steubenville OH to Minnetonka MN – The final
stretch
This was it, the final stretch. I had a big one planned, about 1300 miles and
24 hours to do it. Of the 21 bonus locations I was claiming on this leg 15 were
on this day. However I was tired, had
been on the road for 6 days straight, and my mind decided to revolt and said
no, I am not leaving. I spent almost an
extra hour in the hotel because I just could not get myself to leave. I had a good breakfast and just sat there
contemplating my ride. This cost me big time at the finish! I finally got
myself motivated and out the door at 6:45 am. Once started, the day went
smoothly. First up was the BEGIN bonus
in East Liverpool. This was a cool one
as it was a location used as a reference point to map out the entire US (except
Texas since they must be different). Got
my photo and recorded the distance to the original location of the reference
point. From there it was a short ride to two bonus locations which were close
together, both historical markers. One
of which was the location where Pretty Boy Floyd was shot during an arrest
attempt.
From there I was off to a rest stop on I-80 near Farrell,
PA for a Whispering Giant bonus.
Recorded the information I needed to and headed to Kent State to record
the conclusion from the president’s commission who investigated the
shootings. Their findings, they were
“unnecessary, unwarranted and inexcusable”.
That done, I was off to get a Whispering Giant location in Akron OH and
record the names of the chiefs to which the statue was dedicated. From there I was off to Cleveland for a photo
of the leg lamp in the window of the house from the movie Christmas Story. My brother loves this movie so I just had to
take a photo for him as well.
Unfortunately, there was a lot of reflection in the window because it
was a bright sunny day but I was able to get one photo where you can make out
the lamp. As I was walking back to my
bike I realized nothing said the photo had to be taken outside, so I went back
to see if I could go in for a quick photo.
I guess the tour had started since the door was lock and no one was
visible inside. Again, a needless waste of time since I had a photo that was
good enough. Now it was off to Lakewood, OH for a photo of a statue for a small
dog that was adopted by US troops in WWII and is credited with being the first
therapy dog. Got that without issue, and was off for some giant bats in Toledo,
OH. These were baseball bats as part of
a stadium. Found them with no issue and headed
for Brock, OH for a photo of the grave of Annie Oakley.
Things had been clicking along nicely all day and other
than some traffic around Toledo and Kent State I had no issues. After Annie Oakley I was riding on state
highways to Chatsworth OH where I had to record the number of deaths from one
of the worst train wrecks in US history.
85 people died in 1887 when two trains collided and caught fire. Then it was off to Campus, IL to record how
many men had died in mine accidents in the ghost town of Cardiff. From there it
was off to Wedron, IL for the crash site of a young Charles Lindberg. This was a mile or so off the state highway
on a country road. Turned down a dirt
road and followed it to the end (it ended on the same road I had been traveling
on) and I had missed it. Turned around
and my lights just caught the granite marker. Got my photo and was off.
I was getting close to the end of my bonus locations as I
only had three more. Two were Whispering
Giant locations which would give me four and would qualify me for the combo
bonus of 100 extra points for each Whispering Giant location. I headed towards Ottawa, IL when I got there
I opened my rally book to find out what I had to do. There it was, plain as day, Daylight
Only! Looking at the light street
lights, the darkness around me, and the time being around 11pm, I did not think
I would be able to honestly claim this one.
Scratched it off my list as well as the next one since I could no longer
claim the four required for the combo bonus. That left me with one more bonus
in Rochelle IL. This was a location where two main railroads cross and there
were so many rail fans that they built a park at the location so they could
safely watch the trains. I had to either
take a photo of a train passing the park, or wait in town for 1 hour. Waiting was out since I had limited time, but
just in case I stopped for a bottle of water and a receipt. As I was coming out I heard a train
whistle. Figures, I was going to miss
it. I followed my GPS to find the park
and passed one, but later found it was the wrong one. I came around a corner and saw a train
crossing the road. I thought hey, I may
get this and pulled up to the railroad crossing where I saw someone saying the
park is over here. I looked at him and
said “huh?” or something similar. At the
same time I am thinking, who is this clown out in the middle of the street at 11pm
and how does he know that I am looking for a park? Then I look in the direction he was pointing
and see two bikes and it clicks, he is another rider and he is there for the
same reason I am. I pulled in and parked
next to the bikes, then realized I had to go to the far end of the park where
the tracks crossed for the photo. I
walked/stumbled to the far end and tried to take a photo. It was so dark I could not see the tracks. And I could not see the train in the photo
since by now all of the box cars had passed by and only low yellow flatbed cars
were left. I took several photos hoping
one would come out.
And that was it, I was done! All I had to do now was ride 370 miles to the
finish and I had 6 hours to do it before I started incurring any penalty
points. But I was now tired, really
tired. I had been on the road for 18 hours
so far. I headed off towards the finish
and figured I had plenty of time to rest if I needed to. Well I did need rest, and it didn’t take
long. I made it maybe 50 miles and was getting off the highway for a
break. Bumped into one other rider and
we chatted for a bit, then he was off. I got some caffeine and relaxed for a
few minutes, and then got back on the road.
I didn’t last long and probably 40 or so miles down the road I had to
pull over. This time I was at a closed gas station so I simply laid down on the
ground next to my bike and closed my eyes for a nap. A few minutes later I
heard people talking and noticed the police had someone pulled over in the lot
and were speaking to them. Thinking they
would want to speak with me next I got back on the road. I repeated the process of stopping every 30
minutes or so all the way into the finish in Minnetonka and ended up being 44
minutes late.
Saturday July 12 – Finish
Minnetonka MN
I got off the highway and raced down the street to the
hotel. Turned into the lot expecting the
check point to be up by the hotel but it wasn’t. It was right at the entrance to the lot and I
almost blew right by it! Checked in and gave
them my ending mileage and flag number. But there was one thing missing, my
wife! She had flown out to meet me and
was nowhere in sight. I pulled up in
front of the hotel to see if she was there and she wasn’t, so I parked the
bike, called her to tell her I was there, and gathered my stuff. She came out
to meet me and explained that my spot tracker had stopped working about an hour
or so before and said I was still in Wisconsin somewhere. OOPS! But I had no way of knowing since my
spot tracker is mounted in a location where I cannot see it. Something else to
change.
I went up to my room for a much needed shower and
finalized my paperwork. I log each bonus as I go so there wasn’t much to do
other than review each one to confirm that I recorded everything, scan the
rally book to ensure I didn’t miss any easy points at the finish, and then
headed down to be scored. My scorer was the same one who scored me at the
checkpoint and when he entered my ending time to calculate my late penalty he
laughed, which is never good. My late
penalty, 880 points! But, I finished and was in one piece so I did not regret
it. In hindsight, rather than piecemeal
my breaks like I did I probably should have taken a longer one when I first
stopped and actually closed my eyes for 10-15 minutes. Again, lessons learned. The rest of scoring went rather well, and I
was happy that I didn’t lose any more points at the scoring table. And with
that, I was done! Total miles ridden in
this leg were 2,631, and 5,706 for the entire rally.
The Results!
In the end I finished 28th out of 49
finishers. I was more than happy with that given it was my first multi-day
rally, I should have been a DNS (Did not start) due to the issues I had heading
to the start, and my loss of a huge bonus due to my being stuck in a Harley
Dealer waiting for a new rear tire. I learned a tremendous amount of
information which will help me in future rallies, I saw some really cool stuff
that I probably would have never found, and I had fun with some really great people! What more could one ask for?
Saturday July 26 – The trip home, day 1 Minnesota to Danville
IN
I chose to leave my bike at a friend’s house in MN and
fly home after the rally. When planning
to participate in the Butt Lite I was unsure what kind of condition I would be
in after riding almost 6,000 miles without a break and figured I would not be
able to or want to ride straight through.
That would mean traveling on Sunday and Monday, and then taking Tuesday
off to recover before going back to work.
In my mind that was just too much time away from work. I flew out Friday July 26 and was picked up
at the airport by my friends and had dinner in a small bar in Minneapolis. Spent the night at their house and spent the
morning chatting. Decided I’d better get
on the road around 11am and I was off.
The trip home was more of a relaxing ride and I had planned on making as
many Tour of Honor stops as possible. As
a result, much of the first day and part of the second day were off the
Interstates.
My first stop was at Soldiers Field in Rochester MN. From
there I continued on to the Veterans Memorial Monument in La Crosse WI. Had an enjoyable but uneventful ride, up to
the point it started raining. Rain was
light and didn’t last long and I didn’t bother putting my rain gear on. I then continued
on to Lansing Iowa for the Mt. Hosmer Veterans’ Memorial. This was on top of a hill and was difficult
to find only because my GPS thought there was a road where in actuality there
was a path with a set of steps going up a steep hill. Maybe at one time there was a road, who
knows. Found my way to the park entrance
and this was the view of the Mississippi on my way up:
Got to the memorial but unfortunately I had no cell
service so I could not verify this was correct.
I was a little unsure because there was another memorial about ¼ mile
away. Fortunately I got the correct
photo. Next was the Veterans Memorial Plaza in Dubuque IA. This was a little
tricky to get to due to my missing an exit off the highway. It was a cool memorial that covered all major
wars the US was in and included a Cobra gunship mounted on a pole. Somehow I forgot to take a photo of the Cobra
And now it got interesting. The roads got smaller and were two lane
county highways. Really enjoyable and
saw some cool countryside. Next stop was
the Apple River Honor Role in Apple River, Illinois. This was a postage stamp sized town and the
memorial had been originally built for WWI vets from Apple River. On my way
through town I saw a sign that made me stop and do a double take. They were having Lawn Mower races at their
MOWtor speedway. Gotta love small towns!
As I was heading to my next stop which was for the Cherry
Mine Disaster in Cherry, Illinois ,I got
so see a cool sunset. Photo does not do
it justice.
Made it to the memorial and it was dark. Had to use the lights on the bike to
illuminate the monument and a flashlight to light up my flag, but I got enough
to count. From there it was on to my last stop of the day, the WWII Memorial in
Pontiac IL. This was at the courthouse
and there were a few other monuments at that location, however I was getting
tired and opted to not spend the time checking them out.
Got on the way and started looking for a hotel. Opted to ride for a bit more as I was feeling
ok, but stopped around 1 or 2 am in Danville IL, near the IN boarder on
I-74. Total miles for the day were about
600, and other than about a total of 1 hour it was all on non-interstates.
Sunday July 27 – The trip home, Day 2 - Danville IN to
home
Awoke at 5am with the intent on an early start and
hopefully meeting friends who were teaching Search and Rescue for Civil Air
Patrol in Columbus IN. Realized that
there was a fairly heavy storm outside so I opted to go back to sleep until it
passed. Got on the road around 7 or 8 am
and saw that the storm was tracking my path toward Columbus IN. Not wanting to ride into it and needing to
make up time for the late start I opted to skip my friends as well as the
planned Tour of Honor stop near there, and headed to my next stop which was the
Veterans Memorial in Montezuma IN. Much
of this ride was back roads as well. I
also saw a sign for an Ernie Pyle memorial, however it was the opposite
direction from the way I wanted to go and I opted not to make the detour. Once I got home I remembered he was a
journalist in WWII and was killed in combat in the Pacific. I wish I would have stopped. Got my photo in Montezuma without suffering
the wrath of his revenge, and moved on. My next stop was the Union County
courthouse in Liberty IN. Had some more
great small roads to ride and enjoyed it immensely. Made my way to Liberty and found the
courthouse. It looked more like a church
to me and unfortunately I could not get the entire building in the
picture. Got my photo and was off.
My next stop was a fair distance away north of Columbus
OH. Unfortunately my time of riding
small roads was coming to an end and I was heading for I-70. I was headed for the Fallen Hero Memorial in
Sunbury OH. Made my way towards Columbus
and got on the bypass to go north of town and saw that the sky was rather dark
and ominous looking. Continued north and
about 4 miles from the location the sky opened up. Put the rain gear on and the storm seemed to
be getting stronger. Decided that I
would leave this for another time and turned around to get out of the
storm. The storm was moving east quickly
and I did ride out of it, but traffic on the bypass was moving slowly due to
the storm and there were at least two cars on the other side of the highway off
the road in ditches, presumably due to high winds.
I was now done my stops and was heading home, with about
8 or 9 hours of steady riding ahead of me.
I ran into the storm again and the rain was fairly heavy but
manageable. However, it was
disheartening to see bright sunshine and clear skies to the south of me. I figured
I could ride through the storm but after a while decided to pull over
and take a look at the weather radar on my phone. What I saw was a huge storm and I was just at
the tail end of it. In the middle were
all kinds of nasty colors that I did not want to see personally, so I opted to
sit and wait for 30 minutes or so for the storm to pass. Sure enough, after 30 minutes I was greeted
by clear skies so I took the rain gear off and got on the road. Stayed in the
clear through the rest of OH and into PA, but saw that I was catching up to the
storm again on the PA Turnpike near the Allegheny Tunnel. Pulled over, put on the rain gear, and got
back on the road. Enjoyed a significant
drop in temperature when I exited the tunnel so I turned on my heated
gear. Rain was light and did not pick up
a while. I ended up riding 3 ½ hours in
the rain, with some very heavy rain coming in the last 50 or so miles. Got in around 11:30 PM tired, wet and
hungry. Total miles for the last day
were around 900, with a total trip mileage of 8,700 miles. Overall, even with the difficulties I had it
was a blast. As they say, a bad day of
riding beats a good day at work.
