I believe that it is occasionally necessary for one to undertake the periodic challenge, and since I usually avoid trips to the local Choke & Puke Saloon, enrolling in their annual Tough Man Contest was out of the question. It would have to be something different.
An Iron Butt would be nice, but not challenging enough.
How about two Iron Butts within 4 days?
That's better, but still not enough.
How about two Iron Butts within four days during January with an Arctic Air Mass chasing you towards your destination on the first one and beating you back on the second one? Oh, and no heated gear.
Okay, now THAT sounds just stupid enough for me to try.
When do we start?
It started on Thursday, January 8th, around 7am. I would have left earlier, but with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees on the morning of my departure, I figured a little later start would make me warmer a little quicker. Which, if you count 11am as quicker, means I was right. From 11am to around 5pm was lovely. 50 degrees and sunny, iPod playing all of my favorite music, and a visit with my closest friend on the planet looming just over the horizon. After the sun set, we were back to the low 40's and it was a brisk 7 hours to my final destination. A little chilly, but none the worse for wear, I arrived at my destination where we cracked a bottle of Wild Turkey, lit some Arturo Fuentes cigars, and talked into the night.
The conversation and ensuing hang continued until I bedded down at midnight on Saturday for a 6am wake-up and 7am departure on Sunday morning the 11th.
I loaded the bike to dry but ominous skies with the imminent rain only miles away according to the NOAA website. With the temperature being 61 degrees, I thought nothing of it, and donned my rainsuit for the start of round two.
By Columbia, SC the rain had cleared. I lost the rainsuit, and put on some more layers as the temperatures began to drop.
By Georgia, it was going back and forth between 39 and 40 and I had put on everything I had. Cold but do-able. Crouched behind the fairing, I sat on one hand to warm it, and steered with the other while the cruise control did it's work. It remained like this until the sun set in Mississippi. Then it dropped to the low 30's and stayed there until I hit Little Rock, Arkansas.
Upon leaving Little Rock and entering the foothills of the Ozarks, the thermometer read 27 degrees, and remained that way for the next 3.5 hours.
More than once, I contemplated stopping and getting a room, but my resolve remained firm. Either that, or I was hallucinating from the cold. I'm not sure. I spent the remaining part of the ride, when I wasn't sitting on my hands, bouncing in my seat and shadow boxing my dashboard. It was so cold that I was forced to make two stops that weren't scheduled fuel stops, just to stand inside someplace and warm up a bit. I tried to remain alert and be aware of the impending signs of hypothermia.
I arrived home having done the whole ride in 16.5 hours with only about 1 hour, 15 minutes being stop time.
I doubt if I would repeat it without heated gear. Let's just say it has redefined the word "cold" for me.
But........ it's done.
Two SaddleSore 1000 rides within 4 days. In January.
I will get my documentation in order and await the license plate holder that will indicate to the world just how retarded I really am.
An Iron Butt would be nice, but not challenging enough.
How about two Iron Butts within 4 days?
That's better, but still not enough.
How about two Iron Butts within four days during January with an Arctic Air Mass chasing you towards your destination on the first one and beating you back on the second one? Oh, and no heated gear.
Okay, now THAT sounds just stupid enough for me to try.
When do we start?
It started on Thursday, January 8th, around 7am. I would have left earlier, but with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees on the morning of my departure, I figured a little later start would make me warmer a little quicker. Which, if you count 11am as quicker, means I was right. From 11am to around 5pm was lovely. 50 degrees and sunny, iPod playing all of my favorite music, and a visit with my closest friend on the planet looming just over the horizon. After the sun set, we were back to the low 40's and it was a brisk 7 hours to my final destination. A little chilly, but none the worse for wear, I arrived at my destination where we cracked a bottle of Wild Turkey, lit some Arturo Fuentes cigars, and talked into the night.
The conversation and ensuing hang continued until I bedded down at midnight on Saturday for a 6am wake-up and 7am departure on Sunday morning the 11th.
I loaded the bike to dry but ominous skies with the imminent rain only miles away according to the NOAA website. With the temperature being 61 degrees, I thought nothing of it, and donned my rainsuit for the start of round two.
By Columbia, SC the rain had cleared. I lost the rainsuit, and put on some more layers as the temperatures began to drop.
By Georgia, it was going back and forth between 39 and 40 and I had put on everything I had. Cold but do-able. Crouched behind the fairing, I sat on one hand to warm it, and steered with the other while the cruise control did it's work. It remained like this until the sun set in Mississippi. Then it dropped to the low 30's and stayed there until I hit Little Rock, Arkansas.
Upon leaving Little Rock and entering the foothills of the Ozarks, the thermometer read 27 degrees, and remained that way for the next 3.5 hours.
More than once, I contemplated stopping and getting a room, but my resolve remained firm. Either that, or I was hallucinating from the cold. I'm not sure. I spent the remaining part of the ride, when I wasn't sitting on my hands, bouncing in my seat and shadow boxing my dashboard. It was so cold that I was forced to make two stops that weren't scheduled fuel stops, just to stand inside someplace and warm up a bit. I tried to remain alert and be aware of the impending signs of hypothermia.
I arrived home having done the whole ride in 16.5 hours with only about 1 hour, 15 minutes being stop time.
I doubt if I would repeat it without heated gear. Let's just say it has redefined the word "cold" for me.
But........ it's done.
Two SaddleSore 1000 rides within 4 days. In January.
I will get my documentation in order and await the license plate holder that will indicate to the world just how retarded I really am.
Congratulations!
