IBA SaddleSore 1600K (Sit, Twist, Refuel, Repeat)

After monitoring the weather for the last few days of the work week, I decided Friday that I was going to make my third attempt at the Iron Butt ride. Completing the ride safely was obviously a high priority, and with the daylight hours quickly growing shorter now, it made sense to not put it off any longer. With a start witness secured (thanks for getting up at 4am Dad, it means a lot to me), I made a few preparations and then went to bed at 8pm. I'll have all the food and drinks I need with me on the bike all day, minus maybe a dinner stop if I get hungry for real food. It took awhile to fall asleep, thoughts of the breakdowns lingering, but I finally fell asleep. This means I won't be playing in the La Crete Open golf tournament for the first time in six years, but I would have sucked there anyway I'm sure!

I was out of bed at 3:45am, feeling good and ready to do the ride today. I knew I was ready, and deep down I knew the bike was as well. It was time to prove that both man and machine could complete the challenge. The morning preparations were minimal, and by 4:30am I was on my way to fill up the fuel, get my start receipt, and then ride. Dad was already at the gas pumps when I arrived, witnessing my start time. We did our business, he said a short prayer, and then I was off, official start time of 4:36am.

Start photo

The weather was absolutely frigid this morning, and it was still dark, only a faint sliver of dawn on the horizon. In town it was around +3C but as I rode I saw my air temperature gauge drop down just a hair above 30F. It's safe to say I've never been colder on the bike than this, and I though I dressed too warmly!

Still about a half hour to go before sunrise

As the daylight finally started breaking I saw that I was going to experience a beautiful morning riding. I stopped twice, both short ones, between the La Crete and Red Earth, the second stop one where I needed to get some blood flowing to warm up. After getting gas in Red Earth I was kept riding south, stopping once to empty the bladder and warm up a little, and stopping for gas in Slave Lake. I ate my first food since breakfast here, just a granola bar.

The temperature was very slow in climbing up throughout the morning, and being chilled to the bone probably didn't help either. In Westlock defensive riding helped me avoid a low speed incident, a vehicle making a left turn "didn't see me". Thankfully I saw it coming and was able to carry on. Before I knew it I was in Acheson, the furthest south I'd ride today. The hours and miles had been melting away, and now I'd get around 450km or so of divided highway that should help me get to the 1,000km mark on a good pace.

I should add that the IBA doesn't condone speeding or reckless riding, but rather promotes efficiency when both riding and planning. With that in mind, I rode just a little quicker than the average pace of traffic, never going more than 20km/h over the speed limit. I had vehicles pass me numerous times, proving that I wasn't really speeding that much. Keeping the wheels rolling and the stops short and efficient helped me get through the ride in good time.

The stretch from Acheson to Clairmont was great, and pulling into the pumps in Clairmont I was still just over a 100km/h overall pace. I was surprised by how fast the miles and time were going by, I thought it would be more of a grind today than it was. That included a 20 minute stop in a rest area to eat an apple and a packet of salted peanuts at 1:00pm. I did a small fist pump when I passed the location where my ride ended five weeks ago.

My first decent break at 1pm, first time I took the helmet off

Pulling out of Clairmont at 4pm meant I had lots of time to complete the 570km or so that I had left, and it meant I'd spend minimal time riding in low light conditions. It looked like there was rain coming to the Grande Prairie area, not sure if it did rain there, but minus a few random drops I missed any precipitation there.

Riding into Grimshaw I felt that it was time to take another break. I felt myself zoning out a little too much, so I stopped for a bacon cheeseburger and soft drink. This would be my last food of the day. I never really felt hungry, and certainly didn't want to sit on the bike with a full stomach.

A little south of Manning I passed my sister-in-law Chrissy, who was heading south. Her hand waving out the window put a smile on my face, thanks for that sis! The Mackenzie Highway has some pretty rough stretches north of Grimshaw, and I'd been dreading it a little all day. It wasn't as bad as anticipated, though the bumps of the day were adding up by now. Reckless driving by another motorist again put me in a bad spot just north of Grimshaw, leaving me shaking my head. I was passed on a double solid line, at an intersection, and the driver cut back into my lane with about three feet between my front wheel and her back bumper, after I already was slowing down. Apparently the driver of the SUV didn't have patience to wait, and missed the vehicle turning into the on-coming lane at the intersection. Idiots like that need their license revoked.

Women don't understand that men can think about nothing, but to be in my head the final 400km or so, that's exactly what was in there, nothing. Just riding and looking at scenery, taking in the beauty of God's creation. It may sound boring to some, but it's great therapy:)

I made the final fuel stop in High Level, and then made my way through a fairly long construction zone, before settling in for the final leg home. It was growing dark and colder now, the thought of a warm shower and a bed seemed like a fitting reward for the day. I saw a few deer, well off the road thankfully, but it helped remind me to stay alert the whole way home.

My Dad understands my desire to do things like this ride better than anyone, and being a nerd like me, he got together some family to welcome me home. It may not have looked like it, as I was pretty dazed and tired from a long day, but I appreciated the cheering section welcoming me home. It's a little surreal to sit on the bike for that long, listening to nothing other than wind and the exhaust note, and then be thrust into a group of people! Thanks to Peter & Lenora and family, Alana & Bobby, Issac & Anne, and of course Pops for taking the time out of your schedules.

 Like I said, my dad's a nerd, but it was pretty cool

Turns out the gas pumps at the car wash were out of order, so I had to ride to the UFA cardlock to get my official end receipt. There the printer was out of order at the gas island, but thankfully I was able to get my receipt at the diesel island.

 Official end photo

From my start time of 4:36am until my end time at 10:18pm, I rode 1,686km according to the bike's odometer, 17 hours and 42 minutes would be the official time. I kept a 100km/h pace through the first 1,100km but then dropped to just under a 90km/h pace for the final stretch from Clairmont home (those numbers include all breaks/stops).

It was awesome to finally prove to myself that I could do this ride, and even better to have my motorcycle prove that it was fixed and ready to eat some miles! I was less tired than I thought I'd be, and not as sore, but still it was a long day and I was certainly tired. 

Now I have to get all the paperwork in order and send it in to the Iron Butt Association for their approval of the ride. If approved, I'll get my IBA number and become part of the group of the "World's Toughest Riders". Doing this ride gives me a whole new appreciation of those that do endurance riding, especially the riders that take part every other year in the Iron Butt Rally. Those folks do days like this for 11 consecutive days, with a lot more planning and routing to do as they pick up bonus points!

*Thanks to Jonesee on HDF, hope you don't mind me using the line from your sig in my title, it is so fitting.

Iron Butt Attempts & the Breakdowns

The last month of the riding season has been tiring and stressful, though not in the ways that I had expected. The challenge of completing my first Iron Butt ride was something I've thought about often in the last year, and it was finally going to happen on July 18. I awoke at 3:30am that morning, preparing myself for what was going to be a long day. The goal was to ride 1610km in under 24 hours to complete the SS1600k, a very achievable goal. My dad met me at the gas pumps at around 4:15am, serving as my start witness. The official start time was 4:19am, I hit the road around 4:25am.

It was a warmer than expected morning, the ride going smoothly for the first 250km or so, feeling good as I made the first fuel stop of the day. Leaving Red Earth I noticed my speedometer glitching, the bike running a little rough. I immediately thought back to the last weekend, where my bike died while riding home from High Level on Sunday night. After shutting off the bike, and restarting, it seemed like all systems were once again good to go.

As the morning wore on, I kept riding south, stopping for gas in Slave Lake and a bathroom break in Westlock. I was surprised at the great pace I was setting, well over a 100km/h average by the time I arrived in Acheson for a fuel stop and receipt that proved my route to that point. I had a quick snack after getting gas, and then was back on the road, starting to make my way back north.

Shortly after passing by Sangudo the bike suddenly died once again, causing me to pull over into the shoulder. A few quick checks and failed attempts at starting left me confused. I walked the bike to the crest of the hill I broke down on, and coasted down the hill and onto an exit to get away from the flow of traffic. It didn't take me long to realize that this was not a problem I'd be able to fix on my own. I was on the side of the road for two hours, not a single vehicle stopped (including a lot of bikers) despite me having my tools out and some parts of the bike laying off to the side.

Harley Davidson of Edmonton sent their van out to come pick up the bike, and a little over three hours after breaking down my bike and I arrived at their shop. It was almost two hours later, just after 5:00pm that they had my bike out of the shop. Having decided to pull the plug on the ride by now, I found a hotel. The bike had a slight glitch again on the way to the hotel. I ate dinner, had a shower, and by 8:30pm I was sleeping.

The next day the bike started hard, but never had any problems as I rode the nearly 700km home. I took it out for a 100km ride during the week, no issues, so decided I would again attempt the Iron Butt ride.

My official start time on attempt two was 4:40am. I caught a little light rain about an hour down the road, and suddenly the cruise control cut out, though the bike continued to stay running. It was only a few minutes later that it died, and I coasted to the side of the road. A truck driver stopped to offer any help he could, but thankfully there was just enough cell service to establish some contact with people who could help. The truck driver offered to follow me to assure I wouldn't be stranded, and after breaking down again I got the message that help was on the way.

The rest of the morning was stressful, as I continued to limp towards home, the bike dying every few kilometers, always restarting again. Eventually I met my brother, who had come with a truck and trailer to get me home. Through all of the problems on this day, the odometer turned over the 50,000km mark just a couple weeks after the two year mark.

I made an appointment at HD of Edmonton once again, and a week later I hauled the bike in with the Jeep and a trailer.

This last week the shop did some trouble shooting on the bike, and replaced the ECM (engine control module) after having replaced the voltage regulator and battery the first time around. I'm so glad I purchased the extended warranty when I purchased the bike, all of these problems started two days after my factory warranty expired.

Yesterday I caught a ride to the city with my sister and brother-in-law, eager to get back on the bike and ride it home. The tech that worked on my bike seemed quite confident that the problems were solved now, taking 10 minutes out of his day to talk with me earlier in the week when I called.

The ride home yesterday was awesome, great weather and the bike was running perfectly. I did catch a few short showers, just enough to make me wet and cool me down. It almost seemed as though the bike's performance was better than ever, though that might be due to the fact I hadn't ridden in two weeks. Right now I'm so happy to have it home and working, and looking forward to putting many more miles on it.