Iron Buttin' it to Ronnie's...August 2010

So I was making my plans for the Ronnie Rally – a little get together down at Ronnie’s in Silver Springs, NV back in August– and I got the idea to do a solo Iron Butt ride (1000 miles in 24 hrs). One of the things I was most looking forward at the rally was seeing Jim (vol210). He was going to fly down to the rally with his wife, Wendy, and I had not seen them since Jim had gone home from the hospital following his accident. Jim had done several Iron Butt rides and I had wanted to do one, so it seemed like the perfect time. Unofficially, I had pretty much done one last year – around 975 miles from Moab, UT to home in Spokane -- so I was confident about being able to do it. I just needed to plot a course and head out.

I decided it would be more challenging and scenic if I stuck mostly to the 2-lane highways -- slower going but more enjoyable. I also wanted to include Lolo Pass into Montana and a nighttime stop in the desert to watch the Perseid meteor shower, which would be peaking the night of my ride.

To certify an Iron Butt ride, officially the SaddleSore 1000 (1000 miles in 24 hrs), you need a time stamped gas receipt from your starting and ending points, along with witness signatures and a ride log. My plan was to make it to Ronnie’s (1130 miles) in 24 hours and have Jim sign as my witness.

First off let me just say congratulations to Harley Davidson. Apparently they are having another anniversary or celebration of some sort, because seemingly every road I took on my trip was decorated in orange, and there were constant slow parades of vehicles. Slowed me up a bit.

Packed up and ready to go. Get some gas and my receipt, put my tunes in and I’ll be ready to ride. I filled my tank at 12:42 pm and hit the road.

I started out through the rolling hills and wheat fields of the Palouse Region, south of Spokane, and headed southeast into Idaho.

Rolled south through the small towns of the Idaho panhandle towards Highway 12.

Once I hit the junction for eastbound 12 I saw a sign of things to come (again and again).

Highway 12 was a great ride, with gentle sweeping curves as it followed the river. For the history buffs, this is the route Lewis & Clark followed in their exploration of the Northwest.

Followed this Gold Wing for a while...or was it just a souped up golf cart. A motorcycle with a roof? Oh well, looked like they were enjoying themselves when I passed.

At Kooskia, most of the traffic has disappeared and you hit this sign. Sweet, it’s playtime now! After a curvy ride along the river, this is kind of like having lunch, followed by recess.

Highway 12 continues towards Lolo Pass into Montana, dropping out of the mountains just south of Missoula. The road continues alongside the river, just fewer cars and more trees now.

Beaches, Pacific Northwest style.

The road was lined with blackberry bushes along the way, so of course I had to make several stops to enjoy Mother Nature’s offering.

Highway 12/Lolo Pass was well worth the ride. Not as challenging as many windy roads, mostly sweeping curves, but fun to ride and very scenic.

I fueled up, grabbed a bite to eat and had a cup of coffee in Lolo, MT, around 8 pm. I chatted with a couple riders for a bit at this stop. They were Idaho Fish & Game employees, traveling and doing some equipment checks at the various offices. How cool, riding your bike and getting paid! Anyway, they invited me to ride along with them, but our stops were a little out of synch, and I hung out a little longer -- so I thanked them and told them maybe I would run into them down the road. Back on the road, I headed south on Highway 93 towards Hamilton as the sun set and darkness began to take over. A short stretch was even 4 lanes, up until the construction zone. A stretch of dirt, mud & gravel followed by freshly oiled asphalt. Fun stuff…

Spotted this impressive display at the local taxidermy as I was riding through a small town. Had to stop and take a closer look.

Happy to say, of all the deer I saw roadside while riding in the darkness, this was the only one I saw playing in the street. This one crossed the road while I was standing on the sidewalk in downtown small town Montana. I saw a lot of deer while riding in the darkness, but the only close call came later in the morning with a kamikaze coyote. Came around a curve while riding alone, to find a coyote running a parallel path in the other lane. At the last moment he tried to veer right and throw himself under the wheels but didn’t quite make it.

Somewhere after Hamilton I met up again with my Fish & Game buddies and rode with them for a couple hours in the dark. This turned out to be a bit of a blessing, since there were a lot of deer and portions of the highway were very twisty. Three sets of lights lit up the path pretty well. They stopped in Salmon, ID to grab a motel room. Me, not so wise. I kept going, even though it was around midnight and getting cold. My plan was to grab a motel down the road for just a few hours, then get up under the cover of darkness and watch the meteor shower. The stars were amazing in the desert sky at night…toss in a meteor shower and it’s a spectacular sight you just can’t witness near the lights of the city. As for the motel down the road – all those were full, so eventually I checked into the Iron Butt Motel for a 2 hr nap. That’s a roadside nap, on the bike, in the desert. It was cold, very cold.

After my stargazing and my nap, at 5am I came across a small truck stop that had just opened up in Arco, ID. It was a welcome site and I pulled in for some coffee and a little warmth. The gal inside offered to make me a breakfast burrito (sure, make it two) – I’m sure all the boys get that offer, but I was happy to be her first. I asked if she knew what the overnight temp had been; she had no idea, but told me it was a lot colder than normal – she even had to get up and grab an extra blanket. Don’t talk to me about blankets.

Eventually I decided I better get going. I headed out to the bike, warmed up, fed, caffeinated and ready to ride…and enjoy the sunrise.

Funny thing when you’re pushing a “deadline,” I found myself constantly doing the math. How many miles, how long, what is my average speed, how much farther, can I make it in time, how fast do I need to go? I was on some slow roads and had been stopping frequently to get fuel, take pictures, eat blackberries and just take in the scenery. Throw in some extended stops to take in some stargazing, a nap, and a couple meals and I was fast approaching the point where it was mathematically possible but maybe not likely that I would make it. I felt like I could ride all day, just didn’t know if I could make it to Ronnie’s inside of 24 hours.

So a few miles down the road I came to Craters of the Moon National Monument, an area shaped by ancient lava flows. It was immediately probably 10 degrees warmer when I hit it. The lava must trap and hold a lot of heat and it sure felt good. I didn’t have the time, but I decided I was here and I wanted to ride through and check it out. If I didn’t make my deadline, oh well, I don’t mind putting on some miles, but I like to enjoy the ride. It was about 6:30 and the entrance booth was, of course, not staffed. There was not a soul in site, but there were fee envelopes for those who participate in the honor system. The fee was $4 – I had 3 ones and some 20’s. I threw the 3 ones in and a little change. A bit short, but I’m sure they won’t be coming after me.

There were various trails and features to hike too -- I got off the bike for a short walk -- but primarily I just rode the 7-mile auto loop and took in the highlights and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the early morning.

A closeup shot of the "dark" gravel. If you've never picked up a piece of pumice, it is oddly very light and easily crushed or worn down. Signs of course urged visitors to stay on the trails since the formations can easily be damaged or worn down from traffic.

The campground in the rocks near the entrance of the park.

As I left there about 45 minutes later, I realized I was really behind the pace now. Time to start making some time. It was warming up, the roads were pretty wide open and I had no more stops on my agenda.

At this point I was on lightly traveled roads through the desert heading towards Twin Falls, ID where I would hop on the interstate for most of the last 300 miles or so through Nevada. If I kept it up around 80 mph I figured I could still make it.

Then came more construction zones, and more slow speed zones in the middle of the sandbox. Eventually pulled into Twin Falls and the highway became on of those main boulevards…stoplight to stoplight. Thirty minutes later I hit “the” detour sign…road closed ahead. “The” detour sign turned out to be the only one. I followed a few cars aimlessly through a residential area, trying to find our way through. Eventually I turned back, pulled up to a flagman and asked her how the hell do I get to the other side. I felt better when I went back – the route was completely unmarked -- at least I didn’t miss something, but now I was way behind. I had not factored in any extra time for getting through town.

At this point I realized I couldn’t make it all the way to Ronnie’s in 24 hrs so I had to do some recalculating. I could however, still do 1000 miles in the 24 hrs if all went well. I was on the interstate and the speed limit was 75. Time to push the limits of the bike and make some real time. However, with the headwinds, that limit turned out to be about 80 mph according to my GPS -- unless I was going up a grade, then it was much lower. Another limitation on the C50 is the cruising range at full throttle is pretty short. I was getting about 30-33 mpg and with the scarcity of gas stations I had to stop about every 90-100 miles for gas. I wasn’t making the time I hoped and then my calculations revealed a new problem. I might make the mileage mark in time, but I might not be able to get fuel when I needed to. Winnemuca was the only town on my map in my “time & miles” range. Problem was I would only be at about 980 miles when I passed through there. Be there in time, but it would do me no good to stop. I continued on at full throttle, just on the chance I may come up on a fuel station in the middle of nowhere. As my 24 hrs ticked down to the final minutes I spotted a structure in the distance. When I got close I realized it was a truck stop. I raced down the off-ramp, pulled in and quickly pumped some fuel. Receipt said 12:40:56 PM. I made it with time to spare…1020 miles, in 23 hours and 59 minutes.

Officially, I had my iron butt in, so I decided to take a break. It was now over 100 degrees and I still had my leathers on – didn’t want to take the time to stop and pack them away any earlier. I found a witness to sign for me – a local school board member out for a ride on his Harley. Headed in to make some phone calls and have lunch, while the C50 cooled down.

Afterwards, did the last 100+ miles at a more leisurely pace. Had a great time at the Rally…some good friends and good times!

Apparently it is tradition to smoke a cigar after completing such a ride. Who am I to mess with tradition.

So would I do another Iron Butt ride? Why not? I did another one on the way home a few days later. Took the interstate route this time. Dan (BYUfan), and I rode together for about 300 miles to Elko, had lunch and parted ways. He headed home to Utah, and I turned north on 93, to Twin Falls, then up through Idaho Falls, to Butte, MT and home on I-90 through Missoula and Idaho. Yes, interstate, but not a bad ride. The southern stretch through Idaho parallels the west side of the Tetons, and the stretch from Butte to Spokane is a very scenic ride. And there are actually some awesome curves through the mountain passes of Idaho, that finish off an 1100 mile ride very nicely. Just for safety's sake, I did take that stretch far less aggressively than normal.

Dan and I heading out from Ronnie's. Not an early start, but it's hard to be in a hurry when you have to leave good friends.

It's not easy for a C50 to keep up with a Victory Vision.

The city of Twin Falls is built on both sides of the Snake River Canyon. Pretty cool site when you cruise through town and see it. This was taken on the return route though, at a narrower portion of the canyon, several miles outside town. As the name implies, there are twin waterfalls back in town. This trip I settled for the quick stop at this lonely viewpoint.

The next morning, after a second stay at the Iron Butt Motel and an early morning breakfast, I hit the Montana interstate.

The ride home on the interstate was warm and sunny, through some scenic countryside, and actually rather relaxing. Now if we could just do something about all the orange...sigh.

Did I mention what the bike looks like when you ride all night?

I really enjoyed making the trip, but it's not a way I'd want to travel often. Who knows, might make the same trip again and hit a wall and not be able to go on, but I felt good and finished both the to & from Iron Butts without any problem. I know a lot of people do Iron Butts, get up at 3am, get on the interstate and go 75 mph for about 16 hours or so and ride straight through in one day. I chose a much slower route, but they were roads I wanted to ride and some areas I had not seen before. I really didn't place any demands on myself either. Mostly I kept going, but if I wanted to stop for any particular whim I did...I stopped to pick blackberries...I drank my coffee slow and enjoyed it...watched the meteor shower...hurried, but took my time and enjoyed the trip. I wanted to make it, but not a crisis if I didn't and more enjoyable than a 16 hour sprint on the interstate either way. Not sure when I might upgrade to a bigger bike, but there was a part of me too that wanted to do it on the C50 while I still have it.

A few shots of some of the moments and the good folks I spent the weekend with....in no particular order. (Thanks to Nadine, Colleen and the other picture takers as well...since most of these are not my pics...I just borrowed them.)

Some of the group and our guests of honor, Jim (vol210) and Wendy.

Polovision doing his best "look mom, no hands" routine. I think that was the last time we rode with that bike. Paul went down a few days after the rally, nearby, when a lady pulled onto the highway in front of him. He'll be OK, but the bike is done.

Our host, Ronnie, on his Yellow Skull Bus.

Got caught on my way to pull up alongside Polo.

Ronnie, his wife Claudine, Mike (boulvdozer), Kirby (Krusty)

Probably explaining to Andy why his beemer needed a skull.

The beemer gets inducted into the cruiser club.

Checking out BYUfan's new Vision (in it's own designated parking spot).

The Vision at night.

Onemudstudd and goofee123.

For those who could make it, there was dinner at Claimjumpers in Reno.

Me and Dan (BYUfan)

The kid's table.

And for after dinner entertainment...Ronnie had a breakdown. Turns out with enough hands you can just pick up a motorcycle and put it in the back of a pickup. Sure glad someone brought a pickup -- and she even had tie-down straps.

And after that fun...my bike wouldn't start. Finally got it going -- believed it was probably a bad contact in the ignition. A little blast of air in the keyhole and a liberal spray of contact cleaner back at the garage, and the problem was solved.