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9.2.97
A Piece of Tape
The news of Ron Major's death in Arizona struck everyone associated with
this rally like a falling tree. The days that led up to this penultimate
checkpoint have been long for everyone, rallyist and organizer alike, but
nothing like today.
This terrible incident remains shrouded in mystery. Bill Muhr of the
MotoCentral Forum on the MicroSoft Network told us that radio station
KYMA in Yuma was reporting on the circumstances of the accident: "Between
midnight and seven Sunday morning, the cyclist hit the guard rail on I-8
about 24 miles east of Yuma. The driver was thrown onto an embankment on
the other side of the freeway. But the motorcycle continued along the
guard rail for nearly a half-mile before coming to a stop. A Border
Patrol helicopter found the man's body. Officials have not yet released
his name."
To accept this account you must believe that a motorcycle can travel
riderless for upwards of 2,500' and bring itself to a gentle stop,
resting upright against a guard rail. You have to believe that hitting a
guard rail can throw a grown man across two lanes of interstate highway,
yet leave no evidence of appreciable damage on the motorcycle. You have
to believe things that we cannot, especially since the view taken by
investigators to date does not account for the fact that in the
photograph we have seen of the motorcycle, the key is not in the
ignition.
One day, we sincerely hope, what really happened to Ron Major will be
fully understood. That day is not here.
Although there are still many questions left unanswered surronding the
events on I-8, shortly after the conclusion of the rally, Kathy Major
(Ron's daughter), sent Michael Kneebone this note:
Michael,
I am Ron's daughter Kathy and I would like to put the speculation and
questions about my fathers death to rest. An autopsy was performed after the
services, because I (who have ridden bikes since I was 5) did not believe
that my father fell asleep and caused his own death! He was to professional
to do that, not even for the sake of coming in first (which I know was his
ultimate goal). The autopsy revealed a massive coronary. He died instantly
and before he even hit the ground. There were no other substantial injuries
that would have caused his death.
I know it is hard to accept the death of my father, as I more than anyone
can attest too!! But please remember that he died doing what he loved and
with those friends he so admired and cared for.
Kathy
When we arrived in Yakima, Jan Cutler, co-owner of Reno BMW and a former
Iron Butt rallymaster and participant, was already there to help us run
the checkpoint. We asked Jan to tell each of the riders arriving today
what we had so far learned. It was a difficult and delicate but
necessary job. Several riders broke down in tears when told what had
occurred. No one could believe it. That someone might be hurt during
the rally was almost a given. That someone could be killed, particularly
a rider of Ron Major's extraordinary talents, was almost unthinkable.
To a non-rider, that may seem to be a childish denial of obvious fact,
particularly in a rally of the Iron Butt's extreme nature. But
motorcyclists are not fatalistic. If they were, they wouldn't ride a
bike. Injury and death happen, but you cannot believe that it is going
to happen to you. To harbor such thoughts is to deprive yourself is a
microscopic edge that could save your life. You need every positive
thought you can muster circulating in you at all times. I have never
thought of it as a matter of denial; to me it is simply
self-preservation.
When disaster does strike, however, it is all the more difficult to
absorb. Not only has someone you know been struck down, but you have
been shorn at least temporarily of your sincere, albeit deluded, belief
in your own invincibility. Twin blows of that kind are devastating.
There is no defense to it. You might as well be rendered as naked and
helpless as the day you were born.
I have often thought that the sorts of people who enter endurance
motorcycle events are a subset of humans two orders of magnitude distant
from the norm. Motorcyclists constitute just over 1% of the motoring
public; long distance riders are perhaps 1% of motorcyclists. In
Jonathan Swift's poem he likens this disparity in scale to a flea that
sits upon the back of an elephant. That flea has upon its own back a
flea of comparably small size. And so it goes, Swift says, ad
infinitum.
There aren't many people who can do, or would even want to do, the kind
of riding required merely to finish the IBR on time, not to mention
lengthening their route to obtain bonus points. Such riders tend to
stick together. They have something in common that cannot be understood
or appreciated by anone who has not walked into the fire and survived.
That is why Ron's demise has struck this small band of hard riders with
such force. He was not just a biker; he was an Iron Butt rider, and a
great one. He won this rally six years ago. He won the 8/48 last year.
He designed equipment that could help a rider stay on a bike longer and
with greater safety. If you moved in this circle at all, you knew Ron,
the man with greater name recognition among the long riders than King
Kong. He was that good.
At 1900 PDT the riders received the last of the bonus packs. They have
64 hours to get back to Chicago, some 1,970 miles to the east. They
won't forget about Ron Major during that last long ride of this event.
Warren Harhay, one of the contestants, asked each departing rider if he
or she would like to carry a reminder of Ron on the last leg. No one
declined.
Every bike leaving the checkpoint parking lot tonight had a 2" strip of
black tape on the windshield.
Peter Hoogeveen, leading at every checkpoint so far, held onto his lead
on the next to last checkpoint today by the slimmest of margins. It
wasn't a particularly inspired route, but it was enough to hold off a
giant effort by Rick Morrison. The difference between first and second
place has been cut to a trivial 60 points out of more than 25,000 total
to date. Morrison, cranking out 2,001 miles in 49 hours since southern
California, outdid every other rider by almost 200 miles, in the process
picking up almost 700 more bonus points than unflappable Bill Kramer, who
scored the second highest total for the leg.
Mike Stewart, with a second straight big run, climbed to within 700
points of Hoogeveen. Mike Stockton, Dale Wilson, and Tom Loftus are
hovering within clear striking range. Eddie James, having run a notably
quiet event, lurks not much more back. Harold Brooks and Jerry Clemmons,
riding together as if they shared a single carburetor, are tied for 8th
place. Mary Sue Johnson, upon whom Ron Major's death hit particularly
hard, climbed back into the top ten with a determined ride.
Two notable misses on the leg were Ron Ayres and Boyd Young. Ayres was
time barred because he pressed himself, went too far afield, and could
not return in time. Young's problem was more prosaic, a flat tire, but
one that was ripped to the point that four plugs could not repair the
damage. They'd each been close to the top, Ayres tantalizingly so. Now
they're running just to finish.
A rider who never had any chance at all, Marty Jones, turned in his
third straight sensational leg. This is a man who missed the first
checkpoint with mechanical problems and has now climbed to 42nd place,
ahead of thirteen riders who have missed no checkpoints at all. In one
of my first posts, I predicted Jones would win the Iron Butt before his
career was through. He's showing why I wrote that.
And Manny Sameiro climbed out of the negative points pile today, jumping
over three riders who never made a checkpoint. For the first time on the
rally, he has a positive points score next to his name and stands 75th of
78. We knew you could do it, Manny.
It'll be over soon. And safely, we all pray.
Bob Higdon
The Top Twenty in Yakima (200 elapsed hours):
Rank Rider Bike Miles Points
1 Hoogeveen, Peter Honda 8,633 25,392
2 Morrison, Rick BMW 8,730 25,332
3 Stewart, Mike Honda 7,863 24,657
4 Stockton, Michael BMW 8,069 24,351
5 Wilson, Dale Honda 7,697 24,320
6 Loftus, Tom Honda 7,676 23,904
7 James, Eddie BMW 7,720 23,843
8 Brooks, Harold Honda 7,554 23,721
8 Clemmons, Jerry Honda 7,524 23,721
10 Johnson, Mary Sue BMW 8,353 23,714
11 Kugler, Heinz BMW 7,398 23,712
12 Smith, Shane Honda 8,557 23,512
13 Kramer, Bill Honda 7,559 23,172
14 Tegeler, Craig BMW 7,237 23,091
15 Johnson, Gary Honda 7,855 22,761
16 Withers, Peter Yamaha 7,373 22,632
17 Keating, Keith BMW 7,568 22,468
18 Ferber, John Triumph 7,510 22,449
19 Franklin, Rand Yamaha 7,610 22,307
20 Crane, Fran Buell 8,393 22,295
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