Any Iron Butt Association riders here?
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
Morrissey
Well-known member
Congratulations Pilot! It feels great, doesn't it?
I will say that yes, you could have done the SS2000k, but it feels like a bit of a cheater ride to me. It doesn't match up with any of the Imperial distance rides, it was made just for the Metric countries. Even their SS3000k is a bit of a cheater compared to the SS2000 because it is 200km less than the original 2000mi/48hr cert. I asked why it was an SS3000k and not an SS3218k and they said that it just didn't look good on a patch! lol
It can get addicting and a little frustrating once you get that first one. Suddenly your brain starts swirling with thoughts of "oh, I should plan to do the BB1500 next" or "I want to do one of the Great Lakes SS1000's now" or "I wonder if I could pull off the boarder to boarder, yes it's tougher starting in the GTA and having to go diagonal to Nuevo Laredo but maybe..." and then the reality of how little vacation time you have to do some of these rides sets in and you remember that you have 3 camping trips with the family in the (gasp!) minivan planned and your cousin's kid's wedding is on that one weekend and suddenly you only have a few chances to pull one off and you also want to get in a trip where riding for pleasure and sight-seeing, not distance is the point.... or maybe that's just me.
Either way, congratulations again! I will give you the heads up that when your plate backer arrives, the holes do not line up with an Ontario license plate so you will have to do your own modifications to the IBA plate!
Cheers!
kiley
Well-known member
Thinking about doing this next.
http://www.hokaheychallenge.com/index.html
9500 miles (15288km) in 11 days.
Sleep in the dirt beside your ride
http://www.hokaheychallenge.com/index.html
9500 miles (15288km) in 11 days.
Sleep in the dirt beside your ride
Yup.
I knew because of the fact we were doing it nonstop that if I didn't bring food, I wasn't getting food...so I put my tank bag on and did indeed have a supply of easy to grab munchies, including 3 sandwiches that I was able to wolf down while pumping gas. It worked out well, but the only thing I didn't anticipate is how hard it was to root around in my tank bag with heavy gloves on...and taking them off while riding (as I would otherwise have done) was NOT an option due to the temperatures - had I got a solid chill in my hands I might never have been able to get them warm again.
Anyhow, I didn't starve, lets put it that way.
As for soreness, I wasn't really sore until 24 hours after the ride was complete...and even then, not bad - it's strange how it hits you 24 hours later which (ironically given the name of the IBA challenge, "Saddlesore") is exactly how it happens in horseback riding as well - the muscle soreness hits 24 hours later.
For me, being comfortable for 21+ hours straight comes down to my bike setup - I have an Ultimate "Big Boy" seat on my VTX which in itself is comfortable and has a big backrest as well - I've rode lots of 12+ hour days in perfect comfort with just that seat alone. But for any rides beyond 12 hours, on goes my AirHawk, right from the beginning of the ride. THAT was the best money I ever spent on the sport of motorcycling, hands down. I also have a bead rider, but found the Airhawk is just hands down unbeatable for comfort.
So, after 21+ hours, my *** was actually perfectly fine.
Yes, and as a former snowmobiler, I'm keenly aware of that, but I was able to stay on the right side of the line so far as being safe at least. "Perfectly comfortable"? Nope. "Safe", yes. Putting my rain gear on at our last stop before sunset turned out to be one of my wisest decisions of the trip as that extra level of windbreak was perhaps the difference between being able to warm up again with the 15 minute stop at McDonalds, or needing to stop for 30-45 minutes somewhere to really get a deeper chill off.
The buddy I rode with is a hard core IB guy...and he's planning (IIRC, although it might be one of the other Insanity rides) to do the "Five coasts of North America Insanity" ride this summer. A SS1000 is childs play for him LOL - he'll have well north of 100,000KM on his 2 year old Indian by the end of this summer. And here I thought I was doing good with my 20,000KM/season averages.
As the hours wore on after sunset it did come to mind, trust me...but I'm not sure I'd use it enough to justify it...and layering is cheaper.
Honestly, my core was fine with the layers I had, it was my legs from my knees down (my bike affords no leg protection from the wind unlike some big cruisers) that got a little chilly (but the T-Maxx thermal underwear were a great investment, I would have positively froze without those) but my hands, and to a lesser extent at a few hours at the beginning and end of the trip, my feet, were the biggest things that I would have liked to have warmer. I may indeed invest in a pair of heated gloves now - my insulated rain gloves I wore for the duration of this trip were indeed good, but there were points where I would have killed for the ability to plug-in my gloves and have my hands be super toasty in short order - that alone can make you so much more comfortable.
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Cool, hadn't seen those before - I'm going to seriously contemplate those. I'm no fan of wires either, but when I sometimes ride close to 3 hours between stops (depending on the fuel economy my bike decides to get based on wind direction and speed) they become less of a hassle.
Cool, hadn't seen those before - I'm going to seriously contemplate those. I'm no fan of wires either, but when I sometimes ride close to 3 hours between stops (depending on the fuel economy my bike decides to get based on wind direction and speed) they become less of a hassle.
Get the battery ones. I have Gerbings battery powered gloves and the batteries last a good few hours on low, long enough to keep the chill off you when the sun goes down. Better battery tech is lighter, thinner with longer power now too. Added advantage is you can use them off the bike too. I’m strongly considering insoles and a battery powered vest. There’s a few made for outdoor workers branded by Milwaukee or De Walt that bikers use and they occasionally go on sale at Home Depot etc.
I could do distance with the RDL on the Burgman 650 ..backrest was the ticket....there is just no solution for the CBF
.That said I still used the Airhawk or the Beadrider ....the BR I still find feels hard but works. The Airhawk feels better but after time ( on a single ride ) it is not as effective.
I wonder what the lightest tourer that takes the bigger seats is.
Key with the air hawk is to not over inflate it – a lot of people make that mistake. When it’s properly inflated it almost looks deflated - The magic happens when you sit on it and it distributes your weight perfectly with zero pressure points.
A lot of people buy them and inflate them like a balloon and subsequently either hate them because they feel too squishy and it disconnects them from the bike, or they are not as comfortable as they expected.
There is one situation where I do love the bead rider – in the rain – it stops water from pooling up under your *** on the seat.
A lot of people buy them and inflate them like a balloon and subsequently either hate them because they feel too squishy and it disconnects them from the bike, or they are not as comfortable as they expected.
There is one situation where I do love the bead rider – in the rain – it stops water from pooling up under your *** on the seat.
Morrissey
Well-known member
Lightest full tourer I can think of is the Honda NT700v. Was never available in Canada (too bad because it was a fantastic motorcycle) but a few got imported from the US and can be found from time to time. Unfortunately they were only sold in the US for 2 or 3 years so parts may be an issue down the line.
I had one and was not that thrilled with it....but made good money on it.
If I could get the saddle sorted on the CBF I'd be happy. There is one available from Europe.
http://www.topsellerie.com/@EN-FR/deluxe-seat-SGC3238-honda-cbf-1000-2006-2009_357.html
Not riding enough this year to fly it in...maybe next year
If I could get the saddle sorted on the CBF I'd be happy. There is one available from Europe.
http://www.topsellerie.com/@EN-FR/deluxe-seat-SGC3238-honda-cbf-1000-2006-2009_357.html
Not riding enough this year to fly it in...maybe next year
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23 in 24...all interstate or something? Wowzers.
Exploring PEI starting at 04:30, it started snowing so I hit confederation bridge at noon and was home by 03:00.
That's a great average speed.
We were doing really great until we got into the 2-lane areas. It only takes 5-10 minutes stuck behind slow movers once or twice an hour (before you can get a break to pass) to really wreck your average speed.
We were doing really great until we got into the 2-lane areas. It only takes 5-10 minutes stuck behind slow movers once or twice an hour (before you can get a break to pass) to really wreck your average speed.
I am a recipient of the saddlesore 1000
rode from south of savanna Georgia straight to east of the city a few years back. 3/4 of the day it was in the rain. One thing I’ll say is I’ll never do it again. The whole purpose of that trip was to put on miles and didn’t get to enjoy any part of the ride.
rode from south of savanna Georgia straight to east of the city a few years back. 3/4 of the day it was in the rain. One thing I’ll say is I’ll never do it again. The whole purpose of that trip was to put on miles and didn’t get to enjoy any part of the ride.
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