IBR check in is completed, rally packs have been distributed and the game is on.

There were a couple of final rules and regulations that come out.

First off is that my SPoT tracking page has been made private. What that means is that it is not public and you need a password to view it. You can post a message here requesting access (include your email) and, if my wife approves, she will provide you with the password.

Second, is that this blog will not be updated during the rally. The rationale will be explained after the rally but for now we will have to be silent.

Again, you can post questions here and Patty may or may not reply privately.

Thank you for your understanding,

IBPete

This is Patty testing to verify that I am still able to post to this blog. Age has a way of making one just a wee bit forgetfull! :-) All of us in San Diego will be following closely and we will try to update the blog for everyone. Good Luck Mike (aka Pete)!!

Pictures of my bike preparation.

http://picasaweb.google.com/IBPete/2009IBRPrep#

T minus 3 days and a few hours to the start of the "Big Show", the 2009 Iron Butt Rally!

I am so ill prepared it is unbelievable. The stress of having a house on the market this year, coupled with getting it sold (certainly a blessing but stressful nonetheless) has left me with little time to prepare myself for this rally. I have gone from shooting for a big dog finish to just hoping I can finish.

We went homeless 2 weeks ago. Patty got her good friend Sarah to drive her and the dog to San Diego and I got my good friend Bill to let me camp out at his house these last 2 weeks. All I can say is that Patty and I are both blessed to have friends such as these that will willingly disrupt their lives to help us out. Life doesn't get any better than that so my performance or lack thereof in this endurance rally is of no importance at all. I just hope that in some small fashion we can repay the debt we owe these good friends that helped us in our time of need.

I rode the bike a bit this last weekend. Mostly to acclimatize myself to the heat and to take a bit of a farewell tour of the state. While moving to San Diego and being closer to our grandchildren is exciting, I have mixed emotions. My Saturday and Sunday journeys took me into the eastern side of the state where I sauntered around the outer banks. In many ways it was a sentimental journey, a final fare-thee-well to the state that has become home. Our 23 years here have the longest of all. North Carolina is a beautiful state and there are many things I will miss. Especially the friends and acquaintances we have made.

I took vacation from work this last week to take care of getting the bike ready. After a trip to Capital BMW for some expert tuning and thorough pre-IBR checkover by Jon Ross and his team of experts, I mounted my spare tires and made some last minute adjustments and modifications to the bike. It is far more well prepared than I am.

I will head out to Spartanburg in the morning. I want to give plenty of time to the check in process and the tech inspection. My custom fuel cell will have to be given a thorough once over and checked for its maximum capacity.

Expect more updates from me up to the start of the rally and then I hope Patty will be able to make posts as she did in '07. It was very interesting to me to come back from the rally and see her interpretation of my daily voice reports.

Later,