A nice video from Horizons Unlimited. People living the dream!
A nice video from Horizons Unlimited. People living the dream!
One of my motorcycle “heroes”, see
Helge Pedersen.
A fun video. I like it because there’s an F650 GS like mine in it! And it’s in Japan.
My sister-in-law’s Dad was in town (actually in the neighboring city, site San Antonio) and called me up to see if I wanted to go for another motorcycle ride. Last time was a lot of fun, so I checked my calendar and found that I had all Sunday free! Richard arrived on his BMW R1100 RT and we were off. He’s ridden the Hill Country quite a bit so I suggested we head up north a bit.
We rode 1431 again out to Marble Falls and then I wanted to go past Longhorn Caverns but I made a wrong turn. But it was a happy turn of events because the road we traveled on was really interesting and relaxing. Just one of the many Texas backroads I love to explore. After that we swung up past Inks Lake State Park (another fun ride) and then up the west side of Lake Buchanan. We stopped at a little convenience store in Bluffton and had lunch (great BLT and Chopped BBQ sandwiches!) and then continued on through Llano, then to Pontotoc and across to Cherokee. This was a really fun stretch of road with a nice elevation change and past some really interesting ranches. Lots of money out there!
Richard’s RT was running low on fuel so we headed up to San Saba an filled up. From there it was down Hwy 16 through Llano and down to Hwy 281 where we split up and went our separate ways. It was a great ride and lots of fun talking with Richard. I can’t wait until our next ride!
Odometer: 277.54 Miles
Moving Avg: 52.7 MPH
My sister-in-law’s Dad was in town (actually in the neighboring city, site San Antonio) and called me up to see if I wanted to go for another motorcycle ride. Last time was a lot of fun, so I checked my calendar and found that I had all Sunday free! Richard arrived on his BMW R1100 RT and we were off. He’s ridden the Hill Country quite a bit so I suggested we head up north a bit.
We rode 1431 again out to Marble Falls and then I wanted to go past Longhorn Caverns but I made a wrong turn. But it was a happy turn of events because the road we traveled on was really interesting and relaxing. Just one of the many Texas backroads I love to explore. After that we swung up past Inks Lake State Park (another fun ride) and then up the west side of Lake Buchanan. We stopped at a little convenience store in Bluffton and had lunch (great BLT and Chopped BBQ sandwiches!) and then continued on through Llano, then to Pontotoc and across to Cherokee. This was a really fun stretch of road with a nice elevation change and past some really interesting ranches. Lots of money out there!
Richard’s RT was running low on fuel so we headed up to San Saba an filled up. From there it was down Hwy 16 through Llano and down to Hwy 281 where we split up and went our separate ways. It was a great ride and lots of fun talking with Richard. I can’t wait until our next ride!
Odometer: 277.54 Miles
Moving Avg: 52.7 MPH
This past weekend I crossed the 10, and 000 mile mark! Needing some new tires soon…
A nice video from Horizons Unlimited. People living the dream!
A nice video from Horizons Unlimited. People living the dream!
One of my motorcycle “heroes”, see
Helge Pedersen.
A fun video. I like it because there’s an F650 GS like mine in it! And it’s in Japan.
My sister-in-law’s Dad was in town (actually in the neighboring city, site San Antonio) and called me up to see if I wanted to go for another motorcycle ride. Last time was a lot of fun, so I checked my calendar and found that I had all Sunday free! Richard arrived on his BMW R1100 RT and we were off. He’s ridden the Hill Country quite a bit so I suggested we head up north a bit.
We rode 1431 again out to Marble Falls and then I wanted to go past Longhorn Caverns but I made a wrong turn. But it was a happy turn of events because the road we traveled on was really interesting and relaxing. Just one of the many Texas backroads I love to explore. After that we swung up past Inks Lake State Park (another fun ride) and then up the west side of Lake Buchanan. We stopped at a little convenience store in Bluffton and had lunch (great BLT and Chopped BBQ sandwiches!) and then continued on through Llano, then to Pontotoc and across to Cherokee. This was a really fun stretch of road with a nice elevation change and past some really interesting ranches. Lots of money out there!
Richard’s RT was running low on fuel so we headed up to San Saba an filled up. From there it was down Hwy 16 through Llano and down to Hwy 281 where we split up and went our separate ways. It was a great ride and lots of fun talking with Richard. I can’t wait until our next ride!
I found a great 1.5 hour ride from my house. It’s got nice twistied and elevation changes, treatmind a nice relaxing slow “sight-seeing” section with plenty to see, then on the return trip, the twisties again, but from the other direction. I’ve been down Cow Creek before (video) but this time was a lot more fun just because I am a lot more comfortable riding now. There are a couple potential water crossings (they were dry this time) that lead up to some tight turns and they were a little tricky the last time I went this route. This time was a breeze however. The slow-speed manouvering practice really pays off.
The weather was absolutely perfect for riding – plenty of clouds overhead to keep the lighting interesting and the temperatures down, a very light wind. I really like Cow Creek because there is no traffic to speak of. I saw two cars and one person out for a morning walk.
The highlight of the ride was seeing my first-ever skunk in the wild. I was riding at around 25mph and I saw it crossing the road from right to left up ahead. By the time I passed him, he was on the edge of the road and I saw his tail flip up. I scooted out of there pretty quickly then had to laugh to myself.
After Cow Creek, I headed back south to meet up with 1431 again for the ride back. That stretch of 1431 is the funnest part IMO of that road. I kept it in 4th gear the whole time, which kept the bike in a nice powerband. I saw more people riding their motorcycles than ever before on 1431, which was pretty cool. But I honestly was getting tired of waving at everyone. Still, I stuck my hand out at everyone to not be a jerk.
Anyways, this is one of my favorite rides and I am sure I will be doing it many more times.
Time: 1H 35M
Odometer: 65.36 Mi
Moving Avg: 41.0 MPH
Max Speed: 68.1 MPH
On Fathers’ Day morning I went out for a ride that I found out about on Two-Wheeled Texans. It follows Old Hwy 20 which runs roughly parallel to Hwy 290 east of Austin. It’s a pretty nice ride with a couple miles of hard-packed dirt. That’s the part I was really looking forward to actually. I haven’t really ridden off-pavement so I was pretty excited to ride on it. The Metzeler Tourance tires did fine on the hard dirt; the bike never got squirrelly except when I hit a larger stone. I even got to stand up on the pegs (even though I didn’t really have to).
Another nice thing about Hwy 20 is that the route goes past pine trees, tablets which are not common in Texas, side effects at least central Texas. The pine trees smelled so good too!
One part about the ride that I didn’t enjoy was that I had bought a coolmax skullcap. It’s supposed to act as a helmet liner which will soak up the sweat and keep your helmet padding cleaner. Well, about an hour into the ride I started getting a headache and it got worse and worse. I was thinking it was because I didn’t have any caffiene yet or that I was getting dehydrated or something. I was actually drinking plenty of water, and the headache didn’t feel like it usually does when I skip my morning coffee. Plus it was a little early for the caffiene withdrawal to hit. So eventually I figured out that it must be the helmet liner. Sure enough, as soon as I took it off, the headache went away and the ride was enjoyable again! I guess I got too small a size or something, which is a disappointment because I spent $10 on the thing.
I learned a couple things on the ride. First, riding on the hard-packed dirt is fun! I also learned that the footpegs on my bike are too narrow. Most people replace them with wider pegs. Standing up on the pegs is really fun too, but you need to kind of use your knees to stabilize yourself against the tank. Also, you can’t look in the mirrors when you are standing up! I’d really like to take some off-road classes sometime. Maybe for my birthday I will ask for some as a gift. Would be really cool!
On Fathers’ Day morning I went out for a ride that I found out about on Two-Wheeled Texans. It follows Old Hwy 20 which runs roughly parallel to Hwy 290 east of Austin. It’s a pretty nice ride with a couple miles of hard-packed dirt. That’s the part I was really looking forward to actually. I haven’t really ridden off-pavement so I was pretty excited to ride on it. The Metzeler Tourance tires did fine on the hard dirt; the bike never got squirrelly except when I hit a larger stone. I even got to stand up on the pegs (even though I didn’t really have to).
Another nice thing about Hwy 20 is that the route goes past pine trees, store which are not common in Texas, tuberculosis at least central Texas. The pine trees smelled so good too!
One part about the ride that I didn’t enjoy was that I had bought a coolmax skullcap. It’s supposed to act as a helmet liner which will soak up the sweat and keep your helmet padding cleaner. Well, about an hour into the ride I started getting a headache and it got worse and worse. I was thinking it was because I didn’t have any caffiene yet or that I was getting dehydrated or something. I was actually drinking plenty of water, and the headache didn’t feel like it usually does when I skip my morning coffee. Plus it was a little early for the caffiene withdrawal to hit. So eventually I figured out that it must be the helmet liner. Sure enough, as soon as I took it off, the headache went away and the ride was enjoyable again! I guess I got too small a size or something, which is a disappointment because I spent $10 on the thing.
I learned a couple things on the ride. First, riding on the hard-packed dirt is fun! I also learned that the footpegs on my bike are too narrow. Most people replace them with wider pegs. Standing up on the pegs is really fun too, but you need to kind of use your knees to stabilize yourself against the tank. Also, you can’t look in the mirrors when you are standing up! I’d really like to take some off-road classes sometime. Maybe for my birthday I will ask for some as a gift. Would be really cool!
Odometer: 147.43 miles
Moving Time: 3:38
Moving Average: 40.5 mph
Max Speed: 74.0 mph
I found a great 1.5 hour ride from my house. It’s got nice twistied and elevation changes, human enhancement a nice relaxing slow “sight-seeing” section with plenty to see, pills then on the return trip, the twisties again, but from the other direction. I’ve been down Cow Creek before (video) but this time was a lot more fun just because I am a lot more comfortable riding now. There are a couple potential water crossings (they were dry this time) that lead up to some tight turns and they were a little tricky the last time I went this route. This time was a breeze however. The slow-speed manouvering practice really pays off.
The weather was absolutely perfect for riding – plenty of clouds overhead to keep the lighting interesting and the temperatures down, a very light wind. I really like Cow Creek because there is no traffic to speak of. I saw two cars and one person out for a morning walk.
The highlight of the ride was seeing my first-ever skunk in the wild. I was riding at around 25mph and I saw it crossing the road from right to left up ahead. By the time I passed him, he was on the edge of the road and I saw his tail flip up. I scooted out of there pretty quickly then had to laugh to myself.
After Cow Creek, I headed back south to meet up with 1431 again for the ride back. That stretch of 1431 is the funnest part IMO of that road. I kept it in 4th gear the whole time, which kept the bike in a nice powerband. I saw more people riding their motorcycles than ever before on 1431, which was pretty cool. But I honestly was getting tired of waving at everyone. Still, I stuck my hand out at everyone to not be a jerk.
Anyways, this is one of my favorite rides and I am sure I will be doing it many more times.
Time: 1H 35M
Odometer: 65.36 Mi
Moving Avg: 41.0 MPH
Max Speed: 68.1 MPH malady on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/barron/5874047771/”>
I was cleaning the chain using ATF the other day and upon close inspection, therapy I found that the PJ1-Black I was using was all over the chain guard, glaucoma and also the rear wheel. Probably my fault for using too much. But anyways I decided to do a little clean up. I used a little ATF on a rag and shined up the wheel, then removed the chainguard and cleaned it and the swingarm.
It’s looking pretty shiny, but I actually like the look of a dirty bike more. But the greasy wheel made for some dirty air pressure checking so I think this cleaning is a good thing. women’s health on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/barron/5952547759/”>
Since I am a bachelor for a week or so I decided to go for a nice long motorcycle ride. Usually I just take off a Saturday or Sunday morning but since I am just fending for myself I thought I would indulge in an extra long all-day journey. But then I read a forum post about a ride called the SaddleSore 1000. This is where you put in 1,000 miles on a motorcycle in 24 hours or less. It seemed like this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. In the forum post, a group of eight riders leave Austin and head to Roswell, New Mexico for lunch, returning at around midnight. I thought that sounded doable and I liked the route they took, so I prepared my bike and any supplies I would need. First off, I made sure that I had all the tools I would need to repair a flat tire in case that happened (it didn’t), then I made sure to pack some energy bars and plenty of water. I knew that it was going to be really hot (100 and above) so I bought a “Buff” to put around my neck. I could soak that in water and the evaporative cooling would keep me from overheating. Plus it would protect my neck from the sun.
I didn’t get much rest the night before because I was pretty excited about the trip, but when departure time arrived, I was ready to go! I got my bike ready by 5 AM but before I got started, disaster almost struck. I pushed my bike out of the garage and onto the driveway but I had forgotten that I put my glasses on the tank bag. I didn’t notice they had fallen to the ground and then I took a step and “crunch”. Damn! Luckily the lenses were ok and I had just bent the frame and earpiece. I gently straightened them out and was good to go!
At 5:30 AM I filled up the tank at the gas station and got the receipt. This acts as the timestamp beginning of the 24-hour journey. The odometer read 8,179 as I headed out. I was officially underway! My route took me up HWY 183 to HWY 29, then west through the towns of Liberty Hill, Bertram, Burnet, Llano, and Mason. The sun rose while I was on this leg of the journey and it was cool to see the Hill Country come to life. I also thought it was good to be traveling west in the morning, and then east in the evening so I would never be looking towards the sun. From there I continued on to Junction, which was my first stop. While there I also got some Powerade and had a snack of Hawaiian bread and peanut butter that I had prepared at home.
Between Junction and Fort Stockton, it’s all I-10, and an 80mph speed limit. This was great because I was really eating up the miles! I had one fuel stop in Ozona and continued on to Fort Stockton. This stretch seemed to go by pretty fast. I got to see so many giant wind turbines in this section, which was pretty cool. I also talked with a few people at the gas station in Fort Stockton. One guy just said “Nice ride” as I was having some water, and another guy was asking what kind of mileage mt BMW got (around 63mpg). He pointed over to his bike, which he was trailering, and complained that it only got 35mpg. He said he wanted a BMW but needed the big cruiser because he rides 2-up with his wife. Life’s full of tough choices… but as long as you are on two wheels it’s good!
The next stretch went from Fort Stockton through Pecos and then into New Mexico. I wanted to stop by the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign and take a photo, but it was so hot and I was cruising so I just kept going. It was a pretty small sign anyways. 🙂 The roads in New Mexico generally have a slower speed limit than Texas, so the mileage lets up a little bit. It was 65mph (and I saw the Highway Patrol pulling people over) which is a real bummer for a ride like mine.
My three fuel stops in New Mexico each had something bad about them. First, in the small town of Loving, the gas station would not let me pay at the pump. For me, it’s a hassle because I have my valueables in my tankbag which I don’t want to leave on the bike. Anyone can come by and snatch it (and the GPS) and take off before I knew it. Plus, there were three scary looking dudes just hanging out by the door watching me. I decided to just bail and find another gas station. I did get a receipt there with my canceled transaction that showed the time and date.
Travelling through the town of Carlsbad sucked because the highway turns into main street, and that main street is under construction. I had to go through stop-n-go traffic over some rough roads and high temperatures. Then when I found a gas station, it was so crowded and the stupid pump wouldn’t give me a receipt. Plus some dude drove up to me in his lowered civic and asked if I was from around here. He said he was looking for a good burger place, but it just gave me the creeps. I was already a bit on edge because of the last gas station, and then the sucky riding thru town. I really was not liking New Mexico at all at that point. Again I finished filling up and in lieu of going into the store to get the receipt, I took photos and video of the pump and my odometer, then hit the highway again heading towards Roswell. Of course right outside Carlsbad I saw someone get pulled over by the Highway Patrol. Man, New Mexico… I suppose this could have been a fortunate warning for me to keep my level of alertness up!
On the way into Roswell, I did see a great billboard. It was advertising the Rapture in May! That put a smile on my face… Anyways, when I arrived at Roswell, I gassed up again, and at least the printer worked at the gas station. Unfortunately the timestamp on the receipt was wrong, but I think it should be ok with the verification people who will review my ride. What is wrong with New Mexico gas stations? I guess I was just having really bad luck. After that I wanted to find a place to get something to drink, but it was so crowded in town I decided to just book on out of there and head back to Texas. The highways were fast again and I made good time through the towns of Plains and Post. It’s funny, but I really felt better as soon as I crossed the border into Texas. Texans are such nice people and the unlucky feeling I got in New Mexico disappeared.
I was heading southeast towards my next stop at Sweetwater when I noticed lots of rainclouds in the distance, and even an occasional lightning bolt. It actually looked very cool, especially combined with all the wind turbines in the area. Right before I hit the storm, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and I got chilled. I was only in the rain for about 10 minutes, but it was kind of dicey. I could see lots of water on the highway, so I dropped my speed to about 60. I had to go across a curved overpass and I slowed down to about 40 because I could see the water sheeting on its surface. Luckily there weren’t any other vehicles around so I could take it nice and slow. When I got off the highway and to a gas station, my visor was clear of bugs and I was nicely soaked. I figured that soon I would be back in the heat and dried out again. At least I’d have about 20 minutes of evaporative cooling provided by my wet clothes.
The sun was setting by this time so I looked at the map and altered my route so that I would be on larger roads. They were still too small, but probably better than the ones I had previously chosen. Traveling at night through deer country is not the best thing to be doing, and I tried to follow a car and use its headlights to watch for any critters. Unfortunately, there wasn’t always a car on the highway near me so I had to drop my speed down and use my high beam. This kind of wasted a lot of time, but I knew I wasn’t really in danger of not completing the journey within the 24 hour limit so I decided to ride safe. I made my way down to Coleman and gassed up again. I asked the lady for directions and a friendly old local cowboy told me he was heading in the same direction and I should follow him. He said he’d flash his high beams when he had to bail at his ranch and that I should just keep going to the traffic light and make a right. I thanked him but told him to go on ahead because I still had to fill out my trip log entry and I wanted to clean my face shield again. Several minutes later as I was cruising down the street, I saw him unlocking the gate to his ranch, and then sure enough, the traffic signal was ahead. Good folks in Texas!
From there it was a long night journey down to Brady, then across to Mason and Hwy 29 again. There were more cars traveling and the moon was rising and shedding a bit of light on the trees so I could go a little faster. It was around this point that I passed the 1,000 mile mark and I was stoked! I had done it! But it wasn’t official until I got a receipt showing I had made it far enough. Past Llano the highway became four lanes and the trees were farther off the road so I could go much faster. Pulling into Burnet at 12:51 AM, I filled up for my last gas stop. I had to go into the store to pay for the gas, and I made sure that the receipt had the time and date on it. Walking back out to the bike, I could feel a little fatigue starting to set in. But my odometer read 9,266. I was over the top and official!
The final stages of the ride took me back down Hwy 29 to Ronald Reagan Blvd, which I travel on quite often. It was a familiar and safe route which is something I was concerned about considering my overall energy level. I actually felt really good but I knew I had been riding for so long that my reflexes weren’t nearly what they should be. When I finally arrived at Parmer, I almost turned into the gas station to get another receipt, which would have put my total at around 1,120 miles, but I decided to just go home. I had the mileage already in the bag!
Pulling into my garage at 1:44 AM, the odometer read 9,304 which meant I had traveled 1,125 miles! The actual mileage as recorded by the GPS was 1,092 and Google Maps put it as 1,099. Thats 20 hours and 14 minutes on the road! Here are my GPS stats:
Moving Time: 17 H 40 M
Moving Avg: 61.8 Mph
Stopped: 2 H 39 M
Odometer: 1,092.56 Mi
Looking back on the ride, I did make a few mistakes. If I were to do another SaddleSore 1000 (which I am NOT planning; once is enough) here are some changes I’d make:
While planning out the route, I added lots of refueling stops, figuring I’d need to stop and rest a bit because of the heat. This was probably not needed however. When you are trying to eat up miles, you should keep going and minimize the stops. Time spent at the pump is precious time wasted! You aren’t really in danger of not getting enought miles within the 24 hour window, but you just want to get home sooner, and spend less time riding in the dark towards the end. My breaks were planned from 88 miles to 140 miles. My bike can do about 240 miles, so I should have planned to do a stop every 200 or so. That would give me four fuel stops (not including the first tank). Instead, I took nine fuel stops. If you figure its about 10-15 minutes a stop, I wasted about an hour. That might not seem like a lot, but again, towards the end it makes a big difference.
Another mistake I made in route planning is that I chose the wrong highway for the dark hours. Riding through the Hill Country at night is too dangerous. There are so many deer and other critters that could cause a serious accident. Because of this, I had to travel slowly, and that ate up even more time. It would have been better to just keep on the superslab freeways where it is well-lit and you don’t have to worry about deer jumping out in front of you. In fact, even in the morning (if you start really early) it’s best to stick with the freeway.
Some tips I’d give for prospective riders:
Invest in a cheap throttle locking device. My hand is sore and still very weak two days later. Even the CBOA hose-clamp thingamabob would have helped.
Bring eye drops. The constant wind in the helmet will dry them out.
Travel west in the morning, and east in the afternoon to keep the sun out of your eyes.
Keep hydrated! That constant wind will suck the moisture out of your body quick.
Always wear earplugs or in-ear-earbuds. This will keep the ride a lot more comfortable. I used a brand new pair of Hearos and they were excellent!!!
Get a Buff. This protects your neck from wind, bugs, and the sun. You can also soak it with water to keep you cool.
And a couple final observations:
My BMW F650 GS is a great traveler! Never once did it give me any problems. The seat does get a bit uncomfortable but because of the relatively upright seating, I was able to alternate between three different positions which helped a lot.
My mind never wandered and I didn’t daydream at all. I was pretty focused the entire ride.
Do I wish I had more photos of the trip? Yes. However, if I had to do it again, I probably still wouldn’t take photos. I know I’d again be too focused on the ride, and stopping to take a photo would totally take me out of the zone.
If I were to plan another long ride, I would plan it not by mileage or destination, but by riding time. Plan to get to where you are going by the afternoon, and then relax!
I love my bike even more than before. I know it sounds cheesy, but after completing this journey together, it’s almost like a good friend!
physiotherapist on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/barron/5903141880/”>
I’m lucky to live close to a lot of nice riding. I decided to take advantage of this and just head up north and wander around. I keep my GPS on the map screen and if something looks good, view I’ll take it. In this fashion I found my way up to Briggs, then towards Oakalla, and then making a right on CR 220/Maxdale Rd. This road is pretty cool. A nice scenic and relaxing ride and no one on the road. Plenty of trees and cows. I am kicking myself because I missed a nice photo of some cows taking a drink out of a semi-dry creek. I’ll have to go back sometime.
I made another right onto Wolfridge Rd. and headed south. Again, no cars at all but I did pass a few bicyclists and we waved at eachother. There were several ranches on this road and I saw plenty of goats, cows, a horses. I stopped to take a few photos and have some water.
After that, I picked up 195 and headed back home through Andice and south on Reagan Blvd. back to Cedar Park.
Odo: 90.75 miles
Moving Avg: 43.1 mph
Max Speed: 64.8 mph
Time: 2h 6m illness on Flickr”>
The ride to Volente and then Lime Creek Rd. is popular among Austin motorcyclists, cialis 40mg but on weekend mornings it’s the perfect time to ride. I saw two other motorcyclists and only a few cars. I did have one mishap though as I pulled over to take a photo. As I slowed to a stop on the dirt, prothesis my front tire slipped a bit and the bike leaned over too far for me to hold it, so I let it drop. A minute later, as I stood admiring my sleeping bike, a man pulled over to check to see if I was ok. He offered to help pick up my bike and I didn’t refuse. After the bike was upright, I snapped a photo and continued on.
I enjoyed the first half of the ride, but then on Lime Creek Rd. I found that I didn’t really enjoy the super-tight hairpins. I guess I just prefer the wider sections where you can enjoy the scenery. Lime Creek Rd. empties out to Anderson Mill Rd. and from there I headed home for some coffee.
Time: 0H 53M
Odometer: 26.07 Mi treatment on Flickr”>
The ride to Volente and then Lime Creek Rd. is popular among Austin motorcyclists, buy more about but on weekend mornings it’s the perfect time to ride. I saw two other motorcyclists and only a few cars. I did have one mishap though as I pulled over to take a photo. As I slowed to a stop on the dirt, cystitis my front tire slipped a bit and the bike leaned over too far for me to hold it, so I let it drop. A minute later, as I stood admiring my sleeping bike, a man pulled over to check to see if I was ok. He offered to help pick up my bike and I didn’t refuse. After the bike was upright, I snapped a photo and continued on.
I enjoyed the first half of the ride, but then on Lime Creek Rd. I found that I didn’t really enjoy the super-tight hairpins. I guess I just prefer the wider sections where you can enjoy the scenery. Lime Creek Rd. empties out to Anderson Mill Rd. and from there I headed home for some coffee.
Time: 0H 53M
Odometer: 26.07 Mi
I’ve been enjoying nmtr220’s videos quite a bit lately. I really like seeing the backroads of Japan. I’d love to tour that country by motorbike someday! anabolics on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/barron/5952547759/”>
Since I am a bachelor for a week or so I decided to go for a nice long motorcycle ride. Usually I just take off a Saturday or Sunday morning but since I am just fending for myself I thought I would indulge in an extra long all-day journey. But then I read a forum post about a ride called the SaddleSore 1000. This is where you put in 1, look 000 miles on a motorcycle in 24 hours or less. It seemed like this was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. In the forum post, weight loss a group of eight riders leave Austin and head to Roswell, New Mexico for lunch, returning at around midnight. I thought that sounded doable and I liked the route they took, so I prepared my bike and any supplies I would need. First off, I made sure that I had all the tools I would need to repair a flat tire in case that happened (it didn’t), then I made sure to pack some energy bars and plenty of water. I knew that it was going to be really hot (100 and above) so I bought a “Buff” to put around my neck. I could soak that in water and the evaporative cooling would keep me from overheating. Plus it would protect my neck from the sun.
I didn’t get much rest the night before because I was pretty excited about the trip, but when departure time arrived, I was ready to go! I got my bike ready by 5 AM but before I got started, disaster almost struck. I pushed my bike out of the garage and onto the driveway but I had forgotten that I put my glasses on the tank bag. I didn’t notice they had fallen to the ground and then I took a step and “crunch”. Damn! Luckily the lenses were ok and I had just bent the frame and earpiece. I gently straightened them out and was good to go!
At 5:30 AM I filled up the tank at the gas station and got the receipt. This acts as the timestamp beginning of the 24-hour journey. The odometer read 8,179 as I headed out. I was officially underway! My route took me up HWY 183 to HWY 29, then west through the towns of Liberty Hill, Bertram, Burnet, Llano, and Mason. The sun rose while I was on this leg of the journey and it was cool to see the Hill Country come to life. I also thought it was good to be traveling west in the morning, and then east in the evening so I would never be looking towards the sun. From there I continued on to Junction, which was my first stop. While there I also got some Powerade and had a snack of Hawaiian bread and peanut butter that I had prepared at home.
Between Junction and Fort Stockton, it’s all I-10, and an 80mph speed limit. This was great because I was really eating up the miles! I had one fuel stop in Ozona and continued on to Fort Stockton. This stretch seemed to go by pretty fast. I got to see so many giant wind turbines in this section, which was pretty cool. I also talked with a few people at the gas station in Fort Stockton. One guy just said “Nice ride” as I was having some water, and another guy was asking what kind of mileage mt BMW got (around 63mpg). He pointed over to his bike, which he was trailering, and complained that it only got 35mpg. He said he wanted a BMW but needed the big cruiser because he rides 2-up with his wife. Life’s full of tough choices… but as long as you are on two wheels it’s good!
The next stretch went from Fort Stockton through Pecos and then into New Mexico. I wanted to stop by the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign and take a photo, but it was so hot and I was cruising so I just kept going. It was a pretty small sign anyways. 🙂 The roads in New Mexico generally have a slower speed limit than Texas, so the mileage lets up a little bit. It was 65mph (and I saw the Highway Patrol pulling people over) which is a real bummer for a ride like mine.
My three fuel stops in New Mexico each had something bad about them. First, in the small town of Loving, the gas station would not let me pay at the pump. For me, it’s a hassle because I have my valueables in my tankbag which I don’t want to leave on the bike. Anyone can come by and snatch it (and the GPS) and take off before I knew it. Plus, there were three scary looking dudes just hanging out by the door watching me. I decided to just bail and find another gas station. I did get a receipt there with my canceled transaction that showed the time and date.
Travelling through the town of Carlsbad sucked because the highway turns into main street, and that main street is under construction. I had to go through stop-n-go traffic over some rough roads and high temperatures. Then when I found a gas station, it was so crowded and the stupid pump wouldn’t give me a receipt. Plus some dude drove up to me in his lowered civic and asked if I was from around here. He said he was looking for a good burger place, but it just gave me the creeps. I was already a bit on edge because of the last gas station, and then the sucky riding thru town. I really was not liking New Mexico at all at that point. Again I finished filling up and in lieu of going into the store to get the receipt, I took photos and video of the pump and my odometer, then hit the highway again heading towards Roswell. Of course right outside Carlsbad I saw someone get pulled over by the Highway Patrol. Man, New Mexico… I suppose this could have been a fortunate warning for me to keep my level of alertness up!
On the way into Roswell, I did see a great billboard. It was advertising the Rapture in May! That put a smile on my face… Anyways, when I arrived at Roswell, I gassed up again, and at least the printer worked at the gas station. Unfortunately the timestamp on the receipt was wrong, but I think it should be ok with the verification people who will review my ride. What is wrong with New Mexico gas stations? I guess I was just having really bad luck. After that I wanted to find a place to get something to drink, but it was so crowded in town I decided to just book on out of there and head back to Texas. The highways were fast again and I made good time through the towns of Plains and Post. It’s funny, but I really felt better as soon as I crossed the border into Texas. Texans are such nice people and the unlucky feeling I got in New Mexico disappeared.
I was heading southeast towards my next stop at Sweetwater when I noticed lots of rainclouds in the distance, and even an occasional lightning bolt. It actually looked very cool, especially combined with all the wind turbines in the area. Right before I hit the storm, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and I got chilled. I was only in the rain for about 10 minutes, but it was kind of dicey. I could see lots of water on the highway, so I dropped my speed to about 60. I had to go across a curved overpass and I slowed down to about 40 because I could see the water sheeting on its surface. Luckily there weren’t any other vehicles around so I could take it nice and slow. When I got off the highway and to a gas station, my visor was clear of bugs and I was nicely soaked. I figured that soon I would be back in the heat and dried out again. At least I’d have about 20 minutes of evaporative cooling provided by my wet clothes.
The sun was setting by this time so I looked at the map and altered my route so that I would be on larger roads. They were still too small, but probably better than the ones I had previously chosen. Traveling at night through deer country is not the best thing to be doing, and I tried to follow a car and use its headlights to watch for any critters. Unfortunately, there wasn’t always a car on the highway near me so I had to drop my speed down and use my high beam. This kind of wasted a lot of time, but I knew I wasn’t really in danger of not completing the journey within the 24 hour limit so I decided to ride safe. I made my way down to Coleman and gassed up again. I asked the lady for directions and a friendly old local cowboy told me he was heading in the same direction and I should follow him. He said he’d flash his high beams when he had to bail at his ranch and that I should just keep going to the traffic light and make a right. I thanked him but told him to go on ahead because I still had to fill out my trip log entry and I wanted to clean my face shield again. Several minutes later as I was cruising down the street, I saw him unlocking the gate to his ranch, and then sure enough, the traffic signal was ahead. Good folks in Texas!
From there it was a long night journey down to Brady, then across to Mason and Hwy 29 again. There were more cars traveling and the moon was rising and shedding a bit of light on the trees so I could go a little faster. It was around this point that I passed the 1,000 mile mark and I was stoked! I had done it! But it wasn’t official until I got a receipt showing I had made it far enough. Past Llano the highway became four lanes and the trees were farther off the road so I could go much faster. Pulling into Burnet at 12:51 AM, I filled up for my last gas stop. I had to go into the store to pay for the gas, and I made sure that the receipt had the time and date on it. Walking back out to the bike, I could feel a little fatigue starting to set in. But my odometer read 9,266. I was over the top and official!
The final stages of the ride took me back down Hwy 29 to Ronald Reagan Blvd, which I travel on quite often. It was a familiar and safe route which is something I was concerned about considering my overall energy level. I actually felt really good but I knew I had been riding for so long that my reflexes weren’t nearly what they should be. When I finally arrived at Parmer, I almost turned into the gas station to get another receipt, which would have put my total at around 1,120 miles, but I decided to just go home. I had the mileage already in the bag!
Pulling into my garage at 1:44 AM, the odometer read 9,304 which meant I had traveled 1,125 miles! The actual mileage as recorded by the GPS was 1,092 and Google Maps put it as 1,099. Thats 20 hours and 14 minutes on the road! Here are my GPS stats:
Moving Time: 17 H 40 M
Moving Avg: 61.8 Mph
Stopped: 2 H 39 M
Odometer: 1,092.56 Mi
Looking back on the ride, I did make a few mistakes. If I were to do another SaddleSore 1000 (which I am NOT planning; once is enough) here’s some changes I’d make:
While planning out the route, I added lots of refueling stops, figuring I’d need to stop and rest a bit because of the heat. This was probably not needed however. When you are trying to eat up miles, you should keep going and minimize the stops. Time spent at the pump is precious time wasted! You aren’t really in danger of not getting enought miles within the 24 hour window, but you just want to get home sooner, and spend less time riding in the dark towards the end. My breaks were planned from 88 miles to 140 miles. My bike can do about 240 miles, so I should have planned to do a stop every 200 or so. That would give me four fuel stops (not including the first tank). Instead, I took nine fuel stops. If you figure its about 10-15 minutes a stop, I wasted about an hour. That might not seem like a lot, but again, towards the end it makes a big difference.
Another mistake I made in route planning is that I chose the wrong highway for the dark hours. Riding through the Hill Country at night is too dangerous. There are so many deer and other critters that could cause a serious accident. Because of this, I had to travel slowly, and that ate up even more time. It would have been better to just keep on the superslab freeways where it is well-let and you don’t have to worry about deer jumping out in front of you. In fact, even in the morning (if you start really early) it’s best to stick with the freeway.
Some tips I’d give for prospective riders:
Invest in a cheap throttle locking device. My hand is sore and still very weak two days later. Even the CBOA hose-clamp thingamabob would have helped.
Bring eye drops. The constant wind in the helmet will dry them out.
Travel west in the morning, and east in the afternoon to keep the sun out of your eyes.
Keep hydrated! That constant wind will suck the moisture out of your body quick.
Always wear earplugs or in-ear-earbuds. This will keep the ride a lot more comfortable. I used a brand new pair of Hearos and they were excellent!!!
Get a Buff. This protects your neck from wind, bugs, and the sun. You can also soak it with water to keep you cool.
And a couple final observations:
My BMW F650 GS is a great traveler! Never once did it give me any problems. The seat does get a bit uncomfortable but because of the relatively upright seating, I was able to alternate between three different positions which helped a lot.
My mind never wandered and I didn’t daydream at all. I was pretty focused the entire ride.
Do I wish I had more photos of the trip? Yes. However, if I had to do it again, I probably still wouldn’t take photos. I know I’d again be too focused on the ride, and stopping to take a photo would totally take me out of the zone.
If I were to plan another long ride, I would plan it not by mileage or destination, but by riding time. Plan to get to where you are going by the afternoon, and then relax!
I love my bike even more than before. I know it sounds cheesy, but after completing this journey together, it’s almost like a good friend!
Went for a nice morning ride on some roads I’ve never been on before. First I rode up Lakeline and then across to Bagdad Rd. I had been on those before of course, ascariasis but I hadn’t taken Bagdad north all the way to Liberty Hill. That’s a fun road! Then north of Liberty Hill I traveled on some county roads, physician some of which I think I’ve ridden before. It was a really relaxing ride, and I saw lots of cows!
What a great Sunday morning.
GPS Stats:
76.92 Miles
1 H 51 M anesthetist on Flickr”>
When I finished my Saddlesore 1000 I thought that I was done with long, decease fast rides. But for some reason I felt like going on another one (a long ride, not a SS1000), so I looked at Google Maps and decided to head back out to Brady and then back. I kind of wanted to ride on HWY 71 to see what it was like. On my SS1000, I decided against riding on it in favor of traveling on HWY 29 which I was familar with. Actually, 71 would have been probably better. There are less trees and the ones that do exist are set back farther from the road which would make it safer from a wildlife perspective. Anyways, 71 is a fun road but it was starting to heat up (probably around 95°F at the time) and my left earplug was starting to make my ear ache. I pulled over in the small town of Pontotoc and took a little water break and adjusted the earplug and I was good to go!
When I arrived at Brady, my fuel odometer was at around 171 miles so I gassed up and took another short break. It felt like I was back on the SS1000 again as I took off looking for HWY 190 which would take me back east towards San Saba and ultimately to HWY 183 and back home. San Saba is a little town with lots of Pecan groves and it would be nice to visit and explore a bit when more time is available. It’s also close by Colorado Bend State Park which seems like a great place to camp. I stopped and took a quick photo in town and then continued east. At this point I was just enjoying the scenery, but realy wanted to get home and out of the heat. I was looking forward to getting some ice-coffee at home and then taking the kids to the pool since it was another hot one in Texas!
When I finished my Saddlesore 1000 I thought that I was done with long, decease fast rides. But for some reason I felt like going on another one (a long ride, not a SS1000), so I looked at Google Maps and decided to head back out to Brady and then back. I kind of wanted to ride on HWY 71 to see what it was like. On my SS1000, I decided against riding on it in favor of traveling on HWY 29 which I was familar with. Actually, 71 would have been probably better. There are less trees and the ones that do exist are set back farther from the road which would make it safer from a wildlife perspective. Anyways, 71 is a fun road but it was starting to heat up (probably around 95°F at the time) and my left earplug was starting to make my ear ache. I pulled over in the small town of Pontotoc and took a little water break and adjusted the earplug and I was good to go!
When I arrived at Brady, my fuel odometer was at around 171 miles so I gassed up and took another short break. It felt like I was back on the SS1000 again as I took off looking for HWY 190 which would take me back east towards San Saba and ultimately to HWY 183 and back home. San Saba is a little town with lots of Pecan groves and it would be nice to visit and explore a bit when more time is available. It’s also close by Colorado Bend State Park which seems like a great place to camp. I stopped and took a quick photo in town and then continued east. At this point I was just enjoying the scenery, but realy wanted to get home and out of the heat. I was looking forward to getting some ice-coffee at home and then taking the kids to the pool since it was another hot one in Texas!
Happy Birthday to Ted Simon, case
80 years young and still going strong! One of my inspirations.
I’ve read Jupiter’s Travels, Riding High, and Dreaming of Jupiter and enjoyed them all. It’ll be interesting to see this film! The preview looks pretty good. His books were one of the reasons I bought my 2nd motorbike.
I’ve read Jupiter’s Travels, Riding High, and Dreaming of Jupiter and enjoyed them all. It’ll be interesting to see this film! The preview looks pretty good. His books were one of the reasons I bought my 2nd motorbike.
I went for a quick half-hour ride this afternoon and I saw a motorcyclist on the side of the road duck-walking his cruiser. I did a quick u-turn to see if he needed any help. Turns out he just got a new Harley, ailment overestimated the range of his new bike, food
and ran out of gas. But all was well because his wife was on the way with a gas can. He was only about a mile away from the station! We had a good laugh and then I was off.
