E2E Gold SS1000- 2022

#1
Dear all

Motorcycling is a dangerous activity and it can be fatal. The crash fatality is more in this activity than being in a car. The surface contact area even with the best rubber is less than on a car.

Anything that moved and made sound attracted me from childhood. As obvious, motorcycling gave more kick to my brain’s pleasure points. I heard about the iron butt organisation in 2013 through xbhp online biking forum in India. Actually, it wasn’t about iron butt that gave me a surprise but it was Devjeet Saha who holds the record in India for doing saddlesore rides on motorcycles below 100 cc. Well, we all know about Indian road conditions and it is true that around 150 people die every day on 2-wheelers in India. It was xbhp that taught me the vast world of motorcycling, the art of safe riding, the art of long-distance riding, the consequences of an accident, reflexes and muscle memory, the similarities between a fighter jet pilot and a motorcyclist, and above all the only original bible (Keith Code- Twist of the Wrist).

As iron butt rides are known for insanity…yes, they are. And Iron Butt ride to me personally is just about touching that weird feeling of long distance. It just proves I’m stupid & insane like others who have done these & would do in the future. With proper plan & execution, these rides are certainly doable. Also, it’s the ability to assess oneself constantly, both, physically & mentally rather than falling for that overconfident mind game when the body wouldn’t execute as necessary.

So, years passed, locations changed due to life’s ever-changing scenarios, and vehicles changed but, the iron butt ride never happened and couldn’t be attempted. Iron butt ride was planned between August 4-7 to mark Indian Independence Day. I wanted maximum dry daylight hours as well as a temperature close to 20C for most of this ride and hence this time period could not be missed. The weather forecast was at its best for me throughout the route. UK end-to-end gold ride was chosen from the options. As it was my first iron butt ride it had to be special and the chosen bike was a luxurious BMW 1250 RT LE. And I wasn’t in the leagues of Devjeet Saha to do on 100 cc bikes. My motorcycling taste is more in middleweight naked bikes but since this is a saddle-sore ride, I decided to pick a bike with plenty of power to overcome boredom and keep myself alert for its novelty. As bonus it was a BMW with best aerodynamics and electric windscreen and handling in its class. Actually, if available I would have chosen its bigger cousin, K1600 GT which has the best motorcycle engine in the world as of now in my view. The daddy of this world is definitely Honda Goldwing DCT with landing and reverse gear. The chosen bike has a wet weight of 280 kgs and with loaded 3 luggage boxes, it’s above 300 kgs for sure.

I reached the UK in 2020 just when lockdown started, luckily, I remained covid immune or asymptomatic till July 27. And on that day, I felt very sick and I was tested covid positive. Nothing had made me feel so tired ever and I had a high temperature, sweating, body pain, and fever.

I took the best possible rest and amoxicillin, paracetamol medicines worked for me. Within, 7 days I was feeling alright but wasn’t at my best. Both southern and northern ends were already travelled by me a few times and hence, I had an idea of these roads. On August 4th I was flagged off by near and dear ones from Bedford and I reached John O Groats by midnight. Live location sharing was done to a few people for obvious reasons. August 5th was used to rest and roam around the place for some time.

On August 6th at 2:30 am I got up and was feeling like I didn’t sleep at all coz of my curiosity. By 3 am I was out to be on the bike. The temperature was just 9C with high winds which is usual for this place round the year. To overcome the anxiety which kicked in unexpectedly I decided to do a stupid thing. Being just 56 kgs with a slim build, the rule was to sit on the bike and slowly push it back with legs by having the side stand on one side. This worked for me easily but at that moment I decided to take off the side stand, and push it back with both hands. I don’t know if it was the high wind or imbalance, the bike leaned towards me, and without a side stand, it was on resting on my legs. Damn. The moment of Oh no…. I couldn’t hold it for long on my legs nor could lift it up straight and I had to keep it on the grass as gently as I could. For the next minutes panic and anxiety take control of me and I try to fight them by using my brute strength to lift the 300-kgs mammoth. In that cold high-wind weather, I sweat profusely and my limbs begin to shake due to energy loss, and Exercise-induced hypoglycemia sets in. I removed all safety gear and sat down.

At that moment I missed a riding partner who could at least talk to me. It’s around 3:30 am and I’m sitting like a duck on a dark hill with nobody in sight when I should be on the winding tarmac increasing my momentum. I begin to rationalise and the debate starts in the brain. Let’s go in, get more sleep, rest, and then decide. Or else drop the iron butt ride and go back home. I have no track of time now and then I get up again as my body gets back some strength. Since I knew the techniques to be used in these situations to get the bike up and going it was only a matter of doing it. But I couldn’t afford to lose any more energy at all. Lock it into gear, turn the handle to full lock, turn around, firm stand, good grips at either end, push with legs, lift with hands. In a second it was up and the side stand was on. Safety gears on and I started the bike to realise there isn’t a gate man to open the gates for me and there is wind from the opposite direction.

I push open the gate and the bike creeps forward and the gate comes at full speed, thanks to the wind. Right-hand stops the gate but I lose balance due to slippery grass on left and again I have to keep it down. After some minutes of struggle, I manage to block the gate in the long grass. I lift the bike and then I close the gate and I aim for John O groats customary photo.
start 1.jpg

John O Groats 1.jpg
I realise the wrong struggle with the bike caused muscle cramps in my hands and shoulders and my breathing rate increased a lot and already I felt a bit tired and less confident. After the photo, the next step was to reach the petrol station to get proof of the start of the journey. Upon reaching the Tesco at Wick I find safety cones blocking the entry and I began to believe iron butt ends here for me. The bike only had fuel for another 100 miles and this remote location only had local services which opened at 8 am. I decide to get the next proof which is the ATM slip that was found in Wick town. While I took the ATM slip an executive-dressed young man greets me and I greet him back. I call him back to say that I need petrol urgently and Tesco has cones at entry. He replies that Tesco has some machines activated and cones have to be moved by ourselves to access them. I thank him and race back to pump. After 10 minutes of struggle, I locate the correct active pump and align the bike for a fill-up at 4:30 am. The tank range shows full and I feel relieved, thereby, I refuel myself with energy bars and plenty of water. So, I was behind 1:30 hours of my plan and my personal goal was to finish 1000 miles before midnight though I had plenty of time till the next day at 4:30 am.

As time passed my muscle cramps went lower and the sun was rising behind me. Up till Inverness, there was a slight drizzle for some sections and it dropped my average speed than expected. After another 3 pit stops at 2:20 pm, at a BP service station on A1 Road, I hit the next moment of Oh no moment. The trip meter says 535 miles, half done, and totally unexpected happens. The bike is keyless but the rear luggage box needs a key to be opened. As I have some energy bars and fruit juice, I have this bunch of keys in one hand which I place in the luggage box, thinking that after eating I will take it back. Big mistake and I slam shut the main luggage box which had my wallet with bank cards, bike’s key, water, food, clear helmet visor, other riding clothes for change as per weather, and almost all-important stuff. The large battery pack had taken place of the wallet in the jacket. Or, I should have separated the luggage key from the bike and kept it differently.

I decided that the iron butt is over and home is only an hour away from here and I make a phone call to another biker. When I present the problem and my solution being to stop the iron butt as I have full tank fuel to reach home, he asks 2 questions. Can you start the bike? I said yes. Can you refuel? I said yes. Then he says, that’s all I need and I must continue. Suddenly my brain starts to think in that direction and I’m back on the bike. I come to know that my phone can do all transactions using G pay but the last pit stops need bank cards as they will be out of normal working hours. I make another call to him and say to convey the message to another biker in Bristol for assistance. Later I call him and get confirmation that he will let me borrow his bank card and another printout of ride documents. While I’m focussing more on these issues, I lose track of the maps.

I note that all 3 map displays are showing 3 different routes and times. I try to follow Waze and my brain’s compass says I’m going in the wrong direction. I spent more than 45 minutes on the wrong route and I find another service station to recreate the checkpoints and assess the damages. I understood that it was caused due to the traffic changes and devices thinking that I’m using non ULEZ compliant vehicle. I forgot to update it as a motorcycle instead of a car which would have avoided this mistake. Since the summer-type balaclava was locked off, I struggled with thermal balaclava in London traffic at 27 C. I reach the 2nd checkpoint at 06:40 pm and there was another biker waiting for 2 hours with no clue of my issues.

As 2 hours is the maximum limit at a service, he moved to the next one and I met him there. These kinds of meets in between really uplifted my mood. He gave me a much-needed accessory in the form of 3M ear plugs. Him being 75 years old, understood things were not going as per my plan and told me that I have plenty of time to finish and take it easy. It really relaxed me.

At 08:50 pm I reached the next checkpoint where another biker gave me all the needed things including his bank card. He was well versed in those roads and told me that it was possible for me to reach before midnight which seemed impossible to me. I take a few minutes to reset myself and maps and study the roads carefully. He said the M5 road which I’m taking would be suitable for this time chase. With a hug and a kiss, I leave all charged up as this was the last stretch and I had decided to gun the machine. The maps said I’m behind 16 minutes and I had almost 3 hours to reduce it.

As the information M5 roads were really good, in both visibility, minimal traffic being a late night, and smooth tarmac. The only thing that I missed was my clear night visor which was locked off but I had spectacles and a fully adjustable large windscreen on demand. At 11:52 pm I reached the final Tesco pump to find the cones blocking the entry.

With a wide grin, I crossed it and refuelled and saw the receipt as 11:52 pm. Yes, I did meet my personal goal with luck playing its part too. As I was leaving the pump 2 guys in a car were looking for fuel and were unsure due to cones blocking. I approached them and told them to move the cones and use the machine.
I thought of going to Land’s End for a customary photo where I reached in another 10 minutes and click…Next thing was to reach the accommodation for the night and I found it be on another hill with a steep road. This time I comfortably did a U-turn on a steep slope slowly and parked up next to the gate. I had some snacks and water and slept off.

The next day I made sure to get the witness signed and I started my journey back home and reached safely. All done, satisfied for now until the next itch starts. During the next 2 days, I found that my body is behaving abnormally. From August 4-7 my body’s sleep and eating schedules were out of the window. I was mostly on quick energy foods and I didn’t have regular meals at all, but I did make sure of staying hydrated more than required. The symptoms I observed were bad breath, unquenchable thirst, frequent urination, tiredness, insomnia, and dehydration.

As I didn’t have any lifestyle diseases and my blood results were normal till last month, I guess it to be ketosis or ketoacidosis. I hope to recover in the next few days with adequate care but have to go to work as well.

A few things that I missed in this ride include, Sena Bluetooth, highway foot pegs on the bike, and a hydration backpack. I have been riding since I was 12 years old but I firmly believe, no matter how experienced you are, there is always that unknown thing waiting at the next turn to take you down. It’s all about living to ride another day until one is dead and not riding to die.
end 1.jpg

Land's End 1.jpg
Thank you. Ride safe.


From north & south.jpg
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.....”
― Robert Louis Stevenson
 

Firstpeke

Well-Known Member
#2
So long as your submitted images etc includes pictures of the receipts next to the odometer on the bike at both Wick and Penzance and copies of all your receipts along with your ride documents, you are good to go!

Well done, but maybe a lighter bike should be considered!
 

GSears

Dambuster... Bouncing panniers...
Premier Member
IBA Member
#3
Well done on completing a challenging ride, some good creative thinking and support from friends to overcome the hiccups en route .

The E2E is a bit of an anomaly at the moment. It is 'only' 840 miles or so. The E2E Gold is 1000+ miles. This will change next year (2023). Reading through your account it appears this your first Ironbutt ride. If it is it may well be verified as an SS1000 or an E2E, as the rules state you must complete an SS1000 before attempting a Gold ride.

Submitting your paperwork along with witness forms should see the ride verified.

Welcome to Insanity, hopefully see you at an RTE in the future.
 

Splitter142

Premier Member
#4
Well done its a hard push but we'll worth it. Safari ferg and myself did it on the 9th as well. If you saw a red gold Wing and a black Africa twin that was us. now to tidy up paperwork and submit. Welcome to the club
 
#5
Please note. One must not do the gold ride without completing SS1000. My gold ride was verified as SS1000 as this was my first iron butt ride. Felt a bit sad upon receiving the certificate. Hopefully next time. Had i known i would have completed SS1000 first. Or i should have verified the rules with the certifying team beforehand.
 

EddyC

IBA Member
#6
Congrats on the archievement!
I couldn't happen but notice that imho you seem to focus on the negative side of the event, rather then trying to enjoy the ride?
With proper planning and preparation I think "things waiting at the next turn to take you down" - as you stated - can be neutralized for the most part as far as life goes of course.
So, concentrate on the good stuff and keep riding...
Stay Safe..
Ed.
 
#7
Congrats on the archievement!
I couldn't happen but notice that imho you seem to focus on the negative side of the event, rather then trying to enjoy the ride?
With proper planning and preparation I think "things waiting at the next turn to take you down" - as you stated - can be neutralized for the most part as far as life goes of course.
So, concentrate on the good stuff and keep riding...
Stay Safe..
Ed.
No sir. I meant in the realistic sense. There are people who think that with age or miles of experience they become invincible or infallible. They tend to believe that they have all the skills and there exists no unknown scenario at the next turn.

Whereas i believe that, no matter how much I'm experienced, there always exists something unknown or beyond my skills which can take me off the saddle.
 

EddyC

IBA Member
#8
No sir. I meant in the realistic sense. There are people who think that with age or miles of experience they become invincible or infallible. They tend to believe that they have all the skills and there exists no unknown scenario at the next turn.

Whereas i believe that, no matter how much I'm experienced, there always exists something unknown or beyond my skills which can take me off the saddle.
Well, I must have misunderstood. Apologies!
As a former motorcycle leo, I fully understand what lurks around the corner. I am aware of it and I respect its existance.
I too have experienced that there are people who believe that the roads are their personal playground.
One can only hope that they don 't drag innocent people down with them in their fall.
However, like you stated, riding a motorcycle is and will always be a dangerous activity.
That is probably why the IBA emphasizes on safety that much.
All the best...
Ed.