SS1K ride report.... *LONG!!*

[= Buckeye Jess =]

I debated for a long time on the where, when and WHY...but finally decided that Monday was the day. I was going to do my first Iron Butt ride. I would complete the Saddle Sore 1000. (For those unfamiliar, you have to ride 1000+ miles in under 24 hours.)

My original plan was to ride north and hit the Grand Tetons and depending on time, touch the southern tip of Yellowstone. I wanted to do that so I could start on another Iron Butt project at the same time (National Parks Tour). Unfortunately, the weather prediction was even worse for that area than what it was here. Scrap that idea. I've always wanted to ride to the Grand Canyon area. Problem is....it is more than 500 miles away and not quite 1000. I knew that the smartest idea for my first SS1K would be to do a round trip deal. I didn't want to risk riding a whole 1000 miles just to refuse to get back on the bike to come home. Scrap the Grand Canyon idea. So I jump on the Nat'l Parks website and start looking for anywhere that was roughly 500 miles away and had a pleasant weather forecast. Enter El Malpais National Monument near Grants, New Mexico.

Not only have I never been to El Malpais, I'd never even heard of it before...bonus! I could get my first SS1K under my belt, start my National Parks Tour project AND explore somewhere I've never seen/heard of before. Running various routes through Rand McNally and Mapquest assure me that I'll be well within my mileage requirements - even if I take the fastest possible route.

It was about 3:30AM, Monday and I'd slept virtually the entire day on Sunday. I jump in the shower and try to figure out what all I need to bring with me. I packed my digital SLR but hindsight tells me that I shouldn't have wasted the space. This was going to be a quick duck in, and back out. No time for real sightseeing here, so why risk losing/damaging the good camera? My point and shoot has its very own pocket in the tank back though...how else will I ...well.... point and shoot photos while the bike is moving??? lol

As per the Iron Butt rules, my trip starts by the time stamped on the gas receipt on my first fuel up. 0605 hrs. I was lucky enough to find a gas station attendant that was more than willing to serve as my starting witness (he's actually been a witness for several others he tells me). Starting requirements taken care of, I finally hit the road with 4902 miles on the odometer. Right off the bat I have to alter my route. It is too early for much traffic to be out and I'm sitting at a blind intersection that I just can't trip the light for. Damn. So I go the other direction and promptly add a couple of miles to the route. I hit the freeway and almost immediately wish I'd worn more layers. It was mighty nice out, but extended periods on the bike at freeway speeds was going to be a tad chilly. I couldn't wait for the sun to really start warming things up.

The sun finally makes things more comfortable and I’m well under way. Thankfully I make it past Colorado Springs without incident…I was worried about hitting traffic. There is light traffic on the freeway, but so far everybody is keeping a safe distance between each other and I can cruise along at a steady clip (never did see a cop until I hit the state line!) Continuing on south I start to see construction signs warning of delays. Spiffy. Timing is crucial to this ride and I’m going to be forced to make stops I didn’t account for??? The miles slide by and I’m not seeing any construction until I hit Walsenburg. What the signs failed to mention earlier is that not only is there construction…but that SB I-25 is closed!!! Well it is a good time for me to fuel up anyway, so I can figure out my options at that point.

It must have been a great day to be riding a bike in southern Colorado, as the gas station is overrun by two wheelers. I’m told by someone that the detour just jumps you through Walsenburg and dumps you back on the freeway just south of town – so that’s acceptable. I wash the bug carcasses off my helmet and saddle up. I’m leaving the pumps about to hit the road when a guy on a cruiser flips a U-ie in the middle of the parking lot right in front of me. I had to hit the brakes hard enough to slide a bit. At least he recognized what he did as he waved and mumbled “Sorry!” with red cheeks. Onward.

[= Buckeye Jess =]

I get back on the freeway and start to see more construction signs. Am I going to continue with my lucky streak? No dice. I hit Trinidad, CO where they are working on the bridge that goes over part of the city. They have the NB bridge shut down and traffic is diverted to the SB bridge. Ok, that’s fair. Until SB traffic comes to a grinding halt. What the hell are they working on the SB bridge for if they have the entire NB bridge closed???? Alas, I’m stopped for 30 whole minutes on that bridge. At least I could turn the bike off and walk in circles for a bit.

The view from my forced resting spot.




Once we got moving again, it was an exercise for the clutch hand…stop and go until we clear Trinidad limits. As a matter of fact…after it is all said and done, my left hand is the only part of me that is suffering from so many miles on the bike! So I continue south and start to look forward to seeing what New Mexico is like. The scenery starts to change and I get the camera out and start experimenting on shooting photos while riding. Some shots turn out ok, others I can’t even figure out what I was aiming for.

Entertaining myself

[= Buckeye Jess =]

The CO/NM line is right in a section of freeway that offers some nice views and topography changes. I’m able to speed up and enjoy something other than flat and straight superslab. Unfortunately the NM sign is right in the midst of me having some fun, so I miss the chance to pull over for a shot of “Welcome to New Mexico” with my bike. Oh well! The scenery quickly changes though and I can tell that the next bit of the ride is going to be rather boring.

I see signs for Las Vegas and wonder if NM has its own Vegas, or if it is 113 miles to a road that leads to Nevada. Regardless, it looks like gas stations are becoming sparser and I start trying to figure out when/where I should fuel up. I still have a good 20 minutes or so of ride time left in the tank, but decided to gas up in Wagon Mound, NM instead of risking getting stranded. (Having never been to NM before, I didn’t know what to expect.) It looks like Wagon Mound consists of a total of 2 gas stations and a few houses alongside an empty and run down industrial building. The gas pumps are even old and run down and I start to worry when I realize I have to pay inside. Receipts are critical for the IBA rides – so I ran inside to make sure I would be able to get a receipt with the needed info on it before I gas up. I fill the Ninja up and run back inside to pay. I also picked up an ice cold water and a pre-packaged ham sandwich. My granola bars I wolfed down in Walsenburg just weren’t cutting it.

Back on the road and I find out that NM does indeed have its own Las Vegas. It’s a decent sized town too! It quickly fades from memory as I keep rolling and the scenery once again turns boring. So boring in fact, I find myself just about to nod off several times. No good. I’m suddenly tired enough a mere 4 hours into my trip that I consider finding a hotel and just making a multi-day trip out of things. I see an exit sign for Pecos and decide that I’ll find a bench to take a nap on and will then decide how to handle the remainder of the trip. I keep riding on the side road with no sign of civilization. There is a park on my left but it offers no shade at all to sleep under. I finally find the town of Pecos and a gas station. I run inside and grab a coffee and energy drink. After sitting in the shade for about 15 minutes and with a tummy full of cold caffeine, I think I’m ready to keep rolling after all. I go ahead and top off the gas while I’m stopped and hit the road again.

This was across the street from the gas staion:


I must have missed something on the freeway, because when I jump back on south of town, the scenery and road are entirely different. I soon find myself cruising through Santa Fe and am enjoying the simple pleasure of riding again. The New Mexico sun is also starting to beat down on me and it is getting darned hot. Albuquerque quickly approaches and I exit I-25 for I-40 west. I find a gas station to get a receipt to document my direction change. I was also able to sneak in a quick potty break and some more energy in a bottle. I bought extra water and dumped it on my head and down my shirt. I can’t wait to hit the road for my “air conditioning” to start working.

Albuquerque really is a beautiful town, but I’m anxious to see where I’m headed. Civilization becomes sparse again as I start to hit various reservations and casinos out in the middle of nowhere. There is more construction and shared roadway with both directions of travel – but no significant delays. The land is getting flatter and I’m starting to see volcanic formations and know that I’m getting close to El Malpais.

[= Buckeye Jess =]

I finally see exit 85 and the town of Grants. That’s when I realize that my directions don’t tell me which way to turn from the exit. Damn! I swing a lucky guess and go right. Score! I start seeing the streets that are on my directions. I do find it odd though that a national monument/park would be smack dab in the middle of town. I find myself where I thought I was supposed to be, but the exact address seems to be eluding me. I end up taking a tour of Grants and decide that I need to stop at the police station and ask for directions. I am coming up on it when I notice the bldg next to the PD is the bldg I’m actually looking for. Double score! I don’t see anything that resembles a park or monument, but go inside anyway. The ranger that greeted me was a great help too! It turns out that my directions took me to a ranger substation and the US Forest Service office. No wonder they were looking at me oddly in the parking lot. Armed with info pamphlets, I hit the road with the directions to my intended destination.

I cross back over I-40 and realize that my problems wouldn’t have existed had I decided to turn left in the first place. There is an RV park on one side, and the visitor center for the monument on the left. I am able to run inside quickly enough to buy my passport and stamp it twice for my National Parks Tour project. I snap a few quick photos and stretch. I hop back on the bike and run back into town to fuel up. Looking at the clock, it is almost 1730 hours. Holy crap!!! I’ve burnt half of my trip time just getting there! That wasn’t supposed to happen… I figured that it would take me longer to get home due to fatigue and darkness. Well I made it this far, I’ll be darned if I can’t make this a successful Saddle Sore!



The lava rock:


I made it there!!!

[= Buckeye Jess =]

The ride back to Albuquerque is uneventful and I stop for another receipt once I hit I-25 again. The sun still had a couple of hours to go, so I dumped another bottle of water on myself and saddled up again. I didn’t have to worry about wetting myself down, a storm was brewing. It was a struggle to keep the bike in my own lane as wind gusts were going in every direction. The lightening didn’t start until the sun had set and I couldn’t tell if the storm was bad enough for me to seek shelter. I was in the middle of nowhere and there wasn’t even a ditch for me to hide in if I had to! The storm made it get dark a lot earlier than it should have and I still had the tinted visor on my helmet. After getting soaked, I see Las Vegas approaching in the distance. It is completely dark and I’m riding in the rain with the visor of my helmet up as I exit the freeway. I find a gas station and it turns out that I’m not the only biker hiding from the elements. I fuel up and change visors on the helmet. A man approached me with a miserable story and asked for help with gas. He didn’t even want the money, but just a water bottle filled with gas if I would be so kind. I told him I had to use the restroom and I could help him when I came back. I went inside to take care of business and to dry myself off a bit. I bought a big bottle of water to chug then to fill for the stranded family. I get back outside and he’s gone. Oh well… I was planning on doing my good deed for the day. The rain and wind had finally died down, so I start heading home again. Not before checking my Blackberry though, that had warnings from a friend about the number of four legged furry things on the road ahead of me.

We all know there are homicidal/suicidal animals out there, but a friendly reminder never hurt anybody. I cross back into Colorado in good time and never saw any critters up until my stop in Trinidad to fuel up. The caffeine finally hit my bladder and I took my helmet in with me to give it a good bathing. The bugs rose from the rain with a vengeance and I couldn’t see a thing through the visor!

I’m in what felt to be the home stretch and my eyes are peeled for all things walking on more legs than me. It is a good thing too, because I swear there was a deer convention right in the middle of the freeway. I’m forced to go very slow as there is enough oncoming traffic to force me to keep the lights dimmed and I could only see the animals once they started to move. I check my time and it is around midnight. I have six hours to get home, so I can relax and take my time avoiding critters.

A quick fuel up and stretch in Fountain, CO and I truly am on the final leg of the trip. I get through Colorado Springs where I was able to make up time due to the city light bathing the road. There is a short stretch of darkness between the Springs and Castle Rock, but I’m so close to home that I keep the speed up anyway. There is construction with lane shifts in Castle Rock that throw me for a loop. The darned construction lights are blinding and I have trouble seeing exactly when/where I’m supposed to move.

I make it through unscathed and before I even know it, I’m back on my stomping grounds. I hit my exit and my intended ending location turns out to be closed. Oh well, I’ll make it a full circle. I end back up at the gas station where I originally started. I fuel up and check my receipt. 0305hrs. 21 hours to the very minute! A quick check of the odometer reveals I’m sitting at 5949 miles, so I definitely met the requirements. I run inside to find the station attendant and plead my case asking for an end witness. He looks rather unsure until I show him the paper that the earlier guy filled out for my starting witness. Done! I’m tempted to just take my jacket off and lay down on the sidewalk at the gas station and sleep…but I live less than a mile away. I was tempted to not even put my gear back on…but knew that would be the exact moment that my luck would run out. I make the half mile ride home and park the bike. I drop all of my stuff in the entry way and crawl upstairs straight into a hot bath. With the road grime all washed off, I literally crawl into bed and didn’t move a muscle for a solid 10 hours. Later that afternoon I’m feeling great and even rode the bike to a gathering! I got tired early and slept long and hard again last night, but I’m feeling even better today! While I’m not sure I want to do another SS1K in the immediately foreseeable future, I’m already trying to figure out a trickier route for my next IBA run.

[Matty]

great report but way too long to read, lol. got through the first post and a half and gave up. hope you had fun.

[salsashark]

Never let it be said that your anal-retentive attention to detail never yielded positive results.

Good write-up

[= Buckeye Jess =]

great report but way too long to read, lol. got through the first post and a half and gave up. hope you had fun.

Well I DID warn you in the title!!! lol

Never let it be said that your anal-retentive attention to detail never yielded positive results.

Good write-up

LOL..yeah, anal retentive to a fault at times, I know!
And thanks! =)

[BigE]

Nice story and great job on the SS1K!

Since James did his a year or so back I've been thinking of doing this...just so i can get some miles this year!

[= Buckeye Jess =]

You should do it! (And you'll have to turn in your paperwork...just ask James. I'm making him bring it on the Fallen ride on Sat so I can mail it in with mine! lol)

I have actually been talking to James and Doug about maybe doing one later - will have to keep you up to date!

[RajunCajun]

Congrats!! Has your hiney recovered??

[= Buckeye Jess =]

Actually...it never got that bad! lol
My back gets a little tight if I don't move, otherwise the only thing that hurts on me is my left hand. All of the construction zones forced me to be on the clutch way too much. I hurt more immediately after the trip than now! =)