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iron Butt Rally


Starfighter

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Do you believe in the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual

 

Of course not. How could these things work "for" or "against" anything? They just happen. How the individual responds is what is important.

 

Luck is too easily used as an excuse or for a reason to under achieve. Everyone would be better at what they do if they did not believe in luck.

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Luck is too easily used as an excuse or for a reason to under achieve. Everyone would be better at what they do if they did not believe in luck.

 

I like this definition better.

 

Luck is defined as: when preparation meets opportunity

 

rpg

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If you open the box and Schrödinger's Cat is alive, could you say the cat had good luck?

 

No. I would just observe that the cat is alive. There is no such thing as luck.

 

Of course there is. It is a good outcome for the cat that he's alive. That's good luck. If he was dead, that would be bad luck.

 

Don't be trapped in the deterministic world of thinking that luck is a only causal factor that drives outcomes one way or another. In the quantum world, there may be unknowable hidden variables that cause one outcome or another, or it may be random probability (the "G-d plays dice" or "sh*t happens" school of thought) that the cat is dead or alive. Nevertheless, there is a chain of events that leads up to a favorable outcome, and there is a chain of events that leads to an unfavorable outcome, and many of those events are beyond the influence of any of the participants. Those events can be described, regardless of the underlying mechanism, as good luck or bad luck.

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Luck is not the predominant deciding factor in who the top finishers are. It is a predominant deciding factor in who finishes where among the top finishers.

 

Very well put. Especially true in something as complex and dynamic as an IBR.

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I never expected Schrödinger's Cat to be invoked here, but David's comment about the role of luck on where a top finisher ends up is on the mark. Every two years, you see many of the same names in the top ten IBR finishers -- that's preparation and skill, not luck.

 

Slight hijack: this summer I saw the following bumper sticker:

 

[align=center]

Schrödinger's Cat

A D L E I A V D E

[/align]

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And is that by chance our EB checking her in?

 

No, that's Dale "Warchild" Wilson. I'm much better looking, have a much better personality, and am sitting in Chicago wishing I was in Spokane. :(

 

And congrats to Nancy. I spent some time talking to her at the IBA meet last year and could tell she was ready for this challenge.

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Our Own Ms. Kitty placed 20th!!!!! :clap::clap:

 

 

Chris Sakala - 3rd

Jeff Earls - 2nd

 

JIM OWEN - WINNER!!! Way to go, Jim!!!

 

Congrats to ALLLLL OF THE 2009 IBR Finishers!!! You guys ROCK!!!!

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Note that 5 out of the top 10 finishers were on BMWs.

 

The deer sure wreaked havoc on the riders this year. I lost track of how many riders they took out. The buggars are everywhere! I fear them more than about any other hazard out there, especially after dark. I suppose it's not their fault, but it sure seems like there are a lot more deer around now than there were a couple of decades ago.

 

Jay

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Sadly, it's been announced on the FarRiders forum that Davo Jones, the rider from Australia, has died of injuries received when he reportedly struck a deer, less than 100 miles from the finish.

 

I can't even begin to express the sorrow that his family, his friends, his fellow riders, the rally staff, and the the entire LD community are feeling and will be feeling as word spreads.

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So sorry to hear about Davo Jones, as well as all the other riders who suffered non-fatal deer collisions. If anything illustrates the role of luck in the IBR, this does -- no amount of preparation or skill can prevent being your mugged by a deer. Except in the direst emergencies, I've basically stopped riding at night -- not that that did me much good for avoiding deer, as my own close encounter with a deer occurred at 12:45 pm on a brilliant sunny day. They do seem to be everywhere, and increasing in number.

 

Deer-vehicle collisions are on the rise in Georgia and across the nation. Wildlife officials estimate there are 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions nationwide each year at a cost of some $1 billion in damages. It’s difficult to say how many incidents occur each year in Georgia because the Georgia State Patrol believes only a quarter to half of deer-vehicle collisions are ever reported. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division estimates 51,000 a year, which accounts for 13.5 percent of all collisions statewide.

 

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Don't be trapped in the deterministic world of thinking that luck is a only causal factor that drives outcomes one way or another. In the quantum world, there may be unknowable hidden variables that cause one outcome or another, or it may be random probability (the "G-d plays dice" or "sh*t happens" school of thought) that the cat is dead or alive. Nevertheless, there is a chain of events that leads up to a favorable outcome, and there is a chain of events that leads to an unfavorable outcome, and many of those events are beyond the influence of any of the participants. Those events can be described, regardless of the underlying mechanism, as good luck or bad luck.

 

This must be the kind of stuff you have time to think of while riding the rally :wave: Hi David, nice to meet you at the UN...

 

 

It's sad news about Davo. I ride a fair amount at night still, but don't think I've ever seen deer like I did in TX doing my 50CC and return trip. I hope his family and friends find peace quickly.

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Our Own Ms. Kitty placed 20th!!!!! :clap::clap:

 

 

Chris Sakala - 3rd

Jeff Earls - 2nd

 

JIM OWEN - WINNER!!! Way to go, Jim!!!

 

Congrats to ALLLLL OF THE 2009 IBR Finishers!!! You guys ROCK!!!!

 

+1.

 

I don't know enough of our members here to know who else was on the list, but I did see that Jeff Fremder (jfremder) and Carol were the 3rd 2-up team to finish. Impressive. :thumbsup:

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Sadly, it's been announced on the FarRiders forum that Davo Jones, the rider from Australia, has died of injuries received when he reportedly struck a deer, less than 100 miles from the finish.

 

I can't even begin to express the sorrow that his family, his friends, his fellow riders, the rally staff, and the the entire LD community are feeling and will be feeling as word spreads.

 

Very little else to say except that my heart goes out to those left behind.

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Our Own Ms. Kitty placed 20th!!!!! :clap::clap:

 

 

Chris Sakala - 3rd

Jeff Earls - 2nd

 

JIM OWEN - WINNER!!! Way to go, Jim!!!

 

Congrats to ALLLLL OF THE 2009 IBR Finishers!!! You guys ROCK!!!!

 

+1.

 

I don't know enough of our members here to know who else was on the list, but I did see that Jeff Fremder (jfremder) and Carol were the 3rd 2-up team to finish. Impressive. :thumbsup:

 

Charlie(Rocket_Cowboy) finished, but I don't think he got enough points to be called a finisher.

 

:(

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Yeeha! Stephen
Our Own Ms. Kitty placed 20th!!!!! :clap::clap:

 

 

Chris Sakala - 3rd

Jeff Earls - 2nd

 

JIM OWEN - WINNER!!! Way to go, Jim!!!

 

Congrats to ALLLLL OF THE 2009 IBR Finishers!!! You guys ROCK!!!!

 

+1.

 

I don't know enough of our members here to know who else was on the list, but I did see that Jeff Fremder (jfremder) and Carol were the 3rd 2-up team to finish. Impressive. :thumbsup:

 

Charlie(Rocket_Cowboy) finished, but I don't think he got enough points to be called a finisher.

 

:(

 

Rats, I was hoping for all the good for Charlie.

 

Our other DFW local, Bo Griffin, finished 41st!

 

RIP Davo... Thoughts and prayers to family and friends.

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After hitting a deer on the last day of the rally, Davo Jones passed Friday evening.

Ride on Davo and I'll see you out there.

 

+1 Very sad news indeed.

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Rocket_Cowboy

Charlie(Rocket_Cowboy) finished, but I don't think he got enough points to be called a finisher.

 

:(

 

On Day 9, I didn't notice that my receipts for documenting my rest bonus were no good, else I would have found better receipts. They were good enough for the fuel log, but not for documenting rest. That little mistake cost me 6003 points that I didn't have, and dropped me just out of range of a finish.

 

There's always next time ...

 

Now that the IBR is behind me, I plan to be more active here again. You've all been warned. :)

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Charlie, congratulations on a great ride anyway. If you're already saying "next time", I won't even bother to try to talk you out of it, you're hooked. :)

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Rocket_Cowboy
Charlie, congratulations on a great ride anyway. If you're already saying "next time", I won't even bother to try to talk you out of it, you're hooked. :)

 

If you had talked to me on Friday after scoring, there wasn't a next time. Outlooks have changed since I've finally started catching up on sleep. :)

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Outlooks have changed since I've finally started catching up on sleep. :)

 

Speaking of sleep, wait until the dreams kick in. Like the one where you dream that you're sleeping and you're on the bike and it's moving. Or my favorite, the one where you wake up in a panic thinking the Screaming Meanie didn't go off and you don't remember what town you're in or what motel this is or what day of the Rally it is, and then you realize you're in your own bed. :grin:

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Outlooks have changed since I've finally started catching up on sleep. :)

 

Speaking of sleep, wait until the dreams kick in. Like the one where you dream that you're sleeping and you're on the bike and it's moving. Or my favorite, the one where you wake up in a panic thinking the Screaming Meanie didn't go off and you don't remember what town you're in or what motel this is or what day of the Rally it is, and then you realize you're in your own bed. :grin:

 

Now that's inspiration :dopeslap:

 

 

Boy, now I really wanna know more LD riding.

 

 

Where do I sign up?????

 

 

:grin:

 

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I've never seen a picture showing happiness like this.

This is Nancy Oswald (HelloKitty) just arriving at the finish checkpoint of the Ironbutt Rally, after 11.000 miles and a ton of bonus checkpoints in 11 days. She finished 20th overall and with a Gold Medal.

Nancy, congratulations! We love you!

 

 

ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=4637&filename=Spokane4017.jpg

 

Picture taken by Don Catterton of BMWBMW, who was assisting her in the rally.

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