"Wait for it...."August 14 2006 at 10:36 AM |
Adam Wolkoff | |
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| Richard
Buber had a plan. He’d fixed his broken Old Wing behind the Two Rivers
Saloon and rode it to Atlanta to say hello/goodbye to BLIIII riders before
heading home. Heading home was the plan, and it was a sensible one. Why
head all the way back to Nebraska when he was out of the rally anyway?
Richard Buber had a plan, but the plan changed the second he laid eyes on
Eddie at BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta. “Hey, wait a minute,” he mused
out loud. “You still owe me a meal. I WILL head back to Nebraska, and
I’ll sure be hungry when I get there.” Richard isn’t the only hungry one. If you check the standings, you will see that less than 150 points separate the riders in 8th to 13th places. One bonus on leg 3 will close that gap. I personally consider the entire top ten up for grabs. The route sheet for this leg allows a number of very profitable runs, and riders who can combine efficiency and stamina (and not drop the ball at the scoring table) will be rewarded in Niobrara. Even David Derrick can’t rest easy. Peter Behm, currently in second, has elected to make a run for the Bonneville bonus and—if things go right and Derrick runs a conservative route—our current second place rider could go into first. Behm will have to do more than knock down the miles. He will also have to contend with what we at TeamStrange call the Melody Albers factor. You may remember Ms. Albers from such rallies as the MN1K and Ironbutt. She could ride the wheels off her motorcycle, but often times she’d get a wee bit greedy on the bonuses. She’d plan an amazing, lengthy ride guaranteed to result in a trophy, but along the way she couldn’t resist stopping for just that one extra bonus. You know, that one extra bonus that takes just enough time and effort as to render the entire rest of the route impossible in the time remaining. Behm will have to plan his route carefully, and then execute it with discipline in order to upset the existing world order. I certainly would not bet against that happening. Another open question relates to the possible demise of Team Newbie. We hear reports that Carrie Hanson is riding in top form, aggressively sticking to her plan for total world domination. This is good for Carrie, but perhaps less so for the rest of the team, who have been heard telling her to be “less competitive.” She might just as well be told to stop breathing: it is not going to happen. We’ve previously discussed the pros and cons of “team” riding. Personally, I prefer to ride by myself, since I have enough trouble dealing with my own issues out on the road. When Eddie and I ran the 1997 Ironbutt, we agreed to ride separately together. This allowed us to put our heads together on routing, but also accommodated our different riding styles and expectations for the rally. Before BLIIII started, my suggestion that Team Newbie adopt this kind of arrangement was met with utter rejection. Perhaps the time has come for the idea to be reconsidered. I suspect that Carrie Hanson unleashed would outscore Team Newbie leashed. The question then becomes whether the team could/would agree to let her forge on ahead. You will see this material again. David E. B. Smith has been demoted from ButtLite rider to ButtLite staffer this year. He is bearing the situation very well all things considered. “EB” is a demon with a route sheet, more than competent with a computer, and maintains a level head when everyone else has resorted to hissy fits and sulking. Poor guy, he may just get drafted for additional TeamStrange duty. I hope it happens. Thanks, David, for everything. Very soon, our cell phones will cease to function and our wireless internet connectivity will vaporize into the ether. At that point, we’ll know we’ll know we are about 15 miles away from Niobrara and closing. From that point on, we will do our best to get information out as it becomes available (and as we are able to find bandwidth). Pending that, you may be interested to see Your Friendly Rally Staff’s picks for the Top Ten, made hours after the starting flag dropped almost one week ago. As you can see, we have very little in the way of valuable inside information, at least as far as handicapping goes. Post your own Top Ten lists, and feel free to speculate while you have the chance. Pretty soon, this rally will be one for the history books, and we’ll have answers to all of our questions. Until that time…. ASW |
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