Winter Solstice SS1K

XYZZY

Premier Member
A Winter Solstice Ride

Blah blah blah... y’all are tired of me over explaining the IBA.

Regardless, I do want to ride on all four seasons and Winter Solstice fell on a Saturday, so it was a no-brainer. Initially, I just assumed that I’d just point the bike to Florida so that I wouldn’t have to pack extra winter layers... just unzip here and there and moderate my temp in the warm Florida air.

Lonnie wanted to do it with me, but he’s been hankerin’ to ride in Texas... so we had convoluted plans that would ensure that we both got our minimum 1000 miles, without too many extra miles and missing our 24 hour limit and picked the Harlingen/South Padre Island area for a turn around.

A week or so befor KSU, Lonnie had to bail out. I had met another like minded rider from Tennessee, virtually. We had bonded over the shared experience of the Ride Around Alabama. Suddenly, Florida was back on the table... then he had to beg off. So I went to bed the night before with two plans, in opposite directions, loaded into the Garmins. I allowed myself to sleep-in a little, and when I got up at 6am, I checked the weather... and it looked like it would be roughly 10 degrees colder in Jacksonville, than it would be in Corpus Christi, so Texas it is! It was 38° in New Orleans when I loaded the bike! The cold temps had lowered the air pressure in my tires, so I stopped at the neighborhood convenience store to top them up, but didn’t need gas, so made my way towards the freeway and grabbed my starting receipt from my local ATM machine, 7:19 am. The temps were low, but not too bad. I think it was in the low 40’s by the time I crossed the river at Baton Rouge, but the next stretch through the Atchafalaya basin was a little chilly... high 30’s again. My buddy Kevin had gifted me a pair of battery operated socks and I thought what better day to wear them than the shortest day of the year. I turned them on when I got dressed, but had them on their lowest setting. They kept my feet comfortable all day... until the batteries ran dead. Note to self... create a better plan!

Traffic from Beaumont through Houston was heavy, but moving at a good clip. In Houston, I turned south on US 59 which even has an HOV lane! Fun Fact! If federal dollars are involved in the highway budget, then motorcycles are ALWAYS considered High Occupancy [23 U.S.C. 166(b)(1)]!

The day had turned out beautifully... the temps south of Houston were in the 60’s. I even had to unzip my jacket and take off my balaclava for a while. Again, things were working in my favor. With my balaclava on, drinking from my hydration jug was not possible, but being sealed up in my gear, the wind didn’t have a chance to dehydrate me... without the balaclava, I could go back to my sipping regimen.

And for another plug for Texas... speed limits in this country seem to be dictated by revenue agencies not by Highway Safety Engineers. US-59 is NOT controlled access with on-ramps and such, regardless the speed limit was 75 mph. I didn’t witness any accidents or near misses, the shoulders of the road are not littered with the detritus of crashed vehicles... and the only Law Enforcement Officers that I encountered seemed to be peacefully monitoring the steady flow of traffic. IMHO, if people weren’t so worried about getting a ticket and think it’s their job to set the pace, highways would probably be safer.

While heading south, well after Corpus Christi which was my original turn-around, I noticed I had one bar of fuel and decided to top up. I pulled into a station that was packed with cars. Found an open pump and swiped my credit card... the pump authorized but nothing came out of the spout. I heard someone say that theirs wasn’t working either, so I cancelled and re-swiped, choosing Premium this time... no joy. About that time the Clerk showed up with a hand full of the little yellow baggies that they put over the pump handles... the station was out of gas! He told me that there was another gas station near by, and also where I could find another station in their fleet... But the most important thing he said was that there wasn’t service south of that town for almost 50 miles! Wouldn’t you know it, the other station in town was also out of gas. I had no intention of ruining my ride by taking the risk, so I turned back north instead. Ten minutes later i was filling up at a pay-before-you-pump station, but made that my turn-around receipt and headed home. I had over 600 miles at that point, so it was safe to head home. However, thoughts of turning the ride into a Bun Burner Gold (BBG) were evaporating.

In IBA vernacular, a SaddleSore is a 1000 mile ride, and a Bun Burner is 1500. A SS1k requires an average speed of 42 mph. You can do the same pace for 1500 miles, and that’s a standard-run-of-the-mill Bun Burner... 1500 miles in 36 hours. BUT, if you do 1500 miles in 30 hours (Silver), it requires a pace of 50mph, and if you do it in 24 hours (Gold) you have to maintain a pace of 63 mph. So, dear reader, as you sit and contemplate what a great rider I am... keep in mind that what separates me from the really good riders is that they ride BBG pace all the time. This is what I’ve been training for... BBG pace requires stamina, good planning and efficient use of your time at gas stops.

My Garmin routes were spot on, but over the next few hours, I made several routing mistakes. I’m going to blame technology since i was not getting turn-by-turn directions in my helmet. I missed a transition around Corpus Christi, and I made the wrong choice in Houston and ended up on surface streets, and again in Houston, I literally couldn’t read the signs, and did not see anything to keep me on I-10. Once on I-10 proper, things moved quickly. I was surprised that once outside of Houston, the traffic was really light. I was keeping an eye on my dashboard thermometer.

I had been on BBG pace all day, but I was starting to feel the cold. My feet in particular. The batteries in my socks died hours before, and and when you’re just sitting still, there isn’t much help getting warm blood to circulate in your feet. Between Lake Charles and Lafayette I stopped for coffee and a restroom break. I had already exceeded 1000 miles, and I had plenty of time remaining... regardless, I took a photo of my time-stamped receipt with my odometer... proof of my SaddleSore distance and time. The coffee helped, and I was off again. It was right around midnight, so I’d been in the saddle for 17 hours.

The temps from Houston through Beaumont, Lake Charles and Lafayette hovered in the low 40’s. The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge was in the high 30’s. More fun facts... that stretch of interstate is the third longest bridge in America, and the second longest Interstate bridge. The longest bridges are in metro New Orleans. You notice those signs on the road that say “Bridge Ices Before Road”? That’s because it’s just plain colder up there... wind above and below the road, nothing to hold in any warmth.

Traffic was pretty light and everyone was behaving themselves. I could have sworn that I saw a bright flash from one vehicle... it made me wonder if they were taking a picture of the crazy motorcyclist, who knows.

Do you know how a thought will get stuck in your head and you start fixating on something that will make you anxious. Well, there I was, cold, tired, and approaching a bridge I hate... and all those “Bridge Ices Before Roads” signs started gnawing at the back of my brain, and I crossed the Mississippi River doing about 45 mph! It made me really slow down on all the curves afterward too. Coming out of Baton Rouge I was absolutely panicked about ice... the temps were back in the 40’s but I was worried about the next sets of bridges on my final stretch. So, I decided to take them out of the equation, and exited I-10 in Gramercy, La., home of Zapp’s Potato Chips... “the little chipery in Gramercy”. I was friends with Ron & Anne Zappe, and it always makes me smile when I pass the chipery. I joined US Hwy 61... Airline Highway as we call it... and followed it almost to the southern terminus. Mischief managed. Back in New Orleans, I filled up with gas and used that as my ending Dated Business Receipt (DBR)... 2:52 am. A little over 1200 miles in just under 20 hours. I’ll do the math for you... just under BBG pace... 60 mph average.

At home, I sent a few texts, unloaded the bike and took a hot shower. Paperwork could wait until morning... to be honest there was a thought about taking a nap, getting up and adding 300 more miles to make it a Bun Burner. Gold was off the table, but when I got up at 8 am, I still had 5 hours available for the Silver/30 hour milestone. I went to my 9am Pilates class instead...
 
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