Summer Solstice and the livin' is easy, fish are jumpin' and....

JAORE

Premier Member
#1
I had just returned from a Summer Solstice SS 1000 ride. When I walked in the house my wife, Judy, handed me the package of my Bun Burner Gold approval (yeaaa haw!). I previously posted a report on that ride and the mistakes I made.

One nice thing about the BBG ride was I learned some lessons that carried over to this one. The main lesson I learned is that when I'm fatigued I don't make the best decisions. Hence the oft repeated “plan your ride, ride your plan”.

For example I planned my gas stops on the BBG, but changed that on the fly half way through. It caused a LOT of problems (read that delays) which could have sunk my 24 hour limit. I also changed interstate routes at a wrong interchange.

So I employed the KISS (keep it simple, stupid – how appropriate) method and the belt-and-suspenders techniques on this ride:

I picked just four spots to buy fuel. One served as both beginning and ending receipts. Two, spaced 150-190 miles apart served as gas stops both coming and going and the last was just the turn around point. That made it easy to check out Google maps for access to and from each station, assure they were open 24/7 and verify they were still in business. In fact I picked exits where there was a second 24/7 station.

My route also involved just two changes to the Interstates. My route began in Montgomery, Alabama at the gas station closest to me where I know there are good receipts 24/7. Then I went north on I-65. The route changed to I-24 in Nashville, went west to where I took I-57 north to Mount Vernon, Illinois. I planned the same route in reverse. Simple and easy.... sort of easy.

On my BBG one issue was the GPS directions gave me odd directions. You know, like take the exit, only to use the exit ramp and have it direct you to get back on the highway because it is a few feet shorter. So after I put each station into the GPS as intermediate points, I also taped a simple message on my inner fairing:

I-65 --> EXIT 322
I-24 → EXIT 86
I-57 → EXIT 95

65 → 24 → 57 → 64/57

BUBBLER

The first three lines are the exit numbers of the gas stops. The next line is the Interstate routes in order. The final line is a reminder to hit “send” on Bubbler when I stop. Of course I'd forgotten to do that (just once, thank goodness) on my BB Gold ride.

Belt tightened and suspenders firmly in place.

Now a SS 1000 doesn't fatigue me like the BBG did. But I could tell the stress level was way down knowing exactly where I would fuel and where I would turn.

So, the ride was a cake walk, right?

Not exactly.

There is the part where planning does not make perfect.

My first planning concern was traffic congestion. Much of I-65 north of me in Alabama is under widening construction and the back ups can be brutal. Plus I was going through Birmingham and Nashville, so I wanted to avoid the worst of rush hour. Two options here early or late. Late gets me home after dark and I prefer my night riding to be when I'm fresh. So, leave early it is.

That lets me miss the morning rush hour in both cities. Coming home, assuming an 18 hour ride is a bit problematic and gets me home at 6 pm. That means I'll be in Birmingham, between 4:30 to 5 pm hitting at least part of their rush hour. Not optimal. But eighteen hours is beatable unless I hit problems.

The next issue is weather. I checked that out Tuesday. It showed only a slight rain probability in the mornings, but potential thunderstorms in the afternoon. Bummer. Especially a bummer when I know I can't postpone the ride. The Summer Solstice comes but once a year. But, hey, I could be home BEFORE 6 pm. It says so right above. Let's look at the hour by hour. Hmmmm.... I'll miss most of the real risk. And I'll have time enough to sit and wait out any real storm. It's a go.

And then I left and, though I headed North, the ride went South.

First of all I intended to leave the house right after midnight...... didn't happen. I left just after 1 am. I had all my gear on the bike or laid out. Except for one item. But I knew just where that was, except it wasn't. Hunting for a misplaced item while trying not to wake the dogs who would wake the wife is not a quick and easy endeavor. Oh well, one hour isn't make or break.

But I have a cloudless sky, half moon glowing and a moderately warm temperature. Could not be better. First fill up, everything on the receipt, pic taken, Bubbler lit and off I go.

No problem at the start. My only concern is the lack of a rabbit at 2 am in the now empty construction zones that are still signed for 55 mph. Oh well, lots of time for a SS 1000.

Pro tip: Don't assume the weather will not change from the forecast from TWO DAYS ago.

Somewhere north of Birmingham a light rain began. No problem, though I'm wearing a mesh jacket the fairing is keeping most of the rain off of me. So I did not bother to pull over and put on rain gear.

I pass the next interchange and here comes the rain. Not a dangerous storm, but I'm getting wet, and a bit cool. Oh well, if you ride you'll get wet sometimes (go ahead and insert your ads for a 'Stich here). Plus I'm now on deeply, and unevenly, milled pavement with the barest of ghost striping if any at all. Rough, uncomfortable and taking a lot more concentration than an empty Interstate should require.

I think about stopping for the rain gear, but I'm still not very wet. I think about quitting. But the rain slacks before every interchange and I chug on. Of course the rain increases as soon as I pass the exit point, or so it seems.

Finally I think I'd better check this out, wishful thinking doesn't seem to be working.

So off I go where there is a nice little country cooking place that serves breakfast. Just for coffee, check the My Radar app and on I'll go. But My Radar shows the green rain area all around me. BUT, there is a gap coming. Ahh, if I wait a bit, I might plunge through that gap and escape relatively dry. And the local weather guy (local as in Nashville) says the morning rain is ending soon, but there may be severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. Another ding to the time line.

So, I'll order the standard breakfast while I wait this out. Out comes two eggs, two large sausage patties, a PILE of hash browns under gravy and a couple of biscuits. I take a sausage and one biscuit and make a nice sausage sandwich. That ought to hold me. Then I thought a few bites of egg would be good, and then..... burp!

Where did this dirty, but empty, plate come from? Ah well, time to head out. I tip heavily hoping the cash helps make up for drying the puddle I left from the rain.

I get my receipt and head out to take the pic. And the receipt is now dotted with drops. Crap! Oh well, still not raining hard. I throw on my rain jacket, but don't bother with the pants.

Pro tip: Don't tempt fate this way.

It rains pretty steadily after that. Rain runs off my jacket (and down the neck I didn't tighten) and into my crotch. Rain soaks my pants and trickles into my rainproof boots.

Fun, fun, fun. But the rain tapers as the sky lightens. About 10 miles from my first gas stop the sun peaks through the clouds and the air warms rapidly. At the gas station it was back to the mesh vest and that served me well the rest of the ride. Plus I dried quicker than I would have guessed possible.

For the rest of the trip the weather cooperated well. A brief sprinkle or two, lots of recently wet pavement. But warm and clear for the most part. Those potentially severe afternoon showers?Nowhere to be found.

Even rush hour in Nashville and Birmingham were OK. There are a couple of merge/diverge points in Nashville that are always an issue, but, while slow, they were no problem.

There were three other events that were noteworthy to me. Twice I entered construction zones where traffic was reduced to a single lane. Back home this results in drivers staying in the lane to be dropped until the orange on the barrels threatens to rub off on the fenders. On this trip every single car and truck got into the proper lane over ½ mile from the closure. Absolutely astounding. And far safer than the norm.

The other was a semi forcing me onto the shoulder of I-24 in Kentucky. You know those closely spaced rumble strips pressed into the shoulders. Those things tingle your tush when you glide over them at 70+ mph. I rolled off the throttle and fell behind the truck. Then passed him and waved. Honestly. And I used all five fingers.

The third started at my final gas stop. The lady behind the counter was talking about a report that a truck had just struck and brought down a bridge. “Where?”, I inquired. “I-65, south of here at Cullman (Alabama)”. Well, fudge, guess where I'm heading. But I know US 278 on the north side of Cullman takes you to US 31 south, parallel to I-65. I mention this and the lady opines that's my best bet. But she added I'd better hurry before everyone jumps on US31. Off I go. Down US 278, right onto US 31. Traffic light, hooray. There's the cutoff back to the interstate. I cross the bridge over I-65 and look south. All's well, traffic is a bit heavy but moving. A mile or so further and blue lights. LOTS of blue lights. Crap! The damaged bridge is south of where I was told. Then the fates relented. The effects of the damage to the bridge was limited to the north bound lanes. With a passing thought of pity for those trapped, I breathe a sigh of relief and head for the barn.

And now a word from our commercial sponsors. [Actually now a word for two products I have no connection with except as a fan.]

I've been using Bubbler/Spotwalla for a while. Really like the product and it is useful for ride documentation. So I upgraded to Bubbler Pro. A great use of $9.99. The five minute intervals gives a much cleaner map of your route. The ability to tag gas or food stops makes the ride log a breeze. I've yet to use the photo option, but look forward to trying that out. And my wife really enjoyed being able to watch my progress. It gave her comfort which is important for future kitchen passes.

Next is the LDComfort shorts. I wore Kevlar lined jeans on this ride. The seams don't seem to bother me and I'm comfortable in them. But remember when I said I was wet, especially my wet crotch? The shorts helped me dry out almost immediately. No damp, no chafing. Cotton or poly shorts would have been (IMO) a real issue under damp jeans.

And now we return you to our regularly scheduled program.....

First DBR was at 1:21 am. Final was at 8:15 pm. Almost exactly 19 hours. Odometer miles were 1,068.7.

Next up, procrastination time before submitting the paperwork. Or maybe first I'll start planning my next ride. We'll see.

Ride safe.
 
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Scott Parish

Premier Member
#3
Sounds like a fun ride and well executed plan. As for the pro-tips 1) weather - I always assume the forecast is wrong because expecting clear weather to only ride in rain can be hard on the mind. 2) gear - I switched to Aerostich a year ago and have struggled wanting to like the gear. I thought it could benefit from a few comfort improvements; but have stayed with it. Just back this week from a 49/10 where I had severe thunderstorms 5 out of the first 7 days and 7 out of the total 13 days on the road with at least one day of 12 continuous hours of rain. Not one drop of rain penetrated the gear. I never had to stop; just zipped down the leg openings and sleeve expansions as I would approach the next cell. For my ride I never stopped to allow a cell to pass - I find it easier and more time effective to just push through. While I will not always do that on a leisure ride - when I'm on the clock I find I do not have the patience to wait. 3) I use my Garmin for overall trip info; but have found using my phone for point-to-point navigation is more beneficial as it provides real-time traffic updates and alternative routing on the fly as well as a reliable arrival time to next waypoint and avoids the off/on again instructions the Garmin will push out to cut some distance even though set to fastest not shortest routing. Looking forward to the next ride report.