Member Contributer doug5551 Posted March 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 12, 2008 Every year the Iron Butt Association has an event called a "Pizza Party" in Jacksonville, Florida to coinside with Bike Week in Daytona Beach. It has evolved into a formal banquet, with Aerostich apparel permitted, that 300 people attend after riding there from all over North America. It is essentially a Long Distance Ride-to-Eat. Now the Motocycle Tourer's Forum got involved and organized what is called a 50CC ride, where you have 50 hours to ride from Coast to Coast, from Ocean Beach in San Diego to Jacksonville, Florida. There is also a version called 100 CCC, where you start in Jacksonville, ride to San Diego, and then ride back to Jacksonville within 100 hours. 17 people signed up for the 100 CCC and 10 people signed up for the 50 CC, including me on my 2000 Honda VFR. Tuesday evening of March 4th, there was a dinner for all of the 50CC riders at Hunters Steakhouse, a nice dining establishment in the Hotel Circle area of San Diego. It was great meeting the other riders for the first time, but kinda hard to enjoy the dinner with all of the nerves relating to the impending ride, which would be quite a challange. Right now, I live 35 minutes North of the starting location in Ocean Beach, which is one of the reasons I am doing this ride. Wednesday, March 5th, I was up at 3:15 am, out the door at 4:00 am, arrived at the mandatory odometer inspection and witnessing at 4:35 am, then to Ocean Beach for a required gas receipt, which would be my official starting time from which I would then have 50 hours to get to Jacksonville. My receipt was for 4:55 am, and then I was off for the other side of the North American Continent. Once on the way, my nerves settled down, and I was doing what I love to do, which is ride my VFR. I ended up completing the ride in 45 hours, which was at 2 am West Coast time, 5:00 am East Coast time of the second day. The first day I rode a bit more than 1,000 miles, where I stopped in Sonora,Texas, got a hotel room and slept about 6 hours. The second day was about 1,350 miles in about 22 hours. Friday I began to recover from the ride, attended the banquet, then Saturday went on a day trip to Daytona Beach and Saint Augustine, a trip of about 200 miles. Sunday I left to come back. I made it 925 miles to just West of Houston, Texas, then Monday to Deming, New Mexico. Yesterday I left Deming at sunrise, then rode back to San Diego, stopping in Carlsbad to visit fellow member Khyron at his workplace before going home. Total for the whole week was 5,000 miles in 7 days. I took one day off, so for the days I was actually riding, I averaged more than 800 miles a day. Essentially all I did was change my oil (Mobil 1 15-50) and my bike performed flawlessly. Highlights: After I left San Diego, about 700 miles into the ride, I stopped for gas in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I ran into two other 50CC riders who said that they were taking a 20 minute break for dinner, and if I was interested, I could ride with them. I could not believe how lucky I was to run into them, and quickly accepted their kind offer. We ended up riding the remaining 1,700 miles together. Riding with them made the ride 20 times more enjoyable than if I had to do it alone, and they made it an event I will always treasure. Many props to Chad and Richard. Gerbings jacket liner and Classic gloves-worth every penny-this ride would not have been possible without them; Corbin seat, fits me perfectly-I could ride 1,000 miles today if I wanted to; the road from Sonora, Texas to Kerrville, Texas on the second day-my favorite part of the ride-about 40 degrees, at sunrise, with no other vehicles on the road and 80 MPH Texas daytime speed limits. Lowlights: riding through West Texas deer country at night- I personally did not see any, but I was focused on the road. My partners and other riders saw herds of deer off the road, and we did see several fresh road killed deer. I could justify riding this stretch for about 6 hours once, but I am not going to be making a habit of riding through this part of Texas at night; coming back home I had 150 miles of Texas thunderstorms-when you wake up and the Weather Channel has a warning for the area you are heading to, you know you are in for a wet day, I just took it slow and easy and rode it out. Thanks for reading this. I took no pictures (was too busy riding), but when/if my partners email me pics, I will add them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted March 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 12, 2008 Congrats and good write up.......looking forward to the pictures................. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlecreek Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 neat ride! i would love to do that one day...may have to wait a couple of years though...what tires did you ride on and how did they handle the miles/road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 wow, just wow. you MUST have an IRON BUTT. nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer doug5551 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 12, 2008 neat ride! i would love to do that one day...may have to wait a couple of years though...what tires did you ride on and how did they handle the miles/road? I used Pilot Roads on my front and rear. The original Pilot Roads, NOT the new Pilot Road 2s. As far as I am concerned, for leaping the North American Continent in a single bound, there is No better choice. They take the miles without any problems-last set I got 18,000 miles out of my front and 12,000 out of my rear tire. The work spectacularly in the rain, and since I am not aggressive in the corners, they work just fine for me in the twisties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Wow, surviving a ride through west Texas at night is quite a feat. If the deer don't kill you the armadillo will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer PhatPat33 Posted March 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 12, 2008 Nice report, Doug, and congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFR05 Posted March 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 12, 2008 Doug, Great job!! I'm looking forward to hearing all about it in detail when we ride together. Geo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Well done and congradulations on a great weeks ride! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted March 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 12, 2008 I ran into two other 50CC riders who said that they were taking a 20 minute break for dinner, and if I was interested, I could ride with them. I could not believe how lucky I was to run into them, and quickly accepted their kind offeR.-when you wake up and the Weather Channel has a warning for the area you are heading to, you know you are in for a wet day, I just took it slow and easy and rode it out. Thanks for reading this. I took no pictures (was too busy riding), but when/if my partners email me pics, I will add them. Great write-up! The three points quoted above are familiar to me as well. The longest ride I've done alone was from Colorado to Wisconsin and back. It would have been so much more fun with a riding partner. On my return trip, I split it into two days and stayed in Lincoln, Nebraska just to see what was in town. I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. and hit the Weather Channel as soon as the alarm went off..........Oh Sh*t! Tornados highly likely across western Nebraska starting early in the day rather than during the afternoon as usual. I was up, checked out, and literally on the highway at cruising speed when the clock on the bike said 6:21. I had some very light rain, high winds, and crazy green skies for about three hours and then all was calm. I'm sure I would have had to stay another night if I wasn't in gear so early. And last but not least, there were some great sights along the way, but when it's just you and a CD player flying along, you just don't take too many photos. I've learned to make time for them since then because I didn't have a single photo to show for 1200 miles of riding. Just curious too as to what your new found friends were riding. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Congrats! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer doug5551 Posted March 13, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2008 Just curious too as to what your new found friends were riding. Cheers! Mailman, Thanks for the comments and reinforcement. We took ending pics, so you will all get to see how ugly I looked upon completion in Jax, once I can get them emailed to me. Chad had a : 2003 Honda ST 1300 280 Mile Range Richard had a: 2008 Yamaha Venture 180 Mile Range Yes, that's right, all V-4s.... Here is a link with a complete listing of participants: http://jasonjonas.com/rides/riderList.do?i...mp;rcid=204#204 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jovinski Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Man that sounds awesome and I am from Jacksonville. I have never heard of that. Would love to do something like that. Maybe next year! Maybe could catch you on the ride back! Wow, that sounds so damn cool!! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Lobster Posted March 13, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2008 Doug, awesome job. I did the Great Lakes 50 a few years ago and I will totally agree about riding through deer country at night...spooky stuff. It's very hard to concentrate on looking for deer when you're that tired! Congrats. Make sure you send in all your stuff so you get the certificates from the IBA. I did mine with a buddy who never sent his in! You also must have one tough ass. Mine hurt for three days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepergale Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Man that sounds awesome and I am from Jacksonville. I have never heard of that. Would love to do something like that. Maybe next year! Maybe could catch you on the ride back! Wow, that sounds so damn cool!! :thumbsup: Ditto except I am at the other end. San Diego CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer doug5551 Posted March 13, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 13, 2008 Larry, In this case, the MTF organized the witnesses and the riders just had to collect their gas receipts and note the mileage at the time of fill up. When we arrived at the hotel in Jax, they took digital pics of all gas receipts, the gas log, and witness form with official mileage. They then gave me the T-shirt I earned for such hard work. All paperwork is processed and just a matter of time till they mail my certificate. As for you other guys interested in a 50cc, you can do one at any time. Actually, in May or June with the longer days might be optimal because it would minimize your riding time at night. I only did this now because of the MTF involvement and the IBA pizza party. Here is a link to the rules and forms: http://www.ironbutt.com/ridecerts/getdocument.cfm?DocID=4 Please let me know if I can help anyone with dreaming/planning this endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BonusVFR Posted March 17, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 17, 2008 Thanks. Funny I almost did the San Diego to Daytona ride in early March ............but never knew about the Iron Butt stuff. Instead, I may shoot East now in May but.......................long drive/ride and not the roads I really want to see on a VFR or even a Wing!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRtiger Posted March 17, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted March 17, 2008 Thnks for posting the report. This is the one additional Iron Butt that I want to do on my VFR. People look at you like you are nuts for wanting to do a ride like this on the VFR. I know you must have been delighted to run into the other two riders for company on the trip. It helps to keep everyone alert. CONGRATS :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer doug5551 Posted March 20, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 20, 2008 Here are some pics from the trip: A couple of action shots At the beach in Jax, I am on the right, getting ready to go gather sand and ocean water: The three amigos, after 2400 miles in 45 hours, plus some rest.... A picture of me with Richard Buber and his 1978 Goldwing, named Oldwing. Richard wanted to purchase a bike for less than his Aerostich suit, so he paid $375 for this and then proceeded to ride it 100K miles in a year. It currently has 295K on its odometer. Richard had just ridden a 100 CCC which is to ride from Jax to San Diego and then back to Jax - about 4800 miles in less than 100 hours: A close up of my VFR with 3,500 miles down and only 1,500 miles to home: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRedleg Posted May 4, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted May 4, 2008 Good Stuff and congrats on the safe ride. :biggrin: Your action shots are on I-10 E in Las Cruces, NM right? Recognize that stretch really well from my trips to White Sands (another garden spot the Army likes to send me to occassionally) :ph34r: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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