TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012
Border to Border Insanity
August 13, 2011
Mexico - US - Canada
Tijuana - San Diego - Los Angeles - Sacramento - Eugene - Portland - Seattle - Vancouver
1393 Miles - 23 Hours 40 Minutes!
The Iron Butt Association is dedicated to safe, long-distance, endurance motorcycle riding. Although based in the United States, there are over 35,000+ members world-wide.
This ride was my second Iron Butt Association sanctioned ride. Riding from Mexico to Canada in under 36 hours is known as the "Border to Border Ride". Qualifying for this ride includes actually beginning inside Mexico and ending inside Canada; crossing two international borders within that time frame. We set out to do it in under 24 hours - known as the "Border to Border Insanity Ride"!
My first Iron Butt ride was my qualifying ride for membership into this wonderful group of high milage riders. It involved riding a minimum of 1,000 documented miles in under 24 hours. You can read the story of that adventure here: SS1000.
This time, I wanted to push the envelope a bit. I'd heard of groups doing a three flags ride, going from Mexico to Canada in a weekend. Before I became an "Iron Butt", I couldn't imagine riding that far in a weekend. Now, I wanted to see if I could do it in a day!
My good friend and riding buddy Michael Darling wanted in. He'd heard me talk about my first ride and wanted to join me on this one. Michael had never done a qualifying ride before, but he rode with me from Pasadena, CA to Grand Junction, CO in one day, so I figured he might be up to it. I explained that we only had one shot to make this, and he promised me that he would make it.
My good friends, Craig and Mitzi Thompson, live in Vista California, just about an hour north of the U.S./Mexican border. They have listened to all my riding stories and were always amazed at the distances I'd take on. When they heard that I was going to ride from Mexico to Canada in a day, they wanted to be a part of it. They put us up in their home the night before our departure, made us a wonderful dinner, and got up early to make us breakfast, sign our witness forms and see us off! Thanks Craig and Mitzi, you're the best!
Saturday morning we head south to the Mexican border. The main crossing into Tijuana is out of the question, as it can take over two hours to cross back into the United States on a Saturday morning. We head for to commercial crossing at Otay Mesa, about 10 miles to the east and hope for less crowds there.
Crossing into Mexico and then back again was the most nerve racking part of the trip. Two American gringos on two shiny black Harley Davidsons packed to the gills tend to stand out a bit once you're south of the border. Sure enough, our bikes were searched as we crossed into Mexico, forcing us to unpack all our gear before entering Mexico. From a time standpoint, this wasn't such a big deal, as the clock doesn't start ticking until we obtain a receipt inside Mexico.
We took the first freeway off ramp in order to get gas and then get the heck out of Mexico and back into the good old U S of A! Halfway down the off ramp, the concrete became all broken up and there were weeds, dirt and rocks the rest of the way down the exit. We found a Pemex gas station, figured out how to use the pump and then made sure we got a dated and timed receipt.
8:05 AM - Saturday, August 13, 2011 - and we're off !
Now we had to get back across the border and back into the US. It turns out that Saturday morning is a very busy time at the border. Actually, every day is a very busy day at the border crossing. Now the clock is ticking and we are stuck behind what looks to be at least a half mile of stopped cars, 12 lanes wide! If we sit here and wait, it will take over an hour to get across, and we just can't take that kind of time.
So we did what any normal biker would do, we pulled over to the side, jumped the curb and ran up the sidewalk for a half mile, beeping our horns to get the people out of the way! We were in front of the line in five minutes flat! We did get our hands slapped by the border crossing agent though! Apparently, it's OK to cut to the front of the line, but not on the side walk! We appologized, said we had a long way to go and begged forgiveness. After being repremanded and told to never do that again, (no worries, I'm not headed back into Mexico any time agiain soon!), and we were ushered through.
We were on the open road and headed north on the 5 Freeway. All the way to Canada! It was now starting to sink in. If we were very careful, didn't waste any time at our gas stops, ate and drank on the road while riding, and kept the throttle open for the next 24 hours, we just might cross the country and be inside Canada within 24 hours! Wheee!
I really do love this! There's something inside me that craves adventure, adversity and fun! I've been riding motorcycles since I was 16, (I'm now 54), and it's just who I am. I've come to accept it and embrace it. There just isn't anything I'd rather be doing. Which is a good thing, since this is the only thing I'll be doing for the next 24 hours!
We had a perfect summer day for this ride. Bright sunny skies, cell phones off, a full tank of gas and lots of hope and enthusiasm. We made it through Los Angeles without too much traffic since we were passing through early enough on a Saturday morning. By the time we were crossing the Grapevine, it was smooth sailing!
The temperature climbed throughout the afternoon, and by the time we hit Sacramento, it was well over 105 degrees. We carried water in our Camelback backpacks. This allowed us to sip water regularly through a hose while we continued to ride. Our gas tanks hold 5.5 gallons of gas, so we have to stop every 200 miles or so. In order for us to make the trip in under 24 hours, we had to keep all stops under 15 minutes. We would gas up, fill our backpacks with cold water, grab something to eat on the road and go again. We also have to keep an accurate log at each gas stop; taking note of the location, gas station information, time, miles ridden, gas used, and total mileage. When you are in a rush, it's easy to forget this very critical step.
In order for the trip to be acknowledged by the Iron Butt Association, you have to fully document the entire trip, submit a written report, provide all receipts for every gas stop, and have signed, dated and timed witness forms at the departure and arrival. All of the paperwork is reviewed and the map is rerouted to make sure that all of the receipts and times match up. It's what keeps us all honest and prevents the stories from getting out of hand. So if you meet a biker who is an Iron Butt Association member, and he's got a patch for one of these crazy rides, you can bet that he actually did it!
As the sun started to set, the temperature finally started to drop down a bit. Having done 24 hour rides before, I knew that this was a mixed blessing. As hot as it was during the day, temperatures would be brisk as we passed over the mountains in Oregon. It is not uncommon for temperatures to fluctuate by over 50 degrees on a 24 hour. This is one of the biggest challenges to long distance riding: being prepared for a wide range of temperatures as well as all types of weather. Unlike traveling in a car, also known as a "cage" to motorcyclists, there is no air conditioning, no heat, no windshield wipers. It's more like riding in a convertible, all the time.
This intimate and unavoidable contact with the elements is exactly what draws many of us to motorcycling. By being exposed to the wind and the rain, the sun and the cold, we are more connected the landscape. We don't just see the scenery passing by, we feel it and smell it. It's what makes every motorcycle trip an adventure.
Twilight is my favorite time of day. It's my own personal "Happy Hour". The sun sets into a glorious ball of color, illuminating the sky with a painter's full pallet of colors. Everything looks better, colors are deeper, shadows grow longer and day transitions into night. It's also challenging if you happen to be riding into the sun at this time of day. Fortunately, we are still headed due north, with the sun setting on our left.
As we pass Lake Shasta, we realize that this will be the last bit of scenery we see for the next ten hours. Around the bend, we are treated to a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta. This is my first time this far north in California, and it is a beautiful area.
Sights like this re-energize us and put us in the right state of mind for the rest of the trip. We stop for a quick photo opp and to put on our jackets. It's gonna get cold soon enough.
This intimate and unavoidable contact with the elements is exactly what draws many of us to motorcycling. By being exposed to the wind and the rain, the sun and the cold, we are more connected the landscape. We don't just see the scenery passing by, we feel it and smell it. It's what makes every motorcycle trip an adventure.
Twilight is my favorite time of day. It's my own personal "Happy Hour". The sun sets into a glorious ball of color, illuminating the sky with a painter's full pallet of colors. Everything looks better, colors are deeper, shadows grow longer and day transitions into night. It's also challenging if you happen to be riding into the sun at this time of day. Fortunately, we are still headed due north, with the sun setting on our left.
Sights like this re-energize us and put us in the right state of mind for the rest of the trip. We stop for a quick photo opp and to put on our jackets. It's gonna get cold soon enough.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2009
Iron Butt Ride 2009
Pasadena
Dublin - Sacramento - Reno - Mono Lake - Bishop - Mojave Desert
Pasadena
1,129 Miles - 22 Hours Total Time
The Iron Butt Association is dedicated to safe, long-distance, endurance motorcycle riding. Although based in the United States, there are over 35,000+ members world-wide. Becoming a member of this organization has been a long term goal of mine, and this month I finally completed my "Saddle-Sore 1,000" and am now qualified for membership!
Preparing for a trip is always one of the most enjoyable parts of any ride. After all, adventures suck when you're in the middle of them! It's the planing, the pouring over maps, researching the roads and the towns that you'll pass through that I enjoy so much. I needed to plan a route that would take me from Pasadena and loop back in just over 1,000 miles. The ride needs to be fully documented, witnessed, and be completed in less than 24 hours in order to qualify as a member of the Iron Butt Association.
Living in Pasadena, going west is out of the question, and going south takes you through Mexico. Riding alone and needing to make good time, I decided not to go south. Riding east would be fine, but I've recently done several trips out to Arizona and Utah, so I decided to head north! Sacramento is about 400 miles north, so I decided that I'd need to go a ways beyond Sacramento before turning back. I also did not want to just turn around and go back the way I came, (I do have to stay awake and focused for almost 24 hours of riding after all).
Wanting to make sure that I wouldn't be disqualified if my mileage fell short, (there is a strict review process before one gets qualified), so I decided to make a good size loop around Sacramento by heading towards San Francisco, then passing through Sacramento , head to Reno, Nevada before turning back home along the back side of Yosemite and through the Mojave Desert. This came out to just over 1,100 miles on my mapping software. I use Microsoft Streets and Trips for this and it works great. I also use the mapping software that comes with my GPS unit and then look at the route using Google Earth. See, I really do enjoy the planning.
I figured that if I left at about 3:30am, I should be able to knock off the 1,100 miles and be home before midnight, hours before the 24 hour deadline to qualify. I was hoping to to finish up my work for the day by around 4:00pm, leaving me plenty of time to finish my prep, grab some dinner and get to bed by 9:00 for a few hours sleep before getting up at 2:30am. Ha!!! Real estate has a way of taking over your life, so I finished working around 7:00pm, putting me behind schedule. Running late, I made the first of several mistakes I would make over the next 24 hours. I didn't take the time to complete a check list, so the first thing I forgot was to download the route that I had so painstakingly planed to my GPS! I actually almost rode off without the GPS unit as well!
Second mistake: Because I was running late, I didn't take the time to check all of my equipment. So it wouldn't be for about two hours into the ride, (in total darkness), that I would realize that I still had the tinted face-shield on my helmet. Think of this like driving at night, with only one headlight, with your darkest pair of sunglasses on! I would regret this much later in the ride, while returning home along the back side of Yosemite, at 7,000 feet elevation, in the bitter cold, with my face-shield fully open!!! Big Dummy!
I did leave at 3:30am as planned, and filled the gas tank at the Mobil Station around the corner in order to establish my starting time. In order to qualify for the "Saddle Sore 1,000" I would need to document every stop with a dated and timed gas receipt. I also needed to keep a log of the mileage, time and gallons used for the entire trip. Missing just one receipt would disqualify my entire ride, so gassing up became a bit of a ritual to make sure that I had every receipt; labeled, marked and timed.
My first stop was in Buttonwillow, CA, just north-west of Bakersfield. I pulled into a Chevron station at about 5:15. I was thrilled to have gone 124 miles before 5:30! I took off my helmet, gloves, unplugged my iPod and went to turn off the bike. NO KEY! I was looking at the handlebars, right where my keys were supposed to be, but there was just a hole where the ignition should be! I found the key, still in the ignition, hanging down by the front tire. Just dangling there. Shit! I was able to turn the bike off by reaching under the fairing, holding the ignition with one hand, and then turning the key with the other. I realized that a bolt had come loose and fallen out somewhere over the last 124 miles. Not having the tools, or bolt, to fix this on the road, I got a zip-tie from the Quick Mart guy and secured the ignition to the fairing. Very make-shift, but it would have to do for the next 1,000 miles.
As I was cruising up the I-5, at just slightly above the recommended traveling speed, I realized that I might be able to do 175 miles before sunrise! This would be a first for me, and suddenly turned into a game. If I goosed it a bit, I might make 190 miles before sunrise. Then when I hit 190 miles, I stepped it up a bit to see if I could reach 200 miles from home before the sun popped up on the east. Once I hit 200 MFH, (miles from home, not miles per hour), it was all I could do to not run full tilt to see how far I could get. Well, at 215 miles from home, the sun finally rose! It was quite a rush and I pulled over to watch the sunrise for a moment and take it all in.
My next stop was in Firebaugh, CA, just east of Salinas and smack in the middle of central valley farmland. Obviously, October must be fertilizing time in the farmland, as I couldn't gas up fast enough and get moving again. The only problem is, stink increases with speed, so the faster I went, the more my helmet filled with the smells of the farmland! Yeesh!
By 9:45am, I was riding through Dublin, CA and remembered that Dublin is the home of Arlan Ness Motorcycles and Museum. Arlan Ness is the KING of custom motorcycles and has been since the 60's. Arlan's cool, way cool, so I had to stop. Was I crazy? I'm on an 1,100 mile ride that I have to finish in less than 24 hours. But I couldn't help myself, I had to stop, take some pictures, see if Arlan was there, (he wasn't), buy a shirt and tour the museum of over 100 of Arlan's coolest bikes ever! I figured that I was making such good time, I could spend a little time and relax for a bit. This would be another mistake, as I wasn't thinking that the miles wouldn't roll by quite so easily as the day wore on.
By 9:45am, I was riding through Dublin, CA and remembered that Dublin is the home of Arlan Ness Motorcycles and Museum. Arlan Ness is the KING of custom motorcycles and has been since the 60's. Arlan's cool, way cool, so I had to stop. Was I crazy? I'm on an 1,100 mile ride that I have to finish in less than 24 hours. But I couldn't help myself, I had to stop, take some pictures, see if Arlan was there, (he wasn't), buy a shirt and tour the museum of over 100 of Arlan's coolest bikes ever! I figured that I was making such good time, I could spend a little time and relax for a bit. This would be another mistake, as I wasn't thinking that the miles wouldn't roll by quite so easily as the day wore on.
My next sop was a gas stop in Fairfield, CA,on my way to Sacramento. 428 miles down, 11:00am and feel pretty good. So far, I had made four gas stops including my first fill up in Pasadena. My tank holds about 5 gallons and gets about 40 mpg, depending on how hard I ride it. Going fast takes a toll on fuel consumption, but at 40 mpg, it's hard to complain. I was making great time and at this rate, I figured I'd be home for a late dinner! Ha!!!
Getting through Sacramento was much like traveling through L.A.. Lots of traffic, then lots more traffic, and then, more traffic. I decided not to split lanes unless the cars were at a complete standstill. I did a lot of lane splitting! Once I got passed Sacramento, the highway opened up, and the pace started to pick up. I was in for a great stretch of highway. Two lanes, nice road, twisting through the mountains over Donner Pass and winding along the north side of Lake Tahoe. The miles were just clicking away, the sun was shining, the trees smelled great, the air was crisp and fresh...this is what motorcycling is all about.I got to Reno, NV at 3:30 in the afternoon and decided that I had earned a little lunch. I stopped at a Wendy's, grabbed a burger and called home. I was so excited when I realized that I had alreadytraveled 737 miles! I texted a few friends to let them know that I had made it to Reno and was doing fine. When I stopped at the gas station to fill up and log my time and miles, something didn't add up. My last gas stop was at 428 miles, and I now was at 738 miles. Not possible. I must have missed a gas stop. Forgotten a receipt? Things didn't make sense until I did the math using the bike's odometer. I was actually only 617 miles underway! Somehow, the GPS lost a signal for a bit and added an extra 120 miles!!! Shit - now I was 120 miles further back than I thought. This was the first time on the trip that I felt down. I sort of hit a wall for a bit until I told myself that I was where I was and that I simply had 120 more miles to go than I thought. But I now realized that I had 500+ miles left and it was now 4:00pm! Time to boogie!
The rest of the afternoon was amazing! Riding through the mountains of Nevada, just east of Lake Tahoe, passing through Carson City and the on to Mono Lake. This was the highlight of the trip, (other than finishing), as I stopped on the side of the road, overlooking Mono Lake at sunset with a full moon rising over the lake! It just doesn't get any better than this:
Next gas stop was Bishop, CA where I stopped for gas and dinner around 8:30. I've never seen such a small town, in the middle of nowhere, with so many people out and about. There were people walking around everywhere! Maybe I wasn't in the middle of nowhere after all. But check the map, you'll see that I was.
No more photos, as the rest of my ride was dark, cold and windy. I hate the wind. I'd rather ride in the rain than in the wind. It just comes up out of nowhere and shoves you around like a third grade bully. And the faster you're going, the more severe the push. Time to slow down a bit until I get out of the wind. I found myself in the middle of the Mojave Desert, in total darkness, with few cars passing by, with less than a quarter tank of gas, at 10:45pm! I didn't think I'd make it the 90 miles I still had to go to get to Victorville, so I slowed down a bit to conserve fuel.
Cresting a hill, I saw a faint red light off in the distance, but no other lights around it. As I got closer, I realized it WAS a gas station. In Johannesburg. In the middle of nowhere. Really in the middle of nowhere. Closed! But the pumps were self serve. There was a post office, general store and two gas pumps. Not a soul around. I pulled up to the pump, off with the helmet, gloves, earphones, tank bag, turned off the bike, unlocked the gas cap, took out my mileage log, got my credit card out, and... the pump didn't work! Nothing, nada. The screen was blank no matter how many times I swiped the card! I went to the other side of the pump... same thing! Shit. But there was another pump! I walked over and checked the screen. It said, "Please swipe card". Yeah! After swiping my card.. it said "Please see attendant!". &%E$%#%$#$W!!! There is no attendant!
So I went to the other side, pulled out a different credit card..it worked! But now, my bike is parked 20 feet away at the other pump, so I ran over, carefully rolled it back to the other pump before it shut off! All of this after now riding for 19 straight hours! I was getting damn tired. But I had gas! But of course, the gas pump was out of paper and wouldn't print a receipt. I'll be sending in a copy of my credit card statement as proof since I never got a receipt.
From there, it was off to Victorville, CA. I stopped for a cup of coffee at a Burger King at the trucking crossroads of the world... the intersection of the 58 and the 395. More trucks than I've ever seen in one place. It was pretty eerie. Once I hit Victorville, I still had to ride down the Cajon Pass. Welcome back to L.A. traffic. Steep, fast, windy, dark, and full of Friday night lunatics speeding down the freeway. From there, it's the 210 Fwy back to Pasadena.
I reached my original gas station exactly 22 hours after I had left. 1:37am, Saturday, October 3, 2009! 1,129 miles round trip. I got home, Candace running downstairs to greet me. I was cold, tired...and smiling ear to ear!
Why do we do this? Because sometimes you've got to stretch beyond your comfort zone just to remind yourself that you can!
Roland Wilhelm
Iron Butt
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