Iron Gluteous Maximus

[Texas T]

Yes, you can do it do if you have the desire.

Wed: Go to work, come home, sleep.
Thu: Get up at 4 am, go to work, come home, make final preps, go to bed around 7 pm. Asleep somewhere around 8 for an 0230 alarm. Mom calls at 0830 during Bingo intermission because she wanted to hear my voice and tell me she loved me (she was worried although she was a HD rider before I was ever born). Anyhow, now I'm wide awake and toss and turn until the alarm goes off. Sleep? Maybe. 2-3 hours if that.
Fri: up at 0230. Pack the bike (should have done that Wed night). Say my good-byes and I'm out the door at 0345. Fuel and receipt at 0355 and I'm on I-10 within 5 minutes.

23.5 hours later I'm capturing my last receipt and log entry after 1634 odometer miles and about 1565 GPS miles.

Now it's time to check into a motel but there are no rooms at the Inn for about a 50 mile radius. Apparently, during the summer months everyone goes to visit Montana. So I head to a rest area, pull out the inflatable pad, grab about a 20 min power nap and then head to Billings for breakfast. From there the intention was the Canadian border, then ND and SD and back down into WY, but I was too tired so I grabbed a hotel room in Miles City at 11 am.

Thinking I would crash and sleep the day away, I'm still wired and awake. Disregarding the power nap I've now been up for right at 36 hours with minimal sleep the night prior. So for those of you who think you don't have the endurance to do a basic Saddle Sore 1000... baloney, it's all in the head.

I put away the first 1000 in an exact 15 hours yesterday (3 hours faster than my two-up SS1K last year) and the remaining miles took me to 23.5. The last 3-4 hours were intensely hard but I just had to keep pushing. One down side was that I had to keep my speed up through the deer and elk infested states of WY and MT in the middle of the moonless night. NOT FUN.

Also not fun was the hugely intense lightning/thunderstorms that rocked Colorado yesterday.

I'll do a full-featured write-up when I get back home.

 

[Texas T]

Lovely weather in Sturgis today.

Tons and tons of HD riders coming into town today. I didn't hang around. Just got my photo and left town.

 

[Texas T]

Photos are loaded to Flickr but they are unedited, uncaptioned, many duplicates, etc. I'll edit everything upon my return.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethorn/sets/72157627203684365/

 

[Texas T]

This would tend to give you the impression that bison are about...

Lo and behold, 1/2 mile down the road...

And yes, I kept it in gear while I took the photo, just in case he decided to come my way.

 

[Texas T]

One of the highlights of the trip. If you have not been there, you need to go. Photos and words on a page do not convey the sense of emotion you will feel when you are there.

And no, I don't just look tired. I was tired. Even after sleeping almost 10 hours.

 

[The Bruce]

Looks great. I need to get up there some day. Just not the first week in August.

 

[Texas T]

I lived in Ludlow MA when I was a kid.

Holyoke MA was near where I lived in MA.

The last name of one of my best friends is Dalton.

There is no admission fee to Mt Rushmore, but there is an $11 parking fee whether you are one rider on a motorcycle or 9 people crammed into an SUV. You do NOT have to park to see the monument, but the best close-up photos will be taken from inside. I like this shot because it was very overcast yet the sun was shining just on the faces of the monument.

The obligatory stop.

The view you see here is what I saw the most of so far on this trip. Long and straight. Long and straight. Long and straight. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Abandoned bridge over the Powder River in Montana.

A little trivia for the area. I wish I had more time to just explore.

A train station that has seen its better days.

A service station that has seen its better days.

The sign says "Motorcyle Alert".

Here's why. 4 miles of Wing dual-sporting.

This has been an expensive trip so far.

This is at the Sioux County line in the Oglala Grasslands. I had to pee so I peed on the county line. I think it was 25 minutes until the next vehicle passed by. This is looking to the west.

When I was peeing on the roadway I had a sense that someone was watching. Sure enough, these guys were curious as to what I was doing.

What's that you say? You can't see anything in the prior picture? Well, let me set the camera on the tripod and use maximum zoom. Now can you see them?

 

[barron]

Excellent! I just completed my first SS1000 a few weeks ago so I have a lot of respect for your trip! You rode 1,000 in 15 hours? Wow!!

Barron

 

[Texas T]

You rode 1,000 in 15 hours? Wow!!

Thanks. Its only an average speed of 66 mph. Not "that" hard to do when you stick to the interstates, keep your speeds "up", keep your fuel stops short and efficient.

I stopped once for a whopper jr, but ate it quick and was back on the road in minutes. Other than that it was water and dehydrated bananas at each fuel stop.

 

[Texas T]

I just checked my SPOT messages and I only had 5 instances in which I was at the same location for 2 or more satellite hits which are normally 10 min (or so) apart.
1. Santa Fe NM where I had to gear up for the upcoming storm.
2. Trinidad CO where I again had to gear up for another storm.
3. Pueblo CO - don't remember why.
4. Thornton CO where I got my witness statements signed for the 1000 miles.
5. Douglas WY where I had to gear up for the cold.

 

[1TallTXn]

Looks like a good ride!

The SS1000 isn't that bad, but it does take some dedication and planning to make it work.
looks like you get enough miles in for the SS1500

 

[Texas T]

Nathan, it was a BBG1500 ride. I only got the signatures at 1000 as a backup in case I failed to get the 1500 in time.

I just pulled out my documentation and realized that the 1634 miles was done in 23H and 53M so I cut it really close. The goal was to make it to Billings, but it just wasn't to be; I wasted too much time at a few of my stops and I was holding back on the night ride through WY and MT, although I would guess the results of a Wing/Elk encounter at 90 mph and 75 mph would have been the same.