Iron Butt Rally (Denver)
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
Too bad we won’t be able to follow Chris on that one, but rules are rules, and I’m sure he’ll have his way to tell us all about it when he’s back
Ride safe buddy, and go get ‘em!
Good luck Chris and enjoy! (sounds just a TAD more organized than the HHC, eh? welll, that’s what happens when experienced and knowledgeable folks put their heads together to pull off a rally where the riders come before themselves. stepping off the box now). Keep em rolling!
So? How did it end up?
Story coming? 
Chris, I’m the guy that you hugged in the Atlanta cemetary. I know how frustrating rally ups and downs can be. I know I would be very interested in your experiences on the IB, and am sure others would. Especially in comparison to the Hokey hey.
John
Chris, I was a fellow rider in the IB5000. I’d love to hear more about your ride, and how the IB organization compared to the Hoka Hey experience. I didn’t meet you, but I did know that one brave soul was attempting a difficult ride on a bare-bones Buell and that was gutsy in itself.