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    2017 Iron Butt Rally Prep

    ​The experiences described in these posts were Steve’s at the time he took the ride. Each rider’s experience is unique. These posts do not describe what is usual or likely for the ride described.
     
    Iron Butt Rally
    The Iron Butt Rally is an eleven-day motorcycle event, broken into sections (or legs), traversing a large section of North America. It is not a race. No benefits, actual or implied, accrue to the rider who finishes a section (or the entire rally) in the least amount of time. Finishing positions will be determined solely by the points obtained by the riders during the entirety of the event. The following rules, tips, and miscellaneous information are designed to provide the rider with the minimum amount of background material necessary to participate in the event.
     
    Riders spend years training and preparing for this ride they call The Big Dance.
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    ​Rally Prep
    March 22, 2016 – Las Vegas, NV – First.. The IBA’s 2017 Iron Butt Rally (IBR): I’m in! 🙂 I’m thrilled to be accepted to participate and look forward to doing my best riding ~11,000 Miles over 11 Days next year scavenging for bonus points all over North America. (http://www.ironbuttrally.com)
     
    Second.. I feel for my fellow LD riders who applied and weren’t accepted. It’s incredibly tough to get accepted to and I’ve received that “Not the email you wanted to receive…” message before. Just keep riding and keep trying!
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    June 2017 - Last minute bike maintenance begins.
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    June 13 – Tire Day! These tires are going to leave their mark on more of North America in the next four weeks than most Americans see in a lifetime
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    ​June 13 – Provisions have arrived! Maybe some water, and a full tank of gas and I’ll be ready to ride 🙂
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    ​June 15 – Bike prep and maintenance is all done for the Big Dance! I even saved a few bucks and upgraded the iPad to the latest in low-tech for routing me to the IBR Start. — in Costa Mesa, California.
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    ​Ride Food
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    ​June 21 – As ready as Me and Moto will ever be Minneapolis Bound! — in Costa Mesa, California.
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    ​June 21 – Away He Goes!
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    June 24 – Made it to Minneapolis Thursday. Got through Tech Inspection, ODO Check, and Registration today without problems. Just waiting for Rider Meetings tomorrow, and the Rally Start Monday morning!  Oh, and this graphic is supposed to give us clues as to the ‘Rally Theme’; as in.. Where we’re going.
    ??? — at Minneapolis Marriott West.
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    ​6/25 – Got my Rally Routing Desk all setup! Welp, the time has come. Check-in and Riders Meetings are over. We’re just waiting for the Banquet Dinner where they hand out the “Rally Packets”. Then, its Plan Plan Plan and Ride starting in the morning for the next 11 days. So, you won’t see much of me around Facebook or whatever. Will be too busy riding & sleeping. To follow the 2017 Iron Butt Rally, here are links to whats happening during the rally:
    IBR DAILY REPORTS http://ironbutt.com/2017ibr.cfm
    PUBLIC SPOTWALLA TRACKING MAP https://spotwalla.com/locationViewer.php?id=429
    2017 IBR RULES http://ironbutt.com/ibr/_2017/IBR2017Rules.pdf
    Wish me luck! It’s going to be an adventure 🙂
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    Start photos by Rick Corwine
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    The IBR Rally Masters have issued a no social media policy during the rally. These are the last visuals we have of Steve until the rally is over!
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    2017 Cross Country Trip Part 3 | The Party & Ride Home

    ​The Party
    The Jacksonville party was fun! It was great to meet other riders, hear their crazy stories and celebrate our shared enjoyment of long distance riding. There was even an LDR marriage proposal!
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    ​We received the certificate for our "ride in" to the Jacksonville IBA party.
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    ​New Orleans
    As we headed west again, Mic requested we stay a night in New Orleans as she had never had the chance to visit.
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    March 18, 2017 - The Algiers/Canal St. Ferry -  New Orleans, LA
    Ferrying across the Mississippi!!
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    March 18, 2017
    Saint Lawrence Nola
    ​New Orleans, LA
    Dinner in the Big Easy
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    March 19, 2017 
    Leaving NOLA. Short n sweet.
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    March 19, 2017
    RaceTrac - Opelousas, LA
    Our new favorite gas station chain ⛽
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    Texas
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    March 20, 2017
    Bullard, Texas
    Had a great visit with my cousin Amy and her family. Thanks for your hospitality!!
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    New Mexico
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    March 21, 2017
    Poco & Mom's Cantina - Tucson, AZ
    Got my New Mexican green chile fix.  Been dreaming of green chile for at least a year! And I got a jar to go! Thanks Aunt Cindy & Uncle Gene!!
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    March 22, 2017 – Quarzsite, AZ
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    Selfies
    Sometimes you gotta just keep yourself entertained.
    ​March 22, 2017
    Home Safe & Sound!
    CA to FL back to CA. 6,078 miles round-trip Two-Up. Got an IBA 50cc Certificate. Attended the IBA Banquet. Saw Friends and Family. Did some sightseeing. No Major Problems on the road..Phew! Some minor ones we overcame. Barely got wet! (Phew again!).
     
    Now, to return to reality, Play catch-up with work, And..unfortunately..need to clean the bike again. lol
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    2017 Cross Country Trip Part 2 | Florida

    ​2017 Cross Country Trip Part 2
     
    Florida
    What does one do after they’ve ridden across the county??? Circumnavigate Florida!
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    The Keys
    We had plans to ride to the Florida Keys, stay the night and then head up to Sarasota to visit Steve’s daughter. Since we got in a little behind schedule, we decided to rest another day and do our trip around Florida in one fell swoop. We set out in the morning and were crossing the Keys by mid-day. Mic pretended she was an extra in True Lies as we cruised across the 7-mile bridge.
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    Mic & Steve at the southernmost point of the continental US.​
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    Mic having a slice of Key Lime pie in the Florida Keys, while on the phone with Chase, assuring them that yes, it was us buying gas in Florida.
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    Alligator Alley
    After a slow, long ride to the end of the Keys and back, we jetted across the tip of Florida via Alligator Alley. It was dark and thankfully we saw no gators! We pulled over at some point as it seemed that something was rattling, but upon remembering that you can’t out run an alligator, we hopped back on the bike and went on our merry way.  Not too long afterward, we arrived at our hotel in Sarasota.
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    Siesta Key Beach
    We had a lovely visit with Steve’s daughter and visited beautiful, albeit chilly, Siesta Key Beach.  After a nice breakfast in the morning, we headed off back to Jacksonville
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    2017 Cross Country Trip Part 1 | 50cc

    ​2017 Cross Country Trip Part 1
    Iron Butt 50cc
    Steve has attended the IBA (Iron Butt Association) “Pizza Party” for a number of years now. The Daytona Party, as it’s now called, happens the last weekend of Daytona Bike Week, in Daytona, Florida. Long distance riders come from all over to hang, ride, and celebrate some fun IBA rides. If you’re headed to the IBA event, you will usually do an IBA ride to get there. This can be the entry-level SaddleSore 1000 or the ridiculous 250cccccc that Steve did in March 2016 where he rode from San Diego to Jacksonville and back, and back, and back and back – crossing the US 5x in 10 days. Steve and Mic decided on a single 50cc – Coast to Coast in 50 hours or less. This would be Mic’s longest ride and Steve’s longest 2-up ride.
     
    Mic was excited to take a trip across the US on a motorcycle. She enjoyed the ride home from Denver, after flying out to meet Steve at the finish of the 2016 Butt Lite. Having completed a SaddleSore 1000 as pillion, she earned membership in the IBA, an IBA number and could be certified for completing a 50cc.
     
    A 50cc begins at one coast (east or west) and ends at the other coast. The ride should take 50 hours or less. San Diego, CA and Jacksonville, FL are the closest points between oceans and have been used many times and beginning as ending points for this ride. The rider collects water in one ocean and then the other, and this becomes a nice souvenir of their ride.
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    ​Heading Out
    Anticipating the trip and 2 weeks off work, she shared links so her family, friends and coworkers could follow her as she gallivants across the US.
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    ​Mic knew she needed to pack light; she was aware the bike needed to hold water & food for 2 days, in addition to a week’s worth of clothing & toiletries. She edited as best she could, yet this much still needed to be left behind.
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    Supplies packed and riders mounted up, headed to San Diego the night before the ride
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    ​Pacific Ocean
    The alarm rang early Saturday morning. Mic & Steve suited up, packed the bike and made the short trip to the gas station to get the starting receipt. Two fellow riders offered to meet up at the starting location to serve as witnesses. With a brief conversation, thank yous and well wishes, Mic & Steve headed to Dog Beach, which has easy access from a parking lot to the surf. In the process of gathering up the Pacific Ocean seawater, a larger wave rushed in, splashing up to Mic’s knee. Having followed Steve’s lead in washing & waterproofing her Aerostich pants and riding boots, her feet and legs stayed completely dry!
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    ​The West
    The ride out of town and out of state was uneventful. Beautiful desert scenery rushed by. It wasn’t long to the Arizona border. A slight turn south and we arrived at the NM border. As the sun set, we grabbed a quick meal from a Wendy’s drive thru. It was nice to feel the air-conditioned “breeze” flowing out of the drive thru window.
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    ​Gassed up, we continued East. We noticed Steve’s microphone cutting in and out as he spoke. When he wiggled and pulled the wire, it would come back. Then a bump in the road would take it out again. Then the next bump would bring it back. Continued wiggling, pulling & tapping, guided him to the left pocket. A tap on the pocket would bring it back just about anytime it went out.
     
    As we entered Texas we saw some rain on the radar. We were in contact with a fellow rider, Kenneth, who was doing a 100ccc from Jacksonville to San Diego and back, on the same highway. He reported hitting rain, so we prepared. We saw clouds off in the distance and encountered 180-degree show of lightning, but never experienced more than a light sprinkling of rain. Kenneth, on the other hand, hit storm cell after storm cell. Unfortunately, this impacted his timing and our intended mid-Texas meetup ended up being a quick flash of the high beams as he motored West past us on the 10. We did make a midnight rest stop somewhere in Texas to let a rain cell pass by. We ended up sitting next to a group of state troopers who had met for coffee and discussion of the latest ‘perps’ they’ve apprehended. They wished us well and we continued East.
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    ​We rolled into Kerrville about 4am Central time. We lost 2 hours moving from the Pacific time zone to the Central time zone. We also lost an hour due to the change to Daylight Saving Time. We slept hard that night, waking at noon – check-out time – to get back on the road.
    ​Texas, and more Texas, then the Panhandle
    Texas is big. Having left at noon, we were in the Lone Star state until sundown. Luckily it was a Sunday, so navigating the larger cities was a breeze and we cruised quickly through Texas to Louisiana & Alabama. You know what seems as big as Texas? The Panhandle of Florida. Man, that thing is wide! At hour 10, Mic was SO excited to be in Florida. When she peeked over Steve’s shoulder at the GPS, the realization that they were still 10 hours from the coast was disheartening. And it was cold. Why was Florida COLD???
     
    Florida
    We’ve crossed the last state line for this journey — just need to get ourselves to the Atlantic Ocean. We’re moving fine, but communication is difficult and Mic is freezing. Steve opts to stop and get Mic suited up in any electric gear he’s got on the bike. It’s dark, it’s in the 40’s and we’re motoring down the highway. Mic warms up a bit with the extra gear, but still isn’t comfortable. After a bit, Steve again decides to stop – and this time we’re not going anywhere until Mic is warm and we can hear each other. He begins with troubleshooting the gear and discovers a broken connector. He bypasses the connector and voilà!, heat begins and Mic is warm! Next he dismantles the dashboard checking connections as he goes along.  A small adjustment and voilà!, we have sound.  Now it’s time to finish this last leg.
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    ​Atlantic Ocean
    The sun rose as we rode and we began to warm some. A couple stops for coffee and rest kept us moving through the early morning hours. Right about 9am Eastern we arrived at Neptune Beach, our Atlantic Ocean destination. We parked the bike, took a few deep breaths and trudged out across the sand to scoop up our water and sand for our keepsake bottles. We completed our 50cc within the 50 hour time limit. Success!
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    2016 in Review

    ​The experiences described in these posts were Steve’s at the time he took the ride. Each rider’s experience is unique. These posts do not describe what is usual or likely for the ride described.

    32,345 miles ridden in 2016. Another year that I am happy I was able to ride lots-and-lots of miles. Clearly, I got to enjoy more of the West than the Northeast for a change, and.. spent nearly half my miles back-n-forth on Interstate 10. I spent so much time riding through Texas I should be a resident! Lol
     
    Plus, today (Jan 4th, 2017) marks my 10th Anniversary of buying my first motorcycle (Suzuki Intruder VS800). Between the Intruder and two GL1800 Gold Wings I have ridden 156,110 miles. More than half of that in the past three years.
     
    2017? Welp, I’ve already got 24,000 miles planned (includes the 2017 Iron Butt Rally) and it’s only the first week of the year!
     
    Ride On 🙂
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    2016 "Bite the Weenie" Pink's Hot Dogs RTE

    The experiences described in these posts were Steve or Micki’s at the time they took the ride. Each rider’s experience is unique. These posts do not describe what is usual or likely for the ride described.

    An RTE is a Ride to Eat. The idea is you ride in, have a meal with other riders and ride home. What is most fun about these events (at least in the Long Distance community) is that folks will come from ALL over. For the Bite the Weenie RTE, we don’t have very far to ride in, but still enjoy going to see old friends and meet new. Here are a few pics from the event.
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