IBA Natchez Trace 1000

EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#21
#21
So, I just finished a SS1K on the 150cc scooter, all on the Natchez Trace. I started in Clinton, MS at 10:10 pm on 9/18 and finished at 8:12pm on 9/19 in Tupelo, MS. I rode North from Clinton to Nashville, TN, then back down to Natchez, MS, then back up to Tupelo, MS for a total of ~1078 gps miles in 22 Hrs and 2 minutes. I will be submitting it to the IBA for certification.

I was very critical of my stopped time. Splash and dash. I alternated gas can refills on the Trace with gas stops to achieve less stopped time. The deer were plentiful, but not on the road. The scooter seems to not alarm them. No unpredictable bolting, just look up and slowly wander off into the woods. Deer, Turkey, Buzzard, Possum, Raccoon, Bat, Owl, Geese, Cats big and small feral, and Bear were all seen. I ran massive amounts of light at night, which is an absolute requirement for night riding on the Trace.
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LeMaitre

LeMaitre

IBA Member
#22
#22
EricV said:
So, I just finished a SS1K on the 150cc scooter, all on the Natchez Trace. I started in Clinton, MS at 10:10 pm on 9/18 and finished at 8:12pm on 9/19 in Tupelo, MS. I rode North from Clinton to Nashville, TN, then back down to Natchez, MS, then back up to Tupelo, MS for a total of ~1078 gps miles in 22 Hrs and 2 minutes. I will be submitting it to the IBA for certification.

I was very critical of my stopped time. Splash and dash. I alternated gas can refills on the Trace with gas stops to achieve less stopped time. The deer were plentiful, but not on the road. The scooter seems to not alarm them. No unpredictable bolting, just look up and slowly wander off into the woods. Deer, Turkey, Buzzard, Possum, Raccoon, Bat, Owl, Geese, Cats big and small feral, and Bear were all seen. I ran massive amounts of light at night, which is an absolute requirement for night riding on the Trace.
View attachment 5759
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Congratulations on completing the ride. What model of scooter is it?

Thanks,

Mark
 
Greg Rice

Greg Rice

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#23
#23
EricV said:
So, I just finished a SS1K on the 150cc scooter, all on the Natchez Trace. I started in Clinton, MS at 10:10 pm on 9/18 and finished at 8:12pm on 9/19 in Tupelo, MS. I rode North from Clinton to Nashville, TN, then back down to Natchez, MS, then back up to Tupelo, MS for a total of ~1078 gps miles in 22 Hrs and 2 minutes. I will be submitting it to the IBA for certification.

I was very critical of my stopped time. Splash and dash. I alternated gas can refills on the Trace with gas stops to achieve less stopped time. The deer were plentiful, but not on the road. The scooter seems to not alarm them. No unpredictable bolting, just look up and slowly wander off into the woods. Deer, Turkey, Buzzard, Possum, Raccoon, Bat, Owl, Geese, Cats big and small feral, and Bear were all seen. I ran massive amounts of light at night, which is an absolute requirement for night riding on the Trace.
View attachment 5759
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Congrats on your ride!
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#26
#26
Here is a Google Maps link of my route. https://goo.gl/maps/LrFX8M9JKA84TwEj8

I realized that I needed to start somewhere South of my end point in order to get the extra miles to make it over 1000 and have some buffer miles. Planning led me to Clinton in part for a cheap hotel options and proximity to the Trace. The Exxon TigerMart had great receipts, but no hot food. The BlueSky 638 had no receipt paper at the pumps, and some of the pumps had horribly wrong times, but they had tons of hot food options inside and an ATM if need be, plus were only .4 miles off the Trace. I used the BlueSky 638 twice for fuel and got food there as well. At the end, my cards stopped working at the pump and I had to go inside and pre-pay for gas. You should have seen the look when I asked for 2 gallons of fuel... Note to self, check on the price of gas and ask for a dollar amount next time. Like many of us, I just fill the tank. How much a gallon costs is irrelevant when you're only buying 2 gallons or less!
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#29
#29
Evilwestsidefan said:
Really cool, and great idea with the scooter. Did you see many bicyclists when I was on it around Nashville they were thick so you had to be careful.
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There were some bicyclists, but only a handful. A pair here, a pair there, a few solo riders. Not super thick. A LOT of motorcycles and surprisingly several large groups of 20-30 bikes, mostly HDs, but a Wing group too. I rode from Clinton to Nashville from 10 pm to about 5 am, so no traffic then to speak of. The 8 hours in the dark to start was a slog, but the last 12 miles in the dark at the end of the ride was the worst. Too much on-coming traffic at night sucked as I got close to Tupelo. I couldn't use my extra lights or even high beam and it was tough to see with the often badly aimed headlights of pick ups with trailers and just asshats that didn't dim their brights.

This ride would have been better done with longer days, that's for sure! I'll post a full ride report once I have it done. I've already contacted the IBA about a new ride and how to submit for it, along with some suggestions based one what we have talked about in this thread. As an IBR vet, I personally know Mike and Ira, so they can laugh at me and shoot me down or whatever. Mike will determine if a new cert ride gets created, as he is the President and Owner of the IBA. That's as it should be.
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#30
#30
Ride report and more stats posted HERE

I have requested a new IBA ride be created and that has been acknowledged, but no word on if it will happen or not. That is totally Mike Kneebone's decision. In part, from discussions in this thread, this is what I suggested for the outline of the Cert Ride.

Natchez Trace 1000 - Ride 1000 miles, with at least one end to end ride of the 444 mile long Natchez Trace in your route.

Natchez Trace 1000 Silver - Ride the entire length of the Natchez Trace TWICE during your SS1K ride!

Natchez Trace 1000 Gold - Complete over 1000 miles on the Natchez Trace where all mileage off the NT is deducted from your total miles for the ride.

Natchez Trace Scooter 1000 - Ride a scooter meeting the above requirements.

Natchez Trace Scooter 1000 Insanity - Ride a scooter less than 300cc meeting the above requirements.

So if my ride is approved and the above was used, my ride on my 150cc scooter would be a Natchez Trace Scooter 1000 Gold Insanity cert. :D If you can't laugh at that, you need a long ride! As is, my ride, if approved, would be a Scooter SS1K Gold, meeting those requirements already outlined on the Big List.
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#34
#34
Who knows, they may come up with some artwork at some point. Or, if you're handy with graphic design, you could submit some art for their use. ;)
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#36
#36
JAORE said:
Bravo. Looks far more challenging than the standard SS1000.
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For a full size motorcycle, it's only a little more challenging in that you need to plan for fuel stops that are close to the Natchez Trace, as they are not marked on the Trace with signage and some are far off the Trace, while others are right next to it. Once you plan a route with that in mind, it's just a matter of ensuring that you do 1000 miles of your ride actually on the NT. with the miles off of it not counting towards the ride. Very similar to a Dusty Butt in that aspect. The lower speed factor does force it to be longer in duration than most standard SS1K routes.
 
EricV

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#40
#40
@Natehawk750 - Nate has already gone from Natchez to Nashville and is well into the return leg back down to Natchez. Looking good on time and pace. He's going to have to turn around in Natchez and come back up a bit to finish off the SS1K, but he's doing great!
 
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