Ken made it safely to the second checkpoint (again in Dallas) this afternoon, after braving high heat, humidity, a rainstorm that he said felt like hail, and a group photo in a giant blue whale. (See the latest IBR update for visual proof!)

The amazing David Stoler stripped parts off his bike and shipped them to Ken’s brother Dennis to bring to Ken. This evening’s plan involved checking over his paperwork and getting scored (scoring opened at 5 pm local time), fixing the front brake control, changing tires, and sleep. They’ll get new bonus information in the morning. Again, the same locations as before, but with new points and new combinations of animal types to string together for greater points.

I’m awarding negative points to Ernie Azevedo, who scared me to death yesterday by texting me with “Again! Darn it!”, which of course I took to mean Ken being out of the rally (although I assumed “darn it” meant that didn’t involve injury). In reality, Ernie has been camping out of cell range, and when he would get somewhere with cell service, Ken was often on a sleep break so Ernie couldn’t talk to him—hence the text. Eventually my heart stopped beating out of my chest… (I’ve forgiven Ernie, though.)

I assume the standings after Leg 2 will be posted sometime tomorrow. Keep an eye on the IBR site or here!

xo Dayle