Not certified yet, but...

pdbuzz

Premier Member
#1
I have high hopes! ;)

I did my first Iron Butt ride this past weekend (Oct. 7-8). It was the SaddleSore 1000. That definitely gets peoples attention when I talk about it. Though my co-workers just kind of shake their head and conclude I must be slightly insane! ;)

This weekend trip was a follow-up attempt to one I seriously tried Sept. 30th (and 'attempted' twice over the spring/summer). That trip was going to be to be through SLC to Denver and back, but I was forced to stop due to a massive temp drop in the high Wyoming desert. It just kept getting colder (mid-40's) and I wasn't dressed for it, so I turned around at Little America, WY, after a nice 'conciliatory' breakfast.

This attempt started Sat. morning and we were supposed to be seeing 70's in the SL valley during the day, and even better going south! But the morning was in the high 40's, so this time I was fully layered up and decked out in heated gear (undershirt, t-shirt, flannel shirt, long johns, then heated vest, chaps liner, insoles, and gloves! Oh, and a leather jacket & chaps, of course!) With my heated gear wired to the bike and dual adjustable (upper and lower)!

I hedged my bets against the weather by also choosing a southerly direction, where I knew it would get warmer as the day went on. I took off from Eagle Mountain and headed to Price, Utah. I started to 'un-layer' in Price and by the time I was south of Moab, it was in the mid-70's, and I was down to my t-shirt & jacket (I never had the desire to pull off the heated chaps, so I left everything on from the waist down). My turn-around was Grand Canyon HD, just outside of Flagstaff. Went in, grabbed a shirt & some poker chips, turned around and headed back. Gassed up in Flagstaff and I was leaving town as the sun was going down, heading into the Northern Arizona desert, aiming for Page and the Glen Canyon Dam!

It was a tough ride, mentally, from about 700 to 825 miles and I was ready to pack it in at the border town of Hildale Utah, but there was literally no place I could go; no motels, no camps, not even a lawn chair next to a store (that I could see from the main drag, anyway)! So, after talking to my wife for 15 min. and walking around, I pushed on to Hurricane, Utah. Once there, I got my 2nd wind (along with a '5hr energy' shot!), cranked on the hard rock playlist, and hit the highway again, pushing through towards Fillmore, Utah, which was near my 1,000 mile minimum.

As I headed north, I knew that the temps would be dropping, but they had help; a cold front was supposed to come into the area Sunday, and it felt like it got in a bit early, as temps dropped into the high 20's at some of the 6,000+ elevations going up I-15.

I made it into Fillmore and had a little relax time and celebration! By the time I got to Delta, I was over my 1,000 and it was only 105 miles to home, so I pressed on. About 40 mins. down the road though, I was starting to see colors and weird things, so I pulled off at a small rest stop on Hwy 6 (Silver City view area) for an hour to nap. Then I got back on the road for the remainder. That last bit was the coldest; the cold front that was coming into the area Sunday, came in hard! 30 mph winds from the northwest and high 30's to boot, and me with a 65 mph wind chill!

I waffled a bit on whether I would stop for a 'final' receipt, thinking that I might be over time (I already had my Delta receipt, insuring that I had my 1,000+), but I stopped anyway! With 9 minutes to spare on my 24 hours, I had 1,117 miles at the end! You can check out my trip here. I have an app called 'Bubbler GPS' (pro edition) that uploads GPS data once every 10 min., and I can then plot it to a map. That, along with my gas receipts and my trip log, will allow me to have this ride certified by the fine folks at the IBA!

This was something I've wanted to do for about 20 years, so I'm super-stoked to have finished it in one piece! ;) Map and data here!
 

Tele

Premier Member
#7
An excellent ride under challenging conditions Patrick . Well done on this effort and best wishes for the many rides to come!
 

Rusjel

Premier Member
#8
We were at the annual memorial rider here in Oz a few weeks back and one of the blokes there talked about how thrilled he was to trim his SS1600 ( metric) to 19 hours. I've been meeting him in remote locales for years ( hi Hagar) but have little knowledge about how he makes his miles, but how pleased he was was abundantly clear.

Made me realise again how much this thing is about personal challenge and achievement. Well done on your ride!
 

pdbuzz

Premier Member
#10
Hooray! I'm certified (not to be confused with certifiable, which was looong ago!)

I received my notice as follows:

This is to Certify that on the 7th of October 2017, Patrick D. Crowe rode a 2008 Harley-Davidson Road King Classic a total of 1,122 miles in less than twenty-four hours starting in Eagle Mountain, Utah continuing on to Price, Utah; Moab, Utah and a quick photo stop at Grand Canyon Harley Davidson in Bellemont, Arizona where he turned back north toward Page, Arizona; Hurricane and Delta, Utah before ending in Tooele, Utah while participating in the SaddleSore 1000.
 

jeffrey gebler

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#11
Congratulations Patrick on receiving your first certificate.
It is always exciting to get a ride certificate but the first will always have a special place.
Hope all is going well for the future ride plans.
 

Garage Monster

Premier Member
IBA Member
#12
Good job. Oct might be a little late for the mountains. As I get older I find the heat is not a big deal but I sure get cold easier. Congratulations. You may well find it addicting. I did my first SS1000 just to prove I could. I also did the 4 corners tour in 14 days although not an IBA ride and sine then several SS1000's. Now the bug is driving me to do the CC50 in April. Yahooooo!
 

Garage Monster

Premier Member
IBA Member
#14
Go for the 50 CC For us mere mortals it is as good as it gets!!!
I am definitely a mere mortal. Unless life or work gets in the way I am aiming for April. I hear a lot about the deer in Texas at night. When are there less deer, during a full moon or in the dark of the moon? I only ask as I have hit deer twice. One was with my Buell years ago, the deer didn't make it and the Buell stayed up, and one was on my Hayabusa, just a glancing blow.
 

Garage Monster

Premier Member
IBA Member
#17
Driving lights saved my butt (and the rest of me) while riding in Texas - I avoided a deer strike as I could *see* all the way down the road.
I have LED driving lights, Mine are programmable for two levels of light. Low beam gives you a low level which I think I programmed for 10%. These are great during the day. Hit high beam and they go to full power. I can't get too much light at night.
 

Garage Monster

Premier Member
IBA Member
#19
This is relevant to my interests.... D'you mind sharing a link or source to these?
Here is the link to what I bought:
https://ledrider.com/shop/?model_number=LX3
I have had good luck with some very inexpensive led lights from eBay along with some bad luck. I chose these because of the warranty and many good comments elsewhere. My bike had a pair of the halogen PIAA 1100 lights which were the rage years ago. These LED's blow these away.
I think I have the wiring instructions at home. They can be used with a dimmer or without a dimmer you can easily program them to be at whatever intensity you want on low beam and full power on high beam to be useful as daytime running lights.
PM me or email at rdloer at centurylink.net if you want a picture or more details.