Many of my ride reports are geared toward my Scooter Gang as an audience, but they wouldn’t understand this one...
Three weeks ago, i finally got my first SaddleSore 1000 (SS1K) certified. There was some anxiousness on my part, this being the first one and all. The longer it took to get confirmation, the more determined I was to go out and do it again... prove that it wasn’t a one-off.
My plan was to do the mature thing... pick a simple route, out-n-back... 550 miles out, avoid any major cities with their traffic and unfamiliar merges and exits... hit the thousand mile mark before getting back to home base, more options for an ending DBR... and then while planning, I got a message from an acquaintance going for his Tour of Honor (ToH) Extreme Saddle Sore... my internal GPS starts recalculating.
At a glance, there are seven ToH sites “right off” I-10, including one in downtown Jacksonville, Fl. I can’t stop myself! I re-do the route, include the seven, and have a new plan. I have been adding my own self-effacing comments to my ride reports by describing my rookie mistakes, and let this be another... When you are in control... control the clock, control the route, control the scavenger hunt... be sure to do all of the complicated stuff while there is light, and you’re not tired. Oh.... and don’t change your route at the last minute! Did I listen to myself? Adding the new sites added almost 300 miles to the plan. Also, my original plan was to turn around at the western outskirts of Jacksonville. That would have avoided any complicated interchanges. The new plan takes me to the heart of downtown Jacsonville, for my fifth of seven bonii (bonii being the plural of bonus, which is generically any location that adds value to the adventure) and my 1000 mile milestone in Florida instead of Louisiana. To recap, instead of doing all the complicated stuff early, the new plan takes me to the heart of a major city (Jacksonville is the largest city east of the Mississippi, and west of the Mississippi too... look it up!), and spoiler alert, the Tour of Honor site is at the city’s major concert venue!
I got my starting DBR in my neighborhood, 5:37am. It would have been earlier, but the stupid pump didn’t like my credit card! Ninety minutes later i picked up my first of seven ToH sites on the far side of Mississippi. A little over an hour after that I visited my second site. It took me a few extra minutes to find it, as the little town was having a European Vintage Car show, and the memorial was hard to see among all of the extra flags, bunting and activity. My pace would slow for the next leg of my ride since I’d be on rural highways chasing bonii, instead of grinding out miles on the super-slab. In Flomaton, I took a few extra minutes to have a snack from my favorite roadside fast-food place, “The Pelican Pantry”. Never heard of the Pelican Pantry???... read Wendy and Ian’s book! After Flomaton, I meandered through L.A. (lower Alabama) and into Florida, and then up into Georgia. Georgia is my birthplace, but I had moved away before I started riding, so add another state to the states ridden map, and the fourth of seven ToH sites. Time to kick it back in gear.
I headed back southeast toward Tallahassee, and arrived in their traffic about 1:30 pm. So, I’m about 8 hours in, and everything is going smoothly. My hydration tank and tubing are working great (I lost the bite valve on my first ride, and the wind siphoned all of my gatorade onto my saddlebag). I’ve had a couple of snacks along the way, but it’s time for a meal. I spotted a McDonald’s and pulled in for a double-cheese-burger... don’t judge! No fries, no sugary drink, just the burger, and back into traffic. Jumped on the interstate and pointed to Jacksonville. On the western outskirts I fueled up, gritted my teeth, and headed into a busy downtown. Now... picture this in your mind if you can... I’m running with two Garmin GPS’s and my iPhone for Tour of Honor navigation, and I mis-read the signs where the freeway splits, and took the wrong exit!!! Probably a 5 minute loss, but still the kind of thing I would fuss at my friends about... moving on... it’s about 6pm local time.
I arrive where the GPS’s... all of them... indicate my fifth ToH site is, and there are thousands of people and dozens of Cops and I cannot see the memorial. Now, keep in mind, I have ridden past a barricade, so this is definitely a pedestrian mall at the moment. I kill the engine and there is a cop walking towards me and I pull my phone off the mount and show him a picture of my bonus and ask if he knows where it is. He politely tells me that I’m probably about a block away from the memorial park. I crank the bike and ease back the way I came, but the dots on the gps are moving apart... so I u-turn back and tell him that it’s telling me the other way... and in front of me is a group of cops. I stop and ask them... one of the cops points at the Venue and says, it’s right there! At this point, I have ALL of their attention. I ask nicely if I can park and take a couple of pictures... “I’ve ridden 600 miles today to get this photo”. They pointed me to a slab of concrete and said park there, and I hear one saying over the radio that I’m just stopping for a photo... Everybody is so nice and professional. I place my flag on the windshield so I get flag/bike/venue in the first photo, then jog over to the Memorial itself for a picture with my flag. S.O.P. in these situations. On the walk back to the bike the Cops call me over to their group because they’re curious. I mention that I started out in New Orleans around sun-up and would be sleeping in my own bed that night. Another Cop walked up and asked if I “was doing an Iron Butt”. I don’t remember if he nodded his head appreciatively or shook it in disbelief, but at least he was aware of the concept. I asked about the quickest way to the beach for a photo with the ocean, and they told me the short-cut out and where to pick up the freeway to the beach. Nice guys! On the way to the beach I could see a nasty storm on my route, and made the smart decision to not push my luck. I u-turned at the red light and headed back west.
An hour and half later of high-speed interstate riding I picked up number six of seven. Madison, Florida, is a cute little town, and the memorial was on the corner of their park. In addition to fresh flags, there were dozens/hundreds of yard signs, the kind you see during election season, but each one of these was dedicated to a local Service-Man. I have visited dozens of War Memorials in the last few years, but now this is one of my favorites.
I jumped back on the bike and continued the quest. I’m on schedule, and around 750 miles at this point, but i’m still 400 miles from home and have my final spot to visit. It’s still light out, so I can keep up with traffic on the interstate without worry.It was dark by the time I passed through Tallahassee again. The traffic was moving steadily and I’m able to keep up. My next exit was 100 miles later. So now I have decisions to make, not big ones mind you, but I’m low on gas, and about 950 miles into my SS1k. I’ve got this. I add a few gallons of gas to my 10.4 gallon tank... don’t be jealous, but no need to fill up. I take my final detour to vist my seventh memorial, a POW/MIA memorial at the City Hall complex in Niceville, Fl. Back on the bike, I only have a few miles remaining for my 1000 mile milestone. I rode back to the interstate, and headed to Alabama. I need a little padding on my odometer, and I had seen a sign for a Buccee’s just across the state line, so I had already decided to get my DBR there. Mischief managed, 1085 miles on the odo, and it’s just after midnight. I treated myself to a brisket sandwich and some black coffee. I still have five hours available on the clock, and a couple hundred miles until I get home, so I keep grinding out the miles. I arrived back at the gas station in my ‘hood at 3:22 am with 1258 miles on the odo. A new Personal Best.
This ride was error free from a technical-riding point of view. All of my documentation was spot on, although I need to work on my photo quality for my DBR’s. I need to see how to get the DBR and odo both in focus. The biggest mistake was in understanding a guideline... I had planned this as an “Extreme” ride for Mile Eater purposes. But seven ToH sites in multiple states is not extreme... impressive maybe, but not Extreme for awards purposes. The other trap that I almost fell into though... with time left on the clock, I started contemplating extending the ride to Bun Burner distance, 1500 miles. Had I been able to add the additional ~250 miles, I would have missed a Bun Burner Gold, but Silver was within easy reach. I could have pulled over and taken a nap, and still been able to do a plain-jane Bun Burner. I’m glad I didn’t try. After a few more successful rides I can start planning for 1500 miles with a 1000 mile bail-out plan. Crawl... Walk... Run!
Three weeks ago, i finally got my first SaddleSore 1000 (SS1K) certified. There was some anxiousness on my part, this being the first one and all. The longer it took to get confirmation, the more determined I was to go out and do it again... prove that it wasn’t a one-off.
My plan was to do the mature thing... pick a simple route, out-n-back... 550 miles out, avoid any major cities with their traffic and unfamiliar merges and exits... hit the thousand mile mark before getting back to home base, more options for an ending DBR... and then while planning, I got a message from an acquaintance going for his Tour of Honor (ToH) Extreme Saddle Sore... my internal GPS starts recalculating.
At a glance, there are seven ToH sites “right off” I-10, including one in downtown Jacksonville, Fl. I can’t stop myself! I re-do the route, include the seven, and have a new plan. I have been adding my own self-effacing comments to my ride reports by describing my rookie mistakes, and let this be another... When you are in control... control the clock, control the route, control the scavenger hunt... be sure to do all of the complicated stuff while there is light, and you’re not tired. Oh.... and don’t change your route at the last minute! Did I listen to myself? Adding the new sites added almost 300 miles to the plan. Also, my original plan was to turn around at the western outskirts of Jacksonville. That would have avoided any complicated interchanges. The new plan takes me to the heart of downtown Jacsonville, for my fifth of seven bonii (bonii being the plural of bonus, which is generically any location that adds value to the adventure) and my 1000 mile milestone in Florida instead of Louisiana. To recap, instead of doing all the complicated stuff early, the new plan takes me to the heart of a major city (Jacksonville is the largest city east of the Mississippi, and west of the Mississippi too... look it up!), and spoiler alert, the Tour of Honor site is at the city’s major concert venue!
I got my starting DBR in my neighborhood, 5:37am. It would have been earlier, but the stupid pump didn’t like my credit card! Ninety minutes later i picked up my first of seven ToH sites on the far side of Mississippi. A little over an hour after that I visited my second site. It took me a few extra minutes to find it, as the little town was having a European Vintage Car show, and the memorial was hard to see among all of the extra flags, bunting and activity. My pace would slow for the next leg of my ride since I’d be on rural highways chasing bonii, instead of grinding out miles on the super-slab. In Flomaton, I took a few extra minutes to have a snack from my favorite roadside fast-food place, “The Pelican Pantry”. Never heard of the Pelican Pantry???... read Wendy and Ian’s book! After Flomaton, I meandered through L.A. (lower Alabama) and into Florida, and then up into Georgia. Georgia is my birthplace, but I had moved away before I started riding, so add another state to the states ridden map, and the fourth of seven ToH sites. Time to kick it back in gear.
I headed back southeast toward Tallahassee, and arrived in their traffic about 1:30 pm. So, I’m about 8 hours in, and everything is going smoothly. My hydration tank and tubing are working great (I lost the bite valve on my first ride, and the wind siphoned all of my gatorade onto my saddlebag). I’ve had a couple of snacks along the way, but it’s time for a meal. I spotted a McDonald’s and pulled in for a double-cheese-burger... don’t judge! No fries, no sugary drink, just the burger, and back into traffic. Jumped on the interstate and pointed to Jacksonville. On the western outskirts I fueled up, gritted my teeth, and headed into a busy downtown. Now... picture this in your mind if you can... I’m running with two Garmin GPS’s and my iPhone for Tour of Honor navigation, and I mis-read the signs where the freeway splits, and took the wrong exit!!! Probably a 5 minute loss, but still the kind of thing I would fuss at my friends about... moving on... it’s about 6pm local time.
I arrive where the GPS’s... all of them... indicate my fifth ToH site is, and there are thousands of people and dozens of Cops and I cannot see the memorial. Now, keep in mind, I have ridden past a barricade, so this is definitely a pedestrian mall at the moment. I kill the engine and there is a cop walking towards me and I pull my phone off the mount and show him a picture of my bonus and ask if he knows where it is. He politely tells me that I’m probably about a block away from the memorial park. I crank the bike and ease back the way I came, but the dots on the gps are moving apart... so I u-turn back and tell him that it’s telling me the other way... and in front of me is a group of cops. I stop and ask them... one of the cops points at the Venue and says, it’s right there! At this point, I have ALL of their attention. I ask nicely if I can park and take a couple of pictures... “I’ve ridden 600 miles today to get this photo”. They pointed me to a slab of concrete and said park there, and I hear one saying over the radio that I’m just stopping for a photo... Everybody is so nice and professional. I place my flag on the windshield so I get flag/bike/venue in the first photo, then jog over to the Memorial itself for a picture with my flag. S.O.P. in these situations. On the walk back to the bike the Cops call me over to their group because they’re curious. I mention that I started out in New Orleans around sun-up and would be sleeping in my own bed that night. Another Cop walked up and asked if I “was doing an Iron Butt”. I don’t remember if he nodded his head appreciatively or shook it in disbelief, but at least he was aware of the concept. I asked about the quickest way to the beach for a photo with the ocean, and they told me the short-cut out and where to pick up the freeway to the beach. Nice guys! On the way to the beach I could see a nasty storm on my route, and made the smart decision to not push my luck. I u-turned at the red light and headed back west.
An hour and half later of high-speed interstate riding I picked up number six of seven. Madison, Florida, is a cute little town, and the memorial was on the corner of their park. In addition to fresh flags, there were dozens/hundreds of yard signs, the kind you see during election season, but each one of these was dedicated to a local Service-Man. I have visited dozens of War Memorials in the last few years, but now this is one of my favorites.
I jumped back on the bike and continued the quest. I’m on schedule, and around 750 miles at this point, but i’m still 400 miles from home and have my final spot to visit. It’s still light out, so I can keep up with traffic on the interstate without worry.It was dark by the time I passed through Tallahassee again. The traffic was moving steadily and I’m able to keep up. My next exit was 100 miles later. So now I have decisions to make, not big ones mind you, but I’m low on gas, and about 950 miles into my SS1k. I’ve got this. I add a few gallons of gas to my 10.4 gallon tank... don’t be jealous, but no need to fill up. I take my final detour to vist my seventh memorial, a POW/MIA memorial at the City Hall complex in Niceville, Fl. Back on the bike, I only have a few miles remaining for my 1000 mile milestone. I rode back to the interstate, and headed to Alabama. I need a little padding on my odometer, and I had seen a sign for a Buccee’s just across the state line, so I had already decided to get my DBR there. Mischief managed, 1085 miles on the odo, and it’s just after midnight. I treated myself to a brisket sandwich and some black coffee. I still have five hours available on the clock, and a couple hundred miles until I get home, so I keep grinding out the miles. I arrived back at the gas station in my ‘hood at 3:22 am with 1258 miles on the odo. A new Personal Best.
This ride was error free from a technical-riding point of view. All of my documentation was spot on, although I need to work on my photo quality for my DBR’s. I need to see how to get the DBR and odo both in focus. The biggest mistake was in understanding a guideline... I had planned this as an “Extreme” ride for Mile Eater purposes. But seven ToH sites in multiple states is not extreme... impressive maybe, but not Extreme for awards purposes. The other trap that I almost fell into though... with time left on the clock, I started contemplating extending the ride to Bun Burner distance, 1500 miles. Had I been able to add the additional ~250 miles, I would have missed a Bun Burner Gold, but Silver was within easy reach. I could have pulled over and taken a nap, and still been able to do a plain-jane Bun Burner. I’m glad I didn’t try. After a few more successful rides I can start planning for 1500 miles with a 1000 mile bail-out plan. Crawl... Walk... Run!
