Motorcycle Challange

[RationalBiker]

As some of you know, I love riding my Harley.

Today I took part in an "Iron Butt" challenge which I successfully completed! This particular challenge involves riding 1000 miles in less than 24 hours (The IBA has other challenges as well). This particular ride was part of a benefit for SEALS and Army Aviators who died in Afghanistan in 2005. The ride went from Portsmouth, VA to Savannah, GA and back. While I really would like to have seen more of Savannah on a les strict schedule, time and good weather kept the breaks short. The group I rode with finished 1005 miles in 17 hrs. 25 mins. A full 14 hours of that time was on the bike.

Going to sleep off some the pain now .

[Inspector]

It's a good kind of hurt, though, hehe.

Good job, RB. Sounds like quite the ride.

[RationalBiker]

Thanks Inspector!

We were going for a world record number of riders, but we came up about 30 short at 127. Out of the whole group, there was one accident; rider okay, motorcycle totaled. We left the start in small groups rather than all at once.

This ride boosted my confidence somewhat in the amount of time I can spend riding with only brief stops for gas. The physical discomfort was less of a concern for me than mental fatigue and clear thinking. During about the sixth leg, right after eating at Subways, I started to feel a little tired. Next stop I downed half of a Dew and I was good to go. I think lighter eating would have helped but that was also the hottest stretch of the day so the temperature may have played a part. The next two legs were probably the best of the day. I was very alive, finishing in time was now a tangible reality, the temperature was in comfortable range, and through most of it I was riding north on I95 with a huge smile on my face.

Throughout the ride we saw many bikes (and trailers ) returning from Myrtle Beach Bike Week. The majority of riders in our challenge had touring bikes like mine. Some had cruisers which have just about the same ride but less storage space. I saw at least one sport bike and a couple choppers. If they made the ride, they truly earned their Iron Butt membership. Most of the bikes were Harleys, but I did see a pair of riders on BMW 1150 series bikes. Those are no joke bikes made for long hauls (8.7 gal. tanks) and if they were GS or GS Adventures, they can go just about anywhere. Ewan McGregor (yes, Obi-Wan) and Charley Boorman (a lesser known actor) rode a pair of Adventures around the world. The whole world! (minus a short sea trip accross the Bering)

I was originally planning on riding with a friend of mine but he was involved in a motorcycle accident two weeks ago and consequently didn't make the ride. (He's okay except a couple broken ribs, broken shoulder and a little road rash) When I showed up early, I met 3 guys from Winchester, Virginia and they offered me a spot in their small group. They seemed friendly enough so I agreed. Additionally, Richard (the father) had a 3 wheeler and I knew that would be easy to spot if we got seperated. Turns out they were in fact very friendly and it made the ride that much more enjoyable. I made 3 new acquiantances that day and I hope to get the opportunity to ride with them again.

At the end of the ride we voted on what to do next year. I voted on the "1500 miles in 36 hours" ride. Piece a cake...

[BryanG]

Congrats!

Did you listen to music? Have a GPS with you? Sit in a bucket of ice when you got home??

I would be leery of taking my old BMW on a trip that long. I know people do take "vintage" bikes on the Iron Butt, but I'm not that mechanically inclined!

[~Sophia~]

Congratulations!

The most I have driven was 3000 miles (NJ to Vancouver) in 36 hours but that was by car (some sleeping was involved) - quiet different from riding a bike.

[Matus1976]

As some of you know, I love riding my Harley.

Today I took part in an "Iron Butt" challenge which I successfully completed! This particular challenge involves riding 1000 miles in less than 24 hours (The IBA has other challenges as well). This particular ride was part of a benefit for SEALS and Army Aviators who died in Afghanistan in 2005. The ride went from Portsmouth, VA to Savannah, GA and back. While I really would like to have seen more of Savannah on a les strict schedule, time and good weather kept the breaks short. The group I rode with finished 1005 miles in 17 hrs. 25 mins. A full 14 hours of that time was on the bike.

Going to sleep off some the pain now .

Good job RationalBIker, I've been working my way up to long distance riding myself, hoping to do a cross country ride in the near future.

[RationalBiker]

Did you listen to music? Have a GPS with you? Sit in a bucket of ice when you got home??

Thanks all for the kind comments!

No GPS, but the directions were incredibly easy. It's a straight shot on 95 south from Virginia to Savannah, GA. I did listen to music a good bit of the way but during the later portion of the trip I cut off the CD player just to hear the "roar" of the bikes for a while.

The most I have driven was 3000 miles (NJ to Vancouver) in 36 hours but that was by car (some sleeping was involved) - quiet different from riding a bike.

Still quite a venture. At some point I will ride for "shore to shore", east to west. However that trip will not be at a hurried pace. There is a lot of the country I would like to see and I think the perfect place to see it (for me) is from the saddle of a bike. I'm reading a book called "Breaking the Limit" by Karen Larsen. Larsen made a travelouge of her trip from New Jersey to Alaska. In part it is research for me, but it's also somewhat of an uplifting book of courage and adventure.

I've been working my way up to long distance riding myself, hoping to do a cross country ride in the near future.

I have to say that it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it was still challenging. As I mention to Sophia, my cross country ride will be slower paced. You don't get to take in much at an average speed of 70 mpg with 10 min. stops just for gas. I'll take at least a month to do my ride across the country, perhaps more meandering my way through more states than if I just made a straight line.

[RationalBiker]

I happy to say that I completed my second Iron Butt event a couple weeks ago. A couple of friends joined me this time. We started out (along with 420 other riders... yes, 423 altogether) from Chantilly, VA, basically circled the state of VA and ended up back at Chantilly 21 hours later.

We were making decent time for the most part until about 7:30 PM as we were traveling north on I81. All of a sudden we hit this wall of rain that reduced visibility to nothing for about 5 minutes. We hit an underpass to get on the rain gear and when it let up enough that we could get going again we hit the highway. It never entirely cleared up for the rest of the ride and it took us about 7 hours to complete the last 300 miles. Let me tell you folks, 7 hours of unlit interstate travel in the rain with semi-trucks zipping by you every other minute is a grueling and intense experience. Since I normally don't choose to drive in that kind of poor weather, it was in some ways a learning experience, but for most part the fun factor was significantly reduced. Still, finishing the ride under more difficult conditions made it feel like I earned it that much more.

Despite that last stressful leg, both of my friends were ready to do it again next year. 409 total riders finished the ride which allegedly established a world record for the 1000 miles/24 hours ride group. We rode another couple hundred miles to get home the next day, a fair part of that in the rain as well. I slept like a baby for hours and hours once I got home.

There was one of the 'hardcore' Iron-Butters there who had a bike with a modified gas tank that held 13.7 gallons of gas. The bike reminded me of a camel in appearance. This guy reportedly rode from Key West, FLA to Prudhoe Bay, AK in 5 and half days. That is a trek. He was among the first to finish our ride, likely well ahead of the storm my group hit.

I dream that one day I'll be able to do the actual 11 day rally but I'm not sure it will happen. 11 days, 11,000 miles. Truly the world's toughest motorcyclists.