1,014 miles, 19 hrs 6 min
Oct 13-14, 2024
Another Iron Butt ride in the bag. This makes thirteen for this year (so far).
Iron Butt SaddleSore 1000 = 1,000 miles in 24 hours
I was born in 1944. This is 2024. The math is pretty easy this year.
Google Map: 1,014 miles
GPS Log Map (Track of Actual Ride ) 1,014 miles, 19 hrs 6 min. Oct 13-14, 2024.
I love these Iron Butt motorcycle trips, and I've done this route before - a few times. Its is my favorite. It's so fun and scenic - until I get to the point, late in the day, where it becomes grueling. Then I suffer through it for a few hours until I get my second wind, and the riding becomes fun again.
The grueling part begins at Ft Stockton after I've ridden all day. The sun goes down and I realize I'm a very long way from home - and I'm only half-way along the route. Sorta discouraging! My legs are cramping, my body is dehydrated, and I'm so incredibly tired. I slog on through the night, making my way west along I-10, dodging the endless streams of traffic - mainly the semi-trucks carrying huge loads of who knows what. I stop for gas every three hours and meet such nice people. Talking with them - usually about the bikes they use to have - is refreshing.
After riding the first half of the night, the tiredness slowly wears off and I become even more determined. finally riding west of Datil New Mexico, in the wee hours I start seeing elk alongside the road, and they give me even more strength. I love these animals. in the blackness of night the full moon lowers to the horizon. It seems huge, and the orange gleaming light almost blinds me. The night is stunning - and it's reserved for only me, these majestic elk, and a few jackrabbits crossing the lonely road.
Dawn of the new day is nearing as I pull into our driveway. Jenny has been watching my track, and has risen early. She opens the garage door and I pull the bike in. I'm home.
Start: 9:37 AM Sun - Finish 4:43 AM Mon = 19 hrs 6 min
My dash display shows the bike's milage (40,896) and the tire pressure, front (37) and rear (42).
I named the route for this cute highway display (Location), which goes back umpteen years and is very famous. And for the spectacular launching and landing of Starship 5, which I was watching live this morning, just before my departure from home. (Link) This was the first catching of the booster back at the launch pad. Truly a historic event.
"Do you ride" I reply.
"No, but I used to, before my leg started giving me problems. I had a Harley then switched to a Ducati". That would be like going from a Ford to a Ferrari (no offense to my Harley riding friends). This is George from California. A month ago he drove to Austin to care for his brother, and is now returning home, where he works as a car salesman. Nicest guy ever, and we talked for 15 minutes.
This is Chris from somewhere back east. I met him in the store talking amicably to a clerk. He was hitching back home from somewhere back west. Nicest guy ever, and we talked for 10 minutes. He wasn't panhandling, and said that he left his sign (and bedroll) stashed in the bushes over by the exit. Oh, the people you meet on a motorcycle trip. They make life golden.
Riding highway 25 north from Las Cruces is not as fun as it could be, due to the small but real chance of a deer running out in front of me. I take it a bit slow and use the utmost caution. Tonight I had an encounter with an agent at a checkpoint, when I thought his hand-wave was a go-ahead, when in fact he wanted me to stop. He chased after me for a short ways, then read me the riot act for not stopping. "I didn't even say Hi" he said. I think that's the first time in my life that someone said "I didn't say hi". Nonetheless, it was all good, and he let me proceed.
Also, riding the 25 north at night usually can be a bit problematic due to the presumably nice people driving cars behind me with their bright lights blinding my vision in my rear view mirrors. They will approach at high speed, and I have to flash my super bright tail lights to alert them that the red light is a motorcycle right in front of them, rather than a car in the distance. At which point they will slow to my speed and take station right behind me - bright headlights glaring. Thus they will carry on for miles, until I pull over to the shoulder - at which point they will reluctantly pass and go rocketing off. They are sitting in their comfortable car or truck - in body only. Their heads are somewhere else.
I forgot to bring my heated jacket, so the ride from Socorro, up and over the continental divide, was cold. And I had to ride slow for fear of running into a elk or running over a rabbit.
Jenny had dinner cooked and the wood stove going - and its warmth sure felt good.
Used to be, I had to hike two thousand miles to challenge myself, and urge myself out of my comfort zone - for person growth. Now in my eightieth year I can archive much the same results by simply sitting on the seat of a motorcycle. But it's all the same thing: getting out in the real world, admiring its beauty, and celebrating life. My life, not someone eles's life viewed through a Youtube video. A person can go out and sit on a city park bench, watch the birds, and breath the fresh air. That would be equally enriching, as long as they leave their problems at home. Or a person could do something halfway between these extremes. But the recipe for success is simple. As they say in the Iron Butt community: Plan the ride, then ride the plan. In other words, make a plan, then go out and do the plan. The plan will not come to you. So don't spend your life waiting. And don't believe your excuses why you can't do it. And whatever you do, don't take your problems with you. Your life is much greater than your problems, so leave them behind.
Leave the comfort of your home, and go out to nature and enjoy its beauty while celebrating your life.
That's about it for now, until the next one ...
Be nice to others ... ditch the hate ... and fill your life with integrity.