- A "high-mileage" rider in the IBR can average nearly 1250 miles a day over the entire 11 day rally. Yes, that is roughly 14,000 miles! Most of us don't put that many miles on our cars in a year. To put it in perspective, that equates to driving cross-country from San Francisco to New York 4.6 times. In 11 days! For my Armed Forces friends, think about that in the context of your last cross-country move that took 5 or 6 days.
- I am not sure what an "average" IBR rider (like me) would do. I hope to find out as the rally progresses. My first taste of a timed rally resulted in me averaging 850 miles a day for three days. Nowhere near what the IBR contenders ride, but I wonder if that is enough to be a finisher. Time will tell.
I found it interesting while looking through the screen captures from midnight through early morning hours that there were several riders who were active. Based on some of the information I have read on other forums, this could be the result of any number of motivating factors. I think they could be riding to avoid the heat, could be repositioning to take advantage of one of the time-restricted bonus locations, or could just be crazy.
Here is a link to the video I put together (hosted on YouTube).
I have included screen captures of the beginning and end of July 1st for those with limited bandwidth. Of note, that second rider down south near Louisiana didn't magically appear - he rode south from Kansas to get there.
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| Rider locations at 0000 on July 1st |
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| Rider locations at 2400 on July 1st |
Quick tutorial on the color associated with the marks on the rider map. I use a Spot tracker routinely. The Spot tracker is a satellite linked device that uses GPS to determine its location and sends a signal to a satellite to update the map. It requires no internet connectivity.
- Orange: this is a "track" position. The Spot tracker can be set up to send in a location on a recurring basis. My transmitter sends the location every 20 minutes, but the newer tracker can send it in more often. The device requires rider action to initiate the messages, but no further action - it is on auto-pilot.
- Green: this is an "I'm OK" message. It requires the rider to push a button on the device, and then the device sends its location to the satellite regardless of whether it is in track mode or not. Different strokes for different folks on this - I use it when I fill up with gas or stop for food to let the family know I am OK. You can configure your Spot preferences to also update things like social media and e-mail when this button is pressed. One push, one message.
- Yellow: this is a custom message, similar to the green button but with a customizable message. When I say customizable, I mean you can set it up using a web browser to send whatever text you desire. I usually use it to send a message when I am done riding for the day so the family knows they can stop worrying. One push, one message.
There are also "I need help" and "Emergency" buttons the rider can push to send messages. I haven't seen them displayed so I am not sure what they look like. The emergency button generates EMS response to the location provided. Think accident with injuries.
Well, if I am writing this blog then I am not refreshing the web page, so I will go for now.
