This comment popped up on the blog sometime over the weekend. I had to laugh. Epilog? Sure. I'll write you an epilog. More stories? Absolutely. The stories from this rally will continue for years. I have no doubt that once everyone gets home, gets unpacked & gets back to reality, a few of our riders will do some great write-ups recapping their adventure. I can't wait to read them.
But for now, I guess I'll attempt to wrap this thing up.
I didn't ride in this rally but I am more exhausted than I've ever been. Most of the rally staff got very little sleep over the six days. The phone seemed to be always busy. The drive from Minneapolis to Denver to Reno to Gerlach to Denver to Minneapolis was long, boring and sometimes entertaining. Behind the scenes there is always something that needs to be done. A rider in need of assistance, a problem to solve, a glitch to fix, a decision to be made. It never stops. A couple of nights we may have gotten 90 minutes of sleep. On a good night, 4 or 5.
Enough about us - this is about the riders.
They all are safe. We had one incident of a deer ramming into Marty Cover less than 200 miles from the finish, early Saturday morning. Other than some soreness, Marty is fine. The motorcycle did not survive the impact & we aren't sure about the deer but all that matters is that Marty is good.
This was, by far, the safest Butt Lite in recent history. It was more than us Rally-masters could have hoped for.
Many riders were inconvenienced with issues like tires, mechanical & electrical stuff. A few ran into some things - like birds, ground squirrels and a dead muffler on the side of the road. Thank goodness Ian McPhee had his face shield down when a bird flew into his face. A real "head-on collision" with a bird could have ended badly for Ian. In this case it ended badly for the bird.
We also seemed to be plagued by illness. I can't remember when we've had so many riders who either arrived at the start feeling under-the-weather or contracted various maladies during the ride. Illness took a couple of riders out of the rally. The rest were able to press on.
This was a different Butt Lite - first it was a western rally. We're based in the mid-west & while we've always sent riders as far as reasonable to the west for bonuses - this was the first time the rally stayed out west for the duration.
It was the biggest Butt Lite - we had 100 riders registered, we started with 89 and 78 finished.
We handed out all but 2 bonuses at the beginning of leg one. This can be good or bad. Attempting to plan 2 legs at once can be quite daunting. Waiting until the checkpoint might not work in the rider's favor either.
We had a good number of bonuses in Canada. About 50% of the riders decided to cross the border on leg 1. Judging from the routes of the top finishers, that was the correct way to tackle the rally book.
We had 6 combo bonuses. Very few riders were able to claim one combo. Our winner, Troy Martin, managed to get two of them. This is what separated him from the rest of the pack.
He rode 7,226 miles and scored 59,477 points. 566 miles and 9,720 points more than second place finisher Kirsten Talken-Spaulding. He proved the superstitious wrong with his number 13 rally flag.
Saying thank you to our volunteers just doesn't seem adequate. We had such a great group of people who took the time to help us out. We also had several good Samaritans who came to the aid of our riders when things were looking grim. John Langdell, Jim Wilson, Brian Roberts, Marc Beaulac - I hope I'm not leaving someone out. This is a close knit community of like-minded people who will go above and beyond to help a fellow rider.
To quote Jim Winterer - "Some of my best friends are Strangers."
As always - I must thank my co-rallymasters Bart Bakker & David E.B. Smith. This is a group effort from beginning to end. I don't ever want to think about putting on this event without both of them. While we don't always agree on everything, there is a balance here that always keeps us on course.
But the real thanks go to all the riders who made up the Butt Lite VIII roster. You are the reason we do this crazy stuff. You are amazing motorcyclists made up of grit, determination, perseverance and, in most cases, a healthy sense of humor. It is an honor to know you all and to be able to play this game with you.
Now, it's time for a nap.
But for now, I guess I'll attempt to wrap this thing up.
I didn't ride in this rally but I am more exhausted than I've ever been. Most of the rally staff got very little sleep over the six days. The phone seemed to be always busy. The drive from Minneapolis to Denver to Reno to Gerlach to Denver to Minneapolis was long, boring and sometimes entertaining. Behind the scenes there is always something that needs to be done. A rider in need of assistance, a problem to solve, a glitch to fix, a decision to be made. It never stops. A couple of nights we may have gotten 90 minutes of sleep. On a good night, 4 or 5.
Enough about us - this is about the riders.
They all are safe. We had one incident of a deer ramming into Marty Cover less than 200 miles from the finish, early Saturday morning. Other than some soreness, Marty is fine. The motorcycle did not survive the impact & we aren't sure about the deer but all that matters is that Marty is good.
This was, by far, the safest Butt Lite in recent history. It was more than us Rally-masters could have hoped for.
Many riders were inconvenienced with issues like tires, mechanical & electrical stuff. A few ran into some things - like birds, ground squirrels and a dead muffler on the side of the road. Thank goodness Ian McPhee had his face shield down when a bird flew into his face. A real "head-on collision" with a bird could have ended badly for Ian. In this case it ended badly for the bird.
We also seemed to be plagued by illness. I can't remember when we've had so many riders who either arrived at the start feeling under-the-weather or contracted various maladies during the ride. Illness took a couple of riders out of the rally. The rest were able to press on.
This was a different Butt Lite - first it was a western rally. We're based in the mid-west & while we've always sent riders as far as reasonable to the west for bonuses - this was the first time the rally stayed out west for the duration.
It was the biggest Butt Lite - we had 100 riders registered, we started with 89 and 78 finished.
We handed out all but 2 bonuses at the beginning of leg one. This can be good or bad. Attempting to plan 2 legs at once can be quite daunting. Waiting until the checkpoint might not work in the rider's favor either.
We had a good number of bonuses in Canada. About 50% of the riders decided to cross the border on leg 1. Judging from the routes of the top finishers, that was the correct way to tackle the rally book.
We had 6 combo bonuses. Very few riders were able to claim one combo. Our winner, Troy Martin, managed to get two of them. This is what separated him from the rest of the pack.
He rode 7,226 miles and scored 59,477 points. 566 miles and 9,720 points more than second place finisher Kirsten Talken-Spaulding. He proved the superstitious wrong with his number 13 rally flag.
Saying thank you to our volunteers just doesn't seem adequate. We had such a great group of people who took the time to help us out. We also had several good Samaritans who came to the aid of our riders when things were looking grim. John Langdell, Jim Wilson, Brian Roberts, Marc Beaulac - I hope I'm not leaving someone out. This is a close knit community of like-minded people who will go above and beyond to help a fellow rider.
To quote Jim Winterer - "Some of my best friends are Strangers."
As always - I must thank my co-rallymasters Bart Bakker & David E.B. Smith. This is a group effort from beginning to end. I don't ever want to think about putting on this event without both of them. While we don't always agree on everything, there is a balance here that always keeps us on course.But the real thanks go to all the riders who made up the Butt Lite VIII roster. You are the reason we do this crazy stuff. You are amazing motorcyclists made up of grit, determination, perseverance and, in most cases, a healthy sense of humor. It is an honor to know you all and to be able to play this game with you.
Now, it's time for a nap.
My first involvement with ButtLite and it was a blast! I volunteered in Denver scoring and what a great way to see some of the rally bonus locations and talk with the riders. I must say that this is a first class operation. Well organized and a great group of people to boot! Thank you for letting me play a small part of a great event!
ReplyDeleteMinna
My first involvement with ButtLite and it was a blast! I volunteered in Denver scoring and what a great way to see some of the rally bonus locations and talk with the riders. I must say that this is a first class operation. Well organized and a great group of people to boot! Thank you for letting me play a small part of a great event!
ReplyDeleteMinna