"In State, No Interstate" Iron Butt Ride (Repost)

[KevinB]

This report was lost in the forum crash, but I ran across where I had posted it on another forum.

From March 2013...


The idea of this ride started with some members in a previous thread back in January...

http://bamarides.com/ride/lets-ride/possible-in-state-saddlesore-1k/

It definitely piqued my interest, because doing an IBA ride and getting one of those license plate frames has been on my motorcycle bucket list for the last 10 years or so, and the additional difficulty of doing it all w/o interstate made it that much more of a challenge to myself.

I've done several 650 mile+/12 hour+ rides on different bikes before, including my trusty 'ole VFR, so I knew that I could most likely handle the riding part. The only issue I really had on some of those rides was fatigue...I can deal with and usually find a remedy for the pain of a long day in the saddle, but once your eyelids get heavy and your brain decides it's had enough, there's not a whole lot you can do. And I knew that I'd most certainly get tired on this trip, but if I could overcome and avoid that "point of no return", I'd have a good chance of finishing it.

So the original thread started snowballing, "Blue Flash" (Steve) came up with a couple of route variations, and he and some other long distance vets began fleshing out some details and concerns.

Due to a Gymkhana scheduled for that same weekend, we could only muster a two-man crew...but much like a Space Shuttle launch, we knew we had a "window of opportunity" with the weather that we had to take advantage of.

Our final "official" route map...


We met in Moody, AL for breakfast before gassing up and getting our receipt to document the official start time. Only problem was...the pump's clock showed about 40 minutes slow, so we hit the ATM for a correct receipt. Start time, 12:15pm.


First leg was uneventful, and a nice ride through Alexandria, Piedmont, Leesburg, Ft. Payne, Stevenson, and our first gas stop in Scottsboro (with an in-flight refuel in J'ville for Steve). I went ahead and put my lightweight silk long johns on under my riding pants since we'd lose the sun on the upcoming leg. We kept that stop on schedule and pressed on.

Next stop was Cullman for a documention receipt. So Steve topped-off and we pressed on toward Red Bay for our next scheduled stop, which was a 30 minute gas/food break (Yay!). We pulled into Red Bay about 7:30p, about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and almost 400 miles behind us. We gassed up and I hit the McDonald's for a Filet-O-Fish (seemed like a good idea at the time). At this point, I'm doing good...a little sore in the bum, right hand's a little tingly, but I'm not really tired. Temp has started to drop, so I put the thermal liner in my FirstGear riding pants and pulled on my polypro turtle neck and cool weather gloves. Since we were a little ahead on time, we stayed about 40 minutes on this stop...and so far the trip has been uneventful.

Leg 3 put us enroute to York via Hwys 19/17 through Sulligent, Millport, and Aliceville. This was our first entire leg after dark, and even though we were in some fairly rural areas, I hadn't seen any deer yet. We reached the York Travel Plaza truck stop at @ 11:30p...and it was closed. Luckily the pumps were still operational, but we had to get creative with our personal pit stop (piss behind the dumpsters), and hit the Coke machine at the motel next door. We drug that stop out a little longer than scheduled and with almost 12 hours and a little over 500 miles behind us, I was still feeling pretty alert. I decided to switch from music to talk radio, via I Heart Radio app...I don't usually listen to talk radio, so I thought it might keep my brain occupied by listening to something different.

[KevinB]

Leg 4 had us continuing on Hwy 17, and ends with a gas stop in Chatom. Hwy 17 turned out to be a long, desolate stretch of asphalt. The temp began to drop, and I started getting tired. I was trying to shove candy and through my chinbar into my mouth, which wasn't a problem before with my thinner gloves, but now with my thick gloves I'm losing more than I'm eating. Anyone wanting to retrace our route only has to follow the trail of lemon drops. Also, I don't know who the host was that came on at midnight on WERC, but he had the most monotone, un-energetic voice I've ever heard. So now I've started getting tired and letting my mind wander. We've started seeing some deer on this stretch, but so far no problems.

I'm ridng with my legs stretched out straight behind the pegs, feet dangling above the tarmac, left arm propped on the tankbag with my chest laid on top...peering just over the screen...and mind wandering. Until...one of the @ 60 or so deer we've seen on this leg leaps across the road in front of Steve. I'm awake now!

We drop our speed, and I'm riding with my head on a swivel. As we make it to Chatom, apparently a possum has deemed itself the gatekeeper and bobs and weaves across the highway, trying to intercept Steve. For some reason I think of the bridge scene in "The Holy Grail", and imagine this possum asking us in a raspy accent, "What is your name? What is your quest? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen Swallow?" and start giggling to myself in my helmet. Yep, I'm definitely tired and loopy now.

We fuel up, I eat a KitKat, a pack of crackers, and some banana chips (washed down with some DP), and Steve chats with the local constabulary who pulled in to the only open business in town. He tells us the deer get worse as you leave town and head east on our next route on Hwy 43. Great...they get worse? He shows us the busted door mirror on the Crown Vic as proof.

As soon as we leave town, there's a dead carcass on the fogline...not a good sign. And sure enough, he was right. We saw at least 100 more deer (conservative estimate) enroute to our next stop at Evergreen. It made for a very tense and energy-draining ride for sure. Plus the temp, even though the bank signs showed 52 degrees, felt like it had dropped significantly. I had donned my heated vest and gloves in Chatom, but it was still brisk. This was also the slowest leg, due to our reduced "deer meet 'n greet" pace. By the time we rolled in to Evergreen @ 5:00a (we had lost an hour due to DST), I was really starting to feel drained.

[KevinB]

The Evergreen stop is supposed to be a 30 minute gas/food stop, but we realize we're behind schedule now due to the slow pace and an extra unscheduled (but much needed) rest stop on the previous leg. We decided to try and cut this stop short, so we just grab a snack and a quick drink...I chose a Slim Jim and some Vitamin Water, chased with a 5 Hour Energy shot and some Tylenol (dunno...maybe a handful?) I can immediately feel the heartburn setting in.

We hit Hwy 84 through Andalusia and Opp, to 134 through Enterprise, and continue northeast toward our next destination in Eufala. As soon as we left Evergreen, I began to feel nauseas, and a burning in my lower gut...not good. I don't know if it was "Ronald's Revenge" from the stop in Red Bay or the Slim Jim/Vitamin B12 overdose combo at the truck stop that did it, but I had to make an unscheduled (and immediate) pit stop. (note to self...from now on, whenever participating in an activity that has limit restroom access, avoid the Filet-O-Fish at a gas station McDonald's). This turned out to be my darkest "hour" of the trip. The sun was starting to come up, my butt, legs, arms, and knees were way past sore, and I was waiting to puke inside my helmet at any minute, and we were way behind schedule.

We decided to push past Eufala and get gas as far north as we could in order to eliminate a final gas stop on Hwy 280. Only problem was...there was nothing on Hwy 84 past Eufala. Both of our gauges started flashing, and we passed several closed, out of business gas stations. We divided the last gallon in Steve's reserve can and pressed on...we were either going to find a station, or run out and kill our ride trying. Luckily, we coasted in on fumes to the only gas station in a 40 mile radius. There was some communication/receipt issues, but at least we had some go juice and a slim chance at making it back to Leeds in time. I didn't feel sick anymore, I caught my second wind, and I was ready to ride!

We breezed through Opelika and up Hwy 280, and realized we had made some time and had a somewhat comfortable margin. We stopped in Sylacauga for a pee/drink break, and encountered some sho 'nuff biker type fellas...

"Sure is nice today...you guys ride yesterday?"  Well actually, we started yesterday...been riding all night...doing 1000 miles in 24 hours.

"So, y'all rode yesterday? Out riding again today? Sure is nice weather to ride"   Uh...yeah.

"Y'all headed up to Hwy 25? We're headed to the bar there...be alotta bikes parked there to look at. Y'all should stop by..."  Uh...yeah. 

Steve had routed our last leg into Leeds, Al via Hwy 25...a nice curvy way to finish things off.

We made it back to the Raceway in Moody to snag another ATM receipt to document the official end time. 12:54pm (one extra hour on reciepts due to DST). Total ride time was 23 hours and 41 minutes. Done!

[KevinB]

I can't find the pics that went with the original post. Here's the video,shot with a handheld Playsport...

[Nice Goat]

Jeez, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  Nice job.  IBA is on my list also, but I'll probably do interstate.

[maydaymike]

Thanks for the ride report.  I've been thinking about an in-state,  no interstate saddlesore myself lately.  Much more challenging than sticking to all interstate.

[scrappyjon]

I think it would be harder physically  for me to do an iron butt on the interstate than it would on regular highways and back roads. When I get bored, my mind starts registering how bad my body hurts. When I am enjoying the ride my body never seams to hurt at all. Also, I get sleepy on really long stretches on the interstate. 

[maydaymike]

The big advantage to the interstate is being able to maintain a constant speed.  It's pretty easy to do a Saddlesore on the interstate in 16-17 hours, if you keep your rest stops short, and avoid major citys at peak traffic times.