Seattle WA to Buffalo NY
In the run up to the IBR the IBA forum was a-buzz with discussions of successful strategies to get the most points out of each leg. Past IBR's were the scavenger hunt type with multiple bonus point locations for the rider to choose. Bonus points were of different values. It was not an easy task to select the optimal bonus locations to maximize points given a riders capabilities within the Leg hours allowed. Many computer electronic spreadsheets, mapping software and other high tech techniques were employed by riders to select the best route and max points. Much to the frustration of the rookies and those with limited conventional motorcycle rally experience.
The 2011 IBR 48 States theme did away with all that nonsense. Mike Kneebone, President of the Iron Butt Association established the finish standards for the 2011 IBR as require all riders to travel to each of the 48 contiguous states, take a picture at the State Capital for bonus points or get a dated business receipt in that state. He also did away with the fuel log requirement of past rallies, where riders were required to record each fuel stop city, state, date, time and odometer mileage.
Additional bonus points were awarded to riders who in addition to riding to all 48 contiguous states also road to the 4 corners and take a picture at the US Post Office in the cities of Blaine WA, Madawaska ME, Key West FL and San Ysidro CA. Getting a dated business receipt in the State of Alaska was worth a total of 4800 points, as much as riding to all the lower 48. Three riders successfully secured the Alaska bonus.
My original goal before the IBR was to successfully complete the rally with enough points to qualify in the 'Color'....Gold, Silver or Bronze. When Mike announced the 4 corners bonus would qualify for Gold my strategy was set. That's what I was going to do. You see, I had already completed the 48 States in 10 Days IBA Challenge Ride in 2009, in 7 days, 13 hours, and 13 minutes. During the planning of that ride I had gamed many routes to hit all 48 states and knew which states were difficult to get give several route options.
Given the Seattle WA start point and the mandatory checkpoint near Buffalo NY I knew I had to get all the northern tier states plus KY, WV and maybe TN. These 3 states were in the middle of the eastern map and sort of out of the path of travel directly to eastern NY near Buffalo. So my strategy was set. Dash up to Blaine WA US Post Office to get the NW corner bonus then head south to OR. From there is was pretty much a straight shoot to the plains states, down to KS then up the center throuth SD and ND to MN. From there pretty much an easy trek to NY picking up all the states along the way.
Now, imagine for a moment you sitting in your hotel room. You know you have to be some place clear across the country in exactly 103 hours or less, after starting, having stopped in as many states as possible before arriving. How many states, which order, how many 10-15 minute gas stops, how many sleep stops, call-in requirements, dated business receipts and the like will you have to make? How many total miles can you ride, which determines the number of states you can score. The answer to all of these questions is what makes long distance endurance motorcyclists such skilled navigators.
Lets do the math. I use the "Level of Effort" concept for planning. In know from my LD experience that in a 24 hour period I can maintain a 45-50 overall average MPH speed. This takes into account all non moving time spend on gas/pit stops, bonus task stops and rest stops. So, if I split the difference and use 47.5 MPH as my planning LOE I can calculate the total miles I can use to ride to states before arriving at the mandatory checkpoint. Leg 1 is 103 hour long. 103 X 47.5 = 4,892.5 planning miles. I would expect to maintain a LOE pace greater than 47.5 in the west where there is less congestion and high legal speed limits so I would round the total planning miles up to about 5,000 miles. The next step it to calculate the number of fuel/pit stops for that 5,000 miles. The fuel endurance distance (FED) of the 8.9 gallon gas tank on my BMW R1200GS Adventure, at highway speeds is between 335 and 375 miles. Using 350 miles FED I can then determine the number of 10 minute fuel/pit stops I will have to make between Seattle and Buffalo; 5,000 / 350 = 14 fill ups. 14 fill ups X 10 minutes each = 2 hours and 20 minutes for pit stops. I will also have to stop in some states to get a DBR. I calculate an additional 10 states, but these will be very short duration stops, say under 5 minutes. And, many of them will be during normal fuel stops. So, a total of about 3.5 hours for fuel/pit and bonus stops. Now for my rest management strategy. I plan on 6 hour each 24 for rest. This is total stopped time per rest stop; hotel check in, gear down/up time and sleep time. 103 hours / 24 = 4 rest stops.
The official start was at 10am PDT. First stop was Blaine WA Post Office to score the Four Corner bonus location. On the way up from Seattle many rider raced past me as I was going with the flow of traffic. Sure enough, the local constabulary pulled several of them over for a chat and autograph. Speeding is not necessary to be successful in LD riding. Discouraged by the IBA, speeding leads to all kinds of issue; higher fuel consumption, risk of crash, and risk of tickets. All of these can quickly eat up an advantage gain by going over the legal speed limit and flow of traffic. But I digress.
Having scored Blaine WA Four Corner bonus I know that OR was then next must state to get on this leg. From OR it was basically a swing through the northern tier states till past the Rockies. Then a big hump meander through the plains states. Several of the state capitals were along the route and I would score them as the came up. To get full bonus points for a state capital I had to take a picture of me Rally flag with the state capital building in the back ground. 10 Points were deducted from the full value if the rider obtained a DBR in the capital city after dark. It was possible to take a picture of most capitals at night as they were usually brightly lit.
I did my first rest stop in Boise ID and scored the capital bonus on the way out. My second rest stop was at a Flying J truck stop on the out-bound skirts of Cheyenne WO. I combine a healthy meal with the rest stop and prefer Subway Club sandwich, chips and fat free milk before going to sleep. Leg 1 contained a 4 hour rest bonus. Points were awarded for documenting stopped time in the same location with a dated business receipt from the same place. A hotel receipt was also a good thing. My rest management plan called for at least 6 hours for each rest stop. This includes and starts with the DBR, hotel check in, gear down the bike, shower, sleep, gear up the bike, and departure DBR. I scored the Rest Bonus in NB.
Heading across KS then up through MO, IA, SD, ND then over to MN, down through WI, round Chicago my next must goal would be KY. Arriving in KY at 10 pm kind of ruled out dashing to TN. My route planning worksheet showed I only had a couple of hours slack time to make it to the Buffalo Checkpoint given what was left of the route. So, I headed north to MI and score the capital. It was worth a several hundred points, justifying riding up to get it. I stopped for a rest period on the way and reached Lansing MI at 8:30 am. The next objective was to score WV. Scoring WV during Leg 1 was high on the ride plan objectives. The state has interesting shape, with this long sliver extending up between OH and PA. I dashed across the bridge, had a McDonald's double cheese and coffee for lunch then headed for the last stretch to the Checkpoint.
I fueled up across from the Checkpoint hotel, clocked in, got scored and hit sack for a good night's sleep. 3:45 am came right on schedule. Now for Leg 2
