Today, we’d like to share a little parody on Pink Floyd’s “Time” that we are calling “Time (barred)”:
Ticking away the moments that lead up to start time
Fritter and waste the last few moments away
Kicking around a parking lot far from your hometown
Waiting for someone to let you be well on your way
Tired of baking in the sunshine, riding through hours of rain
You are youngish and the road is long, and there’s still time to ride today
And then one day you find ten bonuses have got behind you
Garmin didn’t tell you when to turn, you missed the highway exit
And you run, and you run to get in the museum but it's closing
Racing around a parking garage looking for a place to park
The rally pack is the same in a relative way but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to a trike
Every rallybook is getting thicker, Basecamp doesn’t show the way
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in sweaty desperation is the LD Rider way
The time is gone, the penalty window starts, thought I'd something more to get
Home, home again
I like to ride when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the road
The sound of the shifting gears
Calls the faithful to their RDLs
To hear the softly spoken GPS cue.
We hope everyone enjoys our fun little song. Inspiration struck, and there it is.
Rider Paul Meyer stopped at his home in Kansas yesterday. The grandkids, Anna and Gracie, were there so it was a terrific visit. The obligatory flag photo with Anna, who is known to us from Paul’s adventures with “Flat Anna” during one of the recent Heart of Texas rallies, is adorable. She’s a well-traveled kid, even if in spirit with her favorite grandfather. We’ll save a place for Anna and Gracie on the starting line in about 10 years. Hopefully, Grampa will invest in some better footwear by then.😊
Dave Gillihan, who is a very welcome presence in our events, contacted us with a very bizarre story to tell. He was approaching a bonus in Lexington, MO when a car tire came rolling out of nowhere and actually struck him! We found the non-emergency number for the local police and asked him to report it. While we have no way to know who is planning to do what bonuses, there are riders who conceivably could head to Lexington. We are hoping that the police can figure out what happened. There was a general store right nearby and Dave said the locals thought it might be mischievous kids doing what mischievous kids do. We haven’t heard any other reports – hoping that pattern continues. At this point, there aren’t many folks still far enough east, so fingers crossed, there are no more incidents. Dave was able to stay upright and while there’s a little damage to his bike, he seems to be rolling along just fine. Good thing he’s so tough and able to shake it off, move on.
Patrick Nijsters ain’t messing around with his meal breaks. This is exactly what we want riders to do. Look at this delicious meal he sourced in Colorado Springs on Friday.
The bike issues continue for our riders unfortunately. The latest victim is John Anderson. Honda is getting a bad rep here. He had to just buy a used bike to be able to continue. This ought to be good. We’ve mentioned before how John just rolls with stuff. He has got to be disappointed, especially given how well he was doing. But he just puts on his big girl panties, finds a solution and gets to it. If he has said a disparaging word, we sure didn’t hear it. You truly are an example to follow, John. A little while after John took off on his new rally ride, he realized he got an extra special deal on this bike – for no extra charge, he got a slippery clutch! And apparently, there’s a story about his ferry ride to Mackinac Island. Can’t wait to see him and hear the tale.
Roadside tinkering. Yay! Non-rally rally bike!
Phone, GPS, and Spot all mounted up
Sadly, rider Paul Partin decided to drop out of the rally. He just realized he was a little further out than he wanted to be at this point and decided to just call it a rally and head to his own barn. That’s okay Paul, we totally get it and hope to see you again at a future event. Or just to collect the stuff you left in Cheyenne. 😊
We are coming down to the short rows on the inaugural LDX. As we write just after 4:30 PM in Cheyenne, riders have less than 19 hours before penalties start. Remember, we penalize exponentially. A couple minutes isn’t bad, but much more than that starts to hurt more than a speeding penalty.
We’ve already discussed that Abraham Lincoln statues are incredibly valuable on this leg. They act as multipliers for subsequent bonuses. The special bonus on this leg is in honor of Fran Crane. Since there is no statue of Fran, we chose to use the stone outside Gerlach, NV in the IBA Memorial as the bonus. Riders will need to travel to Guru Lane and locate Frane’s stone. This is an anytime bonus, but boy is it dark up there at night. There aren’t many lights in Gerlach and they sure don’t offer any illumination at the memorial several miles from town. It’s a dirt road up there. It’s usually not in terrible shape, but there can be some holes or large rocks that might cause a little issue for a rider not paying close attention. Of course, we can’t say for sure who is doing what, but it currently appears there are 3 folks heading there. They should have enough time to get there, get the bonus and get back to Cheyenne. It is 1000 miles from Gerlach to Cheyenne. Google maps says 14.5 hours. That’s a lot of ground to cover with maybe one or two bonuses to get in between. But Fran is worth 12,000 points. If you have Lincolns enough for an 8- or 9-times multiplier, that’s pretty attractive. Is it attractive enough for you to devote over 24 hours to nothing else? Time will tell.
Oh, you don’t know who Frane Crane is? Well, she is a legend in the Iron Butt community. She rode her motorcycles over a million miles, was a multiple Iron Butt Rally finisher, and was a Guinness World Record holder. She was recognized in the Women in Motorcycling exhibit at the AMA Motorcycle Heritage Museum in 1990. During the Iron Butt Rally in 1999, Fran was involved in an accident and taken to the hospital with a concussion. She was mistakenly administered a drug that ended her life. It is a terrible tragedy, and we are all poorer for her death.
There were several combination bonuses available on this leg. To be awarded the points, riders need to successfully claim/receive all items in the combo. There’s a Martin Luther King combo, fifteen Lincolns combo, Captain John Mullen combo (as of this writing, not a single one of the John Mullen statues has been visited), Father Marquette combo, Albert Einstein combo, and Madonnas of the Trail combo. The Madonnas are neat. They are identical in size and shape but are made from various materials. They were dedicated to the spirit of the pioneer women in the United States whose strength and love were critical in conquering the wilderness and establishing permanent homes. The National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution commissioned the 12 statues, dedicating them in 1928 and 1929. There is one in each of the 12 states along the National Old Trails Road. Riders must collect all 12 to be awarded the combo amount of 30,000 points. The Madonnas themselves have published values of approximately 600 – 1000 points each. But with multipliers gained from Lincoln bonuses, this could be a very attractive thread.
We are busy here doing all the things. We’ll try and get something out tomorrow after everyone is in. Dinner will be tomorrow (Saturday) evening with a presentation and results announced after. We hope the riders have enjoyed the puzzle and theme.