My Iron Butt Ride

I met Steve and Rodney in Oxford, Al at about 5:00am. Our first scheduled stop was to be in Atlanta, Ga. We decided to try and cover as many miles as possible in the first few hours while we were still fresh.We took I-20 east to Atlanta and when we got to there (about 90 mi), Steve was ready to find a gas station. We decided it would be best to slow down to about 75 to conserve fuel. Traffic was kind of heavy in Atlanta for a Saturday morning, but I figured it was because of the PGA Golf Championship.
We headed south out of Atlanta on I-75 because the next scheduled stop was Macon, Ga. Rodney,s bike stalled when we pulled up to the light at the bottom of exit ramp. The battery was dead and the culprit seemed to be an unplugged voltage regulator. We pushed it to the gas station where everyone fueled up. We thought if we got Rodney's bike running that it would recharge the battery. We push started it and headed east on I-16.
Rodney's bike seemed to be running OK, but his speedo and headlight were not working. We planned on stopping about halfway to Savannah so Rodney and Steve could get fuel . After we rode about 85 miles, we got off of the highway to find a gas station. Rodney's bike stalled again as we slowed at the bottom of the ramp. We thought that if we put Steve's charged battery in it that it may start charging. With Steves bike running, we switched batteries. Rodney's bike started right up. It was 1 mile to the gas station, so we rode there and they fueled up. As we headed back to the highway we noticed that Rodney's headlight was dim. When we started up the on ramp it stumbled a little. We all stopped on the side of the road and discussed options. Steve said that if I would continue, he would turn back with Rodney. This way they could continue to swap batteries as needed to get back home. I guess this was not the day that they were to complete the Iron Butt. They said they would try again another day and we parted ways. They turned back toward home and I continued on to Savannah. This is the only picture I got while Rodney and Steve were with me. This was just before they turned back.

The extra delays had put me a little behind schedule. I was supposed to meet my Nephew, his wife and kids for lunch in Jacksonville, Fl. I turned it up a notch and made it into Savannah in short order. I got fuel there and began the southward leg down I-95. I must have gotten right in the middle of the Snow Bird migration. The only time I've ever seen that many campers on the road is on the way to the Talladega Race. I was still able to make pretty good time. I wanted to get some pictures along the way, but it was pretty hazy along the coast. I was going to take a picture of my bike in front of the Welcome To Florida sign, but it was on a bridge without any room to stop and get the picture. A couple of miles down the road I was able to get the picture in front of the Official Welcome Center sign.

I made it to the Airport exit Waffle House where we were supposed to meet at exactly the time I had told them I would be there(what a lucky guess). My nephew(Thomas) was unable to get off from work, but his wife(Kim) and their two kids(Will and Zoe) were there. It gave me my first real break and my first real meal. I had been munching jerky and drinking water while on the road. I let the kids play on the bike and took a few pictures. After about an hour I headed back out.

This is from the Waffle House parking lot

I was determined to be in Pensacola for supper. This was my next contact to let someone know where I was. I had to make one fuel stop and it had gotten dark, but traffic had died down considerably since I had gotten out of the game traffic. The roads were pretty smooth and the weather was still holding out for me, so I was still making good time.

I lost my CB antenna when I came on to the bridge of the Black Water river just before Pensacola. When I hit the bump, the radio went dead. I knew what had happened since this was the second antenna to work it's way out of the mount for my Chatterbox in the last week. The set screw that holds the antenna in the mount is very small and it is hard to get it tight(the next one will have thread lock on it). I could still hear the stereo and the radar detector, just no CB.

I stopped in Pensacola where I could fuel, eat and call my sweety (Betty) to let her know I was on schedule and everything was still fine. When I called home she told me that it had been raining all day and it was starting to get cold. I told her that I only had 150 miles to go to pass the 1,000 mile mark and several hours left to do it. I said that if I got tired I would stop and I may stop at every rest area from Pensacola to Anniston.

I was in Pensacola for about an hour, then I headed North on hwy 29. I stopped in Flomaton to get a bottle of water and see if I could find out anything about the weather. I spent a few minutes talking to a local LEO who told me I was going to run into rain if I was heading north. It was still too hot to put on the rain gear until I needed it so I decided to wait. I headed towards the interstate on hwy 113. I think the LEO followed me at a distance for about 10 miles. I could see lights in my rearview and the radar detector didn't stop until the lights went away.

I couldn't believe it when I hit I-65 north. There was no traffic. Sometimes I would go for miles without seeing another light. This was fine with me because that meant I could concentrate more on what might be on the side of the road (since there are lots of deer in Alabama) and not have to be watching the drivers around me all of the time. I hadn't gone far when I started getting some light showers so I stopped at the first rest area to get into my rain gear. I had slowed down because of the darkness, the weather, and I was starting to get tired.

At the first sign that I wasn't concentrating I decided to stop. I had ridden about 950 miles, but it was past my bed time. I parked in an end space where I could lay on the grass next to my bike. It had stopped raining, but I didn't know for how long. I thought the rain would be a good alarm clock. I decided that if I didn't wake up in time, I would just try it another day. I went to sleep fast. After about an hour, someone started blowing their horn. I was suprised at how refreshed I felt after sleeping for an hour. As soon as I pulled back on to the highway, it started raining again. This was the hardest rain so far, but it still wasn't bad.

I stopped in Clanton, Al for fuel and I had passed the 1,000 mile mark by about 50 miles. I was home free... I knew that I could stop and get a motel anytime and still have made my ride. I guess that kept me going. I felt good and was only a couple of hours from home. After I came through Birmingham the rain stopped and the temperature began to drop. It never got cold enough for me to stop and put the liner in my jacket. I pulled back into the gas station where I had started 22 hrs and 15 min earlier. After I got gas I found out they were having trouble with the credit card machine. I asked if they could print me a reciept if I paid cash and they said yes. When I got the reciept the time was off by an hour, seems that their computer clock had not been reset for DST. I got him to write an explaination on the back. I checked in with Betty (my finish witness) and was home shortly after 3:30am. I went to bed without unpacking and slept for 8 hours.

Tips for anyone attempting this ride:
The most important thing I can tell anyone is that you don't have to finish just because you started. Know if it's time to throw in the towel and try again another day.
Wear a flip front or an open face helment so you can eat snacks and drink water without having to stop (and yes you can open a Nolan with one hand).
Change underclothes and socks about half way (boots too if you can) and use baby powder everywhere.
Stay away from blue jeans. wear something comfortable (loose fitting and soft).
Snack, don't eat big meals
Walk when you stop. Don't just sit for a few minutes. Walk around and stretch to get your circulation back.
Don't push yourself past your limits. 24 hours is plenty of time to make the ride with plenty of rest stops (if you don't believe it read the story on the Iron Butt site about the guy that made a saddlesore ride on a 50cc Yamaha).
Read the tips on the Iron Butt site.

As most of you know by now, I rode my 1997 BMW R1100RT. I had a full set of BMW luggage and a Rev Pack Jr. tank bag. I also packed my sleeping bag in a duffle. I strapped the duffle and my self inflating air matress to the rear seat. I didn't think I would need them, but I had them just in case. It also made for a good back rest.
I wore a Belstaff touring jacket and leather chaps. I had three pair of gloves to change with the weather and two pair of boots. I thought a fresh pair after about 12 hours would feel nice. I also had a generic pair of bib rain pants. I wore a Nolan flip front helment that I like a lot more after this trip.
I used a Chatterbox CB with my Panasonic CD/FM Stereo and my radar detector plugged into it. I had the Chatterbox tank bag mounted on top of the Rev Pack bag.
I kept my log sheets and pens in a small covered clip board in a zipper pouch on the end of my duffle. This made it easy to get to for log entries and I also stored my reciepts there. I'm sure I could think of other things that I should have brought along, but I didn't need anything else and I used everything I brought except the liner for my jacket (but I wouldn't go any place that the weather might change without it).