So far I’ve done two SS1000’s. First one was about 5 years ago, all interstate and took about 16 hours. I rode a 2013 Honda F6B with no cruise control. Second one was last October and was all in Arizona on my 2015 RGS. Took 21 hours due to a lot of back roads. I qualified for “in state” and the Shark Nose 1000. Yes there is such a thing. Thinking about a CC50 but might start with a border to border since I live near Mexico. This IBA stuff is addicting. The respect you get when people notice your IBA placard is a bonus. Can’t wait to do another on my new RGU. Placard displayed proudly. No room in plate area so I improvised.
So far I’ve done two SS1000’s. First one was about 5 years ago, all interstate and took about 16 hours. I rode a 2013 Honda F6B with no cruise control. Second one was last October and was all in Arizona on my 2015 RGS. Took 21 hours due to a lot of back roads. I qualified for “in state” and the Shark Nose 1000. Yes there is such a thing. Thinking about a CC50 but might start with a border to border since I live near Mexico. This IBA stuff is addicting. The respect you get when people notice your IBA placard is a bonus. Can’t wait to do another on my new RGU. Placard displayed proudly. No room in plate area so I improvised.
You're getting me motivated! Did my SS1000 a few years ago. Planning my In State for this fall. And, since I live just south of the Canadian border right on US95, might just do a border to border to Mexico!
You're getting me motivated! Did my SS1000 a few years ago. Planning my In State for this fall. And, since I live just south of the Canadian border right on US95, might just do a border to border to Mexico!
The in state was a bit more challenging. I remember most of it lol. Here’s my goodies.
Idaho is indeed challenging, because there are no roads through the central mountains. The only way to make a loop is to leave the state. So, it looks like it's going to be an out and back, Lewiston-Pocatello-Lewiston.
Had a good time in Jacksonville for the IBA Banquet. My planned SS4K to get there did not go quite as planned. Was up late working all week so I had limited time to put my bike back together. Finished around 10pm Friday night, then had laundry to do and had to pack, so my 5am departure was pushed back to 7am. Once on the road my heated pants were not heating (not a big deal as they are fairly well insulated) but neither was my right glove liner (bigger deal as it was around 30 degrees). Found the issue was with the glove liner as my Gerbing heated gloves worked just fine. Then I wasn't getting full heat and found my wireless controller was not working correctly so I removed it from the system and was much warmer. Saw nasty weather along my planned route of I-70 so I headed south on I-81 to hopefully get around the storm and find warmer temps. In Wytheville VA it was still only 37 yet 70 miles away in Bristol TN it was 60. I hit rain east of Bristol and rode through it until past Nashville. It got foggy for one 30 minute stretch and I found a truck doing 40 that I stayed behind so I knew where the road was. Hit some heavy rain and wind just before I broke out of the storm and found out later there were tornados in that area, Surprise !!! Stopped about 130 miles west of Nashville in Jackson TN, around 1 am and 2 hours short of my goal for the day
Day 2 I found that my bluetooth headset wouldn't power up so no music to help keep me awake. Plus my latter than planned stop and the loss of an hour due to the time change meant that even though I slept until 7:00 am I only had 5 hrs sleep on top of being short of sleep the week prior. I had trouble staying awake and was stopping every 30 minutes or so for a short break. Around 2pm I was 20 miles past Ft Smith and needed another break. After a 10 minute nap I felt refreshed but it had started raining. My GPS had me getting into Albuquerque around midnight which was about 4 hours short of my goal of El Paso TX. I decided that it was time to pull the plug and for the first time not finish a certified ride. I was relieve by the decision. I looked for a hotel and found a Hampton Inn 20 miles to the east in Ft Smith AR so I booked my room and headed there. As I was passing through the old part of Ft Smith I came a cross a cool memorial for General Darby, the original commander for the US Army Rangers. I stopped for a few minutes to check it out, then headed to my hotel where I showered, did some laundry, and walked next door to Hooters for some wings and a beer or three. After dinner I tried the reset button on my headset and it solved the problem. I was a little frustrated because with XM Radio to keep me awake I may not have scrubbed my ride, but such is life. I went to bed without setting an alarm
The next day I woke at 6am, laughed, and went back to sleep. Woke again at 9;30 am, just missed breakfast, and got on my way. I was headed to Cape Coral FL where my wife was with her mother and step father. It wasn't exactly a relaxing sight seeing ride as it was still around 1,300 miles and I had slept away almost 1/2 a day. I did stop at DK Custom's shop in MS where we chatted for a few hours. Stopped for the night in Montgomery AL because the next 200 miles were on some 3 digit US route and I did not want to take the chance of there not being any hotels if I got tired. The next day went as planned and I pulled into Cape Coral around 6pm or so.
The rest of the trip was fun but relatively uneventful. Overall I spent some time with friends, some of whom I had not seen for 2 years and others I will see this June at the Iron Butt Rally. I also added just over 4,000 miles to my bike in a week which was good as well.
Great story! Sorry you didn’t complete the run but this shows how difficult it is to finish an Iron Butt. Sometimes I hear people say it’s easy but with so many variables it’s not. It’s even more difficult nowadays with how crowded the highways are with traffic. My buddy is about to attempt a 50cc from San Diego to Jacksonville and I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Great story! Sorry you didn’t complete the run but this shows how difficult it is to finish an Iron Butt. Sometimes I hear people say it’s easy but with so many variables it’s not. It’s even more difficult nowadays with how crowded the highways are with traffic. My buddy is about to attempt a 50cc from San Diego to Jacksonville and I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Thanks, it is easy when all goes well. But when little things start accumulating it gets more difficult. With me on this trip the biggest issue was the fact that I was tired before I even started. It really sucked sitting there when they were presenting the certificates for the ride in's and I wasn't collecting one this year. I'll have to do something more epic next year
A 50 CC is a good ride. I did a 100 CCC as my first multiple 1,000 mile day in 2014. I had issues with the time changes when heading east. I could not figure out why my plan had me getting to the midway point so late
Good luck Chris! He just embarked on his next Iron Butt Rally. He's on media blackout until the end... so.... he won't see this till after the rally... so... Congrats Chris!
Well, I haven't yet submitted the paperwork, but I completed 1073 miles on Saturday, 29 June. I completed my run in 17.5 hours on a beautiful day. And, my butt was sore and I was tired. I ride a 2016 FLHTK. The bike was at 24553 miles when I left.
03-10-2019, 10:02 PM
