iron butt ride

[dsb]

I know long distance riding is not really popular on BARF but I get a kick out of it. Been wanting to do an iron butt ride for some time so I finally got a buddy of mine at work to go with me. Everybody else thought is was crazy.

Just the basic 1000 miles within 24 hour ride . My buddy came up from Gilroy and met me in Fremont at 6:30. Got back to Fremont at 3:15ish, 1140 miles later. It was a crazy ride and all in all went very smoothly.
Pretty damn dark up on highways 80 and 50, but fun. Only took a few pics, didn't waste alot of time off the bike.

Certainly learned alot about what your limits are on a bike. This will be the ride to judge all others! Thinking of going to Yellowstone next year. Only 1000 miles away. Piece of cake.

Here's a map of the route, sorry for the poor quality of the route indication. I'm sure doing 1000 miles in 24 hours would be much easier in a different state. We ran into traffic everwhere plus road construction and weather from 85 degrees in Redding to 35 degrees in Tahoe

[GAMBLER]

if you did that on a zr7, you already had an iron butt. nice. pic of bike?

[dsb]

Here's one of the few pics we took. This one is at a vista point on 299 between Arcata and Redding. My buddy was on a brand new VFR with an Aerostitch with a heated vest and heated gloves. I toughed it out

[dsb]

BTW, it used to be a ZR-7S until i hit some ice on sonora pass last year

[GAMBLER]

Originally posted by dsb
BTW, it used to be a ZR-7S until i hit some ice on sonora pass last year

looks good naked. how about that gas mileage, bet the vfr was the first to stop for gas.

[boney]

Nice job. Yeah, Yellowstone is a piece of cake. You'll make better time out there in the NV desert too. I made Livingston MT in 17 hours a couple of years ago. If you're headed somewhere it's real easy to turn the ride into a Bun Burner the next day. I had my paper signed for the 1500 in 36 hrs in Bismark ND on day 2 then rode another 300+ miles to Fargo ND.

Day 3 I did 300 miles.

[fuldog]

Just curious, but why didn't you take hwy. 36 from the coast to Red Bluff ( much more fun and far less cars) instead of 299 ?

[boney]

Originally posted by fuldog
Just curious, but why didn't you take hwy. 36 from the coast to Red Bluff ( much more fun and far less cars) instead of 299 ?

I'm gonna take a stab.

Getting your Iron Butt is not really that hard. It's a lesson in time management. Spend as little time as possible off the bike and as much time as possible rolling down the road at a reasonable pace. To hit 1000 miles in 20 hours you need to make 50 MPH on average, and you still have 4 hours to pick up some slop. The problem is that the more time you spend on your bike, the more time you need to spend off it, and then after 18 hours of riding, most people I know are completely sacked.

dsb did the ride in 19+ hours on an unfaired bike with what most Iron Butt riders would consider a small tank. Lots of gas stops eat lots of time. Also, the east side of Tahoe on 50 can really suck traffic wise. For a first Iron Butt I think the route was chosen wisely- reasonably fast known roads. It takes the guess work out of the ride planning and puts the onus of making the time on the rider. NICE JOB!

I can't speak for the OP on how much time they spent at gas stops and such (this is where you will make or break your Iron Butt) but cruising along on a nice highway at 50-60 MPH with cars around you is a lot less tiring than running a slower twisty "fun" road after you've been on the bike that long. And if you can't keep the average speed up, then you've got to make it up somewhere else.

Once one has proven to himself that it is possible, you can do all kinds of crazy stuff to make it harder. Ride an "all back roads" route. Ride a Helix scooter (hey- a guy finished the Iron Butt Rally on one. 11,000 miles in 11 days). Hell, get that old CB350 out of the barn and take it for a ride! You can also do crazy shit like the Saddle Sore 3000 (3000 miles in 3 days) which is actually easier than the 50CC (coast to coast in 50 hours or less). Perhaps you'd like to try a Bun Burner Gold? (1500 miles in 24 hours). Or the grand daddy of all long distance rides: the Iron Butt Rally. Where 11,000 miles in 11 days only means you finished. If you want to win it's gonna be more like 13,000+ miles and some seriously good route finding.

dsb, welcome to the world of Long Distance Riding. This country just got a whole lot smaller... Take a peek at the map and make note of all the places that just moved within 1 day's ride- it's amazing to see where you can be tomorrow and have your motorcycle with you.

For reference visit :The Iron Butt Association

[NoGall]

A GPS can help the time management aspect greatly. You can actively monitor whether you are keeping to the targeted Average MPH.

[dsb]

Originally posted by fuldog
Just curious, but why didn't you take hwy. 36 from the coast to Red Bluff ( much more fun and far less cars) instead of 299 ?

I couldn't put it any better then boney. From what I heard 36 is much more fun. There are alot of mountain passes that are more fun than highways 50 and 80, just kinda hard to squeeze them in a ride that is limited on time. I would like to head up that way again next year and check it out at a more casual pace.

We made 8 or 9 gas stops. I'll have to double check since we saved them all for certification. We stopped about every 150 miles. We coulda stretched it out further but it seemed to coincide with some major cities we passed through and it was about the perfect time to stretch and get refreshed.

Time wise on stops, we tried to alternate . One stop just gas and go, the next stop gas, rest stretch and hydrate and snack. We made one major food stop early in the afternoon, but you'd be surprised how far you can go on powerbars and adrenaline

By the time I got home I was so wound up it took a while to calm down and get settled. Finally hit the hay 24 hours from the time I got up.

A ride like this puts things in perspective as far as riding goes (as well as other things). Now I look at this ride to Yellowstone and think....should we just ride to Yellowstone in one shot or be lazy and stretch it over 2 days

Another thing I learned is you don't need to have the latest and greatest bike and gadgets to do this type of ride. An old tech air cooled bike and good insulated gear will work just fine. Who needs windscreens and electric clothing (ok, I admit I wouldn't mind)

[dsb]

Originally posted by fuldog
Just curious, but why didn't you take hwy. 36 from the coast to Red Bluff ( much more fun and far less cars) instead of 299 ?

I half to add, there were very few cars on 299. The biggest hold up was the section where it was one way only where they were cleaning up a hill slide. Cars pulled over at the first turn out for us, and we did our part by not being overly aggressive and following to close and trying to pass at every chance.

[boney]

Who needs windscreens and electric clothing (ok, I admit I wouldn't mind)

Heated grips. Feeeeeeel the puuuuuullllllllllll of heeeaaaaaated griiiiiiiips. MMMMMm. They'll compensate nicely for a windscreen and electric clothing down to some pretty unbearable temperatures. The nice thing is that they can be had for about $50. Watch out though, once you have them, you'll never go back.

[RydTher]

Nice. I did my saddle sore one-way to Albuquerque NM, easy that way. 1047 miles, 18 hours or so, and really wasnt pushing it. (cept I lost my records, but I know that I did it, so ...) and the Bunburner as well. ( I did 1650 miles in 36 hours)

gonna do another this coming spring or summer, and NOT loose my paperwork, heh

[Bronto]

Congrats on surviving 1000 miles. Interestng route, good thing stayed on freeways mostly.

Looking at the Yellowstone ride it's just under 1000 miles. To make up additional, could stay at a hotel outside of the park to the North. It would look good on the certificate SF Bay Area to Yellowstone.

After doing an Iron Butt. I see the chelledge more about time in the saddle then actual miles.
Was kewl our Iron Butt ride was during a major Storm. 700 miles of heavy rain, kept it interesting.

NorCalBusa's TinButt ride. All the popular twisites linked together, circling the Bay Area. From Hwy 9 to Skaggs, Berryessa to Mt Hamilton. One huge circle of nearly 100% twisties.

Did a recon ride of Tin Butt. Got Dark had to cut short the loop. The longer days of Summer it could be all done in daylight. Did get kinda zoned with all the intense riding tho. Might be Dangerous on that account.

Circle the Sierras ride planned in the depths of Winter. It's 1000 mile round trip. Could be done in 24 hours. More likely would stay at a Hostel near Beatty. Check out Las Vegas at night. Two day ride.

I miss the ZR7s for rides like these. Kicking a leg up on an engine cover.

[dsb]

Originally posted by GAMBLER
looks good naked. how about that gas mileage, bet the vfr was the first to stop for gas.

Thanks! There's not alot of difference as far as wind protection, but I do notice alot less helmet buffeting without a helmet.

I averaged 50mpg, and I think the vfr averaged 45, so not a big difference.