SaddleSore 1000 = 1,000 miles in 24 hours

"Ray, as I have said before, you are an inspiration to all of us!" -Michael Kneebone, President and Founder: Iron Butt Association - "World's Toughest Motorcycle Riders"

Ray's Iron Butt Rides

Nov 25, 2024 1,017 mi, 17 hrs 11 min

SpotWalla

Google Maps: 1,008 miles

Actual ride, as recorded by the GPS. Log reads 1,017 miles.

Iron Butt Motto: "World's Toughest Riders"
"Ridiculously Tough." Jenny says. "I don't know anyone else who would try something like that."

My objective for this eighteenth Iron Butt ride is another SaddleSore (1,000 miles in 24 hours).

I was riding west on I-40, when I came to an overhead sign that read: "Caution - Wrong Way Driver". A short while later the traffic came to a halt. (Location) The temperature was nearly freezing but the sun had come up, so I shut off the bike and went to the side of the highway, out of the shade of a big semi parked behind me, to enjoy the sun's warmth. Standing at the road's edge, I could see that the traffic was stopped far, far ahead.

In another ten minutes, people started shutting off their cars and trucks. Fifteen minutes later, semi-trailer truck drivers began to shut down their engines. Oddly, everybody stayed in their vehicles - except one guy. He was driving an extra large pickup, loaded with what looked like bee hives and an assortment of tools and equipment. So I went over and talked to him, and sure enough, he was a bee keeper, headed for the California almond orchards, he said. The fellow was as nice as could be, and it turns out his wife was driving the car behind him. So we all three talked bees for a while. It was really interesting.

I asked him how many hives he had. "120,000," he said, "loaded on three 18-wheelers." Wow! But he said "That's nothing compared to some of the others. We small-time operators are struggling. Unlike the old times, now there are too many bees. I asked him what kind of bees he keeps. "Italian," came the reply. "That's interesting," I said. "My wife and I had a hive of Italians, and they were really nice." The guy said proudly that his wife raises their queens. I couldn't imagine raising so many queens each year.

I asked if he hires undocumented workers. "We hire anyone who wants a job. Most white people don't, and its very hard to find good workers." He said he has two Hondurans that are great, and one Guatemalan with a bad attitude. "The guy quit," he said, "after he went to the swap meet and bought a birth certificate and driver license." He said that many of undocumented people are good for the economy, while many are not.

The traffic was stopped for about an hour, but eventually we started to move. Some eight miles further on I came to the appalling wreckage. Apparently the wrong way diver (drunk most likely) hit an oncoming semi-trailer truck at full speed. There was nothing left of each vehicle except for a huge pile of debris. It was pretty sobering.

---

I mentioned the bee keepers because, as I've said before, many times, there are really nice people out there - if you only take the time to talk with them. The trick is to discover something of interest to them, for example "bees" in this case.

This doesn't always work, though. I was getting gas and commented to the fellow parked next to me, about his nice new truck and a new sport side-by-side - Polaris RZR, it looked like. "Looks like fun!" I said.     . . . no reply.

---

Another time on this ride, I parked at a rest stop and noticed a fellow close by with an old dog. During an Iron Butt BunBurner ride I have no time to talk to anyone. But during a SaddleSore ride I sure do, and I very much enjoy talking to people. So I went up to the fellow and asked how old is his golden retriever. "Ten years, came his friendly reply." While petting the dog, I related that our golden retriever had passed away a few years ago, at eleven years of age, so we got a replacement. "Yes," he said, "this is our third replacement."

---

At the same rest stop, a couple in a pickup truck stopped next to me to change drivers. The wife got into the driver's seat, and gave me a friendly wave while backing out. I returned her wave. Ten miles further on, I passed the pickup truck and both the wife and husband gave me an excited wave. I did the same. It was as if we had known each other for years. It must have been something about the motorcycle that caught their eye. Nevertheless, the brief encounter was really heartening.

---

Someone asked me if I ever get bored doing these Iron Butt rides. So many trips, one after the other, and riding for so many hours, usually all day and all through the night.

No, my riding is never boring. I'm just like any other biker who loves to go riding. The fresh air and the freedom of the open road. The only difference is my rides are usually a bit longer than most.

---

While planning today's trip, I wanted to ride the I-40, despite the cold. So I installed the side panniers (which came with the bike) to give more luggage storage for extra warm clothing. Starting out, I was dressed to the hilt, looking like the Michelin man. The temperatures remained cold nearly all the way to Flagstaff with a 22 degree F minimum at Sanders. Beyond Flagstaff the route dropped down to the lowlands, where the temperatures climbed to the 70's. So I stowed the thick outer layers into the panniers, and there they remained for the duration of the ride along the I-10. Now dark, I departed Las Cruces and the temperatures started plummeting - reaching 22 degree F minimum at Quemado.

So, riding for almost ten hours in nearly freezing temperatures, I didn't see any other bikers; but I wasn't too cold thanks to the many layers of clothing, the home-made heated jacket, the heated gloves and the heated handlebar grips.

---

Spending so much time outdoors, I have seen lots of UFOs in the nighttime sky. And tonight, while approaching Quemado, I saw another one. It was football-shaped and bright blue with a dull white aurora around it. Size very large and moving only slowly. I don't think it was alien, but rather human made with advanced technology perhaps. It didn't look like a meteor, because of the slow speed. And it wasn't high in the sky, but maybe 15 degrees above the horizon - and bright enough to catch my attention from the left side of the bike. I'm pretty certain that humans have made some astounding space craft. The SR-71 Blackbird was built in the 1960s by Lockheed's Skunk Works; and I doubt that those engineers and their successors have been sitting on their laurels over the past sixty years. Also, I tend to think that humans might have built advanced civilizations over the past millennium, long gone... and it could be that some left earth... and maybe that's them returning to check upon things... and if so, they are still human... Such are the thoughts of a lone motorcyclist riding on a cold night for untold hours pondering nature's mysteries.

---

Nearing Quemado I saw an enormous bull elk standing majestically just off the highway. These creatures are flat-out awesome with their great size and extra large antlers. We get cow elk (females) in our yard quite often, and in fact nearly every morning in the winter months. But we have never seen a bull elk anywhere near our property - although we have heard their calls. But seeing them on these rides is so special.

My plan was to get gas at San Simon, AZ. I pulled off the interstate and stopped at the gas station on the south side of the road, and found that the pumps were not working. So I moved to the station on the north side, and found the same thing. My stop at San Simon was a bust, so I continued on to Lordsburg.

---

Ray's GPS instructions - simplified

I buy Garmin Nuvi 2597LMT GPSs on eBay for around $20. I use a RAM Mount Cradle Holder, and for mounting to the bike: RAM Handlebar Mount with 1" Ball, and a Double Socket Arm for 1" Ball.

Before each ride, I charge the GPS unit at home, using a USB 2.0 A to Mini B, 5-Pin charging cable, with the cable plugged in to a phone charger.

To power the GPS while riding, I use USB-mini hardwired charger, hooked up with a short Mini B 5pin male 90 degree right angle up to female usb cable. Before use, I join the White and Green wires of the short cable together. (Shorting the white and green wires together tricks the GPS so the the aftermarket charger will work.) Then I plug the 90 degree male end into the GPS, and cover with epoxy to hold the cable firmly to the GPS. My bike came with a BMW Motorrad Navigator, and I just tap the hardwired charger into that. On my other bikes I use a 12 volt relay triggered by a tail light wire.

With the GPS in hand, I make gas station waypoints. ("Points of Interest") On the map, I scroll and zoom in to a gas station, and create a waypoint by pressing on the location, pressing the address box, then "Save" and name. Repeat for all the gas stops. Back at the home screen, select "Apps", and "Trip Planner", and make a "New Trip" using the gas station waypoints. (Note: this method is for an Iron Butt trip on the highways only. For off-road, I use a different method.)

That's it - ready to roll!

Just Do The Thing