I enjoy planning and trying IBA rides and I thought it would be fun and interesting to add the solar eclipse to an Iron Butt ride. After much research I decided on Alda, Nebraska, I-80 should get me there and back quickly and Alda is on the center line of the solar eclipse totality.
A little more research and I found the location of the line of totality in Alda, that would be my destination.
I started planning the rest of the route, I needed to add a few more miles to the ride so that the timed part would be over 1000 miles. The plan - ride to Avoca, IA and then start the IBA ride from there at 3:00 am. To gain the extra miles I added the "worlds largest ball of twine" and the center of the universe (well, of the 48 states).
The route - 36 - Avoca, IA, 60 - Ball of Twine, 66- Center of the 48 states, 79 - Solar Eclipse.
Loaded and ready to go.
The 461 mile ride to Avoca was uneventful except for some on and off rain but not enough to even put the rain gear on.
I had planned to be up at 2:00 am to start the ride from Avoca but the banging windows and vibrating siding on the hotel woke me up at about 1:00 am. I looked outside and its pouring rain and I can see garbage cans blowing across the lot. Perfect, I do like a challenge.
At the gas station cans are sliding across the lot.
I looked at the weather on TV and the only place its raining in the country is the area I'm in!
Slowly packing the bike. Once on I-80 I was able to get up to 40 mph but even at that speed I'm passing cars. It only took about 25 miles to get out of that weather but not the start I was hoping for.
It was a nice ride to the ball of twine and it added some two-lane roads to the ride.
At the "World's Largest Ball of Twine" in Cawker City, Kansas. It does exist.
Follow the twine.
And now a ride to Lebanon, Kansas to see the "Geographical Center of the Lower 48 States".
The ride is going well and I'm on schedule, the solar eclipse time of totality in Alda is 12:58 PM but I don't know what the traffic will be like so I keep moving.
North to Alda
Got to try some Nebraska gravel roads.
I make it to Alda with about an hour and a half to spare; the sides of the road, parking lots, homes, businesses, and churches are filled with people in lawn chairs. There's not much traffic, everyone seems to be where they want to be, I even have time to get something to eat before riding to the Alda Public Gun Club, the center line of totality.
I pulled next to the entrance and started to get ready for the show.
I had time to try my solar glasses, with a #14 lens I can't see anything except the sun.
Taking pictures when you can't see is hard! It was cloudy to the west and east but I'm in a good spot.
As the moon was starting to block the sun I started to wonder what all the fuss was about but when the moon completely blocked the sun I understood. WOW!
Darkness like a switch had been turned off and there was a glistening ring around the moon. I was happy with my point and shoot camera photos but a filter would have removed some of the sun's rays and shown the ring around the moon better.
It had been a 411 mile ride from Avoca, IA to Alda, NE.
After the eclipse ended I quickly packed up and left, I still need to ride another 600 miles to complete the Iron Butt ride. There is some traffic on the way to the interstate but not as much as I had expected.
Once I was on I-80 it would speed up and then slow down and sometimes it would just stop and there never seemed to a reason for it to stop. It was a slow, warm ride with a high of 92 degrees.
522 miles to go and I need to be home by 3:18 am to complete the ride, I can do this.
On I-80 in Nebraska I should be going 80+ but after 100 miles my average moving speed is only 42 mph! I'm concerned but there's still another 500 miles and if I can break free of the traffic I can still complete the ride.
Had the same speed up and slow down traffic though the rest of Nebraska and I still hoped it would get better in Iowa. The rain started again in Iowa, had to make a raingear stop, more time lost.
And then again the same speed up and slow down traffic in Iowa and then everything stopped about 25 miles west of Des Moines, IA. Creep a little and stop, creep a little and stop and why? They closed the interstate. I kept watching my arrival time on the GPS and thinking, if things speed up I can still make it.
But as I was diverted off the interstate into more standing traffic on two lane side roads I watched my arrival time and my chance of completing the ride go away. I just hung my head. If I would have completed this ride it would have been my 28th separate Iron Butt ride, this was my first failure.
I completed the ride home but it was well past the time needed to compete the IBA ride. It had been a long day, I even stopped and slept on a wayside bench for an hour so that I could complete the ride home. Had rain on and off all the way home. Found out later that I-80 was closed for 6 hours because of an accident.
It was an adventure and I was able to see an amazing eclipse and a big ball of twine.
What's next? I can't wait to see!
A little more research and I found the location of the line of totality in Alda, that would be my destination.
I started planning the rest of the route, I needed to add a few more miles to the ride so that the timed part would be over 1000 miles. The plan - ride to Avoca, IA and then start the IBA ride from there at 3:00 am. To gain the extra miles I added the "worlds largest ball of twine" and the center of the universe (well, of the 48 states).
The route - 36 - Avoca, IA, 60 - Ball of Twine, 66- Center of the 48 states, 79 - Solar Eclipse.
Loaded and ready to go.
The 461 mile ride to Avoca was uneventful except for some on and off rain but not enough to even put the rain gear on.
I had planned to be up at 2:00 am to start the ride from Avoca but the banging windows and vibrating siding on the hotel woke me up at about 1:00 am. I looked outside and its pouring rain and I can see garbage cans blowing across the lot. Perfect, I do like a challenge.
At the gas station cans are sliding across the lot.
I looked at the weather on TV and the only place its raining in the country is the area I'm in!
Slowly packing the bike. Once on I-80 I was able to get up to 40 mph but even at that speed I'm passing cars. It only took about 25 miles to get out of that weather but not the start I was hoping for.
It was a nice ride to the ball of twine and it added some two-lane roads to the ride.
At the "World's Largest Ball of Twine" in Cawker City, Kansas. It does exist.
Follow the twine.
And now a ride to Lebanon, Kansas to see the "Geographical Center of the Lower 48 States".
The ride is going well and I'm on schedule, the solar eclipse time of totality in Alda is 12:58 PM but I don't know what the traffic will be like so I keep moving.
North to Alda
Got to try some Nebraska gravel roads.
I make it to Alda with about an hour and a half to spare; the sides of the road, parking lots, homes, businesses, and churches are filled with people in lawn chairs. There's not much traffic, everyone seems to be where they want to be, I even have time to get something to eat before riding to the Alda Public Gun Club, the center line of totality.
I pulled next to the entrance and started to get ready for the show.
I had time to try my solar glasses, with a #14 lens I can't see anything except the sun.
Taking pictures when you can't see is hard! It was cloudy to the west and east but I'm in a good spot.
As the moon was starting to block the sun I started to wonder what all the fuss was about but when the moon completely blocked the sun I understood. WOW!
Darkness like a switch had been turned off and there was a glistening ring around the moon. I was happy with my point and shoot camera photos but a filter would have removed some of the sun's rays and shown the ring around the moon better.
It had been a 411 mile ride from Avoca, IA to Alda, NE.
After the eclipse ended I quickly packed up and left, I still need to ride another 600 miles to complete the Iron Butt ride. There is some traffic on the way to the interstate but not as much as I had expected.
Once I was on I-80 it would speed up and then slow down and sometimes it would just stop and there never seemed to a reason for it to stop. It was a slow, warm ride with a high of 92 degrees.
522 miles to go and I need to be home by 3:18 am to complete the ride, I can do this.
On I-80 in Nebraska I should be going 80+ but after 100 miles my average moving speed is only 42 mph! I'm concerned but there's still another 500 miles and if I can break free of the traffic I can still complete the ride.
Had the same speed up and slow down traffic though the rest of Nebraska and I still hoped it would get better in Iowa. The rain started again in Iowa, had to make a raingear stop, more time lost.
And then again the same speed up and slow down traffic in Iowa and then everything stopped about 25 miles west of Des Moines, IA. Creep a little and stop, creep a little and stop and why? They closed the interstate. I kept watching my arrival time on the GPS and thinking, if things speed up I can still make it.
But as I was diverted off the interstate into more standing traffic on two lane side roads I watched my arrival time and my chance of completing the ride go away. I just hung my head. If I would have completed this ride it would have been my 28th separate Iron Butt ride, this was my first failure.
I completed the ride home but it was well past the time needed to compete the IBA ride. It had been a long day, I even stopped and slept on a wayside bench for an hour so that I could complete the ride home. Had rain on and off all the way home. Found out later that I-80 was closed for 6 hours because of an accident.
It was an adventure and I was able to see an amazing eclipse and a big ball of twine.
What's next? I can't wait to see!
