Joined
·
686 Posts
Left the Denny's there in Tremonton, UT about 3:10AM, and realized that I wasn't interested -- for a couple of reasons -- in staying at the Iron Butt Motel ("Always a Vacancy!") that night/morning.
All three motels that I could find, in town?
"No Vacancy"
Towns to the north? Some distance away, and an uncertain availability of places to sleep -- so I headed south towards the more-populated areas of Brigham City and Ogden where I knew that I better chance of finding motels.
An hour later, after riding around Brigham City, I'm still looking. Found a Super 8 in Ogden right off of I-15. The "Vacancy" portion of the sign is lit, so I parked and walked into the lobby (door unlocked, although the sign indicates that it would be -- after hours) to get a room.
Of course. Whomever the night clerk/customer service clerk is for the night isn't there. I waited, called-out "Hello?" repeatedly, and gave-up after about 5 minutes -- and headed over to a nearby Motel 6 at which I've stayed before. They've got a vacancy!
Check-in about 4:30AM (I mean, sheesh! -- that's close to the time that I usually get UP in the morning!).
Clerk says "We've got a room, but it is a "Smoking" room"
"I don't care. All that I care about is a bed and a door"
"It's a room with two Queen beds."
I laugh... "All that I care about is a bed and a door"
"That'll be $_____"
"All that I care about, at this point, is a bed and a door"
She laughs. "It's got a bed and a door"
Bike parked. Collapse in a heap. It's almost quarter to five. I've been up for a little over 26 hours now. I've ridden the best part of 1600 miles through construction zones, hot weather, and thunderstorms.
Got up about 4 hours later. Wide awake.
Decision time... well.... after coffee.
I'm 13+ hours from home. I'm going to have to ride AT LEAST as far as I'd need to for the miles for a SaddleSore 2000.
Option 1. Head for home, without stopping.
(ehhh... not sure I can make it all the way home. 13-14 hours, and riding westbound through the Columbia River Gorge means riding into -- what is often -- a 30mph gusty and shifting headwind)
Option 2. Head towards home, via I-84 in Idaho and Oregon, and stop somewhere along the way.
(advantage? closes off a gap: Tremonton to Twin Falls, in my highways-ridden map in my cube -- and gets me to a SS2000)
Option 3. Head towards home, via western Montana and I-90, and stop along the way.
(advantage? closes off a gap: Idaho Falls to Lima, MT, in my highways-ridden map in my cube -- and gets me to a SS2000)
Bingo. Missoula, MT is 495 miles according to google maps. That'll be enough to get me to the SS2000 mileage, and, as a bonus, I'm thinking "Montana-raised-cow steak for celebratory dinner!" I get on-line on the Blackberry, and make a reservation at one of the Super 8 motels in Missoula.
I checked-out shortly after 11AM, and rode down to get another time-dated receipt for this leg of the journey. Got onto I-15, started rolling north, and had an epipheny.
"I can easily make the remaining miles in the 16 hours I have left (1130 AM to 0330AM, MDT), why not do a fun route rather than 'slab' it to Missoula?"
So, up the I-84 into Idaho, towards the I-84/-86 split near Rupert, ID.
I'm rolling along and a truck driver rolling alongside of me tries (successfully) to get my attention. I look over, and he's holding his PGR 'blue' (general member's) ballcap so that I can see it, places it back down, and we exchange 'thumbs-up'.
Through more construction. Get to the Twin Falls (Jerome) area off-ramp to US 93, get off the highway, and pull into the truck stop to fill-up and get a 'route corner' receipt. Then, it's up US 93 towards the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Arco, ID [first town in the world ever powered by electricity generated by a nuclear power plant!] before bearing northerly towards Lost Trail Pass on the Idaho/Montana border.
And, of course. More construction.
If you strictly believe the gas receipt that I got in Arco, ID, I covered the 103+ miles in a little over 50 minutes... including the delay for construction (about 10-15 minutes) and traveling at 25mph through Shoshone, ID.
Not so much. I didn't notice it at the time -- not catching it until I was going through my receipts after I was back home.
Bingo. The station in Arco (un-manned) hadn't changed the clocks on the pumps when Daylight Savings Time happened. So, it was a more reasonable 1 hour and 50 minutes for that 103 miles.
(phew! IBA gets nervous about 'unsafe' riding during ride attempts... and 110+ miles an hour, average, for an hour -- on a two-lane rural road --would not be well-received)
So, it's now on the ID side of the pass. I'm enjoying the scenery (the local geomorphology is fascinating!), and get to a point where I'm following someone pulling a horse trailer.
Bang (from somewhere underneath the bike/near the front wheel)
WTH?
Found a safe spot to pull over, and checked for any damage to the bike. I'm thinking "I'm out where there is little traffic. I'm worried that I may have a bent rim or damaged front tire." I didn't find anything obvious around the front tire, so I saddled-up again and continued on -- thinking that I'd take it a little easier for the rest of the day, and check again in the morning.
Had a nerve-racking ride for the next hour -- hoping beyond hope that there hasn't been any damage to the tires or wheels. I took it much easier in the twisties than I would ordinarily would have, for at least a few hours, just in case there was something that I missed in the inspection.
But, it was still a beautiful ride along the Salmon River. The river is, literally, in places, just off the shoulder on the southbound lane.
Time passes. I get over the pass into Montana. Past Darby, MT. Past Hamilton. Into more road construction.
Road construction?
This is the way that Montana DoT describes it at the agency website.
Two miles north of Woodside to one mile south of Victor.. Reconstruction work in progress. There is a width restriction of 11 feet. Expect detour, reduced speed to 35 MPH, rough roadway surface,traffic controlled by signal lights. An eleven foot width restriction is in effect on US-93 from Woodside at milepost 52 to Bell Crossing at milepost 61.4.
Translation? There is NO roadway pavement on the highway... for several miles. The highway is -- essentially -- compacted dirt (sub-grade and native, material) with some loose gravel just outside the wheel tracks. Not a bad surface if you're in a cage... or a dual-sport/off-road bike.
A Wing fits neither of those categories. I've been riding for 8 hours. I'm stressed from the "Bang" incident. And I'm riding on a POS construction road.
Finally, about 8:30PM, I rolled-into Missoula. Got checked-in, went up to the room to drop-off my backpack and wash the construction road dust off of myself, and went back down to the office to (cool! two clerks working!) get my witness statement paperwork signed.
Done. Time to get gas for the 'end of ride' receipt. There's a gas station about 4 blocks up the street from motel.
You know that you're ready to call it a day when -- for the first time, ever -- you grab the product dispenser with the GREEN cover and stick it into the filler neck of your tank.
Fortunately, I hadn't punched the button to start the flow of diesel fuel.
Time? About 8:50PM. A little over 6.5 hours until my 'wall' for the SS2000.
Found a place to wash US 93 off of the bike, then headed out to find a decent dinner for myself: Sirloin Steak (med rare -- and, like good Montana beef, tasty without any steak sauces), mushrooms, a side of lobster bisque soup and a couple of Moose Drool ales (it was still Happy Hour at 10PM!).
Went back the motel, and had the sleep of a weary traveller -- satisfied in the accomplishments of the previous two days.
I still had to ride home the next day, and that trip home was highlighted by watching an adult bald eagle cross-over the freeway above me (only about 60 feet up) on I-90 near MP 45 in Montana, a quick beer back at Cruisers in Stateline, and then a pleasant afternoon's ride back home into the Seattle-Tacoma area.
It was quite the adventure. Overall, it was about 3200 miles of riding between Tuesday morning and Saturday evening. I felt very satisfied with my ability to stay alert through the long day's ride (hmmm... a Border to Border Insanity: Canada to Mexico in 24 hours/less, perhaps?!)
I'd been to places that I had never been before. I tested my personal limits. I met some very nice people.
And, had a glorious adventure in the process.
Now, for IBA to review and (knock on wood) certify the rides.
If successful, it'll read
All three motels that I could find, in town?
"No Vacancy"
Towns to the north? Some distance away, and an uncertain availability of places to sleep -- so I headed south towards the more-populated areas of Brigham City and Ogden where I knew that I better chance of finding motels.
An hour later, after riding around Brigham City, I'm still looking. Found a Super 8 in Ogden right off of I-15. The "Vacancy" portion of the sign is lit, so I parked and walked into the lobby (door unlocked, although the sign indicates that it would be -- after hours) to get a room.
Of course. Whomever the night clerk/customer service clerk is for the night isn't there. I waited, called-out "Hello?" repeatedly, and gave-up after about 5 minutes -- and headed over to a nearby Motel 6 at which I've stayed before. They've got a vacancy!
Check-in about 4:30AM (I mean, sheesh! -- that's close to the time that I usually get UP in the morning!).
Clerk says "We've got a room, but it is a "Smoking" room"
"I don't care. All that I care about is a bed and a door"
"It's a room with two Queen beds."
I laugh... "All that I care about is a bed and a door"
"That'll be $_____"
"All that I care about, at this point, is a bed and a door"
She laughs. "It's got a bed and a door"
Bike parked. Collapse in a heap. It's almost quarter to five. I've been up for a little over 26 hours now. I've ridden the best part of 1600 miles through construction zones, hot weather, and thunderstorms.
Got up about 4 hours later. Wide awake.
Decision time... well.... after coffee.
I'm 13+ hours from home. I'm going to have to ride AT LEAST as far as I'd need to for the miles for a SaddleSore 2000.
Option 1. Head for home, without stopping.
(ehhh... not sure I can make it all the way home. 13-14 hours, and riding westbound through the Columbia River Gorge means riding into -- what is often -- a 30mph gusty and shifting headwind)
Option 2. Head towards home, via I-84 in Idaho and Oregon, and stop somewhere along the way.
(advantage? closes off a gap: Tremonton to Twin Falls, in my highways-ridden map in my cube -- and gets me to a SS2000)
Option 3. Head towards home, via western Montana and I-90, and stop along the way.
(advantage? closes off a gap: Idaho Falls to Lima, MT, in my highways-ridden map in my cube -- and gets me to a SS2000)
Bingo. Missoula, MT is 495 miles according to google maps. That'll be enough to get me to the SS2000 mileage, and, as a bonus, I'm thinking "Montana-raised-cow steak for celebratory dinner!" I get on-line on the Blackberry, and make a reservation at one of the Super 8 motels in Missoula.
I checked-out shortly after 11AM, and rode down to get another time-dated receipt for this leg of the journey. Got onto I-15, started rolling north, and had an epipheny.
"I can easily make the remaining miles in the 16 hours I have left (1130 AM to 0330AM, MDT), why not do a fun route rather than 'slab' it to Missoula?"
So, up the I-84 into Idaho, towards the I-84/-86 split near Rupert, ID.
I'm rolling along and a truck driver rolling alongside of me tries (successfully) to get my attention. I look over, and he's holding his PGR 'blue' (general member's) ballcap so that I can see it, places it back down, and we exchange 'thumbs-up'.
Through more construction. Get to the Twin Falls (Jerome) area off-ramp to US 93, get off the highway, and pull into the truck stop to fill-up and get a 'route corner' receipt. Then, it's up US 93 towards the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Arco, ID [first town in the world ever powered by electricity generated by a nuclear power plant!] before bearing northerly towards Lost Trail Pass on the Idaho/Montana border.
And, of course. More construction.
If you strictly believe the gas receipt that I got in Arco, ID, I covered the 103+ miles in a little over 50 minutes... including the delay for construction (about 10-15 minutes) and traveling at 25mph through Shoshone, ID.
Not so much. I didn't notice it at the time -- not catching it until I was going through my receipts after I was back home.
Bingo. The station in Arco (un-manned) hadn't changed the clocks on the pumps when Daylight Savings Time happened. So, it was a more reasonable 1 hour and 50 minutes for that 103 miles.
(phew! IBA gets nervous about 'unsafe' riding during ride attempts... and 110+ miles an hour, average, for an hour -- on a two-lane rural road --would not be well-received)
So, it's now on the ID side of the pass. I'm enjoying the scenery (the local geomorphology is fascinating!), and get to a point where I'm following someone pulling a horse trailer.
Bang (from somewhere underneath the bike/near the front wheel)
WTH?
Found a safe spot to pull over, and checked for any damage to the bike. I'm thinking "I'm out where there is little traffic. I'm worried that I may have a bent rim or damaged front tire." I didn't find anything obvious around the front tire, so I saddled-up again and continued on -- thinking that I'd take it a little easier for the rest of the day, and check again in the morning.
Had a nerve-racking ride for the next hour -- hoping beyond hope that there hasn't been any damage to the tires or wheels. I took it much easier in the twisties than I would ordinarily would have, for at least a few hours, just in case there was something that I missed in the inspection.
But, it was still a beautiful ride along the Salmon River. The river is, literally, in places, just off the shoulder on the southbound lane.
Time passes. I get over the pass into Montana. Past Darby, MT. Past Hamilton. Into more road construction.
Road construction?
This is the way that Montana DoT describes it at the agency website.
Two miles north of Woodside to one mile south of Victor.. Reconstruction work in progress. There is a width restriction of 11 feet. Expect detour, reduced speed to 35 MPH, rough roadway surface,traffic controlled by signal lights. An eleven foot width restriction is in effect on US-93 from Woodside at milepost 52 to Bell Crossing at milepost 61.4.
Translation? There is NO roadway pavement on the highway... for several miles. The highway is -- essentially -- compacted dirt (sub-grade and native, material) with some loose gravel just outside the wheel tracks. Not a bad surface if you're in a cage... or a dual-sport/off-road bike.
A Wing fits neither of those categories. I've been riding for 8 hours. I'm stressed from the "Bang" incident. And I'm riding on a POS construction road.
Finally, about 8:30PM, I rolled-into Missoula. Got checked-in, went up to the room to drop-off my backpack and wash the construction road dust off of myself, and went back down to the office to (cool! two clerks working!) get my witness statement paperwork signed.
Done. Time to get gas for the 'end of ride' receipt. There's a gas station about 4 blocks up the street from motel.
You know that you're ready to call it a day when -- for the first time, ever -- you grab the product dispenser with the GREEN cover and stick it into the filler neck of your tank.
Fortunately, I hadn't punched the button to start the flow of diesel fuel.
Time? About 8:50PM. A little over 6.5 hours until my 'wall' for the SS2000.
Found a place to wash US 93 off of the bike, then headed out to find a decent dinner for myself: Sirloin Steak (med rare -- and, like good Montana beef, tasty without any steak sauces), mushrooms, a side of lobster bisque soup and a couple of Moose Drool ales (it was still Happy Hour at 10PM!).
Went back the motel, and had the sleep of a weary traveller -- satisfied in the accomplishments of the previous two days.
I still had to ride home the next day, and that trip home was highlighted by watching an adult bald eagle cross-over the freeway above me (only about 60 feet up) on I-90 near MP 45 in Montana, a quick beer back at Cruisers in Stateline, and then a pleasant afternoon's ride back home into the Seattle-Tacoma area.
It was quite the adventure. Overall, it was about 3200 miles of riding between Tuesday morning and Saturday evening. I felt very satisfied with my ability to stay alert through the long day's ride (hmmm... a Border to Border Insanity: Canada to Mexico in 24 hours/less, perhaps?!)
I'd been to places that I had never been before. I tested my personal limits. I met some very nice people.
And, had a glorious adventure in the process.
Now, for IBA to review and (knock on wood) certify the rides.
If successful, it'll read
Bun Burner 1500 GOLD (TM)
An Iron Butt Association Extreme Ride
An Iron Butt Association Extreme Ride
This is to certify that in July 2011, Kristen "Daylight" Langley rode a 2008 Honda Goldwing a total of 15__ miles in less than twenty-four hours starting in Spokane, WA continuing on to Billings, Montana, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Salt Lake City, Utah before ending in Tremonton, Utah while participating in the Bun Burner 1500. Ms, Langley's stellar [hey. their boilerplate] performance in smashing the twenty-four hour period during this difficult ride earned her entry into the Gold Medal record book.
, British Columbia to get my witness statements signed, point the bike south to Tijuana, Mexico -- with a 5+/- hour rest break in the LA area. After crossing the border, I'll head back to Canada -- stopping in San Luis Obispo, CA for the night, heading up 101 to San Francisco for a glamor shot of the bike with the Golden Gate Bridge (weather permitting) in the background, and then back over to I-5 for the ride back north.
