Chris' 2005 Iron Butt Rally

Chapter 13

The Circle Closes 

For the final time during the rally, I was riding across I-70.  I had become quite sick of the road at this point.  I was tired but the end was in sight.  By the time I hit Indiana, it was becoming clearer that I might not reach the bonuses in Missouri by nightfall.  I missed the bonuses by about an hour.  There was nothing else to do but to head to Denver.  Only 900 miles to go.  

I passed through St. Louis and on through Kansas City.  As I headed toward Topeka, flashes of lightening appeared to the west in front of me.  Apparently, there was still a little excitement left in the ride.  I stopped at a toll booth and asked the attendant if they knew anything about the coming storm.  “Fast moving from the west….hail.” 

I really didn’t want to hear any of that.  I put my rain gear on for what would be the last time.  As I rode, I stared at the GPS trying to match up the road with the lightening strikes in front of me.  There was not a lot I could do about the storm.  I did not have enough of a time cushion to stop and wait.  There was nothing to do but ride and hope to get lucky and skirt the storm.  Somehow I-70 shaved the side of the storm, getting nothing worse than a few large drops of rain. The lightening was close enough to get my attention, but it too stayed a couple miles off the highway. 

One thing I learned during the Rally was that there is nothing between Kansas City and Denver on I-70.  Flat, boring and at times, windy.  Other than that, I can do without that stretch of highway for the rest of my riding career.  I would cross it one final time on my way home a few days hence.   

I crossed into Colorado, struggling to maintain my speed.  I pulled over and took short nap.  I had about a two hour time cushion at this point, but I was quickly using it up, 15 minutes at a time.  After pulling out of a rest stop I saw a bike coming up behind me.  John Ryan waved as he went by.  He would arrive in Denver well ahead of me, as I puttered on toward the finish.  My nighttime speeds are at best at or below the speed limit.  The closer I got to the finish, the more I worried about a deer mishap, flat tire or other calamity that could lead to a DNF.

My support team had arrived in Denver the night before and was anxiously awaiting my arrival.  Because of the lost credit card, the GPS tracker was no longer functioning.  The last position Nancy could find was on the east coast.  No one was quite sure where I was at this point.   

About an hour out of Denver, I stopped for the last time and called Nancy.  I told her I was fine and simply working my way to the finish at a snail’s pace to increase the drama.  I reminded her that the tortoise was the one that won the contest.  And I was doing my best tortoise impression indeed. 

At around 7:15 AM on Friday, September 2, 2005, I arrived at the finish.  I had finished with 45 minutes left before the penalty window started.  As I stopped the bike, I felt nothing but relief to be done.  I got the hug and kiss from the support crew.  Voni and Paul Glaves were there to greet me, as they were with every rider. 

Things got blurry after that.  Paul was there, along with Shane, Bill Shaw, John Ryan and all the members of Team Robo.  We had all made it through the Rally safely.  No one could have asked for anything better.  In fact as I soon found out, all riders would soon be accounted for with no serious injuries. 

Nancy was snapping pictures while I was trying to find out what was going on in the Rally.  It was then that I found out that Jim Owen was out of the Rally and that Shane had skipped the Campbellton bonus.  No one knew what Jeff Earls (2^nd after two legs) had done.  Eric Jewell (3^rd after two legs) was still out as were a couple other notable riders. 

I gathered my paperwork and found a quiet place to do some serious ciphering.  I did not want to lose any points at this stage.  I checked the numbers, rechecked the numbers and then had Paul check the numbers.  Everything seemed fine and in order.  I gathered up all my paperwork and went to be scored.  

I was probably more nervous getting scored for this leg than at any point in the Rally.  With Jim out of the Rally, I thought it would come down to Jeff Earls, Eric Jewell, Eddie James, Shane or myself.  It would be very difficult, though not impossible, for anyone else to jump over all of us with a monster leg.  Mark Kiecker of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew would ride such a leg jumping up from 11^th to 4^th.  I don’t know Mark but he is certainly to be congratulated for riding one of the best legs of the Rally. 

I finished up with no scoring mistakes.  I had accomplished my mini-goal of not losing any points at the scoring table.  I was now officially finished.  There was nothing else to do at this point.  I walked around a little and spoke with some of the other riders.  I saw Rebecca and found out she had gotten back to Denver safely. 

Vicki Johnston had ridden another superb rally and would finish as the top female rider for the second Rally in a row.  I know Vicki takes no consolation in this and will not be happy until she is the top rider period and she may very well be that one day.  Other riders also finished the rally successfully.  Sean Gallagher, Ed Phelps and Verne Hauck would all be finishers.

For other riders, the Rally finished as a bitter pill.  The final leg had claimed another six riders with DNF’s.  Other riders made it to Denver, but did not accumulate enough points to be considered a finisher of the rally.  Out of the 90 riders that had started this journey 11 days earlier, 69 successfully finished the rally.  One the oft quoted factoids about the toughness of the rally is this one;  More people have climbed Mt. Everest than have successfully finished an Iron Butt Rally.  It is truly a battle of endurance and attrition. 

After catching up with everyone I could, I made some phone calls and got some sleep.  A few hours later, I woke up feeling much better, but still very groggy.  Surprisingly, I did not awake with that sense of urgency to be anywhere or the panic that I had missed a checkpoint.  I woke up fairly normally.  The nightmares would begin days later and last for months, though they have become less frequent. 

Nancy and I went downstairs and met with other members of Team Robo.  We all gathered at two of the tables near the front of the banquet hall.  Mike Kneebone, Bob Higdon and others said a few words while we all waited for the main event.  Finishers would receive their plaques and perhaps more importantly, the license plate marquee that identifies them as a finisher of the Iron Butt Rally. 

Perhaps the happiest person in the room was Bill Shaw.  After failing to complete the Rally in 2003, he had ridden this Rally to a Gold Medal Finish.  When called up to get his plaque, Kneebone, Landry and best of all, Higdon all received the biggest hugs Bill could muster.  Bill’s smile stretched from ear to ear.  I think everyone who knew what he had been through was smiling for him as well.

Lisa then called the top 10 riders up to the front.  She proceeded to call the riders names in order from 10^th to 1^st.  Peter Hoogeveen had earned another top 10, finishing 10^th.  Eddie James had battled back from injury to take 9^th.  Eric Jewell finished 8^th.  John Ryan had ridden a monster 3^rd leg to jump up from 23^rd to 7^th place, an amazing comeback. 

Marty Leir and Jack Savage finished 6^th and 5^th respectively.  Mark Kiecker took 4^th place after a great 3^rd leg.  That left Jeff Earls, Shane Smith and myself to decide the top 3 positions.  Lisa announced that Jeff had taken third place.  I know Jeff was disappointed he did not win the rally, but his ride had been a great one.  He rode the most efficient route in the rally and came tantalizingly close to winning the Rally.  Jeff is a smart, tough competitor who will probably win the Rally at some point. 

And then there were two.  I whispered something to Shane and waited for the announcement.  Lisa announced that I had taken second place.  I thought there was a lot of applause, but my guess is that there was not so much applause for my second place, but for Shane winning.  I gave Shane a hug and accepted an impossibly heavy trophy from Mike Kneebone.  I could not have been happier, even if I had won. 

Shane received a well earned Champion’s applause and was ever gracious in his words to those in attendance.  During the rally his home had been severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, as he lives just north of New Orleans.  While riders like myself, worried about such things as ferry schedules and checkpoints, Shane had other more serious concerns.  At one point he wanted to quit and return to his home and family, but his wife would not let him.  This was his last Iron Butt Rally after three top 10 finishes, including taking second place in 2001.  In a fitting gesture, he left his flag at his last bonus in Hannibal, Missouri, one of the bonuses that pushed him past me to victory.  Shane had beaten me by 1314 points.

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