Travel Log
| Sept 1st - 5th, 2011 |
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2011 3 Flags/IBA Rally |
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In its 36th year, the annual 3 Flags Classic (3FC) motorcycle touring rally, hosted by the Southern California Motorcycling Association (SCMA), is among the longest tenured events of its kind in the nation. As the name implies, the 3 Flags takes riders through three countries - Mexico, the US and Canada – although in recent years the requirement to actually enter Mexico has been relaxed due to issues with border town violence. Still, with the 2011 route of some 2,400 miles spread out over 4 days, this isn’t generally the type of event that draws my interest. This year, however, the SCMA was teaming up with the Iron Butt Association to offer 3 Flags riders the option of a bonus style endurance rally – a rally within a rally.
All of the information on the IBA Rally option is HERE, including a copy of the official Bonus Packet.
Having participated in 4 single-day endurance rallies in the last 4 years, and wanting to try my hand at a multi-day event, the IBA/3 Flags Rally seemed like just the ticket. Run annually over the Labor Day weekend, the 3 Flags fit perfectly into my schedule. The base route would start in San Ysidro, CA and end in Penticton, BC with three Check Points (CPs) in between. This was also ideal for me as I live in the Seattle area. I’d have a bit of a ride to get to the start but the ride home from the finish would be an easy 335 mile day. Again, perfect.
Since participation in the 3 Flags rally was required to enter the IBA rally, I made the necessary preparations to secure my 3FC spot in January, months before all of the info was available for the IBA portion. Aware that 2011 was also an Iron Butt Rally year, I knew that the IBA folks were probably pretty busy but I had full faith that they would come through with an excellent rally. What I did already know about the IBA portion of the rally was that there would be bonus locations of various point values (just like most other endurance rallies) scattered near and far off of the base route and that I’d be required to check in at the appropriate Check Point each day. I also knew that the bonus list would be made available a couple weeks prior to the start so I would be able to plan my entire rally beforehand.
Soon enough, registration for the mini-rally opened and my spot was secured there, as well. All that was left was the wait for mid-August when the bonus listing would be emailed to the riders. Unlike other rallies I had ridden, there was no online list of participants so I had no idea who I would be “competing” against. (Ultimately, you’re really only ever competing against yourself in these things as you have no way of knowing how anybody else is doing anyway.) I had gleaned from some of the info that this was really designed for first time rallyists as some of the conventional requirements, like the need to keep track of fuel stops, were absent. This didn’t necessarily mean that it would be all rookies. Surely others would have their reasons for signing up for a ride like this. Besides, I still make rookie mistakes so I could hardly consider myself “over-qualified” for this event. Although the messages from IBA President Mike Kneebone stated that this would be a “simplified” format, the 2011 Iron Butt Rally reminded us all that there is a big difference between “simple” and “easy.”
In the meantime, I began planning my ride to San Ysidro for the start. I knew I didn’t want to slog down I-5 any more than necessary so I began to consider reasonable alternatives. The recent passing of a friend of mine, Ken Morton, had me thinking that a visit to Gerlach, NV and the nearby IBA Memorial would be fitting. Ken was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident in Nebraska and there is now a stone in the Memorial Ring of Honor bearing his name. Gerlach isn’t that far off trajectory from Seattle to San Diego and riding there would not only keep me far away from I-5 but also riding through one of my favorite parts of the country. There was also the possibility that rally bonuses could be nearby and I could scout anything that was unfamiliar on the way.
As promised, the bonus packet arrived in mid-August and none too soon for me. It was surprisingly small. There were only 22 total bonuses but they were spread out considerably. I had intended to get some much needed practice at processing the packet, turning all of those written bonus locations into electronic waypoints that could be used by my mapping software and, eventually, turned into a route. Once I started, however, it was clear to me that most of that wasn’t necessary. The skeleton of a route made itself pretty evident and I would simply tweak and add bonuses to that as I saw fit.
Interestingly, two of the bonuses were Bruno’s Country Club in Gerlach, NV and the IBA Memorial just to the north of Gerlach. It helped that these combined for a pretty fair points total but I’m certain I would have fit them into my plan anyway. (Knowing I'd be visiting the Gerlach sites on the rally also freed up my ride to San Ysidro so that I could scout other locations with which I was less familiar.) I could think of no more fitting tribute to Ken than to honor his life and passing while “on the clock” in an endurance rally – something he loved dearly.
I had a couple of self imposed rules for this rally. Since it would take place during a holiday weekend, I was determined to avoid as many National Parks and Monuments as possible. I expected that traffic would be denser in and around these popular destinations and, even if it didn’t actually delay me all that much, the stress it was likely to cause just didn’t seem to be worth it. I did make some exceptions, however. For instance, there were 3,004 points in Death Valley plus another 577 (Mono Lake Visitor’s Center) just outside of Lee Vining, CA. Death Valley is close enough to San Ysidro that I figured, if there was even likely to be any traffic there, I should be in and out before it had a chance to gel.
Being a touring event, the base 3FC route had mandatory Check Points that the riders were to visit each day. These were open pretty much all day until about 9 PM. They then re-opened the next morning for riders to depart. The endurance rally riders were to use the same CP locations and hours as the base 3FC riders. There was no requirement that we stay overnight and I made sure to confirm that, in the event that I might miss the 9 PM closing of a CP, I was still allowed to make the re-opening window the next morning. This, of course, would not be ideal as I would then be out of sync and would likely have to start scratching off planned bonus stops just to get back on schedule. At least, however, I would not be a DNF (Did Not Finish) – not yet, anyway.
This daily Check Point requirement would give the rally an interesting twist. Most multi-day rallies have mandatory CP’s but there are usually two or more days in between them, giving riders wide latitude in route planning. Although the 3FC CP’s were each open 9 to 15 hours, and we could roll through anytime during those hours, they still served to keep me from straying too far off the main route.
The largest point bonus in the list was the Historic Navajo Bridge, in the Marble Canyon area of Arizona. Even though the instructions suggested that we NOT go there, at 7,519 points, I had to try and work it into my plan. Since the rally started at 3 AM on Day 1, and the first CP window (Hawthorne, NV) closed at 9 PM that same day, I had 18 hours to ride the approximate 1,100 miles from San Ysidro to Marble Canyon and on to Hawthorne. I reckoned I could probably do that but it meant forgoing any other points on Leg 1, as well as some decent ones on Leg 2. There were two lighthouses on the northern California coast that totaled over 10,000 points but I’d have to set myself up carefully on Leg 1 to be able to get Gerlach and both lighthouses. All added up, Navajo Bridge would have cost me more points than it gave so it was scratched.
The resulting plan for Day 1, then, was to make a beeline for Death Valley at the start, riding through as early in the day as I could to scoop up those points before the heat became an issue. I would then add Mono Lake as long as the clock was still on my side. I wanted to roll through Hawthorne in the early afternoon and get checked in before heading for Bruno’s. After getting the Gerlach points and spending an appropriate amount of time at the memorial, I then wanted to get as far west as possible before stopping somewhere for a few hours rest. I hoped to time my departure from where ever that might be so as to arrive at Pt. Cabrillo, near Mendocino, CA, as shortly after sunrise of day 2 as I could. I would not be bagging a lot of points on Leg 1 but the plan would set me up to be able to score pretty big on Leg 2.
Traffic on I-15 was predictably light so early in the morning with cars moving at a very fast clip. Most were likely heading to Las Vegas for the Holiday weekend and in a particular hurry to lighten themselves of most of their cash. Allowing the fastest of the fast to leave me behind, I settled in with a fast-enough group and enjoyed the sunrise displayed in front of me. Before long I was exiting at Baker, CA for gas and the much more pleasant ride north on CA-127 towards Death Valley. I had ridden through Death Valley a couple of times before but had never been to my first target, Dantes View. The instructions for this bonus were to take a picture of the valley from the viewpoint. I’m not sure which I enjoyed more, the ride up to the viewpoint with its sweepers and switchbacks, or the view from the top of the hill. This was only the first bonus stop and I was already reminded of one of my favorite parts of rallying. While I was in “rally mode” and aware that I needed to get moving, I was also struck by the glorious beauty that was laid out in front of me and determined to return when I could spend more time.
Death Valley, from Dantes View, as required by the Rally instructions - 2,601 pts
Taking advantage of a convenient sign to make sure I document the correct location
So far, so good. I was packed and heading back down the road towards Panamint Springs by 8 AM with my first points in the bag. It’s always fun to run into other rally riders during these events and there were two on the way up to Dantes while I was heading down. A red ST1100 and, I believe a BMW R1200RT that were obviously set up for this kind of nonsense. I would see both of these bikes a couple more times on the first two legs of this rally.
Next up was the restaurant at the Panamint Springs Resort, also in Death Valley National Park. After a quick stop inside the neighboring Shell station for more ice and water (no gas yet as it was ridiculously expensive here and I knew there was gas in Big Pine) I decided I had time to head for Lee Vining and the Mono Lake Visitor’s Center before aiming for Check Point 1. I was pleased to be in and out of Death Valley before 10 AM, when the temperatures were only in the upper 90’s.
Panamint Springs Resort Restaurant, Death Valley Nat'l Park - 403 pts
Mono Lake from the parking lot of the Mono Basin Nat'l Forest Visitor's Center - 577 pts
About 90 minutes ahead of my schedule, I rolled into the Holiday Lodge parking lot in Hawthorne just a little before 1 PM. It had been a great ride so far but it was now getting quite warm. I took advantage of the free bottled water and bananas that were waiting there and hit the road for Gerlach.
My Leg 1 route
I was trying something different for this ride than I had on any previous multi-day trip. Along with plenty of water on board, including a half gallon insulated cooler mounted on the bike with a drinking tube set up for on-the-go hydration, I had 8 bottles of Ensure nutrition drink. This had been suggested at a seminar during one of the Iron Butt Association National Meets that I’ve attended and it seemed like a great idea. I have forgotten to eat altogether until very late in the day on more than one single day rally and I didn’t want to have that happen when I had several days in a row to make sure I was properly nourished. I was hoping that this step would help in that regard and it really seemed to. These nutrition drinks are full of essential vitamins and such yet don't have a ton of sugar or fat for how many calories they yield. So I'll endure the ribbing from my kids about drinking "old peoples' drinks" if they work as expected. The key for me was to store one in the cooler with the icy water so that it was always cold and ready to drink and then rotate another into the cooler for next time. They’re tolerable to drink when warm but taste much better when chilled. This reduces the capacity of the cooler by about 8 ounces but that really shouldn’t be an issue unless it’s extremely hot and dry out with lots of miles between refill opportunities.
It seemed like I was making great time with little to no traffic all the way up US-95 to Fernley, NV. Then I exited I-80 onto NV-447. Among the first things I saw were a couple of Nevada State Trooper cars parked inside the school zone in Wadsworth. I thought this was odd being so late in the day. Then I saw a sign about Burning Man tickets and something about being sold out. Uh oh. HIPPIES! I had heard about the Burning Man Festival and knew that it took place out in the Black Rock Desert around Gerlach but I never worried about WHEN. I thought this could really slow things up if the town and the only road in and out were jugged up with VW vans and Subarus full of Birkenstock wearing fellow travelers. Apparently, I had arrived a little late to get the full effect of the Festival as there seemed to remain only the dregs of what was likely a smelly sea of humanity a day or so earlier. One thing the roads were full of, though, were Law Enforcement Officers. Lots of ‘em. I estimate that easily half of all of the State Troopers in Nevada were driving up and down that 75-mile stretch of 447. There were also a couple of county sheriffs and, I believe, some sort of Tribal Police presence. Most of them were plenty busy, too, with no shortage of paying customers. All that meant was that I’d be doing no more than a couple over the limit all the way up and back. At least they were all nice enough to just leave their radar units on all the time. On the way south I passed that red ST11 and the BMW as they were riding north.
In between two separate, 75-mile trips through the Nevada State Police Dragnet was a photo at Bruno's Country Club for 2,707 points and a very nice stop at the IBA Memorial. The circle of honor has gotten much too large, though, as it has been expanded to make room for a few recent additions. Some of these are people that I knew a little, others I had never met. Ken was the closest friend that I’ve lost in this community and the news of his passing was a huge blow. He was smart and funny, a great rider and always willing to share his vast knowledge of rallying. I miss him greatly.
Bruno's Country Club, Gerlach, NV - 2,707 pts
A previously taken, wider angle shot of Bruno's
IBA Memorial, Gerlach, NV - 101 pts
The frog sticker was produced by Ken's friends and family. He was known on the various forums as Dread Pirate Kermit - DPK. We miss you, Ken
Once I returned to I-80 I began to assess my fuel and sleep needs. I was about two hours ahead of schedule and feeling fine if a little hungry. I knew exactly where the Sparks, Nevada In-N-Out Burger was and decided to stop in for a bite and finalize my plan for the remainder of Day 1. In-N-Out is a favorite of mine and not available back home. As I hadn’t had opportunity to enjoy it up to this point and knowing I’d be too far north by lunchtime tomorrow, it was now or never. Besides, I had a Gift Card burning a hole in my wallet.
During my initial planning I was hoping that I could make it to one of several small towns north of San Francisco along US-101 by the end of Day 1 but I had some contingencies in mind as well. I had considered cutting across on CA-20 through Williams and stopping in Willits. This would have put me a little closer to Mendocino and allowed me to sleep a little longer in the morning. Having never been on that stretch of road, however, I was concerned that it would likely pass through plenty of wildlife infested country. I knew it would be dark or getting dark and that 20 was mostly two-lane and looked quite twisty on the map. Under ideal conditions there was little doubt that this would be quicker and a lot more fun than staying on I-80 through Vacaville, skirting north of San Francisco and up US-101 but I opted for the relative safety of the latter. It was still pretty early and I was confident that I could make Rohnert Park before 10 PM so I gave the Motel 6 there a call to make sure they had plenty of rooms available. It was a holiday weekend but, honestly, who goes to Rohnert Park on holiday?
With that decision made there was little else to do but drone along the Interstate for a few hours, satisfied by that wonderful Double-Double. Gas in Truckee, a little traffic through Sacramento and, before too long, I was exiting onto CA-37 for a short ride to 101. According to plan I checked into the Motel 6 around 10:15 and, after sending my wife an “OK” message on the SPOT tracker and taking the time to empty the contents of my netbook bag, laying everything out over the AC blower to allow it to dry out, (a minor issue with a leaky water bottle in the side case), settled in for a few hours sleep. It had been a pretty good Day 1 and I was pleased with my progress thus far.
I had stayed in this very motel on the trip down to San Ysidro for the start of this rally. I had decided to scout the lighthouse bonuses on the ride down, especially Mendocino. There was a requirement there to hike down to the bonus and I wanted to check that out and time the round trip from the parking lot to the light station (about 20 minutes total, including picture time). This also allowed me to ride the different routes from 101 to CA-1 to get a feel for which one I preferred. I had been on CA-128, south out of Mendocino and had also ridden Hwy 1 from Leggett to Point Reyes a couple of times. A seemingly unending string of tight turns and switchbacks the western end of 128 is a wonderful stretch of road for motorcyclists. The fog line actually stops in places where the massive circumference of some ancient redwood encroaches. This occurs several times at the apex of a turn, on the inside, giving the rider the feeling that they are on one of those flying bike thingies from the Star Wars movie, slaloming in and out from between the trees. I had not ridden CA-20 from Willits before, however, and wanted to see what that was like. I was trying to think ahead a bit and consider that it would be early in the morning, still dark and maybe foggy when I rode towards the coast on rally time. I’d also likely be a little fatigued from Day 1 and a short night’s rest so I was seeing if I could minimize the miles I would spend on the more technical and mentally demanding sections of road in case I was feeling extra queasy about the conditions (and the possibility of wildlife encounters) when the time came.
With this in mind I had stayed on US-101 through Leggett on the way south so I could ride CA-20 west. Wow. What a fun road this was. Even toward the end of a pretty long day on the bike, I was having a blast on the endless ribbon of twisty goodness. Of course, it was 5 or 6 PM instead of 5 AM, the time I’d planned on riding this same stretch of road on the rally. Still, this seemed like the better option, coming from the south as I would be, compared to CA-128 out of Cloverdale. 128 was much more direct but was twice as long as 20, meaning I’d be in the woods even earlier in the morning instead of on 101 till almost sunrise.
It was cool out when I left Rohnert Park but had turned absolutely cold by the time I got to Willits so I decided to stop for a quick cup of coffee and to put a sweatshirt on under my riding suit. This helped a little and I was ready for a second assault on CA-20. I had done a lot of work recently to properly aim the Hella FF200 halogen driving lights on the ST and it really paid off here this morning. While I’d like some HID lights these halogens were doing an admirable job of lighting up the night in front of me.
About half way to Hwy. 1 I encountered the only other vehicle heading west as I rode up behind another motorcycle. It was that red ST11 once again and I doused my Hellas so as not to blind the rider. It’s always difficult to find the right following distance in these situations. Too far back and there’s no benefit from the lead rider’s aux lighting. Too close and you’re a nuisance or even hazard for the rider in front of you as your headlight plays in their mirrors. When the ST rider suddenly pulled over into one of the few spots wide enough to do so, I worried that I had been following too close. After I went past the other bike disappeared from my rear view and I hoped that they were simply concerned that they were holding me up (they weren’t) and letting me go around as a courtesy. I knew they were heading to Pt. Cabrillo so, once I had my photos taken, I waited for a minute till that rider came hiking down to take his pics. It was Carroll Walker and he was smiling as he came into view so I was relieved a bit. I wanted to make sure that I hadn’t been rude earlier and he assured me I hadn’t. What a nice guy. We hung out for a minute, discussing our rides to that point and our strategies going forward. It was so enjoyable to chat for a minute with someone else who knew exactly what I was experiencing. I was amused to learn that we both had the same thought in the parking lot. It was early in the morning and nobody was around. The road down to the lighthouse is paved, easily wide enough for a motorcycle and slopes down toward the beach. Even though it’s marked “No Motorized Access,” I’d have been very tempted to coast the bike down for my picture and high tail it out of there on the motor before anyone knew what was going on. But, and it’s a big “but,” the instructions clearly stated that we were to walk down to the lighthouse. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little exercise early in the morning.
It was so foggy on the coast that a good photo of the lighthouse with the flag showing was difficult. The camera flash lit up the flag in the foreground and made the lighthouse hard to discern. I finally got an acceptable shot by timing the beacon's rotation so that it was shining in my direction.
The lighthouse only - no flash - just to show I was really there
Pt. Cabrillo Light Station, if you look closely, Mendocino, CA - 6,012 points - It was very foggy and the flash was lighting up the flag, making the lighthouse hard to photograph
One more supporting shot for clarification - showing location and that it was truly daylight. It is the rider's responsibility to prove he/she was actually where they are claiming to have been
Carroll had taken CA-20 west through Williams as I had considered and said he had some concerns about deer. He was also very tired when he arrived in Willits for the night. This indicated to me that I had made the right decision – for me – the day before. Obviously, he was heading for Crescent City next but I asked if he was going to Crater Lake after that. He surprised me when he said he wasn’t. He thought it would be too much trouble. It was only 403 points but it was pretty much right on the way to Bend. On the hike back up to the parking lot I reconsidered Crater Lake. Maybe Carroll was right. Besides, I had purposed to stay away from National Parks and Monuments, why was I considering this one? You had to get a picture of the lake itself – not just a sign – and Rim Drive is the only way to get there. If it was jugged up with holiday weekend traffic, it could be a huge time suck for not a lot of points. I decided I’d take OR-62 towards Bend once I got clear of Grants Pass, leaving my options open to enter the park, or not, depending on the clock and traffic.
Leaving Mendocino and riding north on the Pacific Coast Highway is one of my favorite rides ever. By this time the sun was coming up but traffic was still nonexistent making for all kinds of motorcycling fun. Hugging the coast, CA-1 offers more than my fill of tight, twisty curves with just enough straight stretches in between to truly enjoy spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.
All too soon I was in Leggett and on 101 again, making good time towards Crescent City. I was glad I had taken the time to scout out the Battery Point bonus beforehand. It’s not particularly hard to find the parking lot but the road that the GPS wanted me to take was under construction and I had to find my own way around. It was a very minor thing but finding out about it a couple of days earlier and knowing it going in somehow made me feel a little smug.
The instructions for Battery Point stated that the rally flag did not need to be present in the bonus photo. I read that beforehand and even observed it on my first visit (I took scout photos, too) but, in the heat of competition I had forgotten that little tidbit and spent an extra couple of minutes trying to get the flag to lay flat for a photo. DOH! It only cost me a minute or two this time but failing to re-read the instructions prior to taking the photos could just as easily cost all of the points for that bonus.
Battery Pt. Lighthouse, Crescent City, CA - 4,025 pts
US-199 between Crescent City and Grants Pass is another of my favorite motorcycle roads. Even though it passes right through the heart of Redwoods National Park (remember my aversion to the parks and monuments) it’s really the only feasible route to Bend from Crescent City. Staying on 101 north to Gold Beach, OR and riding Forest Service roads east, over the Coast Range, to Grants Pass would be an alternative however, although these roads are paved – barely – they are very slow going. I could also have stayed on 101 even farther north to Florence and gone east from there but, as fun as that route is, it’s lots more miles and can also be slow going. As expected, traffic through Redwoods was rather dense (in more ways than one) and slowed my progress considerably. It took roughly two and a half times as long as usual to cover the ~90 miles between Crescent City and Grants Pass, effectively making the decision for me as to going to Crater Lake. For the first time in the rally I found myself behind schedule.
Leg 2 - Hawthorne, NV to Bend, OR
Check Point 2 was at the Bend Motel 6 and I rolled in about 2 hours later than I had hoped. I wasted no time getting my passport book stamped and signed, stocking up on water and bananas and hitting the road. I was lamenting the fact that I had no time to enjoy a cheeseburger at the Pilot Butte Drive-In, my current personal favorite, right there in Bend. My plan for Leg 3 was to head north on US-97, picking up 194 points for the Stonehenge monument in Maryhill, WA on my way to Blaine, WA for a big, 4,503 point bonus at the Post Office.
I had decided early on to ignore the Mt. St. Helens/Windy Ridge bonus. It was worth 3,228 points but it’s right in my back yard and I know that the roads into and out of the Viewpoint there are very twisty, in poor condition and usually RV infested. Even if I had been able to maintain my schedule, it would be dark by the time I rode out of there. This doesn’t even account for holiday traffic AND it was a ‘daylight only’ bonus. Just too many issues with that one. No thanks.
Originally, I had intended to reach Maryhill by late afternoon and be riding south out of Blaine before 10:30 PM. I was then considering stopping by my house in Kent, WA to get some sleep before riding east towards Missoula, MT. I have read of some of the pitfalls of staying in your own bed during a rally. Some have said that it’s hard to stay in “rally mode” or even to get going in the morning. I didn’t think this would be a big deal for me and, being frugal, I saw it as an opportunity to not spend $50 to $100 for a motel room I was likely to only use for 4 hours or so.
This strategy was beginning to crumble, however, as I fell even further behind schedule between Bend and Maryhill. US-97 in Oregon has a ridiculous 55 MPH speed limit and it was being vigorously enforced on the Labor Day weekend. Even the fun, twisty bits north of Madras were, by necessity, ridden at or very near the speed limit and I began to question whether I could make it to Maryhill, a daylight only bonus, in time. Stonehenge was only worth 194 points so I wasn’t going to cry about that. My concerns were directed at the scheduling implications more so than the loss of points. I did make it there before the sun went down but it was obvious that I needed to reassess my plan.
Stonehenge War Memorial, Maryhill, WA - 194 pts
The rally packet made it clear that to achieve a Bronze level finish one had to score 10,000 points or more. Silver level required 15,000 or more and Gold level needed at least 20,000 points. My desire was to win this rally. I had no idea who else was riding in it but there were only 10 of us and I really wanted to finish well. If a win wasn’t in the cards, I at least wanted to finish in the Gold level. If I could finish my entire route I should be able to score nearly 35,000 points. It was ambitious but I thought it was possible. I knew what I could skip and still maintain a Gold finish, which could also be good enough for a win anyway. As far as I could tell, Carroll and I were the only ones who went to Mendocino. The lighthouses were worth so many points that it seemed that anybody in serious contention HAD to get them both so we might be looking at first and second places. There was no way to really know.
With this in mind, I began to consider scratching Blaine. There were still some very big points in Montana – 2,582 points for Evel Knievel’s grave, in Butte and a whopping 6,258 for a “Welcome to Montana” sign on US-212, the Bear Tooth Highway. Although the Bear Tooth bonus was daylight only, I was confident I had the right plan to bag it. So, skipping Blaine would not keep me out of the Gold but I suspected that a win would require both Blaine and Bear Tooth, not one or the other.
Before leaving Stonehenge I called my wife, Tina, to let her know I wouldn’t be stopping by the house as we had discussed. We had a little talk and she could tell I was disappointed about the circumstances. I mentioned that I had decided to skip Blaine and, instead, ride towards Lewiston, ID. If I didn’t think I could get that far, I’d stop in Kennewick, WA for the night. Either way, I would time my departure so that I was ascending Lolo Pass, where there was a 796 point bonus for a photo of the totem pole in front of the Lolo Hot Springs, by about 6:30 AM. I would then pass through Missoula and check in before I rode to Butte, hopefully making Laurel for the night. It would then be important to time my departure so that I arrived at the Welcome sign at sunrise to give myself maximum time to make it back to Penticton.
Tina suggested that I head for Goldendale and stay the night. “Goldendale?!” I thought. That sounded like a questionable plan, (here’s where the first real sign of fatigue would have been evident). I know exactly where Goldendale is in relation to Maryhill but, in my mind and at this particular moment, I thought it was a lot farther away. I was envisioning it to be about 60 miles to the north, on the other side of Satus Pass, in the wrong direction from where I wanted to end up. Though I had paper maps and two GPS units that I could have consulted, that seemed like folly when I was convinced I knew what I thought I knew. In reality, I was less than 10 miles away from Goldendale as I chatted with Tina. I truly think that fatigue was affecting my ability to reason. Now, I don’t know if there were any rooms available in Goldendale but it would have been smart to find out. After the rally we had another talk and I told her to feel free to question my thought process should a similar situation ever arise. She had wondered about my new plan and, though she was looking at a map as we talked (I didn’t know that at the time), she couldn’t change my opinion with her facts and was reluctant to press the issue. Heh, so much for “outside help.” In the future, I hope I won’t be so quick to dismiss her suggestions.
Eastbound on WA-14, enjoying the view of the Columbia River, I decided I needed to stop in Kennewick for the night. I needed gas anyway and I was tired and a little down so it seemed best just to call it a day. That would be the best decision I would make all day. The next morning, with a clearer head and a rested body, I made a couple of key realizations. First of all, I recognized my error about where exactly Goldendale is and felt really stupid. Then I began to realize that Blaine could still be on the table. If I left now, I should be able to get in and out of Blaine before 10 AM. This should allow me time make Missoula before the CP closed for the night and continue on, hopefully as far as Bozeman or even Laurel, before stopping for rest. I tried not to think about how much easier all of that would have been had I not added about 200 miles to the trip (that would really come back to bite me later) by NOT stopping in Goldendale but, instead, chose to congratulate myself for NOT riding all the way to Lewiston before figuring out how to put Blaine back into the plan. It would not have been possible by that point.
I felt like I was making the bold move here. Instead of choosing between Blaine and Bear Tooth, which would be a no brainer (Bear Tooth and Butte would be about the same number of miles as Blaine and double the points.), I was attempting to get both. Going to Blaine first made more sense because the alternative would mean crossing the Border at one of the more popular and congested crossings towards the end of the holiday weekend. The gamble was that, if something had to be scratched midway through the leg, it would be the higher point bonus(es) leaving me with a lower overall score than if I had simply skipped Blaine and gone to Montana. I was choosing to “go big” for a possible win instead of playing it safe like I usually do. Not exactly “do-or-die” but a baby step nonetheless.
Wearing my heated vest for the first and only time of the rally, I hit I-82 towards Ellensburg, WA, calling Tina on the way to let her know I’d be stopping by after all. I had lost my bike cover somehow and really wanted another one. I kind of go on a case-by-case basis but, generally, I just throw a cover on the bike when I stop for the night rather than having to remove all of the tempting and expensive electronics. I thought about trying to buy a new cover somewhere but I knew I had a spare one home. It was less than 30 miles out of my way to stop by and would probably take less time than shopping for a cover. Besides, it was now Sunday morning and not much was likely to be open. I stopped at the McDonald's in Ellensberg to warm up with some coffee and a couple of McGriddles then headed west on I-90 for home.
It was a little surreal showing up at home in the middle of a rally. Despite being busy getting ready for church, Tina had already scared up the extra cover and had it waiting for me. I went inside for a minute but, figuring removing it would only increase the likelihood that I’d stay too long, decided to leave my helmet on. A quick kiss goodbye and I was out of there in less than 10 minutes.
The slog across the Cascade Mountains on I-90 was child’s play compared to the slog north on I-5 to Blaine. There was a little relief while I found the Post Office and took my bonus pics but then it was right back onto the Interstate again to Bellevue and back onto I-90 to go right back where I’d come from.
US Post Office, Blaine, WA - 4,503 pts
By Easton I was in need of gas and stopped at the Shell there. I went inside for just a moment to get a coffee and took a couple of minutes to drink it before getting back on the road. As I approached the bike the sun was shining perfectly on the rear tire and, for the first time since San Ysidro, I got a really good look at the tread. This tire had less than 1,200 miles on it when I left home for the start of the rally. If I had thought there was any reason to suspect its ability to last till the end of the rally I would have replaced it first. I even had a new Avon Storm in the garage. The math told me I would be fine. I routinely get over 10,000 miles from a rear Storm and I knew I had about 1,400 miles to San Diego plus 4,200 miles of rally route. Then it would be less than 350 miles to home from the finish. That’s just over 7,000 miles on the tire by the time I get back home.
The nearly bald band around the center of the tire was telling a different story, however. I had been checking tire pressures every morning before heading out (they were always 42 psi front and rear, BTW) but, as that was always in the wee hours, it was dark out. All I could think was, “Why didn’t I notice this at any time before I left the house earlier today?!” In less than an hour I could have had the tire swapped out and been on my way. It’s about 3 hours from Easton to home and back. Being conservative, add an hour to change the tire and that’s 4 hours. If I kept going, I figured I’d make the CP by about 7:30 PM, an hour and a half before it closed for the night. If I turned back and change the tire, I’d never make Bear Tooth in time to finish because I’d be hanging around Missoula till the CP re-opened at 6 AM. It’s 1,175 miles from Missoula to the Bear Tooth welcome sign and back to the finish and I’d have less than 15 hours in which to do it. Add in fuel, rest and bonus stops and I’m the wrong guy for that kind of ride.
I decided to keep riding and continue monitoring the tire at every opportunity. As long as the tread wear seemed to be holding up, I was still on schedule to get the big points. Or, maybe I would at least be able to get the Evel Knievel bonus before heading for Penticton. In either case, I still had a bonus at Lolo Hot Springs to get to. Leaving I-90 at Vantage, WA and riding State Highways to Clarkston/Lewiston and up US-12 would be the most direct route but staying on I-90 into Montana is likely a bit faster so that’s what I decided to do. In hindsight, I think that was another mistake. The marginally slower speeds and curvier roads of the former route may have been a bit easier on the tire tread and there was so much construction on I-90, west of Missoula, that the time factor was probably about even. I was having these very thoughts, plodding along in one of many single-lane, 45 mph construction zones and lamenting that I had to go all the way into Missoula and then down to Lolo, MT and back to the west to bag the totem pole photo. Had I ridden through Lewiston I would have passed right by the Hot Springs on the way to Missoula. It was about now that I noticed the GPS’s were having a disagreement.
I have a Garmin 478 as my primary routing GPS and a Garmin 2820 as a backup router and general entertainment unit (cell phone Bluetooth, mp3 player, etc.). I have the audible alerts disabled on the 2820 but I still usually have some sort of route loaded into it - a direct route to the next CP, the finish, the closest gas station on my route, the nearest In-N-Out, etc. – that allows me to monitor my progress and helps me make decisions as to which bonuses I can add or should delete. These two units don’t always route to the same location in the same way and this was one of those times. The 478 was directing me to the US-93 south exit in Missoula while the 2820 wanted me to exit 12 miles earlier, onto MT-507/Petty Creek Rd. in Alberton and take a more direct route to the bonus. This route had me arriving at the totem pole 45 minutes sooner.
I have ridden some of Montana’s secondary State Highways and they are not always in great shape – or paved. Some of them, in fact, are nearly impassible on a 700+ pound motorcycle – with me riding, anyway. I’ve seen some that were more ¾” rock, about 4” deep than nice, hard packed dirt or gravel. What could it hurt to check it out, though? I would take the earlier exit and, if the road surface looked hazardous to my health, I could simply turn around and get back onto I-90.
After exiting I-90, the roadway was paved at first but, upon crossing a small bridge, it changed to hard packed dirt. This didn’t look too bad so far. After a mile or so it became more hard packed gravel and I was able to make pretty good time. The farther I got, though, the more I was concerned about having to turn back. It would suck if I got 2/3 of the way through before finding the conditions not to my liking. About three miles in, I was able to flag down a van with a couple of ladies inside and asked them about the road. I was told that it did indeed go all the way through to US-12 and that, other than a mile of washboard up ahead, it was good gravel just like what we were stopped on.
This was a great find and really did save me some time which was some welcomed good news after a string of questionable decisions. Before long I was turning right onto US-12 and heading for Lolo Hot Springs. This section of the Lolo Pass Highway is a ton of fun. It’s not tight, technical twisties but lots of wide, fast sweepers that provide some great cycle-therapy.
It was fun to notice the reactions of the tourists milling about the parking lot at Lolo as I rode up, took my photo and dashed off in the same direction from which I had ridden in. Now, I could enjoy even more curvy goodness as I would be on US-12 all the way into Lolo.
Totem at Lolo Hot Springs Resort, Lolo Hot Springs, MT - 796 pts
The payback, however, was the ride north into Missoula as there are lots of traffic lights and heavy traffic along this stretch. That was all okay, though, because I had plenty of time to get to CP 3 and probably not much to do once I got there. I had been checking the rear tire every time I had to stop for anything and its condition was noticeably worse each time. I was coming to the realization that my Leg 4 was in jeopardy. I might be lucky to get from the CP to the finish before that tire was down to chords.
Leg 3 - Bend, OR to Missoula, MT
After getting checked in at the Muralt’s Travel Center and chatting with some of the helpful volunteers that were manning the Check Point, I had to decide what I was going to do. I honestly could not know how much farther this tire could go as I had never run one down this bald. Bear Tooth was still a lot of Interstate miles away and that seemed to be out of the question for sure. I was trying to decide if Evel Knievel still made sense and, if it did, should I head that way tonight or get some rest and start early in the morning. Rest won out and I went into the Days Inn on site and checked in for the night.
Butte is only about 120 miles from Missoula. That’s 240 round trip – less than a tank of fuel. A simple photo of Evel Knievel’s grave would add 2,582 points to my total. On the other hand, sitting at CP 3, I already had nearly 22,000 points – enough for a Gold level finish at only the ¾ mark – and what good are the extra points if I DNF because my rear tire couldn’t get me to the finish on time? Worse, what if it became unsafe? I had to scratch Evel Knievel’s grave and I knew it. That was a hard decision. What if I missed out on a win or second place by 2,000 points? It didn’t matter, really. That’s the price I was willing to pay for my mistake of not starting out with a fresh tire. I was not willing to risk a crash or DNF for the same mistake.
It was really strange sleeping in on Monday morning – if 5:30 can be considered sleeping in. Other than 1,410 points for a picture of me playing the piano at the Dirty Shame Saloon, in Yaak, MT (less than 60 miles total off route) there were no other points available to me between CP 3 and the finish. Even with the Dirty Shame bonus, that’s a ride of only 540 miles and I had about 15 hours in which to complete it. This would be a leisurely ride to the finish.
I have to admit to wrestling with the decision about Butte one more time. I turned left out of the Travel Center and sat on the shoulder, just before the entrance ramp to I-90 east, thinking one more time about that extra 240 miles and 2,582 points. I still had time, I reckoned. After a couple of minutes, though, I turned the ST around and headed north on US-93 instead.
With all of this free time to play with, I stopped in Thompson Falls and ate a nice breakfast. There were lots of 3FC riders inside the café I had chosen and several more following me in. I ended up sitting next to a nice Canadian gentleman who was riding the Classic on a Buell XB with a very tidy soft luggage set up. We chatted for a while about the endurance rally option for this event. I told him I was impressed with his choice of bikes and his resolve. There isn’t a lot of weather protection on a Buell and this route had taken riders from the heat of Death Valley to this very chilly morning in Montana. He was a hardy individual and I wish I could remember his name.
After over an hour (!) at breakfast, I hit the road again. It had warmed up a little and I was having a wonderful time on MT-200 as well as MT-58 with its twists and turns and its beautiful scenery. After a while 58 merges with US-2 at Troy and then I was looking for County Highway 508 into Yaak. 508 is also a USFS Service road and, though the surface takes a beating in the winter, the engineering has made for lots of motorcycle enjoyment. That is, until I saw the first warning sign for grizzly bears. Grizzly bears?! That didn’t sound like much fun. Better to slow down a bit more.
It’s hard to miss the Dirty Shame Saloon. It’s nearly the only building around. This was apparently a bonus on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly rally that had been held earlier in the summer. When I strolled in and asked the nice lady behind the bar to take my picture while I pretended to play the piano, she didn’t seem surprised at all. I asked if anybody else had come in with the same request (trying to gauge my competition again) she said, “Yes. But that was weeks ago.”
The Dirty Shame, with the bike and Rally flag - not the shot they wanted, simply documentation
Playing the piano at the Dirty Shame - THIS is the shot the instructions called for - 1,410 pts
After securing my final bonus photo I sauntered out to the bike. As I was saddling up three guys came riding up on cruisers. They were just out for a day ride and were stopping for an early lunch. They were intrigued by some of the rally crap that’s installed on my bike as well as all of the bug guts. Before I knew what was happening, one of them produced a can of cleaner and a rag and attempted to clean my windshield for me. Realizing that he was merely spreading the goo around in a futile attempt to help, I thanked him and told him I’d clean it later. (So I lied! Sue me!) He could not wrap his brain around someone riding around with that mess on their windshield. I thought it was funny.
Even though the rally was almost over for me, I decided I still had time for one more mistake. Both GPS’s were routing me across the Canadian Border at Porthill, north of Bonner’s Ferry, ID and sending me west to Osoyoos on BC-3. Having never ridden that section of 3, I thought that sounded like an okay thing to do. After pulling over to stash my V-1 deep down in my side case (radar detectors aren’t allowed in Canada) I passed through the Border Station without incident and proceeded onto BC-3. This would have been a lot more fun if it weren’t for the laughably low speed limits. The road is nice and the scenery beautiful but the speed limits are mostly 60 and 70 KPH. That’s less than 45 MPH! Had I stayed in the US and crossed the Border at Osoyoos, I might have had a line to wait through getting across but at least I would have been having more fun. I could have ridden the Flowery Trail Road, between Usk and Chewelah, WA. This section was on the 3FC base route and is loads of fun. Instead, I was rolling along at speeds barely high enough to warrant a shift into 5th gear. Oh well, it was a good thing I wasn’t worried about time.
After a long-ish lunch break in Salmo, to cool off as much as to eat something, there was very little else to do but finish this thing. In a matter of 6 hours I had gone from temperatures in the mid-30’s to those in the upper-90’s which made the slow going even less bearable.
Fourth and final Leg - Missoula, MT to Penticton, BC
It was around 5:30 PM when I finally made my way into the parking lot of the Penticton Lakeside Resort. The lot was already jammed full of motorcycles and their riders and it was difficult to find a place to park. I needed to find the organizer of all of this, Joe Mandeville, to stop the clock on my rally and get scored. While parking I recognized another rider. I could not remember his name at the time (Bryan Neagle, I was reminded later) but I remembered us having breakfast at the same table in Denver the year before, during the IBA National Meet. I was also pretty sure he had finished an Iron Butt Rally. Were there actually any beginners in this thing?
After taking care of scoring and getting settled into my room, I began to wander around the hotel, looking for any familiar faces. As I was leaving the elevator, I ran into Bryan and, naturally, we began discussing the rally and how we thought we had done. He had heard of someone finishing with 29,000 + points (Could that be Carroll Walker?) so I knew I didn’t have to worry about a win anymore. It sounded like Bryan had scored just a few hundred points less than I had so I was glad I had gone to Yaak. We ended up spending most of the evening together, having dinner and catching up a bit. We were both tired from our rides but not at all sleepy. I kept feeling as if I was bouncing all over the place in my conversation as I was really jazzed and couldn’t seem to stick to a single subject for more than a few minutes at a time. I must have been really interesting dinner company.
The accommodations at the Lakeside Resort were fantastic. I had paid a little extra for a lake view room and it was worth every penny. Due to the late finish on Monday, the Finishers’ Banquet would not occur until Tuesday night. That meant two nights in Penticton and it was really nice to spend them in such comfort.
The morning view from my room
My photos don't do this justice
When it was finally time for the Finishers’ Banquet, everybody gathered in the main dining room and enjoyed lots of great food. I loved the way they started the proceedings with a sort of parade of the three national flags through the doors and around the room, accompanied by local dignitaries, Royal Canadian Mounties and a bagpipe serenade. It all was very inspiring. It was a long wait before the ceremony got around to the finishing order for the IBA portion of the rally. After all, that was just a small aside to a much larger event. Most of the Classic participants had little knowledge of and even less interest in that aspect of the ride. Who could blame them? The 3 Flags has been around for decades without an endurance element and there were hundreds of Classic riders compared to just ten IBA riders.
Here's the nice Finisher's plaque that was awarded to everyone. It shows the 3FC base route which you can compare to my route below.
The winner was eventually announced as a guy named Craig Brooks. I had never met Craig and had only a minute to speak with and congratulate him after the banquet but I’d love to hear the story of his rally. As I expected Carroll came in second with me coming in third. As I feared, Carroll finished less than a thousand points ahead of me. It’s funny how one or two seemingly small mistakes can snowball on a guy but I am very happy for Carroll. In the grand scheme of things, there are likely only about a half dozen people who even care who finished where in this rally. Besides, I’m pretty sure all of the other riders could point to miscalculations of their own. Bryan, who finished fourth, told me that after fighting his way to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint (3,228 points) he messed up on the bonus requirements and got no credit for it. He would have leapfrogged Carroll and me into second place otherwise. That’s just how it is in these things.
In the end, I wouldn’t really change much anyway. I had more fun than an adult human ought to be allowed to have and learned a lot about multi-day rallies and my strengths and weaknesses during one. Like most riders, the monotony of hundreds of miles at a stretch on long Interstate highways without much to keep me engaged begins to wear on me much faster than the same number of hours on two-lanes and secondary roadways. This aspect of the rally obviously contributed to my fatigue - and, likely, my accelerated rear tire wear. But those same miles are just a part of the unique challenge and fun of these types of events.
I don’t regret for a minute the decision to go for broke on the third leg. For several rallies I had been telling myself that, if I wanted to improve my standings, I needed to be a little more aggressive. Not stupid aggressive, riding over my head or taking ridiculous chances, but thinking bigger and being willing to risk losing out on, say, a top ten finish to go for a podium finish or even the win. As it turned out, trading the Montana bonuses for Blaine would still not have produced enough extra points for the win.
The rear Avon Storm after returning from Penticton, BC - 0 pts - at least the air isn't showing yet
My heartfelt thanks go to the organizers at the SCMA and all of the tireless volunteers who work hard to make these events go so smoothly. I also very much appreciate the Iron Butt Association organizing their portion of the rally and making it such a fun challenge. As always, I also want to thank my very understanding wife who puts up with all of these shenanigans and refrains from saying, “I told you so.”
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