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I've been friends over the years with a few who've ridden the IBR... Curt Gran, RIP... Dave Bankhead, former neighbor of mine.
There's no knowledge like IBR knowledge. Congrats on you that have been invited! I've been blessed to donate to my friends. If you're taking donations, please post up the details.
Good luck to all of you! Will be following... and congrats again!
Chris: I watched my FIL suffer and die from Alzheimers over ten years. It was heartbreaking. I know your pain.
I havent completely written off the HH, but its pretty far down the list of riding objectives for me. I would do it as you described - largely a 14 to 20 day solo ride.
I do wear disposable daily wearcontacts but I only dispose of them on a monthly basis. It works for me - has for decades. No reason I couldnt dispose daily. Im not overly finicky but doing the contacts in the tent all those years camping was a PitA.
I do question the accident rate of the HH versus the IBR. I hope your close friend and others are on the mend. My riding philosophy is motorcycle safety is a function of where you ride, when you ride, and how you ride. Im somewhat reluctant to give up those first two to a rally master. I know the RM is trying to create an enjoyable rally but ending up on AZ-191 on a hundred degree day with those infinite tar snakes soft and slippery would be a dangerous situation. At least on the IBR you can sacrifice points for safety. The HH forces your hand.
Shakespeare wrote discretion is the better part of valor. I find it to be true the grand majority of the time. Your decision to withdraw exhibited self-discipline and discretion - both highly commendable traits. Ill be cheering for you in the IBR and hope that you improve on your best finishing position.
My adventures are chronicled on ADVRider under Another Rookie Went to Alaska. Maybe someday therell be a Hoka Hey there or maybe just a bunch of stories and photos from my own good day to die rides.
Chris: I watched my FIL suffer and die from Alzheimers over ten years. It was heartbreaking. I know your pain.
I havent completely written off the HH, but its pretty far down the list of riding objectives for me. I would do it as you described - largely a 14 to 20 day solo ride.
I do wear disposable daily wearcontacts but I only dispose of them on a monthly basis. It works for me - has for decades. No reason I couldnt dispose daily. Im not overly finicky but doing the contacts in the tent all those years camping was a PitA.
I do question the accident rate of the HH versus the IBR. I hope your close friend and others are on the mend. My riding philosophy is motorcycle safety is a function of where you ride, when you ride, and how you ride. Im somewhat reluctant to give up those first two to a rally master. I know the RM is trying to create an enjoyable rally but ending up on AZ-191 on a hundred degree day with those infinite tar snakes soft and slippery would be a dangerous situation. At least on the IBR you can sacrifice points for safety. The HH forces your hand.
Shakespeare wrote discretion is the better part of valor. I find it to be true the grand majority of the time. Your decision to withdraw exhibited self-discipline and discretion - both highly commendable traits. Ill be cheering for you in the IBR and hope that you improve on your best finishing position.
My adventures are chronicled on ADVRider under Another Rookie Went to Alaska. Maybe someday therell be a Hoka Hey there or maybe just a bunch of stories and photos from my own good day to die rides.
Take Care,
mike
Thanks Mike. My friend is on the mend but it will be a long road to recovery.
I have an account on ADVRider but have not accessed it lately. I'll have to check it out
A small update here, but most of the riders have spent t he last week making hotel reservations for the checkpoints and running hypotheticals in their mapping software (Garmin Basecamp and Google Maps are the two most popular). We found out the two hotels and now we have enough to finish our planning. to most of us it's just for fun and personal entertainment, but there is some value to this step in preparations. This only leaves 136 days until we launch.
If you're interested in attending the Start or Finish festivities, or even visiting a checkpoint, I would expect the IBA to announce those soon. Premier member will get first stab, so make sure you're up to date there.
In other news, I am looking forward to attending the get together in Jacksonville again. It is a great break from the weather in the Midwest and it's also a great opportunity to see friends who share the same love of the sport. I usually make a week of it, depending on how the weather cooperates.
After that, we'll be looking forward to Tour of Honor starting on 4/1 and then Heart of Texas which I'll be riding the 96 hr version in late April.
After HOT, I'll mostly use TOH sites to practice and condition for IBR. Over Memorial Day weekend, I'll do a larger multi-day ride and then it will be final preparations for the 6/19 IBR start.
A small update here, but most of the riders have spent t he last week making hotel reservations for the checkpoints and running hypotheticals in their mapping software (Garmin Basecamp and Google Maps are the two most popular). We found out the two hotels and now we have enough to finish our planning. to most of us it's just for fun and personal entertainment, but there is some value to this step in preparations. This only leaves 136 days until we launch.
If you're interested in attending the Start or Finish festivities, or even visiting a checkpoint, I would expect the IBA to announce those soon. Premier member will get first stab, so make sure you're up to date there.
In other news, I am looking forward to attending the get together in Jacksonville again. It is a great break from the weather in the Midwest and it's also a great opportunity to see friends who share the same love of the sport. I usually make a week of it, depending on how the weather cooperates.
After that, we'll be looking forward to Tour of Honor starting on 4/1 and then Heart of Texas which I'll be riding the 96 hr version in late April.
After HOT, I'll mostly use TOH sites to practice and condition for IBR. Over Memorial Day weekend, I'll do a larger multi-day ride and then it will be final preparations for the 6/19 IBR start.
Man, I'm ready for spring to get here!!
I'm headed to Jacksonville as well, just haven't decided on the route. Original plan was to via California and make it a SS6K as a ride in, but I forgot about that small payment coming up in less than two weeks.
What are these hypotheticals you speak of?
I may sign up for the HW3 rally as pre-IBR practice since I have not run a rally since the last IBR.
Looks like my plan A for a trip to JAX23 is in play. I won't be posting a public tracker, but I'll post the track when I get back. With any luck, I'll riding about 6k miles in the next 9 days. Not too impressive, but it'll be three days of socializing around the event. This will hopefully be a good start for my pre-rally conditioning!
Chris posted his track publicly, so if you follow his FB page, you'll be able to watch him. I think he's going for 6K ride-in miles, so it will be quite the ride to watch.
I'll be testing my new Bluetooth headset and some new luggage that adds some capacity/organization. I have a new front tire that was mounted last winter, and this will be my last trip on the rear. On the GSA, I've been running the Dunlop Tourmax Missions and they are great tires for what we do. The tread life is hard to beat, and the aggressive nature makes them versatile for different road conditions.
Well, my ride to Jacksonville did not go as planned.
All was well (except for the 400 miles of rain) for the first 968 miles, but then I hit something slick on the road and bounced the bike down I-40 in West Memphis IN which ended my ride
Thanks to two friends and my wife I first got the bike to Nashville TN, then Annapolis MD, and then finally home
I now have to get the bike repaired and back on the road for the IBR in under 3 short months
I think it's a fun excuse to ride distance. I got my bun burner 1000 on a sportbike in 2008. This year I have 4 guys (one I know will back out last minute) planning on the Great Lakes (michigan) 1000 in May. If the weather doesn't look manageable (snow or just stupid cold), we'll make it happen. Should be a good time. Maybe when I retire I'll do the 50CC or the full rally, but now I just don't have the PTO.
From: Marion NC / Lake Norman NC / Panama City Fla
Originally Posted by cacomly
Well, my ride to Jacksonville did not go as planned.
All was well (except for the 400 miles of rain) for the first 968 miles, but then I hit something slick on the road and bounced the bike down I-40 in West Memphis IN which ended my ride
Thanks to two friends and my wife I first got the bike to Nashville TN, then Annapolis MD, and then finally home
I now have to get the bike repaired and back on the road for the IBR in under 3 short months
The carnage:
My riding gear
Trip home
New ride to Jacksonville
Wow! Glad you are ok! What do you think caused the slide?
On a side note, I have almost the exact same trailer as the orange one in your pictures. Mine tilts which makes loading/unloading interesting sometimes.
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