Yeah Baby!! I did it!!

[Helmetdance]

1500 miles under 24 hours that is!!

While the California Pashnit crew was celebrating Fall in Sopiago Springs, I completed a 1528-mile marathon solo-ride that spanned both sides of the Mississippi.

Imagine a man who shows relatively little outward excitement compared to most people, and who has just achieved somewhat of a record accomplishment for his personal motorcycling career. What do you think that guy would do? Would he jump up and down with clinched fists and a blissful expression of conquest on his face? NO!! The facial expression would more likely say something like, "Talk to you later, I really need to get some sleep!"

I posted a notice in the “Rides” forum that I was going to attempt this ride. I had to change the route at the last minute. Although I wanted to take the interstates flanking the Appalachian Mountains, the weather wasn't looking good along the route. I also contemplated taking a route to Dallas, Texas, but decided that traffic in Dallas might slow me down too much so I didn't want to risk it. I opted for a route through the wide-open countryside of Arkansas and Oklahoma, and that strategy worked out very well.

The actual mileage from the start to the finish was 1528 miles. I covered the distance in 22 hours, 12 minutes, averaging 68.7 mph over the total time (including parked time), about 77 mph for the time the bike was actually moving, and about 75 mph for the total time the bike ignition was in the "on" position. I got pulled over once by an Arkansas State Trooper who tagged me at 85 mph (after I hit the brakes). He let me go with a warning after checking my license and about 5 minutes of conversation that amounted to how much he missed his riding days! One of the nicest State Troopers I've ever met, and he hardly put a dent in my overall average (Thank you ASP for the courtesy!!)

It was an intense pace. Each stop amounted to filling the tank, a quick trip to the restroom, and then back on the road again. There were no food or drink breaks except once at the mid-point of the route.

The hardest part was the cold temperatures during the night on the ride back, the temps fell to 38 degrees and I only had my regular riding gloves with me. I alternated holding the bars with one hand while holding the other hand inside the right or left radiator housing for warmth.

There is only a small percentage of people in the world who not would perceive this 22 grueling hours as anything less than torture, much less as fun, that's why I wanted to share it with YOU!!

Overall Route: Decatur, Alabama to Shawnee, Oklahoma



This little fuel detour cost me about 20 minutes


At Shawnee, Oklahoma I downed 2 slices of pizza and a soda and then flip-flopped for the second half.

Mid-point scenic loop, Shawnee, Oklahoma



I've included a couple shots of my GPS from the beginning and end of the trip. The clock for the end of the trip shows 5:35:45, which makes it look like I actually completed the ride in 21 hours, 12 minutes. However, the GPS picked up on the change to daylight savings time and set the clock back an hour automatically, I didn't think to switch it out of auto mode before heading out. The elapsed time is correct, the GPS only records time elapsed for when the GPS is on. There is about 1hour, 55 minutes of time not accounted for in the timers. That was the time that the bike was shut off at the 7 fuel stops, plus about 20 minutes at a church in Altus, Arkansas.

GPS at start of trip


GPS at end of trip

[waterinthefuel]

Well, as an inexperienced rider I'm not quite sure what to say. My first reaction is, "Wow!" My next is, "Dangerous".

Maybe my ignorance is showing here, but isn't speeding on a motorcycle, driving while very fatigued and not even properly nourishing yourself not exactly smart driving? And worst yet, doing them all at the same time?

What is that stat, after being awake about 12-16 hours, it's like driving with a .10 blood/alcohol content? Let's be liberal and say 16, so for oh roughly 6 hours you were driving literally drunk with fatigue.

There are rules in the books to prevent 18 wheeler drivers and airline pilots from making this same mistake. I guess maybe someone should pass one to keep us motorcyclists from killing ourselves.

I may be the only one who feels this way though. In that case,

[Helmetdance]

Brandon,

There is a difference between "dangerous" and "challenging". Long distance riding can be done safely. Refer to http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm for details.

For that matter any ride can be dangerous if not approached responsibly. Riding two-up can be dangerous, but doesn't have to be. Riding in freeway traffic can be dangerous, but doesn't have to be. Riding a switchback mountain road can be dangerous, certainly not the place for a beginner, but it's not necessarily dangerous for someone who has developed the proper skills. All sports have a certain amount of risk, including ours. We can minimize the risk and enjoy the sport.

Nourishment? Check. I had a very good breakfast before leaving. I had pizza in the evening before turning back for the return ride. How does that equate to "not properly nourished"?

Fatigue? I wasn't fatigued at all. I had more sleep than usual the night before and slept late on Saturday morning, specifically to prepare for an extended ride. The worst part was the cold, not being tired. I got back to my apartment around 7 am this morning, I was up at 11:00. Some people have more tolerance for long rides than others. A marathoner builds up to a 26-mile run by starting with a small one and gradually increasing his distance. I've done two cycle trips in my life that covered 13,000 miles in 30 days and 34 days, respectively. I've done a lot of cross-country trips besides those, both by car and motorcycle.

Speeding? Yes, I was traveling over the posted limit. The posted speed in these areas is 70 mph with straight road and many stretches with little or even no traffic. I road faster in the daylight hours so that I could set the cruise at 5 to 10 over during the night hours.

[pashnit]

Congrats Mark - that's an accomplishment for those that enjoy the long-distance riding. The most I have done is 1200 miles in 22 hours and that was quite the long ride across 4 states non-stop.

Originally Posted by Helmetdance

Some people have more tolerance for long rides than others. A marathoner builds up to a 26-mile run by starting with a small one and gradually increasing his distance. I've done two cycle trips in my life that covered 13,000 miles in 30 days and 34 days, respectively. I've done a lot of cross-country trips besides those, both by car and motorcycle.

Brandon- Not to get off-kilter into a protracted pro-con argument about distance riding, but 'LD Riders' are almost a sub-set of motorcyclists. And distance riding can even be somewhat addicting for some. I think it's an open-road syndrome of getting on the bike and not having to stop. Just riding and riding. May sound odd but after a zillion millions of riding, I can understand that. If you ever do a very long distance solo ride, say 5000 miles plus Brandon, you might become a wee bit addicted to this sort of thing too!

If you were ever curious about this 'sub-set', a really good book is Ron Ayres' Against the Wind' about his experience on an Iron Butt Ride- the one where they do like 12,000 miles in 12 days.

There's also a website solely dedicated to wacky people like Mark. http://www.ldriders.com

[Willie G]

I'm still training for my first Ironbutt...

Congratulations!!!

[BlackST]

Congratulation Helmetdance!


Riding the bike is the fun....5 minutes or 22 hours!

[scrubbed flat]

I can understand where Brandon is coming from,I wouldn't want to do a 1500 mile run on a Vino 125 either
Congratulations Mark! you did save the receipts right?
Most I've done is a very touristy 1000 in 24 hrs,didnt know i was gonna do 1000 in a day so didnt save my receipts,o well still loved it

[SixFiveOh]

Congrats!!!!

[FishWitch]

Congrats!!! Quite an achievement....I'm jealous...I can see it in my cards in the future even if only once...Well at least the 1000 for starters. I recall when I first started riding someone was doing an Iron Butt and I said the same thing. So far my longest ride is around 600 in a day and could have gone on so one of these days....

Anyhow WAHOOO!! Congrats again!!

[MrWizard]

An IBG 1,500 !!! That's GREAT!!! Congrats on your IBG Mark!
I had planned an SS 1,000/1,500 combo this year when my job intervened. Hopefully will get it in before it gets too cold. This is a challenge not often understood by others, especially my wife!
An IBG 1,500!!!! AWSOME!!
Rob