Long Distance

[sticks]

You guys grab a drink. I'm still good after that Ezra Brooks 99

I was thinking about long distance, I guess really long distance. I
used to be a big follower of the iron butt riders. Got a kick out of
their enjoyment in racking up miles. I too, usually ride more miles
daily than my friends are willing to do, so I usually ride alone.
Typical day now is between 400-500. I try and go different places, and
just keep riding. Takes my mind off the insanity of everything else
going on.

I've had half a dozen 850 mile days a decade or so ago, a 650 mile day
last year, but have never been able to get what the iron butt riders
call the Saddle Sore 1000. That's 1000 miles in 24 hours. I always
wanted to try one, and figured if I did it on one of the longer days of
the year it could all be done in daylight.

Well, I think I'm gonna finally rule it out. A couple weeks ago, I did
two over 1000 mile days in the cage within 5 days. 1050 miles both
ways, 21 hours down and 18 hours back. It was alright, but I certainly
was not on the top of my game reaction wise upon arrival. So, though I
believe I could actually do it on the Ultra, it just ain't worth it
anymore. I ain't that old, but I ain't no young pup anymore.

So, I give up.

[Phil Boutros]

sticks <wolver...@charter.net> wrote:
<snip>

> Well, I think I'm gonna finally rule it out. A couple weeks ago, I did
> two over 1000 mile days in the cage within 5 days. 1050 miles both
> ways, 21 hours down and 18 hours back. It was alright, but I certainly
> was not on the top of my game reaction wise upon arrival. So, though I
> believe I could actually do it on the Ultra, it just ain't worth it
> anymore. I ain't that old, but I ain't no young pup anymore.
>
> So, I give up.

Now you're thinking. Unless you *have* to be somewhere 1000 miles
away in under 24 hours, it doesn't sound that fun to me. Not to
mention, I would imagine it would have to involve the superslab as a
large component. You have to maintain a 42mph *average* to just make
it in 23.8 hours. That's including breaks, pit stops, etc. I
fucking hate the superslab.

I'd rather spend 6 hours going 200 miles than spending 3 and a bit
doing the same in nuts-to-butts superslab hell. If I wanted to get
somewhere really fast, a Harley wouldn't be my choice of sleds.

I'm pretty sure most people here who have done an Ironbutt 1000
have done so out of necessity. "Crap, I lost a day in Texas due to
the definitely un-foreseen snowstorm. Now I have to make up some real
time to be back at work tomorrow." That sorta thing.


Phil...the "to each their own, but it's not for me..." Asshole(tm)...
--
AH#61 Wolf#14 BS#89 bus#1 CCB#1 SENS KOTC#4
ph...@philb.ca http://philb.ca

[Bob La Londe]

Drove cross country lat year in the Jeep (I am no longer a daily rider),
and 23-2400 miles in 4-1/2 days (one way) with air condtioning and a
roof was more tiring than I care to admit. I had to take the cage as I
was bringing some stuff back with me anyway, but I never even considered
rolling a bike out for the trip.



--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com

[john]

i'm planning to ride some of the blue ridge parkway
this weekend. ride till i need a gas or pee stop. repeat
til dinner time. then find a place with a hot tub
to soak my bones & loosen tight muscles.
john
if ya see a balding fat old guy & walks
with a limp that's me

[sticks]

I always liked taking the bike cross country. I don't really like
taking the big road, but I ain't against it if I need to make some time.
I'm right at the IL/Wisc border mid state, and I've done out to LA
twice, Tucson, Key West once, Ft. Meyers once to name a few off the top
of my head. Did the Lake Michigan Circle 2 days over Labor day one
year. But since I retired, I now have to take the better half and we
usually take the cage. I guess the longer rides were usually when I had
a short work break and just wanted to get the hell on the bike and get
some miles on. Most were done solo. Left here in early March several
times and got some crazy snow a couple times. But it was always worth
it, and seemed to get my mind right somehow.

I thought when I retired, all I would do was ride the bike, hunt and
fish. What a joke. I never seem to have my to-do list done, and all my
buddies tell me the same thing. But, it don't aggravate me enough to go
back and seek employment. I'll make it work somehow.

Let me get a round.

[AH#104]

<wolver...@charter.net> sed:

>You guys grab a drink. I'm still good after that Ezra Brooks 99
>I was thinking about long distance, I guess really long distance. I
>used to be a big follower of the iron butt riders. Got a kick out of
>their enjoyment in racking up miles. I too, usually ride more miles
>daily than my friends are willing to do, so I usually ride alone.

>So, I give up.

Well, it all depends on what you want out of a ride.
Done Ironbutts at least 20 times (in the past in my 50's & 60's)
Only recorded 1, got the t-shirt...
Never thought about doing it 11 days in a row.
I know a few that have, they really enjoyed it and have done it
multiple years.
I did mine from Jersey to Daytona for Bikeweek. I did that trip many
times in one day. Up at 6am done by 11pm all on I-95. Really easy...
If you really wanted to try it, head north west where there's less/no
traffic, like I-90. You can do it on I-10/I-20, but there are some
real traffic delays along there.

I enjoy a slab ride every now and then... but when I'm traveling
distance, it's backroads... even in the car.
--
ASSHOLE#104 Len
'73XLH '16FLTRU "Barack"
BS#90 Wolf#21 PH#3 SENS MANS

[Snag]

Where I live there ARE no slabs ... I think I-40 is the closest at
around 75 miles south of us . And the longest straight road in the whole
county is Main Street ...
--
Snag
My rights don't end
where your fear begins .

[Phil Boutros]

AH#104 <AH#1...@att.net> wrote:
>
> I enjoy a slab ride every now and then... but when I'm traveling
> distance, it's backroads... even in the car.

Can't say I agree with the first premise myself. I never "enjoy"
a slab ride/drive, but it's sometimes a necessary evil.

Strongly agree with the second premise, so I guess it comes down
to what you consider "distance". For me, 1000 miles is definitely
well into it. Heck, with my back currently, 100 miles may be it!

About 400 miles of superslab alnost 20 years ago felt like
torture, but there were other factors involved in that. And then the
day ended in a dead skunk and flamboyant cowboys...


Phil...the "But that's another story altogether..." Asshole(tm)...

[john]

cheers:
just got back from 4day trip:
I did the blue ridge parkway end to end ride, highly recommend,
very enjoyable, the roads are well maintained with only
a few pot holes. the road signs are helpful about upcoming
pull offs for vista's and what speed you should take the turn
i do like the fact that it was laid out prior to the dept
of all things safety, and had minimal use guard rails and
other nanny type constraints. It is a road made to be
actively driven.

my trip included 1000 miles of back roads to get to parkway & back.
BTW something moving around in your helmet does mean there
is an actual bug in the helmet, not just a few hairs re aligning
themselves.
john
01 road king

[beavaed dagagd]

Me and the Clinic's van is a completely arbitrary measurement, yes, but it is pretty fun to joke about it.

(By the way, Sarah and I almost died while driving down a local road the other day.

The roads in Kandy, after a mere two weeks, are wildly dangerous.

Mostly it is bumpy dirt roads that have been turned into mud roads, but we decided to go on this adventure anyway.

I used to feel so safe driving around the city; now I am constantly scanning the horizon for roots sticking up out of the sand.)

For those of you who are waiting to hear about Christmas in Sri Lanka, here it is.

Sri Lanka isn't a Christmas country, so Christmas did not sneak in at some indeterminate moment.

It was only later that I realized Christmas had gone uncelebrated for the entire year, whilst I've always seen gorillas in Manhattan at Christmas.
Manhattan is a godforsaken place, incidentally, unless you are an otaku who is into anime.

I'm a god
Anyway, like I said, the Lord saved Christmas when the staff and I agreed to scrap tradition.

We decided that maybe this semester's special activity should be listening to Christmas music.

While Advent is heavy music, St. Stephen's bells and Gregorian chants, considering that we basically celebrate Christmas on Saturday.

So in spite of the church being dead, the Castellani festive in Las Ultas became, if not very lively, nothing but lively Christmas.

Christmas and Epiphany are 3 weeks apart,

[Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous]

I'll get a round for the house, too.

I almost did a 1,000 mile ride a number of years ago. I attended the
EKIII rally in northeast Ohio, and Sunday morning early I took off for
home in Kansas. Weather was great and I wasn't quite as old as I am now,
so I figured I'd take the slab and see how far I could go the first day
towards home. "Hammer down!" Got relatively close to home...couple
hundred miles...and decided to go all the way. Stopped about an hour
outside of Kansas City cuz I was getting tired and had a Snickers bar
and a 12 ounce Coke to get me all wired up. Took off for home which was
on the other side of KC.

Next thing I remember was riding on the interstate in downtown KC about
40 MPH. This was Sunday night about 10:00 PM so there wasn't much
traffic, thank goodness. I don't remember anything about the previous
hour of riding. Scared the bee-jeezus out of me...sleeping while riding!
My eyes didn't blink the rest of the way home. Rode 928 miles in 16+ hours.

Never again.

[sticks]

On 6/6/2022 6:34 AM, Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous wrote:

> I'll get a round for the house, too.

> I almost did a 1,000 mile ride a number of years ago. I attended the
> EKIII rally in northeast Ohio, and Sunday morning early I took off for
> home in Kansas. Weather was great and I wasn't quite as old as I am now,
> so I figured I'd take the slab and see how far I could go the first day
> towards home. "Hammer down!" Got relatively close to home...couple
> hundred miles...and decided to go all the way. Stopped about an hour
> outside of Kansas City cuz I was getting tired and had a Snickers bar
> and a 12 ounce Coke to get me all wired up. Took off for home which was
> on the other side of KC.
>
> Next thing I remember was riding on the interstate in downtown KC about
> 40 MPH. This was Sunday night about 10:00 PM so there wasn't much
> traffic, thank goodness. I don't remember anything about the previous
> hour of riding. Scared the bee-jeezus out of me...sleeping while riding!
> My eyes didn't blink the rest of the way home. Rode 928 miles in 16+ hours.
>
> Never again.

My wife used to tell me she would nod off on the back and that really
bothered me. I couldn't even see how it was possible. Young and dumb.
But, the operator nodding off is something I hope to never
experience. Glad you made it!

[john]

I've nodded of while wife was talking to me.. had to sleep with
one eye open for a bit after that, but never while riding, yikes!!!
that crap will mess you up permanent.

in my teen's i drove Cleveland to Tampa in a day.. promised mom i'd not
drive straight thru so i napped for 30 minutes at Fla Georgia line...
that was stupid but hey the beach was calling and i had a wind surfer...
now that I'm much older it seems 500-600 miles is about it for a days
journey on land.
john
I'd like to buy the next round of buffalo trace. cheers