Well the "Bit Nippy 1000" happened this past weekend, it was my wife's first 1000 mile ride, we took off at 05:45 rode to Chandler, Arizona for lunch at the Heart Attack Grill then returned home by 22:15. There were 5 motorcycles going it was funny to see my Gold Wing in with the four BMW's (three GS and one RT). We saw temperatures from a low 33 to 88 degrees. The group wanted to document a SS1000 and I thought it would be a great time for my wife to get her first Saddle Sore 1000. We talked about it and she decided to go for it so off we went Saturday morning. We headed South hoping that it would warm up and get the longest part of the ride done. Things didn't start out so great as we headed south on I-25 the temperatures were dropping. Before the sun came up the temp dropped to 33 degrees. This was a problem because my wife's gear is not the best and even though I told her to layer up she was so cold by our first fuel stop in Hatch, New Mexico she almost quit. We spent an extra 20 minutes getting her warmed up. Once we took off again, the sun was up and temp had increased by 12 degrees. So off we went heading for Deming, New Mexico and I-10. We arrived no issues and jumped on the interstate. We were traveling about 200 miles between fuel stops (this was due to the range on the Wing). Our next stop was in Arizona.
We stopped at Dragoon and were back on the road in 15 minutes. At this stop, everyone was stripping off a few layers the temperatures had been rising. Our ride into Chandler went well and we actually arrived at the Heart Attack Grill right on schedule. So far we completed 550 miles in 8 hours 15 minutes. So we were averaging 67 mph including stops. The temperature was now 88 degrees, so we had seen our low around 33 and now our high of 88 degrees. The place wasn't packed and we were able to get seated right away. The first thing they do is give you a hospital gown and explain how things work. Everyone talked about how they were going to get a triple by-pass burger when we started but they all wimped out and ordered singles except Bob and I who ordered a double by-pass burger and fries. 
After lunch we waddled to the bikes geared up and headed for home, we decided we would head north through Flagstaff and run I-40 back to Albuquerque. The return route was only 490 miles so we figured if we could maintain the same 67 mph we would be home in 7.5 hours. we grabbed a quick fuel stop and headed for Flagstaff knowing we would have to get fuel there; for the SS1000 you have to document your corners so Flagstaff was a good spot for fuel and to get geared up as the sun set. It took us a little under 2.5 hours to get to Flagstaff and the temperatures weren't bad, it was still around 50 degrees. I helped get my wife bundled up and she also put on the rain gear to help break the wind. This really helped because she never complained about being cold the rest of the ride. The rain gear over her riding gear really helped. As we left the Flagstaff area the temps started to rise and pretty soon it was around 54 degrees. It was miserable to start but we knew it would cool off as soon as the sun set. I wasn't leading the group now and the pace quickened once we started down I-40.
I already knew I wasn't going to try and keep up so the group started to break apart. Two of the riders were running about 5 mph faster then I cared too, so I let them go. To me running at night is hard enough so I set the cruise control at 77 mph and motored down the interstate. That speed must have been ok because the other two riders stayed with us. Everyone knew we planned to stop in Gallup for fuel, so we thought there might be a chance to meet back up. We ended up not seeing the other riders till the end, we stopped just past Gallup for fuel at a truck stop. After a few minutes of deciding where to finish at we took off. We ended the ride as we started in Albuquerque closed to where we started. After getting our last fuel receipt, we rode to a Village Inn close by to meet up with the other riders. Bob's wife showed up and signed our documents and we sat around drinking coffee and talking about the ride and when we were going again. After sitting around for 40 minutes we decided to head for the house, we thanked everyone for coming out and supporting our first 2-up SS1000 and my wife's first 1000 miler. Once home, I unpacked the bike and asked my wife if she had taken our paperwork into the house she said no so I knew instantly that we left it sitting on the table at the Village Inn. She called and the manager picked it up and put it in their office for me to pick it up the next day. The next morning, I ran over picked up our paperwork and started to organize it for mailing. We ended up riding 1040 miles (per my GPS) in 16.5 hours. We averaged 63 mph for the whole tripped that included the 1 hour stop for lunch. Being my wife's first 1000 mile day, this was an excellent ride specially 2-up.
It has been a couple of day since the ride and my wife isn't sure she would want to do that again. I told her to remember that doing the SS1000 would not be fun, it is boring just sitting there pounding out the miles. Doing a rally is where the real fun is, you get on and off the bike more looking for specific things and making adjustments on the fly. We are still planning to attend the Utah 1088 rally next year. Steve has set up what I think is a great event, he is having three rallies in one event. There is a 3-day, 1 day and 12 hour rally all going on at the same time. The 12 hours he is recommending for riders that haven't been in a rally before, great way to get your feet wet. The 12 hours rally isn't that long and gives you a great feel for what a longer rally is about, you plan your route collect bonii and only have to ride around 500 miles to be a finisher. I think this will be a great rally for us to try, I'm not sure if I even want to do the 2-up thing so this is an inexpense way to get started. Hey if we don't like it, I can always go back to riding solo and we can just enjoy weekend rides in New Mexico.
It's been pretty quite since the SS1000, trying to organize a ride this week. Hopefully we can get out for a short ride before it gets too cold. We have been hovering around 30-40 degrees during the day.
Looks like I'm getting a couple of tos for the Goldwing for Christmas, so should be installing new running lights and a belly pan next month.
Well until next time ride safe.
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