attempting 2nd BBG this weekend

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 6, 2017

2 of us are attempting our 2nd BBG this weekend. Its been in the plans since shortly after the 1st one, a year ago. Was planned for either this weekend or next and weather looks good enough to give it a try this Friday.
Cant say theres not some anxiety building in a hurry, given what it is. Most of you know what Im talking about. Its not a ride to take lightly.
Route will be from Newton, Ks down to OKC, then West out to Cali on I-40, cut through the Mojave national preserve to I-15, then on to Mesquite, Nv. That Kelbaker road shortcut (40 to 15) has me concerned for some reason but it should be ok.
Bikes are GL1500s and both runnin good. We've ridden together quite abit and are pretty well synced.
Construction appears to be minimal, weather looks good, bikes are pretty much packed, and its almost go time. Plenty of water will be brought also.
Still need to contact credit card company and let them know so they dont flag me for the 'suspicious' activity.
Id rather not settle for the Silver, but its nice to know its there as an option.
Wish us luck, we could use it.
And if you happen to know of any problems along that route, a heads up would be appreciated.

BMWguy · Jun 6, 2017

Not familiar with roads in your route, but...
Best of luck to you and your wing man - have a SAFE and enjoyable trip!!

No problems - mechanical, physical or otherwise.

Greg Rice · Jun 6, 2017

Good luck TO BOTH of you on your BBG

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 6, 2017

Thanks. Trying to get some good rest before we leave will be the hard part. The rest is just BS back and forth and ride.

Rusjel · Jun 6, 2017

Good stuff and all the best. What sort of moving average can you folks run over in the States?

With our critters and speed limits anything over 60 mph is good going for us.

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 6, 2017

Some states have different speed limits. Interstate speeds of 70 in some, 80 in a few. With slow-downs to 60 or 65 through some cities.
On our previous BBG, we managed to keep an overall average of 70mph. Thats from start to finish. Moving average was higher of course, with speed limits of 80 for quite abit of it (5 over speed limit is normal for traffic flow, regardless of posted limit).

dmcqueeney · Jun 6, 2017

Bntyhntr6975 said:

OK, a couple of thoughts ...

1. Your planned route is about 1515-1530 miles, depending on your exact choices for the start, stops, and finish. Remember that verification staff will determine the ride's distance, using mapping software, based on the receipted locations of your start, your intermediate stops, and your finish.

2. Kelbaker Rd is enjoyable. But at the turn from I-40 onto Kelbaker Rd, there are no services there, nothing at all to document your turn north. An alternative is to continue on I-40 west, 30 miles to Ludlow, which has 24-hr fuel, then backtrack east to Kelbaker and turn north to I-15 (24-hr fuel at I-15 & Cima Rd, exit 272). That would add about 60 miles to your original route, but you could trim about 30 miles off at either end: start south of Wichita instead of at Newton, or finish at Glendale, NV (I-15 exit 90, 24-hr fuel) instead of Mesquite.

3. When deciding on your starting time, consider that the stretch from a little east of Flagstaff for about 50 miles to the west is deer territory.

Best wishes for a successful ride ... Dave McQueeney

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 6, 2017

Route came out to 1553 according to Google but of course can vary some.

The turn N on Kelbaker rd: I realize theres nothing there to mark it but wasnt overly concerned because the distance of the routes from the stop prior (Lake Havasu) to Baker (stop) are within a few miles of each other, and Kelbaker rd is actually the shortest, so whichever route they go with, wont make or break it. Also will be using a GPS route tracker (GeoTracker) that records the route, time, various info, etc. Should help cover it all?
Good to know about the Flagstaff area. We should be going thru there mid day to enjoy as much of triple digit temps as possible. I hope you sense the sarcasm there. Lol.

dmcqueeney · Jun 6, 2017

Bntyhntr6975 said:

I think you've covered things well.
Best of luck & enjoy the ride.

Regards ... Dave

Scott Parish · Jun 8, 2017

Traffic through Vegas can be a real hassle depending on time as you can always count on construction. However, the far left express lane generally moves okay. I would have probably designed the route to end on Freemont Street for a celebratory beer and Bloody Mary...but that is just me.

Looks like a fun ride - be sure to post a ride report in the appropriate section afterwards. Good luck!

Scott

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 8, 2017

Thanks for the heads up Scott. Im not fond of any bigger cities cuz of traffic, and we'll hit some there for sure. But, he wanted to end in Mesquite so....

Was able to get a little over 8hrs sleep but had to pull an all nighter beforhand to do it so not sure if that'll help. Gonna try to get a little nap right before we leave but I doubt it'll happen.
Less than 5 hrs till go time.

Scott Parish · Jun 8, 2017

Bntyhntr6975 said:

Been there done that regarding no sleep prior to a planned ride. One advantage to riding solo is I generally just leave early versus laying in bed when the sand man skips my house. With any luck; you will 1) get some sleep, or 2) your buddy will be awake as well and you can get an early start.

kwthom · Jun 9, 2017

Bntyhntr6975 said:

You know this already, but - bank that time in those first three to four fuel stops.

Absolutely no loitering about early gives you the extra minute or two you'll enjoy as you're doing stop seven, eight or nine approaching the 20th hour of the ride.

Weather looks to be good - enjoy the ride!

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 9, 2017

We had a few little mistakes but nothing major. Untill....
1392mi in 21hrs, then hit a 24mi traffic backup (cuz of a car fire I heard) just East of Baker, Ca. Crept about 3mi in an hour, his clutch over-heated a couple times, now sulking in a (supposed to be closed) rest area thats packed.
3hrs to get the last 108+mi, then a DEAD END.
Not even sure if any traffic is getting to go East. I think theyre getting routed back westbound.

Scott Parish · Jun 9, 2017

Sorry to hear; it must be completely blocked because it is legal for you to split traffic in California. You can still get either a BB Silver or BB. Good luck.

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 10, 2017

There were a few small bikes lane splitting but Im not gonna try it in a 4' wide Goldwing. Lol. But yea, it was a mess. Very rude drivers, both cars and semi trucks. No one was really going anywhere.
We did end up making it thru and around most of it and did about 4 hrs of stop and go and creep stuff to go ahead with the Silver. Long day. Will try to share some of the highlights in a few days.

Bntyhntr6975 · Jun 12, 2017

Finally made it home today. Took our time coming back. Went and saw Grand Canyon, rode a bunch of somewhat backroads thru canyons, over-all a pretty nice trip. Another 3000 miles on the bike and a few sore muscles but thats what we do.
We were gassin up at a store today, in Colorado somewhere, when a Moto Guzi pulled up on the other side of the pump. It was still fairly early, and we had gotten into a mist haze. As he pulled up he asked me "Why is it we do this?" I grinned and said "Cuz we like it!". He just chuckled. He caught up with us later (we had stopped at a rest area to take off heavy jackets) and rode with us another 120mi or so till he pulled off to a station. No idea who he was but noticed his Iowa tag (or Ohio, memory is kinda fuzzy at the moment).

attempting 2nd BBG this weekend

=o&o>