Iron Butt Completed! it was anything but boring...

[gez]

Congratulations!!!! I had faith. I couldn't imagine doing that in those conditions. I was chilly with overnight lows nearing 50 degrees. Welcome to the brotherhood.

[El Gato Natural]

Greetings to my esteemed Bro B-cuda and to the multitude of elite VR members! I applaud my brother's efforts to attain his desired ride goal! I trust he will rest and recoup from this challenge and move progressively toward his next cycle feat! PLease remain well all VR members may you and your families live and share great joy!

 

The Native Cat-formerly known as EL Gato Natural:-)

[Chaharly]

Greeting VR members. At 1:30PM EST I finished my Iron butt challenge. There were some obstacles that followed me much of the ride. before I begin with some of the events that occurred, a quick thanks for the tips, love and support. I will say for ME, it should be called the iron trapezius and shoulder. My butt is actually fine. my mental awareness is a strong 8.5 right now. I expected things to maybe to creep in, such as fatigue but that wasn't the case. Main culprit? THE WEATHER. mainly the cold and these incredible cross winds, VERY strong and never let up. I have some wind burn even with my full face helmet down 98% of the time. it was brutally foggy and rainy and was cold. yes, not like up north we get that, but it stayed relatively in the low 30's and 40's much of my ride. I was stopped to get a sweatshirt, wash my hands and face with hot water, and was just chilled the entire time yesterday. today it started warmer( 54*) and I was sweating at completion. These are the numbers that are not yet verified or accepted by the IBA. SS1000 = 1050 miles in 19 hrs and bun burner1500= 1565 in 36 hrs. My initial route has me going west to Scott or near Scott, Louisiana, then making the turn around and stopping at some point after completing the 1000miles/24hr. then resume home for the BB1500. The weather had me abandon that and make alternate plans. I'll explain below

 

( for those who wondered why I didn't call it off is because as long as it was safe, I was going. Between daylight savings ( tonight BTW), my so few days off, my birthday present to me and college spring break, this was the best time to do it from my standpoint. I was not being sloppy with my decisions)

 

official time stamp 3/6/15 was at 1;50 AM. headed down 75 and I felt it just get colder and colder. I stopped at a rest area to add a layer and switch to winter gloves. Was Ok for a bit. Then I was getting colder. My fingers and feet were frozen and I was already a good 100-150 miles in. At around 200 miles, I realized, DUH.... I have heated grips and seat. I never used them, but they were on MAX from that point until this morning. along the way it was foggy and drizzling. and deer were out because of the weather. Top speed on I 75 at that time was 60. Was cautious. Once daylight broke I was already on I 10 West. The deer were more visible and the fog lifted but the cold was still biting. the temp air display on my GW read 34*!!! About this time I discovered something new on the GW: dealing with strong, vicious and consistent crosswinds. I'm talking WOW!!! But at that time, there were no other vehicle on the road, so I continued, as did the cold and my teeth chattering. I finally stopped at a truck stop in Defuniak Springs, FL to get another sweatshirt, which helped about 10%. The roads were filling up and the winds continued. By the time I hit Alabama, the winds and cold were telling me we are not letting up. It's amazing how LONG and BORING Florida is in terms of miles. Approx. 450 of my 1050 miles were getting out of and back into Florida. In Alabama, things were causing be to doubt my destination. #1- cars and bikes coming from Louisiana were frozen to the bone. They were telling me the winds and cold are very bad. one place told me they woke up to 28* and that was a bout 2 hours before I came through. #2- I was still not warm and toasty. Quite the opposite, but I was still SAFE at that point. #3- Ice and snow debris from the roof of a tractor trailer came off in sheets and were raining down upon me actually hitting me and the bike!! I was very lucky it didn't knock me over. The bridge crossing Mobile bay was so windy the traffic was doing 40 MPH. I did not know how cars weren't slamming into each other. thankfully traffic was still sort of light. #4- The winds and cold were not letting up. I already was fighting at times to keep the GW upright and I would have aborted all together if this was the RSV. It is just too top heavy to fight 1000+ miles of wind and fog. the light traffic and much space was my deciding factor. Once in Mississippi, traffic was getting a bit much and I decided I was already at 500 miles. If I turned back, I can still get the SS1000. So, Mother nature, made me switch plans. I was cursing bc I had to go back over that bridge, and that LOOONG journey across the Florida Panhandle. I did not take any extended breaks, because I was losing so much time with the slower speeds. I finally returned to the place I started at 850PM for my 1000 miles. I ate what I packed while fueling and using the restroom. no coffee until Tallahassee to give me the extra jolt to get home

Day 2- after soup, Tea and a shower, I went to bed at 10, but woke up at 4:30 to some upper body soreness from fighting the elements. deciding I wanted to finish this, I left my gas station and time stamped at 510AM and needed to get 500 more miles by 1:50PM ( 36 total hours). Started off well enough. I headed south on I75 to Naples and half way through alligator alley. I stopped at that gas station and had about 3 hours to get what was about 125 miles. No problem. EXCEPT... there were massive delays, stand still in Sarasota and again In Tampa because of who knows what. Tampa had 5 billion people trying to merge onto I4 for Disney, last day of strawberry festival and Bike week. I had not expected this and I was forced to hustle a bit more than I wanted towards the last 20-30 min,due to this. I wanted to get more miles and max the miles against the time in case the IBA were going to subtract odometer reading from Japanese MC. that was not meant to be. I wasted 60-90 minutes in I75 AKA parking lot. Overall, I am quite pleased. I believe the crazy weather took away some extra time and miles on the road. I easily could have made it to Louisiana or even Texas, without fatiguing. My mental makeup was strong during this trip.

Bottom line: I am home safe ( main goal) I accomplished both the SS and BB like I wanted. I challenged myself and my mental mettle. The GW ran flawless but the winds drastically reduced my miles between fill ups ( and I was nervous to let it get below 1/8 tank) I am proud of myself for taking and completing the challenge despite the things trying to make me quit. I learned that with better planning I can do better. I'm even showered and taking the wife to dinner for putting up w me. Things that helped: heated grips, full face helmet, GPS ( for speed and time) MP3 player, LD comfort shorts and socks, proper eating and stretching the week leading up to and on day of, being cautious and not getting to ahead of myself, ear plugs, winter gloves, coffee( only in home stretch) I did not do more than 78MPH the entire trip. I think that is all. I cant remember. I hope you enjoyed this LONG tale, but I like to give details so people can visualize. people snicker when they hear its a GW so it is cheating. IDK, you still have to do certain things. I used stock seat, modified by Butler. My new goals, not anytime soon are: same SS1000 this time on my Kawasaki Vulcan, which is different feel from GW, the BBG2000 ( 2000 miles in 24hours) and the Florida lap of Insanity ( look that up). First things first: gather my receipts and submit to IBA and await the decision.

Thanks everyone and ride safe !!!

 

Congratulations man! Sorry your trip couldn't have been a little more smooth, but I agree I would've definitely had rather been on the Goldwing for that ride! Glad you made it back safe, and thanks for being an inspiration to me to hop on and do an IB ride!!!

[Barrycuda]

Congratulations!!!! I had faith. I couldn't imagine doing that in those conditions. I was chilly with overnight lows nearing 50 degrees. Welcome to the brotherhood.

 

Thanks you Gez...I'm not going to feel accepted until it's confirmed

[Barrycuda]

Make plans to do it Chaharley!! It's invigorating and tests yourself. When you are done with that, you might be planning your next one. I know I will be. Now riding 150-200 miles someplace will seem easier...

[gez]

Thanks you Gez...I'm not going to feel accepted until it's confirmed

 

I'm still waiting for my certificate, it's been three months. I've been told it takes at least that long. I rode with a group and didn't keep any individual records. I was told one set of receipts, routing and word of the leader that the whole group finished is all that was needed. The certificate would be nice, but I don't feel I need to prove to anyone what I did.

[Oldodge]

Congratulations Barry!

[b2dad]

Hey Barry...really would love to see you. If you decide to come this way, let us know. We always have room for you here!

 

Patti and Don

[RedRider]

The verification process is all done by volunteers. It sometimes takes a while.