support vehicle or no support vehicle?

Grey Gentry

Premier Member
#41
Clive said: Anyway we all seek a little adventure from time to time, and this looks like it could be a good laugh, time to test my metal so to speak.


Yes it is an adventure, and will test your metal. but mate, if you think it's a laugh? Your safety and the safety of others is no laughing matter. I don't think LD riding is a laughing matter. I doubt if any others on here do either.

Plan it well, ride it well. The outcome will be how well you did the previous sentence.
 

Rusjel

Premier Member
#42
I like your attitude Clive, but have another look over what Karl said and your reply.

What do you know about yourself and your patterns?

If after consideration you reckon a 1900 start will work for you, have at it. If you can discern a pattern in your sleep in recent times and you can leverage that to give you the best start time and the minimum fatigue, go that way.

For me, 0300 seems to work the best, based on my own sleep patterns. I sleep heaviest 10pm-3am then lightly after that. Gives me the best quality sleep and for a 1600k that I can knock off between 16:30-18 hrs and be tucked up in bed at the best time of the day for me. Although meeting up with these reprobates somewhere means sleep before midnight Is unlikely.

All this is not prescriptive for you of course, but it is worth putting a bit of thought into what might work best for you.

Every time, successful or not, you do one of these rides you learn something. I hope your first is a good one.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#45
Clive - I truly hope you pull this off exactly as you've stated...I really do. :)

I think there's a whole lot of LD experience that already has a concrete understanding of the outcome, based on what you've stated.

Good luck!
 

Farkleit

Premier Member
#46
Fuel, good thing to think about, looks like your on a cruiser, whats your distance limit ? And what is the distance that the otehrs can achieve before needing fuel?
All experienced riders here do one thing before every ride. PLAN everything. Start point, all fuel stops with a MAX allowed of 600klm between stops, if you have a small tank at least carry 5 liters of fuel in a bladder or plastic fuel can. Remember all klm ridden must be verified by someone in USA looking at your google map link. and if you make a turn get a docket with date time and location so the turn point can be verified.
If your bike has been well serviced and is reliable, and you have all the planning in place, you don't need someone in a chase car.

Now get to planning and deciding the best route for your attempt, consider the weather you may experience, things like wildlife you could encounter.
Most of all HYDRATE a lot even if you done think you are thirsty, drink when riding and empty when you stop.
think about this, its going to take you between 18 to 20 hours of riding for a SS1600 so you have 4 hours to use wisely.
you can plan a rest / snooze break, just make sure you enter the sleep stop in your ride log sheet.
Read some of other people ride reports to see what they have completed and had issues with.
Make sure you have a good set of tyres on the bike.
MOST OF ALL IF YOUR TIRED STOP. even tell ya mates, hey i need to stop. better to stop and have a crack another day than not make it home.
 

Clive Rand

Premier Member
#50
Hi everyone, sorry I took so long and I won't bore you with useless details, long story /short I ended up doing the SS1000 on my own, a lot wanted to do it but at the end of the day I decided I wasn't waiting anymore and I did it on my own. I took some advise and did the SS1000 to try it, and I thought it went a lot easier than I first thought, then a few weeks later did the BB1500 awaiting confirmation for the latter as I only did it on the 10th December, looking for my next challenge now. The SS1000 was quite a ride, I had to attend a flood relief ride in Townsville which held me up for 2 hours, then I headed to Ingham as my turn around point, and I pushed it a bit hard after I had turned around, and got 30Km away from home and busted a fork leg and limped it back home but still managed to make it back with an hour to spare, it turned out the bolt holding the leg snapped, and because I had an alloy fork extension it broke off a stuffed the thread, but I still had a blast.
 

Clive Rand

Premier Member
#51
The BB1500 was a lesson on planning, this time I made a lot of silly mistakes, I went when the fires of NSW were really getting a hold of the countryside, I didn't check road closures before I left, and I didn't take notice of the surroundings. I live in Rockhampton, Qld, and by the time I got to Gympie there was a lot of smoke on the motorway, but I pushed on (not a good idea at all). I pushed on still and reached Kempsy from memory, when I refueled I was advised that the road ahead could be closed still because of the fires we are still having. I was turned around on the overpass to Kew, NSW, and I almost gave up, topped up at Macksville and realised I could still make it with my return run, but got another detour that took another 100Km off my total so I had to find that extra distance along the way, I ended up going past Rockhampton and onto Marlborough only to be stopped again by smoke for a couple of hours before I could complete the run. This was a valuable lesson on planning, my next challenge will not be considered now until all these fires we have in Australia are extinguished.