Ride into Darkness - BBG Attempt (7/30-7/31)

RichmonS

Premier Member
#1
Feel free to scroll to the TL : DR for the punch lines.

I titled this post after a conversation I had in my head on the ride and after reflecting on the ride for a couple of days.. Starting the ride in Brunswick and heading west I wondered if I was technically extending my ride in darkness. While on the ride I would get frustrated at people and the machine learning linear algebra behind it.

The path for my ride was from Brunswick, GA to Iowa, LA and back.

The route of the ride:
https://goo.gl/maps/avazpMCk5842

Spotwalla of the trip:
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=15a50597f9932aa437

I chose this ride since it was all interstate and would allow me to see part of the coast to coast path. Since I do not have any pictures (unless you want to see the dash of my bike) I have broken this report into the various legs of the trip.

Leg 1 - Start (Brunsiwck, GA to Jacksonville, FL)
Constance at the Love's station was very nice and was one of my start witnesses. The ride to Jacksonville was pretty easy. Just misty rain and no traffic. The excitement of the ride was still going strong. My Cyclops LED headlights are awesome compared to OEM.

Leg 2 - Jacksonville, FL to Quincy, FL
The ride of this leg would be hard in both directions for different reasons. In this leg the misty cooling rain would become hard driving rain. I would also call it pins and needles rain. I have a Sand3 two-piece suit with the waterproof liner in it. During some of the showers my arms had that same numb pins and needles feeling because the rain would be so hard. People in cars were going slowly which made it harder for me. One, I wanted to keep moving to get out of the rain storm. Two, being around cards meant I got splashed with water from the road.

Leg 3 - Quincy, FL to Robertsdale, AL
The rain finally stops in this leg (after everything from driving rain to drizzles) and the sun rises. I did not know there was a tunnel in Mobile Bay. The salt marshes are similar to what exists on the Goergia coastline.

Leg 4 - Robertsdale, AL to Albany, LA
Pretty uneventful. Who knew that there was a NASA site in Mississippi? I am a space nerd and I make a mental note that I should stop by. I am reminded by the Kennedy Space Center tours we did this summer. Very cool but, after the Apollo missions not much content. I then go into a conversation on if I could be one of the few Space Race riders.

Leg 5 - Albany, LA to Iowa, LA
No real issues other than I-10 through Baton Rouge must be hot or cold on traffic. That single bridge over the bay and elevated I-10 bridge west of the city must be frustrating to everyone. I am from Atlanta where drivers and traffic are terrible. Iowa is my midpoint and I am about 45 minutes ahead of pace. I stop and eat a sandwich and drink a juice.

Leg 6 - Iowa, LA to Albany LA
No Issues other than one terrible driver who didn't want to stay in the right lane of I-10 but, would pace at the same speed as the tractor trailers. He would roar up in his CRV and get in front of me then slow down. I would keep my pace and eventually pass him and this would repeat. It seemed like we did this for almost two hours.

Leg 7 - Albany, LA to Robertsdale, AL
Nothing to report. Same as above.

Leg 8 - Robertsdale, AL to Quincy, FL
I realize that I am still on pace to finish the ride in time if I keep going (maybe with 30 minutes cushion). This is the leg where several things start to happen putting my ride in jeopardy. First, I am feeling the fatigue setting in. I have a conversation with my wife and father just to let them know where I am. Somehow they sound more tired than I do. Second, the planned stop was closed so I had to use my GPS to determine a Flying J two exits down. I planned to use up some of my time margin to stretch and get some candy and drinks but I get distracted by my credit card no longer working. I just happen to have a second card but in the process I don't take my break. Instead I fill up and take off. This was my biggest mistake!!

Leg 9 - Quincy, FL to Jacksonville, FL
This was the hardest leg and the one where I scared myself. By not stopping in Quincy for longer I set myself up to very tired on this leg. I knew better but got side-tracked by my card no longer working. I tried using rock music, screaming to myself and calling my wife and father to just talk to someone.

I also made a navigation error in Jacksonville which made me have to wait at a light that would not turn and make a u-turn. The fatigue on this leg would also slow my pace and I would loose focus.

Leg 10 - End (Jacksonville, FL to Brunswick, GA)
I stop in Jacksonville and use my backup card to get fuel, candy and a 4-hour energy. I did not want to use coke and felt that slamming one of these would be faster. This is a short jaunt to the finish and is only needed to prove the turn from I-10 to I-95.

At the station in Brunswick my backup card does not work so I had to steal from the take a penny leave a penny to put 15 cents into the tank and get a receipt. The pump does not print a receipt so I have to go in and print one from the register. I am exhausted but I end the ride @3:30am which gave me 14 minutes to spare.

Final thoughts:
I do not see a way for me and my bike to do some of the IronButt rides. The back to back BBG's would be impossible unless I got a CamelTank to stretch my range (or maybe a BMW GSA).
If things go wrong just take stock. In the end I had 15-20 minutes to spare. I could have worked out a way to call the bank while resting to try and overcome the fraud hold. I now know to call the bank before I do another ride.
I need to set my odometer to the favorites screen of my bike computer so I can reduce a step and a point of error in capturing the receipts.
I want an action camera (probably Garmin VIRB) to take pictures during my trips. There were cool things that only I saw and can't share.

TL : DR - The ride was much more challenging that a SS1K. All of my gear worked perfectly. Drivers suck and so do fraud holds on credit cards. Keep your plan and ride your plan. I got frazzled and made one leg very hard and a wee bit scary.


Dramatic reenactment of my start of the ride.
 

Scott Parish

Premier Member
#2
Congratulations on one of the most difficult IBA single day rides. After my first; I questioned why anyone would do more; but I have gone on to do it on different bikes, routes etc. for the fun and challenge. I love riding through Mobile, Al looking at the bay, the buildings, and going through the tunnel. Jacksonville can be a little bit of a challenge with so much road construction going on which always doesn't align with the GPS route requiring some quick thinking - or U-turns :) . Sit back and enjoy this accomplishment; but I will not be surprised if I see a thread very soon with you planning a 50cc or 100ccc. This is definitely addictive.

Scott
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#3
Nicely done; great trip report.

My first BBG was done back in October. The fatigue monster bit me more in the first six hours of the ride. Of course, having already accomplished 2100+ miles of riding before I started that may not have been one of my smarter moves, yet I did accomplish it. Jacksonville Beach to Van Horn, TX. The next night was the end of a 50CC, sleeping in San Diego that night. Yes, the LD bug bites many of us - hard!

You've learned several things and will use them to your advantage on your next LD ride, I'm sure!

Congrats again!
 

RichmonS

Premier Member
#4
Thanks @Scott Parish and @kwthom. I just submitted the paperwork to get the ride certified.

I am already planning the next one which may be an in-state SS1K. I think my next one will be a 100CCC starting in Jacksonville, FL.