UPDATES
Saturday Midday - Kerry called. Said he had a nice banquet. The bike ran well. He kissed the headlight at the end of the ride (mmmm, baked headlight bugs!). The bike is now for sale, so if you know of anyone interested in a proven motorcycle, let him know. He thinks 23 riders did not finish due to mechanical failure or dear persuasion. He has MORE PHOTOS to share and will get them to me when he gets back home. He was packing for the return trip from Missoula as he made this call.
Friday Night - Kerry called; he said he rode straight through for 24 hours, covering 1400 miles. He saw lots of dear, both running and hit. Luckily he was not one of the riders that hit a dear. Thinks he finished in the forties.
Thursday Morning - Kerry called; said he was much better; got 6 hours sleep last night. Was in St. Cloud, MN this am. He has less than 24 hours to do 1100 miles to Missoula.
Wednesday, August 20th pm - Kerry is in hotel in Wisconsin Dells-sounded very tired. Going to combine today's rest bonus with tomorrow's rest bonus and get a good night's sleep. Will decide if he has time to stop in Minneapolis for bonus points or head directly to Missoula where hundreds of people have been evacuated due to forest fire. Still very warm- 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Said coolest place he was today was on floor of Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
Wednesday morning- Kerry just called from Indianapolis. He slept for awhile in a closed gas station west of Columbus, Ohio last night ... until a trucker's screamin meemie woke him up. Said he was headed to Chicago to pick up some bonus points, then on to Missoula where there are bonuses in the area. Needs to be at checkpoint in Missoula by 8 am Friday. - Sherry
Monday - still not feeling well...headed straight up to the Gorham, Maine checkpoint, so he knew he'd drop some points, but at least made it to the checkpoint in plenty of time... Since then - riding with Bob Broekering? and Mike from California on a Gold Wing. Rode through New York - would have scared the piss out of anyone with traffic, construction, etc. Got on the NJ turnpike - miles and miles of straight road. Stayed in motel south of turnpike and got split up with the guys. Now headed to Washington D.C. headed for the Pentagon. From there will head to Shanksville, PA (site of airplane crash on 9/11). From there it's on to Missoula...
Sunday - very sick...not a good day
Saturday, August 16, 11:30 am - Coming from Paducah toward Chattanooga, eastbound I24 was shut down. Sitting in traffic, it was so hot Kerry was afraid to shut off the bike. The truckers encouraged him to ride up the shoulder to cool the bike and him off. He did, but was still stuck in traffic an hour. Saw Bob and Bob on I-75 at the gas station. Rode alone to Atlanta. Says it was the most quiet Atlanta had ever been (Friday evening). He arrived in Lake City, FL at 2 am Saturday. Frank Goldston, California, was checking in at the same time; so they shared a room - Kerry says "Thanks".
During check-in, several of the red team riders were arriving late. Devyn and Alex, Sherry's daughter and favorite new son-in-law, were there to meet Kerry - quite a surprise. Next check-in is in Gorham, Maine Monday at 4 pm EST. Some riders were going to Maine via Key West. Kerry is heading north, going through the Blue Ridge Parkway. Says with the weekend traffic, it will be slow going. Several bonus points in New York, but traffic will be heavy. Venture is running very good, especially considering the heat. Kerry's son, Brett, has been reading Bob Higdon's story and asked if Hidgon was an attorney. When Kerry relayed that to Higdon at the checkpoint, Higdon just smiled.
Friday, August 15, 10:00 am - Kerry and David Smith from Chicago rode through Kansas with a nice cross wind. They got split up due to lots of construction near Kansas City. Last night heading to St. Louis, Kerry slept at IB motel (truck stop). He went through St. Louis this am in rush hour traffic. Made it to Paducah where he is getting gas and buying water by the gallons. It is 600 or 700 miles to Lake City, FL where he checks in at 9 am. EST Saturday. Says it's very warm, and he needs some rest before he goes much further. Says he'll wave to Dick Miller as he rides by. His friend, Mark Rozina, left a message that he'd be in Denver today - just where Kerry was yesterday ... missed him again.
Meanwhile ... it's pretty quiet on the home front except for the owls hooting back and forth, coyotes howling, and the screeching cat (coyote must have gotten him). Whose idea was this living in the country anyway? What happened to the one-bedroom condo in the city? For the next half of this Iron Butt ride, Kerry's friend, Steve Leahy, will be keeping you updated. I'm going to be very busy ... moving back to the city!
Thursday, August 14, 2:30 pm - Stayed in motel in Glenwood Springs last night. It was absolutely gorgeous at sunrise. He's riding with David Smith, attorney in Chicago. Rode through Aspen next to the most dangerous airport in the US. No planes that early in am. In Denver right now. Just came from Mt. Evans, the highest road in the US - no guard rails at the top. Opted not to walk the last 100 feet to the very tip top. Air is thin; he's huffing and puffing -- that's not the air, dear. Mountain goats are right next to road; hopped up on top of rocks when he rode by. Saw Rick and Harold coming down as he was headed up. Has been in Leadville which is at 10,000' elevation. Saw 20 deer on off-ramp of interstate (guess that's a little different than seeing them on our road). Saw 5 deer and 2 elk on way up to Independence Pass. Beautiful day, you can see forever or at least to the smog.
Says he's been through Grand Junction twice in the last 4 years. This is close to friend Mark Rozina's home. He's not been home either time or maybe he knew Kerry was nearby :) Said he saw beautiful lightning show on mountain on way to Glenwood Springs.
Headed to Lake City, FL for Saturday morning checkpoint - only 1650 miles to go Chuck (but at least my bike has a motor).
Wednesday,
August 13, 8:45 am - At
the first checkpoint in Primm, Nevada, Kerry is in 55th place. Coming down
from Montana, he said the winds were brutal (usually gets 350 miles from his
gas supply; only got 220) and it was hot, hotter, hottest. Keeping in mind
that the speed limits are 75 mph in the western states (State Trooper Mark
Chanourd), in the first 12 hours of the IB ride Kerry covered over 700 miles.
On the ride down from Montana, he met an IB newbie Bob Broeking, Commander
in the US Air Force, stationed in Virginia. He is a good rider on an ST 1100.
One of the bonus points was a half dollar size piece of metal located in The
Black Rock Desert Playa*. Kerry thanks Bob for his GPS help in finding the
metal. In this area Kerry also visited the Iron Butt Ring of Honor outside
Gerlach, Nevada. Located on a dirt road are various memorial markers to riders
who are not riding the IB anymore. Names are etched in various stones and
placed in a nice arrangement. This is located near the site of the Burning
Man Celebration.
He said at the checkpoint riders were offered a red pill which were the routes/bonus
points if your goal was to win the rally. If your goal is just to finish with
a somewhat leisurely pace, riders chose the blue pill which offered standard
routes and bonus points. Kerry opted for the blue pill as did many riders.
Evidently some of the riders don't realize how important it is to keep track
of the paperwork, and it's really costing them. One rider lost a gas receipt
which cost him 500 points; another lost the card they were given at the start.
I believe Kerry said the rider didn't get any points for this leg.
He said on
this next leg there are bonus locations in Utah and Colorado, so that's where
he is headed. Then on to Lake City, FL for the check-in at 9 am EST on Saturday,
August 16.
*The Black Rock Desert Playa (ply-yah, Spanish for Intermittent dry lake)
is a basin surrounded by several mountain ranges with elevations from 4,800
to 8,400 feet. The Playa is one of the largest in the U.S. It is about 110
miles northeast of Reno, Nevada, 78 miles east of Cedarville, California,
and is located in portions of Washoe, Humboldt and Pershing counties in northwestern
Nevada. The closest town to the Black Rock Desert is Gerlach, Nevada (population
430) located at the Playa south end. Town residents are primarily employed
in mining, agriculture, the railroad, government, and local businesses.
9 pm:
Kerry is in Grand Junction, Colorado - saw some pretty scenery riding today,
especially along the Colorado River. Will pick up some bonus points in Colorado,
but needs to do it in daylight. Will probably get some rest in a hotel.
Meanwhile ... no snake sightings lately, but things are quite busy. So, my apologies, Dude, for not updating yesterday. Actually, I tried, but after downloading patches from Microsoft (at 3:30 am), couldn't get my computer to recognize modem.
Monday, August 11, 6:50 pm - Kerry is in Twin Falls, Idaho heading toward Nevada. He has picked up his first bonus point and will pick up more in Nevada. Said there was a horrendous head wind coming down from Montana - still very hot. Only thing he has lost so far is the rubber insert from the passenger foot board. He was stopped at a gas station where another IB rider had also been. As he was telling me he had not seen too many other IB riders, one passed by. Said he had 110 miles of desert in front of him.
Meanwhile back at the old homestead ... Thanks to all who called or wrote with tips on how to rid the house of "varmints". Included was everything from scooping it up in a snow shovel to dropping mouse bits to the door. A special "thanks" to the person who suggested that waking up in a sweat was a symptom of menopause and had nothing to do whatsoever with snake dreams ... I really appreciated that.
Sunday, August 10, 10:15 pm - Following the Iron Butt Banquet, Kerry called from the Holiday Inn, Missoula. There are 117 riders in total, 65 new to the rally. There are 2 or 3 two-ups, a sidecar and women riders (he didn't know how many). The BMW group will know Carol Patzer and Voni Glaves and husband Paul (sorry if I misspell anyone's name). He said Mike Kneebone went over the first bonus listing packet page by page. Although they are not allowed to broadcast the exact bonus locations, he did say there were locations in several states including Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada and California. There are 2 bonus locations on dirt/gravel roads. He has been on one of the roads which goes from 8,000 to 11,000 feet in elevation and is 12 miles one way. If a rider does this one and 3 other bonus locations, it is worth lots of bonus points. The bonus locations will evidently be posted on the Iron Butt website on Tuesday, August 12 near the time of their checkpoint arrival in Nevada which is no later than 9 pm their time. Kerry feels this event is well organized so far. Riders will have a preliminary meeting at 8 am Monday and will leave around 10 am. He is #90 and was firing up his computer to plot his course. He thanks everyone for their prayers and support and really enjoyed hearing Dick Miller's email. Keep in touch.
Meanwhile, back at the old homestead ... I guess finding our slithering friend in the laundry room affected me more than I thought. You would think the salesman at the hardware store would have been a little more understanding when I tried to explain why I was replacing the shredded drain hose from the washer. Even the dog now sleeps with her tail tucked under. Is anyone else waking up in the middle of the night dripping in sweat from nightmares about snakes?
Saturday, August 9 - Kerry worked Sturgis this past week. When he finished working on Friday around 7 pm, he packed and took a nap; then got up and left around 12:30 am. He stopped in Billings for breakfast before riding past the forest fire (started by lightning last night) about 60 miles west of Billings. Arrived in Missoula around 12:30 pm. He's seen many familiar faces, including those who didn't get picked to ride but are volunteering like Phyllis Lang. Rick Williams, Harold Brooks and Jeff Lambert (from Rapids City, IL) are all there.
Meanwhile, back at the old homestead there was a small incident with a very large (well, maybe not that large) snake in the house. After listening to the advice from a young lady at Forest Park Nature Center to "open a door and nudge him out with a broom", I (Sherry) did the only smart thing .... went and got the neighbor. After poking, prodding and making the snake really mad, the neighbor picked him up and flung him at the door. Thank goodness it was open. Upon landing in the back yard, the neighbor once again picked him up and threw him, this time landing in a tree. I'm not sure who was more afraid ... the snake or the neighbor.