Bun Burner Gold & planning for these timed/endurance rides

[stevepsd]

I've been riding for 45+ years (street & dirt), desert raced in AMA D37 and have almost 1,000,000 miles on street bikes. The greatest being almost 103,000 miles on my 1985 GL1200 Aspencade in one year. So I am used to long days, but these Iron Butt Association (IBA) rides are different.

Did my first this past June (a SaddleSore 1000 - i.e. 1,000 miles in 24 hours). That was easy, not much planning required since you have alot of 'extra' time if riding Interstates out west. I am sure it is harder in more congested areas.

I just finished a Bun Burner Gold this past Tuesday (1500 miles in 24 hours) and this took some real route planning. You have to average 62.5mph for 24 hours just to cover this distance - and that is with no stops. I wanted to maximize my route on higher speed interstates vs. slower two-lane roads, but I am a minimum of 100 miles away from any interstates, which can be clogged with tourist traffic, with limited passing lanes. This means avoiding the weekends and even daylight hours.

Since my route would take me thru Reno, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas I also needed to stage my route timing to avoid these areas during rush-hour traffic. This set me leaving time to around 4am to get thru these areas. To get a feel for possible traffic in areas that I am not familiar with, I use the online Google Maps and turn on the 'traffic' function. I monitor the traffic for a few days to get a idea of when traffic starts to build and go away.

I also wanted to plan my fuel stops at stations located right at the off-ramps and avoiding as much surface streets as possible. I also had to make sure that the stations I planned to use would be open at the hours I would be hitting them. That is a real concern if traveling thru rural Oregon at night, as you cannot self-fuel and when the stations are closed, they are really closed. Not to much of a problem with the truck stops I used on the interstates, but was issue with the smaller towns on Highway 395, and even my home town.

I also timed my normal fuel stops to see how much time delay each fuel stop would cost. It took me on average 7 minutes from pulling up to the fuel pump, removing tank bag, getting out credit card (kept handy in a zip-lock bag along with the required IBA stop log), fueling, filling out the log, putting tank back back on (mine is a quick disconnect Marsee - similar to the SW-Motech quick-disconnect), resetting the trip odo and leaving. This was all accomplished without getting off the bike. Since I ended up planning a total of 9 fueling stops this would add at least a hour to my over-all time, increasing my overall moving average to 65mph to do the 1500 miles in 24 hours.

I also checked the various state Department of Transportation sites to see what road construction was taking place and what the delays were. This turned out to be less successful then planned. I could find no indication of the 30+ miles of reduced speed, single lane traffic on I-80 in Nevada. Same for the 4 (or 5) road construction sites on Highway 395 in California, complete with flaggers and flashing road-side signs saying delays of up to 20 minutes per stop! Ugh.

Nor was the 60mph 'safety corridor' on I-15 from around Baker to almost the California/Nevada state line listed. All of these just reduce your moving speed average and you will need to make sure time (by increasing speed) so you do not exceed the 24 hour time limit. Thank goodness for the posted 80MPH sections in Utah, along with hundreds of miles of posted 75MPH sections on I-15 & I-80.

You do not really have time to stop and have a meal. I sipped a Propel during my stops. If it was hotter, I would plumb in a hydration system so I can drink on the move. I have found that just snacking helps me stay awake...nothing like trying to digest a big meal to make you sleepy! I also made sure to really hydrate myself and get enough sleep for several days prior to leaving.

I also found it easier to leave my heated gear jacket & gloved on for the entire trip and turn it off when not needed. I saw temps from a low of 18F to 87F, with no precip. Looking at the weather forecast along your route should not be under-estimated. You will not make good time if it is pouring down rain, snowing, excessively windy, etc. I had planned the trip a few days earlier, but rain, heavy at times, was forecast so I delayed. Luckily I did as the rain turned out to be extremely heavy in some areas that caused intermittent road closures.

Another thing that I got bit by.....at my next to last fueling stop my credit-card got declined. Turned out the 'fraud-protection-team' saw all this suspicious activity from 3 different states and suspended my card. Luckily I have several (and cash) so I got out another card and continued. After getting home I called them and they suggested that i call them ahead of time to let them know to expect this type of activity and they will not suspend it. Lesson learned.

I ended up completing my ride, traveling a total of 1518 miles in a total elapsed time of 23 hours, 12 minutes. My moving average was 71MPH, with a overall trip average of 67MPH. My moving time was 21hours, 25 minutes. Total non-moving time was 1hour, 47 minutes! I had two 'extended stops' for a power-bar and to stretch. Each of those stops (including fuel) were about 15 minutes.

It was a experience.

Maybe the 50CC (Coast-to-Coast in 50 hours) is next!?!

 

[stevepsd]

A couple more things to help make these types of trips more enjoyable....

Synthetic underwear. No cotton. No kidding. Cotton just gets damp and yucky. I prefer Under Armour HeatGear or ColdGear. No more monkey-butt!

I use a Garmin Zumo 665, so I have XM radio and real-time weather. I also have hundreds of NPR's CarTalk loaded on the Zumo's SD card. This is all connected to my SENA SMH-10 (using earfuze self-molded earplugs/earbuds www.earfuze.com) via Bluetooth along with my phone. I get right at 19 hours of battery life on the SMH-10 on a single charge. This really helps break up the monotony of sections of these trips. Those Click & Clack guys really crack me up!

I also have a SPOT II mounted on the bike and have it set-up to automatically feed my SpotWalla page (much better than the native SPOT page, IMHO) along with sending txt's and emails to my wife. I make it a habit to update my position every 30 minutes with the " I'm OK message" and a "I'm stopping here for a while" message at my gas stops. My friends really like being about to track my progress via SpotWalla. SPOT is not always 100%, for example it missed my very last position at my final gas stop, and a couple that i sent in the canyons of norther 395 (did this as a test).

Here was my SpotWalla tracks for this trip: http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=5835506e1493cdb1b

Before the trip I always zero out the trip log on my Zumo and at the end of the ride I always save off the trip log if needed to send into the IBA for trip verification purposes. I also send the IBA my SoptWalla page as well. Extra documentation cannot hurt.

-steve

 

[hojo in sc]

Steve: Very nice write up! And when I look for gas stations (on my Garmin Mapsource on the computer before going on such an adventure), I make sure that I can exit the freeway and make a right turn towards the fuel stop, then cross over traffic (make a left) into the gas station). This way if there is a stop light when exiting the freeway I don't have to wait to make a left turn, just turn right. The advantage to turning left into a gas station once on the 'main' road, is that when I leave it is an easy right turn. Wherein if I went to the gas station on the right, I now have to cross traffic to get to the center turning lane (if there is one), and then merge into traffic. Does that make sense?

One question I do have for you; with the Sena (which is bluetooth to the XM radio/Garmin) how do you use ear buds?

Thanks

 

[stevepsd]

What you do for the gas stations is EXACTLY what I try and do. Sometimes you can, other times not.

With the SENA, I bought the $30 optional earbud helmet clamp kit. http://www.senabluetooth.com/products/acc_SMH-A0303.php

I wish SENA had one mount kit that would support both helmet speakers & earbuds as I prefer the simplicity of speakers for around-town, but prefer ear-buds for trips as I always wear earplugs on out of town trips. I did use the speakers (and my regular earplugs) for a couple of trips, but you have to turn the volume up almost all the way to hear them....and that kind of defeats the purpose of earplugs.

 

[motocephalic]

great write up and congrats on a tough ride. I tried a bbg once, failed from lack of planning, have done many ss rides. Maybe we'll pass by each other one day.

 

[JonnyCinco]

Great suggestions. I plan on attempting a Saddlesore in January, as I make my way out to CA for the Rawhyde intro course.

Going back to the earbuds. What type of earphones do you use? I use some skull candies right now, as they seem to have the lowest profile with good sound to fit in my Aria XD3. I have the same thoughts regarding earbuds vs speakers. I was thinking of looking to see if I can find some decent speakers online that I can mod. That way, I can plug one in for around town, or the other the highway.

 

[stevepsd]

I use these: earfuze self-molded earplugs/earbuds www.earfuze.com they come with decent earbuds with really strong cords.

Tenerator changed out the eadbuds provided in the earfuze kit with better sounding ones...

I also wear a XD3.

 

[OX-34]

Nice BBG there stevepsd. ::008::

On completing my BBG (2500km metric version) I turned straight around for a back-to-back BBG attempt but wouldn't have made the next fuel stop at anywhere approaching legal speed (Australian national limit of 110km/h or 68mp/h makes it very very tight).

I was down to 55mp/h to conserve fuel during the night on one 285mile leg and the time just blew out. A 10litre jerry can helped, but the very next week I installed a 5 gallon auxiliary tank. ::013::

The Super Tenere is a great IBA certificate ride bike.

Best wishes for the 50CC.

 

[stevepsd]

Nice ride there OX!

I hope to ride in Oz someday. Beautiful country. I ran into some riders from Oz in Alaska a couple of years ago. They were from Perth. Really wetted my appetite!

A larger fuel tank would definitely help with making time, but remember that the IBA requires you to stop and get a time-dated receipt for gas every 300 miles (600 km - which is 372 miles btw!?!! a definite advantage for the metrically challenged ) somewhat defeating the luxury of a really big fuel tank. At least for the SS1000 & BBG 1500. Don't know about the other IBA rides.

 

[stevepsd]

Another thing I found helpful was that I had a printout (in large type) of my fuel stops, mileage between the stops and my estimated elapsed time to arrive at each fuel stop. One entry per line, so it was easy to read on the move. This way I could keep a running estimate of how fast/slow I was compared to my planned route time. This went in the clear map pocket of my tank bag so it was readily visible (except at night, I found! opps).

This was in addition to the estimated arrival time that the Garmin Zumo displayed. I just wanted a second verification of my time.

 

[stevepsd]

One thing I cannot over-emphasize is being comfortable. If you are a bit uncomfortable after a few hours, think of how you will feel after 24 hours non-stop? Little irritants become BIG issues.

This was especially true for me with the stock seat, about the only thing I had a big issue with. The stock seat was OK after 100 miles, starting to get annoying after 200, unbearable after 250 miles. I would have to walk around for 10 minutes or so at every fuel stop to get the feeling back, then I was good for only another 30 minutes or so and the soreness would set in again. No way could I do a SS1000, let alone a BBG 1500 with it. I fixed it for good in my case, with a custom BMS seat. The best $350 I have spent for comfort.

The other was $20 for a Vista-Cruise throttle lock. Just being able to take my hand off the throttle for a minute or to makes a HUGE difference on these extended trips. Any sort of throttle lock/cramp buster is worth it's weight in gold. Actually thinking about a electronic cruise-control if I continue to do these type of outings.

 

[OX-34]

I agree with the importance of comfort Steve. I use an Airhawk and have done for several bikes over several years - in fact I've used the same Airhawk on 11 different bikes on SS1000 or greater rides.

The Tenere stock seat suits me, but I still use the Airhawk anyway.

I also exercise on the bike. Every 30 minutes for 24 hours a day. Arms, legs, shoulders, back, abs - sets/reps and stretches. I don't recall any stiffness/soreness for over 100,000 km of IBA style rides since starting the exercise habit.

These are the spreadsheets I laminate and use. This one is for a BBG2500km (1577miles that day) on my FJR. I ended up arriving in 23:58 with 2 minutes to spare, rather than the 1 minute I had allowed for. ::013:: The national speed limit allows a margin of just 3 miles per hour for a BBG ::010::

 

[autoteach]

Just got done with a 1000 mile last night. Note to those doing it in the cold, get a set of hippo hands or other gauntlets and wear a regular street glove with heated grips. I had some snowmobiling gloves and I have a blister on the throttle hand. Also, if you have a bar end cruise like kaoko, don't set the cruise until you have full heat from your grips. The expansion damn near locks it in place. Temp at leaving was 30 F, high of 45F

also, if you are going to do extended cold riding, creating some type of wind deflection for the legs would be nice

 

[stevepsd]

also, if you are going to do extended cold riding, creating some type of wind deflection for the legs would be nice

Interesting comment as I have not experienced that. I have found that the black side-covers really deflect the wind and I can get my legs completely out of the airstream by tucking them in. Of course if you have long legs that would change.....

 

[autoteach]

Interesting comment as I have not experienced that. I have found that the black side-covers really deflect the wind and I can get my legs completely out of the airstream by tucking them in. Of course if you have long legs that would change.....

What are the cold temps that you are riding in? I spent a majority of my between 30 and 45 degrees. The biggest problem areas were the area on my upper chest (which has not been a problem previously, think it was from gauntlets deflecting air) and my lower legs. The lower legs have no real protection on this bike. Besides the cylinders and the heat they put off on a BMW, I have a friend who has one with wind/debris deflectors for the feet.

what I wore: 2000 gram thinsulate boots with wool socks, 2 long john (tec type) with a wind/waterproof pant covered by snowmobiling pants, cycling shirt (can put hand warmers in the back pockets to keep kidneys warmed for transfer to rest of body), tec type long john shirt, windproof/waterproof full weight fleece jacket, and a snowmobiling jacket and helmet. the snow gear is the warmest that FXR makes.

 

[EricV]

Congrats on your BBG Stevespd. ::008::

Proper heated electric gear makes a huge difference in rider comfort. Having your core warm, and not getting chilled to begin with helps your extremities too. This may be part of why Stevespd was more comfortable, wearing less, then autoteach.

I've done many cold weather LD rides, including an undocumented 2000 mile ride from Portland, OR to LA and back in winter, crossing the Siskiyous in the snow. Temp when I left Portland were 20F and stayed that way for a long time, then got worse when it started snowing in the mountains around 4am. I was wearing a heated jacket liner and heated gloves for that ride.

The last BBG I did was during the Utah 1088 and touched 7 states during the ride. Fast roads though.

I generally don't plan fuel stops, merely getting gas when opportunity presents itself, well before I need to stress about it. I lived in OR for 45+ years, so include that state in this comment. An awareness of where you will be able to get 24 hour gas and where you won't is certainly important. As is knowing your range under the riding conditions you are traveling in. For an IBA ride, often I need to document a corner long before I need gas, so it's easy to get gas at the same time, and most often that receipt has all of the required info on it.

Rather than trying to fill out the rider stop log during the ride, I do three things. First I create a small mini-log with the correct colums for the necessary info. Just a small 3" x 5" spiral note pad works great and is easy to keep in the tank bag or map case. This works well for rallies that require fuel logs too.

Second, I write my odo & the stop number on the receipts.

Most importantly, I only use the info off the receipt to fill out the mini log. If it's missing, you will catch it then, while you are still at the stop and can go inside and get a duplicate receipt from the register, which often will have all the info, or get an ATM receipt if the duplicate gas one fails to have the necessary info on it.

After the ride is over I fill out the formal rider log using the info on the mini log, photo copy my receipts, saving one copy for my original paperwork, and photocopy the rider log, sending in the copies. Remember that thermal receipts will fade over time, so don't count on the originals being legible if you delay too long in turning in the paperwork or need to review them later.

Some of the tricks to managing your stopped time include having a gas routine that does not require you to remove your gloves, or anything else. My CCs are in a sleeve pocket on my jacket, for example, and if I do need to use the restroom, my bike key hangs on the outside of my jacket off a Q/R key chain. No gearing back up and forgetting to get your key out of your pocket.

Remember, the ride isn't done until you complete the paperwork.

 

[autoteach]

Proper heated electric gear makes a huge difference in rider comfort. Having your core warm, and not getting chilled to begin with helps your extremities too. This may be part of why Stevespd was more comfortable, wearing less, then autoteach.

Remember, the ride isn't done until you complete the paperwork.

I did see that he was down to 18 degrees, which is pretty brutal. As for his heated gear helping with lower leg protection, I don't know how it helped but I am willing to listen. I think I would rather know what pant he was wearing. I know from past experience that if I had been on the r100rs or k100 that I would have been warmer than necessary and would have had to remove a layer. wind protection is wind protection, and when you are doing an indicated 85mph, you need all you can get. When we got to traffic and were at 70-75mph the difference was monumental. If I had a choice between heated gear on an unprotected bike (think cafe racer) or unheated gear on a protected bike...I know my selection.

 

[stevepsd]

What are the cold temps that you are riding in? I spent a majority of my between 30 and 45 degrees. The biggest problem areas were the area on my upper chest (which has not been a problem previously, think it was from gauntlets deflecting air) and my lower legs. The lower legs have no real protection on this bike. Besides the cylinders and the heat they put off on a BMW, I have a friend who has one with wind/debris deflectors for the feet.

what I wore: 2000 gram thinsulate boots with wool socks, 2 long john (tec type) with a wind/waterproof pant covered by snowmobiling pants, cycling shirt (can put hand warmers in the back pockets to keep kidneys warmed for transfer to rest of body), tec type long john shirt, windproof/waterproof full weight fleece jacket, and a snowmobiling jacket and helmet. the snow gear is the warmest that FXR makes.

In the winter, my morning ride temps are in the mid 20's. On my BBG 1500 the temps were high teen's to mid-20's for the first 3-4 hours. Then warmed up and stayed in the low 60's to high 80's for most of the rest of the trip. Gotta love the desert! Never once was I cold.

I believe that EricV hit the nail-on-the-head with his comments on heated gear (he has certainly done his fair share of long distance rides ::008:: ). I was wearing my Warm-n-Safe gen 4 heated jacket under my FirstGear Rainier TPG jacket (did not wear the tpg inner-liner in the jacket) along with a short-sleeve Under Armor Tee, Under Armor mid-calf boxers under jeans. I wore Firstgear Overpants (without the thermal liner), Thoros Warm Weather Hunting Knee High socks, Gaerne G-Midland riding boots and Gerbing T5 heated gloves. All controlled by a dual remote Warm-n-Safe controller, which is GREAT!

I stayed nice and warm, then when it warmed up I turned the heated gear off and stayed comfortable, thanks to the high performance Under Armor base layers.

Keep your core (and head) comfortable and it helps the rest of you warm.

 

[autoteach]

Man, I wish it would have got up to the 60's. I didn't get a chill until 12 hours in. By that time you were riding in what we would call summer here in Wisconsin. Next year we are going to do a vintage 1000. I imagine that this is going to be an awful challenge, as none of them have fairings. suzuki gt550, honda cb750f, a norton commando, and another one(don't know what the guy has). I am sure that we will use most of the 24 hours to take reasonable breaks. 7 minutes from at speed to up to speed wouldn't work, although we will have to stop every 100-110 miles or so with those bikes. Doing the IB was easier than the vintage enduro I did last weekend...140 miles of 50/50 on a 1969 Yamaha DT1. That was just brutal.

 

[EricV]

As for his heated gear helping with lower leg protection, I don't know how it helped but I am willing to listen.

I do agree that wind protection make a huge difference. I will be extending my handguards for that reason. (and had good handguards on the FJR as well) As far as heated gear helping extremities, don't think of it in terms of protection, but rather a preventative step. In keeping the core warm, your body is happy to keep sending that warm blood to the extremities. W/o that, you start to get cold, your body's natural response is to start constricting the blood flow to the extremities in order to save the core. Just a heated vest or jacket liner really does help you keep your hands and feet warm. At some point, with varying degrees due to how much wind protection, your hands and feet will just get cold. That's certainly natural. I was comfortable in 20F temps for about 7 hours, (500 mile range), while wearing the heated jacket liner and heated gloves, but when I stopped for gas and shut the bike down, I was shivering by the time I finished the gas stop and turned the bike back on. It was hard for me to warm back up and I ended stopping at a restaurant for breakfast and some hot coffee to warm back up. After that I did fine for several more hours in below freezing weather before it warmed up as I dropped deeper into CA.

Side note, with heated gear the trick to getting the most out of it is to turn it up until you are "not cold" rather than turning it up until you are "warm". If you are "warm", you're using enough heat to be over normal body temp, which means you will start to sweat in places. The next area that has a cold spot in it, that moisture, (sweat), will mean you feel a chill. The natural response is to crank the heat up more, which will aggravate the issue, and eventually you run out of adjustment and are still getting chills, but also now hot in places too. At a setting that allows you to be "not cold", you're getting enough heat to be comfortable, but not so much that you sweat. Additional bonus, if you are all warm and toasty, it's easy to get sleepy too... and that's a very bad thing on a motorcycle traveling down the road.

Stevepsd's base layer technique is sound too. I prefer LDComfort but creating a base layer of wicking fabric against the skin that keeps moisture off your skin is paramount. That base layer also traps a layer of air between it and the outer shell of the windproof riding pants. If you have pants with a gator/gather at the ankles, that air is trapped and is insulating you further from the outside temps. If air is blowing up your pant leg, well, that's just going to suck heat out.

FWIW, I also ride in Gaerne G Midland boots now. Full Goretex liner, but tall too. Really helps with that area above the boot and below the knee armor. My other riding boots, TCX X-Fives, had a gap above the boot and below the armor that was always the first area of my legs to get cold. Not with the taller G-Midlands.

Enduros can really tax you! Talk about a work out. My wife used to do hare scrambles and enduros on her Honda Hurcules 200. (she still has some trophies in the garage from those days) She would be whipped by the end.

P.S. I'm really happy to not be riding winters in Oregon any more. It hit 80F today when I was out riding and was only 47F this morning when I got up! ::013::