1000 miles in under 24 hours... I survived
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09-24-2013, 12:15 AM
Join Date: Aug 2013
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1000 miles in under 24 hours... I survived
Did this ride on Saturday and wanted to share my adventure on my 1989 Harley-Davidson Electraglide Ultra Classic I got a couple of months ago.
1/2 time watching my Broncos. Thought I'd write up my trip briefly by 100 miles stints.
0-100 miles:
Left at 3:15 am had to drive 40 miles just to get to the start. Sleepy and frazzled cause I didn't plan too far ahead (signed up to do it 5 days before the start).
Got to the start and got my start time approved by the official. No small talk and off I go.
Most people were riding with experienced partners in 2's or 3's and had been planning for a month or more. My philosophy is just go and expect obstacles and overcome them as best as you can. Be ready for anything
First stretch of road is awesome Hwy 285 is like a roller coaster up and down and twisty as hell climbing up up up to high altitudes. Two bikes pull up behind me about 15 miles in that are doing the ride too. A brand new Harley Electraglide (CVO?) and a tricked out new BMW. They are hauling *** and I decide to hang with them for a while and cover some miles. Really fun... but getting really cold. After 100 miles my hands are about frozen and I'm using my engine as a stove to heat them up as I ride (cruise control on when possible for my right hand to defrost). Praying for the sun to come up soon and warm us up.
Take a break for about 20 minutes in FairPlay, CO (population 689, elevation 9,950 ft) coffee and gas. Rest of the 1000 miles I do solo.
200-300 stretched out high speed bends and rollers in God's country as the sun peaks out on the horizon. Got a great pic of this sunrise on my phone I'll post later. Lots of ranches, cattle, no people, or cars... paradise in my book. Through beautiful and tranquil St. Luis State Park. More at commercial break... games back on. GO BRONCOS!
Next through the outskirts of Great Sand Dunes National Park... kinda mindblowing scenery there. Ended up in Alamosa for a quick gas stop, coffee, iced tea, and nibble of food. Bike has been running great the whole way. Can't believe how well it adapts to elevation changes without being fuel injected. No carburation issues whatsoever.
Alamosa is the first semblence of a real town all morning since Denver and I blast outta there quickly anxious to get back on the road. I got turned around and went east instead of south for 10 miles and wasted some time... annoying but not catastrophic.
Turning out to be a beautiful sunny Saturday and a great blue sky Colorado day for riding. Tempurature is perfect but I am still defrosting from the freezing cold morning. I don't have any good cold weather riding gear so I just layered up and used what I had... two pairs of walmart work gloves, a hoodie, my Harley rain gear, and my snowboarding pants, on top of jeans, wool socks, and my $5 Walmart sale riding boots... what can I say, that's how I roll! The stretch of road south of Alamosa on Hwy 285 is freakin awesome. Lots of big stretched out winding roads, brand new sticky pavement, through a National Forest, and no cars or people. Headed south to New Mexico is like riding out on another planet it's so tranquil. The last 20 miles prior to the State line are the pinnacle, old historic mining villages, the oldest church in Colorado, and an old steam train line the winds around (I actually saw the train puffing away right next to the highway and so wanted to stop and go for a ride on it... but that will be another adventure I guess). Crossed into New Mexico "Land of Enchantment" and the roads are now the grey, gravely tarmac, not terrible to ride on but I'm a bit more cautious on the twisties until I get used to it. Not a damn house, car, person, town in sight... nice!
300-400 Looking at the map online I see that I road Hwy 285 south then hit Hwy 64 east through another National Forest but for the life of me I cannot recall any part of this ride right now... I musta been zoning out big time 'cause it's like a 100 mile stretch
I hit the crossroads of Hwy 64 and Hwy 84 and had to make a decision there while I stopped for gas, iced tea, a ****, and nibbled on some jerky. Either I kept heading west into Arizona then north through the Utah desert as the ride was planned... or I headed north into more awesome mountain roads like I've been riding since the start. My gut told me to vere off the path and head north so that's what I did.
Great choice there because the roads and rock formations were breathtaking. Headed up smiling as I passed the sign "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" to this awesome little town mountain town called Pagosa Springs "The Best of Colorado". I stopped there and walked around a bit, gassed up, ate a bag of peanuts, sampled some local treats from a Saturday farmers market, watched them roast some green chills and bought a couple of bags hot outta the propane flame roasting rotary thing they use. It makes 'em taste nice and smokey... great for green chili a Colorado staple that my wife loves so much. Last I was in this town was in 1993 when I was 18 years old passing through with my high school sweetheart. Damn that was a while ago. The town looks the same though, just a charming little mountain town full of interesting people living the dream I suppose. There's a natural hot spring there and bathing pools that were calling my name... no rest for the weary though gotta make it 1000 miles in 24 hours and the clocks ticking away.
300-400 Looped back northeast on Hwy 160 through another National Forrest. Awesome high country road that I highly recommend. A bit more traffic on this than others but for obvious reason... freakin amazing sights and rock formations, canyons, waterfalls, hair pins, ups and downs, over the continental divide ect... craziness.
400-600 ended up in South Park, Colorado... yah just like the cartoon the show is based off of, but the real thing actually. Not much going on there pretty sleepy town. I just stopped for gas, iced tea, and a nibble of food. Talked to a guy on a Ducati who was asking where I was coming from and when I told him where from and headed to damn he thought I was crazy. Bike still running perfectly. My only job is to keep all of my receipts from the gas stops, log my stops and mileage, and log any rest stops longer than 1/2 hour which the Iron Butt Assocaiton considers "rest stops". I brought my sleeping bag and tent thinking I would take a couple of naps but that never happened and I probably wouldn't have made it if I did.
600-700 was Hwy 285 loop coming back from the south to north. Did in the dusk this time instead of at night and got to see all the great scenery. Lots of tall canyons, pines, and rock formations. Lots of small mountain towns and a roller coaster ride of ups and downs and twistiest.... really fun road to drive. Pretty tired at this point but still feeling good.
By the time I got back into southern Denver I was feeling happy with ride and ready to pack it in honestly. My thoughts were like damn that was an awesome ride and although if I head home now I will have only logged 800 miles... at least I'll sleep in my own bed tonight and get to watch some football tomorrow and hang with my little ones and wife. So I text my wife and let her know I didn't quite make and that it's no big deal and I'll be home in about an hour. It was like 9:00pm at this point. My wife's return text was sometihing like, sorry honey you didn't make it... don't you have until 4am to finish? My wife is the queen of motivation and knows that I wouldn't be truely happy without success or failure at full effort.... so that was the motivation I needed. Got my second wind and off I go for another 300 miles.
700-900 Off I go in the pitch dark headed for Wyoming going on hour 19 with no sleep and not any hot food or a real meal in me since Friday. Stop in Cheyenne Wyoming at Denny's. Not even hungry at this point 'cause my body is jacket up from all this craziness but I am getting weak and no I must eat. I ordered up Belgium waffle, eggs, bowl of grits, coffee... waitress is talking to me while I devour the whole damn plate in like 1 minute flat. Feel better once it hits my system. Gear up and head out after about 45 minutes maybe at most. Cruise around Wyoming for a while then head back into Colorado heading south. Need to be clear of the flooding areas so it's a bit touch and go... especially 'cause I can't see much in the dark of night.
Slip in for a shower at my house which is on the way at 1am... kiss my wife and off I go to finish this b*tch! Make a 100 mile loop east and south feeling pretty good and smelling the barn. I'm tired, but riding well and alert from a good meal and a shower. Also dumped my tent and sleeping bag which makes my bike riding position more comfortable. My lower back is screaming from all the riding but not enough to slow me down. Make to the finish line at the designated place and as far as I know I'm the only person that made it. I know the designated route got hit with nasty weather that probably deterred any of the motivated riders from finishing in the alotted time and the others probably didn't expect to finish anyway but figured they would give it a whirl.
I headed back home and got in at 4am. Thanked God for bringing me home safe. Kissed my wife, 2.5 year old daughter, and 11 month old son.... and damn it was nice to be home in my own bed. Useless the next day for sure, but being a dad and husband again at the home front ain't so bad. Glad I finished it and my family was proud of me for seeing it through.
Thanks for reading.
1/2 time watching my Broncos. Thought I'd write up my trip briefly by 100 miles stints.
0-100 miles:
Left at 3:15 am had to drive 40 miles just to get to the start. Sleepy and frazzled cause I didn't plan too far ahead (signed up to do it 5 days before the start).
Got to the start and got my start time approved by the official. No small talk and off I go.
Most people were riding with experienced partners in 2's or 3's and had been planning for a month or more. My philosophy is just go and expect obstacles and overcome them as best as you can. Be ready for anything
First stretch of road is awesome Hwy 285 is like a roller coaster up and down and twisty as hell climbing up up up to high altitudes. Two bikes pull up behind me about 15 miles in that are doing the ride too. A brand new Harley Electraglide (CVO?) and a tricked out new BMW. They are hauling *** and I decide to hang with them for a while and cover some miles. Really fun... but getting really cold. After 100 miles my hands are about frozen and I'm using my engine as a stove to heat them up as I ride (cruise control on when possible for my right hand to defrost). Praying for the sun to come up soon and warm us up.
Take a break for about 20 minutes in FairPlay, CO (population 689, elevation 9,950 ft) coffee and gas. Rest of the 1000 miles I do solo.
200-300 stretched out high speed bends and rollers in God's country as the sun peaks out on the horizon. Got a great pic of this sunrise on my phone I'll post later. Lots of ranches, cattle, no people, or cars... paradise in my book. Through beautiful and tranquil St. Luis State Park. More at commercial break... games back on. GO BRONCOS!
Next through the outskirts of Great Sand Dunes National Park... kinda mindblowing scenery there. Ended up in Alamosa for a quick gas stop, coffee, iced tea, and nibble of food. Bike has been running great the whole way. Can't believe how well it adapts to elevation changes without being fuel injected. No carburation issues whatsoever.
Alamosa is the first semblence of a real town all morning since Denver and I blast outta there quickly anxious to get back on the road. I got turned around and went east instead of south for 10 miles and wasted some time... annoying but not catastrophic.
Turning out to be a beautiful sunny Saturday and a great blue sky Colorado day for riding. Tempurature is perfect but I am still defrosting from the freezing cold morning. I don't have any good cold weather riding gear so I just layered up and used what I had... two pairs of walmart work gloves, a hoodie, my Harley rain gear, and my snowboarding pants, on top of jeans, wool socks, and my $5 Walmart sale riding boots... what can I say, that's how I roll! The stretch of road south of Alamosa on Hwy 285 is freakin awesome. Lots of big stretched out winding roads, brand new sticky pavement, through a National Forest, and no cars or people. Headed south to New Mexico is like riding out on another planet it's so tranquil. The last 20 miles prior to the State line are the pinnacle, old historic mining villages, the oldest church in Colorado, and an old steam train line the winds around (I actually saw the train puffing away right next to the highway and so wanted to stop and go for a ride on it... but that will be another adventure I guess). Crossed into New Mexico "Land of Enchantment" and the roads are now the grey, gravely tarmac, not terrible to ride on but I'm a bit more cautious on the twisties until I get used to it. Not a damn house, car, person, town in sight... nice!
300-400 Looking at the map online I see that I road Hwy 285 south then hit Hwy 64 east through another National Forest but for the life of me I cannot recall any part of this ride right now... I musta been zoning out big time 'cause it's like a 100 mile stretch
I hit the crossroads of Hwy 64 and Hwy 84 and had to make a decision there while I stopped for gas, iced tea, a ****, and nibbled on some jerky. Either I kept heading west into Arizona then north through the Utah desert as the ride was planned... or I headed north into more awesome mountain roads like I've been riding since the start. My gut told me to vere off the path and head north so that's what I did.
Great choice there because the roads and rock formations were breathtaking. Headed up smiling as I passed the sign "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" to this awesome little town mountain town called Pagosa Springs "The Best of Colorado". I stopped there and walked around a bit, gassed up, ate a bag of peanuts, sampled some local treats from a Saturday farmers market, watched them roast some green chills and bought a couple of bags hot outta the propane flame roasting rotary thing they use. It makes 'em taste nice and smokey... great for green chili a Colorado staple that my wife loves so much. Last I was in this town was in 1993 when I was 18 years old passing through with my high school sweetheart. Damn that was a while ago. The town looks the same though, just a charming little mountain town full of interesting people living the dream I suppose. There's a natural hot spring there and bathing pools that were calling my name... no rest for the weary though gotta make it 1000 miles in 24 hours and the clocks ticking away.
300-400 Looped back northeast on Hwy 160 through another National Forrest. Awesome high country road that I highly recommend. A bit more traffic on this than others but for obvious reason... freakin amazing sights and rock formations, canyons, waterfalls, hair pins, ups and downs, over the continental divide ect... craziness.
400-600 ended up in South Park, Colorado... yah just like the cartoon the show is based off of, but the real thing actually. Not much going on there pretty sleepy town. I just stopped for gas, iced tea, and a nibble of food. Talked to a guy on a Ducati who was asking where I was coming from and when I told him where from and headed to damn he thought I was crazy. Bike still running perfectly. My only job is to keep all of my receipts from the gas stops, log my stops and mileage, and log any rest stops longer than 1/2 hour which the Iron Butt Assocaiton considers "rest stops". I brought my sleeping bag and tent thinking I would take a couple of naps but that never happened and I probably wouldn't have made it if I did.
600-700 was Hwy 285 loop coming back from the south to north. Did in the dusk this time instead of at night and got to see all the great scenery. Lots of tall canyons, pines, and rock formations. Lots of small mountain towns and a roller coaster ride of ups and downs and twistiest.... really fun road to drive. Pretty tired at this point but still feeling good.
By the time I got back into southern Denver I was feeling happy with ride and ready to pack it in honestly. My thoughts were like damn that was an awesome ride and although if I head home now I will have only logged 800 miles... at least I'll sleep in my own bed tonight and get to watch some football tomorrow and hang with my little ones and wife. So I text my wife and let her know I didn't quite make and that it's no big deal and I'll be home in about an hour. It was like 9:00pm at this point. My wife's return text was sometihing like, sorry honey you didn't make it... don't you have until 4am to finish? My wife is the queen of motivation and knows that I wouldn't be truely happy without success or failure at full effort.... so that was the motivation I needed. Got my second wind and off I go for another 300 miles.
700-900 Off I go in the pitch dark headed for Wyoming going on hour 19 with no sleep and not any hot food or a real meal in me since Friday. Stop in Cheyenne Wyoming at Denny's. Not even hungry at this point 'cause my body is jacket up from all this craziness but I am getting weak and no I must eat. I ordered up Belgium waffle, eggs, bowl of grits, coffee... waitress is talking to me while I devour the whole damn plate in like 1 minute flat. Feel better once it hits my system. Gear up and head out after about 45 minutes maybe at most. Cruise around Wyoming for a while then head back into Colorado heading south. Need to be clear of the flooding areas so it's a bit touch and go... especially 'cause I can't see much in the dark of night.
Slip in for a shower at my house which is on the way at 1am... kiss my wife and off I go to finish this b*tch! Make a 100 mile loop east and south feeling pretty good and smelling the barn. I'm tired, but riding well and alert from a good meal and a shower. Also dumped my tent and sleeping bag which makes my bike riding position more comfortable. My lower back is screaming from all the riding but not enough to slow me down. Make to the finish line at the designated place and as far as I know I'm the only person that made it. I know the designated route got hit with nasty weather that probably deterred any of the motivated riders from finishing in the alotted time and the others probably didn't expect to finish anyway but figured they would give it a whirl.
I headed back home and got in at 4am. Thanked God for bringing me home safe. Kissed my wife, 2.5 year old daughter, and 11 month old son.... and damn it was nice to be home in my own bed. Useless the next day for sure, but being a dad and husband again at the home front ain't so bad. Glad I finished it and my family was proud of me for seeing it through.
Thanks for reading.
#3
09-24-2013, 12:34 AM
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09-24-2013, 05:41 AM
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09-24-2013, 06:33 AM
