Iron Butt 1000-in-24 Group Rides

[CykoKlr]

I can be a start or end witness depending on the dates and times. Anywhere within a hundred miles or so of the Bay Area is fine. I've also done a bunch of cert rides and rallies, if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to share my experiences.

This guy rides /\


Dont know if you remember me but I met you at four corners on Mikes Newbie Ride. I rode sweep on my 08 ninja 250 for one of the groups. Same screen name on SBR
Ramon

 

[NoGall]

I hit up my regular riding partner and his response was "absolutely not interested." He doesn't get it, has no interest and thinks the idea is stupid.

You don't think burning through $100 worth of gas in 24 hours for the sake of piling on the miles qualifies as a stupid idea? Well, it is.

It's not everyone's cup of tea.

Did a SS1K in a group format once with 6 or 7 other guys... Doesn't work for me. For one, everyone's endurance and tank size is different. There is more risk involved when the "group" (or even your lone partner) dictates when to stop/rest. "Group" takes out the efficiency of "stop when YOU need gas/rest". It can be done, but imo, IB is best done solo.

That said... I applaud the OP for organizing this

 

[lonerockz]

You don't think burning through $100 worth of gas in 24 hours for the sake of piling on the miles qualifies as a stupid idea? Well, it is.

It's not everyone's cup of tea.

Did a SS1K in a group format once with 6 or 7 other guys... Doesn't work for me. For one, everyone's endurance and tank size is different. There is more risk involved when the "group" (or even your lone partner) dictates when to stop/rest. "Group" takes out the efficiency of "stop when YOU need gas/rest". It can be done, but imo, IB is best done solo.

That said... I applaud the OP for organizing this

Thanks NoGall, I'm hoping we have the right mix of "alone" and "group" here. I have done two rides like this, Top of Minnesota to Bottom of Florida, and circle all 5 great lakes (as a rider, not organizer). Everyone starts in the same place, and ends in the same place, so its a group, but you ride alone.

Yes this is not exactly a great use of resources ;-) On a rally I burn 25+ gallons a day... My wife loves getting the calls from the credit card fraud department... "No ma'am, you dont under stand there is fuel purchases from Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama all on the same day! It must be a stolen card"

 

[lonerockz]

I can be a start or end witness depending on the dates and times. Anywhere within a hundred miles or so of the Bay Area is fine. I've also done a bunch of cert rides and rallies, if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to share my experiences.

Thanks Andy! I'll be in contact as things firm up. Keep an eye out for the pre-pre-ride meeting, would love to have you share your war stories too.

 

[NoGall]

"No ma'am, you dont under stand there is fuel purchases from Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama all on the same day! It must be a stolen card"

Hahahaha! That's awesome

 

[lonerockz]

Ok. I added dates for the pre-pre-ride info session and locked in the March 30th ride. Look to the first post for more info.

 

[Whodat]

PPS, if you are interested in doing 1000 miles in the fastest time possible, please leave me out of it. You can do 1000 miles at 42 mph and get it done in 24 hours. If you think this is an opportunity to do a land speed record... move along.

A good rule of thumb for me is 16 hours give or take a couple. In Nevada it can be as few as 12.5 hrs , or can stretch up to 22-23 if you stop a lot :| but generally if I'm starting at 6am I plan on being back in the barn around midnight.

Rallies are different. In a 24 hour rally I plan on being out for 23:59 or even into penalty time if the points are there.

 

[Mr Pepsi]

I would love to go with you guys, but March won't work for me. Lets plan a follow up later in the year.

 

[Skip]

March 30 looks real good. Great way to start my spring break!

 

[lonerockz]

I would love to go with you guys, but March won't work for me. Lets plan a follow up later in the year.

The other dates are still on the board for a 2nd or 3rd ride. Just the first one will be March 30th.

Remember I plan on doing SS1Ks 2-4 times before June 10th. So even if there is no interest I will be out there on the road ;-) Heck I'll probably do one in February solo and check out the March route.

 

[sdboxer]

Hey Steve - I'm in. March 30th for sure. Much of the farkling should be complete by then.

Sanjay

 

[FLH03RIDER]

Steve, all...

Current commitments at the end of March rule that date out for me.

Weather at the end of March, first part of April can still be pretty dicey, particularly in Northern Cali or going over / down along the Sierra's. Also, still more "dark" hours than "daylight" hours. I think that if the weather is crappy, people won't ride. I know some folks might say blasphemy, what a puss, you're not a real rider, well to each his own. For me riding in the rain for an hour or two is doable but gets old fast and if ya get wet you get cold, and that sucks the life out of ya.


Thoughts on possible options to float the date into April if the whether is crappy.

 

[lonerockz]

Hey Steve - I'm in. March 30th for sure. Much of the farkling should be complete by then.

Ah sdboxer! My fellow IBR rookie! Better get that fuel cell sorted by then ;-)

Welcome aboard.

Steve

 

[boney]

Did a SS1K in a group format once with 6 or 7 other guys... Doesn't work for me. For one, everyone's endurance and tank size is different. There is more risk involved when the "group" (or even your lone partner) dictates when to stop/rest. "Group" takes out the efficiency of "stop when YOU need gas/rest". It can be done, but imo, IB is best done solo.

I've done all my long rides with other people. BUT, they're people I trust implicitly. Also, ahead of time, we set up contingency plans. What if one of us gets a flat tire? What if there's a mechanical problem? What if someone wants to tap out in the middle of nowhere? There's a lot of "what if's" that need to be squared away ahead of time so that everyone knows what to expect if/when it happens.

When you ride with someone there's an agreement to look out after each other whether you say there is or not. It's on you to make sure your riding buddy is safe and in a good place if you decide to go on. AND you have to understand that you're either going to leave him and he has to be okay with that, or you're going to scuttle the rest of the ride to stay with him, and you have to be okay with that. Things change when you're out there on the road for a long period of time- especially if you're a bit fatigued. Then little things can really irritate you. Like the way your riding partner squirts through the little spaces between cars, or how his speed slowly drifts down until he realizes he's slowed and and he romps the throttle to pick it up. And dog forbid if your bike can go 260+miles on a tank and your riding buddy can only go 180. At 950 miles into the ride it's really going to get old when you stop for gas. AGAIN! It's easy to understand why we'd want to ride with others, but the chances of success fall with each additional person along.

I'm not opposed to riding the long rides with a buddy or two, but pick them wisely and set up some ground rules before setting out.

 

[aciurczak]

Did someone say long-distance riding? Will keep an eye on the dates, will join if able. Hope to see you at the start line in July as well; I've got a whole bunch of farkling to take care of in the meantime. (Step 1, buy bike)

 

[lonerockz]

Current commitments at the end of March rule that date out for me.

I locked in the May 4th date. I figure with MikeGyver & Friend that is enough folks to do it.

So if March is too cold and rainy we have that as an option. Also I'm free most of April so that day could move around. But it wont be the first week in April

Also note I scheduled a pre-pre ride meeting for folks, but just looking for a venue now.

 

[pashnit]

Riding the Saddlesore 1000 was likely one of the funnest rides I've ever done!

For those that can't make this thread's ride, I've always wanted to put together an Iron Butt Rally so we got in touch with Mike Kneebone, made it an officially sanctioned event by the Iron Butt Association & set it up.

29 signed up for the 1st-ever Pashnit Iron Butt, 21 made it in 2012. This is an annual event for entry-level riders to get their Iron Butt Saddlesore 1000 certs in a group environment!

The Pashnit Iron Butt Rally is pretty simple - we all meet up on Friday. Everyone rides their own ride individually in any direction, and meets back at the hotel 24 hrs later. I left at 3:30 am & got back at 11pm.

I took about 500 photos during the ride so I'm told that's not normal.

I needed the extra gas - my longest leg was 256 miles between gas stations.

My whole goal was to ride out to the Bonneville Salt Flats & back in one day. So if you decide to do a 1000 mile day, pick a destination you've always wanted to see to make it interesting. It created a goal, and was very exciting to be riding around on the salt.

For 2013, I'd like to ride out to either the Grand Tetons, or possibly Monument Valley or the Grand Canyon & back in one day.

Only a couple mods were needed to use a Hayabusa for Iron Butt Riding - Throttlemeister is a must, Zero-Gravity's Sport-Touring windscreen, and a solo Corbin with an Air Hawk. -1 down in the rear allows for 50 mpg too. Tankbag full of granola bars, lots of water and the secret to the whole ride was a bag of Red Vines.

They say Long-Distance riding is highly addictive. It's a sub-culture inside a sub-culture. One of the participants in the rally for example rode down from Canada to Carson City, NV. Rode the 1000 Mile day. They turned around and rode back to Calgary. Figure that out.

Here's the schedule of long-distance riding events in Iron Butt Magazine for 2013:

Can log onto the pashnit site here to learn more: www.1000MileDay.com

 

[lonerockz]

Now that the commercial interruption is over

I think I have a route put together for the March 30th ride.

http://goo.gl/maps/TzIBX

Take a look.

Things I like about this route:

• Its got only one extra fuel stop over an ideal 130 mile range route (8 vs. 7)
• Running it north to south means you spend your late morning/early afternoon in the mountains.
• Night time mountain riding is only 50 miles (Coalinga to San Lucas)
• If you decide you've had enough any time from mile 575 to 715 its a quick hop back to the bay area. (Maybe too much temptation?)

I don't know how 101 is north and south of the bay. Is it slow going? That might be a factor.

Of course the 400 miles of I-5 might be just a sick joke on my part to make you know the pain of crossing North Dakota. Yes a throttle lock might be a good idea for that stretch.

I'm going to try and get a ruling from the IBA to make sure there are no challenges. Might have to add a fuel stop in the Eureka area to prove a corner was not cut... but I doubt it because there seems to be no road between the coast and Willow creek, other than 299.

 

[NoGall]

I have done a few times a 6am departure following the same to 299. 101 to 299 is a breeze early morning. Depends on when you come through south, on a Saturday, you may split a few of miles -- nothing too painful.

 

[CykoKlr]

Looks good.....

299 Is AWESOME and 198 is pretty damn fun too...