Years ago I was introduced to a little piece of heaven on earth known as Eleuthera, Bahamas. In Eluthera, there are no casinos, luxury hotels or fast food restaurants. All they have there is plenty of sun, beautiful white sand beaches and fine rum (best enjoyed over ice in a highball glass).
As you might imagine, the lack of items from column A and the abundance of items from column B leads to a certain worldview, illustrated in the common Elutheran saying, "Soon Come." Soon Come implies that the thing you are waiting for will most certainly happen, and indeed will probably happen in a timeframe extending from "a little while" to "before you're dead and buried." At one time, BL4 would soon come.
That time is no longer.
In less than 72 hours, I will be feet dry in Niobrara. Between now and then, there are route sheets to print, trophies to pick up, computer gear to test, clothes to pack, and on and on. Soon come is here now--where did the time go?
While your Rally Staff are attending to the mundane minutia of this event, across the land two wheeled warriors ready for battle are mounting their trusty steeds and converging upon the Mecca of Midwest motorcycling. But who cares about Sturgis? We're more interested in a more select group of 75 odd riders headed for Niobrara, Nebraska and the start of the fourth--and best--ButtLite.
I can only imagine most of these riders are wondering where they are headed from Niobrara. Typically, we are pleased to provide advance information about checkpoint locations. BL4 is no typical rally, though, so we dispensed with that little formality. This group has absolutely no idea where they are headed on the first leg of the rally. Or the second leg. Or any of the other legs that might eventually lead them back to Nebraska on August 15. Yes, we've heard some whining over this. We love whining, because we know that a bitching rider is a happy rider. We also know that "World's Toughest Riders" shouldn't just be a phrase on the back of a license plate frame. The rider that wins this event won't do so because he has the biggest support crew or newest laptop. The person who finishes first in this rally will win the event because they--individually, on as level a playing field as we could devise--out-thought and out-strategized their fellow riders over the course of a very challenging multi-day event. It’s back to the future, baby, and I love it.
So what else? I hear Dirk Diggler is fresh out of the Betty Ford Clinic. Once he settles his considerable tab at the Chateau Marmont I'm sure we can expect some pithy insights from the bad boy of LD Riding. I wouldn't be surprised if over the course of the event we also heard from some other guest commentators, rally staff and other hangers-on. The Two Rivers is reportedly laying in a large supply of burgers, buns and cheese in anticipation of The Great Wizard Cheeseburger Buy. Most of all, I'm looking forward to meeting friends old and new, some of whom I will no doubt throw out of the rally.
Of course all of that will Soon Come. The clock keeps ticking, the list of to-do's keeps growing, and 72 hours is shorter than it seems. Riders, to your marks. Rallymasters, to your minivan. Readers--stay tuned: this will be fun.
ASW
3 August 2006