I want to let everyone know that I am fine. As every knows by now I pulled out of the 09 IBR Thursday, August 27 after picking up my bookmark at the covered bridge bonus.
My rally attempt has been a precarious one at best since I accepted the invitation last year. I should have listened to my wife who advised me that this would be a difficult year to participate in the IBR. I being pig-headed and stubborn figured it would be my only chance and I needed to take it.
As some of you know, my oldest daughter, Rachel, is completely disabled with cerebral palsy. She is 21 years old. My wife and I are her primary caregivers. I do the bulk of the lifting each day by lifting Rachel in and out of bed, dressing her and tending to her personal needs. It is a duty that my wife and I take seriously. Rachel is a bright and fun loving woman who has brought tremendous joy to our lives. Plans to get additional help with Rachel's care during the rally fell through earlier this year. My wife and three other daughters, Leah, Lauren and Ellen, offered to help with Rachel's care while I was in the IBR.
My eighteen year old, Leah, is starting at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Apparel Design. She was going to move in during the rally without my help but she was willing to do it to support my rally efforts.
Ellen, my twelve-year-old daughter, is moving to the middle school this year. It seems like this transition has been one of the harder changes for my daughters. She is also struggling with her older sister going off to college and our family changing forever.
Lauren, who is sixteen, is in a good place right now as a junior in high school and heavily involved in drama and choir.
With all that is going on in our family, my daughters and wife supported me in my IBR attempt. They understood this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and wanted to support me in my attempt.
With a daughter going to college, the IBR budget was tight with no room for any big problems.
As many of you know, I had a total electrical failure when outside of Louisville at midnight on the way down to Spartanburg. It is a common problem on higher mileage ST1100s (I believe that Sal Terranova suffered from this in Montana). The usual preventative maintenance is to clean and apply dielectric grease to a Honda connector next to the battery. I had done that last fall but I did not check it before I left for Spartanburg. When I examined the connector as the bike sat on the side of an off-ramp I found a hole in the side of the connector made by the arcing of the corroded connector. I bypassed the connector by installing a fuseholder with a 30 amp fuse and was on the road in one hour.
I made a rookie IBR mistake by not going to Martha's Vineyard based on false assumptions and no research. I ran a route through Key West instead which limited my sleep time to 3.5 hours on day one.
I made a second mistake when I dropped the ST1100 into a gas pump in Ashburn, GA at 7pm on the second day. That was the first time in at least a year that I have parked that close to a gas pump because the ST is a heavy pig with rally gear and it is not unusual for me to lose it late in the day. Normally, I let it go, it lands on the tip over wings and I pick it up without any damage.
I removed the windshield and rode on to Scottsboro, AL for my sleep stop on day two and got 5 hours of sleep.
I started day three with over two hours of margin to get to St. Charles. Riding 800 miles without a windshield caused me to arrive with 12 minutes of margin. Stops for breaks from the wind and heat burned up my margin.
During the second day, I learned that there had been a minor driveway accident between our minivan and the car that my daughter's and I share. The estimated repair bill exceeded my budget for the Iron Butt Rally.
My third mistake of the rally happened when I failed to claim my call-in bonus for 250 points. I overlooked it during my prescoring review.
Because I got in so late, I finished scoring at 1am Thursday morning. Two hours and fifty minutes later I was up again getting the next set of bonuses. Being tired I struggled with routing until about 8am. At that point I was tired and depressed. I left my room prepared to tell Mike and Lisa I was finished. As I walked down the hallway, I walked by Brian Robert's room and saw that he was still working on his route. I figured that if he was still working his route and he was ahead of me I should give it another try.
I sat down and started reworking my options. During this time, my wife called to check how I was doing. I told her I was tired and struggling with routing. She suggested giving up some points on the first day of the leg to get more sleep. As we talked the routing finally came together. I had a route that I knew I could manage that could yield a score between 31 and 37k points that gave me the sleep I needed to be rested for Santa Ana. With the route done, I slept for another hour and left at 11am.
During the ride to the covered bridge bonus in Iowa, I verified my planned route for the day on the GPS. Then I went over the costs of the trip including money, strain on my family and strain on me. While I was doing this, I needed to make a gas stop so I got of the interstate at the next exit that had gas. I nearly ran through a stop sign at the bottom ramp into oncoming traffic. At that time I realized that I had lost my rally focus and was not riding safely.
The Iron Butt Rally rules state that the Iron Butt Rally is competition between riders. For me it has been about how other riders support competitors. In my case, it was people like Mike Etlicher who answered my call for help on the way down to Spartanburg when I asked him to email me the socket sizes needed to change the tires on the ST since I forgot my sockets in the tool chest at home. Mike called me at night during the rally to check-in with me. Mike also arranged for me to get the replacement windshield in St. Charles. Thank you, Mike.
Rick Corwine who lives within a mile of my home but who I only see when we are at least 100 miles from home. Rick transported my spare windshield to me in St. Charles and helped me install it. He also made the suggestion to use a tie wrap for the one screw hole where the plastic was damaged and would not hold a screw. I felt bad for not talking to him more in St. Charles but I had rally work to do. Thank you, Rick.
Howard Johnson from the ST-Owners forum offered to let me use his garage and tire changing tools. Howard took the day off from work Friday before the rally to help me out. He refused any repayment offers. He did this for someone he had never met and will probably never see again. Thank you Howard.
Mark and Gail Perry accepted my call for help with my windshield and checked to make sure I was okay. Thanks Mark and Gail.
Dave Casey from work who called me every day to see how I was doing and gave me a words of encouragement. Thanks Dave.
Marty Leir and Tim Conway for the invaluable advice before the rally. Thanks Tim and Marty.
Bart Bakker gave me encouragement and advice. Thanks Bart.
Kevin Powers for his encouragement and support. Also Kevin traded his Clearview Gen III windshield for my stock windshield last spring. I mounted his old windshield in St. Charles. Thanks Kevin.
Thank you to all the other riders who gave encouragement and support throughout the lead up to the rally.
When we were kids it was wonderful to play all day, and it was easy to "not hear" the call to dinner when there was still fun to be had. This adult stuff, where the voice calling is inside your own head, its hard sometimes. You made the right decision, for the right reasons.
Re: Phil's Story or How I should have listened to my wife
September 3 2009, 6:30 PM
I congratulate on running a smart rally. I also applaud your ability to push forward in the face of everything you were facing at the time. Everyone needs to make those types of decisions and you made the decision that was right for you.
Like I said it takes a lot of self awareness to know your limits. It takes even more courage to call it quits and play it safe.
I'm not sure I have that check valve which sometimes scares me a little. I'm always a bucket of nerves. When I talked with you in St. Charles, if you were having issues other than the windshield, it didn't show. I thought you were reserved and collected while you fitted your windshield. Obviously there was more going on than was apparent.
Phil,
You made a very tough decision... but the right one. I'm not telling you anything you dont know. Family is so much more important that running around the country trying to win a peice of glass.
I'm glad your home safe and sound and ready to compete again next year (or the Harvest Rally this fall).
Without exception, every single competitor makes mistakes on every IBR. What you accomplished in this year's rally was to successfully AVOID making perhaps the biggest mistake there is - going against that voice of reason in your head. That's the one you should always obey so good for you for heeding the call.
Yep, it sucks to not finish. I know what it is like - hell, I was a DNS in 2007. Having to pull out of that IBR was the most painful decision I've had to make in my long distance riding career. I haven't a doubt, however, that it was the right choice and although I'm sad I didn't ride it, I don't regret that decision for a moment and I hope you won't either. [ Besides, I'm not sure I could have kept up with Marty anyway ]
Keep this in mind:
You prowess and past successes qualified you for the IBR.
You were selected as a 2009 IBR competitor.
At the end of the 1st Leg you were in the top 1/3.
There aren't many riders who can say that.
Congratulations on a fine ride and congratulations again on ultimately making the right decision: family comes first.
- Tim
Tim Conway
Rider #17
"One man's pig is another man's bacon."
Phil, I'm glad you're okay, too. From the perspective of the Iron Butt Wife, these rallies are a mixed bag of emotions.
Pete is not in the rally this year, but he's following it. We both went to Spartanburg and St. Charles, then Pete went solo to Spokane, taking a scenic, meandering route with only about 400 miles each day. Although his ride doesn't have the stress of bonus-finding and 1000-mile days, our nightly phone calls brought back a lot of the emotion I experienced four years ago when he was in the rally.
When hubby calls during the rally and expresses frustration, fatigue, pain, discouragement, and even fear, is he just venting? Or is he looking for permission to end the quest? Or does he want sympathy? I want to be supportive of his goal to finish the rally, but I also want him to come home alive.
So I listen to the pains, rejoice in the accomplishments of finding impossible bonuses, and remind him to listen to his inner voice and recognize his limits. And then I sit back and trust. And wait for the next phone call. And hope no one posts information I don't want to know. Because this is his quest, and for these couple of weeks, it's not about me.
Four years ago, we didn't have any of the family complications and distractions that you have this year. The stars were aligned right and timing was perfect for Pete to reach his goal.
When all the odds stack up against you, quitting is an option. Sometimes it's the only option, and sometimes it's the simply the lesser of two evils. Only the rider himself (or herself) can judge that.
Phil, from the perspective of the Iron Butt Wife, I think your family is very lucky to have a dad/husband who makes honorable choices. And it sounds like you have a family that really supports your dreams - a true gift. I hope you have another chance to ride in the rally, and that all the stars align right for you then. Thanks for sharing.
Phil's Story or How I should have listened to my wife
September 4 2009, 6:38 PM
Phil,
I have read your report....and you have nothing to be sorry for.
Sometimes life gets in the way of our dreams.
The IBR has always interested me, but I have never been in a position to consider this undertaking.
I commend you for having the strength to try such a feat. And for having the knowlege to know when it is time to change your plans. That was the tough decision.
I can't wait to hear your descriptions of the rally with all the trials and tribulations.
I really enjoyed talking to you at the Buffalo Rally - especially the great tips on how to eat, ride and repeat. I try to learn something at every rally and between you, Spanky, Rick and Sleddog I think I hit the quadfecta of LD rider tips this time around. Thank You!
]
