Part 1 of the article is posted on his site http://twowheeladventures.com/blog/articlepart-1 . A short video is coming soon.

Monday will be my first ever Iron Butt Rally. This is also the first ever IBR5000, normally the iron butt rally is 11 days long, so I guess you could say this is  a mini rally since it’s only 5 days. The 11 day rally will be held next June. To be able to compete in that event, you first have to complete this one. It appears as if there are 100 riders or so. Here’s what i know: The official rally starts on Monday @ 8am, we have to return to Denver for the 1st  checkpoint no later than 11pm on Tuesday. Wednesday we will receive the bonus points for the following days. The rally will end Saturday @ 9am in Spartanburg, S.C. This is good because it means I can be home Sunday.  The past two days, I have been attending Rally seminars and I am amazed at what I have learned about long distance riding. Topics have covered: rally routing, bonus points, tracking devices, digital info, GPS applications and more. I guess there’s more to it than my personal strategy which is , “Sit there and twist that.” A lot of the bikes have fuel cells, some are equipped with state of the art logistics with sometimes 2 GPS and what not in order to win the most bonus points. I guess I’ll have to do mine the old fashion way. This time, I am riding the Buell Ulyssee.

Because we are respecting the rules of the Iron Butt Association,  we will not post any daily updates on the blog or use the SPOT tracking device.

Tom Austin wrote a good article about our first 3 days in Denver http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2010/2010IB5000Day-3.pdf 

As you all know, Chris arrived in Homer Wed. at 9pm. From 16th, he now move up to 15th since #3 got disqualified for riding straight from Key West to Homer without hitting any of the check points. No matter what his position is, Chris greatly enjoyed the adventure and the people he met before, during  and after the ride.

After fishing and a quick tour of Denali National Park, Chris has to fly back home to Atlanta this Sunday. The bike will trailered back to Milwaukee, so it can be ready for shipment to Vegas where the annual H-D Dealer Show is to take place in July. Chris plans to attend the dealer show, so keep an eye on the blog as we will post more pictures of the ride+ and the show and some video footage of the ride.

You deserve it, enjoy!

Chris arrived in Homer at 9:00 pm est. He said he hated the last 3 hours of the ride (we will get more info on why later). While on the phone, I heard somebody asking him for his receipts, his name and the mileage. One of the organizers thinks there are less than 20 guys. So hopefully, he is in the top 20. It is over! Big relief for me…Thanks to all of you for your support!! 

Homer. Chris is snoozing in the tent behind the bike.

Chris called me this morning at 9:40. He did not have any phone coverag all day. Yesterday, he rode 1,300 miles. He and 6 other guys have been waiting most of the night for the last check point in Fairbanks to open, but it does not look like anyone is there (so much for all check points would be open 24 hours). Anyway, he does not want to waste anymore time, they’ve geared up again and are leaving to homer. From different sites and words from friends in Homer,  nobody is there to welcome the riders. Chris should be in Homer this evening.

So far so good. He is still moving at a steady pace in BC. Getting gas before they close might be a challenge. Hopefully as mentioned by Arnaud, as long as he keeps an average speed of 55 to 60, he should be ok.

After Fort Nelson, the next gas station is in Toad River (they close at 9pm), after that Muncho Lake at mile 435 or mile 441: J&H wilderness resort. Let’s hope he gets to them.

It has been a long day for Chris and Gary. They rode in the snow and in the rain. According to a local woman, nights are not so bad this time of the year: 0 to 8 degrees!! I don’t know about you guys but it seems a bit chilly to me. Anyhow, it looks like they’ve taken the wrong turn again, somewhere in Canmore BC and looks like they are spending the night there.

Battle of the little bighorn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn

Gary

beautiful open roads of Montana

He explained that he can go 145-155 miles/tank of gas (3.5 gallons), but the win yesterday was so bad that he was able to only get 122 miles.

Chris arrived at the 4th check point in Missoula MT at 2:00 am. He had a rough time sleeping outside on the ground last night, it was freezing cold. While on the phone with him this morning, we made sure the SPOT was reset properly and working so you guys can track him.

10:00 am: off to the next check point Fairbanks AK. I am sure Doug Chambers is going to be happy to see him.

Sunset, Missoula MT