I’ve only been able to accomplish the minimum SS1K, having just completed my fifth on Monday 06/13/22. I’m still sore and somewhat loopy from the experience, but I think this is the appropriate time to pass on why I feel strength and conditioning (fitness) are so important to the pre-ride preparation of any LD ride.
As I’ve written and defended in other threads, some people may ignore their fitness and get away with accomplishing an IBA ride cold turkey, like a SS1K/SS1600 KM. But strength and conditioning go a long way to making accomplishing such a ride feat easier and thus more enjoyable.
I’m of the mindset that when I accomplished my first SS1K in 2017, I hadn’t done enough preparation. The last 100 miles, I was into risky territory, physically and mentally. So before thinking about doing another ride in 2018, I changed my diet and lost something like 27 lbs in the process of working out, building up fitness. It made a huge difference! I’m talking night and day. Everything was better! The 2018 ride experience was an Epic thrill.
Instead of just surviving, like I did in 2017, I was literally swinging my legs off the bike as I passed along the Pacific coast’s CA-1. I was soaking it all in, the scenery, the sights and unforgettable sweet potpourri of ocean and flowery smells!
2019 was another great SS1K ride I dropped weight for through conditioning, when I traveled to Montana for the 4th of July holiday. I skipped 2020 due to Covid restrictions, but again dropped weight gained in the interim for another Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) SS1K ride in 2021. I loved ‘nearly’ every minute of them.
There’s another thing I’ve learned about myself from all of these minimum LD rides on a sportbike; my body’s pain receptors get exhausted too. After about five hours of sending signals of aches and pains, they just give up. And the more fit I am, the sooner they give up. Which translates to most of the ride where I feel as fresh as I did during my first 60 miles. And who doesn’t want to feel that fresh heading into the last 100 miles?!!
Eat healthy. Hydrate with water. Get on your exercise bike or whatever exercise regiment you prefer, as well as, on your MC months prior to your ride. You’ll have a more enjoyable, clearer and more mentally focused IBA experience.
So when non-IBA member riders question why anyone, like you, would want to torture themselves on a MC for 22 hours just for a piece of congratulatory paper, you’ll have an answer they may not expect. That piece of paper is just proof of accomplishment. I’d tell them, I may have already forgotten most of what I’ve done in the thousands of hours prior to those 22, but thanks to the IBA's member certification requirements, I will never forget and will be longing for when I get to take in what I experienced in those precious unforgettable hours riding my MC on an IBA ride... again and again and again.
2021
As I’ve written and defended in other threads, some people may ignore their fitness and get away with accomplishing an IBA ride cold turkey, like a SS1K/SS1600 KM. But strength and conditioning go a long way to making accomplishing such a ride feat easier and thus more enjoyable.
I’m of the mindset that when I accomplished my first SS1K in 2017, I hadn’t done enough preparation. The last 100 miles, I was into risky territory, physically and mentally. So before thinking about doing another ride in 2018, I changed my diet and lost something like 27 lbs in the process of working out, building up fitness. It made a huge difference! I’m talking night and day. Everything was better! The 2018 ride experience was an Epic thrill.
Instead of just surviving, like I did in 2017, I was literally swinging my legs off the bike as I passed along the Pacific coast’s CA-1. I was soaking it all in, the scenery, the sights and unforgettable sweet potpourri of ocean and flowery smells!
2019 was another great SS1K ride I dropped weight for through conditioning, when I traveled to Montana for the 4th of July holiday. I skipped 2020 due to Covid restrictions, but again dropped weight gained in the interim for another Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) SS1K ride in 2021. I loved ‘nearly’ every minute of them.
There’s another thing I’ve learned about myself from all of these minimum LD rides on a sportbike; my body’s pain receptors get exhausted too. After about five hours of sending signals of aches and pains, they just give up. And the more fit I am, the sooner they give up. Which translates to most of the ride where I feel as fresh as I did during my first 60 miles. And who doesn’t want to feel that fresh heading into the last 100 miles?!!
Eat healthy. Hydrate with water. Get on your exercise bike or whatever exercise regiment you prefer, as well as, on your MC months prior to your ride. You’ll have a more enjoyable, clearer and more mentally focused IBA experience.
So when non-IBA member riders question why anyone, like you, would want to torture themselves on a MC for 22 hours just for a piece of congratulatory paper, you’ll have an answer they may not expect. That piece of paper is just proof of accomplishment. I’d tell them, I may have already forgotten most of what I’ve done in the thousands of hours prior to those 22, but thanks to the IBA's member certification requirements, I will never forget and will be longing for when I get to take in what I experienced in those precious unforgettable hours riding my MC on an IBA ride... again and again and again.
2021
I'm trying to maintain that level of fitness as well. So far, so good.
