Two looooooooooong rides on one awesome NC750X (50CC Quest and SS1000)

[TXBootScoot]

Hey all,

I have been so busy with a new work project that I completed a new Iron Butt Association Ride back in September and I JUST TODAY submitted the paperwork today (12/29). With that said, I figured I would share my trip with you all because it was quite the doozy. Some things went right. More things went wrong. But those wrong things make the story better. So with that, here is my ride report for "Two looooooooooong rides on one awesome NC750X (50CC Quest and SS1000)"

I have a friend, Mike, who is another long distance motorcycle nerd (like myself) and he's been pestering me to join him on a 50CC for a couple of years. The timing never worked out. I had a few dates that would work, he had a few that would work, but we never overlapped on anything. The problem with this ride is that I live in Texas and Mike lives in TN. That means, I have to drive half the country, then drive the entire country, then drive half the country to complete this trip. That eats up about 5 days if you are hustling and a big ride like this should really have a day or two of no-bike time, in order to not hate yourself... or at least your back and butt hates you.

Finally, at work one day, I got an email that said, " We need you in So Cal for a business trip. The location is right by San Diego. The dates are early September." I text Mike, "Hey, I have dates and a reason to recoup in CA before turning around to come home." Of course he had a trip planned with his wife to go do something fun in the Middle East. While we watched the war in Israel, ultimately, Mike ended up going on his trip and I ended up NOT being able to find anyone else to do this ride with me. I get it, it's a HUGE commitment, even for Iron Butt dudes.

I left my house after working all day on Thursday, September 12th. (I opened a brand new private school here in Frisco, TX... but that's another story for another day) and after school ended, I drove home, changed into my riding gear, and pulled out. I drove late into the night and after a VERY rainy ride, I arrived in Pearl, MS. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I was driving directly INTO a hurricane as can be seen on the posters at the IHG hotel I stayed in that night:



(not sure why I can't make that show upright?)

Turns out, I was driving into Hurricane Francine and let me tell you, I felt her wrath through the sheer amount of water that deluged me for hundreds of miles. Also, I learned that my black gloves were black because of the dye that they used... and when that dye gets wet, it transfers to your hands. (Spoiler, my hands remained black the entire trip, including my work meetings in CA.)



I woke up to another kiss from Francine by the way of more rain. Not many pictures and not much to talk about other than my rain suit worked mostly well and both sets of my gloves were now drenched. I did not see Florida the entire time I was on the bike. I could literally only see about 5 feet to my right, 5 feet to my left, and 5 feet in front of me. It was slow going and miserable, but I was on the bike and about to undertake the biggest IBA ride I've ever attempted. Spirits were high, even if temps were dropping about as fast as the rain.

 

[TXBootScoot]

I did find about 30 minutes of no rain where I was able to stop for some coffee and oatmeal on Friday morning. It was glorious!


Then it was back to the rain. Here is a "practice" of an IBA stop where you show your receipt, ODO, etc. You can see the water... uh... everywhere:


I also snagged a screenshot of the weather while I was here:


Upon checking into another IHG in Jacksonville Beach, FL, I laid out all of my gear on chairs, hangers, and the AC unit to try to dry it out as much as possible before leaving to cross the country the next morning.



I got to Jacksonville Beach about time for dinner. I changed into my swimsuit and flip-flops and headed out to get dinner and a JAX sticker and to collect "my sample." (I know there is some purist who is like, "Bro, you gotta do that the morning before you leave! You can't do it the night before!" Well, you do it the morning of, I did it the night before and I still feel like I had a great experience.)

First, here is my proof of making it to JAX Beach:


Then, I have proof that I made it to get toes in the water:


Then, I finally have proof of my sample (Atlantic Ocean water/sand):


It started raining on me (again) and there was some beach party with lots of young people running around, but it was cold, I was hungry, and I had to get to sleep. I walked through the beach event (tents similar to a farmers market, but with other weird stuff included), and then had a bite at a local seafood restaurant. No JAX stickers available. Bummer.

I went back to my room, set up everything I would need, and quickly fell asleep.

 

[TXBootScoot]

I just remembered, I started a thread on this back in August. I should have updated that thread instead of creating a new one. Sorry about that. To catch up on the first part of the conversation read this thread.

 

[TXBootScoot]

I forgot to write this part above. I remember putting my head on my pillow and thinking, "What have I done?! It is Friday night and I have to be in California on Monday for meetings and I'm currently on a motorcycle in Florida on Friday night... this was probably a really bad idea." (that could have been the mileage talking. It also could have been the fact that EVERYTHING I had to wear (motorcycle gear wise) was sopping wet. It could have been the rumbling after the seafood that I don't often eat living in the middle of Texas. It could be all of the above.

I kicked off my ride from Jacksonville Beach getting my first receipt at 3:34 AM Eastern Time with 29,618 miles on the bike. I was officially on the clock. I had 50 hours to get to San Diego. (I should note, I did find a police officer in Neptune Beach to sign my first eyewitness form, but I failed to get a picture).



I also needed to get a receipt like this every 350 miles or less. (If you are really interested in this ride, you can find more info here: 50CC Quest by the IBA

My next stop was in DuFuniack Springs, FL. Oh, and I should note, I didn't see Florida on this drive back out I-10 either. I remember thinking, "Man, I'm so glad it's not raining..." but the fog was so think, I could see only about 5 feet to my right and 5 feet to my left and 5 feet in front of me. It was slow going. I also remember looking down at my phone, that was acting really strange and thinking, "Why is there water dropping off the phone, it's not raining?!" That fog was so wet and thick. But I had a great audiobook playing and nothing but ALL OF AMERICA in front of me. It was going to be a good day.

I arrived in DuFuniack Springs, FL around 6:36 AM (Central Time) with the mileage being 29,919. While I'm not going to upload every receipt with timestamp, I will provide the time/mileage. NOTE: I did make an unplanned stop at Buc-ee's in Robertsdale, AL. I was hungry and it was not packed (yet), so it was a quick stop.


It was finally sunny by the time I hit Alabama and it stayed that way the majority of my ride. The temperature could not have been better either. But that darn iPhone continued to act funny. It wouldn't let me touch the screen (ok, I could touch it, but it wasn't allowing me to actually do anything when touching it). Then, Siri started going crazy. Then the screen started flickering. Then it started calling random people. I tried to turn it off. I tried to hard reset it. I tried everything, but nothing was working... until it decided to call 911. I couldn't get it to hang up. The lady answered, "Hello, 911, what is your emergency?" Well, I was driving at 75 mph driving down I-10 and I didn't know what to tell her. "I'm so sorry ma'am, I have no emergency. I'm driving down the road and my phone won't let me hang up, but I'm doing great!" She replied with a, "Oh, no worry hunny, it happens all the time. Enjoy your drive!" (silence) I finally replied with, "Thanks so much, will, but you're going to have to hang up, because my screen won't let me click it." She laughed, "Oh, right. Goodbye" and click, that was that. Ok, I'm just not going to mess with this anymore until I stop next. Everyone once in a while, the screen would flicker alive and show that I was missing all kinds of notifications, but the audio book kept playing, so I just ignored everything else besides the road.


Shortly after this, I arrived at my third planned stop of Denham Springs, LA at 11:03 Central time with 30,232 miles showing on the odo. While I pumped gas, I played wtih my phone and turned it off and back on (again), but this time, the screen never came back on. Everything stayed black. I tried a few more things, but realized that my phone just died... and for those of you keeping track at home, I still had 1,780 miles until I was done. That's A LOT of country still left with no phone, thus no music, audiobooks, or podcasts.

I got to my next spot, Katy, TX around 3:41 Central Time with 30,546 miles on the odo. If you know what's there, you know I stopped once again at... Buc-ee's!

 

[TXBootScoot]

I ended my day in Junction, TX at 8:16 PM Central Time with 30,829 miles on the odo. That means I drove approximately 1,211 miles (by the odometer anyway, GPS said a different number) I stopped for the gas receipt and then checked into my 3rd IHG property of the trip. I quick shower and straight to bed for about 5 hours. I was actually a little ahead of my projected time and considered continuing on to try and nest a BunBurner (1500 miles in 24 hours), but I decided, "Plan the ride and then ride the plan."

I got back on the road the next morning and arrived in my first gas stop (after filling up again in Junction to start my second day in case I nest another SS1000) in Fort Stockton, TX at 6:30 AM central time with 31,030 miles on the odo. During this time, I tried to figure out how to get something going on in my helmet, but nothing I did all night fixed the iPhone. I realized that my Cardo would play FM radio. I searched station after station, but alas, there must not be any radio stations out in the middle of Texas. Every once in a while, I'd find a crackle-y station for a song or two, but would always outride the reach of the signal. Frustrating. Not much happening that morning and not many pictures... for obvious reasons. I did remember that I had an iPad in my pannier for work, so I was able to get my pictures of the receipt + odometer for the ride verification, but I wasn't about to pull that out every time I wanted a photo.

I pulled into Fort Stockton at 8:22 AM Central Time with 31,149 miles on the odometer. Again, nothing much happening during this portion of the road, so I filled up, hit the restroom, and got back on the road.

I pulled into Fabens, TX at 8:50 AM Central Time with 31,242 miles for another bathroom and fill up. Why? Because I planned to stop here, but couldn't make it (bathroom wise), but it was still a planned stop, so I stopped. Stupid? Maybe. Did I ride my plan, yes... and I got breakfast and a coffee here too.

One thing that was dumb, but was something I was thinking about with all of my helmet time was, "I wonder if I can ride the entire state of New Mexico without putting my foot down." This is probably a good time to tell you I have an aux tank that allows me hundreds of miles between fill ups. Spoiler, I never put my foot down in New Mexico! My next fill up was in Bowie, AZ at 11:03 AZ time (pacific time that part of the year, if I remember right) with 31,483 miles on the odo.

 

[TXBootScoot]

My next stop was at a tasty little Mexican joint in La Paloma Restaurant in Eloy, AZ where I met my friend, Melissa, for lunch. Melissa has always lived vicariously through my crazy motorcycle rides and I give her a ride report phone call after every major ride/rally.



One thing I will add here is that Arizona was the end of the nice weather for this ride. It went from frigid and wet the first part of this ride to hot and then hotter, and then hottest. Literally about 40 degrees different from where I started the day before to current temp in AZ. I had to smell atrocious! Sorry Mellissa! Also, glad she had a phone so we could get a picture (or maybe this was my iPad? I don't remember now). I just remember drinking a lot of water. Oh, I should probably let you know that I was carrying about 1 gallon of water on the bike with a straw that allowed me to drink while piloting the bike. I had effectively consumed it all (except a little ice) by the time I got here. I drank 3-4 glasses of ice water and then had the restaurant fill up my gallon jug with ice water again too. After about an hour of rest, a good meal, and a fun conversation, I was back on the bike and headed into the last few hundred miles.

My next stop, and last in AZ, was Gila Bend (Why stop again so soon? Ride the plan, of course). The time was 5:34 AZ (pacific) and I had 31,720 miles on the bike.

I went from dying of heat in AZ and eastern California to climbing the hills outside San Diego and zipping up all of my vents on the jacket and pants. It dropped about 30 degrees in about 5 miles of riding. WOW, that got COLD quick. My hands were effectively shaking while I continued driving wondering if I should pull over and put on heated gloves. Eventually it dropped back into the Beach Cities area and warmed back up, but that was some of the most fun riding I did the entire trip. The hard part about this section was, I had been going straight on I-10 for thousands of miles and now I had twists, turns, elevation change, temperature change, but the hardest part of this section was the setting sun directly in my eyes. I had to flip down my sunglasses visor inside the helmet over my sunglasses and then still hold my hand up to block what I could while driving through curves, traffic, and ups and downs.

 

[TXBootScoot]

I pulled into the gas station on Voltaire in San Diego right at 7:38 PM Pacific Time with 32,011 miles on the bike.



That put me at 43.07 hours of total time to drive 2,393 miles across the USA. It was weird feeling. I had just done one of the hardest things I've ever set out to do. As I stood there with bloodshot eyes, covered in bugs, filling up my bike with the last bit of gas so I could get the final receipt, I remember slowly (slowest I've ever gotten off the bike, for understandable reasons) dismounting and then pumping my hands in the air several times. Some of the other patrons looked at me like, "Ya bro, we get it, it's gas. Good job." But they had no idea that in the last several days I had left my home in DFW, TX to drive to Florida, so I could leave Florida on Saturday morning and that I was now standing in California on Sunday night. I wish I would have had a phone to get a picture of me at this station. I wish I would have been with someone to share that experience.

Instead, I pulled out my credit card and attempted to fill up my bike. I say attempated because when adding the aux tank, I had to adjust the access to the bike's gas tank (similar to a Dale's Rack, but custom made by my buddy Brayden who wouldn't make the ride with me). Long story short, California's stupid laws make them use a stupid gas filler neck and I couldn't get it to fill my tank. I had to fill up ONLY my aux tank and then open the valve to flow it into my bike. I ended up just filling my aux tank completely and then left the gas station. I still had two items left to complete that night.

I drove straight to the nearest beach access and walked out in what I'm sure looked like an astronaut suit to the water to collect my second sample (right at about 50 hours of getting the first sample). I again remember thinking, "Man, I wish I had a phone to document this!" and "I wish someone else had just done this with me to get excited about this..." After smiling broadly and getting back to the bike, I needed to find a police officer to get my final eyewitness verification signed.

I put in the first Police Department into the GPS and it took me to a parking lot where there were no police officers, but there did appear to be a drug deal going on. I quickly left that lot as they all stopped to look at this "Texas astronaut on an overloaded NC750X." Ha! I put in the second PD address and pulled into what appeared to be a closed for the night station. I put the third one in and as I pulled in I saw some flashing lights and several police cars. Sweet! I can get one of these guys to help me. I filtered through the police cars and thought, "Man, they didn't do a good job parking. Why are they all over the place?" But I ignored that and pulled into a spot. I did notice that several of them watched me pull in and I thought, "Why are they so interested in a motorcycle pulling into a parking space?"

I got off the bike and starting digging through panniers to find my paperwork. One officer came over hesitantly and asked, "Uh, sir... how can I help you?" Without looking up, I kept digging and said, "Oh, thanks! I need to get someone to sign this paper saying I'm here and to verify my miles for the Iron Butt Association." He stood quite far away and responded with, "Well, as you can see, we're dealing with something here and I don't have any idea what those words you just said mean. Can you wait until we're done?" RECORD SCRATCH - I looked up and saw a young lady thrashing about as an ambulance pulled up. She appeared to be very inebriated and possibly some other stuff going on. Yep, this station was closed too, but they just so happened to be arresting her which ended up being a trip to the hospital due to things I won't get into here... and I got a front row seat because once I realized what was happening, it was too late. All of the extra police cruisers and ambulances blocked my exit, so I just had to watch and wait. I did end up taking my helmet off and kept my hands where they could be seen the entire time. The officers kept a leary eye on me, but eventually focused on the situation at hand. after about an hour (remember, I had just ridden from FL to CA?) he came back over, asked a lot of questions, and signed my witness form, albeit begrudgingly. If I hadn't be stuck there, I don't think he would have, but he did feel bad once he realized I had been riding for almost 50 hours straight.

I geared back up and went to my hotel where I checked in and had several of my coworkers in the lobby ask, "Who is that crazy guy from the NASA?" (remember, I was still all geared up). Then, once they realized they knew me, they followed me outside and asked a million questions about why I rode from TX to CA for our meetings. When they found out I actually drive from TX to CA by way of FL they had a million questions. At least I had someone to celebrate with (even if they have no idea what I went through).

As I lay in bed that night I remember thinking, "Dang, when you have that many miles and hours all by yourself in your helmet with nothing to entertain you, you better like yourself, because you're going to do some serious thinking by yourself." I had done it. I made it safely and ENJOYED the experience, even when some pretty big issues popped up.

 

[TXBootScoot]

POST 50CC:

I had to buy a new iPhone the next morning in San Diego before my work meetings started. That was a big expense I wasn't planning on during that trip. After that, I drove to our team dinner in San Diego. I found a pretty good parking spot too:



One note on California Lane Splitting: I was hesitant to try it, but as the week wore on, I fell in love with it. I felt so much safer being able to get out of the way at red lights. If I'm honest, I didn't split much while traffic was moving, but I did filter through up to the front at red lights and heavy traffic. Big fan!

I was so glad to have a couple of days of meetings to recoup before having to drive back to Texas. I even had a couple hours free on day and drove up 101 to some of my favorite places in from when I used to live in So. Cal.

I decided that after the heavy riding to cross the country, I was going to go slow up 101 and stop when I found something interesting. I found a farmers market in Oceanside:


I also had a delicious peach (which if you know me, know that I grew up on a peach farm and have a peach themed business name even to this day):



I continued going north stopping here and there until I made it to Seal Beach where I had my favorite fish tacos at Taco Surf and then went and soaked up some vitamin D on the beach before heading back for the rest of my business meetings:

 

[TXBootScoot]

I left Friday morning from San Diego to drive back to Texas. I had to coach my son's hockey team on Saturday, so I was trying to do it straight through. I left San Diego looking for a gas station so I could get a certified IBA ride home too in the form of a SaddleSore1000. Unfortunately, I stopped at 4 stations on the route and all 4 had turned their pumps off overnight. I finally found a pump open (as I was really stressed with the amount of time I had wasted + the fact that even with 5 gallon aux tank, I was running out of gas because I didn't fill up the night before). The pump in El Cajon was open and I filled up at 4:03 pacific time. Frustratingly, when I took the IBA photo, the dashboard was set on "DATE" and not "ODO".



Of course I didn't catch that until I got home, so I had no idea what my starting mileage was--therefore, that wouldn't count as the IBA start. "Man, I really hope that doesn't prevent me from certifying this ride!"

My next fill up wasn't until Yuma, AZ where I filled up at 6:12 AM with 32,473 miles on the bike. This would be my starting mileage for the SS1000 on the way home.

I stopped again in Tucson, AZ at 9:24 AZ time (Pacific) with 32,715 miles on the bike. Had a terrible gas station breakfast and filled up.

Next was Deming, NM at 1:25 PM (mountain time) with 32,929 miles on the bike. I know, I know, I should have prevented my foot from touching New Mexico again, but I really, really, really, had to go to the bathroom. Bummer. (Nate Bargatze: Old man Pee Video)

I made it to Van Horn, TX at 5:48 PM (central time) with 33,152 miles on the bike and then I later pulled into Midland, TX at 8:09 PM (Central) with 33,330 miles on the bike. I think you're getting that nothing much was happening, BUT I did have a functional phone which meant I had music, podcasts, and audiobooks--all of which I utilized at some point during the day. It was glorious!

I did try to stop for dinner at 10:46 PM somewhere in small town Texas at a What-a-burger (because that's pretty much your only option out there). I was starving and tired and ready for a short break. I pulled into the parking lot and took off gloves, helmet (which was the first time that entire day), and jacket. I walked up to the door and looked inside only to remember, It's Friday night... in rural Texas. (For those of you who don't get the implications, let me start by saying, "Friday Night Lights." People had just finished their "church" (football) games and EVERYONE in town was at Whataburger celebrating the victory. There was a line out of the building! I should have known better than to take off gear before looking up. I had to gear back up and drive more towards DFW.



I ended up driving back to DFW where I finally found an In-n-out which is WAY BETTER than Whataburger (sorry, fellow Texans, but it's true). A couple of animal style cheeseburgers and a fry later. Without getting too close to my house in this post, I pulled into the final gas station at 1:17 AM on Saturday and my bike showed 33,661 miles meaning my SS1000 finished with 1,188 miles in a 24 hour window.



Total miles covered: 5,055 (actually more, but that's what I can prove)
Total days: 9 days (Thursday, Sept. 12 - Saturday, Sept. 21)
States visited: 8 - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, and California
iPhones: 2
SS1000s completed: 3 (FL to TX, TX to CA, CA to TX)
50CC completed: 1 (FL to CA)

 

[davidc83]

Great ride report! I have done a ss1000 (1054 miles in 17 hours) and numerous 800 miles rides in 13 hours (use to commute from Indiana to Florida and back to visit my Florida property before I retired to Florida). cc50 would have been cool about 10 years ago but I lived in Indiana and never had that much courage to try.

 

[dduelin]

Congratulations on this achievement! I've wanted to do a BBG on my NC but I was foiled on my attempt. Thank you for the detailed ride report. My 50CC is chronicled here.

 

[the Ferret]

Congrats. Have no desire to ride for that far/long but am impressed by those who do.

 

[670cc]

Congrats. Have no desire to ride for that far/long but am impressed by those who do.

I have a desire to ride that far, but not on a time schedule. I do 1000 miles over several days to better enjoy the ride and the scenery.

I actually did 1000 motorcycle miles in about 24 hours when I was young and before the Iron Butt existed. It wasn't planned; it just sort of happened. It's great that some people can do and do do it, but in hindsight I realized it was stupid and unsafe (for me), and I'll never do that again.

 

[TXBootScoot]

Congratulations on this achievement! I've wanted to do a BBG on my NC but I was foiled on my attempt. Thank you for the detailed ride report. My 50CC is chronicled here.

Funny enough, I've never done a BB1500. That's on my list for this year. I've done multiple SS1000s, the Ride Around Texas (by far my favorite ride thus far), and lots of long distance rallies. I just don't like the straight line, all freeway long rides, but 1500 miles on highways with lights is a long ride. If I had 1500 miles in one direction to get somewhere cool, that would be great, but it's less than 1500 miles to CA (family in So. Cal), Utah (family in Utah), etc. Living in the middle of the country is weird for longer rides. I'm thinking about going up to near Omaha and then back down to SLC, UT area. Hopefully that will get me the 1500 miles I need and a free place to crash for a few days.

Loved reading your story. It's a fun ride, but probably just a one-time ride for me. Would you do it again, @dduelin ?

 

[the Ferret]

I have a desire to ride that far, but not on a time schedule. I do 1000 miles over several days to better enjoy the ride and the scenery.

I actually did 1000 motorcycle miles in about 24 hours when I was young and before the Iron Butt existed. It wasn't planned; it just sort of happened. It's great that some people can do and do do it, but in hindsight I realized it was stupid and unsafe (for me), and I'll never do that again.

I guess what I meant to say was that far/that long in that short of a time period at this point in my life.

I have ridden across the country a couple of times. Riden in all of the lower 48 states. In 1977 rode 942 miles in 17 hours coming home non-stop from Florida with my wife riding passenger. In 2014 I rode to California and back 5500 miles in 11 days. In 2017 I rode my CB 1100 straight through from Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to home 697 miles in 12 hours. So I am not adverse to riding long distances or to places a long distance away. Just at this point no desire to force myself to ride beyond when I feel it's time for me to stop. These days 450 miles (8 hours of saddle time) is plenty for 1 day for me.

 

[dduelin]

Funny enough, I've never done a BB1500. That's on my list for this year. I've done multiple SS1000s, the Ride Around Texas (by far my favorite ride thus far), and lots of long distance rallies. I just don't like the straight line, all freeway long rides, but 1500 miles on highways with lights is a long ride. If I had 1500 miles in one direction to get somewhere cool, that would be great, but it's less than 1500 miles to CA (family in So. Cal), Utah (family in Utah), etc. Living in the middle of the country is weird for longer rides. I'm thinking about going up to near Omaha and then back down to SLC, UT area. Hopefully that will get me the 1500 miles I need and a free place to crash for a few days.

Loved reading your story. It's a fun ride, but probably just a one-time ride for me. Would you do it again, @dduelin ?

I live 16 miles from Jax Beach so no long ride to get to the coast but a 1500 mile longer ride home LOL. I don't think it's possible for me or at least safely possible for me to do a BBG on secondary roads with lights. The minimum average mph is 62.5 which would require much faster moving average. The first SS1000 I had the attitude that anyone can do one in 17 - 18 interstate hours so I laid out a route with 650 miles on small secondary roads. It took me over 22 hours and I took lots of chances on small roads in night time hours and the fatigue had me going into micro sleep the last 150 miles. Much less the very fast overtakes when I was passing slower traffic on rural roads. Before that I did that ride I not think it was possible to fall asleep while riding a motorcycle. Pretty dumb of me.

Would I do another 50CC? Probably not. Part of it was the planning & mental challenge and part was seeing a large part of continent I had not seen unroll before me. After the former was accomplished I want to see more of the latter than I can see at 80 mph though the trip west to east to home was not planned beforehand. I enjoy the freedom of solo cross country riding not tied to a rigid plan. Less difficult SS1000s are still fun for me and when I get a new bike I plan one to get the plate backer. It's 510 miles from my house to the foot of Deals Gap so I get to ride a couple hundred miles in the mountains along with completing a SS1000 with 200 fun miles. One of the reasons I wanted to do a BBG is the last time I checked no one had done one on an NC but that was several years ago and there are many more NCs riding around now.

 

[drdubb]

I'm impressed. That is quite an accomplishment. I got tired just reading this....

About 10 years ago I did a day of about 750 miles. My butt hurt so bad towards the end I had to stop every half hour and walk around. Now, I would have to stop every half hour to pee.

 

[GIGreene]

I live 16 miles from Jax Beach so no long ride to get to the coast but a 1500 mile longer ride home LOL. I don't think it's possible for me or at least safely possible for me to do a BBG on secondary roads with lights. The minimum average mph is 62.5 which would require much faster moving average. The first SS1000 I had the attitude that anyone can do one in 17 - 18 interstate hours so I laid out a route with 650 miles on small secondary roads. It took me over 22 hours and I took lots of chances on small roads in night time hours and the fatigue had me going into micro sleep the last 150 miles. Much less the very fast overtakes when I was passing slower traffic on rural roads. Before that I did that ride I not think it was possible to fall asleep while riding a motorcycle. Pretty dumb of me.

Would I do another 50CC? Probably not. Part of it was the planning & mental challenge and part was seeing a large part of continent I had not seen unroll before me. After the former was accomplished I want to see more of the latter than I can see at 80 mph though the trip west to east to home was not planned beforehand. I enjoy the freedom of solo cross country riding not tied to a rigid plan. Less difficult SS1000s are still fun for me and when I get a new bike I plan one to get the plate backer. It's 510 miles from my house to the foot of Deals Gap so I get to ride a couple hundred miles in the mountains along with completing a SS1000 with 200 fun miles. One of the reasons I wanted to do a BBG is the last time I checked no one had done one on an NC but that was several years ago and there are many more NCs riding around now.

If you need a witness in the Deal's Gap area, give me a ping. I've witnessed a good number of LDRiding documents. I've ridden a couple of BBGs, a bunch of SS1ks, and have ridden in 3 IBRs (admittedly they were 20 years ago in 2001, 2003, and 2005).

 

[jeremyr62]

That is some aux tank. Nearly 19 litres plus the 14.1 litre main tank. That would give me well over 700 km of range. My bladder would be killing me...
I have the 6 litre aux tank that fits in the frunk. More than enough for my commute from Ireland to England.

 

[Donk]

Having done them 50CCs are never easy. Looking at your pictures one thing comes to mind, they are a little easier before your beard turns all grey! Congrats on rides well done.