Saturday, August 27, 2005

Leg 1 update on Rebecca

Well gang, she made it back safe, sound, and probably smiling. Those of you familiar with motorcycle endurance rallies probably know a very important rule about preparing for a rally such as this. The rule, which is important enough to be in the top five of the IBA's AOW, is very simple "Avoid adding accessories or doing maintenance immediately before a trip."

If anyone is keeping track, she has mounted new driving lights, torn her fuel cell apart to have the frame welded and re-installed, continued problems with her directional, and now had a key cut. To most the key may seem like a small deal, but when combined with the other misfortunes, it's just one more thing to add to the mental stress of the rider. Let’s just hope that they tested the key after making it..

Enough of me typing what happened.. Here is her report of the events thus far.

"My first leg route took me through Washington, Oregon, and down the Pacific Coast to I-80 and then back to Denver. The redwoods and the ocean were beautiful and I had a great time. Everything is all happening so fast and I really need to work on my riding efficiency for the next leg. So far, I've ridden 4029 miles and I have 19480 points. The only bike issue is another turn signal bulb went out. So far, so good.

I'm pleased to be surrounded by such incredible people. I lost my ignition key (more on that in a second) and Paul and Voni Glaves found a key blank and had my spare duplicated while I slept at the checkpoint in Denver. Thanks!

The lost key is, indeed, quite a story. The rally book clearly stated that the Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, CA would only be accessible until 1:30 due to low-tide, but I showed up at 1:45. Tom and Rosie Sperry arrived too, so the three of us shucked our riding gear as best we could and waded across to the lighthouse. Getting there, we realized that we had forgotten our rally flags, so we had to wade back to get them. Once we were in position again, we realized that we had no film left in the cameras. It took another trip over and back to finally snag the bonus picture. Then, we still had to cross the water once more. By this time, the water was up to my hips!

This excursion left me with wet clothes to complete the rest of the first leg. Ugh. I was tired, wet, and grimy, all of which led to increased fatigue and diminished mental alertness. I missed a later bonus because of this.

Oh, and the key? It was in my pocket with my flag, so when I pulled the flag out, the key dropped to the ground and was never found. I got back to Denver early and tried to get some sleep, but I kept imagining that was hearing sirens, but when I got up to investigate, there was nothing there. I'll plan my route for Leg 2, and then decide if I need more sleep or whether to push on.

Thanks to everyone who is following my progress and wishing me well! I'll try to provide more frequent updates."

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