5 State BBG completed

[Justin]

Finally got around to actually doing this ride I've been planning. Started yesterday, and finished today.

Some stats copied from my other thread

1551 GPS confirmed miles (also verified in multiple mapping softwares)
5 states (CO, WY, UT, ID, NV)
9 fuel stops en route (no fuel cell)
67.8 MPH Average Speed
1.25 Million dead bugs
5 Rain Storms I missed by minutes (Yay!)
2 Hot blonds in car that wanted to race me in Twin Falls  
0 Performance Awards
23 hours and 1 minute

My route:



All in all, everything went smoothly, and my mental attitude was right for the ride. Once I started I was in the zone for the next 23 hours. Started off hitting crappy I-25 traffic, but I was able to maintain speed after breaking free of the pack. Had to stop early in Cheyenne, to get a receipt for that corner of my route. Going across WY wasn't too bad, there were two sections (8 and 13 miles) of one lane road that slowed me down a tad; but was still on schedule. Utah, round one, no problems, just hit a few minutes of rain on I-84 from Echo to Ogden. Passed quickly and sailed on up into Idaho. Let me tell you, Idaho has a lot of flying bugs. And Twin Falls is full of squid packs that cruise up and down the main drag  . Also had two young blond girls in a car trying to get my attention at stop lights and trying to race me. Interesting town.

From Twin Falls I shot down to Wells NV on US-93. Needed to stop in both towns for fuel to get receipts for those corners as well. From Wells, I took I-80 to SLC (fuel stop), then US 6/191 down to I-70 to fuel up in Green River. From there, last fuel stop was in Glenwood Springs. Funny thing was, after crossing into UT from NV, I spent the rest of the ride dodging storms. I missed at least 5 by minutes. I-70 from Green River all the way to Grand Junction and beyond had been drenched by a big storm, but again, I was minutes behind it and did not see a single drop. Luck was on my side.

Some observations I made:

Since I don't have aux fuel, I had to make a lot of stops (as well as doing a circular route and needing receipts in the corners). In my opinion, the biggest challenge of these rides is managing your stopped time. Every minute you are stopped the average speed counter is dropping. I had every stop planned out in my head before stopping; such as what I needed to do when I stopped, and in what order. 10-12 minutes was about average. My longest stop was 23 minutes, because I grabbed a McDonald's gut bomb, as my body was running low on energy. The snacks and sandwich I had packed did not suffice - my body wanted protein and fat   There is no need to speed - but there is a need to maintain speed. I rode at my normal highway pace the entire ride, and still made it with plenty of time.

As for me, I had no major butt comfort issues. Between my LD comfort's and my beaded seat cover, my butt was happy. As a matter of fact, it was not bad at all. For me, it should have been called a Shoulder Burner Gold, as it's shoulder pain that always get's me. I get a lot of pain in my right shoulder blade when riding. I have risers and comfy grips, but it still get's me, particularly when it's cold or damp. Guess I hurt it once and arthritis set in . Knees were a tad sore as well, lowered pegs would have helped.

As to the bike - It did not fare as well - It is literally painted in bug guts.



Now to get all the paper work in order and submit it, so I can get my snazzy license plate holder

[squeezer]

Nicely done! Congrats!

[CLAY]

Congrats man!  

[Kneescrubber]

 

[Mesachie]

Way to go, Justin. Congratulations on a well planned and executed ride.

Did you decide against doing the SS2000?

[Specter]

Congrats!

Cool route.

[Justin]

Thanks for the congrats all  

Adjusted my post as I screwed up the math originally. As my GPS had reset in Lawson due to power loss (Grr), I had to do some complex math  . My brain yesterday could not handle that task. Correct GPS mileage is 1551.

Way to go, Justin. Congratulations on a well planned and executed ride.

Did you decide against doing the SS2000?

Yeah, no ss2k. Did not see the point once I had finished the BBG.

[Justin]

Got my documentation and BBG forms all in order, will be sending them out tomorrow. Hoping all goes smoothly. I've double checked everything, then checked it again . *Hoping* everything goes smoothly!

[blakebird]

Got my documentation and BBG forms all in order, will be sending them out tomorrow. Hoping all goes smoothly. I've double checked everything, then checked it again . *Hoping* everything goes smoothly!

It'll go smoothly....don't be surprised if it takes a while though.

I recall your saying it was calculated to be a 19-20 hour ride....I knew you'd be between 22-23 hrs if everything went smoothly.
Guessing the I-80 two-lane sections I mentioned weren't too much of a bother - any other places of note?

Just picked up an ST1300, and am swapping the CBX for a plated dualsport and some cash -  I can't be without an offroad bike in Colorado.....
The ST is much more suited for this LD stuff than the Guzzi, though the Guzzi has 300+ mile range and long legs.

[Justin]

It'll go smoothly....don't be surprised if it takes a while though.

I recall your saying it was calculated to be a 19-20 hour ride....I knew you'd be between 22-23 hrs if everything went smoothly.
Guessing the I-80 two-lane sections I mentioned weren't too much of a bother - any other places of note?

Just picked up an ST1300, and am swapping the CBX for a plated dualsport and some cash -  I can't be without an offroad bike in Colorado.....
The ST is much more suited for this LD stuff than the Guzzi, though the Guzzi has 300+ mile range and long legs.

Yeah, should go smoothly, all documentation in order, and all receipts are good. I just need to wait now.

And the "riding" time came out close to what I had initially figured. I was figuring another 2-3 hours for stopped time due to the number of stops I had to make, leaving an hour+ as a buffer.  So I was pretty much right on target for what I had planned on.

The sections on I-80 were not that bad, 8 and 13 miles respectively, slowed moving speed to @ 65 MPH. And Glenwood canyon was fine on the return, both decks were open through the canyon, so no hold up there. The only other place worth noting was through SLC metro area on I-15, they are doing roadwork, and posted limit is 55 MPH for a number of miles. But nothing major, as I was well ahead of target at that time.

Congrats on the ST, and for the CBX. That was a quick turnaround  

[sammyseaman]

2 Hot blonds in car that wanted to race me in Twin Falls  

  You knew that was coming, right?

[Justin]

  You knew that was coming, right?

I'm sorry, I did not get pics. I hope the IBA does not ask for them too

[blakebird]

I'm sorry, I did not get pics. I hope the IBA does not ask for them too

no pics, just documentation....and only mildly stricter than the garden variety SS1K as to witnesses.

[Justin]

no pics, just documentation....and only mildly stricter than the garden variety SS1K as to witnesses.

Yeah, was just kidding, I did not log the encounter with the hot chicks

Witness forms are all in order  

[1KPerDay]

Nice job. That's a heck of an average speed.

Pity you hit rain/bug season...

[Justin]

Well, it's now verified and official   - Just got email verification the ride was approved. Now I just have to wait a few more weeks for my new plate back  

And now I can start planning my BBG3k for next year  

[Chuck 500]

Congratulations on your ride.  Excellent and succinct report.  I'm getting inspired.

[county]

1551 miles

Congrats....


Sorry I missed this when it was fresh...

[Dan]

Nice one  

[M]

Well, it's now verified and official  Thumbsup - Just got email verification the ride was approved. Now I just have to wait a few more weeks for my new plate back  Lol

And now I can start planning my BBG3k for next year  Bigok

Congratulations on the BBG. Once you have that under your belt, the 1,000 miles days seem a bit piddly!


Regards,

Michael
Broken Arrow, OK