Speed versus time question

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#82
You'll figure out what works for you. The tarp tent idea sounds like it takes too much time for a quick stop/sleep scenario. If I'm tired enough to crash next to the bike, I don't even take the helmet off, just lay down in all my gear. if I need more than protection from the morning dew, I'll opt for a hotel room with a toilet and shower. :)
 

Dogpoope

Premier Member
#83
I managed to get my hands on two "puppor" (one-man tent I used in military). A thin sleeping bag inside and fold it to a tiny roll. Either put it behind windshield or strap it to passenger back rest. Takes 20 seconds to roll out and get in and as long as its over 7, 8C its pretty comfy for a short rest.
 

kerrizor

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#84
Sounds a lot like a Bivvy.. I've been thinking about finding room for a hammock for emergency naps, but you're still pretty exposed to the elements (although some have built in rainflies or bivvies, so.. :shrug:

I did see someone a few years back (at Babes Ride Out in Joshua Tree, if memory serves) who was doing the lean-to thing with a tarp, attached to the bike.. of course, she was sleeping on the "downhill" side of the bike, and in the soft soil of Joshua Tree, that made me more than a little nervous..
 

rneal55555

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#85
...
I did see someone a few years back (at Babes Ride Out in Joshua Tree, if memory serves) who was doing the lean-to thing with a tarp, attached to the bike.. of course, she was sleeping on the "downhill" side of the bike, and in the soft soil of Joshua Tree, that made me more than a little nervous..
All depends on the size of the side stand Puck you have.
 

JAVGuzzi

Premier Member
#86
Pardon me since I'm kinda late to this thread.

I have only done 1 successful BBG back in 2014 so my experience is limited. I went 1,528 miles in 23 hours and 40 minutes. I would have finished sooner with about 10 less miles, but near the end of the ride I followed an 18-wheeler ( ya, I know I shouldn't have been following an 18-wheelr that could have blown a tire ) right off the exit onto another highway - both right hand lanes were the exit lanes. I was in the second right hand lane.

I'm a slow stopper - about 14 minutes ( get off the bike to gas, pee, and hydrate ) for 5 of my stops and 25 minutes for the lunch & dinner gas stops. So I used up 2 hours for stops on that ride. I usually just get a sandwich out of the cooler at the gas station - no bowel issues with that over the years. No way I would chance an egg McMuffin or whatever it's called a BK. And no way I would chance a dog off the roller. A slice of pizza I'd might take a chance with if it looked like it hadn't been sitting there for hours. Any GI problem would be problematic on a BBG.

So my moving time was 21 2/3 hours for a moving average of 70.5 mph. I did this ride all in Michigan when the speed limit was 70 mph on most expressways outside the cities. The unofficial speed limit is 78 mph ( per a State Police Lieutenant ). So I was doing that most of the day ( except for a few slow downs through construction zones ) but slow down a bit at night because of the possible encounter with wildlife.

I usually need a sugar-free energy drink at 2 pm ( siesta time ) and at 2 am. I plan my rides so I avoid cities or will be going through cities only at night. I double check ( call ) the stations I'm planning on stopping at night to make sure they are open 24 hours ( Google Maps is good for a preliminary check, but call anyway ).

So, I usually do about 190 miles between stops. If I extended that to 225 miles ( which I could easily do with my 7.3 gallon tank ) I could eliminate 1 stop. But it's nice to be able to get off the bike more often to stretch ( especially at my age ) and I did the ride within 24 hours with the extra stop. And that would only save me about 15 minutes by eliminating 1 stop.

So 5 minutes stops aren't really required to do a BBG. A friend of mine did a BBG in a little under 23 hours and he said it was a tough ride. Ya, I can understand that. It was probably pretty stressful to do it in under 23 hours. Minimizing stress is important for any IBA ride, IMO.

I keep the plan for my ride on the top of my tank bag to check to see how I'm doing time-wise at my stops. I have the planned departure times noted there. See an example attached.

For some strange reason I don't get as tired after being awake past my bedtime as when I was younger. I do make sure I get a good nights sleep for a few nights before I do a ride like this, although doing a SS3K in 2020 wasn't that hard of a ride. The hardest part was riding home from the Chicago area the day after the ride - it took me 8 hours to do about 300 miles but I was stuck in a traffic jam due to a roll-over accident for about an hour in hot weather.


Dog Roller 3.jpg
This pic was taken in the summer of 2020 at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
I think if they really cared, the roller grills would have been shut down permanently.

 

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JAVGuzzi

Premier Member
#88
FLHXHS :

A while back I was thinking of doing the 90 hour Trans Canada ride and came up with a plan but even doing it in 90 hours looked like a tough ride time-wise to do. Plus I would need to ride all the way to Halifax to start and then after the ride, return back to Michigan from Vancouver.

But it looks like a really nice ride to do and I haven't seen much of Canada except for Ontario and a tiny bit of Quebec. I really like riding in Ontario, except for the price of gas, and crawling through Toronto during rush hour.

IMO, the TCQ should be a 100 hour ride and the Great Lakes Challenge a 90 hour ride.

Good luck on your TCQ Gold.
 
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FLHXHS

Premier Member
#93
Doesn't we all? Except for those lucky ones who lives without winter, snow and all that.
Thought I had some good weather tonight with 2°. Almost so I could work in a t-shirt ;)
Yes - after a long run of -20ºC we've been hovering at 0-3ºC these past two days. Maybe I could ride... For like five minutes...
TCH has been closed with fatalities and avalanche control. So it would be the figure-8 IBA ride. [/no thank you]
 

kerrizor

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#95
Seat update: Finally squeezed the trigger on the LePera Maverick w/backrest. I'm standard height and Maverick stitching. I don't know why, but I've looked at this seat for ~ 8 years. So - its coming now. Hoping it's as awesome as the Harley-Davidson Forum members say. I've heard 1000 mi to break it in, so it sounds like a SS1000 is in order...
I hope it works out to be something you love!!
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#99
...and unlike us Americans, you can't use the excuse "Oh, I'm sorry offficer, I was thinking in miles, not kilometers!"
Is it just me, or do others find that the Canadian suggested corner speed signs in kph are dead on, when applied in mph? :cool:
 
...and unlike us Americans, you can't use the excuse "Oh, I'm sorry offficer, I was thinking in miles, not kilometers!"
Excuse,
...but officer, my cruise control was set exactly at the speed limit. Did you see the other guy that was passing me?

(good luck with that one, but it did get me out of a CHP ticket when there were 3 CHiP cars working with an aircraft)