IronButt Saddlesore 1000

1000 miles in 24 hours - March 2003

The last weekend of March was the target I set for myself to do the qualification run for IronButt status. I'll explain a bit for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term.

The IronButt association manages long distance endurance events for motorcyclists. Once every 2 years they host the IronButt rally which covers a distance of around 11000 miles in a period of 11 days. To gain entrance into this association you need to do a minimum of 1000 miles in a 24 hour period and document it with witnesses at the start and end of the ride. The 1000/24 is known as the Saddlesore 1000, from there you can move up in life (or the level of insanity can increase - depending on how you look at it). My objective is to do the Bun Burner Gold qualificaiton run this summer - but I needed to do at least a Saddlesore 1000 or Bun Burner (1500/36) before I can attempt the Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles / 24 hours) which is classified as an extreme ride.- More info available at www.ironbutt.com

I rounded up 2 co-riders - 1 willing, the other clueless. My riding buddies for this trip would be my colleague Hayo on his Adventure, and another riding partner Frank on his K1200LT. Frank always wanted to do the SS1000 and all he needed to commit was a slight nudge, Hayo on the other hand was a bit clueless as to long distance riding and the discipline involved. Now my counterparts in South Africa and Europe might say - heck 1000 miles in 24 hours on a bike is nothing - that's only 1600 km's, all you do is get on and nail it. Well, unfortunately life isn't all that simple over here, there is the chaps from Law Enforcement we have to keep in mind, and the average speed limit on the interstate system is somewhere between 55mph and 75mph depending on the population density of the area you're about to travel through.

We decided on a start time of 3am at a local Shell petrol station, we organizaed a willing witness and all agreed to meet at 2:30am on Saturday 29 March. Saaturday came around, the bike's were prepped and we all met at the petrol station on time. Your official start time is the time stampt on the petrol pump receipt (use your credit card and fill it up yourself). We set off at 2:45 am, Hayo was messing around and got left behind - he had to play catchup for the first 20 or so miles. The plan was simple, head down Interstate 5 (I-5) to Redding, California, refuel, have lunch and come back. We set into a cruising speed of about 65 mph for the first section, the speed limit going trhough Olympia, Washington is 60 and we were just a tad above it - the guy in the Ford F350 in front of us were doing about 70. Somehow we snagged the friggen Sherrif of Olympia while passing through his county and he decided to tag along... for about 15miles after we left the city but still in his county. The guys would drive next to us, behind us and then next to us again. Eventually he pulled in front of us - sitting at about 68mph. Getting tired of this interference I figured I'd go ahead and force his hand - I had the GS speedo corrected so it wasn't over indicating that much anymore - only about 2mph and I used the GPS as primary speedometer. I slowly eased up and overtook the sherrif maxing out at about 72mph - god, did this piss the old fart off - all of a sudden life turned to blue and red (my riding companions kept on going a bit down the road and pulled off to wait for me). So here's the exchange that followed:

Sherrif -"Do you WANT a ticket"

Me - "What for ??"

Sherrif - " For doing 70 in a 60"

Me - " This section of the interstate IS 70"

Sherrif - "Back in Olympia you were doing 70 in a 60"

Me - "That's over 10 miles back, why didn't you pull me over there ??" At this stage it's obvious the guy didn't have enough time to pull up next to me and pace me for the required distance in the 60zone to be able to ticket me. The first time I saw him next to me was just as the limit increased to 70.

Sherrif - some more bitching, moaning, threats "You can go, but if you go one mile over the limit I'm going to ticket you !"

Me - "Ok, thank you". On the bike and off I go, might have been a dumb move on my side, but I didn't get a ticket and the sherrif turned around at the next exit which was at the end of his county.

So we keep rolling - kinda chilly at 3:30am in the morning, we roll through Portland Oregon with little or no traffic and keep on heading south on I-5. Just north of Eugene Oregon the sun comes up, we've done over 200 miles so far and the first planned fuelstop is at about 240 miles (My GS and Hayo's Adventure can make this distance easy with the big tanks). It was a biut of a guestimate for Frank on the LT - his tank is smaller, but his consumption is better. At around 220 miles Frank pulls up next to me and indicates that he's running low on fuel - real low, the trip computer show's less than 10 miles remaining on his tank. We pull off the interstate at Coburg, OR and refuel - distance travelled so far 242 miles, fuel used 6.253 gal. Avg consumption 38.7mpg.

Total stop time is somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes. The pumps do not have credit card processing capability and we have to go into the shop to get the date and timestamped receipts required as evidence. Off we go again It's starting to warm up and looks like it's going to be a great day for riding (keep in mind we had rain for the last 2 months). After about 40 miles we loose Hayo, looks like he might have pulled off at a rest stop. We keep going for another 40 before we pull of the road and wait for him to catch up. We wait about 20 minutes and he still doesn't show up. No contact on the cellphone either. Dammit, I'll have to go and look for him. Frank waits at the onramp incase he comes by while I'm heading up the norhtbound lanes if I-5. I backtrack just over 30 miles and find nothng - bugger, he wimped out and didn't even let us know with a voicemessage - last time he's coming along. I head back down and catch up with Frank still waiting at the offramp. It is now 9:15am. Frank has been sitting at the offramp sinc 7:50am, I lost about an hour running up and down the interstate - as well as some precious fuel which now necessitates an additional fuel stop. off we head for Meadford, OR again. We roll into Medford at about 10:20am. Refuel, grab a snack to eat, have something to drink, on the bikes and on the road againl Another 236 miles, 6.274gal, 37.61mpg.

The roads become much nicer after Eugene and we had good fun going through some of the passes like Grants pass etc. The road keeps getting better and soon we pass into Northern California. We keep pushing on and make it to Redding just after 1pm. We need to refuel to prove that we made it to the turn. It's only 148 miles since the last refuel and the GS only takes on 3.489gal. Avg consumption is up to 42mpg. We stop at McDonnalds for a quick bite to eat and strip of some of the layers - the weather is nice and warm (about 25degC).

Taking a break along the way

After about 30 minutes rest we get back on the bikes. Time to head home. didn't see any CHP on the way down so I open her up a bit on the way back. Frank als behind a bit - can't blame him - the land yacht wasn't designed to keep up with the GS in the twisties. We have fun, all the way to Canyonville OR where we stop for fuel. I overtook a Honda leadwing in the passes and he tried to play but also realised he wasn't going to keep up with the GS. It is 4:50pm when we stop in Canyonville, OR. We refuel, take on some water have a snack and get ready to roll. We meet up with some of the local "bikers" in Canyonville at the petrol station. Tricked out Harleys with Honey's on the back. We're polite, but don't have much to talk about. One of the biker chicks ask us where we're going and I say Seattle (I figure she'd know where that is). She reckons we have a long way to go still and then asks where we're coming from, I say Seattle - we rode down to California for the day. I can see the gears spinning in the girl's head but the cogs aren't kicking in. We're off again.

The traffic starts to increase as we get closer to Portland, OR. We opt to I-205 around Portland on the east side and rejoin I-5 just as we enter Washington state. Traffic is alwasy a ballsup in Portland (unless you pass through there at 4 or 5 in the morning).

In Ridgefield, WA we stop for petrol again. It is 8:50pm, we have 6 hours remaining to qualify and about 120 miles to go. The GS takes on 5.235 gal for 231 miles travelled. That gives me a consumption of just over 44mpg. I phone Eric (our whitness) and arange for him to be at the Shell station when we get back in. Off we go - home stretch.

At 10:50pm I pulled up at the same fuel pump I left just over 20 hours earlier. I was tired, but felt good about accomplishing what I set out to do. The last 123 miles chewed up 3.2gal of fuel which gave me a consumption of just under 38mpg. The overall average consumption for the trip was just over 40mpg and I maintained a speed between 75 and 80mph. The weather lasted adn it was an absolute perfect day for riding.No nasty side winds or anything like that.

The bike ran flawlessly, and the Aeroflow screen (www.aeroflowscreens.com) I put on before the trip made a huge difference. The lighting solution (2 x 55watt fog lights on the crashbars, 2 x 110watt PIAA driving lights under the beak, and the Philips Vision+ bulbs) worked great for visibility and lighting up the road at night. The only gripe I had was the extreme pain in my shoulders after the trip.

I decided I would get a custom setup of Pro-Tapers from Ricardo Kuhn in San Francisco to replace the stock BMW handlebar. Ricardo provides a solution based on your riding style, length and build. (www.motomacondo.com) I've fitted the bars and they're really quite comfortable.

The bike is pretty much as perfect as I want it.

It was a fun trip and I have received my official IBA certificate and membership number since the run (IBA#14443) - now for the 1500/24 when time allows for it.

Frank and myself at the end of the run

The route: