BBG Ride Report 3/7/2006

2006-03-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

BBG 4500Ride Report
John Tomasovitch

Let’s see, where do I start this report. I guess it started back in December of 2005 with a simple call to a friend to wish him and his family a Happy Holidays. Peter Leap asked if I was going to ride to Jacksonville, FL for the IBA (Iron Butt Association) RTE (ride to eat) in March. I told him that I was. He then asked if I wanted to try a BBG4500 on the way there. I told him my riding schedule for the year was full but I would check. I proceeded to check at work for my personal days left. It ended up that I had 9 days. After a quick check with the Wife (she said," No problem have fun!"), I called Pete back and told him to start planning.
Fuel stops were planned between 330 and 340 miles to keep us under the IBA rules for this ride. Witnesses were needed between each leg (also for the rules of the IBA) and hotel rooms for the breaks. For those who are unfamiliar with the IBA, the ride consisted of three 1500 mile days that must be completed consecutively. I left this part up to Pete which later proved to be a great idea as Peter is a great trip planner. I just asked him to give me a copy of everything in case something happened to him. In that way I would still be able to continue with the trip.
I was away for work (I drive truck for a living) for two weeks prior to the start of our ride. So a lot of the preparations that needed to be done ton my bike was going to have to be preformed the weekend prior to the ride. This is a major violation of the IBA suggestion which recommend that no work be preformed on the bike ten days prior to the ride. I found myself at the dealer, one day before the ride, getting the brakes bled on the bike. Two Jacks (my local dealership) came through in flying colors! The bike was repaired and ready to ride. Eleven hours to go and I just needed to run home, install a fuel cell, pack my bike, and get some rest. “No problem”.
Finally, after all the planning, we're ready. Ed Kneller and Ken Osieki met us at the Sheetz store in Dunmore, PA at 23:50. Ken and Ed would provide witness signatures and our fuel receipt would verify starting time. I was excited to see some friends for the send off. It was definitely a brisk morning-- the bank across the street read 22 degrees. “Hello Mister Gerbing, it’s a pleasure to meet you” (Gerbing is the heated clothing I wear). Most of the day went by uneventfully. In the southern part of Virginia we ran into some scattered snow. The roads were a little wet but the temperature was 34 degrees. “We’re having a heat wave”. All of the stops were executed perfectly. Only one unscheduled stop. There was a slight delay on the southern side of Little Rock, AR--road construction. The day was planned perfectly, and ridden perfectly-- no delays. I guess you can say it was perfection, perfectly delivered. We arrived at the hotel in Dallas, TX Bill Thweat was there to sign forms then off to shower and bed.
The next morning I was awakened by the loudest screeching sound ever--- a Screaming Meanie. I used the timers before but for some reason I couldn’t get my fingers to work. Pete ended up taking the Screaming Meanie from me. I guess he couldn’t get his fingers to work either, because as I was working my way around the room looking for the light switch, he’s trying to stuff the Screaming Meanie under some pillows. Finally after some laughing, the problem was solved. We probably woke up half of the hotel. Bikes packed off to the gas station for another verification receipt and here we go again! The weather was warm when we started but by the time we hit West Texas we needed to stop and put on the Gerbings again. Once again, another unscheduled stop. By the time we arrived in Las Cruces, NM the sun was up and we were in good spirits. Running across the high plains of New Mexico was new and exciting to me! Our fuel mileage was being cut into due to high winds. We crossed into Arizona and made a quick unscheduled stop for “duty calls”--a quick call to my wife to let her know I was OK. Around Tucson, AZ we started passing other LD (long distance) riders coming the other way. I assumed they were 100ccc riders (coast-to-coast-to-coast in 100 hrs. 100ccc). We both recognized one rider that passed us. It was Dave Riley (cdog) riding his lounge chair (gold wing). Finally we hit the turning point of the ride around Casa Grande, AZ. At this point we had ridden 1005 miles of our ride! Only 502 miles to go and day two would be in the books. Gas up, a fresh cup of coffee, and off we go! It was windy on the way back to Las Cruces, NM. Now the wind was working for us instead of against us and we got the best fuel mileage of the whole trip. We also substituted our originally scheduled trip stop in Las Cruces with an easier stop about five miles from the original. After this, around El Paso, we found out what a dust storm really was. I’ll tell you it wasn’t pleasant! It looked like snow except it doesn’t snow in El Paso. Later Pete told me that he was trying to eat a banana during the storm and the banana tasted like dirt. The moral the story is “Don’t eat a banana in a dust storm in El Paso.” When it was over we looked like someone had dumped a shopvac over us. Finally day two ended in Van Horn, TX. Pilot was our stop for another receipt verification then the hotel, shower and bed. 1507 miles for day two. Total for the trip so far was 3023 in less than 48 hours.
Day three started a little more organized than day two. I was up and my mind was rested but my body was questioning my actions. Dressed for cold weather, we proceeded back to the Pilot for the starting receipt. It was a cool start but not cold. West Texas is very lonely and dark at night. It was comforting to know my friend was not far behind and his headlamps kept me company. At the first fuel stop of the day we bumped into a gentleman on a Gold wing who was on the 100ccc ride. We needed rain gear needed just before Houston, TX. At our second fuel stop on the east side of Houston, we thought we were out of the bad weather but about 20 miles later we found that wasn't true. It was the hardest rain I’d ever ridden in-- a constant battle. Cars and trucks were trying to stay ahead of us and we were trying to stay ahead of them. I guess they're afraid you’ll fall in front of them and we don’t want the spray in front of us. Later, I learned that an exhaust stud had broken and I developed an exhaust leak. We stopped at a gas station about 30 miles from the Louisiana state line. An attendant told us that if we kept riding another 8 or 10 miles the weather was better. At just about 705 miles into our day and 3728 into our total trip, neither of us wanted to quit. Sure enough after driving about ten miles, we crossed the Louisiana line and weather was definitely better although the wind was nasty. One hundred miles of this and we were going to make it, I hoped. On the twenty mile bridge in Louisiana, I told Pete 643 miles to go. In Baton Rouge, LA we were separated, but we met at our next fuel stop in Slidell, LA.
This is where I found out that the exhaust stud was broken but I decided to keep going. Besides, at this point, we were 979 miles into our trip for the day and 4008 for the entire ride. After going through extremely cold weather, a dust storm, extreme rain and wind, not to mention fighting sleep deprivation constantly, it’s not easy just to walk away. At this point I was constantly second guessing myself. I found myself constantly worrying about silly things that normally wouldn’t bother me. After the Florida state line, we stopped. I think Pete saw my concern for my bike and made up a reason to stop. This was a godsend to me! I checked the exhaust and realized the problem hadn't gotten any worse. This put my mind at ease. Around the Pensacola FL area we had a chance to see the destruction of a hurricane firsthand. Sections of bridges were just missing and we were driving on pieces of floating bridges. At our last fuel stop, my bike definitely did not sound right but neither the performance nor the fuel mileage was affected. This was the final test--only 180 miles to go and we were ahead of schedule. Nice! At this point, I told Pete that if something was to happen to my bike not to stop. He just blew that off. I think he knew that I would make it. He was probably right in thinking this because the bike would have had to have a total meltdown before I would have stopped. Well our test was over, we made it to Jacksonville, FL with time to spare, fuel receipt in hand, and witness forms signed by Tim Yow. We headed to the hotel just across the street. It was great to see my wife, and know the support was there from her and other friends that greeted us in Jacksonville.
Ride summary
4534 miles in 3 Days.
Thanks to my Wife for supporting me, Peter Leap for planning a great trip, and witnesses for the helping hand along the way.

BBG 4500 Report

BBG Ride Report 3/7/2006