Looking for BBG Advice

trueblue550

Premier Member
#1
Hello all,
I'm preparing for a BBG attempt in a couple months and I was wondering if anyone had any good time management advice for that ride. I've done a few SS1000s and I've gotten in the habit of walking around a bit during fuel stops, eating snacks, taking pictures, etc. Sometimes I'll spend 15-20 minutes at a stop. Doing the math for a 1550 mile day, if my average moving speed is 70mph, that leaves me about an hour and a half (being a little conservative) for all of my stops. My bike can generally go 130 miles between fill-ups, meaning my ride will most likely have 12-13 stops. If I'm figuring this right, my stops should be under 7 minutes. I'm thinking I might not even get off the bike at most stops. Just fill up and snap photo of receipt with odometer and then off I go. Is this sustainable over an entire day or should I find a way to increase my average speed or decrease my number of stops?
Any tips from the experts would be sincerely appreciated.

-Andrew
 

MarkG

Premier Member
#2
I was able to average 72 mph for the loop between Phoenix AZ to Ozona TX and it took me 23.6 hours. Google Maps was pretty close in predicting the ride time at 21.5 hours. Plan on at least two extra unscheduled fuel stops. I discovered one section of road between Van Horn and Ozona forced a precautionary quick stop for a couple of gallons just for my piece of mind both directions, wind, hills and speed play havoc with gas mileage. Look for gas station clusters stopping at a single station away from everything else invariably there will be pump problems, no receipt, or a long delay. In a cluster of stations if one is busy or there is a problem you can instantly go to another nearby. I did the speed limit all the way for my BBG the highway patrols in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas were having a fabulous time every car going around me got a ticket. Good luck with your ride.
 

rneal55555

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#3
The proof is in the pudding go for a little test ride say 500 miles and ride it like you plan to ride the BBG and see what your average speed actually is. I road a couple SS1000's maintaining a BBG pace not just for practice but it was practice and I had demonstrated to myself that I could maintain a 72 MPH average speed over time with some fuel stops in the mix.

The alternative and what I actually did for my BBG was I planned two rides A SS1000 from home to Chicago for the Meat Lovers a couple years ago. I also had a route in the GPS the BBG that entailed going past Chicago to the Ironbutt sign in Iowa and back towards Chicago. The idea was to head out do the best I could and as long as the traffic gods cooperated (i.e. I was on time with a little margin) and I felt mentally and physically well, I could decide as to whether or not I was going to continue on for the BBG or just coast into Chicago for a little sightseeing and Dinner.
 

Rollin'

Premier Member
#4
My rant on time -

Every minute is a mile.

"The BBG1500
This was my 4th BBG1500 and this is my thoughts on the ride and stop time.
Doing a 1500 day is all about stop time and all of the stop time minutes do seem to add up quickly. I track them on the GPS.
I use a basic concept on the ride. Every minute is a mile and every minute stopped is a mile lost. Think of everything you might do at a stop, how many minutes (miles) would each one take?

Clean the headlight and face shield, you just lost 3 miles. Change gloves because of a temperature change, just lost another 2 miles. Do you know where your gear is? Looking adds time.
Coffee? Nope, takes to long. Sitting down to eat? No, its a good time to walk around the bike and check things over. Gas station heat lamp hamburgers can save a lot of time.
Stop to take a picture, always a tough decision but so far no regrets. I take a lot of pictures while moving.
You have to make good decisions at the gas stops so that you don't need to make extra stops during the ride. Extra stops can kill a ride.
Speed? High speed adds fuel stops. Extra fuel extends range but filling two tanks adds time.
I plan all of my fuel stops and add the locations to my GPS in order.

And then there are the things you have no control over, traffic, construction and weather. Rain gear adds a lot of stop time.
After the bike is packed do a long test ride, readjusting things during a ride adds time. Don't "try" new gear during the ride, I always say that but I do it and always regret it. Test new gear before the ride.

Saving a minute at each stop can make a huge difference at the end of the ride. You can only lose time, you can never really make it up, you can only give up things that would have added to the stop time."
 

trueblue550

Premier Member
#5
Thanks for the advice. A test ride or two before the real thing sounds like a good idea. I think next weekend I'll do a few hundred miles or so and turn around to see if I can get my stops quicker. I've never used a GPS in the past, but I just bought a Zumo 395lm that I need to learn. I think that will help keep track of my average speed and time stopped.
 

Scott Parish

Premier Member
#6
I second the points made by Rollin'. Completing a BBG is minimizing the minutes you are not moving. When calculating gas stops you must think of it like a pit stop i.e. time in to time out. Seven minutes sounds doable for pump stop time only if everything goes well i.e. no waiting for a pump, card is accepted, receipt at pump available, log entry, bathroom (#1 only) etc. However, you must also calculate exit and on ramp time. Is the gas stop immediately off your route? Will you have to go through any stop lights? Based on my previous rides - I use 15 minutes per stop which seems like a lot; but when you factor everything in - it goes really quickly. I generally add water to the Camel Pack during a stop and eat while riding. My last BBG I finished with 25 minutes to spare and that included time to stop and plug a rear tire blow-out. I assume you selected a route completely on interstates to maintain the highest speeds. Make sure to check state websites for road repair activity as this can really set you back some time when every minute counts. The good thing about tackling a BBG is if you miss the 24 hour mark; you can still submit for the BB within 36 hours. Good luck.
 
#7
Great advice from everyone! Here's another little tip: try to pick a route that avoids major cities. Probably pretty difficult for East-Coasters, but out here in the west it's not hard to do. Last year I rode a BBG from Henderson, Nevada to San Jon, New Mexico and back. The only major city that I had to contend with was Albuquerque, and I was fortunate that I was able to buzz right on through that particular day. Finished a 1520 mile ride in 22 hours and 17 minutes. Averaged 72 MPH, with seven gas stops (not counting ride start and ride end) averaging nine minutes each. All of my gas stops were evenly spaced at about 190 miles. I always carry a spare gallon of gas in case of a strong headwind, but have never needed to use it.

So after that ride I thought I was king of the Bun Burners. I rode my next BBG this past March. I started again in Henderson, Nevada, rode up through Moab, Utah and down to Flagstaff, Arizona. All was going well until I hit Phoenix... Interstate 17 was closed for some unknown reason. There was also a huge pileup on Interstate 10. So now I needed to plan a new route on-the-fly. So, I abandoned my Interstate 10 route, and opted to take Interstate 8 to Yuma, Arizona, and then back home to Henderson. This new route put me on many miles of non-interstate highway, which slowed me down considerably. I shortened all of my remaining gas stops to about five minutes each to try to make up some lost time. I finally made it home with only 18 minutes to spare! So, the moral of my (long) story is to keep the gas stops short, and avoid major cities when possible.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#11
Thanks for the advice. A test ride or two before the real thing sounds like a good idea. I think next weekend I'll do a few hundred miles or so and turn around to see if I can get my stops quicker. I've never used a GPS in the past, but I just bought a Zumo 395lm that I need to learn. I think that will help keep track of my average speed and time stopped.
Yes to all of that.

Do a SS1000 along familiar roads that you think would be similar to the route you would plan for a BBG. Ride it at a pace that you think is a BBG for the entire 1000 miles.

Plan the SS1000 in the same way - fuel locations close to road on the same side of he road you're traveling...

Let us know how it turned out!
 

KEN PHENIX

Premier Member
IBA Member
#12
Great advice all. I'm taking notes here too. I have 3 standard bun burner certs, two of which I settled for. I totally agree there's no making up time if you get behind schedule. It's a good idea to map out fuel stops in advance and look for exits with more than one station. I zoom in with Google Earth to get a visual on the stores and even call to confirm their pumps are kept on 24 hours. Even after all that, a planned stop at 3am in Deming NM turned out to be shut down cold (it was 20f) and cost me the BBG. I had around 140 mile range depending on speed and wind but I recently bit the bullet and added a fuel cell. Now I can plan stops every 200 miles and still have a another 100 mile cushion if gas isn't available. I'll get there. You will too.
 
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#13
Your new GPS will be very helpful (IMHO).
You can set it up to track your speed, time stopped and time moving - plus overall time, average speed and mileage.
Great to use that data when you submit for certifications as odometers, as we all know. are not that accurate.

My GPS is always within a mile or so of my mapping using older 2610 / Mapsource or newer Zumo 350LM / Basecamp.
 

Stephen!

Flivver Flyer
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#14
What everyone is telling you about limiting stops cannot be emphasized enough. This is a screenshot from my GPS from a BBG I did last year. This was MOSTLY on Interstate but there was a lot of lesser highway travel from Minot, ND to Glendive, MT and Twin Falls, ID to Wells, NV.

 

Attachments

Greg Rice

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#15
Hi Andrew,

First I am sure you are going to have a great time, I know I do every time I ride a BBG.

Plan your stops before you stop. Know everything you want to accomplish at the stop prior to stop. Don't worry about the little things. Drink plenty of fluids. the main thing is to keep the wheels turning as you can't cover miles sitting at a gas station. Don't make separate stops to eat and then a stop to get gas and then another stop to pee. Do everything at one stop, even if you don't need to. If you do stop make it a gas stop and top off your tank.

Since your range is less than 150 miles you should pick a route that is all interstate so you limit the slow downs.

Good luck and ride hard!
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#17
"If I'm figuring this right, my stops should be under 7 minutes."

Well...under 7 minutes *stopped* time would help. A lot.

Some of the wise masters of these challenges before me have claimed that from the time you've stopped at the end of the off-ramp, until you are accelerating back on the on-ramp, you need to be in the 8 minutes-or-less window.

Calculate as few fuel stops as you can get away with. If your 130 miles per tank is really all you can squeeze out of her, that's at least 12 stops.

Being very quick and efficient in the time management equation at the first half (or more) of the ride means you can afford the extra minute or two per stop at the second half of the ride.
 

rodneyw71

KLR'er
Premier Member
#18
I noticed the other day that there is a BB silver, 1500 miles in under 30 hrs, I haven't seen anybody talking about that ride.