The three biggest things that helped me:
1. Leave at midnight so you can finish your ride with less fatigue. My body wanted to sleep so bad at 4am but because it was early in my ride, I was able to get through it without much problem.
2. Lots of aspirin and water.
3. Read the wind patterns before you leave...they have a huge affect on your gas mileage. A 10 mph headwind can shave 30-40 miles off your tank range.
I have to disagree strongly with #1. Ever hear of Circadian Rhythms? If not, look here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm If you are a human mammal, which I assume we all are.. The time of day you need sleep the most, and get the most out of sleep time is from about 11:00PM and 3:00AM and from about 1:00PM and 3:00PM. During those times you will fall asleep faster, and get more rest for the time you're asleep. If you plan on leaving at Midnight, that means you are going to have to sleep earlier than your body wants, and you will be leaving without the same amount of rest you would get leaving early in the morning. Of course if you are accustomed to working graveyard, your body may have somewhat adapted to an unnatural sleep cycle. It's also proven that you cannot "bank" sleep ahead of time. If you have a normal sleep cycle and get up in the morning, going to bed at 4:00PM when you're not tired and getting up and Midnight will not help you get through the night. A far better plan is to get up at a normal time, leave, and then when you get really tired at about 2:00AM stop and sleep for 45 minutes to an hour. Do NOT sleep for over a hour. If you sleep for over a hour and less than 2, it is worse than not sleeping at all. If you haven't tried it, it may sound a little crazy. I thought so when I first learned about it. But when you try it, you will find it amazing. Taking the 45 minute nap takes less time than stopping 3 times for coffee or doing jumping jacks on the side of the road. You are safer, feel better and actually make better time than trying to force yourself to keep riding when you are really tired.
Don Arthur, the former Surgeon General for the Navy has done a whole presentation about this for the IBA. If you get a chance to see it, it is well worth the time.
The other comment I have is that Ibuprofen works much better than aspirin. It is better for joint pain.
