Trip Report Iron Butt Associations Saddle Sore 1,000 Rider: Me! Passenger(s): 57 Friends & Family! Dates: May 17 & 18, 2014 Start Time: 4:45 am (MST) End Time: 2:39 am (MST) Total Time: 21 hrs 54 mins Start Odometer: 6824 End Odometer: 7868 Total Mileage: 1,044 (1,043.8 on trip odometer) First, let me explain the difference you may note between the mileage and time above compared to the picture I posted early this morning of my bikes instrument cluster. I intentionally stopped last night to capture when the bike said Id clicked 1,000 miles, but I knew that wasnt going to be the official end of the ride. The IBA requires that you prove your start and stop times, dates, and locations, preferably with an electronically printed receipt at a gas station. You are also supposed to have a witness endorse these reading. When I hit 1,000 I was nowhere near a gas station. Plus, as the IBA cautions, your bikes odometer may not be accurate. It would suck if you stopped at exactly 1,000 only to discover later that your odometer was off by one tenth of a mile per every ten miles and you had actually only ridden 990 miles! I wanted to make sure I had a buffer, plus I wanted it to be an actual round trip by stopping and starting at the same gas station near my house. My odometer must be pretty accurate because Google Maps says this route is 1,047 miles long. So, I wont bore you with every single detail of the trip. Rather I just want to share with you some of my impressions from this adventure. The first thing that stood out was.... YOU! Really, I was so very surprised and excited to see all the comments as I was making my few posts. Even if you just clicked Like it told me you were watching and interested. This was more than I expected and thrilled me. In my other post I said I wouldnt have done this without you all being there with me. This is so true. Honestly there were a few times when it was getting really difficult and I was thinking of quitting, but I didnt because I know you all were out there cheering me on! Many of you told me how you knew I could do it and were excited to follow along. Sure, I know everyone would have understood, but I didnt want to let you down. If ever you want to try something very difficult and challenging and youre just not sure youre up to it, I suggest you tell a whole bunch of people about it! Its a lot harder to quit when people are watching! :) I actually started having second thoughts even before I was out of Arizona! It was cold, boring, I was alone and I was already feeling tired. I thought to myself, Youve barely done a tenth of this, how will you be able to do it all?? What possessed to think you could do this!?!? But I thought how pathetic it would be to quit so early into it. Ive never fooled myself into thinking this was going to be easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it! I knew I had to challenge myself and push thru the difficulties and prove myself to myself. This was important to me. One moral booster was when I was in downtown Hatch, New Mexico and saw all those wonderfully tacky fiberglass statues at Sparkys BBQ & Expresso Cafe. I didnt take as many pictures as I wish I had, but they really brought a smile to my face. Even Colonel Sanders helped by asking me to sit next to him, put his arm around me and said, My Boy, youre a Son of the South. You can do this! Now smile for the selfie! Ronald McDonald was nearby, but I chose not to speak to him. Driving for mile after mile thru the Desert SouthWest at 75-80 mph can be mind-numbing. And extremely dangerous. Sure, all I was doing was sitting for 1,000 miles, but if you think this wasnt physically and mentally challenging, then you dont have a clue. Bikers tell each other Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up! Thats hard to do when your bike is matte Nuclear Sunset Orange and matte Black! I lack a shiny side. Joking aside, riding a motorcycle has its own set of challenges that can be physically draining. I do have to say though, the Victory Cross Country has one of the most comfortable factory seats Ive ever experienced and the rider backrest makes a world of difference. I experienced no butt or lower back pain at all. Now my knees and shoulders, thats another story.... The mental challenge was dealing with the boredom. Ive been on all these roads many times before and although I love the DSW, theres just not a lot to keep your interest. Im sure for many of you who havent been to the Southwest it would be fascinating. And it really is. Unfortunately, I went thru the really scenic part at night. If I do this again, Im going to go in the opposite direction so Ill go thru northern Arizona and New Mexico in the daylight. How did I deal with the boredom? In a variety of ways, but mostly by talking to myself.... out loud. I even had two-way conversations with myself, asking myself questions, challenging points I made, asking for further explanation, telling myself I was full of shit at times, telling myself how brilliant I was most of the time, etc. Topics ran the full range of things going on in my life. Oh, and I sang a lot, too. El Perro Atómico has a kick-ass stereo system, but its useless at freeway speeds. Even at 11+, you can barely hear it. I didnt want to use earbuds because I like to be able to hear for anomalies in the engine. So I sang at the top of my lungs! That probably accounts for the very sore throat I have today. I carried more things with me than I needed, but that was OK. The one main thing is to be sure to drink water, a lot, even when you think youre fine. Drink. Sure, youll have to pee every time you stop (plan your stop location accordingly), but thats OK. If you stop and you dont need to pee, you have NOT been drinking enough water. I never stopped to formally eat, because I had power bars and jerky with me. Each time I stopped I ate some of these and washed it down with copious amounts of water. I think I could have pulled off this trip in an even shorter time, but I did stop often for rest and to collect myself for the next segment. Some of the stops could have been shorter, though. I wish Id taken more pictures, but the few I did take were pretty cool, dont you think? So whats the bottom line? Did I enjoy it? Yes. Do I recommend it to others? Yes. Was I prepared? Mostly. Will I do it again? Perhaps. It was a good thing for me to have done this!
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 23:53:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015