It has been quite some time since I have done a true 1000+ mile day and/or a ride for IBA certification. I have done plenty of 500-600 mile days and some 3000 to 3500 mile weeks but all of that was slower paced touring and traveling. I work 4 10's and for a company that observes Veterans Day since our staff has a high percentage of Veteran's and is a DOD/Military contractor. That meant I had Thursday off for Veterans Day (observed) and my normal Friday off on the actual holiday. Wednesday while looking at the IBA Monthly Rides calendar I got the bright idea to take advantage of that and do the Veterans Day Gold ride. That would mean Thursday needed to be route planning. oil and filter change, tire check, a bit of wiring clean up for the heated gear now that winter is looming, and installation of my new Motojug hydration system.
I generally suffer from Perfection Paralysis and can pour over google maps, POI files, and every other source imaginable taking days to plan a route. During that phase I will completely build, modify, and throw out dozens of potential routes all for the sake of finding the perfect one. It is not pretty, I would never be good at rallies. In this case since my decision to ride was short notice that meant my trip planning also had to be short as well, hours not days.
My original plan was to keep it in state (Tennessee) and still hit the requirements of at least 4 veteran related sites visited, 1111 miles or greater, in less than 19 hours and 18 minutes. Looking at weather Wednesday afternoon had me doubting heading east into the remnants of Hurricane Nicole. I don't mind riding in rain on a multi day or even getting caught in a pop up shower but riding directly into certain rain and cool weather is no fun. I thought about and even began planning a ride south but everything I had picked out was either too many secondary roads traffic, heavy routes, and known construction zones/closures. West it had to be so I was headed to Oklahoma to get the needed distance from Middle Tennessee before my turn around.
The 4 am alarm came early, I am not a morning person. A hot shower, coffee, a light breakfast, and a dog walk had me ready to leave at 4:45 am for my planned 5 am start. I had the bike ready to leave but some extra fiddling with my heated gear controller had me 15 minutes late already. I hit my planned start fuel station only to find the pumps closed until 6 am. I had to back track to another station and fill up there, another 10 minute start delay and of course no receipt at the pump but I was on my way at 5:26 am.
My first Bonus location was only a few miles down the road, local VFW Post 8422. I was using Bubbler and Spotwalla for the first time logging this ride since it has Spotwalla as a requirement, I am not a fan. A few extra minutes with the software and cell phone camera and I was on my way toward Memphis via 840 and I-40. I was also having significant issues with my older Garmin unit. I ditched it and went to my back up of using my phone exclusively. I literally almost tossed my GPS in the trash can at my second fuel stop. I calmed just enough to toss it in the tail trunk instead.
I knew I was going to start out in the rain, there was going to be no avoiding it. The rain was falling fairly heavily and only cleared when I got West of the Duck river and the Centerville area. The rain tapered off but the cloud cover held the sunrise back. I would not start to see any clearing sky and sun until I cleared Jackson and made my way into Memphis for a visit at the Memphis National Cemetery. I took a slow lap through the grounds and enjoyed the sun coming through what was left of the leaves on the trees.
From there it was off toward Little Rock. The rain had been replaced with wind, lots of it. I think I prefer the rain. Temps were still decent though at this point I think we touch 60's(F) through this stretch. Traffic was getting heavier now that the trucks were moving after the morning commuters. but it was manageable. I made my way in fairly short order to a fuel stop and then the Little Rock National Cemetery. Really pretty grounds here. Again a slow lap through the grounds and a picture at the gate before heading on to my turn.
I made my way into Oklahoma and my turn point. There had been one slow down but it was moving well enough to not cause concern. When I got to the cause of the slow down I saw there was a significant vehicle fire on the opposite side of I-40 that had it shut down. I hoped that it was cleared before I returned that way in a few hours. I was right at 570 miles and just over 9 hours into my ride which was over half way in less than half the allotted time, things were going quite well. I gassed up in Vian, OK and headed back East making my way to Fort Smith, AR and the Fort Smith National Cemetery for Bonus 4. Fort Smith looked like an interesting little town. I probably need to get back there and explore it and the hills north someday.
4 bonus location down and I was set on making the miles back home. The road was open again and the torched remains of the tractor and trailer were gone. A quick stop in North Little Rock for fuel and I was still looking good on time and distance. The 75mph speed limits in Arkansas and Oklahoma are nice even though I am generally not a fan of traveling by interstate. Gold ride pace was easier to accomplish on the super slab though. Maybe someday I can plan an off interstate BBG route but today was not the day.
I was so good on time I though I would throw a 5th bonus stop in just in case there was an issue with one of my previous stops. After a quick fuel up outside of Jackson, TN a quick google search and reroute to Hwy 70 put me right by VFW Post 6496 in Jackson.
I was on familiar road, the weather was cool but dry, and the traffic was rapidly dwindling as evening turned to night. My only real worry at this point was the risk of forest rat. There had been plenty of carcasses along the roadsides that morning. Rut is fast approaching and the deer are on the move. I dialed back the speeds a touch and kept an eye out.
I had a bit of a moment of panic as I saw brake lights ahead, lots of them. I slowed and tucked myself in front of a gracious truck driver to keep from getting run over by sleepy or drunk folks not paying attention as we came to a stop. If this was a significant slow down it could put me tight on time, if they shut the interstate down I would be out of luck. We were in the middle of nowhere and there are not many alternate exits near by. We sat for 10 to 15 minutes then slowly started inching forward. I got to work on my low speed maneuvering, clutch and throttle control as we inched our way up to the cause of the delay. Another significant vehicle fire. This time a bus. It was nothing but a smoldering ruin by the time I passed. A few hundred feet up the road were a few dozen poor souls in blankets and whatever jackets that could be rounded up as they watched the firefighters finish their work. I hope they did not have to stay there long in the cold before responders found alternate rides for them.
I made it to my selected finish location without further issue at 11:55 pm with 1126 miles covered in 18 hours and 29 minutes. A full 49 minutes before my deadline to complete the ride.
I think I saw low 60's for a high temperature and I saw upper 30's as I got close to home.
I always like to recount the highs (memorable or noteworthy) and lows (challenges, failures, or disappointments) of a ride like this after I am home.
Highs for this ride have to be the relative ease with which I was able to out ride my fuel range. I have not had this R1200GS long but so far I have been impressed with most aspects. I can stay comfortable easily through the ~200 mile range even if it is the 800 miles into the day. Another high was the Motojug Hydration system. I am normally bad about drinking enough water on a long ride. This time I had no problems staying hydrated and I think it made a world of difference in my comfort, mental focus, and helped keep me from getting stiff which I sometimes do.
The Lows were obviously the Garmin GPS, not sure why I keep trying stand alone GPS units and Garmin product, they always disappoint. Time to move to a dedicated phone or tablet for a GPS unit finally. I also wore some newish Forma Adventure boots that I had tried on some short rides without issue. They did not do well on this ride though. I actually ended up with a decent blister on one foot from a hot spot. Honestly my feet were the only thing that was ever really uncomfortable on this ride. I will have to find something better fitting before I set out again.
I generally suffer from Perfection Paralysis and can pour over google maps, POI files, and every other source imaginable taking days to plan a route. During that phase I will completely build, modify, and throw out dozens of potential routes all for the sake of finding the perfect one. It is not pretty, I would never be good at rallies. In this case since my decision to ride was short notice that meant my trip planning also had to be short as well, hours not days.
My original plan was to keep it in state (Tennessee) and still hit the requirements of at least 4 veteran related sites visited, 1111 miles or greater, in less than 19 hours and 18 minutes. Looking at weather Wednesday afternoon had me doubting heading east into the remnants of Hurricane Nicole. I don't mind riding in rain on a multi day or even getting caught in a pop up shower but riding directly into certain rain and cool weather is no fun. I thought about and even began planning a ride south but everything I had picked out was either too many secondary roads traffic, heavy routes, and known construction zones/closures. West it had to be so I was headed to Oklahoma to get the needed distance from Middle Tennessee before my turn around.
The 4 am alarm came early, I am not a morning person. A hot shower, coffee, a light breakfast, and a dog walk had me ready to leave at 4:45 am for my planned 5 am start. I had the bike ready to leave but some extra fiddling with my heated gear controller had me 15 minutes late already. I hit my planned start fuel station only to find the pumps closed until 6 am. I had to back track to another station and fill up there, another 10 minute start delay and of course no receipt at the pump but I was on my way at 5:26 am.
My first Bonus location was only a few miles down the road, local VFW Post 8422. I was using Bubbler and Spotwalla for the first time logging this ride since it has Spotwalla as a requirement, I am not a fan. A few extra minutes with the software and cell phone camera and I was on my way toward Memphis via 840 and I-40. I was also having significant issues with my older Garmin unit. I ditched it and went to my back up of using my phone exclusively. I literally almost tossed my GPS in the trash can at my second fuel stop. I calmed just enough to toss it in the tail trunk instead.
I knew I was going to start out in the rain, there was going to be no avoiding it. The rain was falling fairly heavily and only cleared when I got West of the Duck river and the Centerville area. The rain tapered off but the cloud cover held the sunrise back. I would not start to see any clearing sky and sun until I cleared Jackson and made my way into Memphis for a visit at the Memphis National Cemetery. I took a slow lap through the grounds and enjoyed the sun coming through what was left of the leaves on the trees.
From there it was off toward Little Rock. The rain had been replaced with wind, lots of it. I think I prefer the rain. Temps were still decent though at this point I think we touch 60's(F) through this stretch. Traffic was getting heavier now that the trucks were moving after the morning commuters. but it was manageable. I made my way in fairly short order to a fuel stop and then the Little Rock National Cemetery. Really pretty grounds here. Again a slow lap through the grounds and a picture at the gate before heading on to my turn.
I made my way into Oklahoma and my turn point. There had been one slow down but it was moving well enough to not cause concern. When I got to the cause of the slow down I saw there was a significant vehicle fire on the opposite side of I-40 that had it shut down. I hoped that it was cleared before I returned that way in a few hours. I was right at 570 miles and just over 9 hours into my ride which was over half way in less than half the allotted time, things were going quite well. I gassed up in Vian, OK and headed back East making my way to Fort Smith, AR and the Fort Smith National Cemetery for Bonus 4. Fort Smith looked like an interesting little town. I probably need to get back there and explore it and the hills north someday.
4 bonus location down and I was set on making the miles back home. The road was open again and the torched remains of the tractor and trailer were gone. A quick stop in North Little Rock for fuel and I was still looking good on time and distance. The 75mph speed limits in Arkansas and Oklahoma are nice even though I am generally not a fan of traveling by interstate. Gold ride pace was easier to accomplish on the super slab though. Maybe someday I can plan an off interstate BBG route but today was not the day.
I was so good on time I though I would throw a 5th bonus stop in just in case there was an issue with one of my previous stops. After a quick fuel up outside of Jackson, TN a quick google search and reroute to Hwy 70 put me right by VFW Post 6496 in Jackson.
I was on familiar road, the weather was cool but dry, and the traffic was rapidly dwindling as evening turned to night. My only real worry at this point was the risk of forest rat. There had been plenty of carcasses along the roadsides that morning. Rut is fast approaching and the deer are on the move. I dialed back the speeds a touch and kept an eye out.
I had a bit of a moment of panic as I saw brake lights ahead, lots of them. I slowed and tucked myself in front of a gracious truck driver to keep from getting run over by sleepy or drunk folks not paying attention as we came to a stop. If this was a significant slow down it could put me tight on time, if they shut the interstate down I would be out of luck. We were in the middle of nowhere and there are not many alternate exits near by. We sat for 10 to 15 minutes then slowly started inching forward. I got to work on my low speed maneuvering, clutch and throttle control as we inched our way up to the cause of the delay. Another significant vehicle fire. This time a bus. It was nothing but a smoldering ruin by the time I passed. A few hundred feet up the road were a few dozen poor souls in blankets and whatever jackets that could be rounded up as they watched the firefighters finish their work. I hope they did not have to stay there long in the cold before responders found alternate rides for them.
I made it to my selected finish location without further issue at 11:55 pm with 1126 miles covered in 18 hours and 29 minutes. A full 49 minutes before my deadline to complete the ride.
I think I saw low 60's for a high temperature and I saw upper 30's as I got close to home.
I always like to recount the highs (memorable or noteworthy) and lows (challenges, failures, or disappointments) of a ride like this after I am home.
Highs for this ride have to be the relative ease with which I was able to out ride my fuel range. I have not had this R1200GS long but so far I have been impressed with most aspects. I can stay comfortable easily through the ~200 mile range even if it is the 800 miles into the day. Another high was the Motojug Hydration system. I am normally bad about drinking enough water on a long ride. This time I had no problems staying hydrated and I think it made a world of difference in my comfort, mental focus, and helped keep me from getting stiff which I sometimes do.
The Lows were obviously the Garmin GPS, not sure why I keep trying stand alone GPS units and Garmin product, they always disappoint. Time to move to a dedicated phone or tablet for a GPS unit finally. I also wore some newish Forma Adventure boots that I had tried on some short rides without issue. They did not do well on this ride though. I actually ended up with a decent blister on one foot from a hot spot. Honestly my feet were the only thing that was ever really uncomfortable on this ride. I will have to find something better fitting before I set out again.