I guess I'm too much of a pansy to do an ironbutt

[Slonishku]

The kind of riding Warchild does IS in fact a matter of genetic makeup. Seriously fucked up gentic makeup. Like Tammy Fae Baker fucked up makeup.

Also, he's a long-distance strategist with loads of experience who thinks things through incredibly throroughly. He dumps serious financial, temporal, and mental resources into his LD riding activities.

Dale is one of those people who brings the LD community together to make it much more than the sum of its parts.

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[Justin]

The kind of riding Warchild does IS in fact a matter of genetic makeup. Seriously fucked up gentic makeup. Like Tammy Fae Baker fucked up makeup.

 

[Ignacio]

Didn't he end up doing 8 BBGs (seven plus an extra one tacked on the end just for the hell of it)?

No, it was 7 of them.  Report at http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=23811&st=0&p=279435&hl=+hell%20+week&fromsearch=1&#entry279435

He did a bunch of warm-up runs before and rode home after the event, but even as Tammy Faye as he is...the 7 were pretty surreal.

A photo I took of him that was published in Cycleworld.

[Justin]

No, it was 7 of them.  Report at http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=23811&st=0&p=279435&hl=+hell%20+week&fromsearch=1&#entry279435

He did a bunch of warm-up runs before and rode home after the event, but even as Tammy Faye as he is...the 7 were pretty surreal.

A photo I took of him that was published in Cycleworld.

And done on what IMO is one of the top 5 best steeds of all time, the mighty CBR1100xx - great pic, great bike

[miles]

One of the oddest bits of advice I picked up on was regarding the focus thing. Keep a few sour candies (lemon drops/jolly ranchers) in your tank bag and accessible. When you find your mind wandering, pop in one of those. The sugar is a good thing to perk you up and the sourness is kind of a smack to the senses. I thought it was stupid, but it works. It gives you something to think about other than mile after mile of super slab.

I like Big Red cinnamon chewing gum for the same effect.

[Justin]

Now I exclusively use LD Comfort brand undergarments. They're pricy, but they're worth every penny. They take your comfort level to a whole new place.  http://ldcomfort.com/
My first 3 SaddleSore 1000 days were done on my '97 Bandit with a stock seat. Proper clothing has gone way more to adding mileage than an aftermarket seat.

Slonishku, I've never used these particular tights, just under-armor and other brands. What is the weather range on the ldcomfort ones? The under-armor tights are great, but a bit toasty in hot weather. Howe are these in hot weather? Also, how warm are they in cold weather?

[Slonishku]

I wear them in all weather. They're pretty close to being temperature neutral. If they're damp, they have an evaporative cooling effect, but they don't keep you warm. For that, I'll add a fleece layer or an electrically heated layer. They wick moisture waway well. Even if they're damp, your skin stays dry. They're kind of amazing in that regard.

I've worn them up to about 115 degrees. The coldest weather I've actually worn them in for an extended period of time was probably around 40 degrees. They worked great both times, and everything in between.

As for the underarmor tights, I know they make them for several temp ranges. Even the lightweight versions of the "cold gear" are pretty warm. They do make "heat gear" ones that work well too. I'll check when I get home and see what the brand and type of leggings were that I used pre- LD Comfort...

[Justin]

As for the underarmor tights, I know they make them for several temp ranges. Even the lightweight versions of the "cold gear" are pretty warm. They do make "heat gear" ones that work well too. I'll check when I get home and see what the brand and type of leggings were that I used pre- LD Comfort...

Yeah, that's my take, the light ones are still pretty warm when the temps are high. I've been breaking out the heavy tights the last few rides with the temps dropping to the low 30's lately, and boy are they nice

Will have to grab a pair of the ldcomfort ones for when the temps get warmer, not like they cost any more than the under armor stuff.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Slonishku]

OK... check the thread "Iron Butt Underwear" for a bit o' discussion.

[mnxs54]

I've been contemplating doing an iron butt ride for about a year now.  I've ridden 12-15 hrs in a day several times.  I've ridden 500 miles in a day before.  I average about 15,000 miles a year on my mc.  I've put 6500 miles on my C-14 since the end of June.

Me and a friend who rides a FJR rode to the outerbanks NC this past weekend.  We rode 1035 miles in 2 days & we didn't even sniff an iron butt.  We decided to try to use this ride as a test ride to an iron butt.  The longest interstate we rode as about 400 miles & we covered it in 6 1/2 hrs & that included all gas & lunch stops.  We rode gas stop to gas stop approx 180 miles.  We had to stop when we saw a station b/c we didn't plan out the gas stops beforehand.  

My problem is the time frame.  When we rode 400 miles in 6 1/2 hrs we never got below 80 mph & bounced between 80 & 90 with a top speed of 119 mph.  We used a gps to keep up with our time.

We've always thought the 1500 miles in 36 hrs seemed the best option for us b/c our thinking was 12 hrs there, 12 hrs to eat supper & sleep & then 12 hrs home.  I think that was a bit optimistic.  After riding now, it seems like it will take 13-14 hrs each way & that doesn't leave much time to eat & get some sleep.

On the 1000 miles in 24 hrs do y'all do it without any sleep?  If it takes 8 hrs to ride 500 miles, then it will take 16 hrs riding time to do the 1000 miles.  

I guess my question is how fast do you ride when attempting an iron butt?  How did you do your 1000 mile & 1500 mile trips?  Did you do the 1000 without sleep just ride 20 consecutive hrs?  On the 1500 mile trip, how long did it take to ride 750?

I've been to the iron butt website but that's made me believe that accomplishing a ride isn't that difficult but after gauging one with a trip, its a lot more difficult than I had anticipated.

Thanks for any advice & information  

It's not as hard as you think. I did a SS1000 on my 2009 Bonneville this summer. It was like 1040 miles and took me 20 hours because I screwed around a little too much and also the Bonnie needed gas about every 100 miles or so. It should be a piece of cake on your Connie.

I left at 4am and was home at midnight. If you use google maps you'd be able to plan an easy route. PM me if I can help. Good riding!

Mark

[kevin_stevens]

All my IBA runs included an XM radio, makes a huge difference.  I've moved on from XM to an ipod over BT now, but the net is the same.  Before I go on any long or multiple day ride I load up a bunch of podcasts and new music to entertain me for those times when highway stretches are needed.

Also, if you're a sports fan, football/baseball games are great distractions.  If you use a Sunday, you can get three 3.5 hour NFL games, two of them back-to-back.  That's more than half the road time covered.

My other tip (I've never done any IB ride, but I've covered a lot of road in my time) is to get *good* wind protection.  Wind noise in your ears, or blowing down your neck, or constantly flapping a sleeve, drives me nuts and makes minutes seem like hours.  On a couple hour "tank of gas" run, I don't care, but the longer the day is the more things like that matter.

KeS

[Ignacio]

I wear them in all weather. They're pretty close to being temperature neutral.

That's a really good description.  

....temperature neutral......

I didn't think about it that way before, but it's not like they warm you up that much when it's 18 degrees out and they don't add heat when it's 118 outside.  I got my wardrobe down to 3 weeks of riding that were one set of LD tights, two pair of Techsox, Aerostich top and bottom; a set of electrics, evaporative vest, and a set of fleece tops and bottoms in the side case and I never got too warm or too hot...and always comfortably dry.

LDComforts rock!

[MarioWink]

That's a really good description.  

....temperature neutral......

I didn't think about it that way before, but it's not like they warm you up that much when it's 18 degrees out and they don't add heat when it's 118 outside.  I got my wardrobe down to 3 weeks of riding that were one set of LD tights, two pair of Techsox, Aerostich top and bottom; a set of electrics, evaporative vest, and a set of fleece tops and bottoms in the side case and I never got too warm or too hot...and always comfortably dry.

LDComforts rock!

By design the LDComfort garments give you the comfort you need to go long distance. That is the purpose of the garment. Therefore your skin must ALWAYS stay dry to avoid moisture damage. That is why many riders find LDComfort superior to Under Armour. There are also no seams or wrinkles in the seating area. I say they give you a comfort range of about 100 degrees. From 20 to 120. Yes LDComfort provides protection from the cold. Just make sure you shut off the air flow with the use of a proper outer garment. Fleece over LDComfort adds plenty of warmth.  A decent electric jacket liner over LDComfort is supreme. In 120 degrees the LDComfort long sleeve shirt IS your cooling garment. In all weather you want your skin dry.  
BTW; Mr Wilson rode every mile of "HELL WEEK" (10,636 miles) while wearing LDComfort for every single mile.

[Justin]

BTW; Mr Wilson rode every mile of "HELL WEEK" (10,636 miles) while wearing LDComfort for every single mile.

He's still  

And thanks for the post, I'll be ordering mine soon.

[Elseanno]

Somethings that occur to me as I read threads from people who are concerned about being able to do 1000 in 24:

Pick a route that isn't boring. Technical goat trails will take too much time, but if you can keep sweepers coming it really helps. Also, if you live in a region where there's a little town every 5-10 miles that you have to slow down to 25 for... and maybe go through lot's of stop signs, not a good route for a first timer. Go elsewhere.

Give yourself permission to stop if you get really tired. I tried to run a rally before I was completely over a cold and ended up sleeping twice during a 24 hour rally.

Music or some kind of radio can help. I've run 24 hours without it. It can get lonely.

GPS with traffic alert. Sometimes, it helps to know that there's traffic ahead. you can reroute. Handy.

Elseanno

[guitardad]

I'll second a couple of Elseanno's comments. I've got an XM radio on the bike, and for the longer stretches it really helps.  I'll admit to turning off the 2-way radio occasionally, so lionlady doesn't have to listen to me sing along.    

The other is the choice of roads, for a first SS1000.  My first included a long stretch on I-79 in West Virginia.  No tight, technical road (it's an Interstate, after all!) but lots of sweepers that kept me enjoying the ride.  It definitely kept my head in the game.

But the most important thing, I think, is that LD rides are not about high speeds followed by long rest stops.  It's about making the bike comfortable enough that you really can "Sit there, twist that."  I don't think I've ever ridden faster in a rally than I normally ride - I can sustain 5-10mph over for a long time, and that's much better for grinding out the miles than a 100mph burst followed by a rest stop to recover.   The best advice I got was to go out for a long ride - ride until something made me so uncomfortable I had to stop.  Go home, fix that thing, and then repeat the process.  Pretty soon, both you and the bike are in "riding shape."  

[lolife]

I'm still going to do a SS1000.  It got put off b/c I needed tires.  I didn't want to add the worry of having the chord to start showing 3/4s of the way through the trip.  Now I have the dilemma of do I want to flat spot a brand new set of PR3s.  

I'm leaning toward waiting until this fall when the weather starts to cool off & head someplace warm.  

[jwhite518]

Its gonna take a lot more than 1000 miles to flat spot a set of PR3s. Don't worry about it, just go ride. (Or is that another excuse for postponing it?   )

[lolife]

Its gonna take a lot more than 1000 miles to flat spot a set of PR3s. Don't worry about it, just go ride. (Or is that another excuse for postponing it?   )

Really its not.  I don't do a lot of interstate riding for a long period of time.  The longest I have is when we sent to the outerbanks NC, which was all interstate.  We rode 1035 miles in 2 days & when I got home I noticed the center of the tire was flat.  It was probably the riding before the trip that did it, but I didn't notice it as much until we got back.

I have a few trips planned this spring & I may try to squeeze it in before it gets hot.  I don't want to do it when the temps are 90+ here.  I'm either going to go to Daytona Fl or Mobile Al.  Both are 500 miles one way so I either need to go now or wait until it cools off a bit.

I'm not putting it off b/c I'm scared to do it.  I'm actually jacked up to try it b/c I want to prove to myself it can be done.  I want that sense of accomplishment.  

[Justin]

So what do you think of the PR3's? I'm a die-hard PR2 fan myself. When I went to get a new rear tire yesterday they had the PR3's on as well and they were only $10 more. Went with the PR2 though cause I know I like it.