Dipping my Toe in

Traxx

Premier Member
#21
Thanks Mr Kwthom. I will keep that in mind. I was thinking to get a little rested up before I have to have it. I know about that wall well. Driving back from work after working nights. Sometime about 2 or 3 pm I start driving by brale and start looking for a hotel.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#22
@Scott Parish mentioned it in post #8 in this thread about keeping on your normal sleep schedule - as best you can. This keeps your body from really getting yet another set of stresses it has to deal with during the ride.

Personally, I'm a big, big fan of getting moving as quickly as I can after waking up. I don't want to waste 'daylight' being awake and not moving toward my goal.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#23
When I am at work, I am up at 04:45, breakfast at 05:00, Safety meeting at 05:30, and make relief at 06:00. Early days are the norm for me. Another plus is that I will be long gone by the time traffic even thinks about getting bad. And temps in the 70s for the first several hours.
I got my highway pegs installed today along with my Alaskan sheep skin seat cover. Put a new visor on the helmet.
Picked up some longer M6 screws to install spacers on the wind screen. Hopefully it will smooth out the air around my head and shoulders.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#24
Weather looks good for a early morning start.
Early to bed and up at 0400 to be at the 7-11 for the first fill up and roll out at 0500.
Spotwalla link
SS1000 Traxx
Hopefully I am doing the spotwalla thing right. There are no tags yet but I guess that will start when I turn on the swconnect in the morning.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#28
Had to fix the date and time on the trip. I am glad it was simple enough to fix on the road.
I am home now.
1047miles in 15hours and 21 min. avg speed 68 as per Rever app.
Tomorrow I will gather my thoughts and start the paper work. Right now I am going to enjoy a beer and a ice pack for ma butt.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#33
I wake up, brush my teeth, and start the coffee. Wash my face and get my gear on. I gotta be at the starting point by 0500 or earlier. The old adage of “If you’re not early then you’re late” pops into my head. I strap my Talon to the pillion seat, and check the rotopax is secure on the tail rack. All is good to go. Go back inside and have a coffee. I kiss my wife on the forehead and tell her I am heading out.
Pull out of the drive at about 0430 and head to 7-11 to fill up and get my starting receipt. It’s on….. I get to 7-11 fill up and started the spotwalla and Rever. Got my receipt and pic then rolled out.
Mid 70’s and clear, lite traffic and a full tank of gas. Once I am out of town I notice that the lights could use improvement. Low beams and fog lights don’t really provide the range for comfort at high speeds. With oncoming traffic I just can’t rock the high beams.
First fuel stop in Trent, at Alcon. Only 87octane there and had to go inside for the receipt, well I should have stopped beforehand to fuel up. The receipt thing continues for most of the trip. What is the point of Pay at the Pump if you have to go inside to get your receipt? Pull out and next up……. Monahans. Soon after the speed limit bumps to 80mph. Schweet!
Soon after Pecos I get a view of the mountains in the distance. The terrain is changing pretty quickly and the interstate actually has a few long sweeping curves. Nice!!! This part of the ride makes it worth it. Pull in to Sierra Blanca, fill up and take a look around. Nice views, and interesting people and vehicles. The town looks tired and dried up. I am sure it comes to life in the evening.
Heading back to Ft Worth I swing into the rest area just east of Van Horn, take a walk around, get some a picture or two and eat some jerky. Gone in less than 5 min. Stop for fuel in Pecos, after that the ride is flat and straight with construction running rampant. Colorado City is next, followed by Mingus uneventful flat and straight riding.
I am getting closer to home and can see the clouds are rolling over Ft Worth. I lift my visor just to make sure the tint is not making it look worse than it is. The closer I get the darker it gets between the clouds and the sundown. Well, I am gonna get wet. The rain starts a few miles after I am on I-30, a nice drizzle that sticks to the visor. At least it makes it easy to clean the bugs off the visor. I am actually glad when it rains a little harder and the water actually starts rolling off of the visor.
I stop in for fuel the last time at Chevron. Get my receipt and let the Wife know I am almost home.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#34
Some things to change
1. With a pretty good time left on the clock, I can slow down some at the pump. Make a lap around the station and get some pictures or have a snack what ever.
2. Take time to write down my thoughts. I had a pen and a small note book but I didn't use it.
3. The camelbak Talon was to big for the pillion seat. The storage was nice but it was getting a bit uncomfortable by the end of the ride. Along with that the bite valve was a bit to big to get into the helmet to drink when riding.

So I guess it was my time management that could use the most attention.

My gear selection for this trip was a Shoei RF 1200 with a transitions visor.
Triumph Assen Jacket, Klim outrider pants, LD comfort base layer and TSX boots.
Oh and A-stars gloves. This worked out well except for the last 45min of the ride when the rain hit. The only thing to have changed was the gloves and pants for something more waterproof.
I wonder if there is something like rain x for visors......
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#35
Some things to change
1. With a pretty good time left on the clock, I can slow down some at the pump. Make a lap around the station and get some pictures or have a snack what ever.
Um...

You're looking for consistency in fuel stops. You might think you can slow down, but your time might be better spent at a later stop further down the road.

If you start doing more intense rides (e.g. BBG), that efficiency you have at the pumps will pay off on other rides.

I wonder if there is something like rain x for visors......
yes...

https://www.rainx.com/products/plastic-water-repellent/

Though I'm a fan of Plexus myself.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#36
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Taking a little of the sore out of the saddle or burn from the buns by a little walk around the pump or to the head.
Slowing down enough to take notes or pictures will make the cert process a bit easier. Maybe try different orders or processes for receipt/photo/attach to spotwalla.
Thanks for the link, I will see if I can find it locally. However I did not find the Plexus.
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#38
Well, I didn't take much time for pictures. Since the camera was the phone and the gps etc...... I didn't take it off the mount unless I left the bike when I went inside.
I will have a seperate camera next time.
 

IBA ZX-9R

Well-Known Member
#39
...1047miles in 15hours and 21 min. avg speed 68 as per Rever app...
That's really fast. All my rides tend to average about 50 - 52 MPH no matter what, IBA rides included and that's with no breaks and three stints of over 200 miles on the tank. I think the longest rest stop was one I ate at in the evening, where I brought my own food and ate in the service station parking lot. It was something like 15 - 17 minutes (fuel, bathroom, eat, drink, go-go-go).

I can only imagine what actual speed you were averaging while on the superslab. Wow. You make it look easy. Congrats!
 

Traxx

Premier Member
#40
I guess I my route had a lot to do with it. High PSL and setting the cruise at 7ish over and sometimes I just matched traffic speeds. I was lucky enough to hit the larger towns at low traffic times. Just a mixture of luck, hard headedness and just a little more. Next time I will make a point of keeping track of my moving average.