Motorcycling

On October 2nd and 3rd, 2003, I completed a 1554-mile roundtrip to Vega, TX and back from St. Louis, hoping to earn an Iron Butt Assocation "BunBurner 1500" award.  But it took a while to get this accomplished, and here's the story.

If you've read other stories on this site, you know that I've been following the adventures of the LDRider crowd for sometime, and their involvement in Iron Butt Association (www.ironbutt.com) events.  I've learned a lot from other riders about covering long distances on a motorcycle.  I'd completed a SaddleSore 1000 on my old SR500 in 1999, granting me IBA membership, but I wanted my new K1200RS to "earn" its own award before the license frame went on.

So.

I wanted a BunBurner Gold ride (1500 miles in 24 hours) as a nice increment over what I'd done on my SR, and knowing that my new K had much more capability.  So I began plotting 750-ish mile distant cities from St. Louis to do an out-and-back BB ride.  I thought of Columbia, SC at first...that would be a nice ride southeast thru the Tennessee mountains, and I'd never been to South Carolina.  But I settled on a ride to Sault Ste. Marie, MI and back, which had a lot of attactions: it covered a lot of Michigan, which I'd never seen via motorcycle, mixed some fairly rural 2-lanes with superslab riding, and let me cross the Mackinac Bridge twice, a cool thing.  I asked a question or two, got some good advice on the bridge crossing, and set my calendar for August 15th to embark.

Of course, at roughly 5 pm on August 14th, the entire Northeast power grid failed, creating colossal problems.  I stayed at work late that night on conference calls to execute and invent new contingency plans for our New York office.  By the time that last call finished at 10pm, my wife pleaded with me to cancel the ride after such a stressful nite.  Ok fine.

Rescheduled for September 15, this new date avoided end-of-week traffic, and  presumed fewer drunks on the road on a Monday nite versus a Friday nite.  I counted off the days and was completely psyched to go.  On Saturday the 13th, I wanted to finish all ride preparation so the bike wouldn't be touched just before departure (an old IBA bit of wisdom).  Late afternoon, I was doing my last bit of ride prep, checking air pressures and treads when I found it: a nice finishing nail embedded into my rear tire.  

From the looks of it, it had been in there a while (and I'd just finished an incredible day of riding the weekend before, some serious strafing of south-central Missouri highways SR8, SR19, SR32 and a few others, about 400 miles worth).  Was it still holding air?  Yep.  Would it continue to do so?  Maybe.  Would I knowingly leave for a 1500-mile trip with a nail in my tire?  I think not.  It took a few minutes of head-shaking, then ironic laughter as I realized that, once again, I wouldn't be leaving on this trip.

More events intervening, my next window to leave would be October 2nd and 3rd.  This late into the year, I decided that heading 750+ miles mostly north might not be such a swell idea...pretty chancy weather this time of year.  So I replotted for southerly, and simple, and found that Amarillo, TX was right at 750 miles away.  Allowing for few extra "insurance" miles, I picked Vega, TX, just west of Amarillo, 777.4 miles according to S&T 2000.  Easy riding, all interstate, and mostly very familiar: I'd ridden that Okla-Missouri stretch of I-44 countless times, and I-40 across western Oklahoma and Texas figured to hold no real surprises.

Again counting down the days, and potential show-stoppers came and went.  I finished packing on Tuesday night 9/30, mounted the GPS and V-1, and held my breath.  No issues, so Wednesday night I tucked myself into bed with visions of endless K-mounted freeway miles ahead.

October 2nd, 6:10 am - Chesterfield Shell - Chesterfield MO  Odo: 3209
My favorite gas station is just a block or two from my house, so I use it as the basis of all my trip planning.  I had gassed up Tuesday night, so I just needed a date/time receipt from my morning expresso to start the clock.  Stamped 6:10 am, I then proceeded to futz around with my MP3 player and Mixit getting the volume just right, and noticed that I'd managed to fiddle away about 15 minutes.  Not good.  I needed to get down south to I-44, and this morning every friggen' light was red.  I actually hit the interstate at MO109/I-44 at 6:45.  Poor planning, next time start the clock at a station right off the exit, shall we?

A bit brisk of a morning, 36 degrees.  I was hoping to cope by using my polypro long johns, jeans and a long-sleeve T, then my Widder vest and gloves along with my hi-viz 'Stich.  I'd packed a fleece jacket and windbreaker as well in case things got serious.

October 2nd, 8:10am - Buckhorn, MO Odo: 3335
My K12 is just an amazing ride.  It's as stable as a freight train, but pulls to redline like a rocket (well, at least like a hefty rocket ;-)).  It's a revelation on the highway, very difficult to upset.  Rain grooves don't bother it in the least, where on my 300-lb SR500 those narrow 19/18 inch tires would be dancing a tango, fun when that happened at night, suddenly.  About the only downside was this one, having the low-fuel light come on at 126 miles.  Not good, at this rate I'd be stopping far more than I'd planned.  My break-in ride from Chicago to St. Louis was at 60-65 mph (well, mostly ;-)) so I'd gotten over 200 miles on that tank.  No such luck today, running speed-limit or somewhat above but not go-to-jail serious, this tank brought 28 mpg.

(more ride report below...)

October 2nd, 10:29am - Miami, OK Odo: 3504
A little thottle modulation brought better range with it, but a longer time with the low-fuel light on than I'd want most times.  Pretty good time for a Missouri crossing, and it was relaxing to ride with some good companionship delivered courtesy of my MP3 player.  I may be somewhat alone in enjoying old time radio, but I do get a kick out of it.  It was all before my time, or nearly so; I do remember driving with my dad in the late 50's as the last of the shows were dying out, listening in as we drove somewhere at night.  The old comedies are my favorites: The Great Gildersleeve, Duffy's Tavern, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Jack Benny Show, The Life of Riley, Our Miss Brooks.  But a real favorite are the episodes of The Bickersons, with Don Ameche and Francis Langford, America's favorite quarreling couple.  The routines are still laugh-out-loud funny sixty years later, very clever writing.  With a hundred or so 1/2 hour shows on one CD (they compress far better than music), and with a couple hundred commercials, random-play on my SlimX created a virtual 1940's radio station while I was on this trip, pretty neat and a great way to pass the time.

October 2nd, 12:28pm - Stroud, OK Odo: 3640
I made this stop just about midway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and not long after my V-1 had alerted me to the presence of an OK highway patrolman.  It was odd to see a current model Camaro in black/white livery, and odder still to see it parked on the steeply-angled concrete underneath an overpass.  Pretty sneaky, at least one ticket avoided so far, as I was hustling right along on the posted-75 turnpike.  Also, I'd used my GPS-V on trips before, nice to know where you're going, but the "when will we get there" is really useful on a ride like this.  I'd punched up "Vega, TX", and "GoTo" when I first started, so it was now easy to watch "ETA at Finish" and make sure it kept before 6:00pm, the halfway point.  Of course, it was also easy to watch the ETA climb dramatically every time I stopped for gas (you're not advancing, and you're consuming minutes while stopped, not a happy combination for making time), and this development encouraged me to give the K the spurs a time or two trying to recover some of my "cushion" on the front half of the ride.

October 2nd, 2:46pm - Foss, OK Odo: 3792

October 2nd, 4:38pm - Panhandle, TX Odo: 3927
I'd been warned recently that OK had passed legislation calling "excessive speed" (limit +20 or greater) a felony, I didn't need any of that.  So it was a relief to cross into Texas finally and not worry about prison time if I might be clocked going a bit too rapidly.  About this point it was easy to get a case of "almost-there-itis", to which I did succumb, and it wasn't too diminished by getting through Amarillo rush-hour, which wasn't rushed at all.  I passed by the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the 72-ouncer, none of that today.  Vega, TX was just ahead.

October 2nd, 5:33pm - Vega, TX Odo: 3987 (779 miles from St. Louis)
Reaching "the turn" in under 12 hours meant I was still on schedule, even with all the extra gas stops.  I got my time-stamped gas receipt (and had a brief moment when the pump refused to print one, the one I needed most!) from the gal inside, purchased some chocolate milk, gatorade, and cheddar to refill *my* tank, and hit the road again just before 6pm.

Amarillo to Vega was about 19 miles of construction zone, plenty of orange barrels although no one seemed to be working at the moment.  It was the same on the eastbound leg, now that I'd turned around, and I was flowing along with traffic nicely.  That's when I saw the DPS black-and-white in the westbound lane suddenly barrel into the grassy median to do a quick turnaround, dust and grass flying.  Figuring I was nailed (though the V1 had been silent), I slowed considerably to give the officer time to complete his turn and see what was next.   He straightened it up on the shoulder, but then took off eastbound "in a determined way"...apparently I wasn't his prey after all.  Perhaps 1/4 mile ahead he finally got the lights going, and as I drew near saw that he'd singled out an Explorer to pull over.  Not sure how he got picked out of the lineup, and glad it wasn't me, on this tight schedule.

And, I'd come 1069 miles in just a touch over 16 hours...not a bad day's ride.  I felt good enough to stow the tank bag in my room, leave the cases on and locked, and go for a two-block stroll to Denny's for a late-night breakfast.  Really hit the spot, Denny's and all.  No real attention to my K, after it's long day...no chain to adjust, or parts that might vibrate loose like on my old SR.  Ah, modern engineering.

October 3rd, 7:33am - Oklahoma City, OK
And the weatherman had been correct: those periods of cloudiness in OK on Thursday were supposed to change into rain overnight, with periods of showers today, Friday.  I left my motel room to find rain-slicked streets and a damp K in the lot.  But here was a cool thing: that Alaska Leather sheepskin seat pad I'd used on the way down was really comfy, but I'd left it on the bike all night, so it was now pretty wet.  And yet, it dried so quickly with just a bath towel to absorb some of the water, amazing.  Very nice.

I went across the street to Shell to gas up, and hit the road.

October 3rd, 10:09am - Big Cabin, OK Odo: 4444
As I'd said, this stretch of I-44 was so familiar to me, with all the trips Dallas to St. Louis and back when we'd lived in Texas those seven years.  And, I'd passed this exit many times but never knew there was a 30-foot tall Indian guarding the also-gigantic truck stop here.  Pretty cool, even in the pouring rain.  It had been very soppy off and on from Oklahoma City, and cool enough that my Widder vest was going to need some additional help.  I unpacked my fleece and windbreaker from the side case and took them inside when I went to pay for my gas.  A quick stop in the men's room to shed my 'Stich jacket, on with the fleece, on with the windbreaker, and back on with the 'Stich.  I looked (and felt) like the Michelin Man with all those layers, but figured I'd be warmer.

Back outside, the rain had let up a bit, so I finished my earplugs - wintersilk - helmet - gloves - overgloves arrangement, plugged in my stereo and heat connectors, and rode the 100 yards to the toll-booth for the turnpike.  Oh fine.  I need a different rain glove solution, this is far too complicated.

On the turnpike, and making good time towards the Missouri line, the added layers had made all the difference, now toasty-warm except for my hands.  My Widder gloves were still in the case, I hadn't been using them in the rain since I don't have them waterproofed at all, and they'd soaked thru in about 30 minutes in times past.  If it would dry out a bit, I'd press them into service and be all set.

October 3rd, 12:47pm - Conway, MO Odo: 4605
Crossing into Missouri, my last memory of Oklahoma was that of seeing an Oklahoma highway patrolman running radar probably a mere 100 yards into Oklahoma, how nice.  Probably not there for traveler's info, revenues must be off I'm guessing.

I'd tried to stretch this tank out so that I'd have 160 miles or fewer to get home, my last stop I'd need.  I chugged down a Sport Shake for lunch, along with a Diet Pepsi and some water, and was finishing the last of it when the other rider pulled up for gas.  Wow, these Harley guys are cut from a different cloth.  There I was, layered full of as many high-tech keep-warm garments as I had, along with electric everything; and there he was, leather jacket, fingerless gloves, chaps, and beanie helmet, riding in the same elements.  Amazing.  We exchanged greetings and weather reports from our opposite directions while he gassed up while seated on the bike.  Finished, he rode off, smoking a cigarette and heading down the highway.

I plugged in my Widder cord, set it to #6, slipped on my Widder gloves, and also hit the road.  Now I was completely comfy, and in my home state, making great time through Waynesville, Rolla, and Sullivan.  About here was where I picked up a nice higher-speed convoy, and odd pairing of me, a guy on a GL1800, and, in the lead, a new Corolla S.  We made quick work of the final 80 miles or so, great fun with just a brief drizzle coming down now and then on still-wet roads.

I took my MO109 exit to head home to my endpoint, Chesterfield Shell, and had to be extra diligent to keep it down on the suburban roads...4-lanes posted 45 or so, not the brisk pace we'd been running!

October 3rd, 3:21pm - Chesterfield, MO Odo: 4767
Made it!  That should be good for a BunBurner, 1554 miles in just over 33 hours.