Long Rides

What is a Long Ride?  I used to think it was several hundred miles a day.. hardcore stuff!   Back in 'mid 80s I'd rode from Omaha <> Maplewood, MN by myself.  Then with some buddies Omaha<>Sturgis.  Wow.. 400 miles in a day!  Never occurred to me guys would ride that ... or more.. a lot more.. often.  Of course, back then I was mainly bar hopping on my bike and riding it to work.  I never .. never.. just jumped on my bike and headed out for 50..75... 100+ mile rides .. for the sake of riding.  You know folks sometimes say something stupid like " I wish I could do that all over again!" ? .. Well...  there you have it.  I wish I had.  I wish I'd rode ... a LOT!

I've touched on some of this over the years, but never specific to it.  I had to look and see (within this Blog) before I started rambling at the keyboard about it...    Long Distance Riding.   Most of us never really do it. Most of us .. don't see the value in it.  Yet here I am in my upper 50s ...  fascinated by it, more than ever.  I'm not talking overall long distance; say 300 miles a day for 10 days .... then home to change the oil.  I'm talking throw a leg over the bike and knock out 500 miles in a day traveling.. or .. 1,000 miles ( Iron Butt Saddlesore 1000 ) .. or ..  1500 miles in 36 hours  ( Bun Burner 1500).  Hell, the Iron Butt Association (IBA) has at least 11 different crazy long rides they list!    These ...   have my attention.   Now that being said, I've never completed any of them.. well, not officially.  If you really want your head to spin, check out the 'big list!"

2011

Over the years, my 'longest' rides crept up in miles.  Back in '11 my neighbor and I headed to Sturgis.  I still remember my buddy looking concerned about it; he'd never ridden a long distance of any per se' .   My comment was " bikes are new .. we've got cell phones .. we got credit cards. .. it's 2011.. we're good!"  On day one, we knocked out 600 miles which was a new best for me.   During that, we hit temps of 110 deg in S. Oklahoma crossing the border; my hands felt like they were in a friggin' furnace when cruising at 70mph.   I was wearing a tank top , thinking I was brilliant and 'beating the heat'.  More than once, I saw a guy ride by wearing a jacket, full gear and a helmet.  I'm thinking " what a f'ing idiot!" ...   Well.. no. .I had that backwards.  I just didn't have a mirror.  That day I was chugging water .. gatorades.. anything and everything to stay hydrated.  And then, throw in a big meal at a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  Thank god I didn't do what I normally do ... a cold beer or two. Lets just say when we finally stopped, I was smiling!  The next day was a breeze in comparison.  On the way home, we paced ourselves a notch better.. but.. once I'd done that 600 .. I'd set a bar of sorts.  In 2013 and 2015 I'd do that Sturgis run again ....  but the '15 run .. well.. I'll get to that.

Headed North on the '09 Chief

My Savior in '12

In '12 I decided to run up to MN, which turned out to be a trip I'd do for a six year run every August.  This year I'll be doing it in July .. but .. for diff' reasons.  Back in '12 , I was on my 2009 Indian Chief, traveling alone and ready! Problem is, I had no cruise control, the bike has a hard mounted motor that will shake your teeth out and ...  unknown to me I had an issue cropping up.  I'd changed out the pipes on it for V&H Longshots and the bike was running lean.  So lean that ...  my rear pipe literally broke in 1/2  two inches away from where it bolts onto the rear jug.   It kept getting louder .. and louder.. so , I pulled in south of Kansas City on day one.   I think I could have done the whole 975 miles had it not been for that; I was on a roll!  Well, the next day I found a place NE of KC to weld up the pipe and I was off.  I wished I'd found some tape for exhausts to wrap it with .. but, it'd get me to the MN border.  I was exhausted after sitting around for five hours waiting to ride, so I pulled the plug.  Problem was, the next morning the temps were in the upper 30s and ... my weld had cracked when the pipes cooled down.  When I get within a 100 miles of my destination I threw in the towel and called for a trailer.   Still, I learned some things about myself; my abilities.  I rode it home the next week over two days, with a manual cruise control mounted, new exhaust .. and ...  I was smiling the whole way, doing over 1k miles.   In '14 I'd ride it up again, doing 700 miles the first day, stopping only because it was dark and we chose not to validate if any deer were on the highway.  I had another 300 in me ... but .. wasn't to be. Over those six years, I rode it 3 , trailered it 3... every time I trailered, I was wishing I was riding.  Still, when you are going through a crazy monsoon of a rainstorm....  with the bike on a trailer...   you have to pat yourself on the back?

Other long rides have been to Colorado last three years.  In '15 we trailered, but last year we rode it over 2 days ( 1000 miles each direction) , and this year I'll be riding.  Have to admit, deep down I want to ride it the whole way up in one day, but..... the best part of the ride would be in the dark and I want to experience it.  Maybe on the way back?  We'll find out .. next week!

My one ride that I look back on with pain, that still puts a smile on my face was Sturgis '15.  This was the 75th anniversary of the rally. I had intended to ride it over a 3 day period up , then 2 home... but .. a family member situation caused me to slip a day.  Then...   another day.  I had friends rolling in on a specific date and I was determined to be there the same time.  So, the day before I actually left, I decided to try and do it in a single day.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Had I, I'd have prepared better, done things different along the way.  Maybe showed up late, the following day.  But I was determined. I crashed in bed about 9pm the night before and I was up and on the bike at 0300 hours that morning.  With a cup of coffee in me and an energy bar, I headed out in the darkness.  It

Badlands

was going to be a hot one and I wanted as much cool air as possible.   I had no idea it was going to take me 20 hours to get to my destination, 1150 miles later.  My stops along the way, I allowed myself to relax, take my time.  If I did anything right, it was to snack along the way; no big meals for the most part.  Still, I was slamming coffee.  I was slamming energy drinks.  I'd chose a 2 lane path that added a hundred miles.  At the 700 mile point, I was still feeling good.  By the 800 mile point, I would have liked to have pulled over had a nice meal and called it a day.  When I hit 900 miles, I felt like I couldn't stop; I'd gone too far now.  The 'magic 1000' number was right in front of me. But when I hit 1000 miles, i was done.  I was beat, tired and it was starting to get chilly as the sun was dropping.

IIRA

I realized my mistake when I hadn't packed a Leather Jacket.  Hey .. it was late July, early August!  Who needs one?  I did.   I made a phone call to a buddy of mine and told him my predicament.  I was tired, cold and it wasn't worth it.  I'd see them in the morning.  What was Jesse's response?  " You fucking pussy" . WHAT?  Now for those of you that really know me... you know what happened next.  I bundled up as best I could, gassed up the bike and headed for Deadwood.  Around 2245 hours I pulled up to the driveway , upper 40s in the temps, exhausted , shaking ... and .. ready for a beer.   I'd been on the road about 20 hours, I was hungry, thirsty, tired, .. and I'd done it!  I swore right then and there, I'd never do something that crazy / stupid again.  The next morning, I jumped on the bike and we all rode.  I was in Sturgis for the Rally......

Time to head home.  Since I'm going to do this in 2 days, I chose to take the same route home.  Figure 550 to 600 miles, I'll find a hotel and do it again on day 2.  I'm lolly gagging, taking my time.. saying goodbyes to everyone and it's probably 10am before I get on the road. Been up since early morning enjoying life.   As I prepare to ride out, I do a quick weather check and realize.... we've got a problem.  There is a huge front rolling in from the West and I'm barely going to stay dry.   I won't bore you with the trivial stuff.. but...   I determined that if I got caught in it.... it was going to be a wet one... and it looked like day two, would be worse.  So, I made the decision to try and outrun it.  I did.   I'd almost made it home; I was at the Texas border when I hit the wall.  It was about 0500 hours and I'm seeing double; I can't do it.  I pull in to the state line rest area, take care of my business, pull the bike up to a concrete picnic table, sit down at it.and put my face into my arms .. to close my eyes just for a minute......     about two hours later I wake up.   Bike is okay.   My wallet and gun are still on me.  There is a small reservoir of drool on the table top... but .. I'm awake.  Rested.  Ready!   Quick splash of water on the face, slam a bottle of water.. and ... less than 90 minutes later I'm home!  It's about 0800ish... and .. shower .. and ..  I'm in bed.  Out ......  home. The craziest ride of my life and .. its done.  I'm done.  Never again!

When folks mention "Iron-butt" I always remember that Sturgis ride in '15.  But, problem is ...  I didn't do it.  Well, I did .. but .. not officially.  Had I thought it out, had I realized what I was about to do... I could've have had receipts and done the paperwork. Could have joined the IBA.  I told myself it didn't matter .. but ...   deep down .. it did.  It does.   As I ride more and more, pushing my daily distances on average... I'm planning an official IBA Saddlesore 1000.  I want the patch.  For my own purposes.  And my fascination with Long Distance Riding is growing.  I'm not talking about our daily rides.  Our weekend getaways.  But, every once in awhile... an opportunity to test yourself.   At the same time, you realize there is a process we need to follow.   Folks have fine tuned this.  Best way to sleep , eat, hydrate .. you name it.  So for me, it's a learning process.  Even on my 500+ mile jaunts I'm paying more attention to these specific areas.  This week I get to test it a lil.  Later this month .. again.   Next month, I plan to do an official Iron Butt Saddlesore 1000.   Get one in the 'record books' .. finally.   But .. then what?   Well.. lets get the first one out of the way .. then....  we'll see.

Next stop .. IBA!