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Iron Butt 1000-in-24 Group Rides

Outta Control said:
How do you like the SPOT tracker. Been looking into a PLB and wanted to get a better feel for the SPOT product as more than a tracker.
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It's not much more than a tracker. I've never used the 911 button on it, but the stories are good. Used with the Spotwalla web site its a great way to let folks know where you are. It does have issues in the mountains, and as you can see it went a long distance not sending a signal. Have to have it mounted in a good place (which I do NOT right now). You can get them free or very cheap when they go on sale. But the service is not cheap. Only real competitor is the Delorme product, that lest you send txt messages, but that is very expensive on the service side.
 
So I did figure out an optional route that goes on CA-36 rather than CA-299. Its got some real pluses over the other route, night stretch is over straighter roads, start/finish is closer to my house. But big negative is fuel is limited on 36, I'm still looking for a 120 mile route but here is one that is for 140:

http://goo.gl/maps/qz1U7
 
lonerockz said:
It's not much more than a tracker. I've never used the 911 button on it, but the stories are good. Used with the Spotwalla web site its a great way to let folks know where you are. It does have issues in the mountains, and as you can see it went a long distance not sending a signal. Have to have it mounted in a good place (which I do NOT right now). You can get them free or very cheap when they go on sale. But the service is not cheap. Only real competitor is the Delorme product, that lest you send txt messages, but that is very expensive on the service side.
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I've got the newer Spot Connect that works with a smart phone and it can send real time text mssgs to email or cell phone receipients, over the satellite link. It connects to your smart phone via blue tooth, and runs an app on the phone to create the mssgs and or select various modes like tracking, and then the mssg is dispatched by the Spot over their satellite uplink (old Iridium service) and forwarded into the interwebz. So as long as you have a view to the sky (just like gps) your mssg will go out. I've been very happy and impressed by it so far, and had no reliability issues, unlike some of the earlier gen versions I have heard about.


T
 
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Titus58 said:
then the mssg is dispatched by the Spot over their satellite uplink (old Iridium service) and forwarded into the interwebz.
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All of the Spot units utilize the Globalstar set of satellites, not the Iridium ones; they are completely different systems.
 
lonerockz said:
So I did figure out an optional route that goes on CA-36 rather than CA-299. Its got some real pluses over the other route, night stretch is over straighter roads, start/finish is closer to my house. But big negative is fuel is limited on 36, I'm still looking for a 120 mile route but here is one that is for 140:

http://goo.gl/maps/qz1U7
Click to expand...



That was actually the route that I was planning for myself before the weather reports showed rain. The only difference is that I would have started and finished in South San Jose and gone up 280 instead of the East Bay. :thumbup
 
280 would put you through the city streets and slow you down. Depending on what time you left it could add a lot of time even though it is shorter.
 
Skip said:
280 would put you through the city streets and slow you down. Depending on what time you left it could add a lot of time even though it is shorter.
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Yup, but I wasn't concerned with traffic on 19th at 5am on a Saturday. :teeth
 
I finished the 1000 miles in 20.5 hours. My buddy had a few mechanical issues we had to work out along the way which increased the time by a few hours. It was a great adventure to say the least. I'd do it again, probably solo though.

Thanks Steve for posting the map and encouraging others to get on their bikes and ride!
 
MikeGyver said:
I finished the 1000 miles in 20.5 hours. My buddy had a few mechanical issues we had to work out along the way which increased the time by a few hours. It was a great adventure to say the least. I'd do it again, probably solo though.

Thanks Steve for posting the map and encouraging others to get on their bikes and ride!
Click to expand...

Which route did you take? I did the highway 36 route on saturday. Started 5:20 and finished 11:10.:ride
 
Started in Sacramento. 5 N, 299 W, 101 S, 198 E, 5 N. Started at 5:15am and was home at 1:45am.
 
I'm planning one to Montana in about 3 weeks. I figure if you're gonna go to all that trouble, why not actually get somewhere? :teeth
 
Well I was planning on some fall rides... But...

While on the Iron Butt Rally my Kawasaki developed stator problems. So it needs to be fixed. I swapped it on the rally for my Triumph. Which I discovered does a poor job cutting deer in half. While the front half of the deer was nice and enact the rear was splattered all over the highway. Luckily I was relatively unscathed (does a dislocated pinky really count?) The Triumph however was kinda trashed. This leaves me bikeless for now. Triumph should arrive in the bay next week and I'll get to find out if its totaled. Luckily it was fully insured.

Guess I need to get off my ass and fix the Kawasaki.
 
lonerockz said:
Well I was planning on some fall rides... But...

While on the Iron Butt Rally my Kawasaki developed stator problems. So it needs to be fixed. I swapped it on the rally for my Triumph. Which I discovered does a poor job cutting deer in half. While the front half of the deer was nice and enact the rear was splattered all over the highway. Luckily I was relatively unscathed (does a dislocated pinky really count?) The Triumph however was kinda trashed. This leaves me bikeless for now. Triumph should arrive in the bay next week and I'll get to find out if its totaled. Luckily it was fully insured.

Guess I need to get off my ass and fix the Kawasaki.
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Dude! How many days into it did you hit the deer? Was the rain a problem for you?
 
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