SS3000

#1
I had a foiled trip to Key West in May because of the tropical storm. There was a family vacation planned in late June by 4 wheels. We had some major remodeling being done on our house to be finished before our vacation. I had been stuck at the house sort of supervising the progress of the remodel. I was itching for a motorcycle trip but time was in absence. A family trip by a 4 wheel vehicle just doesn't replace a motorcycle trip. I was not in a good mood. The Wife sensed this. She is a good wife.

I had people I wanted to visit 1000, 1500, and 2000 miles from home but they were not on our vacation itinerary. I did not have the time to ride there, visit, then ride home.

When I thought about the above numbers I started thinking, dangerous I know, in terms of IBA rides. Hmmm. Can I get away for three days? Could I at least do a BB1500 Gold if not?

The Wife knew I was stressed over the remodel. They were almost finished. She could work from home and take over the job at home as "Director of Operations". She bosses me around, so why not? She told me to take off somewhere for a few days. I think she wanted me out of her hair for a few days knowing we would be very together with my special needs daughter for almost two weeks very soon.

I have ridden several IBA rides and some very long distances in short periods of time but I have never ridden an SS3000 on the clock, SS2000 yes, but not a 3000. Plus it would qualify me for the Mile Eater Bronze (already had one qualifying ride). I could also try out my auxiliary fuel tank. Of course I thought it was a great idea. :cool: The Wife agreed. She even made the hotel reservations at my stopping points. She is very supportive of this 69 year old crazy guy. I am not sure why she married me. I hope she doesn't sober up. :)

It was hot in Dallas, very hot. I wanted to head north to maybe cooler weather. I decided north to Fargo, ND. Then west to Billings MT before swinging south to Las Vegas, NM. I would turn due south to I-40/Santa Rosa, NM, then head for home. 3200 miles is what I had show up on AAA routing. Fargo, Billings, Las Vegas and Santa Rosa would be my corners.

I remounted my auxiliary 5 gallon fuel tank on my Yamaha Royal Star Venture. I revamped my hydration system in that I added a 1 gallon therm to the rear floor board by way of Helen Two Wheels small throw over saddlebags. They are made to go over the rider seat and rest on the foot pegs.

Fuel for at least 300 miles between stops, if my bladder and alertness could last that long. I have lately been having trouble with becoming sleepy at odd times. At least this would allow me the option of more distance between stops and fuel when I wanted to.

My Honda VTX 1300R, Old Reliable, that has taken me on most of my IBA rides and many trips has a 1.8 gallon auxiliary tank for at least 200 miles. But often times I wish it had a little more range. I would have liked to take it on this ride ( I have made it comfortable) but at 134,000 miles I opted for the lower mileage RSV with more range.

I decided an early start around 0300 or 0400 would enable me to beat the Texas heat. The first leg was about 1200 miles (with some rest stops)to east of Fargo where I spent the night in Jamestown, ND.

I arrived around 2200 after riding through some heavy rain. I only had to stop long enough to close the vents on my KLIM Gore Tex Badlands. It has more vents than the KLIM Latitude or the Aerostich. Not cold enough to change gloves besides they were wet by the time I stopped. Fortunately, I opted to put on my Gore Tex glove just in case the temperature dropped more. They did drop enough to make me glad I changed gloves. Boots were good to go since they are SIDI Gore Tex.

I got my corner fuel receipt in Fargo but Jamestown was my planned stop so I got another fuel receipt just in case I had to abandon my planned ride later. After checking into the hotel I visited with the hotel clerk for too long who could not believe I rode from Dallas to Jamestown today. I told him my story and gave him the web site. I got him as a witness just in case. I still needed to eat.

There was nowhere near for food so I ate my usual emergency food, tuna and peanut butter crackers along with a protein drink and water, plenty of water. I wanted a big burger as I had little to eat all day, not unusual for an LD ride. No luck on the burger.

The next morning I was up and out by 0600. I intentionally left my auxiliary tank empty so I could get a receipt just in case I needed it. Of course I had to go inside for it just as I did last night and every stop except two for the entire ride.

Other reasons I picked going north then west instead of north then east are less humidity, speed limits, less traffic, and usually good roads. So far I was not disappointed. So turning west was to be an easy ride with speed. It was for the most part. I did get sleepy just before leaving North Dakota. I found a nice rest area and took a short power nap. When I returned to riding I felt great. It is amazing what 10 minutes of lying down, even if I don't sleep, does for me.

Casper was to be an easy stop with a snack. However, it was not. The stop was good but getting out of town was trouble. There was so much construction with poor signage I wasn't sure I would ever find I-25 south. I accidentally did after turning around once. Oh, well, I really only lost minutes and very few miles. All was good with 80 mph speed limits for a lot of those miles today.

I was starting to get behind schedule. I wasn't sure why. Maybe the short nap which was mandatory or the long visit with the lady hosting the rest stop. I was still in good shape mentally, physically, and only an hour late for my planned stop in Colorado Springs.

I made an extra fuel stop at Little America near Cheyenne to insure I would not need and unexpected fuel stop anywhere along the Denver - Colorado Springs part of I-25. I sure am glad I did. The traffic and construction was horrible.

As I was leaving Cheyenne I calculated 2200 or 2230 for my arrival at my fuel stop in Colorado Springs. I did not expect the traffic to be as heavy as it was. However, the construction was the real problem. I was just out there a few months earlier and don't remember the construction as being so intense. This trip it was stop and go, mostly stop, for a very long time.

Finally my GPS (first time to use a GPS on an IBA ride, I am old school) instructed me to leave I-25. I reluctantly followed it. I knew enough about Denver to know east was a strange way to go south to my hotel just off I-25. I just imagined seeing a sign saying, "Welcome to the Sunflower State". I ended up going through the heart of downtown on city streets only a block or two from where I stayed when my daughter got married a couple of months earlier. I said what the ....

Well, the GPS pulled me through. I bypassed the worst of the construction and stop and go traffic. Plus, it probably saved my life as I had too many close calls before the detour. I still hit some construction but for the most part the flow was 10+ over the speed limit once back on I-25.

I found my hotel with only a small amount of trouble. There was a gas station beside it and a McDonald's also. I obtained my receipt for this leg with my auxiliary empty for the morning "just in case" receipt. This leg was about 1100 miles.

McDonald's is not what I wanted but all I wanted was food. If I eat during the day when on the road I often get their fish sandwiches because I like them and they don't have the fat to make me sleepy. This time I settled for a double quarter pounder.

I checked in about two hours later than I anticipated when I was leaving Cheyenne. The traffic/construction killed my time. But I was over 2/3rd done and tomorrow would be easy, except for the heat and I knew I could manage that. I slept in. I was out at 0630. I got the "just in case" receipt then headed south.

It felt good. I was on my home turf so to speak. I have ridden this one many times. There should be no serious traffic plus good speeds the rest of the way home since I live on the north west edge of the Dallas area. It was also less miles than the previous two days. This was by design.

Yep, I made it home before dark with all planned fuel stops and only one real rest stop. Great ride and I felt great. 3219 miles not in record time but with seven hours to spare.

I am just waiting for it to be certified. I should not have any problems with that.
 

Scott Parish

Premier Member
#4
Nicely done. Question - was your GPS rerouting you around traffic/construction or was it just taking the shortest/fastest route? My Garmin Nav V does not reroute me for traffic congestion which is why I generally also run Google Maps on my phone for real-time alerts and alternative routes.
 
#5
Nicely done. Question - was your GPS rerouting you around traffic/construction or was it just taking the shortest/fastest route? My Garmin Nav V does not reroute me for traffic congestion which is why I generally also run Google Maps on my phone for real-time alerts and alternative routes.
Thank you. Well, I am not sure. I originally had it set for fastest so maybe I got lucky. Under non construction times I would think straight down I-25 to my hotel would have been the fastest. I think the next time through Denver I'll just take the toll road around it. Save some heart burn if not time.
 
#6
Man oh Man, I might have to try one of those. I will look it up but I assume it is 3000 miles in 72 hours. I'd better go look.
Go for it. It is just three SS1000s back to back, 72 hrs to complete.

My first leg left me more tired than the other two but I am sure it was because I did not sleep well the night before beginning. One thing that helped me was that I had been on all of the route at one time or another and did not mind if I had to bail as long as the temperature was better than it was at home in Texas.