by
Daniel Stephans
We
few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For
he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall
be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This
day shall gentle his condition:
William Shakespeare
Henry V, Act IV, Scene III
Endurance,
or long distance motorcycle rallies are not for everyone, in fact they are for
a very few. The Butt Lite II, the
second longest endurance motorcycle rally, second only to the Iron Butt Rally,
ran from August 28th to September 4th, 7 days, 7,000
miles. (The Iron Butt Rally is 11 days,
11,000 miles). 66 riders signed up for
the Butt Lite II. 54 riders started and
48 riders finished. Of that number, I
was the only rider from Wisconsin.
During the rally I rode 7,163 miles, the highest miles on a
Harley-Davidson during the rally, 9th highest miles of the 48
finishers. In the points standings I
finished 24th. Points are
obtained by stopping at interesting, sometimes out-of-the-way or difficult
locations. Bonus point locations might
take a rider to Washington DC, Florida, California, Washington state, Canada,
or about anywhere in between. Points
are also given for keeping gas receipts and occasionally for a prescribed rest
stop. (Finishing positions are
determined by bonus points acquired.)
Rules insure safety and fair play.
Excessive exhaust noise, acts that endanger the general public,
excessive speeds, or excessive citations are not tolerated.
My
mother-in-law, who was at the awards dinner at the end of the Rally, noted that
this group of "bikers" was of an age and demeanor she had not
expected to see. A high percentage of
the endurance riders are well over 40, professionals, and politely
mannered. "No "Hell's
Angels" here!", she observed.
There are men, women, husband and wife teams, and in my case, father and
son involved in endurance rallying. My
grandson (10) is planning his first rally in the Minnesota 1000 next year,
riding behind Grandpa. Personally, I
find endurance rallying an exercise in time management that makes me more
productive in my work environment. We
do this because we like riding motorcycles, (A LOT), traveling this great
nation, and meeting the challenges presented by very creative rally masters.
The
base route of the Butt Lite II had us riders starting in Reynoldsburg, OH at
7:00 AM, August 28th. August
29th, we were to be in Baton Rouge, LA, 977 miles away, by 11:00
AM. On my way to Baton Rouge I visited
Hamilton, OH, Nebraska, IN, Rome, IN, Metropolis, IL, and Memphis, TN before
arriving in Baton Rouge with 1349 miles for the first day. I could tell you I was in Nashville also,
but that was only because I got lost.
At
1:00 PM we were on the road again, heading for Salt Lake City, UT. We had until 7:00 PM August 31st
to ride the 1855 miles of the second leg of the rally. My ride took me to Groom, TX, Tulsa, OK,
Denver, CO, Golden, CO, Central City, CO, and Richfield, UT for a total of 2298
miles on the second leg.
We
received bonus point locations for leg 3 at 9:00 PM and we exited Salt Lake
City knowing Fargo, ND, 1150 miles away, was our next scheduled check point and
we had to be there at 8:00 AM, September 2nd. On my way to Fargo I found a number of bonus
locations in Wyoming. Architect Henry
Hobson Richardson designed a pyramid monument to the Brothers Ames, 19th
century railroad developers, that was built outside Laramie. Yes, I was at this western most project of
this great American architect. Another
interesting monument, the only monument to a prostitute that I am aware of in
America, is found about 15 miles out in the desert near Lusk. A visit to the Mother Featherlegs Monument
was a test of man and machine. Many
riders turned back because of the road, (or lack there-of), conditions. Little America is on the map because it has
a post office and permanent employee residences. About 10 miles across the desert, (again), outside of Medicine
Bow you can see wind generators. 7 miles
down the road from Medicine Bow you will find a house built of dinosaur
bones. ("This house once
walked!" according to Eddie James, Rally Master). Third leg I rode 1356 miles.
Last
leg, Fargo to Reynoldsburg, started at 10:00 AM, September 2nd. We had until 3:00 PM September 4th
to complete the trip. This leg is only
1014 miles and we had 52 hours to get from Fargo to Reynoldsburg. My route via Lone Rock, IA, Albia, IA,
Independence, KS, Mansfield, MO, Franklin, IN, and Brock, OH, brought me to
Reynoldsburg, 2,159 miles from Fargo and 7 minutes late, which cost me 105
points.
Last year I was the highest finishing Harley-Davidson rider in the Butt Lite. My son, who also rode the Butt Lite last year, crashed hard twice and did not finish. However, this year Dan, (the younger) finished the Butt Lite II in 3rd place riding his BMW K1100. Next year I will ride the Iron Butt Rally with approximately 80 riders who have been granted entry to the event. Of the over 700 applicants for the 2001 Iron Butt Rally, I have a spot, my son does not yet have his spot. I hope I get to see him ride the 11 day, 11,000 miler next year.