Sport-Touring.Net - Somebody in Region 4 is out attempting a SS1000 now.

“Make sure you choose a good route.”

That was the advise of my fiancée when I told her I was going to take the Ural to Kansas city for lunch, in an attempt at a Saddlesore ride. My Ural is a Patrol, stock except for a windshield and handguards. I happen to have a perfectly good ld bike sitting outside that is even closer to the door, but that wouldn’t be a challenge.

I had 3 motorcycling goals for this year. One was to buy a motorcycle with a sidecar. I liked the Ural for the 2wd and simplicity of it, and never really looked at another bike. The second goal was to ride all the rustic roads in the state of Wisconsin (If you don’t know about Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads, a quick google will tell you all about it, and give you something to do next year), and to certify a Iron Butt ride. I have ridden the miles (On my ld bike), but never done the paperwork. I am not so good at paperwork.

I (Obviously) got the Ural, but did not get to all the Rustic Roads (I was on pace for it, but had some family stuff came up and I decided that was more important), so the ride was last on the list. I decided, almost at the last minute, to take the Ural to add some challenge to the ride, since taking the ld bike seemed to be a bit to simple. And I wanted a plate for the sidecar.

The final decision to take the Ural was made while I was at work, and I told my fiancée over the phone. All she said was to make sure I had a good route, but admitted later she was still asleep and didn’t really understand what I was saying. I had about a week to get the bike and myself ready. First on the list was the route. I wanted BBQ. I like it, and there really isn’t any good places here in Milwaukee. Memphis came to mind first, but I didn’t want to go through Chicago, so I started looking at other placed. Kansas City was a natural Plan B, and a quick internet search found Jack Stack, which also looked really easy to find – a nice bonus. Lastly, the route to KC was all interstate, over states known for their distinct lack of hills (Northern IL, IA and KS), important for the Ural, which really only has a sustained top speed of 65, though I know it can go faster for a while.

Next was getting the bike ready. I was only a few hundred km from the 5k service, so I put those on (km are really short, a few times around the block I think) and take care of the service. I also get a nice set of tank panniers from Wagner’s, and use those to hold my Autocom and hydration bag, as well as a few other power cords. The first aid kit goes on the sidecar seat, in what I hope is plain view. The pusher tire is definitely showing wear, but seems fine so I leave it. I haven’t used up a tire on this bike yet, so I don’t have a good sense of how much tread will go how far.

For myself I just picked up some snacks (I eat string cheese, beef sticks and granola bars on the road), and orange Gatorade. I like the orange stuff because every gas station seems to have it, making refills easy. I can’t keep drinking water. I also pack a couple blankets, a change of clothes, and at the last minute throw in my heated jacket liner, not really thinking I will need it, but knowing that I have a lot storage space, and feeling like I should use it.

I pick the day, 10-11-07, a Monday so everyone will be open (Except the post office, since it is Columbus Day), and decide to leave about 1am. I plan to be in KC between 11am and noon for lunch, and then ride home. I print out the paperwork and review it. All that I have left to do is get a decent amount of sleep and not forget anything.

Sunday was the reunion for the BRC my fiancée and I took last year, so she could get her license (I had never taken one, seemed like it might be a good idea, and I would get to keep her company), and they had free food, so we went there for a few hours in the afternoon, then to her parent’s house to pick up more of her stuff that is still there. Then grocery shopping. My day was slipping away, and it was 5pm when I hit the sack for a short nap, but I got up again to watch the Packer’s first loss of the year. Now it was 11pm, and I wanted to be on the road in 2 hours. I guess an hour or so will have to be enough.

I wake up at 12:15 am, shower shave and what not, just like any other morning. I work in EMS, and odd shift and hours and not new to my system. The bike is mostly packed, so I just grab a few last things, kiss my ever supportive fiancée goodbye (She had not gone to bed yet and had already served as my start witness), and headed out to the bike.

The Ural starts right up, and I got the gas station to collect my start receipt. It is the same station I go to everyday, so I already know I need to go inside to get a receipt with the address. The time on the little piece of thermal paper is 0103am, and now the clock is running.

I enter the interstate, I-43, southbound, and head to the south west, but I am not even out of the city when I realize I don’t have my I-Pass. My route includes part of I-39, which has tolls on it. I don’t like tolls, so I return home to pick it up. Leaving the house again I contemplate stopping to get a new start receipt, but decide against it. I want to be on the road. This has cost me 30 minutes.

The patrol will normally get about 200km to a tank of gas. If you do the math, it is around 120miles (Both numbers are approximate, of course). This morning I will have a headwind for the entire westerly part of the trip, and my actual range is about 165km. I don’t really want to know what that is in miles. All I can do is ride from one thankful to the next.

Somewhere along I-88 I stop at a rest stop, get out the blankets and take a nap. I expect to run into rain and decide a nap now will be a good idea, so I am fresher when the weather turns. 40 minutes later I wake up, 5 minutes before my alarm, to a much lighter sky and storm clouds to the west. I repack the bike and get back on the road.

When the rain hits, it is not that bad. The sidecar makes the bike (Obviously) more stable, and though I have not had it in really bad conditions (This rain storm does not qualify), I have a degree of intellectual comfort. I have on a First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket and HT overpants. It seems the pants always leak little, and I am wearing Under Armor coldgear pants under them. Since they are wicking, I don’t feel wet, and they do a nice job of keeping me warm. I do have a change of pants packed, but don’t think I will need them.

Near the end of the rain my GPS starts acting up. Actually, it stops working altogether. I am using a Delorme Palm os program, with a Bluetooth GPS receiver, and my palm pilot will not maintain the Bluetooth link. The GPS receiver did get wet, but this isn’t the first time for that, and I spend a few extra minutes here and there trying to get it to work again, while working to keep my gas stops under 15 minutes. I do have paper maps printed up, but like the GPS to keep me on schedule.

With the reduced gas mileage, the nap and the GPS issues I don’t get to Jack Stacks until 1pm. Still, I came for the BBQ, and managed to get some. It was actually delicious. By now my fiancée was awake, so I gave her a call to let her know where I was, how I was doing and all that, letting her know I would send text massages from my fuel stops with my progress from then on.. I sent out a few other text messages, and then got back on the road.

By now the sun was out, and it was comfortably warm. Even better I was expecting a tail wind for the trip home, and better fuel mileage. I was also quite awake, and didn’t expect any problems with making it home in less time than it took me to get there.

I was back on the road around 1:30pm, expecting my next fuel stop at about 3pm. My phone decided to jump off the bike at 2:10 or so, and break into a few dozen pieces. I stop at the side of the road, and throw the Ural into reverse to fly back up the shoulder and collect the pieces. The pieces are important for the SIM card and data card in the phone. Having gotten those, I head on the road again. I still have my palm pilot and plan on stopping somewhere with wifi to send my fiancée a message, letting her know that my phone was destroyed, I was okay, but would not be sending her text messages anymore.

Iowa says they have wifi at their rest areas, but my palm won’t connect to it. It sees that it is there, but won’t actually receive data. I wonder if I need a password, but not wanting to waste time I don’t linger. Guilt, though soon has me stopped again, at another rest area, trying again. At the 3rd rest area I really make a go of it, actually taking off my coat and helmet, sitting in the building and trying to work out what is going on. I finally manage to connect and get online. I can’t send a text message, though, and knowing she is at work and will not get email, give up and try to make up the time. I am now very behind the schedule I set for myself, but am still very optimistic.

The route I set up, Milwaukee to KC and back, is actually close to 1200 miles (S&T), so I don’t actually have to make it back to Milwaukee, just to within 200 miles of it. I think. Anyway, I had a lot of good BBQ in the sidecar, so the day could no longer be called a loss. I am thinking I am still in good shape.

There is a stretch of I-88, west of I-39, that doesn’t have a lot of off ramps. I saw the sign warning me as I entered it, but I was not on reserve yet, and decided to press on. Of course, I ended up going onto reserve not long after. With the winds, drafting and fatigue I am having a hard time working out my actual range. I reach the next exit, but it doesn’t list a gas station, so I pass it, only to see the Shell station afterwards. I contemplate the illegal u-turn, but see another sign telling me about a Petrol station on I-39, so I keep going. It is after I am on I-39, going slightly up hill and less than 50 meter from the ramp with the Petrol station that the bike finally sputters dies. One thing about the Ural, there is very little warning between running out of gas, and being out of gas. My Yamahas will sputter and cough along for 10 miles or so, but the Ural will only go about ½ a block. Tops.

Anyway, I had not brought a gas can, so I got to push 800 so pounds of motorcycle up the ramp, then over the overpass since the gas stations were on the other side of the road. Of course, while the Ural would roll backwards down the side I had to push up, it would not roll down the other. If I find the guy who made that overpass…

I get into the gas station (Where there are 4 state patrol cars. Popular place, and they just got donuts. No, really, they did) and roll up to the first pump. I am hot and sweaty, but have a change of clothes. I drink some Gatorade, and swipe my card. Declined? I swipe it again, thinking that this just can’t be happening.

Often when I take a long trip I carry a large amount of case, in case I have card problems on the road. I didn’t this time, no particular reason I suppose, other than wanting to just use my card for everything. I am better at getting receipts that way. I go inside and use the pay phones to call the 800 number on the card, finding out that 2 gas stations pre-authorized amounts over $100 dollars. For &13 in gas. Yikes. So the card is basically empty now. I talk to an account rep, who states they will fix it, and it will take about 30-45 minutes. Okay, I have some cash, not enough for a full tank, but I use it all for another couple gallons, get the bike restarted, and am back on the road. It is not far before I realize I didn’t change my t-shirt and am getting cold, but don’t want to stop. I will have to again soon anyway for more gas.

I hit reserve, and not wanting to push my luck any more I hit the first gas station I find. It is 1130pm, and I am in Rockford, IL. I know it is about 1 and ½ hours to home from here, so I am cutting it close. It has also be 40 minutes since my card problem, so I am a little surprised when it is declined again at the pump. I decide to wait a little bit, another 10 minutes and still declined. So I call them again. This is a 30 minutes phone call, but at the end of it my card works, and I fill up. I have no chance to make it back to Milwaukee, but am still less than 200 miles from home, so I take care of the witness form at the gas station (ending Odo 6888km), back on the road at 1230am.

I finally get home at 0140am, but didn’t rush home. I am vaguely aware that, if I had gotten a new receipt when I went back for my Ipass, and rushed to get home, I might have made it. But there are a lot of places where I lost time and didn’t have too. Still, the Ural did fine, great really, though the small range and low max speed is an issue. Even the stock seat wasn’t all that bad, though I am used to vintage jap seats so I might have calluses in the right places. I don’t think a BBG would be possible without a lot of extra fuel. Hmm.

The paperwork is still on the coffee table. I kept a separate log and have to transfer the information over. I also keep forgetting to bring the receipts to work to photocopy them. Oddly, having done the ride I am less enthused about getting the cert, but I guess that was the point.

Oh, and the BBQ is gone. Good stuff. I may have to go back.

Topic: Somebody in Region 4 is out attempting a SS1000 now. (Read 2232 times)