2019 IBR Details

Lisa

Staff member
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
IBR Staff
#1
It's almost that time again and the Iron Butt Rally will be underway in just a few short weeks. For those of you who are interested, below is the schedule and various locations of the Start, Checkpoints and Finish. Once again, IBR vet John Harrison will be slaving over the daily reports to try to bring you as much of the detail and flavor as possible of that long 11 days. We will post those here on the forum, LDRider and IBDone. John's 2017 reports were incredibly insightful, with lots of fun facts about the rally packet, the riders and their adventures. I know that you'll be entertained once again.

We love spectators and the energy they bring to event, not to mention the support offered to riders. We ask that you park away from the designated rider area and be sure to leave space for riders to easily access the hotel from the parking lot, especially as we get into penalty minutes.

Thanks and hope to see you soon!

All Start and Finish activities at:

Greenville Marriott
One Parkway East
Greenville, South Carolina 29615
(864) 297-0300

CHECK IN WEEKEND
Saturday, June 15

Tech Inspection/Odo Check 8am - 4pm
Rally Check In 8am - 4pm
Last Chance Dinner 6pm - Sold Out

Sunday, June 16

Tech Inspection/Odo Check 8am - 10am
Rally Check In 8am - 11am
Start Banquet 5:00pm - Sold Out

Monday, June 17
Motorcycle Impound 8am
Rally Start 10am

CHECKPOINT 1 INFORMATION - Thursday, June 20, 8pm - 10pm
Hilton Garden Inn Tri-Cities Kennewick
701 North Young Street
Kennewick, Washington, 99336

Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01pm
Scoring opens at 5pm
Leg 2 information distributed at 4am, June 21

CHECKPOINT 2 INFORMATION - Sunday, June 23, 8pm - 10 pm
Hilton Garden Inn Tri-Cities Kennewick
701 North Young Street
Kennewick, Washington, 99336

Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01pm
Scoring opens at 5pm
Leg 3 information distributed at 4am, June 24 Checkpoint 1

FINISH - Friday, June 28, 10 am

Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01am Scoring opens at 5am
Finishers' Banquet 6:30pm - Sold Out
 

SteveAikens

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#3
Not unusual to have two checkpoints at the same location. The logistical nightmare of planning the IBR is slightly easier for all concerned, if you can plan two checkpoints at the same location.

Just finding a hotel that can handle as many as 150 motorcyclists [considering those of us that hit the checkpoints with the riders] is tough enough by itself so using the same hotel twice lessens the burden.
 

Stephen!

Flivver Flyer
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#7
Because that is what was posted in another thread and leaving out of North Carolina Maine would seem like the logical first stop as opposed to Washington State
There is little that is logical in what we do. :D

That aside, I think you may be confusing the topic at hand (the 2019 Iron Butt Rally) with some other ride being discussed elsewhere.
 

armour783

Premier Member
#10
I think I understand the confusion.
The Iron Butt Rally, in it's beginning years, was pretty much a point to point race. The later ones in the 80's had bonuses, but they were limited, and all the top riders hit most or all of them between the checkpoints. First one was held in 1984, then subsequently in 85, 86, and 87. Then the rally was canceled due to lack of interest in 88. The rally was revived by Mike Kneebone in 1991 as a scavenger hunt, all over the US, with checkpoints in between the start and finish. It is now physically impossible to visit all the bonus locations available in between checkpoints, and as such, impossible to compare it to the earlier versions of the IBR, as the first one in does not win.

That's the short and simple version.

Here's the longer versions:
History of the IBA - http://www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_0901_12-17_history.pdf
History of the IBR - https://www.ironbutt.org/IBRhistory/
Current site for IBR information - http://ironbutt.com/?p=8A5492AE0235A2643CFD2EE1E32CDACB

Hope this clears things up
 
#13
I know that scoring at the finish begins at 5am, ends at 8am, and the rally is done at 10am. Based on previous events, about when are the first of the riders expected back in Greenville?
 

DelB

Premier Member
#14
I think you will see some at 10 pm the night before. Perhaps earlier.

Some riders feel it isn't necessary to almost kill themselves to finish on the podium. So they get home a bit early.

It's also possible that things don't go as well as they had hoped. Weather does make a difference.
 

Ira

Staff member
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
IBR Staff
#15
I know that scoring at the finish begins at 5am, ends at 8am, and the rally is done at 10am. Based on previous events, about when are the first of the riders expected back in Greenville?
That's not exactly correct.

As the schedule says, "Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01am Scoring opens at 5am". What is doesn't say is that the finish window is from 8am to 10am (the rally started at 10am and ends at 10am).

What this means is that we will have staff available to score riders beginning at 5am, that penalty points begin to accrue beginning at one second after 8am, and that if you show up after 10am, you are a DNF. So, for example, a rider could come in at 0400, spend an hour getting their paperwork together, and get scored starting at 0500. This gives the staff more time to score riders - even in the best of years there is no way we can score as many as 100 riders in two hours.

When are the first riders back? It could be as early as the night before, but most riders need to check in and stop the clock no later than 8am to avoid penalty points. Of course, it is not unheard of for rider to decide that that one big bonus at the end is worth more than the penalty point for showing up after 8am (and before 10am) and will purposely come in after the finish window opens.

Ira
 
#16
That's not exactly correct.

As the schedule says, "Penalty points accrue at 8:00:01am Scoring opens at 5am". What is doesn't say is that the finish window is from 8am to 10am (the rally started at 10am and ends at 10am).

What this means is that we will have staff available to score riders beginning at 5am, that penalty points begin to accrue beginning at one second after 8am, and that if you show up after 10am, you are a DNF. So, for example, a rider could come in at 0400, spend an hour getting their paperwork together, and get scored starting at 0500. This gives the staff more time to score riders - even in the best of years there is no way we can score as many as 100 riders in two hours.

When are the first riders back? It could be as early as the night before, but most riders need to check in and stop the clock no later than 8am to avoid penalty points. Of course, it is not unheard of for rider to decide that that one big bonus at the end is worth more than the penalty point for showing up after 8am (and before 10am) and will purposely come in after the finish window opens.

Ira
So the reason penalty points accrue after 8am, even though the rally is over at 10am, is to get everyone in and scored within a reasonable time? Ok, that makes sense, since it would be a bear to try to score everyone if they all came in right at the end.

I'm enjoying my "first real-time rally"...interesting stuff.
 

Ira

Staff member
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
IBR Staff
#17
Note that we run every checkpoint the same way - penalty points begin to accrue from the time the checkpoint opens until the time it closes, but we have scorers available a few hours before the checkpoint opens. Traditionally, the penalty points increase every leg. So they can be significant at the end.

Only part of it is to have riders come in over time. The main reason is that in past rallies, the point spread among the top riders is pretty close - they are all of about equal routing ability as well as riding ability. They tend to have gone to many of the same bonuses. So the scores can be remarkably close at the end. Showing up before penalty points accrue can mean one or two places in the standings. On the other hand, it could be that the big bonus in the last leg may cause a rider to come in during the penalty point period, but may be worth enough points to provide a net gain in the standings. These are the things the best riders are balancing on the eleventh day of the event. The big dogs leave nothing on the table - it's maximum effort to the finish.

Ira
 
#19
Note that we run every checkpoint the same way - penalty points begin to accrue from the time the checkpoint opens until the time it closes, but we have scorers available a few hours before the checkpoint opens. Traditionally, the penalty points increase every leg. So they can be significant at the end.

Only part of it is to have riders come in over time. The main reason is that in past rallies, the point spread among the top riders is pretty close - they are all of about equal routing ability as well as riding ability. They tend to have gone to many of the same bonuses. So the scores can be remarkably close at the end. Showing up before penalty points accrue can mean one or two places in the standings. On the other hand, it could be that the big bonus in the last leg may cause a rider to come in during the penalty point period, but may be worth enough points to provide a net gain in the standings. These are the things the best riders are balancing on the eleventh day of the event. The big dogs leave nothing on the table - it's maximum effort to the finish.

Ira
When one has invested so much in time and money for this event, if one comes across the finish line and doesn't feel like death warmed-over, then one didn't give maximum effort. Or so I have been told. :)
 

Ira

Staff member
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
IBR Staff
#20
Totally agree. Ultimately, it is a competition against ones' self. No one wants to give anything less than everything they're got. It can be one of those life-defining moments that tells you exactly what you are made of without any bullshit (if you pardon my French). It's put up or shut up. Many of those who DNF feel like they have unfinished business. And that, in fact, is the expression we use for those who come back for, to some, redemption.

But the Big Dogs are a breed apart (pun intended). Yes, they compete against themselves. But their competitive spirit is just a little fiercer than others. It's not like they would like to prevail - they must prevail. It is something so deep inside them that many times it can't even reach the surface. Jim Owen is a good example. He is the only two-time IBR winner (and probably would have won another one but for a mechanical problem on the last leg). But if you talk to him before the start and then again at the end of the rally, he is outwardly pretty much the same - calm, collected, relaxed. But you don't perform at his level without a tremendous fire within. He's not the only one. There are at least a dozen of them in any given IBR.

Ira
 
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