25-26 September 1999

Prologue

Whilst riding with Dale "the Horkster" Horstman over the Sept 17-19 weekend, he mentioned that his wife Tracy was thinking about an IBA attempt the following weekend, if her schedule permitted.  I was planning a Saddlesore 1000 over the long Columbus Day weekend anyway, so I asked if I could tag along.  Of course, my rear tire decided now was the time to develop a slow leak.  The Macadam already had two plugs in it, so this was probably it's last run.  The front has 12k on it or so; I figured that was to be replaced before my next big ride anyway.  Sometime about Thursday, we had a "GO Code" issued; weather was forecast to be perfect and the bikes were ready.   I got email on Friday for our rendezvous in northern Virginia: the Mobile station off Prince William Parkway, Exit 156, I-95 at 03:45.

I made sure I got to bed early both Thursday and Friday nights; scared the crap out of my boss when I got to work around 6am Friday morning- normally there by 7:30 or so.  Checked over Benny just to make sure everything was ready; packed up the non-perishables on Friday after work.  The rear tire was still losing about 10lbs of pressure overnight; I figured as long as I check it every gas stop, it'll be OK.

September 25

00:dark35  I arose at 1:30 am from 4 hours of restless sleep as I knew the task at hand.  Benny was ready to roll minus the Camelbak, extra water, Gatorade, and bananas.  Took a refreshing shower, followed by a bowl of raisin bran as I wandered around the house in my gelpack biker shorts.  Seeing as it was 62 outside already. I decided not to wear thermals under my jeans and Motoports; however, I did put the liner in my jacket.  Topped off the rear tire at 42psi, by now Jean is up and kinda excited.  She signed off as my starting witness: 02:10, 0.0 miles.  I planned to call her every 4 hours or so just so she'd now our progress; hoping a midnight return.

Vroom, I'm off to the Beltway to get a timed receipt at the Amoco station.  The pump receipt has a faded strip right down the center, so I get a second start receipt from the ATM on the parking lot: this doesn't have the street address, but the time and date are plainly visible 02:18, 2.1 miles.  With the clock now officially ticking, Benny wheeled off the Amoco's lot and onto the Beltway for the trek to the rendezvous point: the Mobile on Prince William Parkway.  Most of the mapping programs I checked, route you through DC on either US50, or US 29; yea right, like I'm going to head downtown DC this time of the morning to shave off the 7 or 8 miles when experience has proven the Capitol Beltway is 20 minutes faster despite being longer. 

03:34, 72.8 miles,  I roll into the 7-11 next door to the pre-designated Mobile for a full tank of fuel; Tracy and Dale are not here quite yet, so I peddle over to the side of the Mobile figuring I can doubled check my provisions.  Tracy and Dale roll up shortly thereafter; Dale is just along for motivation and not taking credit for this ride- what a guy!  A quick stop at the pump for them, a signature here and there and we're off 04:00: planned turnaround, Commerce GA , 540 miles from Dale City, with rest stops every few hours, a late breakfast and early dinner.

05:47, 195.9 miles: Rest break near Dinwiddle Va.  Boy, there's got to be a story behind that name.  Feels good to get off and stretch a little.   I opted not to have my regular morning coffee heeding the advise of the IBA Archives of Wisdom.  I have yet to regret it.  Traffic has been very light, including big rigs.  14 minutes later we're back on the road heading to our first gas stop.  I've been riding rear end as Benny has reflectors on the bags that will blind and Tracy and Dale both have CB's, where I don't yet.

07:58, 322.9 miles: Fuel stop at the BP just off I-85 in Hillsborough, NC; their gas receipt has no time on it so I picked up a Mountain Dew to get the proper time.  Benny drank in 6.64 gals; this is the most I have ever put in the tank and I decided not to run it this close again.  The sun came up about an hour ago in my rearview mirror near the VA/NC border; figure the sun will set just about the same place.   I continue to ride as back marker.

08:58, 368.4 miles:  Breakfast stop at the Denny's in Greensboro.   Dale has got a case of the nods and needs to rest, so Tracy and I head inside for breakfast while Dale gets some shut eye with his helmet on.  I decide I REALLY NEED my coffee and get a cup- even their dribble tastes good at this point.  Tried to call home, got the dreaded "bederdup, the number you are trying to reach is..."   Plan to try again at next gas stop.  Nice 45 minutes or so off the road.

11:40, Mmissed entry: rest stop near at a Wendy's.  Now I have the nods.  Briefly discuss a plan for me to peel off in SC when I hit 540 miles and head back to the NC welcome center so I can get some shut eye.  Dale and Tracy agree on the plan.  I down a Gatorade and gnaw on a banana; filled my Camelbak again.   Traffic is beginning to get "normal".

13:26, 588.1 miles: The Gatorade must have done the trick, felt great for the last hour and a half, but Benny is getting thirsty again.  This stop off exit 14 has an Anderson address even though it's about 10 miles away.  I-85 traffic northbound is backed up for about 5 miles or so just up the road a bit and while heading back from is an option, that backup is a big argument against using I-85.  I call home to let Jean know everything's OK and we are still on schedule to be done around midnight.   She's very excited at this point since barring a breakdown, it's in the bag.   Dale and I look over the maps and we find a secondary road that'll take us north to US123 which merges back onto I-85 well beyond the backup.  The plan is to get an additional receipt from that "corner".

14:01, 597.2 miles:  Zeke's Market in Sandy Spring, SC.  Here's my tip for future IBA runs: as tempting as it might be, don't stop at Zeke's Market expecting a good IBA receipt until Zeke's joins the 90's.  No name, location, phone number- looks like it came from a 1965 NCR Chango-matic Deluxe.  Got the lady behind the counter to tell us where we were and their phone number.  Quickly, we're rolling again and find ourselves at an I-85 interchange.  Oops, Dale said the backup was clearing out so we "braved it" up I-85.

15:40, 693.1 miles:  Rest stop at the Welcome to North Carolina Center. Appears I'll hit the magic mark near Petersburg, VA; Tracy is projected to get to it about Kings Dominion.  This is using the collective measurements for four different odometers (I have a separate bike odo) and three different front tires.   When we get back to Dale City, I'll call my ride there, with plenty of spare miles for speedo error.

17:28, 796.4 miles:  We stop for gas (6.1 gals, I guess I didn't heed my own advise) and dinner.  I'm so close, I can taste it.  My upper back is starting to hurt a bit, but everything else is OK.  The rear tire's leak is beginning to get worse, now loosing 15 lbs between gas stops.  I've got my plug kit, but still can't locate the stupid leak.  Figure I'll strip off the rear wheel and give it a dunk on Sunday.  Call home, ETA is now closer to 1 am.  The hour off the road seems to have helped my back and I feel ready for the charge home.

20:55, 931.0 miles:  Rest stop at the Welcome to Virginia Center.   It's all downhill from here for me; Tracy's looking a little beat, I can hardly blame her.  This is the most either of us have ever traveled on a bike in one day.   The rest stops are starting to come quicker than earlier in the day.

23:00, 1,036.3 miles:  Fuel stop in Ashland, VA, just north of Richmond.  As predicted, Benny's trips (both bike and regular) rolled over 1k just around the I-85/95 junction.  I could stop here and have the necessary mileage.  However, I'm still over 2 hours from home and feel pretty good.  Tracy's spirits have rebounded as she can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Quick call home: I'll be back around 2, Jean can't wait to meet her ironbutter.

September 26

00:43, 1,113,8 miles: final official stop of Saddlesore.  Get a good receipt and my witness form taken care of here.  The rear tire is now leaking pretty badly and Dale is concerned that it'll make it home.  I'm not worried, though I can't find the leak, I still have my trusty plug kit and air compressor.  I plan to stop at the Laurel Rest Area anyway.

Epilogue

02:00:  It happens.  I hit something on I-95 and I can feel the rear going down.  Shit! Shit! Shit!  20 miles from home.  Damn! Damn!   Limp into the Laurel Rest Area to inspect the damage.  Picked up a fairly good leaker, stick a plug in it; doesn't hold.   Shit!  Walk away from the bike for a bit and try again;  nope, this one doesn't hold either.  Now I'm really miffed.  After a cool down period and a banana, try another plug;  this one holds.  Carefully, patiently, inflate the tire to 35 psi and off I go slowly.   Just about 03:15, I pull into the barn 24:05 after and 1,186.6 miles later than I leave; the rear is nearly flat again.  After throwing Benny up on the centerstand (figuring the tire will be truly flat in the morning), I grab my IBA documents and head inside - straight to bed; was out like a light before 4 am, capping off a 26.5 hour day... 

I rise at 10:15, stiff a little but not too bad; my left ankle really hurts (where's my perc's?).  Grab myself some joe and breakfast before heading out to unload Benny.   I survey the "damage":  one missing fairing screw, if this is the only thing, I'm happy.  The plug held; unfortunately, the rear has 4 new holes in it.  They're in a straight line, that leads me to believe whatever I hit did in the tire.  Luckily, I keep a spare on hand; I just hadn't planned on replacing it with that much tread left on the Macadam, oh well.  The fairing has a new "plastic buzz"; I hope it's the missing screw.  The front has a couple weeks left on it and will get changed out before the Fall Foliage Ride on October 16.    After mowing the now ankle high grass (supposed to do it Thurday night, but this ride took priority- go figure), I head to the couch to watch the Ryder Cup Matches and finish/ neaten up my IBA submission.  The package went out in September 28; can't wait for the return package.

Advise from a long distance newbie: 

• Double check your receipts before going out to you bike. 
• Get a set of Craig's highway pegs- would've helped my "bad" ankle on the long haul. 
• Wear gel shorts- wonderful inventions. 
• Wear your ear plugs- your head will thank you later. 
• Stay hydrated, if you're not peeing, you're not drinking enough -  I drank over two gallons of water on this trip.
• Ride safe- if you feel tired, you are.  Pull over and catch a 20 minute nap.
• The big difference between me and the real McCoy long distance rider, is I had only a small urge to ride another 1,000 miles on Sunday.

Anyone want to go for a ride?  I hear Key West has some excellent conch chowder.