about this rally, the more they are going to want to be there next year. As

announced at the closing banquet, current plans are to shift the dates to

early September and run it every other year (the year the Iron Butt isn't

run).

The results on the Team Strange website imply that 1st place finisher Eric

Jewell was the only rider who took a shot at making it to West Fargo, North

Dakota and back on the final leg. This was the route that required you to

ride 250 miles past the final checkpoint in St. Paul, MN and then turn

around and come back to it. Eric had a much better run than I did, but I

made Fargo also, which pulled me up into the top ten. I slowly moved up

from mid-pack after Leg 1 to finish in 8th by scoring the West Fargo bonus.

Unlike most riders, I took my "layover" at the very beginning of Leg 4.

Rather than sleep, I used the time to plan an optimum route while being "off

the clock". That route involved running from Ohio to Indianapolis, IN along

I-70 (with a few side trips for bonuses), then heading through Chicago (with

a bonus stop at a Mexican restaurant), then going though St. Paul, MN to

West Fargo, ND, and then back to St. Paul. Most riders saw the North Dakota

bonus as too much of a risk. If you were late getting back, you ran the

risk of failing to finish the rally. Assuming others would take more

conservative routes, I figured this would give me a good shot at finishing

in the top ten, if not the top five. It almost came off as planned.

As chance would have it, taking my layover up front put me right in the

middle of a horrendous traffic jam on I-70 caused by an accident. Traffic

was completely stopped for as far as the eye could see. I lost about two

hours; two hours I intended to use for a nap in Chicago to prepare for the

final charge on the North Dakota bonus. When I finally reached Chicago, I

still had time for the "burrito" bonus at the Mexican restaurant, but by

going for that bonus, I would have to ride to North Dakota and back to St.

Paul with no sleep. I passed on the burrito and took a much needed power

nap after getting further down the road (my first sleep in about 24 hours).

After a 1-hour nap, it was off to North Dakota. I got there 10 minutes

before the bonus opened and about 20 minutes before Eric, who had also

collected the bonus points in Chicago. I experienced no traffic delays on

the return trip to St. Paul and arrived almost 1/2 hour before the

checkpoint opened. With the benefit of hindsight, I could have hit the

Chicago bonus, taken my nap, and finished not more than 20 minutes late.

The penalty points would have been worth it and I would have moved further

up in the standings. Of course, hindsight is always 20-20. I have no

regrets. It was a great rally.

One thing I learned on this rally is how tough it is to maintain a 1,000

mile per day pace, day-after-day, under Iron Butt-type rally conditions.

The 2-hour checkpoint window takes a big bite of time away. More time is

spent trying to figure out a good route. Additional time is lost chasing

bonuses over 2-lane roads. Covering just over 5,000 miles during this 5-day

rally was MUCH tougher than covering just under 5,000 miles in only 4 days

during a coast-to-coast-to-coast run.

Some other stuff I learned is kind of embarassing. OK, I'll mention one

thing. Do you know you can't get a toll receipt from the automated toll

collection lanes in Indiana? (Duh!) I won't make this mistake next year,

but I'm sure I'll make new ones.

Tom Austin

Sacramento