Well it sure has been an interesting 2008. I was accepted into the 2009 IBR on my first try. I submitted my application and was drawn, that's when all the fun has started.
I started the year with a cane after a hip injury keeping me off the motorcycle for 2 months. Then as I really got started again, I joined a new riding group and helped them set up there first IBA ride a saddle sore 1000. The team started with 7 riders and 5 finished. I rode out and met them at the finish 1111 miles in 23.5 hours.
Then as the year progressed and it looked like I was really getting into a groove; I had my motorcycle accident. I broke my left collar bone, 5 ribs, partially collapsed my left lung and reinjuried my right hip what a fun time. There I was most of July laid up. Well this time, I was only off the motorcycle for 5 weeks of course it was a new motorcycle. That's when I made the change from an ST1300 to a FJR1300. I have to omit it was fun checking out motorcycles 2 weeks after the accident. Every shop I went into the sales people just looked at me weird when I asked them to hold the bike because I could put both hands on the grips.
So here I sat no motorcycle and injuried with the IBA national meet coming up and my biggest LD ride coming up in September(RWYB). With a lot of work and help from my family, I was able to attend the National meet in Tulsa and get my FJR ready for the RWYB. I completed the 5 Days 5000 Mile rally and was pleasently surprised by coming in 9th place.
Things were starting to look up after finishing the RWYB I had 9000 miles on the new FJR and I was starting to feel like my old self. The next rally was the NMLOE in October. Again trouble headed my way with my first DNF, I was half way through the ride when the FJR started acting up. I called in letting them know I was out but that I would be at the finish line, to wave at everyone coming in. It was kind of sad to not complete the ride but like Brian said better to make it home safely then not at all. The frustraiting point was once everyone was in I found out from one of the other FJR riders that my bike probably missed a recall on the ECU and the issues I was having could have been easlily fixed by shuting off the FJR then turning it back on.
I also started setting up the FJR for the 2009 IBR. I received my new fuel cell, wiring in a fuse block and hard wiring my Garmin, XM-Radio and a future for a radar detector. I built the fuel cell mount with a friends help and plumbed the tank. After the New Year, I will make the connection into my exsisting fuel tank and start testing the new setup.
In 2008 I met some new friends Jeff and Milinda, Brian, Matt, Dale, Steve, and Bob and Sylivia, they all have been very helpful and encouraging.
As I go into 2009 I have set a few goals, I'm planning to attend three rallies with a goal of no DNF's. I'm planning to attend the IBA Pizza Party in Jacksonville, FL., complete a couple of long 2-3 day rides building up my seat time and being a finisher in the IBR.
Take care for now hope to see you on the road in 2009.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
December (9 Months to go)
Well December is upon us and my riding has been slowing down. I'm still able to ride to work but that is only about 20 miles a week. I'm still getting out on Fridays for rides but nothing too long.
This week I grabbed a few friends and we did a 220 mile ride to a little bar and grill in San Antonio, NM called the Owl Cafe. They are famous for their Green Chilli Cheese Burgers. So about 11 of us meet for breakfast a place called Mule Barn (you would have to see the place it is hard to discribe but they make a mean breakfast). From there we took a leisurely ride down and a sprited ride back. The burgers at the Owl Cafe were not up to par for a resturant toted as having one of the best chilli cheese burgers in the country. But the ride and company made up for the food. It was a great day.
Saturday I spent the morning with a friend finally building the fuel cell mount. Here is a picture of it prior to cleaning up the wields and painting it.
As you can see it's looking pretty rough but I don't want to put a lot of effort until the design has been approved for the IBR 09. So I sent a few pictures off to the chief technicial inspector for his blessing.
Well the design recieved mix reviews and it was suggested that I lower the mount. So I lowered it by two inches and cleaned it up. Since then the mount has been painted (black) and I purchased all the fitting. I'm already to have the tank drilled and welded with the fitting to connect my new tank. I'm planning to take off the tank send it over to be welded. This should happen the week after New Years.
Until that happens, I'm planning to get in a few more rides before the end of the year. Since the run to the Owl cafe, I have been out a couple of times and have one more planned before I take the tank off. I think I'm going to be close to 18,000 miles for the year. Not bad considering I hardly rode in April and May (200 miles) due to an injury and the 0 miles for the month of July due to totalling my ST1300. So the 17,500 was done in a little over 9 months. Well as the year is coming to an end I was able to get out for a ride the day after Christmas. A few friend and I went for a 190 mile ride seeing all kinds of weather. We started in 45 degree weather hit 54 degrees at the mid-point of the ride then finished in 34 degree weather. We saw sun, clouds, rain, snow and wind. Oh did I mention WIND!!! gusts up to 50 mph, what a fun last ride for the year. Here's hoping 2009 brings more miles.
This week I grabbed a few friends and we did a 220 mile ride to a little bar and grill in San Antonio, NM called the Owl Cafe. They are famous for their Green Chilli Cheese Burgers. So about 11 of us meet for breakfast a place called Mule Barn (you would have to see the place it is hard to discribe but they make a mean breakfast). From there we took a leisurely ride down and a sprited ride back. The burgers at the Owl Cafe were not up to par for a resturant toted as having one of the best chilli cheese burgers in the country. But the ride and company made up for the food. It was a great day.
Saturday I spent the morning with a friend finally building the fuel cell mount. Here is a picture of it prior to cleaning up the wields and painting it.
As you can see it's looking pretty rough but I don't want to put a lot of effort until the design has been approved for the IBR 09. So I sent a few pictures off to the chief technicial inspector for his blessing.Well the design recieved mix reviews and it was suggested that I lower the mount. So I lowered it by two inches and cleaned it up. Since then the mount has been painted (black) and I purchased all the fitting. I'm already to have the tank drilled and welded with the fitting to connect my new tank. I'm planning to take off the tank send it over to be welded. This should happen the week after New Years.
Until that happens, I'm planning to get in a few more rides before the end of the year. Since the run to the Owl cafe, I have been out a couple of times and have one more planned before I take the tank off. I think I'm going to be close to 18,000 miles for the year. Not bad considering I hardly rode in April and May (200 miles) due to an injury and the 0 miles for the month of July due to totalling my ST1300. So the 17,500 was done in a little over 9 months. Well as the year is coming to an end I was able to get out for a ride the day after Christmas. A few friend and I went for a 190 mile ride seeing all kinds of weather. We started in 45 degree weather hit 54 degrees at the mid-point of the ride then finished in 34 degree weather. We saw sun, clouds, rain, snow and wind. Oh did I mention WIND!!! gusts up to 50 mph, what a fun last ride for the year. Here's hoping 2009 brings more miles.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
November (10 Months to go)
WOW has time been flying, here we are in November already. Well the FJR hasn't seen much road time since mid October. I have been working on wiring and mocking up a mounting system for the new Aux-fuel cell. The design has been completed for a week or two and I'm planning to build it out of cardboard to see how it fits before I start fabrication.
I was able to get the ECU recall taken care of and I'm planning to test the new ECU this weekend with a 350 mile ride into the mountains. This will probably be the last mountain trip until spring. I'm setting at little over 15.5K for the year, so it looks like I'm going to fall a little short of the 20K mark I was hoping to hit this year.
The month has been flying along one week away from Thanksgiving and I'm at the 16.5K mark. Have been doing a few small rides nothing over 370 miles for the last two weeks. I just had the recall completed on my top box and I was able to do our cities toy run this Sunday. I took my son on his first toy run, we probably had 7000 riders. He had a blast waving and checking out all the bikes.
Well I have not been doing very well this month on completing modifications to the FJR, I still do not have the mocked up mount for the fuel cell and I'm still playing with the wiring. I still have a ways to go before I'm ready for the 2009 IBR. About the only thing that is completed is sending the final payment on my entry fees, now I'm all in.
Well I cannot believe it but it looks like I have my cardboard mock up done and I have scheduled time with my buddy to build the mount up. I've still been getting in a couple of more rides and things are looking like I just might install the aux-fuel cell by January.
I had to try one more run through the mountains so last weekend, I conned seven friends into riding and we did a 250 mile loop with the temp around 28 degrees mid-day. A little chilly but everyone made it back with no frost bite. One of the guys was riding a brand new Yamaha Raider with no windshield and jeans. It was wild running through the twisties and seeing snow and ice on the edges of the road.
Take care, till next month ride safe.
Dave
I was able to get the ECU recall taken care of and I'm planning to test the new ECU this weekend with a 350 mile ride into the mountains. This will probably be the last mountain trip until spring. I'm setting at little over 15.5K for the year, so it looks like I'm going to fall a little short of the 20K mark I was hoping to hit this year.
The month has been flying along one week away from Thanksgiving and I'm at the 16.5K mark. Have been doing a few small rides nothing over 370 miles for the last two weeks. I just had the recall completed on my top box and I was able to do our cities toy run this Sunday. I took my son on his first toy run, we probably had 7000 riders. He had a blast waving and checking out all the bikes.
Well I have not been doing very well this month on completing modifications to the FJR, I still do not have the mocked up mount for the fuel cell and I'm still playing with the wiring. I still have a ways to go before I'm ready for the 2009 IBR. About the only thing that is completed is sending the final payment on my entry fees, now I'm all in.
Well I cannot believe it but it looks like I have my cardboard mock up done and I have scheduled time with my buddy to build the mount up. I've still been getting in a couple of more rides and things are looking like I just might install the aux-fuel cell by January.
I had to try one more run through the mountains so last weekend, I conned seven friends into riding and we did a 250 mile loop with the temp around 28 degrees mid-day. A little chilly but everyone made it back with no frost bite. One of the guys was riding a brand new Yamaha Raider with no windshield and jeans. It was wild running through the twisties and seeing snow and ice on the edges of the road.
Take care, till next month ride safe.
Dave
Monday, October 13, 2008
October (11 months to go)
October is starting out to be very hectic, It is balloon fiesta time here in New Mexico and we have a house full of guests. I'm getting the bike ready for the NM LOE which starts October 4th it is a 24 hour rally with a minimum mileage of 1K and points (unsure what that number is yet)to be considered a finisher.
The FJR is as ready as it is going to be, after this rally I'll be done for the year so I'll have time to complete the other modifications. My goal for October is to put 2200 miles on the FJR, I should get about 1200-1400 of those miles in this weekends rally.
Well October has continued to be interesting. We just completed the NM LOE and I'm sadden to report I was a DNF (did not finish). About 500 miles into the ride, my FJR started having surging problems and I thought I had a plugged fuel filter or possibly picked up some bad fuel. I completed about 600 miles when I decided I would abandon the rally and limp the bike home. This was very disappointing because this was the first time I have not completd an IBA ride or rally.
I did get the bike home having completed 850 miles, after resting for a few hours I drove down to the finish line and watched my friends finish. Afterwards I found out from a couple of other riders that there was a recall on my FJR for surging at altitude. So when I went to my dealer, I did find out that my bike has a recall on it for the ECU and this might have been the cause of my DNF in the NM LOE, so the part has been ordered and should be in next week.
Since I'm done rallying for the rest of the year, I'm starting to work on the modification I have been putting off. I just completed installing my aux-lighting and completed a re-wiring for my GPS and XM-Radio. I'm now starting to mock up a mounting system for my auxiliary fuel cell.
Nothing but short rides happening right now. Just did some mountain riding trying to clean off the chicken strips with some friends. I have been doing a little re-wiring as I get ready for the tank to go off to the shop to get drilled and tapped for the new fuel line. I have started mocking up the mount for the aux-tank, it's starting to look like something. I was able to get the bike in and the dealer did the re-call on my ECU, so I'm off this week to do 200-300 mile ride in the mountains, still waiting on the top box mount (back ordered).
Sunday, September 21, 2008
September (12 months to go)
Well here we are in September and it has been a big month for me. It actually started August 30th and by September 8th I had added 6000 miles to the FJR. I have just completed the “Run What Ya Brung” rally starting in Salt Lake City on the 2nd and returning on the 7th. I completed the rally placing 9th, I was very pleased with my performance since this was my first multi-day rally, on a new motorcycle with little farkling and just coming off my accident (that’s why the new FJR). If you would like to know more about the rally check my RWYB rally report, it is under the September reports.
This month was also my first ouchy for the FJR, I dropped it loading on to a trailer after the RWYB. My guess it was unhappy about being put on a trailer so it chose to fall over. I tried to explain to it, that its tires were shot and the family came to the finish so we could all go on a 3 day vacation but it didn’t help. What really happened, I was loading the FJR on a new trailer; I put my foot down to balance it after driving up onto trailer but found no floor board on the left side well I’m sure you can guess what happened next. After my adventure, I picked up the FJR and checked out the damage. I did scratch up my left saddle bag, scratched the left mirror and put a ¼ inch scratch in the tank. I have already picked up some touch up paint and covered my shame marks on the mirror and tank. The saddle bag is going to take a lot of work.
Still scratches and all, I’m really pleased with how the FJR has performed so far. I have just less than 9000 miles on it, in less than 8 weeks. I did try adding an auxiliary power plug to run multiple toys for the rally but that was a bust. First sign of rain and I blew the fuse due to my temporary wiring. I really need to get an auxiliary fuse block installed under my seat for my toys. I also found the new V-Strom hand guards that I installed right before the RWYB great; they really helped keep my hands warmer. I don’t run any heated gear or grips so wind protection is important.
This month lessons learned are many after the RWYB.
1. Need to find a better set of tires for 09 IBR. The Bridgestone’s cannot get the mileage I need so I'm switching to Pilot Road 2’s and hoping I can get 10-11K out of a set. The Bridgestone’s were in pretty bad shape with only 8900 on them.Testing now
2. Need to get a fuse block installed for electronics. Completed
3. Need to get a radar detector installed. Even though I rarely exceed 5 over the speed limit, to many small towns and side roads that I could get nailed on. I don’t need it for the interstate, speed limit plus 5 is plenty!
4. Fuel cell is a must and I’m going to need help with install, to make sure it is done correctly. I need to make sure it can pass technical inspection for rallies. Purchased
5. A camel back really doesn’t work; I need a better setup for hydration. Done needs installed
6. I need to work on my routing and adjusting my times based on road conditions. For example, if heading east coast need to take into account traffic and higher traffic loads.
7. Need to add auxiliary lighting to the motorcycle, the current set up isn't bad but would like the extra light for night riding and critter watching. Purchased brackets
8. Lastly for now I need to pack better, I was completely packed and never opened the left saddle bag because I didn’t need the stuff.
I have just installed a set of Pilot Road 2 tires on the FJR; they are a dual compound softer on the sides and harder down the center, so I’m hoping for better life. At this time, I am getting ready for the New Mexico Land of Enchantment rally in October. It is a 24 hour, 1000 mile adventure in New Mexico; I competed in last year’s event (what a great time, Ira and Jeff put on a great event).
This weekend my goal is to build a fuse box for my toys, I'm setting up for GPS, XM-Radio, Radar Detector, and auxi-lighting. I have a set of brackets coming and I'm shopping for a new set of lights.
Well the fuse box is in but ran into a snag the XM-Radio needs to take the 12 volt and reduce to 5 Volts so I've ordered a black box to take care of that. The GPS was hardwired in no problems and I have futures for radar detector and lights. My brackets came in but have not been installed. My wife also surprised me with a four gallon Fuel cell for the FJR, so nowI'm looking at a mounting system and plumbing.
This weekend is the NM LOE so the FJR is beginning to take shape, I'm not going to have the extra lighting, fuel cell, or radar detector installed but I should be ready. I have the XM-Radio, GPS, hydration system, and throttle spring modification completed. I took the bike for a 300 plus mile ride last weekend (made a chilli Cheeseburger run) to check out the changes I made and everything worked well. So as September closes out I have 9350 miles on the new FJR and 14,120 on for the year. I'm slowly creeping up on the 20K mark.
RWYB Rally
Run What Ya Brung
I originally was going to take off at mid-night on the 30th and ride straight through to Salt Lake City but instead August 30th, I hooked up with some friends heading for Durango, Co and bummed a little floor space at their hotel that night. I woke the next morning around 5am, took a quick shower and loaded the motorcycle. As I was loading, one of the guys got up too help. We talked how the weather looked pretty bad and I was probably going to be riding in the rain most of the way. We shook hands and he wished me well as I took off in the rain.
I had my wet weather gear on so the ride wasn’t too bad. I rode all the way to Moab, Ut. in the rain. Once I got to Moab, I decided to get something to eat. I hit up a MacDonald for a quick breakfast then off to get gas. As I was getting gas, my auxiliary plug blew the fuse and I ended riding to Salt Lake City (SLC) without my GPS and XM-radio. I arrived in SLC about 14:00. There were several others that had already arrived so I checked in and stated talking to others about the blown fuse. One of the guys knew exactly what happened and told me were the fuse was located. After completing the repair, I went to the Rally Masters room for a beer. I hooked up with some friends at Steve’s room and kicked back talking about the rally and differences between multi day rides compared to 24 hr rallies.
That night about 15-20 motorcycles showed up in the rain, as we sat in the restaurant having dinner. After dinner, we all headed to the bar for an adult beverage watching the weather channel and the rain outside.
On September 1st we woke to pouring rain that continued until late afternoon. We started the technical inspection and odometer check at noon. To be a finisher on this ride you have to complete 5000 miles in five days. So the rally master has to verify your ODO is correct. As I was setting up to run the route, I ran into another guy in the rally setting up to do his check so we took off together. We headed for the starting line, document our ODO reading and took off into the rain. We came up to one of the on-ramps at a good clip when his motorcycle started sliding in the corner. I saw his motorcycle slide so I let off the gas then reaccelerated to allow me to enter the corner at a lower speed. I still slipped a little but nothing to write home about. After that we took the ODO check at a slower speed and had no issues. As we pulled up to the ending line we checked and saw that my ODO was reading 15.8 and his was 15.6 miles with his GPS reading 15.4. So I kind of knew that I would have to do extra miles to meet the 5000 mile minimum need to be a finisher what a bummer.
After the ODO check, we were free until 20:00 for the pre-banquet and meeting to get our last information from the Rally Master. I was hanging out front talking to other riders about the miles on my tires and several were saying I could not make it back on those tire and I would have to change them out somewhere along the route. Most of the other riders went to their rooms checking on the weather moving in from hurricane Gustav. I would have too turn in my route tonight along with my driver license. The driver’s license is placed in an envelope that if unopened at the end of the ride you get extra points. After talking to the other riders hanging out front of the hotel I headed for my room thinking about my tires and what if I need to change them out. Sitting in the room I decided to take out my Louisiana bonus locations out of my route. I still had enough miles so dropping these two locations wasn’t a tough decision. When I saw they had a curfew sent up in Baton Rouge and New Roads I decided to skip them plus the extra 400 miles was really going to be pushing the tires. Most of my peers said I couldn’t get 9000 miles out of the OEM tires on the FJR. By removing these locations, I was going to drop to 5300 miles so I would come in just under 9000 miles on the ODO. I also came up with a couple of Yamaha dealerships along the route that if I had to I could stop in for fresh tires. I took down the information and decided to call on the road tomorrow about tire availability.
At the banquet I received my rally towel, special instructions; driver license sealed and gave the Rally Master my route. After the meeting, we retired to the bar for a going away drink then I headed for the room to get some needed sleep.
Day 1
On September 2nd, I woke up at 05:00 and was out of the room by 05:30 to set up the motorcycle. Several trips from the room to the front entrance bring down my top box, tank bag and electronics for the FJR. There were already 10 motorcycles lined up at the start, so I pulled mine in line and started getting it ready. This time there wasn’t an issue with powering on the electronics like I had at the NM LOE last year. By 06:00 the Rally Master was walking around getting our starting ODO, mine read 3564 miles so I knew I would have to go 8564 plus the correction factor of 134 miles at least to be considered a finisher. I thought I better finish with at least 8750 on the ODO just to be safe. Once my ODO check was completed, I headed for the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast and one last time to check the weather. I sat with one of my fellow competitors talking strategy and he was giving me advice on how to ride my first couple of day of the rally. We talked about our routes and the direction of Gustavo and how it would affect my plans. That was great to bounce ideas off someone and how to reroute on the fly if needed because of Gustavo. Right now Gustavo looked like it was going to hit Louisiana head on then track in a west direction. This was prefect for me because I was heading north to avoid Gustavo and would swing around behind the hurricane. I thought I might get wet the last day in Kansas and Nebraska (little did I know about 3 hours after the start, Gustavo turn eastward and I would be riding most of my ride smack in the middle of the monsoon rains. After breakfast was done, we wish each other good luck and headed for the motorcycles. I got back to my FJR about 20 minutes before the start time. The Rally Master was doing a countdown and when we hit 07:00 he waived us to go.
So here I go hoping to get back to SLC by September 7th at 07:00. I found myself getting caught up in the start of the rally staying with everyone else. I kept telling myself this is a five day event and don’t get a ticket in the first hour. I finally let a group of riders about 12 of them go. I settled in at what I would call a reasonable speed five-seven over and started motoring. About 100 miles outside of SLC, I caught up with a couple of fellow riders that I knew were heading in the same direction to start but would eventually veer off toward San Antonio, Texas. As we were riding together one of our peers passed us running 10-15 miles faster then us. It was the Harley Road King, he must be between his first and second stop of fuel. I remember talking to him yesterday and how he said he can only go about 100-120 miles on a tank. I did the quick math and realized he would have to do about 50 stops to make it. Well the three of us continued on for several miles then they pulled off for what I thought was their first gas stop. I looked down at my gauge and saw I was getting close too, we had traveled 220 miles and I figured 240 would be max distance I would go. We were just passing a town and the next one was 30 miles out so I was getting a little worried but around the corner was another exit so off the interstate I went and pulled in for fuel 227 miles. After I checked the distance, I told myself never cut it that close again. I figured I would have around 25-30 stops for fuel based on state lines. Each state you stopped in for fuel and documented it was worth 10 points, so I wanted to make sure I hit all the states those are easy points. This stop was about 10 minutes long and on the road I was again. I never saw another rider until my first bonus location Douglas, Wyoming where I needed to take a picture of a 13 foot tall Jackalope.
As I jumped off the interstate into Douglas I came to my first obstacle a bridge that was out. I knew by my GPS the bonus location was four blocks on the other side of the bridge so I followed the detour and as I came out on the other side of the bridge there was one of the two up riders flagging me down. They asked if I knew where the bonus was and I said follow me. I went to the direct location my GPS told me it was and nothing. I told them it was in the city park and we just passed one so I was going to head in that direction, as we closed in on the park I saw the Jackalope sitting in the corner of the park. We both jumped off our motorcycles and took our pictures talked for a few monuments and off we went, they were heading for Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska and I was off for Sturgis, South Dakota. As I started out of town, I saw the two guys I rode with heading for the Jackalope. Little did I know that would be the last time I saw anyone until the last day. I got to Sturgis about three and a half hours later for my second bonus a computerized fuel receipt. I stopped at the second station, fueled the FJR and boom printer failure. I went inside to get my receipt, when I went in and asked for a computerized receipt the attendant wanted to give me a hand written one. I explained I needed a computerized and she reluctantly pulled one from the cash register. Two down and 18 to go, so off I went for Mobridge, South Dakota to get a picture of Sitting Bull Monument.
As I was flying through South Dakota’s, state roads and highways I was on the constant lookout for wild life. I knew that during the day the odds of seeing anything was pretty slim but as the sun was setting they would be coming out in force. I honestly felt like my head was on a swivel scanning both sides of the road. I also thought to myself that the next modification to the FJR would be added lights. The lighting on the FJR is pretty good but there is no substitution for added lights that can be pointed a little out for checking the sides of the road. There was one stretch of road 15 miles that I counted eight deer and decided that even though the speed limit was 70 MPH I slowed to 60-65 hoping for a better reaction time if one decided to cross the road. One more hour and I arrived in Mobridge with about one bar left on the fuel gauge so I knew I could go about 40 miles before needing fuel and my GPS gave me directions for about a 16 mile round trip to the Monument. So off I went on a side road following my GPS but still concerned since it was pitch black and no lights. The GPS gives me a turn left in one mile and when I get to the turn left now I see a dirt road that looks pretty daunting. I told myself at the beginning, I would not do dirt roads to find bonus. So I stopped with my FJR pointing straight down this dirt road high beams on trying to decide go or no go. The GPS was saying .3 miles to the Monument how bad could it be but I decided to stick to my original agreement and no dirt. I felt this was a big miss on my part, I lost time coming here and knew trying to find this Monument was going to be tough in the dark. It was supposed to be on a cliff overlooking the river. Even though I thought I was really screwing up my chances for a good finish I decided to head for Mobridge and get fuel (now I can say that was one of the smartest things I have done so far). I found an all night station fueled up, completed my fuel log and decided to get a cup of coffee because the next bonus location was in Darwin, Minnesota. I struck up a conversation with the clerk asking if she had seen others swing through she said no. I explained what I was doing and how I could not find Sitting Bull’s Monument. She said I was on the wrong side of the road and that the Monument was behind the Casino somewhere, she couldn’t remember the exact location but thought the other clerk might know. The other clerk was an elderly American Native woman who thought I was silly going to the Monument in the dark since there were no lights and little chance of finding it. I asked her for directions and they were interesting at best but she was sure of how to get there so I thought I would give it a try. So I thanked the ladies for the information and off I went backtracking 10 miles, thinking this was a long shot at best since the directions were turn left before the Casino veer left around campground follow road until dirt do a U-turn till you see a Monument for Sacagawea. Once you see the Monument for Sacagawea take the first right loop around parking area and you will see a road on the right follow it till it dead ends into another parking area. Park and walk about 300 feet and you should see the Monument for Sitting Bull. I followed the directions to a tee and she was right on I ended in a parking area on the bluff and there it was right were she said.
I also understand why I had to go to the end of the road and turn around the Monument for Sacagawea was blocked from view by brush. I ran down took the picture and as I’m walking back to my FJR I saw headlights heading this way. Not sure what was going on I decided to get on the motorcycle and get out of there as quick as possible. Two cars stopped by the Sacagawea Monument that I had to ride right by. I decided to put on some extra steam and motor right by, looking at the area no lighting, no one else around I didn’t want to get stopped. As I went by they waved and I in return as I swung past them I noticed it was some kids indulging in a couple of adult beverages. So back to the US highway I went signing a big relief and thinking of Darwin next for the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. I was also puzzled why my GPS was so far off, did I make a mistake or was something wrong?
As I blew through Mobridge, I felt bad about not stopping and thanking the ladies again but I was way behind schedule. My goal for the first day was 1200 miles and I was still under a 1000 and it was after 22:00. The ride to Darwin was almost straight with a couple of jogs. I was reenergized by the coffee earlier and felt pretty good. About one hour in the ride to Darwin as I crested a hill all my fear came to fruition. In the middle of the road was a fawn with a buck and doe on the left and another doe on the right side of the road. Thanks goodness for ABS brakes on the FJR, I was traveling about 65 when I saw the deer, I immediately started braking I wasn’t sure how much I slowed down. My only thought was fawn make a decision which way. I hit the horn and the fawn moved right, I went left and the two deer on the left side of the road dove into the brush as I went by. After that little encounter, I decided 60 was a better speed and slowing down for hills was also a good idea. This slowed me down considerable but did help me avoid a possum and raccoon later that night. About midnight I decided it was time to get a room, I wasn’t going to be able to get the 1200 miles in, so why push any harder. 25 miles up the road was a town with a truck stop so I figured they would have a hotel. I rode into the truck stop for fuel and right next door was a Super 8, bingo we have sleep. I pulled under their canopy asked if I could leave the bike there and got a room. So at 00:30 I was in my room drawing a hot bath and thinking about my errors today. All in all not a bad day, 1088 miles three bonuses worth 1000 points and I didn’t hit anything on what I thought would be the hardest night riding. I decided to keep myself on Mountain Time no matter where I was so 00:30 was really 01:30 and I set the alarm for 04:00.
Day 2
04:00 came quick but I felt pretty good as I got out of bed. This was my biggest concern on this ride. I haven’t done a 1000 mile ride since last year and since totaling the ST1300 I was concerned; I would not be healthy enough to do multiple days.
So off to the shower I went, which felt great and really got me going. As I packed up the FJR for day two, I decided to grab a cup of coffee in the lobby and look at the day’s adventure. It started raining sometime while I was sleeping so on went the wet gear. I still had 200 miles to go to Darwin to take a picture of the World’s Largest Ball of Twine and I wanted to get the Jolly Green Giant and the Six Pack of Beer today before heading to Chicago for a hotdog. So off I went at 05:00 with 200 miles to get to Darwin. The first 100 was easy but the last 100 miles went slow it was done behind a law officer hell bent on keeping me at 55 mph. So I arrived in Darwin around 9:45 in the morning the positive point was the rain stopped around 09:00. I found the Ball of Twine quickly, my GPS coordinates were only off by two buildings. I proceeded to take my pictures but was having problems getting the ball of twine to show up due to the glare off the glass enclosure.
After four attempts, I was able to get the outline of the ball of twine so off for gas and then head for Blue Earth, Minnesota for a picture of the Jolly Green Giant. Here is when the real GPS fun began; the Garmin decided I wanted to take the scenic route.
There was a straight shot from Darwin to Blue Earth about 90 miles long that I thought would take around two hours due to small towns but the Garmin sent me way out of the way about 45 extra miles going through several extra small towns. It ended up taking me about one extra hour to get to the Jolly Green Giant statue but hey I made it. So after taking several pictures of the statue, I called home talked to the wife for a few minutes and let her know I was behind schedule but heading for La Crosse, Wisconsin it was 14:00.
On the way to La Crosse, it started raining again so off the FJR gear up and off again, it was almost all interstate and La Crosse is just inside the Wisconsin boarder. I was hoping to make up a little of the time I lost earlier today. I had a pretty clean run into La Crosse where I headed straight for the brewery and my picture of the World’s largest six pack of beer. A couple of quick pictures and off to Chicago for a Hot Dog. I made a quick fuel stop and was out of La Crosse by 17:00 about five hours behind my original schedule.
So about 290 miles to Chicago here we go. It was interstate most of the way so I cranked it up trying to make up more time. As I was getting to Madison, Wisconsin it was still raining. I stopped for fuel and made a decision to skip Chicago due to the time it would take to get through town, get the hotdog and get out of there in the rain.
I figured if I stopped it might cause me to miss the next two bonus locations because they had a time window. At the time, I thought great on the fly decision trying to get myself back on track. So I deleted the Chicago stop out of the route and recalculated. Off I go into the rain for Atlanta, Georgia and a picture of Stone Mountain. I ended up getting to Mount Vernon, Illinois another 400 miles for a total of 925 miles for day two. I found another Super 8 so off to bed again 01:00 this time. I was hoping to be 2200 miles into the ride at this time but was a little over 2000.
Day 3
The alarm came really quick and it was a little harder to get out of bed. 04:30 I grabbed a shower and headed for the lobby to grab a quick coffee and back on the road. I decided to review my route again because I felt I could not get to the locations in Georgia and still make the three time based bonuses. I check the math and everything said bail from the Georgia bonuses and add something in later to make up for the miles I’m removing. So back to the FJR again in full rain gear (starting to see a theme) to delete my Georgia bonus locations and recalculate my route.
Here we go again 05:30 and 460 miles to Birmingham, Alabama. As I was shooting through Illinois, I had my second interesting moment on the road. I found out that wicker chairs cannot withstand a 75 mph impact with the interstate. I was shooting down the interstate when out of the back of a pickup comes a wicker chair about 10 feet in the air. When it finally came down, it busted into a hundred pieces, cars were swerving all over the place which allowed me a clear view of the debris. I slowed down swerved a couple of times and was clear and moving forward. I decided this would be a good time to get off the road and do my check-in with the Rally Master. I stopped in Metropolis, Illinois for fuel then called the Rally Master. When we did our call-in, we needed to let him know where we were, where we were going next, say something nice and get a computerized receipt within 10 minutes. This was worth 50,000 points, so missing wasn’t an option. My next goal was to get to Barber Motorsports Vintage Museum before it closed at 18:00. It looked pretty good, I hit Birmingham about 15:30 then things started going down hill.
The traffic came to a complete stand still on the interstate due to a car flipped on its side and they were diverting us off the highway. I was just about to get to the off ramp an hour later when the police officer waved to everyone the highway was open. So I moved back off the ramp and started to follow the officer past the accident. There was a car on its side that looked like they had to tear the roof off to get someone out of it. I had 1.5 hours before closing and I’m only three miles from the bonus location (at least that is what I thought). I get to the location of where Barber Motorsports was supposed to be and nothing but warehouses. As you can guess I’m getting a little frustrated, I found someone and they explain this is where it used to be but it has since moved about 20 miles away (tick tock tick tock). The gentleman gave me directions and off I went again with an hour and 15 minutes to go. This time I arrived at the correct location 45 minutes before they closed took a few pictures and talked to a couple of other riders explaining what I was doing. I walked up to the doors and looked in thinking I needed to come back here again, cool looking motorcycles just in the lobby area alone. I rode out, hit a fuel station and was back on the road now heading for Tupelo, Mississippi.
I really didn’t have an issue getting to Tupelo, it’s 140 miles of interstate so I cranked it up again and was there by 19:45 I found Elvis’s birth home snapped a couple of pictures hit a gas station and was back on the road by 20:15. I still needed to get to Memphis, Tennessee 100 miles away before 22:00 to get BBQ.
All interstate again so I cranked it up to 80 mph and shot for Memphis. I hit Memphis about 21:30 decided the location I inputted into the GPS was to far, so I stopped at the first convenience store to ask directions to the closest BBQ restaurant. There was a Memphis police officer sitting in the parking lot, so I decide to get his picture as a bonus and ask directions to the closest BBQ place. He allowed me to take his picture and gave me directions (three blocks away). I arrived at Top’s Barbeque at 21:45; 15 minutes to spare, I rushed in and noticed at that moment I might be on the wrong side of town.
The two ladies behind the counter said as I walked in “Boy what are you doing here”. I reply, “I’m here for BBQ. I was told you have the best BBQ and your sign says Best BBQ in Memphis." She again reply, “Yes we have the best BBQ but boy what are you doing here?” So after explaining what I was doing, I asked what do they recommended they suggested the special so I ordered one (not sure what I would get). The food came I sat down and since the place was closing they came and sat with me asking questions about my ride and where I had been and where I was going next. After eating I grabbed the camera and rally towel and asked them to hold it for me so I could take a picture of them and the towel. After a couple of pictures, we returned to the table and I finished my meal. Notice this is the first time I talked about sitting down and eating, I had been on the rode for three days eating energy bars only(not a smart thing). I sat talking with them for another 10 minutes when one of them said, "I might want to get outside quick". I turned and looked and there were four guys around my FJR and a pickup truck backing up to it. I jumped up ran outside and said, “Hey guys what’s up?” They responded “your bike soon.” I replied that I was just leaving; “I had to get on the rode, I was in a rally and late for my next stop.” They didn’t respond but then one of the ladies from the restaurant came out and told them to get away from that boy’s bike and leave him alone. They gave her a smart-ass response and she started yelling at then, telling them she was going to whoop their butts if they didn’t get out of there. At that point, they decide she meant it because they took off. I walked over gave her a hug and thanked her for saving me from a butt kicking which I surly would have gotten. She then told me “Boy you better get on your bike and get out of here and I suggest you don’t stop at any red lights.” I said, “Yes mama and thanks again.” So I got on my FJR and high tailed it out of Memphis, here it is 22:45 and 360 miles to my next stop Lincoln, Arkansas. I rode another 265 miles to Alma, Arkansas in the rain to another Super 8 and hit the sack by 02:00. Day three in the books and another bad day only 960 miles completed. I remember thinking I was behind the 1000 miles a day average for the first time and I had to make up the odometer difference too.
Day 4
The alarm went off at 05:00; I jumped in the shower then back to the lobby for coffee. I was thinking another big day coming up with 5 bonus location due up today. I put my rain gear on and jumped on the FJR and was out of there by 05:45. My first stop Lincoln, Arkansas about 90 miles away, I pulled in at Lincoln a little after 07:00 with the sun just starting to come up. I snap a couple of shots got back on the FJR and headed for Oologah, Oklahoma for a picture of a statue of Will Rodgers and his horse 110 miles away. As I entered Oklahoma, the toll roads started a buck here and a buck there and I was in Tulsa turning North for Oologah.
I found the statue right where my GPS said it was in the middle of town. I clipped my rally towel on the chain around the statue took a couple of picture, grabbed some gas and off I went for Wichita, Kansas my third bonus stop for the day 250 miles away. I arrived in Wichita around 14:00 but spent about 15 minutes going in circles due to one way streets and road closures. I finally figured a way to the park and took a picture of the drinking fountain and off I went again now making a run to the interstate and Olathe, Kansas 270 miles away to take a picture of Garmin International building (this was my add in to make up mileage missed by not going to Georgia).
So good news back to the interstate running at 80 mph, bad news I hit Olathe at 17:30 with rush hour traffic and road construction the last 25 miles. It took another one and a half hours to get to Garmin. As I pull in the sun had just set, so I ran over placed my towel on their door snapped a couple of pictures and head back to the interstate. It is now 19:15 and I’m heading for my last stop for the night Lincoln, Kansas 265 miles away. I started down the interstate traveling 120 miles before I started getting really tired, I decided to stop at a rest stop and take a quick nap. I parked the FJR crawled onto a picnic table and fell asleep for one hour. I woke at 23:00 feeling better and headed out again. I went another 100 miles and decided I was done for the night. I found another Super 8 grabbed their last room and was in bed by 00:30. Day four and another low mileage day 950 miles with only the last day left tomorrow I was gong to need a big day to get the 5000 miles in.
Day 5
After coming up 45 miles short of Lincoln, Kansas I knew this needed to be a big day. I was up again by 04:30 no shower grabbed a cup of coffee in the lobby and headed out the door. Rain gear on again, I was on the road by 05:00. By 06:00 I had gotten my picture of the city limit sign in Lincoln and on my way to Cawker City, Kansas to get a picture of another World’s Largest Ball of Twine 65 miles away. I arrived in Cawker City at 07:00 grab a quick picture of the ball of twine and off again for Lebanon, Kansas for a picture of the lower 48 state central location 31 miles away. So 40 minutes later I found Lebanon but again the GPS led me to a bad location. I found someone opening their store and ask if they knew how to get to the monument. They did and gave me directions that led me right to the monument. I snapped a couple of pictures and headed for my last bonus stop in Alliance, Nebraska to get a picture of Carhenge 390 miles away it was now 08:00 but the rain stopped. Riding to Alliance was very uneventful and I was able to find Carhenge with no issues. I took a couple of pictures and was getting ready to take off when a fellow rider showed up. I took his picture for him and we decided to ride together at least part of the way. He still needed 200 more miles than I did. We stopped back in Alliance for fuel and food (notice only second time I talked about getting food not good). We talked while eating about where we had been and also about what he was doing to make up the extra 200 miles he needed. We decided to ride to Rawlins, Wyoming together where he would turn north and I would continue west. After we left, it was apparent he wanted to go faster than I was willing so I waved him on and rode alone. As he pulled away you could see a wall of rain clouds heading our way again. I pulled over put on my gear and just as I started moving again the rain hit. It was a driving rain for the next 40 miles making me run about 15 under the speed limit. Once out of the rain, I was able to increase the speed and when I hit the interstate I was flying but no sight of my fellow rider. I pulled into Cheyenne, Wyoming for fuel at a Flying J and there he was just pulling away from the pumps. He saw me come in and parked to talk. We talked for about 15 minutes and found out he was only about 5 minutes ahead of me (he was slowed by the rain too). It was now about 17:00 and I still had 550 miles to go. We talked and he said he was going to run 15-20 mph over the speed limit the rest of the way, so I told him good luck, I’m going to head for the hotel and I would see him when he got in. He was fiddling with his gear as I was taking off; I figured he would catch me around Laramie. I was motoring right along but never saw him again, Laramie passed and no sight of him. I was getting worried once I hit Rawlings I knew he should have passed me by then. I decided to stop for fuel in Rawlings and call the Rally Master to see if he had heard from him. I was figuring I might turn around and go look for him. I found out he had lost his paperwork and stayed at Cheyenne looking for it. He contacted the Rally Master explained what happened he told him to get on the road because if he completed the 5000 miles he would still be considered a finisher. I was told he spent about one hour at the flying J, so that’s why I hadn’t seen him. 290 miles to go and it was just past 21:00 plenty of time. I was thinking of adding an extra stop it would have been an extra 90 miles round trip to Promontory, Utah. As I was cruising down the interstate, I decided against Promontory because my tires were past the wear bars and I still had 200 plus miles to go. I did decide not to kill myself heading for the hotel so I was stopping every 100 miles for coffee and a rest. As I came into Utah one of my peers passed me and I decided to pick up the speed and follow them in. We rode together the last 75 miles to a fuel stop and then to the hotel. I made it to the hotel and finish line at 02:30. So the last day was just over 1200 miles in 21.5 hours to bring my overall mileage to 5200 miles but it would be adjusted down to 5065 due to correction factor.
After I arrived, I call my wife she was waiting at the hotel and told me to call her when I got in so I did. I asked her to start a bath and I was on my way up. Once I got to the room she was ready for me, I dropped all my gear jumped in the bath soaked for 30 minutes and then got redressed to be ready for the opening of the finish line at 05:00. My wife went to bed and I headed down stairs to get ready to check in.
At 05:00 on the dot, the Rally Master started checking final ODO readings and he explained how final scoring was going to happen. We were going first-in first-out and needed to hand in paperwork before 07:00. I pulled my SD card out of my camera and dropped it in my envelope with my receipts and fuel log then I dropped off the package at the scorers table. Once done I joined my fellow competitors out front to welcome the riders back in. As everyone started showing up, it was apparent not many were going to finish. To be exact 19 riders made it back to the finish on schedule. Several of us hung out front until 07:00 enjoying an adult beverage waiting for the scoring to begin. After the scoring was completed, this was a verification of which bonuses I went too. I headed for breakfast. I sat around in the restaurant for about an hour eating and talking with peers when I called it a night and headed for the room.
I woke around 14:30 and surprisingly seemed well rested, I went down stairs to see several peers talking outside, and I joined them for a little bit then headed for the bar where the group was forming before the banquet. At six o’clock Stacey, Nathan and I went to the banquet room, had dinner and listened as the Rally Master reviewed the results. As he passed the tenth position, I was surprised he hadn’t called my name and was wondering if maybe I, DNF’d due to an error on my paperwork. I didn’t have to wait long in Ninth place completing his first multi-day rally David Porter. The cheering was deafening or at least in my mine with my 10 year old yelling and my wife clapping. I was pretty stoked with a top ten finish on my first multi-day rally. I was also impressed no accidents during the event and everyone that finished still had their license sealed in the envelope. After the banquet, several retired to the bar again with the Rally Master buying several rounds of drinks. We toasted our winners and congratulated the Rally Master on an excellent time. I talked to several that I would see at the NM LOE in October saying we should get together for dinner the first night and talk about doing the Beast of the East next year in July as prep for the IBR 09 in August. Most thought this was a great way to get some east coast experience next year.
Rally Over
Stacey, Nathan and I were slow getting up on the 7th and most riders had already left the hotel, we were heading to Ouray, Colorado for a little goofing off. After getting everyone out of bed I went down loaded the car and set the trailer up we borrowed from friends. So after 6000 miles getting to SLC and completing the rally I could not believe it when I dropped the motorcycle while loading on the trailer. “” I pulled the FJR up onto the trailer as I did on my old trailer and went to put my foot down but there wasn’t any floor on the left side and the FJR in all its glory rolled off the edge. I quick moment of “oh shit” then I grabbed the motorcycle picked it up and rolled it back down the ramp. Once back off the trailer I assessed the damage. I scratched the front fender, not bad; one scratch on tank ¼ inch long, not bad but the left saddle bag took the brunt. It slid on the asphalt and scratched the whole cover. I decided to get some help loading this time, so I walked into the hotel ask a couple of the guys to help with loading the trailer. We walked it up slick as a whistle, one of the guys held it while I tied it down. I thanked the guys while we laughed at my expense, which I didn’t mind considering how it happened. I think the hardest part was explaining what happened to my wife when she came out of the hotel.
Once all loaded up, we (Stacey, Nathan and I) were off to Ouray, Co. for a well deserved three day vacation.
I originally was going to take off at mid-night on the 30th and ride straight through to Salt Lake City but instead August 30th, I hooked up with some friends heading for Durango, Co and bummed a little floor space at their hotel that night. I woke the next morning around 5am, took a quick shower and loaded the motorcycle. As I was loading, one of the guys got up too help. We talked how the weather looked pretty bad and I was probably going to be riding in the rain most of the way. We shook hands and he wished me well as I took off in the rain.
I had my wet weather gear on so the ride wasn’t too bad. I rode all the way to Moab, Ut. in the rain. Once I got to Moab, I decided to get something to eat. I hit up a MacDonald for a quick breakfast then off to get gas. As I was getting gas, my auxiliary plug blew the fuse and I ended riding to Salt Lake City (SLC) without my GPS and XM-radio. I arrived in SLC about 14:00. There were several others that had already arrived so I checked in and stated talking to others about the blown fuse. One of the guys knew exactly what happened and told me were the fuse was located. After completing the repair, I went to the Rally Masters room for a beer. I hooked up with some friends at Steve’s room and kicked back talking about the rally and differences between multi day rides compared to 24 hr rallies.
That night about 15-20 motorcycles showed up in the rain, as we sat in the restaurant having dinner. After dinner, we all headed to the bar for an adult beverage watching the weather channel and the rain outside.
On September 1st we woke to pouring rain that continued until late afternoon. We started the technical inspection and odometer check at noon. To be a finisher on this ride you have to complete 5000 miles in five days. So the rally master has to verify your ODO is correct. As I was setting up to run the route, I ran into another guy in the rally setting up to do his check so we took off together. We headed for the starting line, document our ODO reading and took off into the rain. We came up to one of the on-ramps at a good clip when his motorcycle started sliding in the corner. I saw his motorcycle slide so I let off the gas then reaccelerated to allow me to enter the corner at a lower speed. I still slipped a little but nothing to write home about. After that we took the ODO check at a slower speed and had no issues. As we pulled up to the ending line we checked and saw that my ODO was reading 15.8 and his was 15.6 miles with his GPS reading 15.4. So I kind of knew that I would have to do extra miles to meet the 5000 mile minimum need to be a finisher what a bummer.
After the ODO check, we were free until 20:00 for the pre-banquet and meeting to get our last information from the Rally Master. I was hanging out front talking to other riders about the miles on my tires and several were saying I could not make it back on those tire and I would have to change them out somewhere along the route. Most of the other riders went to their rooms checking on the weather moving in from hurricane Gustav. I would have too turn in my route tonight along with my driver license. The driver’s license is placed in an envelope that if unopened at the end of the ride you get extra points. After talking to the other riders hanging out front of the hotel I headed for my room thinking about my tires and what if I need to change them out. Sitting in the room I decided to take out my Louisiana bonus locations out of my route. I still had enough miles so dropping these two locations wasn’t a tough decision. When I saw they had a curfew sent up in Baton Rouge and New Roads I decided to skip them plus the extra 400 miles was really going to be pushing the tires. Most of my peers said I couldn’t get 9000 miles out of the OEM tires on the FJR. By removing these locations, I was going to drop to 5300 miles so I would come in just under 9000 miles on the ODO. I also came up with a couple of Yamaha dealerships along the route that if I had to I could stop in for fresh tires. I took down the information and decided to call on the road tomorrow about tire availability.
At the banquet I received my rally towel, special instructions; driver license sealed and gave the Rally Master my route. After the meeting, we retired to the bar for a going away drink then I headed for the room to get some needed sleep.
Day 1
On September 2nd, I woke up at 05:00 and was out of the room by 05:30 to set up the motorcycle. Several trips from the room to the front entrance bring down my top box, tank bag and electronics for the FJR. There were already 10 motorcycles lined up at the start, so I pulled mine in line and started getting it ready. This time there wasn’t an issue with powering on the electronics like I had at the NM LOE last year. By 06:00 the Rally Master was walking around getting our starting ODO, mine read 3564 miles so I knew I would have to go 8564 plus the correction factor of 134 miles at least to be considered a finisher. I thought I better finish with at least 8750 on the ODO just to be safe. Once my ODO check was completed, I headed for the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast and one last time to check the weather. I sat with one of my fellow competitors talking strategy and he was giving me advice on how to ride my first couple of day of the rally. We talked about our routes and the direction of Gustavo and how it would affect my plans. That was great to bounce ideas off someone and how to reroute on the fly if needed because of Gustavo. Right now Gustavo looked like it was going to hit Louisiana head on then track in a west direction. This was prefect for me because I was heading north to avoid Gustavo and would swing around behind the hurricane. I thought I might get wet the last day in Kansas and Nebraska (little did I know about 3 hours after the start, Gustavo turn eastward and I would be riding most of my ride smack in the middle of the monsoon rains. After breakfast was done, we wish each other good luck and headed for the motorcycles. I got back to my FJR about 20 minutes before the start time. The Rally Master was doing a countdown and when we hit 07:00 he waived us to go.
So here I go hoping to get back to SLC by September 7th at 07:00. I found myself getting caught up in the start of the rally staying with everyone else. I kept telling myself this is a five day event and don’t get a ticket in the first hour. I finally let a group of riders about 12 of them go. I settled in at what I would call a reasonable speed five-seven over and started motoring. About 100 miles outside of SLC, I caught up with a couple of fellow riders that I knew were heading in the same direction to start but would eventually veer off toward San Antonio, Texas. As we were riding together one of our peers passed us running 10-15 miles faster then us. It was the Harley Road King, he must be between his first and second stop of fuel. I remember talking to him yesterday and how he said he can only go about 100-120 miles on a tank. I did the quick math and realized he would have to do about 50 stops to make it. Well the three of us continued on for several miles then they pulled off for what I thought was their first gas stop. I looked down at my gauge and saw I was getting close too, we had traveled 220 miles and I figured 240 would be max distance I would go. We were just passing a town and the next one was 30 miles out so I was getting a little worried but around the corner was another exit so off the interstate I went and pulled in for fuel 227 miles. After I checked the distance, I told myself never cut it that close again. I figured I would have around 25-30 stops for fuel based on state lines. Each state you stopped in for fuel and documented it was worth 10 points, so I wanted to make sure I hit all the states those are easy points. This stop was about 10 minutes long and on the road I was again. I never saw another rider until my first bonus location Douglas, Wyoming where I needed to take a picture of a 13 foot tall Jackalope.
As I jumped off the interstate into Douglas I came to my first obstacle a bridge that was out. I knew by my GPS the bonus location was four blocks on the other side of the bridge so I followed the detour and as I came out on the other side of the bridge there was one of the two up riders flagging me down. They asked if I knew where the bonus was and I said follow me. I went to the direct location my GPS told me it was and nothing. I told them it was in the city park and we just passed one so I was going to head in that direction, as we closed in on the park I saw the Jackalope sitting in the corner of the park. We both jumped off our motorcycles and took our pictures talked for a few monuments and off we went, they were heading for Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska and I was off for Sturgis, South Dakota. As I started out of town, I saw the two guys I rode with heading for the Jackalope. Little did I know that would be the last time I saw anyone until the last day. I got to Sturgis about three and a half hours later for my second bonus a computerized fuel receipt. I stopped at the second station, fueled the FJR and boom printer failure. I went inside to get my receipt, when I went in and asked for a computerized receipt the attendant wanted to give me a hand written one. I explained I needed a computerized and she reluctantly pulled one from the cash register. Two down and 18 to go, so off I went for Mobridge, South Dakota to get a picture of Sitting Bull Monument.
As I was flying through South Dakota’s, state roads and highways I was on the constant lookout for wild life. I knew that during the day the odds of seeing anything was pretty slim but as the sun was setting they would be coming out in force. I honestly felt like my head was on a swivel scanning both sides of the road. I also thought to myself that the next modification to the FJR would be added lights. The lighting on the FJR is pretty good but there is no substitution for added lights that can be pointed a little out for checking the sides of the road. There was one stretch of road 15 miles that I counted eight deer and decided that even though the speed limit was 70 MPH I slowed to 60-65 hoping for a better reaction time if one decided to cross the road. One more hour and I arrived in Mobridge with about one bar left on the fuel gauge so I knew I could go about 40 miles before needing fuel and my GPS gave me directions for about a 16 mile round trip to the Monument. So off I went on a side road following my GPS but still concerned since it was pitch black and no lights. The GPS gives me a turn left in one mile and when I get to the turn left now I see a dirt road that looks pretty daunting. I told myself at the beginning, I would not do dirt roads to find bonus. So I stopped with my FJR pointing straight down this dirt road high beams on trying to decide go or no go. The GPS was saying .3 miles to the Monument how bad could it be but I decided to stick to my original agreement and no dirt. I felt this was a big miss on my part, I lost time coming here and knew trying to find this Monument was going to be tough in the dark. It was supposed to be on a cliff overlooking the river. Even though I thought I was really screwing up my chances for a good finish I decided to head for Mobridge and get fuel (now I can say that was one of the smartest things I have done so far). I found an all night station fueled up, completed my fuel log and decided to get a cup of coffee because the next bonus location was in Darwin, Minnesota. I struck up a conversation with the clerk asking if she had seen others swing through she said no. I explained what I was doing and how I could not find Sitting Bull’s Monument. She said I was on the wrong side of the road and that the Monument was behind the Casino somewhere, she couldn’t remember the exact location but thought the other clerk might know. The other clerk was an elderly American Native woman who thought I was silly going to the Monument in the dark since there were no lights and little chance of finding it. I asked her for directions and they were interesting at best but she was sure of how to get there so I thought I would give it a try. So I thanked the ladies for the information and off I went backtracking 10 miles, thinking this was a long shot at best since the directions were turn left before the Casino veer left around campground follow road until dirt do a U-turn till you see a Monument for Sacagawea. Once you see the Monument for Sacagawea take the first right loop around parking area and you will see a road on the right follow it till it dead ends into another parking area. Park and walk about 300 feet and you should see the Monument for Sitting Bull. I followed the directions to a tee and she was right on I ended in a parking area on the bluff and there it was right were she said.
I also understand why I had to go to the end of the road and turn around the Monument for Sacagawea was blocked from view by brush. I ran down took the picture and as I’m walking back to my FJR I saw headlights heading this way. Not sure what was going on I decided to get on the motorcycle and get out of there as quick as possible. Two cars stopped by the Sacagawea Monument that I had to ride right by. I decided to put on some extra steam and motor right by, looking at the area no lighting, no one else around I didn’t want to get stopped. As I went by they waved and I in return as I swung past them I noticed it was some kids indulging in a couple of adult beverages. So back to the US highway I went signing a big relief and thinking of Darwin next for the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. I was also puzzled why my GPS was so far off, did I make a mistake or was something wrong?
As I blew through Mobridge, I felt bad about not stopping and thanking the ladies again but I was way behind schedule. My goal for the first day was 1200 miles and I was still under a 1000 and it was after 22:00. The ride to Darwin was almost straight with a couple of jogs. I was reenergized by the coffee earlier and felt pretty good. About one hour in the ride to Darwin as I crested a hill all my fear came to fruition. In the middle of the road was a fawn with a buck and doe on the left and another doe on the right side of the road. Thanks goodness for ABS brakes on the FJR, I was traveling about 65 when I saw the deer, I immediately started braking I wasn’t sure how much I slowed down. My only thought was fawn make a decision which way. I hit the horn and the fawn moved right, I went left and the two deer on the left side of the road dove into the brush as I went by. After that little encounter, I decided 60 was a better speed and slowing down for hills was also a good idea. This slowed me down considerable but did help me avoid a possum and raccoon later that night. About midnight I decided it was time to get a room, I wasn’t going to be able to get the 1200 miles in, so why push any harder. 25 miles up the road was a town with a truck stop so I figured they would have a hotel. I rode into the truck stop for fuel and right next door was a Super 8, bingo we have sleep. I pulled under their canopy asked if I could leave the bike there and got a room. So at 00:30 I was in my room drawing a hot bath and thinking about my errors today. All in all not a bad day, 1088 miles three bonuses worth 1000 points and I didn’t hit anything on what I thought would be the hardest night riding. I decided to keep myself on Mountain Time no matter where I was so 00:30 was really 01:30 and I set the alarm for 04:00.
Day 2
04:00 came quick but I felt pretty good as I got out of bed. This was my biggest concern on this ride. I haven’t done a 1000 mile ride since last year and since totaling the ST1300 I was concerned; I would not be healthy enough to do multiple days.
So off to the shower I went, which felt great and really got me going. As I packed up the FJR for day two, I decided to grab a cup of coffee in the lobby and look at the day’s adventure. It started raining sometime while I was sleeping so on went the wet gear. I still had 200 miles to go to Darwin to take a picture of the World’s Largest Ball of Twine and I wanted to get the Jolly Green Giant and the Six Pack of Beer today before heading to Chicago for a hotdog. So off I went at 05:00 with 200 miles to get to Darwin. The first 100 was easy but the last 100 miles went slow it was done behind a law officer hell bent on keeping me at 55 mph. So I arrived in Darwin around 9:45 in the morning the positive point was the rain stopped around 09:00. I found the Ball of Twine quickly, my GPS coordinates were only off by two buildings. I proceeded to take my pictures but was having problems getting the ball of twine to show up due to the glare off the glass enclosure.
After four attempts, I was able to get the outline of the ball of twine so off for gas and then head for Blue Earth, Minnesota for a picture of the Jolly Green Giant. Here is when the real GPS fun began; the Garmin decided I wanted to take the scenic route.
There was a straight shot from Darwin to Blue Earth about 90 miles long that I thought would take around two hours due to small towns but the Garmin sent me way out of the way about 45 extra miles going through several extra small towns. It ended up taking me about one extra hour to get to the Jolly Green Giant statue but hey I made it. So after taking several pictures of the statue, I called home talked to the wife for a few minutes and let her know I was behind schedule but heading for La Crosse, Wisconsin it was 14:00.On the way to La Crosse, it started raining again so off the FJR gear up and off again, it was almost all interstate and La Crosse is just inside the Wisconsin boarder. I was hoping to make up a little of the time I lost earlier today. I had a pretty clean run into La Crosse where I headed straight for the brewery and my picture of the World’s largest six pack of beer. A couple of quick pictures and off to Chicago for a Hot Dog. I made a quick fuel stop and was out of La Crosse by 17:00 about five hours behind my original schedule.
So about 290 miles to Chicago here we go. It was interstate most of the way so I cranked it up trying to make up more time. As I was getting to Madison, Wisconsin it was still raining. I stopped for fuel and made a decision to skip Chicago due to the time it would take to get through town, get the hotdog and get out of there in the rain.
I figured if I stopped it might cause me to miss the next two bonus locations because they had a time window. At the time, I thought great on the fly decision trying to get myself back on track. So I deleted the Chicago stop out of the route and recalculated. Off I go into the rain for Atlanta, Georgia and a picture of Stone Mountain. I ended up getting to Mount Vernon, Illinois another 400 miles for a total of 925 miles for day two. I found another Super 8 so off to bed again 01:00 this time. I was hoping to be 2200 miles into the ride at this time but was a little over 2000.
Day 3
The alarm came really quick and it was a little harder to get out of bed. 04:30 I grabbed a shower and headed for the lobby to grab a quick coffee and back on the road. I decided to review my route again because I felt I could not get to the locations in Georgia and still make the three time based bonuses. I check the math and everything said bail from the Georgia bonuses and add something in later to make up for the miles I’m removing. So back to the FJR again in full rain gear (starting to see a theme) to delete my Georgia bonus locations and recalculate my route.
Here we go again 05:30 and 460 miles to Birmingham, Alabama. As I was shooting through Illinois, I had my second interesting moment on the road. I found out that wicker chairs cannot withstand a 75 mph impact with the interstate. I was shooting down the interstate when out of the back of a pickup comes a wicker chair about 10 feet in the air. When it finally came down, it busted into a hundred pieces, cars were swerving all over the place which allowed me a clear view of the debris. I slowed down swerved a couple of times and was clear and moving forward. I decided this would be a good time to get off the road and do my check-in with the Rally Master. I stopped in Metropolis, Illinois for fuel then called the Rally Master. When we did our call-in, we needed to let him know where we were, where we were going next, say something nice and get a computerized receipt within 10 minutes. This was worth 50,000 points, so missing wasn’t an option. My next goal was to get to Barber Motorsports Vintage Museum before it closed at 18:00. It looked pretty good, I hit Birmingham about 15:30 then things started going down hill.
The traffic came to a complete stand still on the interstate due to a car flipped on its side and they were diverting us off the highway. I was just about to get to the off ramp an hour later when the police officer waved to everyone the highway was open. So I moved back off the ramp and started to follow the officer past the accident. There was a car on its side that looked like they had to tear the roof off to get someone out of it. I had 1.5 hours before closing and I’m only three miles from the bonus location (at least that is what I thought). I get to the location of where Barber Motorsports was supposed to be and nothing but warehouses. As you can guess I’m getting a little frustrated, I found someone and they explain this is where it used to be but it has since moved about 20 miles away (tick tock tick tock). The gentleman gave me directions and off I went again with an hour and 15 minutes to go. This time I arrived at the correct location 45 minutes before they closed took a few pictures and talked to a couple of other riders explaining what I was doing. I walked up to the doors and looked in thinking I needed to come back here again, cool looking motorcycles just in the lobby area alone. I rode out, hit a fuel station and was back on the road now heading for Tupelo, Mississippi.
I really didn’t have an issue getting to Tupelo, it’s 140 miles of interstate so I cranked it up again and was there by 19:45 I found Elvis’s birth home snapped a couple of pictures hit a gas station and was back on the road by 20:15. I still needed to get to Memphis, Tennessee 100 miles away before 22:00 to get BBQ.
All interstate again so I cranked it up to 80 mph and shot for Memphis. I hit Memphis about 21:30 decided the location I inputted into the GPS was to far, so I stopped at the first convenience store to ask directions to the closest BBQ restaurant. There was a Memphis police officer sitting in the parking lot, so I decide to get his picture as a bonus and ask directions to the closest BBQ place. He allowed me to take his picture and gave me directions (three blocks away). I arrived at Top’s Barbeque at 21:45; 15 minutes to spare, I rushed in and noticed at that moment I might be on the wrong side of town.
The two ladies behind the counter said as I walked in “Boy what are you doing here”. I reply, “I’m here for BBQ. I was told you have the best BBQ and your sign says Best BBQ in Memphis." She again reply, “Yes we have the best BBQ but boy what are you doing here?” So after explaining what I was doing, I asked what do they recommended they suggested the special so I ordered one (not sure what I would get). The food came I sat down and since the place was closing they came and sat with me asking questions about my ride and where I had been and where I was going next. After eating I grabbed the camera and rally towel and asked them to hold it for me so I could take a picture of them and the towel. After a couple of pictures, we returned to the table and I finished my meal. Notice this is the first time I talked about sitting down and eating, I had been on the rode for three days eating energy bars only(not a smart thing). I sat talking with them for another 10 minutes when one of them said, "I might want to get outside quick". I turned and looked and there were four guys around my FJR and a pickup truck backing up to it. I jumped up ran outside and said, “Hey guys what’s up?” They responded “your bike soon.” I replied that I was just leaving; “I had to get on the rode, I was in a rally and late for my next stop.” They didn’t respond but then one of the ladies from the restaurant came out and told them to get away from that boy’s bike and leave him alone. They gave her a smart-ass response and she started yelling at then, telling them she was going to whoop their butts if they didn’t get out of there. At that point, they decide she meant it because they took off. I walked over gave her a hug and thanked her for saving me from a butt kicking which I surly would have gotten. She then told me “Boy you better get on your bike and get out of here and I suggest you don’t stop at any red lights.” I said, “Yes mama and thanks again.” So I got on my FJR and high tailed it out of Memphis, here it is 22:45 and 360 miles to my next stop Lincoln, Arkansas. I rode another 265 miles to Alma, Arkansas in the rain to another Super 8 and hit the sack by 02:00. Day three in the books and another bad day only 960 miles completed. I remember thinking I was behind the 1000 miles a day average for the first time and I had to make up the odometer difference too.
Day 4
The alarm went off at 05:00; I jumped in the shower then back to the lobby for coffee. I was thinking another big day coming up with 5 bonus location due up today. I put my rain gear on and jumped on the FJR and was out of there by 05:45. My first stop Lincoln, Arkansas about 90 miles away, I pulled in at Lincoln a little after 07:00 with the sun just starting to come up. I snap a couple of shots got back on the FJR and headed for Oologah, Oklahoma for a picture of a statue of Will Rodgers and his horse 110 miles away. As I entered Oklahoma, the toll roads started a buck here and a buck there and I was in Tulsa turning North for Oologah.
I found the statue right where my GPS said it was in the middle of town. I clipped my rally towel on the chain around the statue took a couple of picture, grabbed some gas and off I went for Wichita, Kansas my third bonus stop for the day 250 miles away. I arrived in Wichita around 14:00 but spent about 15 minutes going in circles due to one way streets and road closures. I finally figured a way to the park and took a picture of the drinking fountain and off I went again now making a run to the interstate and Olathe, Kansas 270 miles away to take a picture of Garmin International building (this was my add in to make up mileage missed by not going to Georgia).
So good news back to the interstate running at 80 mph, bad news I hit Olathe at 17:30 with rush hour traffic and road construction the last 25 miles. It took another one and a half hours to get to Garmin. As I pull in the sun had just set, so I ran over placed my towel on their door snapped a couple of pictures and head back to the interstate. It is now 19:15 and I’m heading for my last stop for the night Lincoln, Kansas 265 miles away. I started down the interstate traveling 120 miles before I started getting really tired, I decided to stop at a rest stop and take a quick nap. I parked the FJR crawled onto a picnic table and fell asleep for one hour. I woke at 23:00 feeling better and headed out again. I went another 100 miles and decided I was done for the night. I found another Super 8 grabbed their last room and was in bed by 00:30. Day four and another low mileage day 950 miles with only the last day left tomorrow I was gong to need a big day to get the 5000 miles in.
Day 5
After coming up 45 miles short of Lincoln, Kansas I knew this needed to be a big day. I was up again by 04:30 no shower grabbed a cup of coffee in the lobby and headed out the door. Rain gear on again, I was on the road by 05:00. By 06:00 I had gotten my picture of the city limit sign in Lincoln and on my way to Cawker City, Kansas to get a picture of another World’s Largest Ball of Twine 65 miles away. I arrived in Cawker City at 07:00 grab a quick picture of the ball of twine and off again for Lebanon, Kansas for a picture of the lower 48 state central location 31 miles away. So 40 minutes later I found Lebanon but again the GPS led me to a bad location. I found someone opening their store and ask if they knew how to get to the monument. They did and gave me directions that led me right to the monument. I snapped a couple of pictures and headed for my last bonus stop in Alliance, Nebraska to get a picture of Carhenge 390 miles away it was now 08:00 but the rain stopped. Riding to Alliance was very uneventful and I was able to find Carhenge with no issues. I took a couple of pictures and was getting ready to take off when a fellow rider showed up. I took his picture for him and we decided to ride together at least part of the way. He still needed 200 more miles than I did. We stopped back in Alliance for fuel and food (notice only second time I talked about getting food not good). We talked while eating about where we had been and also about what he was doing to make up the extra 200 miles he needed. We decided to ride to Rawlins, Wyoming together where he would turn north and I would continue west. After we left, it was apparent he wanted to go faster than I was willing so I waved him on and rode alone. As he pulled away you could see a wall of rain clouds heading our way again. I pulled over put on my gear and just as I started moving again the rain hit. It was a driving rain for the next 40 miles making me run about 15 under the speed limit. Once out of the rain, I was able to increase the speed and when I hit the interstate I was flying but no sight of my fellow rider. I pulled into Cheyenne, Wyoming for fuel at a Flying J and there he was just pulling away from the pumps. He saw me come in and parked to talk. We talked for about 15 minutes and found out he was only about 5 minutes ahead of me (he was slowed by the rain too). It was now about 17:00 and I still had 550 miles to go. We talked and he said he was going to run 15-20 mph over the speed limit the rest of the way, so I told him good luck, I’m going to head for the hotel and I would see him when he got in. He was fiddling with his gear as I was taking off; I figured he would catch me around Laramie. I was motoring right along but never saw him again, Laramie passed and no sight of him. I was getting worried once I hit Rawlings I knew he should have passed me by then. I decided to stop for fuel in Rawlings and call the Rally Master to see if he had heard from him. I was figuring I might turn around and go look for him. I found out he had lost his paperwork and stayed at Cheyenne looking for it. He contacted the Rally Master explained what happened he told him to get on the road because if he completed the 5000 miles he would still be considered a finisher. I was told he spent about one hour at the flying J, so that’s why I hadn’t seen him. 290 miles to go and it was just past 21:00 plenty of time. I was thinking of adding an extra stop it would have been an extra 90 miles round trip to Promontory, Utah. As I was cruising down the interstate, I decided against Promontory because my tires were past the wear bars and I still had 200 plus miles to go. I did decide not to kill myself heading for the hotel so I was stopping every 100 miles for coffee and a rest. As I came into Utah one of my peers passed me and I decided to pick up the speed and follow them in. We rode together the last 75 miles to a fuel stop and then to the hotel. I made it to the hotel and finish line at 02:30. So the last day was just over 1200 miles in 21.5 hours to bring my overall mileage to 5200 miles but it would be adjusted down to 5065 due to correction factor.
After I arrived, I call my wife she was waiting at the hotel and told me to call her when I got in so I did. I asked her to start a bath and I was on my way up. Once I got to the room she was ready for me, I dropped all my gear jumped in the bath soaked for 30 minutes and then got redressed to be ready for the opening of the finish line at 05:00. My wife went to bed and I headed down stairs to get ready to check in.
At 05:00 on the dot, the Rally Master started checking final ODO readings and he explained how final scoring was going to happen. We were going first-in first-out and needed to hand in paperwork before 07:00. I pulled my SD card out of my camera and dropped it in my envelope with my receipts and fuel log then I dropped off the package at the scorers table. Once done I joined my fellow competitors out front to welcome the riders back in. As everyone started showing up, it was apparent not many were going to finish. To be exact 19 riders made it back to the finish on schedule. Several of us hung out front until 07:00 enjoying an adult beverage waiting for the scoring to begin. After the scoring was completed, this was a verification of which bonuses I went too. I headed for breakfast. I sat around in the restaurant for about an hour eating and talking with peers when I called it a night and headed for the room.
I woke around 14:30 and surprisingly seemed well rested, I went down stairs to see several peers talking outside, and I joined them for a little bit then headed for the bar where the group was forming before the banquet. At six o’clock Stacey, Nathan and I went to the banquet room, had dinner and listened as the Rally Master reviewed the results. As he passed the tenth position, I was surprised he hadn’t called my name and was wondering if maybe I, DNF’d due to an error on my paperwork. I didn’t have to wait long in Ninth place completing his first multi-day rally David Porter. The cheering was deafening or at least in my mine with my 10 year old yelling and my wife clapping. I was pretty stoked with a top ten finish on my first multi-day rally. I was also impressed no accidents during the event and everyone that finished still had their license sealed in the envelope. After the banquet, several retired to the bar again with the Rally Master buying several rounds of drinks. We toasted our winners and congratulated the Rally Master on an excellent time. I talked to several that I would see at the NM LOE in October saying we should get together for dinner the first night and talk about doing the Beast of the East next year in July as prep for the IBR 09 in August. Most thought this was a great way to get some east coast experience next year.
Rally Over
Stacey, Nathan and I were slow getting up on the 7th and most riders had already left the hotel, we were heading to Ouray, Colorado for a little goofing off. After getting everyone out of bed I went down loaded the car and set the trailer up we borrowed from friends. So after 6000 miles getting to SLC and completing the rally I could not believe it when I dropped the motorcycle while loading on the trailer. “” I pulled the FJR up onto the trailer as I did on my old trailer and went to put my foot down but there wasn’t any floor on the left side and the FJR in all its glory rolled off the edge. I quick moment of “oh shit” then I grabbed the motorcycle picked it up and rolled it back down the ramp. Once back off the trailer I assessed the damage. I scratched the front fender, not bad; one scratch on tank ¼ inch long, not bad but the left saddle bag took the brunt. It slid on the asphalt and scratched the whole cover. I decided to get some help loading this time, so I walked into the hotel ask a couple of the guys to help with loading the trailer. We walked it up slick as a whistle, one of the guys held it while I tied it down. I thanked the guys while we laughed at my expense, which I didn’t mind considering how it happened. I think the hardest part was explaining what happened to my wife when she came out of the hotel.
Once all loaded up, we (Stacey, Nathan and I) were off to Ouray, Co. for a well deserved three day vacation.
Monday, August 11, 2008
August (13 months to go)
Well I was able to get the last miles in to get the first service done on the new FJR. What a great break in they have for the FJR first 600 miles keep it under 4500rpm and vary speed occationally. Well under 4500rpm will let you go 85mph. After you have completed the first 600, then you can bump up to 5400rpm until you get to 1000 miles. That will let you go 105mph.
I have been on a couple of ride since the first service and now have 1100 miles on the FJR and I have to say, I'm really impressed with the handling and get up and go. The bike is very comfortable and doesn't have the heat issues that my ST1300 had.
I'm planning this week to head to the IBA national meet in Tulsa. I'm trying to get the new bike set up for the trip. I have my mounts in place for the GPS, xm-radio and SPOT so I think I'm ready to go. I'm hoping to get more ideas on how/where to set up a fuse block for the FJR. They have a seminar on electrical wiring that is being lead by another FJR owner so I'm hoping to get ideas from him.
Just returned from the National Meeting what a great time. I took off Weds. 8/13/08 and rode to Mustang, OK to pick up my wife from there we completed the ride to Tulsa, OK. The bike ran great and we missed the ran a few sprinkles but nothing to talk about. When we arrived, we were met in the parking lot by several other LD riders (would guess 150 motorcycles were there). We unpacked the bike went in and registered and put our bags in our room. We went back down stairs and joined in on the opening events. I went to a special meeting for the riders selected for the IBR 2009 rally. Great opportunity to meet most of the riders and talk about past riding experiences. After that I spent most of my time in seminars on different topics from rallying to electronics. I had several opportunities to talk to several other FJR owners on how they set their bikes up. I picked up several tips on modifications for my bike that will start this winter.
We departed on Sunday morning, I dropped my wife off in Mustang and I continued to Portales, NM to visit by grandson. I spent 200 milesof the trip in the rain. I only stayed overnight but it was a great visit. Anytime you get to see the grand kids it's a great time. I took off Monday morning for home. At this time the bikeis still running great it has 2700 miles on it. I do need to do several modification on the bike to get it ready for the Run What Ya Brung in 10 days.
Well this year has been a little different but I'm starting to get the riding in full swing. Before my accident I only had 4700 miles on my old bike since the accident I have 2700 on the new bike in only 3.5 weeks. By the start of September I'll have around 8200 miles in this year.
My plan is to complete a couple of modifications to the bike then at mid-night on the 30th head for Salt Lake City and the start of the RWYB.
Monday, July 14, 2008
July (14 Months to go)
Well here it is the first of July and no motorcycle (totaled ST1300 in June) and a lot of rides coming up in August. I started to do a lot of comparison shopping, after I found out my ST1300 was being totaled. I checked out the Yamaha FJR and Kawasaki Concours forums asking what they liked and disliked about their motorcycles. I really liked my ST1300 but wanted to see what else was out there. I finally decided against the Concours seemed big and the fuel capacity was low for a touring bike (5.8 gallons). I couldn’t see a hugh difference between the FJR and ST so decided to let the salesperson’s deal make my choice for me.
The Yamaha dealership gave me the best deal on a new 2007 FJR1300A so I purchased a 2007 Black Cherry FJR. I'm planning to pick it up July 24th and hopefully get 500 miles on it before I head to the IBA National Meeting in August. I need to get those miles on so I can get the first oil change and the break in period completed before I shoot straight down the interstate to Tulsa, OK. I also have the Ride What Ya Brung (RWYB) the first of September. I'm going to let the ride to Tulsa tell me if I have recovered enough from the accident to make the RWYB.
The Yamaha dealership gave me the best deal on a new 2007 FJR1300A so I purchased a 2007 Black Cherry FJR. I'm planning to pick it up July 24th and hopefully get 500 miles on it before I head to the IBA National Meeting in August. I need to get those miles on so I can get the first oil change and the break in period completed before I shoot straight down the interstate to Tulsa, OK. I also have the Ride What Ya Brung (RWYB) the first of September. I'm going to let the ride to Tulsa tell me if I have recovered enough from the accident to make the RWYB.
Well I picked up my 07 FJR1300A July 24th. My wife dropped me off at the dealer and a few friends came over and we went to lunch in the mountains. My first experience on the bike was a 110 mile trip stopping for lunch. The bike performed well and the break in directions are easy. Keep the bike below 4500 rpm and vary the speed. At 4500 rpm that's like 85 mph. After completing the ride, I was a little sore from my injuries but overall the ride went well.
I also went on a 275 mile ride Saturday and all went well, these short rides really gave me a better idea on what I need to do to set the bike up for LD Riding. A few of the items I'm in the process of adding will be 3 different RAM mounts (Garmin, SPOT and XM Radio), handlebar risers, vista cruise throttle lock and sliders. Can't wait until my wife sees all these boxes show up in the mail. At this time, I have another 175 miles to go till the first service that I'm going to let the dealer do. After that I'll do my own work (hard to give the dealer that money).
Looks like I'm still on schedule to make the IBA national meeting in Tulsa, OK in August. I'll use that ride to see how I'm doing and decide if I can make the RWYB in September.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Month by Month leading up to the 2009 IBR
Can you say 2009 IBR
April (16 Months to go)
Well on April 14th I received the good news that I was selected to take part in the 2009 IBR. Now that it is a week later I’m still amazed that I made it and of course still trying to talk my wife into letting me do it.
For those that have not heard of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally (IBR), it is an 11 day motorcycle ride that roughly 100 motorcyclists are selected for. The riders will traverse US and Canada hopefully collecting enough bonus points to qualify as a finisher. This ride is not about speed but route planning, conserving energy and a lot of luck.
Well here we are end of April and the wife has said yes and the entry form and 800.00 dollar deposit have been sent. I also signed up for the National Meet in Tulsa, OK. in August. I’m hoping to get insight into what I will need to have a successful ride. Whether it is route planning, farkling or mental preparedness, this is going to be a great check for me since two weeks later I’m doing the Run What Ya Brung (RWYB) starting in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 2nd. It’s a five day 5000 mile ride. The RWYB considers you a finisher if you complete 5000 miles in the allotted time. I’m hoping to not only hit the 5000 miles but to also accumulate enough points to get into the top 20 riders.
May (15 months to go)
Well it’s now May and I have been working on the motorcycle getting it ready for the National meet and RWYB later this year. I have added driving lights to help with night driving and critter avoidance. My son and I have also been practicing my route planning with maps using past IBR waypoints. I call out the cities or locations and he puts a push pin in the map and then we design a route based on highest points and time allotted. Once we have completed the route we then download into our computer and transfer to my GPS for practice. I’m also designing a ledge for all my electronics that will sit between my handlebars. For our anniversary my wife bought me a SPOT it’s a GPS tracker. It will allow someone to follow your progress and it will allow you to send a signal out saying you’re fine or asking for help. The system updates your location on goggle earth every ten minutes.
In June or July, I’m planning to do a BBG1500. That’s another IBA ride that requires you to travel 1500 miles in 24 hours. I have been working out a route that will take me no more than an extra 50 miles starting at home and circling back. I’m planning to take a camera and practice taking pictures at my fuel stops for documentation like I would for waypoints for the IBR. I’m going to work on quick stops (fuel, food, picture) hopefully 15 minutes max with the exception of one longer food stop. To complete the 1500 miles in 24 hours I will have to average 62.5 mph for the time, so running mostly interstate will have to be must.
August will be a big month for me. My wife and I will be heading for the IBA National meet in Tulsa, OK. My wife and son will take off in the car for Mustang, OK a couple of days earlier to spend time with her parents. I’m going to ride to Mustang, OK. pick her up and head for Tulsa. We are planning to stay for four days checking out the seminars and spending time with past IBR riders talking about motorcycle set-ups and equipment.
June (14 months to go)
Well here it is June and I only have 4100 miles on for the year (weak) I started slow this year and I’m really behind the curve. I was hoping to get at least 20K on this year. I did a nice 240 mile ride turning it in four hours. It felt pretty good since I had to stop once to put on rain gear and I stopped for fuel and strip the rain gear back off. It was great to get out in the rain averaging 60 mph with to stops and good practice for the up-coming BBG1500. I’m still working out the route for the BBG1500 attempt and I have a couple of friends that want to make the run with me. I’m still debating if I want to take the chance and let them come or not. I really want to focus on good stops and photographing when I make the stops just like I would in a rally. I also set up my SPOT (given to me by my wife for our anniversary). I used it yesterday on a 370 mile ride. System worked well but I did feel that a negative to the system is that if you want to share your ride with someone you have to give them access to your account.
Well I’m up to 4700 and hope to have 5000 miles by July. I have been slowly increasing the miles each month and stand an outside chance to get to the 20K mark by end of year.
What an end to the month of June. I totaled my ST1300 on June 27th; I was heading south to umpire a little league all-star game when I was hit by a garbage truck. The truck was in the middle lane and I was in the right lane. We were both going just about the speed limit when he started to come in my lane. I hit my brakes trying to avoid him but we touched and I went down. The truck kept on going, I don’t even think he knew I was there or that we hit. The bike traveled across three lanes of traffic, the median and came to rest in the north bound lane. I went skipping, sliding, and tumbling straight forward. I came to rest about 75 feet from where the accident happened. I was extremely lucky that several people stopped and I was well taken care of until the ambulance arrived. I was also luck that the semi-truck driver right behind me stopped and gave an account of what happened to the officer at the scene.
I ended up staying one night in the hospital with a broken clavicle, four cracked ribs and a partially collapsed left lung. The motorcycle sustained a considerable more damage and was totaled by my insurance company.
WOW what a month!
April (16 Months to go)
Well on April 14th I received the good news that I was selected to take part in the 2009 IBR. Now that it is a week later I’m still amazed that I made it and of course still trying to talk my wife into letting me do it.
For those that have not heard of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally (IBR), it is an 11 day motorcycle ride that roughly 100 motorcyclists are selected for. The riders will traverse US and Canada hopefully collecting enough bonus points to qualify as a finisher. This ride is not about speed but route planning, conserving energy and a lot of luck.
Well here we are end of April and the wife has said yes and the entry form and 800.00 dollar deposit have been sent. I also signed up for the National Meet in Tulsa, OK. in August. I’m hoping to get insight into what I will need to have a successful ride. Whether it is route planning, farkling or mental preparedness, this is going to be a great check for me since two weeks later I’m doing the Run What Ya Brung (RWYB) starting in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 2nd. It’s a five day 5000 mile ride. The RWYB considers you a finisher if you complete 5000 miles in the allotted time. I’m hoping to not only hit the 5000 miles but to also accumulate enough points to get into the top 20 riders.
May (15 months to go)
Well it’s now May and I have been working on the motorcycle getting it ready for the National meet and RWYB later this year. I have added driving lights to help with night driving and critter avoidance. My son and I have also been practicing my route planning with maps using past IBR waypoints. I call out the cities or locations and he puts a push pin in the map and then we design a route based on highest points and time allotted. Once we have completed the route we then download into our computer and transfer to my GPS for practice. I’m also designing a ledge for all my electronics that will sit between my handlebars. For our anniversary my wife bought me a SPOT it’s a GPS tracker. It will allow someone to follow your progress and it will allow you to send a signal out saying you’re fine or asking for help. The system updates your location on goggle earth every ten minutes.
In June or July, I’m planning to do a BBG1500. That’s another IBA ride that requires you to travel 1500 miles in 24 hours. I have been working out a route that will take me no more than an extra 50 miles starting at home and circling back. I’m planning to take a camera and practice taking pictures at my fuel stops for documentation like I would for waypoints for the IBR. I’m going to work on quick stops (fuel, food, picture) hopefully 15 minutes max with the exception of one longer food stop. To complete the 1500 miles in 24 hours I will have to average 62.5 mph for the time, so running mostly interstate will have to be must.
August will be a big month for me. My wife and I will be heading for the IBA National meet in Tulsa, OK. My wife and son will take off in the car for Mustang, OK a couple of days earlier to spend time with her parents. I’m going to ride to Mustang, OK. pick her up and head for Tulsa. We are planning to stay for four days checking out the seminars and spending time with past IBR riders talking about motorcycle set-ups and equipment.
June (14 months to go)
Well here it is June and I only have 4100 miles on for the year (weak) I started slow this year and I’m really behind the curve. I was hoping to get at least 20K on this year. I did a nice 240 mile ride turning it in four hours. It felt pretty good since I had to stop once to put on rain gear and I stopped for fuel and strip the rain gear back off. It was great to get out in the rain averaging 60 mph with to stops and good practice for the up-coming BBG1500. I’m still working out the route for the BBG1500 attempt and I have a couple of friends that want to make the run with me. I’m still debating if I want to take the chance and let them come or not. I really want to focus on good stops and photographing when I make the stops just like I would in a rally. I also set up my SPOT (given to me by my wife for our anniversary). I used it yesterday on a 370 mile ride. System worked well but I did feel that a negative to the system is that if you want to share your ride with someone you have to give them access to your account.
Well I’m up to 4700 and hope to have 5000 miles by July. I have been slowly increasing the miles each month and stand an outside chance to get to the 20K mark by end of year.
What an end to the month of June. I totaled my ST1300 on June 27th; I was heading south to umpire a little league all-star game when I was hit by a garbage truck. The truck was in the middle lane and I was in the right lane. We were both going just about the speed limit when he started to come in my lane. I hit my brakes trying to avoid him but we touched and I went down. The truck kept on going, I don’t even think he knew I was there or that we hit. The bike traveled across three lanes of traffic, the median and came to rest in the north bound lane. I went skipping, sliding, and tumbling straight forward. I came to rest about 75 feet from where the accident happened. I was extremely lucky that several people stopped and I was well taken care of until the ambulance arrived. I was also luck that the semi-truck driver right behind me stopped and gave an account of what happened to the officer at the scene.
I ended up staying one night in the hospital with a broken clavicle, four cracked ribs and a partially collapsed left lung. The motorcycle sustained a considerable more damage and was totaled by my insurance company.
WOW what a month!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
50CC and the Dragon's Tail
My 50CC and ride report.
I started in Rio Ranch, NM on June 14, 2007 at 03:00 arriving in Ocean Beach, CA at 16:00 for the beginning of my 50CC staying at the Premier Inn.
Before I tool off I packed the motorcycle around 21:00, as I was packing I went to pick up one of the bags off the floor and pulled a muscle in my back. I could hardly stand up. I finished packing and went to bed trying to sleep it off. When I got up 01:45, I was felling sore and a little tight but ready to go (it’s amazing what 800ml IBP can do.
So I locked up the house and I took off at 03:00 the temp was high 40’s by the time I reached Gallup, NM it was 34 degrees, so I decided to stop for breakfast and let it warm up before heading for Phoenix, AZ. The bad part was I knew it would be cold through that stretch of road but because of limited cargo space I decided not to carry extra gear so I had to tough it out. The ride went well to Phoenix with no incident. I reached Phoenix around noon and the temperature was 100 degrees. Once I stopped for gas I peeled off gear, then as I reached the turn for San Diego on Interstate 8 it was 104 degrees and that was the lowest temperature I saw until I cleared the mountains dropping into San Diego. With the high being Yuma 112 degrees. So for 300 miles the temperature was between 104-112 degrees. You talk about the roughest stretch of road I have traveled. I’m talking hot but not just hot but damn hot. I was stopping every 75 miles for water, Gatorade and to put on more sun screen. At each stop I was drinking about 32 ounces of water and 20 ounces of Gatorade.
Once I reached Ocean Beach just outside San Diego, I set up my hotel room and found the nearest lounge and sat and drank until happy hour was over (I was trying to replenish my liquid levels).
The next day June 15th I met up with Leslie and Jamie an awesome couple that met me at the ocean beach pier and we had lunch and relax talking about our LD rides and the BMW forum Leslie is the administrator of. After lunch they signed my paperwork and took some pictures for me. We then parted ways and I headed for the hotel to rest up for my mid-night departure.
I took off June 16, 2007 at 00:00 to try and get to Dallas, TX as my break for the ride. I was a little concerned about my back it was still a little sore, so I popped another 800 ml IBP got on the bike and headed for my first fuel stop for my start receipt. Wouldn’t you know it the pump didn’t have paper and I had to go inside to get a duplicate. I went to the door but it was locked so I asked the attendant for a receipt through the bullet proof glass (something told me I should not linger). I was hoping to miss the heat through El Paso and the thunderstorms that were happening in Texas. All was going well, temps were low and no rain and I was on schedule as I passed El Paso. I hit mid point in New Mexico on I-10 and feeling pretty good and as I turned onto I-20 I could see my luck was not going to hold. I hit rain around Pecos, TX, so about the first 750 miles went almost perfect. I pulled over just before Pecos and put on my rain gear and rode the next 520 miles in the rain. I didn’t make Dallas weather was bad enough that I ended up staying in Abilene, TX. I was hoping to do 1500 miles the first day but had to settle for 1270. I got into my hotel room around 9:30 dumped my bags into my room walked across the street for a beer at a really interesting place. The bar looked like an old metal warehouse building that they hung Christmas tree lights in with a concrete floor and a bar that was three ice chests and two 2x12 10 feet long sitting on five cinder blocks at each end. The bar wasn’t much to look at but the people real friendly. I drank my beer and headed back to my room for a shower (not sure the people at the bar were saying good bye being nice or because I stunk so badly). I showered, checked in with home, looked at my map for a couple of minutes then hit the sack for a three hour power nap. I woke to sound of the neighbors parting at 02:00 and decided it was time to go so I was out of there by 03:00 heading for Dallas. When I hit Dallas I stopped to fuel, after getting my receipt the skies opened up and all heck let loose. I started to put my rain gear on when the lighting started at that point I decided this would be a great time to get breakfast and wait the storm out. I was sitting in the restaurant and the waitress was telling me to expect the rain and lighting to last most of the morning. I was getting nervous because I was debating if I would have to call it quits, I really did not want to run through a lighting storm. After breakfast I asked the waitress where I could find a TV so I could watch the weather channel. She directed me to the truck driver’s lounge to see what the news was saying. I sat with a couple of drivers and talked about the weather, the reporter was saying rain and lighting all day. I was sinking pretty low when another driver said he just came from the East side of Dallas and the sun was shinning. I struck up a conversation with him and he said 15 miles east was blue skies. I thanked him for the weather report, and decided to get out of Dallas. I geared back up and jumped on the bike went 15 miles in a torrential storm then pop blue skies. I lost about 2 hours but man I love those truckers.
After leaving Dallas in the rain, I headed for Savannah to meet Bob. I met Bob like Leslie and Jamie on the IBA site looking for witnesses; all three were great helps with local information and support. I rode 740 miles and through several states with clear skies until I hit rain in Georgia. It rained on and off just enough for me to stop and put on my rain gear, then I would ride 20 minutes and it would stop and then the sun would bake me enough that I would stop and strip off the gear long enough for the rain to come again. This happen three times before I said the heck with the gear. I called Bob when I hit Atlanta and let him know I would be getting into Savannah around 23:30. He told me to call him from Macon and he would meet me at exit 172 on I-16. I met Bob for the first time at a restaurant outside of Savannah about 23:45. We talked for a little bit then headed to Tybee Island. Bob directed me through Savannah to Tybee Island weaving through town so quickly I can’t even recall seeing one street sign. When we did make Tybee Island, the first order of business was to get a gas receipt to complete the ride. We tried two gas stations but both were closed and the pumps were shutoff so he took me to the police station to get witness signatures. We arrived at the police station about 01:00 and you could tell they don’t see many people around that time. The sergeant on duty gave me the once over but once we explained what I was doing he was more than happy to help me. He and Bob signed my paperwork. Bob then guided me to the next available gas station that was open and I was able to get me receipt. Done check in the box what a relief. By this time it was 02:01 and Bob guided me to the hotel La Quinta Inn midtown, it was 02:20 when we pulled into the parking lot
I started at 00:00 on the 14th PDT and completed the gas stop at 02:01 on the 17th EDT that means I complete the ride in 46 hours and one minute with a four hour time difference. I rode about 2480 miles in just over 46 hours.
The next day after I woke up and did the laundry (trust me I needed too). I called Bob asking if he could do lunch but we could not hook up together so I rode to Tybee Island again to take pictures and get water from the ocean. I found a nice couple willing to take some pictures for me, after thanking them I headed to the bar on the beach. I kicked back and watched the people and had a beer, afterwards I went back to my room to get out of the heat and set up my trip to meet my brother Dan at Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge. I set up my route and decided it was time for an adult beverage so I walked over to the closest bar and grill. Met a group at a convention for Snap-On tools, they were trying to drink the bar dry and from the way they were conversing I would have to say they were doing a fine job of it.
The next day I left Savannah and headed for NC stopping in Woodstock, GA at a Comfort Inn. Right after I set up my room I ran to get some food and as soon as I covered the bike the skies opened up and it poured for 3 hours. So I kicked back and at 10:00 pm I got on line and had a meeting with my boss using net-meeting (during the 2 hour meeting he kept asking what was that (beer bottles opening)). The next day I grabbed breakfast at the hotel and started the last 180 miles to the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge getting in around noon. I sat around for about 30 minutes then decided to head for lunch. After I got done with lunch Dan called me asked to meet him at the Dragon’s Tail. I headed to Deals Gap waiting for him but he never showed, I sat there 2.5 hours talking to a guy that runs the Dragon all the time. While we where sitting there talking, I saw Dan ride by. I started to get up but decided to sit back down and finish my conversation. After about 5 minutes, I told everyone good-bye and chased him down. I caught up with him about 12 miles down the road. I pulled up behind him and honked and realized he hadn’t seen the new bike so I pulled up beside him to give him shit for not stopping. After giving him grief for a couple of second I pulled in front and he followed me into Robbinsville, NC. We stopped to get adult beverages, that’s when we found out we were in a dry county. We decided to go to the Lodge and drop off his clothes and make a run for drinks and diner. We ended up going about 15 miles to a little resort for dinner and a couple of drinks, then on the way back we stopped and picked up some mixer for him and beer for me. When we got back to the lodge we were kicking back when a couple of guys showed up from New York talking about how long they had been on the road I smiled to myself and went out side. The smile was gone when I noticed both bike didn’t have windshield. I shook my head went back in and gave them a beer (they desired it 800 miles with no windshield).
The next day we had breakfast at the Lodge, set up our route then head out to Deals Gap where we hung out for a few minutes getting gifts before running the Dragon Tail. I told Dan to go first and pick a pace he was comfortable with and off we went. We had one close call when Dan slowed down so much in a corner I almost rear ended him. I slid to the side and just missed his tailpipe. Afterwards we stopped at the top for the Dragon hanging out then headed for Gatlinburg, TN. We rode along the edge of the Smoky Mountain’s on the way to Gatlinburg. Once in Gatlinburg we did lunch and chatted with locals. We then headed back stopping at several places along the way. We got back to the Lodge around 17:00 and kicked back at the lodge watching a movie and drank adult beverages with everyone else. While at the lodge we also decided our ride back to Indiana stopping in Knoxville, TN for breakfast with an overnight stop in Cincinnati, OH. When we made Cincinnati we headed over to a local pub next door where we sat drank and played a board game with several locals.
The next morning we took off early and got to the parents house around 12:30. We skirted a storm front the whole way getting hit with occasional rain drops. The ride was great 4500 miles no real incidents and saw a lot of pretty country. It was a lot of fun riding with Dan, I hadn’t seen him since our brothers funeral.
I started in Rio Ranch, NM on June 14, 2007 at 03:00 arriving in Ocean Beach, CA at 16:00 for the beginning of my 50CC staying at the Premier Inn.
Before I tool off I packed the motorcycle around 21:00, as I was packing I went to pick up one of the bags off the floor and pulled a muscle in my back. I could hardly stand up. I finished packing and went to bed trying to sleep it off. When I got up 01:45, I was felling sore and a little tight but ready to go (it’s amazing what 800ml IBP can do.
So I locked up the house and I took off at 03:00 the temp was high 40’s by the time I reached Gallup, NM it was 34 degrees, so I decided to stop for breakfast and let it warm up before heading for Phoenix, AZ. The bad part was I knew it would be cold through that stretch of road but because of limited cargo space I decided not to carry extra gear so I had to tough it out. The ride went well to Phoenix with no incident. I reached Phoenix around noon and the temperature was 100 degrees. Once I stopped for gas I peeled off gear, then as I reached the turn for San Diego on Interstate 8 it was 104 degrees and that was the lowest temperature I saw until I cleared the mountains dropping into San Diego. With the high being Yuma 112 degrees. So for 300 miles the temperature was between 104-112 degrees. You talk about the roughest stretch of road I have traveled. I’m talking hot but not just hot but damn hot. I was stopping every 75 miles for water, Gatorade and to put on more sun screen. At each stop I was drinking about 32 ounces of water and 20 ounces of Gatorade.
Once I reached Ocean Beach just outside San Diego, I set up my hotel room and found the nearest lounge and sat and drank until happy hour was over (I was trying to replenish my liquid levels).
The next day June 15th I met up with Leslie and Jamie an awesome couple that met me at the ocean beach pier and we had lunch and relax talking about our LD rides and the BMW forum Leslie is the administrator of. After lunch they signed my paperwork and took some pictures for me. We then parted ways and I headed for the hotel to rest up for my mid-night departure.
I took off June 16, 2007 at 00:00 to try and get to Dallas, TX as my break for the ride. I was a little concerned about my back it was still a little sore, so I popped another 800 ml IBP got on the bike and headed for my first fuel stop for my start receipt. Wouldn’t you know it the pump didn’t have paper and I had to go inside to get a duplicate. I went to the door but it was locked so I asked the attendant for a receipt through the bullet proof glass (something told me I should not linger). I was hoping to miss the heat through El Paso and the thunderstorms that were happening in Texas. All was going well, temps were low and no rain and I was on schedule as I passed El Paso. I hit mid point in New Mexico on I-10 and feeling pretty good and as I turned onto I-20 I could see my luck was not going to hold. I hit rain around Pecos, TX, so about the first 750 miles went almost perfect. I pulled over just before Pecos and put on my rain gear and rode the next 520 miles in the rain. I didn’t make Dallas weather was bad enough that I ended up staying in Abilene, TX. I was hoping to do 1500 miles the first day but had to settle for 1270. I got into my hotel room around 9:30 dumped my bags into my room walked across the street for a beer at a really interesting place. The bar looked like an old metal warehouse building that they hung Christmas tree lights in with a concrete floor and a bar that was three ice chests and two 2x12 10 feet long sitting on five cinder blocks at each end. The bar wasn’t much to look at but the people real friendly. I drank my beer and headed back to my room for a shower (not sure the people at the bar were saying good bye being nice or because I stunk so badly). I showered, checked in with home, looked at my map for a couple of minutes then hit the sack for a three hour power nap. I woke to sound of the neighbors parting at 02:00 and decided it was time to go so I was out of there by 03:00 heading for Dallas. When I hit Dallas I stopped to fuel, after getting my receipt the skies opened up and all heck let loose. I started to put my rain gear on when the lighting started at that point I decided this would be a great time to get breakfast and wait the storm out. I was sitting in the restaurant and the waitress was telling me to expect the rain and lighting to last most of the morning. I was getting nervous because I was debating if I would have to call it quits, I really did not want to run through a lighting storm. After breakfast I asked the waitress where I could find a TV so I could watch the weather channel. She directed me to the truck driver’s lounge to see what the news was saying. I sat with a couple of drivers and talked about the weather, the reporter was saying rain and lighting all day. I was sinking pretty low when another driver said he just came from the East side of Dallas and the sun was shinning. I struck up a conversation with him and he said 15 miles east was blue skies. I thanked him for the weather report, and decided to get out of Dallas. I geared back up and jumped on the bike went 15 miles in a torrential storm then pop blue skies. I lost about 2 hours but man I love those truckers.
After leaving Dallas in the rain, I headed for Savannah to meet Bob. I met Bob like Leslie and Jamie on the IBA site looking for witnesses; all three were great helps with local information and support. I rode 740 miles and through several states with clear skies until I hit rain in Georgia. It rained on and off just enough for me to stop and put on my rain gear, then I would ride 20 minutes and it would stop and then the sun would bake me enough that I would stop and strip off the gear long enough for the rain to come again. This happen three times before I said the heck with the gear. I called Bob when I hit Atlanta and let him know I would be getting into Savannah around 23:30. He told me to call him from Macon and he would meet me at exit 172 on I-16. I met Bob for the first time at a restaurant outside of Savannah about 23:45. We talked for a little bit then headed to Tybee Island. Bob directed me through Savannah to Tybee Island weaving through town so quickly I can’t even recall seeing one street sign. When we did make Tybee Island, the first order of business was to get a gas receipt to complete the ride. We tried two gas stations but both were closed and the pumps were shutoff so he took me to the police station to get witness signatures. We arrived at the police station about 01:00 and you could tell they don’t see many people around that time. The sergeant on duty gave me the once over but once we explained what I was doing he was more than happy to help me. He and Bob signed my paperwork. Bob then guided me to the next available gas station that was open and I was able to get me receipt. Done check in the box what a relief. By this time it was 02:01 and Bob guided me to the hotel La Quinta Inn midtown, it was 02:20 when we pulled into the parking lot
I started at 00:00 on the 14th PDT and completed the gas stop at 02:01 on the 17th EDT that means I complete the ride in 46 hours and one minute with a four hour time difference. I rode about 2480 miles in just over 46 hours.
The next day after I woke up and did the laundry (trust me I needed too). I called Bob asking if he could do lunch but we could not hook up together so I rode to Tybee Island again to take pictures and get water from the ocean. I found a nice couple willing to take some pictures for me, after thanking them I headed to the bar on the beach. I kicked back and watched the people and had a beer, afterwards I went back to my room to get out of the heat and set up my trip to meet my brother Dan at Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge. I set up my route and decided it was time for an adult beverage so I walked over to the closest bar and grill. Met a group at a convention for Snap-On tools, they were trying to drink the bar dry and from the way they were conversing I would have to say they were doing a fine job of it.
The next day I left Savannah and headed for NC stopping in Woodstock, GA at a Comfort Inn. Right after I set up my room I ran to get some food and as soon as I covered the bike the skies opened up and it poured for 3 hours. So I kicked back and at 10:00 pm I got on line and had a meeting with my boss using net-meeting (during the 2 hour meeting he kept asking what was that (beer bottles opening)). The next day I grabbed breakfast at the hotel and started the last 180 miles to the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge getting in around noon. I sat around for about 30 minutes then decided to head for lunch. After I got done with lunch Dan called me asked to meet him at the Dragon’s Tail. I headed to Deals Gap waiting for him but he never showed, I sat there 2.5 hours talking to a guy that runs the Dragon all the time. While we where sitting there talking, I saw Dan ride by. I started to get up but decided to sit back down and finish my conversation. After about 5 minutes, I told everyone good-bye and chased him down. I caught up with him about 12 miles down the road. I pulled up behind him and honked and realized he hadn’t seen the new bike so I pulled up beside him to give him shit for not stopping. After giving him grief for a couple of second I pulled in front and he followed me into Robbinsville, NC. We stopped to get adult beverages, that’s when we found out we were in a dry county. We decided to go to the Lodge and drop off his clothes and make a run for drinks and diner. We ended up going about 15 miles to a little resort for dinner and a couple of drinks, then on the way back we stopped and picked up some mixer for him and beer for me. When we got back to the lodge we were kicking back when a couple of guys showed up from New York talking about how long they had been on the road I smiled to myself and went out side. The smile was gone when I noticed both bike didn’t have windshield. I shook my head went back in and gave them a beer (they desired it 800 miles with no windshield).
The next day we had breakfast at the Lodge, set up our route then head out to Deals Gap where we hung out for a few minutes getting gifts before running the Dragon Tail. I told Dan to go first and pick a pace he was comfortable with and off we went. We had one close call when Dan slowed down so much in a corner I almost rear ended him. I slid to the side and just missed his tailpipe. Afterwards we stopped at the top for the Dragon hanging out then headed for Gatlinburg, TN. We rode along the edge of the Smoky Mountain’s on the way to Gatlinburg. Once in Gatlinburg we did lunch and chatted with locals. We then headed back stopping at several places along the way. We got back to the Lodge around 17:00 and kicked back at the lodge watching a movie and drank adult beverages with everyone else. While at the lodge we also decided our ride back to Indiana stopping in Knoxville, TN for breakfast with an overnight stop in Cincinnati, OH. When we made Cincinnati we headed over to a local pub next door where we sat drank and played a board game with several locals.
The next morning we took off early and got to the parents house around 12:30. We skirted a storm front the whole way getting hit with occasional rain drops. The ride was great 4500 miles no real incidents and saw a lot of pretty country. It was a lot of fun riding with Dan, I hadn’t seen him since our brothers funeral.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
LOE1000
Gang,
I don't think my write up will compare to others but here goes. This is what I posted to my friends on another site.
I did a great ride last Saturday/Sunday (October, 6/7) called “Land of Enchantment 1000” (LOE1000). It's a long distance rally; if you are not familiar it's a 24 hour rally. You have 24 hours to complete 1000 miles and collect enough bonus sites/points throughout the state to be considered a finisher. This is not a race but a well planned route. They give you a packet Friday night with bonus sites and you have to plan your route to collect enough sites/points and still travel 1000 miles. The longer you plan the less sleep you get. Well here is a little taste of the adventure.
I arrived Friday afternoon to do my odometer check and complete my pre-ride check in. The check in is to verify that the motorcycle is in good working order from a safety perspective and the odometer check is to make sure they can accurately document your miles traveled. After completing my check in, I wondered around meeting the other riders and looking at all the bikes and added farkles. After a while I checked in to the hotel and headed for dinner. That night we had an 8pm riders meeting for instructions and packet handouts (a lot of information in a few minutes). By 8:30 we were allowed to open our packets and start to plan our route. Some hung around to review the list of bonus sites and asking questions, I decided to head back to my room. When I opened the packet, I started to glance at the bonuses and smile. I was so full of myself all apprehension went away and I decided to plan an aggressive route doing about 1250 miles. (Hey I’m a New Mexican how tough could it be?) I plotted my site locations on a map then pulled out my laptop and punched in the locations on my mapping software then I downloaded it into my GPS all that was left was to hit the sack (it was about 1am).
Wow 5:15am came quick, it seemed like I just went to bed. I drug myself out of bed and got ready to get my bike in the 6am line up. I got the bike uncovered and put it in line. I brought all my gear down from the room and when I plugged in my GPS it blew the fuse for my auxiliary plug there went my route We had to have the bikes lined up for odometer check; they came by and checked our mileage for our start. While they were checking my mileage, I was trying to figure out why I didn’t have power for my plug. I finally figured out I blew the fuse under my Tupperware so I knew then I just lost the GPS. So I winged it for the ride using a map and the site directions given (thank goodness everything was in New Mexico). I decided to go to the locations that I knew and try to pick enough points/sites to be a finisher. I went from trying to win to survive in the span of 1 minute. You should have heard me talking to the rider next to me. I think I switched my first site five times while talking to him. Since I was making up my route on the fly, I was trying to decide should I go South or North first or should I go West or East. I finally decided to head North to Albuquerque to get a picture of the hot air balloons then head to the Trinity site to get a combo bonus. So when they started us, I naturally changed my mind and headed south to the VLA.
Then 7am we took off from the Western Skies Inn & Suites in Los Lunas, NM. I think there were 44 of us traveling in every which direction, I headed South for the VLA an easy stop that I‘ve been to several times. I stopped with another rider and we took turns taking each others pictures we chatted for a couple of minutes then jumped back on the bikes and we both headed for Pie Town for a quick picture. Once completed, I found out he was also heading for Reserve so we got back on the bikes and started in that direction. We made the turn at Datil, NM but he bailed for gas, so a quick wave and twist of the throttle and I was gone. I got to Reserve in about an hour, with the warning light on for my gas gauge flashing (should have stopped at Datil too). I stopped at the city sign and snapped my picture. I decided that gas was the next stop, so I stopped at the only gas station and filled up. Next stop Gila Monument but of course staying true to form, I once again changed my mind and backtracked all the way to the VLA and headed for the Trinity Site to pick up 1000 points. I got at the gate 30 minutes before they were closing, so I sped down ran up took my picture and got out of there. As I left the gate, I saw a fellow rider stuck at the gate trying to get in (he didn’t look like he was doing to well with the soldiers holding the M-16’s). Next stop the Salinas Pueblo Mission for my fifth bonus stop. After positioning my bike 3 times to get the gate sign, my flag and bike in the picture, I finally got the picture that you could tell where I was at. From there I jumped on the bike and headed in to Belen to snag another bonus at the Harvey House. This one I wasn’t going to miss, I met a lady that was part of the original Harvey girls and she used to talk about running up and down the rails and what an adventure for the young ladies. Six down on my way to my last stop before checking in, I grab a quick bonus in Los Lunas than picked up fuel and headed for the hotel for a 30 minute rest stop bonus. As I pulled into the Hotel parking lot there was Ira grinning, as I got off the bike he asked how I was doing and how long I was planning to stop. I told him 30 minutes then I was out of here. He asked where I was heading next, I thought to myself I was planning to head North up to Bandelier National Monument. So of course I told him I haven’t been east in a while so I thought I would head to Santa Rosa. So after 8 bonus stops, 570 miles and 13.5 hours to go I took off again for Santa Rosa. So naturally as I was starting down I-40 I decided to head for Sandia Crest instead. I flew up the mountain taking the turns 10-20 MPH above the speed limit as the sun was setting (what a beautiful site). This is a great ride winding up the mountain. I reached the crest ran up to take my picture and boom I’m out of film so back to the bike to reload the Polaroid then back to the crest for my picture. By this time, the wind had picked on the crest and the sun had set so I ask a couple if they could hold my flag as I took my picture. I thanked them and explained what I was doing as I walked back the parking lot with them. They were laughing and shaking their heads (honestly I don’t blame them). As I’m getting on my bike, I’m thinking now down to the Sandia Ski resort for a picture of the building with a lift in the background. So as quick as I went up the mountain I was at least 5 under the speed limit on the way down to the entrance to the ski resort. It was dark now and I cannot see 50 yards in front of me. I get there and the gate is locked so I grab my camera and hop the gate run up to the building snap my picture knowing full well that there is no way the lift will show up in the dark. Oh well I’ll plead my case at the scoring table and hope for the best. Feeling pretty good, I fly down to the bottom of the hill and pull in the exit for Tinker Town to grab the last site for a triple combo bonus (my first combo completed). I’m getting off my bike blazing my lights on their building so I can get enough light to get my picture with my flag on their sign. Got it an extra 367 points for nabbing all three now off I go for Santa Rosa with 11 sites attended and it’s just 8pm. One thing I have learned about riding at night the mind can wonder really ease, so I’m focusing on the next location a Antique Car place called Route 66 to snap a picture of a car on a stick. As I approached Santa Rosa doing 80 mph, I was thinking how am I going to find this place. Then out of nowhere on my left I see this old car sitting on a pole, a quick two lane move and I’m on the off ramp downshifting fast. I swing into the parking lot trying to figure how I am going to get my flag and the car in the picture. I finally decided to park my bike under the car, put my flag on my fuel tank and lay on the ground below my bike taking the picture upward. After that accomplishment I decided I deserved a snack, so I started munching on a power bar when a cop drives by going about 10 mph checking me out. About a minute later he comes back in the opposite direction, I wave but he keeps going. I’m thinking I better get out of here before he stops and I have to explain what I’m doing. Just as I start the bike another rider pulled in with a cop hot on his heals. As the bike slowed to turn the cop made a quick left to avoid him and sped off behind the buildings. I talked to the rider for a couple of minutes and decided to get out of there, as I left two more riders came swooping in the parking lot with cops coming from both directions (I think they were tired of seeing riders standing under the car taking pictures). I remember thinking how weird we all decide to hit this same spot at the same time. That was the last time I saw another rider till the hotel. I decided I would head back to Albuquerque, NM and grab the second of three automobile combo bonuses to get and additional points. So off I go to Unser Car showroom. I snapped my picture about midnight and decide to call a couple of buddies working and ask if they want to meet me for breakfast in Rio Rancho after I pick up the last Automobile bonus. They agree and off I go to L&R Antique Car showroom at the Stagecoach campground in Rio Rancho. A quick picture and boom another combo bonus worth 490 additional points and I’m only 10 miles from the I-Hop. I get to the restaurant at 01:00 and meet my buddies for what was supposed to be a quick stop. But of course the restaurant is busy and to add insult to injury the service is slow. But this was a good time to break and spend time with my friends to talk about how the ride has been going and to look at the bonus sites on the map. I’m to close to the end point and I only have about 900 mile well short of the 1000 miles I needed. So after what seemed like an eternity, I’m waving goodbye to my friends and heading back to Albuquerque to grab a couple of bonuses downtown (note to self if I do a food stop like that again get them to order ahead of time so food is their when I get there). Once I hit downtown, I swung by the Atomic Museum took a picture of the front door then off to what ended up being my last bonus stop Old Town. I pulled out my map and spent about 15 minutes to try and find at least one more stop close enough that I could get back to the hotel by 6am (the finish time), but there was nothing less than 200 miles round trip so I decided to head back to the hotel. As I left Albuquerque, I knew I was still about 60 miles short so I decide to drive right by the hotel, run down to Lemitar, NM for fuel. After getting fuel and talking to the attended for a few minutes while drinking coffee I decided to head for the hotel about 35 miles away. I arrived back at the hotel at 4am wasting 2 hours so I headed up to my room to grab a quick shower and a few minutes sleep. At 6am Sunday, I checked in and then went to the scorer's table 7:30 am to turn in my route info and proof of visiting the sites (pictures). I received great feedback on picture taking from the person reviewing my info; he showed me what was considered good and questionable as far as my pictures for future reference. After completing my check in, I headed to my room to get another quick nap before I met everyone at the Luna Mansion in Los Lunas for the lunch banquet. My wife came down from home to meet me at the banquet and we sat with several other riders swapping stories about our rides. We talked about all the weird things that happened too us. It was great to hear I wasn’t the only one that had problems and it was great meeting riders from all over. One of the couples was from Canada another from Minnesota, and the other person sitting at our table to my surprise was a neighbor of mine. He lives two blocks from us in Rio Rancho. After Lunch Ira communicated the results and people were taking pictures of everyone. This was my first time doing one of these organized rallies but it will not be the last. I ended up placing 24th with 1023 miles and 2747 points. Even though I didn’t finish too high I was very pleased with my performance especially after loosing my GPS at the start. Next years goal is a top 10 finish.
As I wrote above, I did complete the ride hitting 16 bonus sites and traveling 1023 miles to be considered a finisher. I returned back to the starting point around 4am, riding for 21 hours. I knew I wasn't close to the top riders in the rally when I finished. Our packets had several sites that were combos (2-3 sites) that you could go to for extra points and I only hit two combos so I knew I wasn't close but I was happy since I did finish. But note to self next time carry extra fuses for the auxiliary plug . Take care everyone and ride safe.
NMdcporter
06 ST1300
IBA #22390
SS1000, BB1500, B2B, SS2000, 50CC and LOE1000
I don't think my write up will compare to others but here goes. This is what I posted to my friends on another site.
I did a great ride last Saturday/Sunday (October, 6/7) called “Land of Enchantment 1000” (LOE1000). It's a long distance rally; if you are not familiar it's a 24 hour rally. You have 24 hours to complete 1000 miles and collect enough bonus sites/points throughout the state to be considered a finisher. This is not a race but a well planned route. They give you a packet Friday night with bonus sites and you have to plan your route to collect enough sites/points and still travel 1000 miles. The longer you plan the less sleep you get. Well here is a little taste of the adventure.
I arrived Friday afternoon to do my odometer check and complete my pre-ride check in. The check in is to verify that the motorcycle is in good working order from a safety perspective and the odometer check is to make sure they can accurately document your miles traveled. After completing my check in, I wondered around meeting the other riders and looking at all the bikes and added farkles. After a while I checked in to the hotel and headed for dinner. That night we had an 8pm riders meeting for instructions and packet handouts (a lot of information in a few minutes). By 8:30 we were allowed to open our packets and start to plan our route. Some hung around to review the list of bonus sites and asking questions, I decided to head back to my room. When I opened the packet, I started to glance at the bonuses and smile. I was so full of myself all apprehension went away and I decided to plan an aggressive route doing about 1250 miles. (Hey I’m a New Mexican how tough could it be?) I plotted my site locations on a map then pulled out my laptop and punched in the locations on my mapping software then I downloaded it into my GPS all that was left was to hit the sack (it was about 1am).
Wow 5:15am came quick, it seemed like I just went to bed. I drug myself out of bed and got ready to get my bike in the 6am line up. I got the bike uncovered and put it in line. I brought all my gear down from the room and when I plugged in my GPS it blew the fuse for my auxiliary plug there went my route We had to have the bikes lined up for odometer check; they came by and checked our mileage for our start. While they were checking my mileage, I was trying to figure out why I didn’t have power for my plug. I finally figured out I blew the fuse under my Tupperware so I knew then I just lost the GPS. So I winged it for the ride using a map and the site directions given (thank goodness everything was in New Mexico). I decided to go to the locations that I knew and try to pick enough points/sites to be a finisher. I went from trying to win to survive in the span of 1 minute. You should have heard me talking to the rider next to me. I think I switched my first site five times while talking to him. Since I was making up my route on the fly, I was trying to decide should I go South or North first or should I go West or East. I finally decided to head North to Albuquerque to get a picture of the hot air balloons then head to the Trinity site to get a combo bonus. So when they started us, I naturally changed my mind and headed south to the VLA.
Then 7am we took off from the Western Skies Inn & Suites in Los Lunas, NM. I think there were 44 of us traveling in every which direction, I headed South for the VLA an easy stop that I‘ve been to several times. I stopped with another rider and we took turns taking each others pictures we chatted for a couple of minutes then jumped back on the bikes and we both headed for Pie Town for a quick picture. Once completed, I found out he was also heading for Reserve so we got back on the bikes and started in that direction. We made the turn at Datil, NM but he bailed for gas, so a quick wave and twist of the throttle and I was gone. I got to Reserve in about an hour, with the warning light on for my gas gauge flashing (should have stopped at Datil too). I stopped at the city sign and snapped my picture. I decided that gas was the next stop, so I stopped at the only gas station and filled up. Next stop Gila Monument but of course staying true to form, I once again changed my mind and backtracked all the way to the VLA and headed for the Trinity Site to pick up 1000 points. I got at the gate 30 minutes before they were closing, so I sped down ran up took my picture and got out of there. As I left the gate, I saw a fellow rider stuck at the gate trying to get in (he didn’t look like he was doing to well with the soldiers holding the M-16’s). Next stop the Salinas Pueblo Mission for my fifth bonus stop. After positioning my bike 3 times to get the gate sign, my flag and bike in the picture, I finally got the picture that you could tell where I was at. From there I jumped on the bike and headed in to Belen to snag another bonus at the Harvey House. This one I wasn’t going to miss, I met a lady that was part of the original Harvey girls and she used to talk about running up and down the rails and what an adventure for the young ladies. Six down on my way to my last stop before checking in, I grab a quick bonus in Los Lunas than picked up fuel and headed for the hotel for a 30 minute rest stop bonus. As I pulled into the Hotel parking lot there was Ira grinning, as I got off the bike he asked how I was doing and how long I was planning to stop. I told him 30 minutes then I was out of here. He asked where I was heading next, I thought to myself I was planning to head North up to Bandelier National Monument. So of course I told him I haven’t been east in a while so I thought I would head to Santa Rosa. So after 8 bonus stops, 570 miles and 13.5 hours to go I took off again for Santa Rosa. So naturally as I was starting down I-40 I decided to head for Sandia Crest instead. I flew up the mountain taking the turns 10-20 MPH above the speed limit as the sun was setting (what a beautiful site). This is a great ride winding up the mountain. I reached the crest ran up to take my picture and boom I’m out of film so back to the bike to reload the Polaroid then back to the crest for my picture. By this time, the wind had picked on the crest and the sun had set so I ask a couple if they could hold my flag as I took my picture. I thanked them and explained what I was doing as I walked back the parking lot with them. They were laughing and shaking their heads (honestly I don’t blame them). As I’m getting on my bike, I’m thinking now down to the Sandia Ski resort for a picture of the building with a lift in the background. So as quick as I went up the mountain I was at least 5 under the speed limit on the way down to the entrance to the ski resort. It was dark now and I cannot see 50 yards in front of me. I get there and the gate is locked so I grab my camera and hop the gate run up to the building snap my picture knowing full well that there is no way the lift will show up in the dark. Oh well I’ll plead my case at the scoring table and hope for the best. Feeling pretty good, I fly down to the bottom of the hill and pull in the exit for Tinker Town to grab the last site for a triple combo bonus (my first combo completed). I’m getting off my bike blazing my lights on their building so I can get enough light to get my picture with my flag on their sign. Got it an extra 367 points for nabbing all three now off I go for Santa Rosa with 11 sites attended and it’s just 8pm. One thing I have learned about riding at night the mind can wonder really ease, so I’m focusing on the next location a Antique Car place called Route 66 to snap a picture of a car on a stick. As I approached Santa Rosa doing 80 mph, I was thinking how am I going to find this place. Then out of nowhere on my left I see this old car sitting on a pole, a quick two lane move and I’m on the off ramp downshifting fast. I swing into the parking lot trying to figure how I am going to get my flag and the car in the picture. I finally decided to park my bike under the car, put my flag on my fuel tank and lay on the ground below my bike taking the picture upward. After that accomplishment I decided I deserved a snack, so I started munching on a power bar when a cop drives by going about 10 mph checking me out. About a minute later he comes back in the opposite direction, I wave but he keeps going. I’m thinking I better get out of here before he stops and I have to explain what I’m doing. Just as I start the bike another rider pulled in with a cop hot on his heals. As the bike slowed to turn the cop made a quick left to avoid him and sped off behind the buildings. I talked to the rider for a couple of minutes and decided to get out of there, as I left two more riders came swooping in the parking lot with cops coming from both directions (I think they were tired of seeing riders standing under the car taking pictures). I remember thinking how weird we all decide to hit this same spot at the same time. That was the last time I saw another rider till the hotel. I decided I would head back to Albuquerque, NM and grab the second of three automobile combo bonuses to get and additional points. So off I go to Unser Car showroom. I snapped my picture about midnight and decide to call a couple of buddies working and ask if they want to meet me for breakfast in Rio Rancho after I pick up the last Automobile bonus. They agree and off I go to L&R Antique Car showroom at the Stagecoach campground in Rio Rancho. A quick picture and boom another combo bonus worth 490 additional points and I’m only 10 miles from the I-Hop. I get to the restaurant at 01:00 and meet my buddies for what was supposed to be a quick stop. But of course the restaurant is busy and to add insult to injury the service is slow. But this was a good time to break and spend time with my friends to talk about how the ride has been going and to look at the bonus sites on the map. I’m to close to the end point and I only have about 900 mile well short of the 1000 miles I needed. So after what seemed like an eternity, I’m waving goodbye to my friends and heading back to Albuquerque to grab a couple of bonuses downtown (note to self if I do a food stop like that again get them to order ahead of time so food is their when I get there). Once I hit downtown, I swung by the Atomic Museum took a picture of the front door then off to what ended up being my last bonus stop Old Town. I pulled out my map and spent about 15 minutes to try and find at least one more stop close enough that I could get back to the hotel by 6am (the finish time), but there was nothing less than 200 miles round trip so I decided to head back to the hotel. As I left Albuquerque, I knew I was still about 60 miles short so I decide to drive right by the hotel, run down to Lemitar, NM for fuel. After getting fuel and talking to the attended for a few minutes while drinking coffee I decided to head for the hotel about 35 miles away. I arrived back at the hotel at 4am wasting 2 hours so I headed up to my room to grab a quick shower and a few minutes sleep. At 6am Sunday, I checked in and then went to the scorer's table 7:30 am to turn in my route info and proof of visiting the sites (pictures). I received great feedback on picture taking from the person reviewing my info; he showed me what was considered good and questionable as far as my pictures for future reference. After completing my check in, I headed to my room to get another quick nap before I met everyone at the Luna Mansion in Los Lunas for the lunch banquet. My wife came down from home to meet me at the banquet and we sat with several other riders swapping stories about our rides. We talked about all the weird things that happened too us. It was great to hear I wasn’t the only one that had problems and it was great meeting riders from all over. One of the couples was from Canada another from Minnesota, and the other person sitting at our table to my surprise was a neighbor of mine. He lives two blocks from us in Rio Rancho. After Lunch Ira communicated the results and people were taking pictures of everyone. This was my first time doing one of these organized rallies but it will not be the last. I ended up placing 24th with 1023 miles and 2747 points. Even though I didn’t finish too high I was very pleased with my performance especially after loosing my GPS at the start. Next years goal is a top 10 finish.
As I wrote above, I did complete the ride hitting 16 bonus sites and traveling 1023 miles to be considered a finisher. I returned back to the starting point around 4am, riding for 21 hours. I knew I wasn't close to the top riders in the rally when I finished. Our packets had several sites that were combos (2-3 sites) that you could go to for extra points and I only hit two combos so I knew I wasn't close but I was happy since I did finish. But note to self next time carry extra fuses for the auxiliary plug . Take care everyone and ride safe.
NMdcporter
06 ST1300
IBA #22390
SS1000, BB1500, B2B, SS2000, 50CC and LOE1000
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