Planning an IBA 50CC

Joseph Kappes

Kankujoe
Premier Member
#21
I have never tried a 50CC. I wanted to do one in November last year but didn't happen.
Living in Phoenix, AZ I would need, eventually, come back to Arizona and this leaves me with basically two options:
1. 50CC west-east and get back visiting NP's without interstates. This will require a lot of time.
2. 100CCC. This is faster but not having done a 50CC not sure if a 100CCC is the best option.
I used my 50CC to start my NPT SILVER ride. Getting the first 2 corners (Florida & California) & 13 states & 23 national parks going to & returning home from the ride. Also, got to ride Death Valley NP, which was one of my bucket list rides.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#22
I have never tried a 50CC. I wanted to do one in November last year but didn't happen.
Living in Phoenix, AZ I would need, eventually, come back to Arizona and this leaves me with basically two options:
1. 50CC west-east and get back visiting NP's without interstates. This will require a lot of time.
2. 100CCC. This is faster but not having done a 50CC not sure if a 100CCC is the best option.
I have some thoughts on this...I'll send a PM on this later today.


EDIT: For those reading along, the idea of doing a completely separate ride prior to the 'get back home' part of the ride being the E to W 50CC
 
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Rony6ble

Premier Member
#23
Jon, understand the pictures can be a PIA but think about this: you are ready for your last gas stop and get your end receipt and you can't find the ziploc bag and you have an hour to spare!
In my rides I have way more stops than needed for two reasons: proof of my complex route and practice pictures at each stop. I like snap a photo with the bike, a sign, hopefully the gas station number or the address. It takes me some time but I'm getting better. First ride I tried this I forgot to take a picture in 50% of my stops!
Regards
 

Jon Kerr

More lost than found
Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#24
I have never tried a 50CC. I wanted to do one in November last year but didn't happen.
Living in Phoenix, AZ I would need, eventually, come back to Arizona and this leaves me with basically two options:
1. 50CC west-east and get back visiting NP's without interstates. This will require a lot of time.
2. 100CCC. This is faster but not having done a 50CC not sure if a 100CCC is the best option.
Rony6ble:
I live in Utah. I rode a SS2000 getting out to Florida, which was just incredible. I collected a few national parks on the way out, then in Florida I hit a couple more on my rest day (the day I went SCUBA diving). I wanted to hit a couple of national parks during the 50CC but my riding buddy didn't like that idea so we didn't collect any parks during the actual 50CC. The first part of the 50CC was a BBG. We finished this with 7 minutes to spare, ending up in Van Horn, TX with 1531 GPS miles. We slept there for about 5.5 hours. My buddy liked to fill his tank at about 100-125 miles (small tank, big engine) so we had about 20 gas stops - this made the BBG very difficult (also I was terribly tired toward the end and had to pull over a few times for safety's sake).

Anyway, once in San Diego we leisurely rode through a number of national parks on our way back to Utah. Every part of the ride was monumental and wonderful but in different ways. Riding solo for the first part - I love that. Riding with my good buddy across the states was really incredible. Then slowing it all down, riding through the parks and enjoying each step, also different but very cool. Riding through Death Valley is exquisite. This ride helped complete my NPT for the year. As others have stated, it's a great way to pick up states and parks. You live so close to some of the best parks in the nation - should be a fun way to get some great rides in. And it's not too far to ride out to SD and start your 50CC from there. You are whetting my appetite for another 50CC. Sheesh.
 

Rony6ble

Premier Member
#25
I actually started a NPT in March of 2015 and was very unsuccessful in collecting NP's. Did a very complex SS1K rout in southern AZ and visited several parks. I have visited those before with the wife so got in, stamp, pin and 5 minutes after arriving I'm gone.

PM send on the 50CC
 

Reef

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#26
In sunny San Diego for anyone who needs a start witness or any assistance while in town. 619-259-1692. If the timing is right I am always honored to open my man cave for you fellow IBA riders to lay their head and get some rest instead of hotels or meeting up with you to escort you to get your sand and water and ride a few miles up the 8 with you to get you started right.

Reef
 

JAVGuzzi

Premier Member
#27
I did my 50CC in 2014 with the MTF. They really help with the logistics & paperwork. It was also reassuring seeing other riders occasionally at fuel stops.

I didn't know what to expect & wasn't sure I'd be successful. Not everything went according to my plan.

I passed through torrential rain & wind from Tallahassee, FL through Mobile, AL. The Louisiana & Texas traffic & the horrendous wind in Texas caused me to get to my planned halfway stop 4 hours late.

My rest stop was the Junction, TX Motel-6 for a shower & about 5 hours sleep.

The hardest part was the continuous & gusty headwinds & crosswinds across Texas. It really wore at me riding hour after hour in the stiff wind & gusts. It also cut my fuel range down to 120-130 miles per tank through Texas. The rest of the ride I managed about 180 miles per tank. I had to make more fuel stops than I planned. I planned on 13-14 fuel stops but I had to make 18. There was also significant wind & an abrupt temperature drop riding through the Sierra Madre mountains into California.

Even though I was 4 hours behind my planned schedule I made it into San Diego with about an hour to spare.

I'm glad I successfully made it. There were several times I had my doubts.

Someday I'll probably do it again. It is one of those threshold rides... once you do it, other LD rides seem much easier.
Joe :

Did all the other Riders successfully finish ? That sounded like a very tough ride considering the weather you had to deal with !!
 

Joseph Kappes

Kankujoe
Premier Member
#29
Joe :

Did all the other Riders successfully finish ? That sounded like a very tough ride considering the weather you had to deal with !!
Yes, all riders finished successfully. Actually, I came close to DNF with only an hour to spare. Everyone else bested my time by more than an hour. Some by several hours.

I did my ride on a stock 2013 V-Strom 650. The guys on Goldwings & RTs had much faster runs. I assume their rides were also more comfortable.

After that ride & trip I decided that I needed to improve my comfort & setup the bike for LD with a custom seat, touring windshield & highway pegs. What a difference, I wish I had done so before this ride.
 
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#30
I am planning an E-W 50cc in mid-late April, from JAX to SDO. I have read every post and spoken with Dave Cwi among others. I plan to stop at Junction, TX for an overnight. My FJR is totally prepped for this ride with a 3-gal aux fuel cell, etc.
Initially I thought I would plan this ride on a week-end but I want more flexibility to watch the weather, etc. So this is more likely to be during the week.

Questions: 1. Recognizing that Houston is the major traffic issue to get through, what time does the heavy afternoon traffic end? I think I will depart JAX quite early, certainly by 4AM. Thinking this will put me around Houston AFTER the rush?
2. Shall I purchase a TX easy-pass so I can access certain HOV routes around Houston? What other routes around traffic will this pass gain access to?

Thanks, Stuart in Richmond, VA
 

Joseph Kappes

Kankujoe
Premier Member
#31
I am planning an E-W 50cc in mid-late April, from JAX to SDO. I have read every post and spoken with Dave Cwi among others. I plan to stop at Junction, TX for an overnight. My FJR is totally prepped for this ride with a 3-gal aux fuel cell, etc.
Initially I thought I would plan this ride on a week-end but I want more flexibility to watch the weather, etc. So this is more likely to be during the week.

Questions: 1. Recognizing that Houston is the major traffic issue to get through, what time does the heavy afternoon traffic end? I think I will depart JAX quite early, certainly by 4AM. Thinking this will put me around Houston AFTER the rush?
2. Shall I purchase a TX easy-pass so I can access certain HOV routes around Houston? What other routes around traffic will this pass gain access to?

Thanks, Stuart in Richmond, VA
My ride from JAX started at 5:30am which got me through Houston without any noticeable traffic issues. In fact, I had much more traffic in Slidell, LA and in El Paso, TX.

I did not use an EZ-pass. I don't recall that it would have made a difference. With your extended fuel range you should be able to reduce fuel stops, which will give you a larger buffer of time. I planned on 12-13 fuel stops but with the headwinds & crosswinds especially in Texas, my fuel range dropped dramatically. I ended up making 18 fuel stops.

Junction, TX is a good place to stop, I stayed at the Motel 6 there.

Good luck with your ride.
 

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#32
Stuart,

I left JAX last July Sat morning at 2am and Houston was fine to get thru.

I would imagine that anytime on a Saturday would be OK.

You can use this link in Chrome and there is a live traffic display at the bottom of the page and a typical traffic "predictor"

https://www.google.com/maps/place/H...0x8640b8b4488d8501:0xca0d02def365053b!5m1!1e1

My log shows that it took me 13 hours from JAX to the east side of Houston with 45 minutes to cross to the west side at around 2pm Houston time.

Below is my spotwalla that you can use to see my route.
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=e05756f5c8f0ece94
 
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#34
Got a question on the witness slips.
Can I get a start and end witness before and after the ride ends?
Here's an example of what I mean.
In Jax, get witness slip on June 1, but get the start gas receipt (time and date) on June 2nd and leave immediately.
Get to SD in say 46 hrs and get my ending gas receipt (time stamp and date) but not able to get a witness slip until the following morning.
Will the discrepancy between the the dates and times of the witness slips and gas receipts cause this to be a non-certifiable ride or will the start and end gas receipts prove it was done in the allotted time, regardless of the witness slip dates and times.
It seems the witness slip is more or less proof you were where you said you were when you started or ended. Is the start and end fuel receipts proof that the ride was done in a certifiable time?

Thanks,
Mike
 

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#35
Got a question on the witness slips.
Can I get a start and end witness before and after the ride ends?
Here's an example of what I mean.
In Jax, get witness slip on June 1, but get the start gas receipt (time and date) on June 2nd and leave immediately.
Get to SD in say 46 hrs and get my ending gas receipt (time stamp and date) but not able to get a witness slip until the following morning.
Will the discrepancy between the the dates and times of the witness slips and gas receipts cause this to be a non-certifiable ride or will the start and end gas receipts prove it was done in the allotted time, regardless of the witness slip dates and times.
It seems the witness slip is more or less proof you were where you said you were when you started or ended. Is the start and end fuel receipts proof that the ride was done in a certifiable time?

Thanks,
Mike
YES...

Most get the start witness the night before the ride in JAX and the day after in SAN

Some are lucky to meet @Reef at the end in SAN who will meet you at the gas pumps when you arrive in SAN.

I believe the start and end is just to prove that you were there "around" the time you started and stopped.
 

Paul Knight

Premier Member
#37
Hey Paul,

Thank you!!
No problem. You can use the JAX Beach police station for the start signature. Been there a few times to get signatures and every time they are very nice and accommodating.

If you would prefer not to start your ride with a visit to the police let us know and I am sure someone local, even myself would be honored to sign your start forms.
 
#38
May 8 I head out for the 100CCC .
I live in Florida and would have to ride home anyway so might as well check 2 boxes while I am at it.
If anyone is going to be on the run then, drop me a line, we will see if our paths intersect.

I appreciate the comments from those that have made the run. Still gleaning any advice I can.

My plan is 4 equal legs.
Jax-Jct TX
Jct TX-SD
SD_Jct TX
Jct TX-Jax

Fuel range between stops out west continues to be a concern. A few of the planned stops stretch my fuel range.
 
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Patrick Ford

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#40
Just FYI for all the 50 CC planers, Jim Puckett the Rallymaster for the Not Superman Rally, is running the rally a bit different this time. It will be a 50cc the hard way. Depart Coney Island, NY 0400 9-10-16. Arrive at the Golden Gate Bridge Best overlook on the north side by 0300 local time on 9-12-16. I don't know if he's taking more riders, last I heard there were 31 riders and 2 passengers. Google the rally and talk to Jim if your interested. When I saw the finish date I had to go. It's my birthday! Someone was telling me something. :^)