Number 72!

I know I've been remiss about posting updates about my rides. It's been so busy here with life, work and just starting my summer off, I just haven't had enough time in one block to get this done. Anyway, now I'm here.
The day is Friday, the 4th day of June in the great year of 2010. I finished my day of work, finished loading my bike and off I went to Northampton Mass to the start of the Minuteman 1000 Rally headquarters. It was warm, yet beautiful and the GPS brought me down some amazing roads through western NH and Mass before I finally got on I91 to make my final approach to the Clarion Conference Center.
When I got there, many bikes already lined the back parking lot. My buddy, who was chaperoning the event, was already there too. Bikes ranged from antiques, to Moto Guzzi's, to BMW's to Goldwing's. Either way you looked at it, these bikes were amazing to look at. All had GPS's mounted, radios, radar detectors, SPOT's, auxiliary fuel cells and much more. I was in heaven.
After parking the Wing, I made my way down to the Hampshire Room of the hotel. It was quite warm and muggy, but when I got in there, I saw a couple of familiar faces. I plunked my butt down and started to check in. I handed over my insurance papers, waiver form and a photo was taken of me with the waiver. The memory stick used in the camera as proof of my trip was also logged.
I got up and made my way to the room to change my clothes. After that, it was time for happy hour in the ball room. When I walked in there were about 15 tables and each were partially full. A screen hosted pictures of past rally's. The energy was intense. I had a beer, dinner was served and we were handed our 'rally books'. The rally books have all the bonus locations listed. I'm number 72! My first rally... this is real!
It's about 8pm and I am off to my room with my honey to finalize my route.
Well, it's about 10:30pm and now my GPS is acting up. I've managed to get all my waypoints loaded up. At this point, I'm thinking it is an issue with a low battery. Everything is there though, so I'm heading to bed.
It's now 4:00 am and the alarm didn't go off like it was supposed too! Well, at least I didn't sleep much. I pull my sleepy self out of bed and I jump in the shower. I'm enjoying it now because it will be quite a while before I see a shower again!!!
I finish getting ready and make my way outside. Right behind me is my buddy so we start chatting. It is dark,muggy and wet. I get the cover off my bike and start prepping it. I put the GPS in the mount and it is working fine. I get in line and the rally staff start going through the final odometer reading. Unfortunately, I lined up in the wrong line!!! I move my bike to the new/correct line!!! Oh no... my GPS is acting up again. Now it wont turn on at all.
It's starting time, 6am, bikes start to leave. My time is 6:06, but I have to pull off to figure out something. I check the GPS that is built into the bike to see if I can put in the coordinates for all my locations. Although it would take forever to enter everything, it is an option. No go. A rally staffer comes up to me, along with the rally master.
Luckily someone had an extra GPS that I could use. I load my waypoints onto the unit and rig it in place of my Zumo. I wont have any voice prompts so I will have to come up with a system to follow as I make my way around New England.
My route went as follows:
1. Tanglewood in western Mass. 7:30 am.
2. Madison Square Garden. 12:45
3. NY Islanders arena. 14:02.
4. Playland,. 15:31.
5. Gallaher Estate. 16:06.
6. Wilton PLayhouse. 16:31.
7. Palace Theater, CT. 17:22.
8. Hartford Civic Center, CT. 18:32.
9. Freeman Center, CT. 19:11.
10. Rest stop in Waterford CT. 2 hours of down time.
11. Dunkin Center, Providence RI. 23:07
12. Boston University, Boston Ma. 00:17.
13. Boston Garden, Boston Ma. 00:29.
14. Adam's Playhouse, Wilton NH. 02:05.
15. Peterborough Players, Peterborough NH. 02:33.
16. No GPS Sign, Acworth NH. 03:26.
17. Landmark College, Putnam VT. 05:02.
18. Arrive back at Clarion Conference Center, Northampton Mass! 05:53!!

What a long ride, but I made it. I checked back in, got my odometer check done. 960+ miles!! I had a few bumps in my route, definitely will make adjustments for my next rally! Scoring concluded that I was in 16th place!! Not bad for my first time out. Final results here!

What a ride!!!
Prep and Finish Rally Photo's!

Rally Photo's!

Well, enjoy the photos! I will write more as I ride more. I will also commit to documenting my saddle sore ride. All the paperwork is in, just waiting for all my results to come in!

Ciao!

Ready to roll

Well, it doesn't look like the weather will be stellar this Saturday, but not a complete washout nonetheless. After the last few weeks of work stress, I'm ready to enjoy some 1 on 1 time with me and the mistress (aka my Goldwing). I don't mind getting a little wet. We'll see how it goes.
I had a bit of a stressful night two nights ago. I was working in the garage when I noticed some oil on some boards when I slid them under the bike while cutting them. I noticed I hadn't 'snugged up' the bolts on my final drive. That wasn't so bad until I went all He-man on the cast aluminum fill plug for the final drive... That stunk to say the least.
So... I decided to run to the closest Honda Motorcycle dealer. I won't mention any names, but they are the BEST of the BEST pieces of butt-hole I've ever seen. I would have been BEST served by just going up to Nault's. I won't any names, but they certainly weren't the BEST place to deal with... They lost my business.
Anywho... enough of that, I was able to order the plug from one dealership and Nault's had one in stock for a third of the price. Now I will have two, just in case I go rogue again and snap another plug.
The baby is all fixed and ready to roll on Saturday morning, 4am! I will be posting updates on Facebook and will transfer the whole story to this blog at some point when I return.
Talk to ya'll soon!

Minute Man 1000 Rally (MM1K)

I'm registered and ready to roll for the MM1K motorcycle rally!! This is a little different format to the SS1K in the sense that you get points for certain destinations and the Rally Master dictates the point values and destinations. Full details can be found on the main MM1K web site. I'm in the process of seeing if there is anyone to share the hotel expenses, but with only 50 people registered for the event thus far it might be a little complicated. The nice part is, I will be already certified by then, so I will get the full rally experience.

Another layer of IB ready to go, I think

So I remembered last night about a cool little application called Google Latitude that combined with my blackberry, can show where I am at. I reinstalled the application on my phone and although not spot on where I am, it showed me pretty close to my location. That said, if interested, people can see where I am at on my long distance rides. To use it, you will need a Google account and have the applet loaded into iGoogle. I believe I will have to add you as a friend in Latitude in order for you to see me. If you're interested, send me a note and we can see how it works!!!
Throughout my ride I will be posting my location and brief updates on how the ride is going on Facebook. Either way, you will be able to see my progress.

SS1K Ride and Iron Butt Certification Route

Ready to roll... Below is an itinerary for my SS1000 ride.
Here is the thought process I used to build this ride:
* Avoid riding into the sun as much as possible
* Steer clear of major cities during peak times (understanding it's Saturday)
* Maximize highway use, minimizing toll's (I wasn't able to completely eliminate them however)
* Not backtracking roads
* Major stops be where 24h gas stations are located

Total Miles from MapQuest: 1074.72 taking 19.32 hours (without stops).

I'm really comfortable with this route. The only questionable part for me is the run from Mount Morris to Champlain. It's not a highway, but a state route. There are no big cities and from what I can see it is pretty clear from a traffic perspective. That is the longest stretch of the ride.

Location	ETA	Stop Time and Activity
Leave house, go to Draper Mobil in Milford	Saturday 04:00a	Top off tank, odometer check, get receipt, start clock
55 Kane St. West Hartford, CT	Saturday 06:30a	15 min stop, Top off tank, odometer check, get receipt
Elmhurst, PA	Saturday 10:00a	15 min stop, Top off tank, odometer check, get receipt
3279 Mt. Morris Geneseo Rd, Mt. Morris, NY	Saturday 01:45p	30-60 min stop, lunch, Top off tank, odometer check, get receipt
FUEL ONLY STOP	TBD	Fuel, odometer check, get receipt
1038 State Route 11, Champlain NY	Saturday 08:45p-09:15	30-60 min stop, Fuel, dinner, odometer check, get receipt
Return to Milford	Sunday 01:00-02:00a	END RIDE, odometer check, get receipt

Saddle Sore Date's Determined!

So I'm ready to go on my first long distance ride to gain my Iron Butt certification. First try is 04/17 into 04/18 and the second try is 04/26 into 04/27. I am still trying to determine if I will shoot for the BunBurner ride which is 1500 miles in 36 hours or not. The bike is ready to go too. I got it all tore down, drained all the fluids, added some 'features'.
I added a harness that will allow my secondary GPS to go through my headset. The GPS built into the bike can still be used, but that will only serve as a backup now. That same harness does the same for the radar detector (not yet purchased). When anything makes an announcement, this harness will automatically switch the signal to the item that is alerting. It also allows for my cell phone to announce through the headset as well.
The hardwired IPOD is still used. The one thing I have added for this isn't actually hooked up since when it came in, it was DOA. Thank goodness those great folks at Honda Direct Line bent their rules to allow for the swap out (I ordered this stuff over a month and a half ago, just getting around to using it... They have a 15 day return policy). I got an iJet remote control, no more digging into the fairing pocket to change what's playing!!! Really cool stuff!!
You'll see my really big coffee mug, since I don't like coffee, it is a really big cup holder. It holds a 1ltr bottle of water with room to spare! I've had this for about a year now, but it will definitely be used on the long rides!
Well, I'm still finalizing my route. Once I do, I will post here.
Ciao!!

Iron Butt

So I just realized it has been over a year since my last post. Boy, how much has changed in my life since then; and for the better I would add.
One of the big goals I have is to start doing long distance, endurance riding on the motorcycle. While the last few years I've been preparing for this, life just kept getting in the way. Well, this is the year. I plan on sharing my preparation for the rides and write-ups of the rides after completion.
For those who do not know what Iron Butt is, well, simply put you have to have an ass of iron to be able to accomplish these rides. The shortest ride is 1000 miles in 24 hours, known as the Saddle Sore. The next is the Bun Burner which is 1500 miles in 36 hours. Then you get into the Rally's. The Rally's are distance and you accumulate points. The person with the highest points, wins.
Now, you might be asking yourself is this a race? Yes and no. It is a race in the sense that you have a start, finish and points. That said however, you can be disqualified if you speed, you can't ride unless you have proper gear and your bike is safe enough. For all the information about rides, certs, etc. visit the IBA web site. The longest ride, the pinnacle ride, is the Iron Butt Rally. it is 10000 miles in 10 days! That is my ultimate goal, but it will be a few years before I accomplish that one! :)
So... My first ride will be the Saddle Sore (SS1000). I'm still finalizing my plans, but I will be hitting the road sometime in April. The ride will start from the Mobil station here in town (Milford, NH).
First Stop: Carman Brook Road in Swanton, VT. 227miles.
Second Stop: 451 Hogan Road, Bangor Maine. 300 miles! Half way there!!! :)
Third Stop: 1214 Main Street, Wyoming Rhode Island. 329 miles! I'm getting sore already!
Fourth Stop: 433 Old Gate Ln, Milford CT. 79 miles.
Fifth Stop: Home (Milford Mobil station)... 155 Miles!!!
Total Miles: 1091 Miles.
There will be a few 'rest' stops and one cozy meal in a restaurant mixed in. Also, gas about every 225-250 miles or so. I plan on leaving around 4:30-5am on a Saturday morning and conclude my ride around 12-1am Sunday morning. We'll see how it goes!
Preparations continue!!! I'm also in the progress of modifying my bike to add more functionality to it, I'll post pictures as I move forward on that project.
For now, enjoy the read!