Stephan's Iron Butt Rally Adventure 2007
Link to the IBR Site

Click here for daily updates phoned in by Stephan along with maps of his progress

Congratulations Stephan on finishing the IBR in a respectable 52nd position and to Jim and Donna Philips who picked up a few extra points in leg 2 and finished 31st.

Click here for all Stephan's pictures

The Iron Butt Rally starts in St-Louis on Monday August 20 and ends 11 days later after 11,000 miles of travelling the country from coast to coast. The object is to accumulate as many points  by doing bonuses.

The Iron Butt rally is NOT a race.... it is...

Ron Ayres wrote a passage in his book "Against the Wind." released in 1999

"Top riders travel more than 11,000 miles in 11 days while visiting
checkpoints from one end of the United States to the other. They do
this with virtually no sleep, little nourishment, and while enduring
extremes of heat, cold and other obstacles that fate contrives.
The event isn't a race.
"It is a test of mental toughness, determination, strategy, and
resolve. Speed is far less important than the ability to manage
stress and resolve. Speed is far less important than the ability to
manage stress and formulate a winning plan at the sheer limits of
human endurance. For many riders, the goal is simply to finish."ello!

- Potential bonus
Just for your information, here is a small bonus heads up that we receive lately.
(in the attach email) It can give you an idea of what we will have to do.
It is kind of fun to read

I'm confident to represent you all and bring back my gold medal! (if you
send me all your energy!)

Will see you soon!

Stephan

My priorities for this trip are:
1. Get home safe
2. Finish the rally
3. If possible - finish well
4. Have fun
5. Don't lose any receipts
6. Not to be a total idiot
7. Call home once a day (at least)
8. Get home safe (it bares repeating)

To follow me, you will have to do a little more exercise than the last time.

In order to protect rider who do strategy, they won't assign a fix rider to the bike, like they
did for my 48 states. They are assigning randomly, so I can't give you the bike to follow but here is
how you can figure it out.... quite easily...
In order to follow me, you will have to try different bike (link #2 -since they will be assign randomly) and
 match it with the static map (see link #1)

Link 1 - My trip! - Static view
http://www.star-traxx.com/TripReport.asp?TripID=437852506

Link 2 - All bike registered with Star-Traxx (random)
http://rally.star-traxx.com/RallyView.asp?Rally=98

(if the above doesn't work... or they change it, 
go on... the following one and 
select Iron Butt Rally 2007..
https://star-traxx.com/mctourer

Letter from Rebecca Vaughn to other riders before this year's rally

Hello guys,

I know that most of you would like to know.... a bit more what a bonus look
like.
Here is a good one that show you what kind of fun we are getting into.

www.rebeccavaughn.net/BatteryPointReport.htm

In one of the preparation email, they told us that we needed to read
carefully about that
experience... and we will have it again. When you look closely at map and
distance....
it appears that it is highly possible we will do it in the first leg...
(2252 miles to go)

If we start on Monday 10 am from St-Louis... and need to be back... on
Friday 24 at 7pm...
and look at round trip (4500 miles)... well.... it gives some clues...
where we are heading...

unless they put it in the 2nd leg.... to play with our.... mind.... which
they just love to do.
It is the first time that they give a clue about one bonus...

It will be interesting... to follow... and to see when it would be...
One thing is sure.... will have to watch for the low tide ;-)))