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Long Haul Thoughts

August 15^th, 2007

muse@bikerenews.com

In the last article, I highlighted my trip from Virginia Beach to Olive Hill, KY and back. In this article, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and reflections on the ride.

First, visit the Iron Butt Association at http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm. On the IBA site, you can learn about the procedures for documenting and submitting your application to the IBA. Additionally, they have list of tips that will serve you well in preparing for and making the ride. A critical point made by the IBA is to validate your route on a mapping program / website (like AAA or Microsoft Map). I was certainly glad I did this prior to my trip. The "official" AAA mileage of my trip was approximately 1012 miles. However, my odometer totaled 1060+ miles. Had I relied on just my odometer, IBA would not have recognized this trip as a 1,000 mile ride. It would have been very frustrating to ride 17 hours not to be considered "official."

Choose your route wisely. From Hampton Roads, there are two "out and back" routes you may want to consider. My choice was I-64 West and back. The reason for my choice was quick access to the interstate in Virginia Beach and the scenery along the route. The second choice is US 58 to Emporia and then I-95 South to Savannah, GA and back. If you are making a trip in cooler weather, you may want to use this route since it runs along the low lands of VA, NC, SC, and GA.

To quote a riding buddy, "the only time you can have too much gas is when you are on fire." Give serious consideration to your bike's and your limitations for long hauls. Due to the small capacity of my gas tank, I was hitting reserve at the 122 mile mark. I made 8 gas stops along the way. Each of these stops took about 15 minutes to fill the tank, pay for the gas, and to log the stop. That added 2 hours to my trip. Now if you like to stop every 100 miles or so for a personal break, then this is OK. However, larger or auxiliary fuel tanks will allow you to extend the mileage and reduce the overall time on the road.

Choose your start time wisely. The start time will impact whether you'll be riding in the dark during the beginning, end or both ends of your ride. It will also impact whether you'll be going through "rush hour" traffic when you hit certain areas. For example going through the Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel at 7:00 AM or 6:00 PM may eat up some of your precious time. A 4:00 AM start worked out pretty well. This would have been even better if I hadn't made as many stops or got caught in a thunderstorm.

Another area worthy of consideration is equipment preps. This was where most of my "Do Not's" occurred. Despite knowing better, I started the ride with some basic equipment shortcomings. First, my bike was 900 short of its routine maintenance service check. Had I timed the ride better, I would have been able to take care of most of the equipment issues. For example, the starboard front light on my light bar was not working. Also, the high beam on my headlight was burned out. Riding at night becomes very interesting when you can't see the road kill waiting for you in the darkness. Additionally, my state inspection sticker was out of date. This isn't a safety issue, but it could have resulted in a bothersome ticket from an observant officer of the law.

I know some may argue, but I consider the most important and most expensive piece of equipment to be ME. The trial and error nature of this ride reinforced a couple of lessons. First, I decided to start out wearing my full face helmet. I did this to cut down on bug splat, sunburn, and a little "just in case" prevention. I ended up wearing this helmet for the entire trip. The only problem is that I don't normally wear a full face helmet. My neck and shoulders were not use to the weight of the helmet for 18 hours. I would probably wear the same helmet again, but I'd make sure I'd ridden with it for a while prior to the trip. Also keep in mind that a snug fit in the store or a cozy feeling on a local ride is not the same as wearing a helmet for 1,000 miles.

One aspect of personal equipment I underestimated was the clothing. Given the temps in July, I was more concerned with sunburn and heat exhaustion. However, starting out at 4:00 AM in a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and a mesh jacket, I was reminded that comfortable temps standing still turn a little cool at 75 mph. This was especially true as the elevation started to rise as I approached Virginia's piedmont area. I ended up using the liner on my mesh jacket and my rain jacket to help block the wind until the sun was able to counter balance the morning temps and elevation. Don't get me wrong, it was not that it was cold, but when you are looking at an all day ride, being cool can use up some of your energy reserves. And, it goes without saying that having rain gear is always a good idea. Mine came in very handy when I was caught in a thunder / hail storm.

On a personal note, make sure you take any meds you are on. Have some aspirin and take it before you need it (I recommend at the ½ point and maybe again at the ¾ point). Have plenty of water and a few snacks for a quick pick me up. Don't forget to bring and use sunscreen if you'll be riding with exposed skin. And bring a cell phone for the, "I'll be late getting home, because....," phone call.

Possible equipment modifications I'd consider for another long haul ride include:

• 1. A larger fuel tank or auxiliary tank to reduce the number of stops.
• 2. A throttle / cruise control in order to rest my right hand.
• 3. Better earphones (regular or helmet type) and a charging system for the IPod.
• 4. Lower fairing / deflectors to reduce the wind effect on my lower legs.

My general wrap up is to remember that a long haul ride is more about distance and endurance than a series of short sprints. Be as comfortable as possible. Take advantage of the open road to enjoy some two-wheel sightseeing, and make some mental notes for your next leisure trip. To completely misrepresent the Zen philosophy, be in the moment (or mile). Don't worry about the 999 miles ahead of you. If you didn't like riding, you would not start out on a trip like this. Let you bike remind you why you wanted to ride in the first place. Listen to that song of freedom coming from the hum of your tires. You'll soon find that the rhythm of that song is keeping beat with your heart.

Ride Safe - But Ride.

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