Hello Kitty wrote:Wow! The standings are so interesting to look at! I just checked the public spotwalla page and find myself hoping that some of the riders farthest east have a malfunctioning spot... Or at least, that there's some kind of grand plan that I can't decipher without the rally pack. They need to be in Rancho Cordova by 8PM to avoid penalty points, 10PM to avoid a DNF.
Quick shout out to Roger Sinclair and George Beemer Uber Alles. Both were terrific a the start and again at the checkpoint assisting riders with whatever it was that needed assisting. They are terrific guys and y'all are lucky to have them in the area if you find yourself needing support. Roger was a huge help to me personally in 09 and George similar in 11. Walt is a wonderful wrench, but there are some things we felt more comfortable leaving to the pros - Roger and George!
In general, the riders looked good and were in good spirits. There was, of course, heartbreak at the scoring table. I'm sure you're familiar with the phrase, "this hurts me more than it hurts you." I'm not sure I could carry it *that* far, but some of the points riders lost were very heart breaking for the scorers. You know they did it, but they just didn't do the paperwork quite right, and that is part of the game. Or, you know they were there, they just didn't take the correct photo. Tom Austin did a really good job with fairness (IMO) in the scoring room when scorers had questions about whether or not something would be accepted.
Unity wrote:Thanks for your updates, Nancy.
--John
(IBR site, Spotwalla, and FJR forum just aren't enough!)
Hello Kitty wrote:checkpoint 2 today/tonight! Given the time difference, I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to hear the reports. Some of these riders have pulled off monster rides thus far, but they will need to get moving to make it to the check point. They have time, if they get moving and don't mess around, but they may still have their eyes on a bonus or two. Or three or four. Looks like there's tons of them in the Sacramento area.
According to my rough mapsource calculations, some of them have 14 and 15 hours to go, assuming their last spot ping is more or less current. I do know that one can make higher speeds out west, but they also need to keep safety in mind, of course.
Also, if it were me, and of course, it isn't, I'd be thinking about traffic heading into the Sacramento area at the end of a long holiday weekend. Picture I-95 north coming to the DC area today - any weekend, but especially this one. Sure, it's California and they can lane split, but that will only do so much for them. If traffic is a dead stop, they aren't going to be doing freeway speeds in between the lanes of traffic.
ALSO, leg 3 bonus pack hand out approaches, they will want to be as fresh as an IBR rider at checkpoint 2 can be, so getting in early, getting scored and getting to bed should be high priorities right now. My opinion, of course. Some of these people are a lot tougher than me!
I'm anxiously awaiting the spots to start moving again and following along! Let's hope a daily report comes out a lot earlier than yesterday's nail bitter! I am only guessing, but I suspect it may have been purposeful so that Bob could disclose some details of the bonus options without setting the riders up for too many spectators at bonus stops. That Pony Express option sounds tough, but rewarding. Pikes Peak was less risky (IMO), but depending on what else they could pick up, also less rewarding. Again, my opinion.
It sure looks like the guy who is in Elko, NV for the night was going for the PE option, and is taking his rest bonus there. Assuming the PE locations are numbered more or less in the order that riders will visit them, he's still got quite a few locations to get today. Then get to the checkpoint and get his paperwork in order. Missing (or flubbing) just ONE of them, makes the effort meaningless.
Keyboard at the ready! F5, baby!
CoreyH wrote:I am sure the Bat Signal has already gone up around the BMW/IBR community, but thought I would cross post this from the FJRForum, just in case:
"I am posting this at the request of Scott Jones. He is riding a 2006 BMW R1200RT and is having trouble with his electronic windshield. It has decided to become possessed and is going up and down. I am not at all familiar with it's electrical system. Is the fuse for the windscreen only in control of the windscreen or will pulling it cause other issues? Is this a problem anyone else has experienced? Any suggestions? "
Unity wrote:"Iggy" was getting crowd-favorite attention on the FJR forum -- what's his real name and where did he finish?
--John
Hello Kitty wrote:That's Matt Watkins.
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