Getting more hours in a day

Norman

Norman

Premier Member
IBA Member
So I've done a SS1K and a BB1500, but I've been all-but cheating, since I live immediately adjacent to a major highway, and within about an hour I am on some of the fastest roads in the USA. So it's basically trivial to maintain a BBG pace over the course of a SS1K.

So doing that, I've done a 4am launch, and been getting my last gas receipt just as the sun goes down. I'm not particularly tired at that point, but I'm real leery of the additional cognitive load of doing it a lot more after dark (unless it was out in the middle of straight and flat). I think I'd get another hour, but after that I think I'd start to get tired.

So logically, I've got to get more hours at the start of the trip. Even a 4am start I kinda get fitful sleep the night before, trying to go to bed that much earlier. I sort of intuit that I'm not much changing my basic circadian rhythm by doing it once so I get tired about the same time.

So, er, does anybody have wisdom about how to get more hours in a day?

(This is prompted by this weekend, not aiming for a certificate but just riding out to missoula via lolo, and getting myself caught in the dark after deer-thirty about 50 miles out because I was barely maintaining a SS1K pace and ran out of sunlight. I didn't _not_ enjoy my ride, with proper lighting, but it wasn't as much fun as I'd hoped.)
 
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From what you've typed, starting earlier does not seem optimal. If you can finish around sundown that's pretty prime time alert time. The 6 o'clock news is still on, it's nowhere near bedtime.
Use your extra lights, have a little break or nap if needed, then ride on.
 
I tend to get a start docket at a minute after midnight, then finish my ride [SS1600] roughly around 7.30 pm. I also get into the habit of going to bed at 5 pm. for about 5 days prior to launch day, sort of gets my body prepared. Another thing, we might not have the deer problem you have, but we definitely have kangaroos and wombats to contend with. In the end we do what works best for us. Cheers.
 
Norman said:
<...>
So, er, does anybody have wisdom about how to get more hours in a day?<...>
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Well, you *could* experience a sleep disorder as I do (Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome), which means, by 3am, my internal battery is at 100% charge, and it's time to use it.

In fact, as you describe, it's tough to *not* get enough sleep, and for my two BBG's, I was rolling by 1:30am on the first and 2:30am on the second. I did make an unscheduled couple of stops on the first BBG for an unexpected need for a bio-break, along I-10 in Florida (nested ride as part of a 50CC). That last hour of nightfall in Florida was close, and a rest area was utilized. I was off my schedule, but knew I had over 20 additional hours to get it done.

The second put me dodging hitting wildlife (jackrabbits) along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada. Weather delays on the Nevada ride (snow? in May?!) left me no choice but to ride off the top of that summit I was on to finish the ride. That last hour of riding in the black of the desert...those 'open range' signs might not mean much during daylight hours, but at night? Yeah, aux lighting was damn near a necessity. Both rides were accomplished in a bit under 22.5 hours.

I tried to do what @HACKLE mentioned about getting some better sleep when I did my 48 State ride...which promptly got scrambled when I rode a few hours to get close to my starting point, 300 miles from home. I was pretty certain that four days and more than 4000 miles later into that adventure meant I'd need to get some better sleep. That's pretty much how it worked out - seven hours of sleep is my typical amount of rest I get; I knew then that I'd be fine with the rest of the ride.

Fighting any kind of 'nods' (as in nodding off...) is strongly discouraged, though I'm better equipped to deal with it in hour three rather than hour 23.
 
I did a scooter SS1K on a 150cc scooter, (22 hours), and knew I was going to be riding in the dark. I mounted a huge light bar for just that ride, which worked very well, when I could use it. I also chose to minimize my night riding at the end by starting at 10pm, riding through the night while fresh, and ending just after sunset. (It was Sept, so missed the longer days).

I have an advantage of decades of graveyard shift work and knowing very well how to manage my sleep. I rode about 3 hours to my start location, got a hotel room, found some comfort food and went to bed around noon the day of my start, getting good sleep prior to getting up and starting the ride. I sleep in 3 hour cycles and will be fresh and alert if I plan on waking up at the end of a natural cycle.

If you can figure out what your natural sleep cycle is, that’s a big benefit for LD riding. As well as your low ebb time of day, which is completely different from your sleep cycle. My low ebb time is around 2-3 pm. If I’m riding lonely strait roads at that time of the day, I’ll use a 5 hour energy to help avoid the nods then.
 
Sundown is like what time Norman in your local time?
I often have a little nap about on the side of the road about 4pm for say 20 minutes on say a 4:AM start time. Restless sleep in that night before kickoff ill just stop fighting it and get the wheels turning before that 4AM thing. You know the deal its 12AM then it's like 1 AM and you just are never going to get sleep so use that time. Travel slower. It's your own local region so you should be up to date with the critters and just smooth the flow a bit. Take a sleep HAHAHA at say 10 AM for 15minutes and again in the late Anoon. Bash on and your done and dusted by 8pm or 11PM easy or earlier.
Stop as often as you need and rest when your body says to. Ox has the answer to the other stuff which is just logical.

24 hours is still the same 24 hours regardless of the start time.
 
I doesn't matter much what anyone else does, you have to learn and know what you are capable of, I know from long experience not so much from Long Distance Riding but from going to sea and standing watch on Submarines, that coming off a full nights sleep I can function at a pretty high level for 24 hours and can extend that time in chunks with some napping and have gone three or four days like that when needed, but the clock starts when I get up not when I start riding. I had a failed CC50 when I failed to follow that plan.

I should note that I'm likely not 100% once I get close to 24 hours and things that wouldn't ordinarily phase me, can have a larger effect when I am sleep deprived and when that happens even though I don't feel excessively tired I need a nap.

So figure out what works for you, try different things and don't be afraid to call it or alter the plan if it's not working.

Above all if you ever start to get the nods STOP at the FIRST safe place and get some sleep.
 
Excellent points so far! In some circles of discussion, this is 'ridecraft'. Yep, it's pretty common to power through a ride or two...and then, you're hooked. Now, you're after being able to do more in the same amount of time...being legal, and all of that. ;)

Now, the one cert I have yet to acquire, oddly, is the BB1500. Though, my third ride Why? Whynot! was done, mainly to stage for the 'real' ride I wanted to do, a 50CC. The SS2000 cert was there...on a last-second "I think I can do this!" as I was standing in the parking lot of the Why Not Grocery. At the time, I was still working, and this was an easy way of getting out of the house for a week...along with getting ~4900 miles of riding done in that time.

Many decades ago, I lived a few miles north of Whynot, MS, and neglected to do a drive-by of where I used to live on that trip. Google Maps shows it's changed - a lot! I got a chance to visit briefly with family in the Jacksonville area when I did a 24 hour layover prior to making the trip home.

Your last sentence @Norman shows that your making rational decisions...when it's going bad, there's no harm in tapping out, and using that as a learning point for your next ride - whether or not it's an Iron Butt ride.
 
No matter the circumstances. No matter how much sleep prior. No matter what I have been doing. Sunrise always makes me sleepy. I typically plan my ride to have a long coffee/doughnut/fuel stop scheduled for about 20 minutes before the sun crests. Once it is up and I have made it through the "hard" part, I am good for the rest of the day. I think it goes back to a time when I was typically going to bed around that time. :D
 
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Stephen! said:
No matter the circumstances. No matter how much sleep prior. No matter what I have been doing. Sunrise always makes me sleepy. I typically plan my ride to have a long coffee/doughnut/fuel stop scheduled for about 20 minutes before the sun crests. Once it is up and I have made it through the "hard" part, I am good for the rest of the day. I think it goes back to a time when I was typically going to bed around that time. :D
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For me it is sunrise or sunset if I am riding into it and have to squint a little, it's like somebody turns flips a switch, a 15 or 20 minute nap usually fixes it.
 
rneal55555 said:
<...>it's like somebody turns flips a switch, a 15 or 20 minute nap usually fixes it.
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Man, wish I could do that, but I struggle to sleep in a seated position (good for a bike ride...) and if I lay down for a nap, it's an hour. :oops:
 
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kwthom said:
Man, wish I could do that, but I struggle to sleep in a seated position (good for a bike ride...) and if I lay down for a nap, it's an hour. :oops:
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Late one night coming back from Gerlachfest I found myself on Chief Joseph Pass surrounded by freezing fog and 26°F temps. I knew the next place along the route that would be open that late at night would be in Ramsay (near Butte) nearly 100 miles down the road. No way I was going to make it that far. I put on all my heated gear, put the K11LT on the centerstand with the engine idling, and leaned over on my tankbag. A couple hours later I was wide awake, the sun was up and I was headed to Conover's in Wisdom for a very tasty breakfast of meat and potatoes. The fog was still freezing, but at least now I could see where I was going. :D
 
I like to get off the road and nap at dawn and dusk. It helps with the transition from light to dark and dark to light. Rather than struggling in the half light.

Typically I find a bench or table in a rest area and adopt a specific posture. E.g. on the ground on my back, thighs vertical, calves flat on the bench above. All right angles. This is good for my back, helps with venous drainage and very comfortable. Helmet on and a rolled up shirt or something as a pillow under my neck to keep the helmet from touching the ground. No alarm needed.

When I would naturally roll over with a sleep cycle my legs stop me doing so and I wake up, nicely refreshed. Good for at least 1000km.

In outback Australia it's not a bad idea to prepare a "Not dead, just sleeping sign" so Irish tourists don't shake me.
In the USA a badge saying "Member of the NRA" or "Concealed carry, baby" or "2A til I die" probably works.
 
OX-34 said:
I like to get off the road and nap at dawn and dusk. It helps with the transition from light to dark and dark to light. Rather than struggling in the half light.

Typically I find a bench or table in a rest area and adopt a specific posture. E.g. on the ground on my back, thighs vertical, calves flat on the bench above. All right angles. This is good for my back, helps with venous drainage and very comfortable. Helmet on and a rolled up shirt or something as a pillow under my neck to keep the helmet from touching the ground. No alarm needed.

When I would naturally roll over with a sleep cycle my legs stop me doing so and I wake up, nicely refreshed. Good for at least 1000km.

In outback Australia it's not a bad idea to prepare a "Not dead, just sleeping sign" so Irish tourists don't shake me.
In the USA a badge saying "Member of the NRA" or "Concealed carry, baby" or "2A til I die" probably works.
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As someone who suffers from the dreaded 'restless leg syndrome' at the most inconvenient times during IBA rides, I have found some variant of this does indeed work well (legs elevated / right angles, etc). Any sort of minor stretching / drainage exercise like this seems like the magic cure to aiding in sleep. Along with the natural built-in alarm clock Peter mentions.

The step of sign fabrication can be skipped though. Just sleeping with your weapon of choice balanced on your chest is all it takes (where it's permitted).
 
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Gatey said:
Sundown is like what time Norman in your local time?
I often have a little nap about on the side of the road about 4pm for say 20 minutes on say a 4:AM start time. Restless sleep in that night before kickoff ill just stop fighting it and get the wheels turning before that 4AM thing. You know the deal its 12AM then it's like 1 AM and you just are never going to get sleep so use that time. Travel slower.
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Usually around 9pm midsummer
 
Norman said:
Huh, that's interesting. For me, sunrise just improves my mood immeasurably. "Where I was when the sun found me" is on my list of obligate pictures on a ride.
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Agreed!

Three consecutive nights of watching the moonrise over the horizon as I was riding a motorcycle was one of those moments. Tough to get a photo, but the whole idea was....strange.
 
Dan Simmonds said:
As someone who suffers from the dreaded 'restless leg syndrome' at the most inconvenient times during IBA rides, I have found some variant of this does indeed work well (legs elevated / right angles, etc). Any sort of minor stretching / drainage exercise like this seems like the magic cure to aiding in sleep. Along with the natural built-in alarm clock Peter mentions.

The step of sign fabrication can be skipped though. Just sleeping with your weapon of choice balanced on your chest is all it takes (where it's permitted).
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When your choices are 1) a stick, 2) a bigger stick, or 3) a handful of pebbles, a sign is probably a good idea.
 
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