Cape Fear 1000 - 2012

Its been a long and expensive winter for the motorcycle.  After the DSH, the bike sat for a little while.  Thanksgiving, the wife went in for surgery and had a long recovery, then Christmas...   I just let the bike collect dust since I couldn't ride it with the coolant leak.  I finally ordered the parts to fix it after the holidays, and got to working on it.  I got the thermostat o-ring swapped out which was the reason for the leak, and since they were in the kit and the carbs were out, the coolant log o-rings also.  The first ride I did all year wasn't until March.  I rode up to Montezuma, GA to meet about 30 riders for lunch.  All the repairs worked fine.  No more coolant leaks!  Score!!  2 days later, I walk out into the garage, and there is coolant and oil all over the floor.  Crap!  Water pump internal seal gave out.  No way to repair that, so I had to order and replace a new water pump.  Ever since I bought the bike, there was a very minuscule oil leak I thought was coming from the bevel gear gasket.  Turned out it was the water pump the whole time, since there was no more leak after the swap.  2 weeks later, I pulled the carbs again, and sent them off to be tuned and fuel overflow tubes installed in the float bowls.  The rubber carb boots were hard as steel, so I ended up having to buy a new set of those too.  With the new pliable carb boots, the re-install took no time at all compared to the first time I tried it.  I was also able to find online an older Garmin 2720 to match the one Richard Buber gave me at the Montezuma ride, so now I have 2 waterproof motorcycle GPS.  I got the mount and hardwire cables installed a few weeks before this ride.  But I needed to rig up a way to listen to the GPS and my phone (music) through headphones while on the road.  I couldn't find anything cheap enough, so I found some plans online and built something that worked.  It allowed me to listen to the turn by turn directions when close to a location, and music when I'm on the long roads between bonuses.  Pretty cool for $20 in parts.  It tested out fine.  Now all I needed was some new tires.  Finances were tight, so I had to wait till the last minute to get those.  I finally tracked down a matched set for the Connie... Avon AR26's.  Not the canyon carving Avons, but they were the only things I could find that fit and weren't a mismatch of brands/compounds.  I had to call 3 places to find someone to install them the weekend before I left for the start.  But they got mounted, and all is well.  New tires, new (to me) GPS and a spare, tunes, cleaned carbs, and no leaks... Almost like a new bike!!  (Not really)

A week or so before the rally, we got our rally packs in the mail.  It had our rally flag,  an odometer check card, and our rally sticker... all with our rider numbers on them.  I was # 418.  The ODO check pretty much meant there would be a mileage cap this year.  I doubted I would push any mileage limits, but it would make everyone converge on the same place to do the ODO check.  I hoped it was near the end, and not stuck in the middle somewhere.  My starting location was Arcadia, FL, and the end is in Wilmington, NC.  Driving start to finish w/o any stops is right at 700 miles.  But I have to get to the start!  That's only 350 miles... Now we just have to wait for the bonus listings to be emailed to us Wed night.  I figured I get all the way points put in Streets and Trips, plan a few routes and go to bed at a normal hour.  Then have Thursday as the travel day, and final route planning.  Plenty of time on Wed and Thurs to not loose any sleep.  Well I was wrong!!
We got the bonus listing around 6pm Wed, and I started going through the listings.  As expected, there was a mileage cap of 1385 miles.  And the ODO check to verify your mileage was less than an hour from the end.  I started plotting way points into Streets and Trips and was able to skip a few pages entirely since the locations were in MS and OH and IN... By the time I was done, I only had 35 places to choose from.  That seemed low to me.  Sure enough... about that time we got an email via the message boards that we got a bad rally book.  We'd have to wait for Jim Bain to get home and sort it out.  So around 9pm the REAL rally book shows up in our email.  This time we had over 100 way points to enter.  I got finished inputting everything around midnight and planned one route before I went to bed.  I'll look at it more once we get to the motel in Arcadia.

I pretty much had the bike packed other than my computer bag the night before.  I needed to stop by the wife's office to pick up some printed copies of the rally book.  All I have at the house is an inkjet printer, and with rain in the forecast, I didn't want all the words to bleed.  As I was heading out, I connected up my homemade audio mixer to the GPS, and phone.  All I heard was loud static and noise.  So much for that idea.  I threw it out and and just connected up the GPS.  I went and picked up the paperwork, gassed up, and went to meet dad.  For the whole weekend, it was looking like nasty weather.  And the forecast for the ride down was severe thunderstorms the entire ride.  Dad and I met up and started the ride down south.  Somehow we rode in BEHIND every rain storm.  We rode through wet roads, but every rain cloud passed before we got there.  That was pretty lucky.  We made a stop for lunch, and another stop for gas on the way down, but for the most part it was just a boring ride down the super slab.  Right before the gas stop, I had noticed my SPOT gps tracker low battery light was flashing.  So I swapped them out after we filled up.  The batteries had been in there since early March, and only been used for about 6 hrs.  They should have been OK, but they died.  I pulled a pack of 4 out of my tank bag I had bought before the Nov DSH, and swapped the 2 out.  Those should last the rest of the weekend.

We pulled into Arcadia and drove straight to the restaurant most everyone was meeting at.  Reef and Beef...  One waitress for the whole place, and she was a lil busy with the 20 or so of us.  But the food was decent enough.  Once we got checked into the motel, I started trying to plan another route.  I was sitting around 35,000 points without the wild card bonuses.  I couldn't seem to find a way to pick up many more points w/o going over the mileage, or going over my time allowance.  I wanted to plan for the full 6 hrs rest bonus for 11,000 points, and 1 hour for stops.  So I needed to stay under 22 hours according to Streets and Trips.  My first route ended up what I decided to stay with.  So I uploaded the routes and way points into both 2720s and just in case... into my non waterproof Nuvi 3670 Garmin.  Then I started writing them all down on my cheat sheet.  To speed up my stops, I don't write anything into my rally pack on the road.  Everything goes into a tiny notepad.  But as I'm finishing up, I notice my big points bonus up near Macon is actually supposed to be way down in Pensacola.  I'm a few hundred miles off and 4000 points are now gone. There is no time to re plan everything so I just drop it and hope I can make a few points up on the road.  Like Eds Last Resort last year, I planned to get ALL my bonuses before I stop for the rest bonus.  Then I can plan backwards for the ODO check and time restricted bonuses to see how long I can rest.  If I'm behind, I can shorten the rest bonus to a min of 4 hrs.  So its a 2 hr built in window to play with.  I'm pissed at myself for the error but I need to get some sleep.  Its after midnight again.

Cell phone alarm wakes us up around 7am and we repack all the crap on the bikes.  We'd scouted out a few places for a good start receipt, and ended up using the CVS downtown.  Usually you try to find something as far outside of town that you can to be that much closer to the finish line.  But all the gas station receipts everyone found were crap.  So 7 of us were lined up inside the CVS at 10am ready to go.  I bought a pack of cashews, got my receipt, got on the bike and headed out.

My first stop was Solomon's Castle just up the road.  I got flashbacks of Eds rally when the GPS took me down a gravel road for 2 miles to get there.  Luckily I didn't drop the bike this time and made it there pretty quick.  There was another rider already there and off his bike.  I pulled in, did a Uturn and stopped to get a good view of the gate.  I got out my High Speed Photo Bonus Apparatus (HSPBA), took my picture, jotted down my info into my book, and was gone.  The other guy was still trying to get his picture.  The next stop was the sign in front of Alafia State Park a short ride up the road.  2 mins and gone. My next bonus was just a gas stop in Kissimmee, FL.  The gas station was about 1/2 a mile up on the left, and traffic was thick.  But I got in and out pretty quick.  I filled the main tank to the max, got my receipt, and got back on I-4 headed to Daytona.  My next stop was to get a photo of Stavros Pizza on Beach street in Daytona.  GPS took me almost right to it, but it wanted me in the alley behind the joint.  There were 2 bikes coming out of that alley :)  So I drove around the block till I saw it.  I stopped behind a parked car, got 2 photos, and wrote down my info.  I was leaving as the other 2 bikes were parking behind me and the riders dismounting.  I knew this next section was going to be the slow part of the trip.  I took US1 all the way back to 95, and then cut through Palm Coast to get to Ft Matanzas.  All slow roads except for the 95 part.  And I had to pay a toll in Palm Coast.  But I got my photos and drove north on A1A to get to St Augustine.  I found a park behind the Lighthouse to get a good photo of that.  Getting through St Augustine was very slow and it took me 15 mins to go about 3 miles.

 But once out of the tourist area, the traffic was light.  I stopped halfway between St Augustine and Jax to get a liter of water to drink, and a 32 oz gatorade to put in my camel back.  It was HOT!  I swapped my full fingered gloves to open fingers and what a difference.  Once I got moving again, I ate a pack of beef jerky out of my tank bag en route to Ft Caroline.  It was right off 9A/295E in Jax and fairly easy to get to.  I took my photo and left.  My next stop was not until Vienna,  in central GA.  It was right in line w my gas stop in Macon.  But when I got to the way point... it was a pine tree farm.  So I got out my car Garmin and my rally book.  I entered the coordinates in the 3760 and I was about 45 miles off!  Another way point I screwed up.  Luckily it was still in the same general direction.  I was hoping to make it to Macon on both fuel tanks, but I was going to be short.  So I stopped and filled up both tanks somewhere before Vienna.  I had run about 340 miles on the 2 tanks since Kissimmee.  Once I had the right coordinates for Vienna, it wasn't too hard to find.  GPS was a block off, but I was able to find it and get the photo.  I lost about 10 mins on the screw up, but I was still 15 mins ahead of where I was scheduled to be.  The gas stop in Macon was pretty quick, but I was in downtown Macon riding through a college campus.  Back off the major roads, I was riding to the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton to find Brair Rabbit. It was dark now, and temps dropped a ton, so I donned my rain suit pants and fingered gloves again to keep warm once I got my photos.  As I was pulling out another rider pulled in.  My GPS hadn't registered I was moving in the direction I was, and had me turn the wrong way.

So I did a Uturn and got moving the right way again.  The next stop wasn't too far away.  It was a Confederate Memorial in Sparta.  It was too far away and too dark for my HSPBA, so I had to get off the bike for this shot. Gettin a photo of a white flag and a white memorial in the dark is harder than you'd think. I drove back off the sidewalk and went to find a Church where former Ga Gov Raburn was buried in 1819.  The grave was on the opposite side of the church than the parking area so it took a few mins to locate with a flashlight.  Got my photo and ran back to the bike.  I could hear some dogs across the street barking and didn't want to spend more time on my feet in the dark than I had to.  This time I read the GPS wrong and took a left instead of a right leaving the church, and tried to attempt a Uturn next to the house w the dogs.  I heard the barking then saw the shadows racing toward me, so I gunned it and went to the next side street to turn around.  I had to dodge them again on the way past their house, but no missing limbs.  My next stop was in Crawfordville, GA, which is much smaller than where I live in Crawfordville, FL.

And we only have 3 stop lights!  Heavy's BBQ was shutting down, which was probably lucky since the owner was standing next to the pit bull guarding the door. One of the employees leaving asked a few questions about all the motorcycles taking pictures of their sign, but I was moving again after about 5 mins.  I needed to wash my windshield as my collection of GA insects was blocking most of my view, but again, I didn't want to spend much time fighting off pit bulls.  So far I had been really lucky and not seen a single wild animal.  I was sure I'd be dodging bambi through the backwoods of GA, but not tonight.  All I had to deal with was fog and mist in the many of the valleys.   I was finally back on Interstates and did a short jaunt on I-20 to get to The Laurel and Hardy Museum.  Right off the hwy I stopped at a gas station to clean my windshield.  Rony B. was there gassing up so I said hey and continued on.  What a difference a clean windshield makes riding in the dark.  Who would've thought!  I drove up on the sidewalk again for a photo,

but it was lit up enough to use my HSPBA.  Another 2 minute stop and I was headed back to I-20.  The next stop was another Confederate Memorial in Augusta, Ga.  It was pretty quiet getting in there, but all the kids were bar hopping downtown and I was dodging drunks to find the memorial and a good parking spot for the photo.  The memorial is 100 ft tall so I needed some distance to get it in the photos.  I found a good spot and pulled over.  Luckily it was also lit up enough to use the HSPBA to get the shots.  But I had to deal with a young drunk heckler shouting at me the whole time cause he couldn't see well enough with the beer goggles and spinning earth to figure out what I was doing.   I really didn't want to have to beat him with my camera to escape, but his nice
 friends led him away.  The next bonus required me to get a photo of Zimmy the Turkey at the National Wild

Turkey Federation.  I lit him up with my headlights and was able to get a good photo without getting off the bike.  Winding down to my last stop of the first leg of the ride, was the worlds largest Fire Hydrant in Columbia, SC.  It was finally after midnight, so I could find a place to start my rest bonus.
I headed back down I-20 to get a little farther down the road and to find a cheap roadside motel.  I passed one exit and there were a few nice hotels, so I continued on a bit.  I pulled up on the GPS a Best Western and a Sunshine Motel at the next exit, so I pulled off there and hunted for the Sunshine.  Apparently they've been bought by Econo Lodge, but for $50 and vacancy, I didn't care what they were called.  I checked in, got my start receipt for the rest bonus, and headed to the room.  There was a Waffle House next door and it was then I realized I hadn't eaten anything since the jerky in Jax 10 hrs ago.  I figured I'd wait and eat there on the way out after some sleep.  So I ate half of the little sleeve of cashews I bought for my start receipt in Arcadia, and started calculating the next leg of the trip.  I had only scheduled for the ODO check and one time restricted bonus after that for this leg.  But I was going to have plenty of time to do a full 6 hrs rest bonus, pick up 2 bonuses on the way to the ODO, and still get to the final location with time to spare.  So I set my alarm clock for 6 which I thought was enough time, and put my camel pack in the fridge to cool the water that was left in there for tomorrow.  Then I changed my mind and re-set it for 5:30 to ensure I had time to eat breakfast too.  Time for 4 hrs sleep!
Well for some reason I just woke up at 6:15.  Crap!!  My alarm didn't go off!!  I jumped out of bed, threw on my clothes, and re-packed the bike.  I drove past the Waffle house to get gas, and figured I didn't have enough time to sit and eat, so I grabbed a Diet Coke and a protein bar at the gas station, for breakfast, and a gatorade for the camel pack.  It was then I realized I left the camel pack still in the room fridge.  So I went back to the room, finished off b-fast, filled the camel pack and went to the front office to check out and finish the rest bonus.  I had to ask for the receipt, but luckily it had the exact check in and check out times listed.  I had 5:50 minutes for the bonus...  close enough for me!  4 hrs was the min, so anything over 4 was icing on the cake with 6 being the max.  I punched in the extra stop on the GPS and got back on the hwy.

Headed off the hwy to this stop, about a mile into town, an LEO clocked me on the 45mph side of the 35mph sign doing 50.  He was nice and only handed me a performance warning.  I pulled into the next bonus location behind another rider who was already taking pictures.  I pulled out the HSPBA, got my pics, wrote down my info and was gone before the other rider was even back on his bike.  Man that thing is fast! I took it slow back to the hwy as not to anger the locals anymore.  I then drove to a High School in Lumberton, NC to get a photo of their Pirate logo.  A quick in and out.  Once back on the road I saw another way point I might could pick up on the way to the ODO check but it was going to cost me an extra 30 mins.  I decided against it and continued on to find the ODO check in Warsaw.  Luckily the GPS was dead on to find the rest stop off the hwy, which was between the lanes of the interstate.  Weird location.  But I pulled in there, got off the bike so I could do the bonus associated w the ODO check, and put the description on how to do the check in the window of my tank bag so I wouldn't screw it up.  I turned in the card, they asked if I wanted to do the bonus, and said go to start the clock.  I donned my helmet then gloves, mounted and started the bike, and began the 20 mile course.  It was get on the hwy, obey all traffic laws, turn around at the next exit, and come right back.  Easy enough.  I quickly glanced at the instructions I pulled out, and it said "Turn left onto the entrance ramp of eastbound I-40 East"... so thats exactly what I did.  Headed to I-40 E.  But as I was tuning onto the ramp, I saw a bike pulling off the hwy behind me.  Hmmm.  So once up to speed headed east, I took a better look at the instructions.  That was the 2nd part of the instructions!! The first part was "proceed westbound on I-40..."  WTF!!  I had to ride a few miles to turn around at the next exit, and work my way back.  Once I got there, I informed the staff I needed to re-start the ODO check.  I guess I was the first one to screw it up so far, so they called HQ for a ruling.  Nowhere in the rally book did it say we only had one chance to do the check, but it did say it was REQUIRED.  So they let me restart but told me to expect some sort of penalty later on once they figure out what they would do.  That pissed me off... but a penalty is better than a DNF.  I restarted the ODO check and went the correct way this time.  The goal for the bonus associated with the ODO check was to do the entire course at the same average time as everyone else.  So I eased through the gears at a conservative pace until I hit the 70 mph speed limit.  Then kept the GPS speedometer locked on 70 as best as I could.  I did not go off the bike's speedometer, since this is what we were calculating to find out how incorrect it was.  I made it 10 miles down the road, and eased it off the ramp to make 2 lefts and get back on the hwy and come back.  Again riding as any 90 yr old would to try and be the same as everyone else.  I made it back to the rest stop, checked in, and got my 2 ODO check cards back, and headed right back to I-40 west to get to the last photo stop in Holly Springs.  The entire ODO check fiasco probly cost me 25 mins, but I had a good cushion to get to Holly Springs before the 12:00 time window opened.  Once I got to HS, I was still about 15 mins early, so I stopped to get gas to be sure I would not run out on the ride to Wilmington.  I probly had enough, but I wanted to be sure, and I had the time to kill.  I gassed up and made my way through some heavy traffic to get to the Veterans Park.  I still had about 5 mins to wait until my camera said 12pm.

There were about 8 other riders that had the same idea.  We all had our flags lined up on the wall, and started shooting pictures at 12:00 on the nose.  I made a quick pit stop on the way back to the bike, packed the tank bag, and  filled in my stop info.  And I still was the first one out!  But we had 3 hrs to make the 2 hr trip so I guess most folks sense of urgency was gone.  But you never know what traffic will be like, or possibly a wreck on the road to have to get around... so I kept up my rally mantra and kept the wheels moving.  It was a straight shot back down I-40 to get to Wilmington, and a pretty boring ride.  But 20 miles out, the road was ground up for repaving and the bike was real squirly on the groves and ridges.  So I slowed down to about 55 from the posted 70.  At one point I hit a small pot hole, and heard a pop under the bike so I quickly made it off to the emergency lane and checked the tires.  They were up and looked fine so I continued on.  I got off the Interstate and on to Market street... 1/4 mile from the end motel.  I was looking for a store to get a 6 pack of my favorite beverage for the last 1000 point wild card bonus.  I was at a stop light 500 yrds (according to the GPS) from the end, but I knew I'd have to find a store and double back... and then my heart stopped.  I was engulfed in a cloud of smoke and initially thought the bike was on fire!!  I was about to hit the kill switch and jump off when I realized what I smelled was anti freeze... and the smoke was pretty much gone.  Just a big flash of steam and it was over.  So I passed up on the beer bonus and drove it straight to the finish line.  I pulled in under the awning and finlly hit the kill switch.  I was checked for my rider #, mileage, rally sticker and beer.  I had all but the latter.  They gave me my check in card and told me to pull the bike off to the side parking lot and pickup my ending rally package with our Tshirts and name tags from inside.  I got all my paperwork together from my tank bag, and grabbed my laptop bag from the saddlebag and headed inside to start the scoring process.
First I pulled my camera card out of the camera, and opened it up on the computer.  We were limited to 3 pictures from each bonus, and any photos NOT of a bonus would be a penalty.  So I cleaned up all the bad shots and kept only the good ones I thought would be enough to prove I was there.  But I FORGOT to save a copy of all my photos to the computer!  About that time Dad shows up, and we had a quick chat and I told him about what happened to the bike.  He said he'd already scored out, and would try and diagnose it while I scored out.  I had all my receipts... I triple checked my transposition of info into the rally book, and got in line to score out.  I was pretty sure this time I would not leave any points on the table. Then I realized I didn't have my rally flag and ran back to get it.  That would have been huge points!!  But after about 30 mins of waiting I finally got to a very nice lady to score me out.  She went through everything I had and I got every bonus I attempted, but now it was down to the ODO check and associated bonus.  The guy running around helping the scorers reiterated he had to find out from Jim Bain what my penalty would be for doing the ODO check twice.  So I politely brought up the fact nowhere in the rally book does it say we only have one chance to attempt the ODO check, and since it was MANDATORY, there should not be a penalty. (If we screwed up any other bonus, we have the ability to re do it, with time being the only penalty.) He assured me there would be some kind of penalty and went to confer with Jim Bain.  After about 20 mins he came back.... NO PENALTY, and almost max points on the bonus!!  Awesome... I didn't have to even raise my voice :)  I was totaled out at 49,796 points.  I hoped for a top 10 after knowing I left a few thousand points out there due to my bad plotting of way points and not getting the beer bonus.  But for my first 24 hr rally... I thought I did pretty well, all things considered.  Now... whats the status of the bike.

I got out to the parking lot, and dad had all the fairings off, oil cooler unbolted and had managed to pull off the ruptured hose that was right behind the headers.  It wasn't a small hole or cut ... it split 270 degrees all the way around!  There was no repairing that in any way.  I was extremely lucky that didn't happen anywhere else than where it did.  I took dad's bike and headed to the auto parts place to see if they had any bulk hose since it was almost a straight pipe with maybe a 20 degree bend in it.  The girl came from the back of the counter with an almost exact copy of the pipe but was an inch too long.  I can cut that!  I grabbed some new clamps, high temp silicone, and a gallon of antifreeze and rode back to the operating table.  We got it cut and fit onto the pipes after some wrangling.  This pipe is between the headers and motor so the finger room is pretty tight.  But once we got it fitted in there, we realized the rubber pipe was touching the headers due to the pipe being a bit thicker than stock.  We tried just about everything to get some distance between the two, but nothing worked.  Dad took the trip back to the parts store to pick up some header tape.  There was no room to wrap the header, so we just rolled the tape up and stuffed it between the header and coolant hose.  Its a wet chemical activator, so we buttoned up all the body work, and let it sit and cure while we headed in for dinner and the awards ceremony.

We ended up near the tail end of the line but I got to talk shop with Jim and Donna Phillips, and Mike Nolan.  I sat at a table with Ed Tillman, 'Miss Kitty' Nancy Oswald and her hubby Walt, Mike Allen, the winner of the mini rally, and some others I just can't remember their names.  Of course Ed was throwing out his comedic zingers the whole time...  But Jim Bain finally got up on stage to start giving out the door prizes and the the winners plaques.  I didn't get any door prizes, of which there were only 2 I would have wanted.  A Cape Fear hat or the fuze block.  I could care less about a magic coyote sticker...  whatever the hell that is.  But he finally got to the finishing results.  He started with... not FL. The mini rally I think, then the other two start locations.  Congrats to the other winners!!! But all I wanted to hear was the FL results.  When Jim read the points for 5th I was surprised to realize I was in the top 4.  I gave dad a thumbs up, since I knew I had more points than 5th.   But he kept reading off names that weren't mine.  4th, 3rd, then 2nd... Miles Lee!!     I was really shocked with a 2nd place finish.  With what I thought was already a conservative route, and the 2 screw ups... a 2nd place finish on my first 24 hr rally was completely unexpected.  Then he read Greg Rice's points... 20,000 MORE than mine.  WOW!!   Greg rode a hell of a route, and came in only 5 miles under the mileage cap.  No margin for error on that ride.  I'd have blown that on my ODO check redo.  Or blown my coolant pipe 100 miles from the end.  But Greg did awesome... Congrats to us both!  After the awards were done, I shook a few hands and took a couple of photos.  But the bike was still under the awning in front of the building we were in, so I rode it to a normal spot over by the rooms.  When I parked it, it was dripping what appeared to be coolant.  Crap.  Too late, too dark, and too wet to deal with it right now.  It'd have to wait till morning.  Me and dad headed to the room to crash.  We did not set an alarm!

Even w/o the alarm, I was up about 7am.  Dad was still snoring, so I got dressed and went out to triage the bike again.  I cranked it up and rode back under the awning since it was raining and I didn;t feel like crawling around on the wet pavement. I pulled the tupperware off while it was heating up.  I guess what had leaked out last night was just what had spilled when we refilled the coolant system.  It was not leaking now that it was running and heated up.  But the header tape was cooking and smoking like crazy.  I'm glad I wasn't on the road while it was burning off.  It was a lot of really smelly smoke.   But it finally cooked off, and still no coolant leak.  All I can do now it road test it and hope the repair makes the 650 mile trip home to FL.  I put the plasctics back on, and went back to the room.  Dad was finally up and stirring.  I checked the weather and it looked fairly clear to the south and we should have a mostly dry ride home.  It finally stopped raining before we headed out, so I didn't put on any rain gear.  If you've read any  previous blogs... I do the Bubba version of rallying.  I don't have an Aerostitch all weather riding suit, heated gear, or anything fancy like that.  Just an armored jacket, blue jeans, and a separate rain suit.   But I had sprayed my jacket and boots with water proofer before the rally.  We met up with Otto Hoel, also from FL, and decided to ride home together after a stop for breakfast.  We made it to a mom n pop version of a Waffle House about a mile down the road.  I left the bike running as I got off and de-geared.  Still no leaks.  This was my first breakfast in 3 days that was not a protein bar!  We left there, gassed up, and headed towards the interstate.  Its a good ride to get to I-95, but we made it and headed south.  After a ways, we pulled off at a truck stop to check the bike again, and I picked up some more gatorade for the camel pak.  Still no leaks!  Dad and I have fuel cells, where as Otto does not so we were on his mileage for fuel stops.  2 more fuel stops and one rest stop on the way to FL.  Repair still holding.  Our last gas stop was Kings Bay, GA, then we headed to the house.  We only hit 2 spots of rain on the way south, but I didn't think it was worth the time to put on rain gear so we rode through it.  I finally made it home about 7:30 that night and went straight to the shower!  I'd been in the same clothes for 4 days, and only 1 shower!!!  I meant to shower and change clothes after the rest bonus sleep, but after the alarm not going off... there was no time.  Luckily the wife was not home when I got there otherwise she probly would have just burned my clothes before I stepped inside.   But most important... the bike made the trip without issue.  Other than a blown .1A fuse on the Garmin cable.  All told... it was a 2250 mile trip.  350 to the start, 1250 for the rally, and 650 for the ride home.  Now its time to prepare for battle to defend my Ed's Last Resort Rally title.  And wouldn't ya know... Greg Rice is signed up for it too.  Gonna be a fun one!

Miles

The Long Riders Digital Scavenger Hunt 2011

My final organized ride of 2011 was The Long Riders - Digital Scavenger Hunt.  The Long Riders are a group of riders spread out in the South East... primarily in Florida, that get together pretty much every weekend and make a short ride for lunch.  Short means anything from 100 to 1000 miles round trip...  I met a few of them at Ed's Last Resort Rally 2011, and was turned onto their online forum.  I also heard about the rally they put on.  As soon as they opened up registration, I signed up.  Literally!! I was the first one registered. 

The Digital Scavenger Hunt 2011 was titled and themed "Nautical and Naughty"  which led most of us to believe we'd be looking for boats and strip clubs.  FL and South GA has a lot of both.  But of course the Rally Masters tend to be sneaky, so I didn't think too hard about it.  The rally dates were Nov 4-6th.  The RM was very nice and sent out the bonus locations in digital format about a week before the event to ensure we had enough time to input the waypoints into our GPSs.  But we got no descriptions or point values for the locations.  Some were obvious, like the submarine in Kings Bay, GA... and the Blue Angels jet @ NAS Jax.  But most were still a mystery.  Enter... Google Maps.  I was able to narrow down 90% of the locations and what was there using Google Maps and its Street View option.  That really helped find out what place or object we were looking for.  But again, without point values or descriptions there was no route planning that could be done.  But I knew I wanted to go to Kings Bay to see the Sub memorial since it was not erected until after I was stationed there in 1996-2000.  But I made 3 very rough routes just to get an idea of which places I could get to and back in the 10 hours we had.  The rally was based out of Dade City, FL which is west of Orlando, and North of Tampa...  pretty much in the middle of FL.  I planned one route NW up through Tallahasee, one NE up to JAX and Kings Bay, and a 'southern' loop through Tampa, Occechobee, and Miami areas.  Those routes I would build around once we got the rally packs.  I preped the bike with an oil change for the engine and rear drive, cleaned the air filter, and tested the aux tank to ensure I wouldn't be stranded like dad was when he had this tank last year.  I was out of work the week up to the rally, so I did a practice run with 5 local landmarks, my new waterproof camera, and a new 'special process' to help speed up my bonus location stops.  I wanted to be sure I had my process perfected before the rally.  For most rallys you get a rally flag with your rider number on it.  You place your rally flag on, or in view of, the bonus location and take a picture of them both.  Sometimes the bonus description states your motorcylcle AND rally flag must be visible in the photo along with the bonus.  You also have to write down in your rider log, the time and your odometer reading while at each location for final scoring.  All these things are to prove you were at the location and didn't send a friend to get the photo for you while you were some where else. I do things a bit different than some to speed up my stops.  I don't write anything in the rally log during the ride itself.  This prevents me from having to get to the location, get off the bike, get out the rally pack from the saddle bag, find the page the bonus location is on, find the bonus entry (70 in this pack), read the description, figure out if I need just the flag in the photo, or the bike and the flag, get and turn on the digital camera, place the rally flag in view of the bonus, take the picture, take more pictures if need be, retrieve the flag, store the flag and camera, write down the time and odo reading in the rally pack,  store the rally pack in the saddle bags, remount the bike, hope it starts, and drive off to the next stop to do the process over again.  Thats a lot of steps to do at each location, and it takes a lot of time.  I know... thats how I did my first rally.  For my second rally, I wrote down what I needed to get at each location in a pocket size notebook I kept in my tankbag, to minimize my off the bike time.  But for that rally, there was no flag or photo requirement.  For this rally I tweaked to process even more to add the camera and flag requirement.  The complete process is currently on a NEED TO KNOW basis, and right now, you dont need to know!  Actually I stole borrowed the idea from a rider in another rally I read about in one of his ride reports like this one.  In short... it greatly reduces the off the bike time even with the camera and rally flag requirement.  The only bonuses I got off the bike for were the ones that req the bike in the photo too.  My dad had the need to know, so he used the same process.  He qualified for his need to know by giving me the aux fuel cell.  So if you want to be in the know... I'm taking tire, and Zumo donations.  :)  Its guarnteed to save 2-5 mins at each photo stop !! 2mins times 17 stops... thats 34 mins.  85 mins on the high side. That could be 2 or 3 more bonuses you could add to your route! 

Two days before the Rally, we got the rally pack with the bonus descriptions and their point values... most of them.  Part of the format of this years rally, is some of the bonuses were "Pot Luck" which means, the riders had no idea of the point value of the bonus until we were at the scoring table.  But we were told they were somewhere between 300 and 2000 points.  That throws a lil kink in the planning.    And we were also informed that we would not find out what the Nautical and Naughty wildard bonuses were until the Friday night riders meeting.  But we do know they are in addition to the normal bonus locations in the rally pack.  At least now we can really start planning routes.  The point values for the southern loop were way to low and too spread out make it an option for me.  I focused on the NW and NE loops.  I knew how to get to 3 of the NW locations near Tallahassee... One of them is 3 miles from my house!  But I couldn't get the points up high enough to compare to the NE route up to Kings Bay, GA.  It was my first gut reaction to go there before points were known, and now the sub was the highest point value bonus on the ride.  I had to go there!  Plus there was a multi state gas bonus so GA was a must.  I planned my route to GA and back, and would only tweak it if the wildcard Nautical and Naughty bonuses were worth a lot of points.   I was done planning and it was the day before the rally!  No staying up til 2 am plugging in cooridnates and rally planning like Eds. Nice.

I got up Fri morning and sent the kids and wife off to school and work.  Got everything packed, and did my last once over on the bike.  Tires on pressure.  Oil and brake fluid levels good.  New GPS cradle secured.  But I noticed a little antifreeze on the right side of the engine, on the cowl.  Not much.. just a few green streaks.  I popped the cap off the radiator and pour in about 4 oz of water.  No biggie.  I plug up the GPS and enter in the addres for the hotel.   Funny... no sounds.  I guess its on mute.  Nope.  It has a big loud speaker in its cradle for use as a speaker phone in the car.   That was now dead.  I normally couldn't hear what it was saying on the hwy due to the noise and the helmet anyway, but I could hear noises to alert me to look at it.  Now I didn't even have that.  I'll have to watch it more carefully now.  Too late and too expensive to replace on the way to the rally.  And now I have to keep an eye on the antifreeze too.  Off to Dade City.

I happened to pass a few of the bonus locations on the way down as they were right on my route on HWY 98.  But since I wasn't planing on taking that route, no biggie.  BUT... just incase I changed my mind, I'll scope out 2 more that are just off the beaten path.  But of course there is nothing to gain but knowlege that the bonus location is indeed where the GPS says it is.  (Another reason you get your rally flag the night before the rally)  At one stop in BFE, I check my phone and see I missed a call from my job recruiter (i'm out of work remember).  No signal, so I couldn't check the voicemail.  Once I get back into civilization, I check the VM and all he says is to call him.  I did and got his VM... time for phone tag!  Then I got an email from the recruiting company to call him.  Replied back that I did and got his VM, but I was on the motorcycle headed south and will be unable to answer the phone and out of coverage for a portion of the trip anyway. I keep heading south.  The phone rang again while riding, so I waited till I found a parking lot to pull off in.  Of course the roach motel was nowhere near a cell tower.  So I kept on down the road until I got into Chiefland, FL.  I think they have one cell tower.  I pulled off and finally got to speak to my recruiter.  He informed me that the company I had done 3 previous interviews with, was officially offering me the position.  Which I excitedly accepted!  I am now the IT Manager for Star and Shield Insurance.  That was a load off.  I could now focus on the rally, and not worry about gas money to get home :)  I called the wife to let her know the good news, and that she could return the pallet of ramen noodles.  I continued on to Dade City with no more stops. 

I met up with dad at the hotel about 2 hours before the riders meeting/dinner.  I trained him up on the special photo taking process, and gave him the items he needed to do it.  We met up with a few of the other riders as they were trickling in.  Let the lies and trash talking begin :)  We talked routes, and stategies, and such.  Rule of thumb is... whoever is telling you their best route...  you agree with them and remember they most likely are lying!  Or if their route matches yours, you steer them off of it to keep the advantage.   We are evil!  And when they tell you they are going for the bonus across the street from UFs stadium, you forget to tell them that its homecoming weekend and the roads are packed or blocked off. Or that a particular bonus is 10 miles down a dirt road.  HEY... I looked it up.  So can they :)   But most of the time we do really help each other out.  Buber programmed 2 other riders GPSs for them. The guilty (Ed) shall remain (Ernie) nameless.  After a little while, we all headed out to the riders meeting at a restaurant to eat and get our rally flags.

At the riders meeting we finally got clarifacation on the Nautical and Naughty bonuses.  Nautical photo bonuses were 400 points for each picture of anything nautical... but just not 'right'.  A lighthouse nowhere near water... a boat on the ground... that sort of thing.  But the Naughty bonus was not related to establishments of ill repute as many of us thought... but places they put people that have been naughty... prisons and jails.  There is no way to plan a route to look for boats on the ground... but you CAN find prisons.  Crap!  Time to re-route when we get back to the hotel.  Naughty bonuses were worth 300 points, so they could be worth it if on your main route.  Pot Luck were still unknown point values. We headed back to hotel with a stop to fill up our tanks and fuel cells. 

Once back at the hotel, searches for prisons on my route commenced.  I found a good number of them, and was able to bypass some of the lower point, hard to get bonuses in favor of the prisons on the main route.  I finally settled on a route around 11pm and got them all loaded into my GPS.  I filled out my cheat sheet notebook for the tankbag, and went to bed.  I was going to make 19 total stops, 3 being Pot Luck, and 7 naughty bonues. I scheduled a 9hr route, so I could get the 30 min lunch bonus, and still have a 30min cushion.   I would look for nautical bonuses while riding, but none were pre-planned. 

We had another riders meeting before the start in the hotel with the free crappy hotel continental breakfast.  We had to seal up our registration and drivers license in an envelope for the 'No Speeding' bonus.  If it comes back still sealed, you get 500 points.  Then we got one more new option to score some more bonus points.  You had the option of carrying with you a Grade A, Farm Fresh, numbered egg (not boiled) and if it made the trip back... it was worth 2000 points.  If it broke, you would lose 1000 points!  The kicker was... you had to take a photo of it every 100 miles, plus or minus 3.  I really did not want to be on the shoulder of I-95 or I-4 trying to get a photo of an egg, or possibly lose 1000 points if I broke it... so I passed on the egg bonus.  We all headed for the bikes, as the start time was closing in.  I checked the antifreeze situation, and poured in another 4oz of water.  I figured it wouldn't be an issue on the ride, if it only lost 4 oz in the 5 hrs of riding to the rally and dinner.  I suited up, set the GPS to my first location, and activated my SPOT tracker.  It was right at start time, so I headed over the to starting cones.  Ray just let the first 2 riders go, so I was headed out # 3. He got my ODO reading, start time, and off I went.  Its always good to get a jump on most everyone!  Then waiting 5 mins at the 2 stop lights to get to the Interstate, half the field was right behind me.  So much for a starting advantage.

I had my route planned before the Naughty bonus explanation, but I pretty much followed the same route after I added all the jails.  My first 2 stops were changed from the low point value bonuses to jails.  The first one was in Bushnell, 20 mins from the start.  It was still dark when I arrived, so it took me a few camera shots at 2 differnt signs to get a valid photo of the sign and my rally flag.  I got it and was gone.  I passed my dad as he was coming in to get it.  Garmin decided not to take me back to the interstate, but a 2 lane rd that hit I75, 5 miles up the road.  I passed a ton of cops going/leaving work as there was a huge Sherriffs office just up the road from the jail.  Once I got past all that, it was nothing but pastures for 5 miles.  Just before I got to the interchange to get back on 75, one of those cops headed to work was feeling a bit excited to be on the job and flipped around and lit me up.  My GPS said 65... but I was in a 55 zone.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" 
"I guess because I was doing 65 in a 55???"
"No.  You were doing 66."
"Oh.  Well my GPS said 65, and speedo said 62, but OK."
Here it comes.... "License and registration please." 
"Sir if I open this envelope, I loose 500 points."
Blank stare...................... So I rip it open and give it him. 
"Mr Lee, where are you headed."
"Actually I'm headed up to Kings Bay, GA, down to Daytona, then back to Dade City.  I'm in a motorcycle rally."
Blank stare..................... "Whats that thing on the back of the bike?"
"Its an extra fuel tank so I can ride 350 miles without stopping for gas."
Blank stare..................... "Wait right here," as he heads back to this car.
I wave at a few riders as they are riding by on the interstate.  He comes back with his ticket book, asks me the make and model of the bike, and hands me the ticket book to sign.  "Mr. Lee, this is just a written warning.  But I'm putting this into the system, so If you get pulled over again, you will get a ticket." 
"Thank you sir.  That won't be an issue."
"Slow it down," as he hands me a pink slip and license back. 
"Yes sir," as I'm rushing as slowly as I can to get back on the bike and leave. 

Now, I'm 500 points, and I don't know how many minutes, behind.  I thought I was only stopped for about 10 mins, but I really didn't have a clue.  I hit the interstate to get headed to my my next jail in Ocala.  I didn't see any riders on the way there, so I figured I got passed by all of them that were headed the same direction.  As I was stopped at the red light at the bottom of the off ramp, dad pulled up beside me.  He gave me confused look as he knew I was ahead of him at the first jail we went to.  I followed him to the Ocala jail and once stopped, I started my on-the-bike flag and sign photo process.   Dad started his off the bike, put the flag on the sign photo process.  I went through all that planning and training for you NOT to use it... Hey. Whatever.  I was ready to leave as he was gettin his picture.  I think from that point on he used the on-the-bike method since he saw how much faster it was.  I explained the getting pulled over fun I had... and he figured out  thats how he caught me.  So I still thought at that point I was only 10 mins behind schedule.  I hit my next waypoint on the GPS and headed out.  The next bonus was a histrical marker and caboose in Waldo.   I was on back roads most the way there and the sun was up, so I started looking for boats on the ground as I figured there'd be plenty with all the shady homes on the back roads.  But then I realize... If I pull up in some of these run down domicile driveways, I may stir up more trouble than I want.  I passed 2 or 3 boats being used as pit bull houses... Nope.  Not worth getting eaten or shot.  And this was the case the rest of the day!!!  I found the caboose and got my picture of the bike, flag, 2 historical markers, AND the caboose... all in one photo.  Another rider was pulling up, as I was headed out.  That was the last rally rider I saw until 45 mins from the end.  I passed a road sign pointing down a side road for a correctional facility that was NOT on my list.  I was in the boonies, so I figured it couldn't be too far down the road.  It wasn't.  Stopped and got my photo and avoided the security guard coming at me to see what I was doing.  I waved as I took off. One TRUE wild card as it was not planned at all.  Next stops were NE of Jax in and around Yulee.  There was a Giant golf ball, an adult prison, one of my Pot Lucks...the Jacksonville Vetrans Cemetary, and another prison... all within a few miles of each other. I even found a juvenile prison not on my list. More points!  I didn't get off the bike once.  I texted a Navy friend of mine to meet me at the sub memorial in St Marys, and headed to my old stomping grounds. 

 I got there and got the photo of my bike, flag, and sub from the road. That was the first time off the bike in a couple hours.  My friend wasn't there so I left to get gas for the 2 state gas bonus.  I figured I'd take my lunch bonus there too as it was in the lunch window now.  I filled up the main tank, and aux tank at a BP station, and sure enough... no address on the receipt.  So I go inside to get a receipt.  NO ADDRESS ON THE RECEIPT!!  Just a station ID #.  So I head out to find another gas station.  I find a gas station with a Subway next door.  As I pull up to the pump I see a receipt hanging out of the machine.  It has the address, with the state showing.  I pumped 25 cents of gas to get my scorable receipt, as that was all the tank would hold.  I ran into Subway and ordered my lunch.  I think the couple working there thought I was weird, since it was only after I ordered, called in the bonus, and took a picture of my lunch and flag, that I took off any of my gear.  I texted my friend again and told him where I was and the exact time I was leaving.  I never heard from him.... Slacker Jeremy sleeping till noon!  Headed to NAS Jax.

Its a quick 45 mins or so to NAS Jax, but even with Garmin's latest update, the new I-95/I-10 setup in Jax is not in there correctly.  But I found my way to the road headed to NAS Jax.  I knew there was an airshow that day, so traffic may be an issue.  But I figured I was there 2 hours after it started, so it shouldn't be too bad.  And it wasn't... until I got to the road everyone was turning on to get to the airfield.  2 turn lanes backed up 50 cars deep.  I knew the plane was outside the gate, and visible from the road, so I passed everyone thinking worst case, I'd block traffic leaving the show for a min while I got my photo in front of the median.  But I saw, once I got to the intersection, there were NO cars coming from the other direction, and there was a turn around spot in the median 100 yrds up the road.  So I flipped around there, and stopped on the shoulder of the turn lane into the airfield and got my photo of the Blue Angles jet and flag.  Flipped around again at the intersection and was gone... 2 mins. 
My next planned stops had 4 grouped together in St Augustine.  Once I got to I95 South, I started figuring in my head,  how much time I had to get back to Dade City, versus all my stops I had to make.  I knew it was going to take 2 hours from Daytona to get back to the finish.  I still don't have a route in the GPS... I just go bonus to bonus.  So I don't have time-to-bonus and time-to-finish calculated for me.  But I do have my expected arrival times for each bonus.  I was going to be 1hr behind getting to my first stop in St. Augustine.  At that point I knew I would have to drop a few places.  I used to live in Daytona and know my way around pretty good, and there were 5 places there to stop.   So I opted to drop all St. Augustine locations and head to Daytona. I hit the first waypoint in Daytona on the GPS, and I was still going to be a little behind.
Once I got to the Daytona area, I knew I would have to still drop something to be able to finish on time.  I got to the first stop in Holly Hill and got my flag and caboose photo.  Then Ms Garmin tried to send me dead West to get to another location, then right back dead East to head to the next one... so I opted to drop the two out west, and if time allowed pick them up on the way out of of town. I made it to Sugarmill Garderns... another Pot luck, and got my photo.  I used to play in that park as a kid, as we lived a few blocks away for about a year.  Then I headed to another Po Po station for a jail bonus... literally across the street from dads neighborhood.  2 mins gone... Headed further south for my last jail photo and another pot luck in New Smyrna.  Hit the last waypoint to see how much time I had, and if I could hit the hwy and go get the last 2 jails in Daytona... It showed I had a 5 min window to get to the last stop and back to Dade City, AND I still needed a gas receipt in FL without going back to the last 2 stops. So I headed west to I4 and started to the house.  Weekend traffic was HEAVY to and through Orlando.  Luckily I brought my SunPass and got on the Turnpike as soon as I could.  No traffic after that.  Somewhere off the Turnpike and past Groveland, I pulled up at a light next to another rally rider.  I asked if he'd gotten any Nautical bonuses, since I hadn't seen any.  He said "No... oh wait.  I did get a pic of a jetski on the ground."  I told him I hadn't gotten any.  We rode through the lil town together, and as soon as we cleared all the lights... wouldn't ya know it.  A jet ski on the ground.  I pointed to it so he could see it, did a U-y and rode up the sidewalk to get the photo.  He kept going.  I ran him down about 20 mins later, and as soon as I got to him, he pulled off for gas.  I wanted to bag the last bonus, before I stopped for gas, so I continued on to the Lighthouse restaurant to get my last photo of the bike and lighthouse.  And wouldn't you know... right next to it was a boat on the ground.  Got 2 photos for 2 bonuses.  Of course with needing to get off the bike for a bike-in-the-picture shot, this stop took a bit longer.  But when I pulled up, there were 2 riders already there that had already taken their photos and were packing up.  I asked if they got a picture of the boat too for the nautical bonus.  They had not, and thanked me for reminding them.  I got my photos and was gone in 3 mins.  They must have been there at least 10 as they started unpaking their gear again for another photo as I was leaving.
I stopped right before Dade City's historic downtown for a splash of gas and a receipt.  Downtown... right where we had to check in... was a car show.  All the side roads were blocked off trying to get to the check in area.  We had to go past the road we need to be on, and circle back behind it, and ride through some baracades.   I made it in with 15 mins to spare.  I possibly could have gotten those last 2 bonuses in Daytona... but it wasn't worth DNFing.   I was done!  I had ridden exactly 500 miles in 10 hrs, made 17 stops for bonuses, 3 stops for gas, and 1 stop for lunch.  Not bad.  Time to go do paperwork.

This time, I was determined not to leave ANY points on the table due to clerical errors.  That is the drawback for doing all my entries in the notebook vs right on the rally pack.  Its easy to overlook something, forget something, or write something wrong.  But I took my time and got my package together.  And even thought there were 5 or 6 scorers, I waited 30 mins or so in line to get scored.  But it went pretty fast once I was at the table since I had everything ready and in order.  I did good... I didn't loose ANY points at the table.  The only points I lost were the License points from being pulled over.  But having to drop 4 places in St. Augustine, I knew I wasn't going to win.  But I still hoped for a top ten.  Ended up 8th! 20 points behind dad.  Not bad.

I still don't know where I lost an hour of time during the ride.  Getting stopped didn't help, but it wasn't an hour.  I built my route on Streets and Trips, then entered the waypoints into the Garmin.  Mine still doesn't support uploading routes like the Zumos and 2600/2700/2800s.  So I may need to look into how much different the S&T route was compared to my Garmin route.  When I created the route within the GPS, the times were within 5 mins.  But once it recalculates on the road, there is no telling what it does.  Maybe I just wasn't riding fast enough :)

Made the freezing ride home to Crawfordville that night.  Dad rode with me the whole way and stayed at my house.  We got in around 2am.  Passed about 50 deer within 20 miles of the house, so we were taking it easy through there.  We rode handlebar to handlebar most of the way back since no one was on the road that late.  That was cool.  Parked the bikes and we crashed til morning.  It wasn't until the next morning when dad was headed out that I noticed the pool of fluid under my bike.  And all the antifreeze on BOTH sides of the motor.  I've since tracked it down to a leak from the thermostat housing wheree it mounts to the cooling log.  Hopefullly just the O ring.  Problem is... I have to take off the carb rack to get to it for repairs.  I have yet to start that project a month later :(  Too much going on lately.  But now with another paycheck coming in, I think its time to start on it.  I may find a few other things that just HAVE to be replaced around Christmas time.  Like a new cooling hose, tires, or Zumo :) !!!

Aux Fuel Tank Install

Only twice on the last rally would a bigger gas tank had come in handy.  I only had two gas stops in Ed's Last Resort Rally 2011 that were just gas stops, and not documenting where I was, or required for a bonus.  But skipping those 2 stops could have saved me +/- 15 mins.  Not a huge deal, but considering I came in 15 mins early, and add those 15 mins in... thats 30mins that possibly could have led to one more bonus stop.  And on the SS1000, it also would have saved me 2 gas stops in between mandatory stops.  But almost all veteran rally riders have an aux tank, and since dad was offering one up, I jumped on it.  Even if the tank was full of gremlins and left dad out of gas on the side of the road, 15 mins from the end of a rally.... WITH GAS STILL IN IT.
The Concours already has a 7 gal fuel tank... one of the largest on a motorcycle... but an extra 4 gals increases the the range another 50%.  Luckily it came off of a Concourse, so all the mounting was easy as can be.  I had to loose my top trunk, which is a huge storage loss, but I probably carry too much crap with me in the other bags anyway.  I removed all the trunk hardware, and added the mounting hardware for the tank.  Easy as pie.  Bolted the straps around the tank, and to the mounting platform... a few bolts short.  No problem... Fuel lines too short!!  It was late so I quit for the night, and went to get the new lines and a T fitting the next morning.  Tried a few different routes for the line, so all the bodywork would work without crimping the line anywhere.  Finally got it all routed, tie wrapped, and ready to test.  I went to the gas station with a gas can (the main tank was emptied for the install) and got 2 gals of gas.  I poured it all in the aux tank, since it should flow into the main tank.  Luckily there is a see through filter where it comes out of the aux tank.   I saw it was half full of gas, and half full of water!!  I turned the valve off and dumped the water out of the filter.  All good right!  I get it cranked up, and warmed up, and start down the road to go fill up the tank.  It dies 50 ft from the house.  Cranks up, but dies with any throttle input.  WTH.  I figured water made it into the carb float bowls, so I drained them and started it back up.  Within seconds, the filter was full of water again!  I checked it before I installed it... nothing poured out of it so I figured I was good.  Apparently, there was a lot of moisture in the foam inside the tank.  So few sloshes, and more filter / carb dumps I was off again to the gas station, with a gas can, for more gas.  This time I put a gal in the main tank, and the other gal in the aux tank.  I was hoping to see the gas gauge move up to "see" the gas fill from the aux to the main tank.  I took it out for a ride, and watched the gauge.  Nothing!  Gauge stayed on dead empty.  I'm thinking I inherited the gremlins that were in the tank before! I ran the bike with the fuel petcock on ON, RESERVE, PRIME... nothing.  Dead empty.  The kids were outside playing, so I took a break to play with them, and think about what is wrong.  When I get back to it, gas was leaking all over the bottom of the bike, onto the ground.  WTF.  Oh... I left it on PRIME.  Gas was flowing out of the carb, into the air filter housing, and leaking out.  I turned the petcock to ON (there is no OFF.. OFF is On with bike OFF.. got it), aux tank OFF, and let it air dry for a bit.  I took it back out for a ride to be sure it wasn't flooded too bad with gas.  Seemed to be fine.  I parked it for good that day... outside in case something else decides to spring a leak.   My thoughts at this point are... the 1/4" fuel line from the aux tank is small, so the fuel is flowing SLOW.   Barely faster than what the bike was using.  And the gas was so low in the main tank, that it wouldn't show any changes on the gauge even if all the fuel made it into the main.  It shows empty at about 5 gals used, not 7.  So that makes sense I didn't see it move.
The next day after work, I suit up for another test ride.  A longer ride this time.  I drove it to the gas station, filled up the aux tank to the top, and filled up the main tank until the gauge read about 1/2.  That way I could watch it move.  Off I went.  I took it out for about 30 - 40 mins, and the gauge moved a bit to the plus side, but nothing drastic.  But when I got home, the aux tank was more than half empty, so I know it was working, most likely just feeding the motor more then filling the main... but at least its working!!  Still a hint of water in the fuel filter so a bit more maintenance/full tank runs will be required.  But now I can ride 325 - 350 miles before I go on reserve, and then I have another 50 miles to go.  But thats well over 4 hours in the saddle, which is probably long enough without stopping.  Time for a BBG1500!!

Miles

Iron Butt Certification Ride

I mentioned Iron Butt rides in an earlier post, so now its time to look into riding one.  The shortest Iron Butt ride is 1000 miles, in 24hrs.  I wasn't sure the bike would make it or not, and I didn't want to be 500 miles from home and it break down.  I decided to wait until Ed's Last Resort Rally 2011 to be the first time I put the Kawasaki on the road for any considerable time or distance.  In the 2009 rally I rode less than 400 miles. So I figured I'd never be more than 2 hours away from the finish in case I needed to call for help, broke down on the side of the road on this untested bike.  This will be a good test to see if is ready for a sustained long haul.  If she breaks, she breaks.  I had no idea I'd have to ride over 700 miles in the '11 rally. And after getting my free entry into the Cape Fear 1000 next year, I had to complete an Iron Butt ride since you have to be an Iron Butt member to get into the rally!

Dad turned me onto the Motorcycle Tourer's Forum, which is one of the largest online forums for the crazies that ride bikes loooooong distances.  They host group rides a few times a year around the country for people that want to do Iron Butt rides, but never get around to it.  This way you are motivated by a set day to do the ride and get it done.  I signed up for the June 4th, 2011 Regional SS1000 out of Jacksonville.  Normally for an Iron Butt ride, you need a starting witness, plan a sufficient route to do 1050 miles (50 more miles in case of speedometer inaccuracies), then find an ending witness.  Fill out all the paperwork and submit it to the Iron Butt Association for review... Lots of stuff to figure out, and easy to screw up. But you can start from anywhere.  With this scheduled group ride, it was all planned out.  All you had to do was show up to the starting point. We were given the required route a few days in advance, which for this ride was all within the state of FL. The witness would be there with the required paperwork for the start and finish,  review our receipts, and submit all the information to the IBA for us.  How easy is that!  You just have to start and finish at the same place.  In Jax.  3 hours from the house.  Dad said he'd ride with me, just for fun, so he signed up too.  Neither one of us wanted to spend the $ on a hotel on Jax Beach, so we decided just to get up a bit early an ride out from his place in Daytona.  Yes it would add 90 un-counted miles to the start and end of the ride, but after 1050, whats 180 more...

I left Tallahassee after work on the 3rd and headed to Daytona.  Its a 4 hour ride, so made it in around 9.  When I got there, dad's wife was really sick, and dad said he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to make the ride or not.  He'd wait to see how she was in the morning.  4 am came quick, and he got me up.  She was feeling worse, so he said they would be headed to the Dr.  He gave me his SPOT GPS tracker, so he could track me on the ride.  It also has an SOS button, so no matter where I was, I could hit the button and help would be sent.  This is good if there is no cell reception somewhere in BFE, and the bike is broke... or wrecked.  So a lil after 4:30 I headed out to Jax Beach for the start.  The start window was 6 - 7am, at a Gate gas station.  You use computer generated receipts to prove your start time, route, and stop time.  Easiest place to get those is gas pumps, plus you need gas anyway... I figured if I get to the starting line just when the window opens, I'd just ride with the others doing the ride.  I knew of 2 people doing the ride with touring bikes, and the others were on cruisers.  I would just ride with the other touring bikes since our gas stops were less frequent than the cruisers.  Plus one was on a Connie like me!  I took it easy getting there, and saw the sign for the Gate at 10 mins after 6am.  And I saw ALL the other riders pulling out starting their ride!  They were not wasting any time.

I pull in and see Ray King who is the ride coordinator.  I inform him dad wasn't going to making the ride, but he'd email him my SPOT tracking info so he could see where I was on the ride.  He got my odometer reading, I signed some paperwork, he signed my trip log as the witness,  I filled up, and off I went.  I was about 10 mins behind everyone else, but I figured I could catch up before the first fill up.  We were all on the same route so that should be easy enough.  I just have to drive faster than them :)  I had 200 miles until I needed gas, so that should be enough time.... Or so I thought.  I put it on around 85 once I got outside of the city on I-95.  The route was I-95/Turnpike South to Ft Lauderdale, Turnpike/Alligator Alley West to Naples, I-75 North to Lake City, I-10 West to Tally, and turn around and head back East to Jax.  So it was around 330 miles to the first corner of the ride.  I rode through St Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona... and still no signs of the riders.  (Dad later said he past me on the hwy when taking his wife to the hospital in Daytona)  Finally, south of Daytona I see a group of bikes.  The closer I got, I realized they were all crusiers.  Not the tourers.  Its Daytona... there are more bikes in Daytona than any other place I've ever lived.  I have no idea if these guys are on this ride or not.  But they all had GPS, and water bottles, so I figured they may be the other riders... just not sure.  So I passed em and kept on going to still try and catch the other 2.  At a little over 200 miles and still no sign of em, the bike stuttered.  I put the tank on reserve fuel and it picked back up.   Time to get gas and something to drink.  I didn't pre plan any gas stops other than what we were given.  Some people do this to be sure the find a gas station right on the exit to save time.  We've all pulled off the interstate because it said Gas/Food this exit.  Then have to drive 5 miles to the little town to find it.  Thats a time waster on these rides.  So I passed a few exits if I couldn't see a gas station on the right side of the exit.  Luckily on 95 there are exits every 5 miles or so.  I had 30-40 miles to run on the reserve tank, so I knew I was good.  I finally saw a Flying J sign... which are ALWAYS right off the exit.  I pulled off the exit ramp and took a right to get to the station.  It was off a side road, off the road, off the exit.  There was a "Roach Coach" as we called it in the Navy, (restaurant on wheels) that had been smashed by a semi truck on the left side of the intersection.  No biggie.  Cops were there handling it.  I get in, gas up, store my receipt, and run inside for a bottle of water.  While in the store, I called the wife to let her know dad wasn't with me, but get in touch with him for the GPS tracker site.  And to talk to my sister to give her the tracking site, and my estimated arrival time in Ft. Lauderdale, since Sis and the fam were meeting me to say hi at the gas stop.  I didn't eat breakfast, so I grabbed a Cliff Bar to to eat on the ride and some water.  I paid for it all and headed out.  I was one of those obnoxious people on the phone, in a store, checking out... I open the cliff bar and put it in my tank bag (much easier than trying to do it while riding and with gloves on!) I get out the the side road to head back to the intersection, and wouldn't you know it.  The cops decide to block it off so they could do some measurements, and to get the wrecker in there.  I was stuck at the light, waiting for them to let us all out.  Good time to eat!

Finally after about 10 mins they start letting people through the intersection.  But NOT back to the Interstate.  They ran us down a parallel road to 95.  At least it was the same direction!  But still I'm loosing time.  I still had hoped to catch the other 2 riders... but that idea was now squashed.   Guess I'm on my own all day!  I finally get to the next town, and back on 95.  I was about 100 miles to the first required gas stop... a Sunoco right off 95 and near the Turnpike.  My GPS wanted to take me on the turnpike, but I ignored it since I didn't have the EZ Pass, and didnt want to fool with the tolls. I kept on down 95.  I was running with traffic for the most part, 75 - 80mph.  Then I got passed by 2 cars running a bit faster, so I pulled in behind them.  We ran most the way trough West Palm, in all the traffic, at about 85.  I was making good time.  I got off the exit, and the Sunoco was on the left.  My sis, her husband, and my twin nieces were there waiting for me.  I gassed up while talking with them (don't want to break my rhythm ) then got off the bike to go inside and get a Gatorade.  I asked for the receipt just in case.  Which was good... since while talking to everyone, I'd forgotten to press YES for the gas pump receipt!  Butt saved there.  We all chatted for a bit, took some photos, and I was off.  Maybe 20 mins stopped time.  You don't have to drive fast to finish a SS1000.  You just have to keep the wheels moving.  BUT...  the faster you drive, the shorter the amount of time in the saddle.  I was feeling really good at this point considering I was 330 miles into the ride, and over 400 for the day so far!  But if I could spend less time on the bike, then I'm all for it.   I jump on the turnpike, and head for Naples across Alligator Alley.  Its around 11am.

Again... I'm running just a tad faster than traffic, so I don't have follow anyone.  I get passed by a car, so I fall in behind him.  He was doing 90.  Then 85.  Then 75...  No cruise in the beat up Malibu!  So I passed him.  He passed me back.  He slowed, so I passed him again... we did this 5 or 6 times.  Finally we both got passed by another car.  I was hoping the BMW had working cruise.  Which it did.  Set at 100!!  We slowed down a few times when his radar went off, but we never saw a cop.  So I made the 100 trip across the state in about an hour.  Drove to the required Shell station (good thing for GPS, cause it was hidden and only a tiny sign on a fence to say where it was).  I gassed up, GOT THE PUMP RECEIPT, and went inside for a drink and some jerky bites for a snack.  I grabbed 2 drinks this time because it was now about 95 degrees!  I pretty much finished one off on the way from the door to the bike, and used what was left to wipe the bugs off the wind screen.  I got back on the bike cranked it up, put in the next stop in Lake City on the GPS and was about to pull out.  Then I looked at the SPOT tracker.  It was off.  There were no lights blinking at all.  So I pressed a few buttons but couldn't get it to do anything.  So I called dad for technical assistance.  He said it quit tracking as soon as I got to the Ft Lauderdale stop, and maybe the batteries had died, so I could try to replace them.  He asked if I was with the other 2 since he saw on the GPS tracker I was right with them in West Palm.  Apparantly, they were on the Turnpike, and I passed them while on 95.  Oh well.  I'm not going to wait for them, or change the batteries.  Got to keep rolling. So I headed out with no tracker.  Stop time about 15 mins.  North bound 75 about 1pm!

Once I got settled in on the road again... I started fiddling with the SPOT again.  I was able to get it to power up finally, but the lights that were flashing didn't seem right to me.  So I kept pressing buttons until it flashed like I thought it did before.   Who knows if its actually working.  I was 330 miles from Lake City, so instead of running the tank dry at 200 miles, I would split the difference and stop at around 150 miles, then go the other 150 to Lake City.  Plus at 95 degrees, I would need the hydration by then anyway.  Where the hell are the afternoon rain showers!!!  I need some relief!  This was the uneventful part of the trip.  I eat my jerky, finish off a Gatorade, and begin wishing I had an MP3 player.  I was getting bored.  I was finally starting to feel the effects of sitting on this bike for so long.  I started doing motorcycle yoga and stretching as much as I could.  Then I figured out if I lay down on the tank and put my legs out behind me, the wind would keep them from dragging the ground and I could stretch out all the way.  This became my goto position when my knees would start to ache.  I kept the speed around 75 - 80 as I-75 is bad for hwy patrol.  They love picking off the college kids headed to UF, and the families to and from seeing the mouse.  And holy shit the # of Crown Vics and Mercurys that look like cop cars in the deep south of FL.  You never know if they are unmarked cars, or blue hairs on the road.  But I made it about 160 miles and stopped off at another Shell station for gas and water. I was sweating pretty good.  I took everything off this time, gassed up, got my receipt, and went inside.  I looked in the mirror once in the bathroom (1st potty break all day) and I was beet red.  I ran some water over my face and arms for a bit to try and cool off more than the AC was doing.  I looked like I had a sunburn on my face...which is not the case since I have a full face helmet with built in sunshade.  I was just that hot.  I took a few mins and wandered the store after I got 2 more drinks.  I finished one off, and finally headed back out.   I suited up as fast as possible and got moving again.  I needed the air to be moving to try and keep cool.  If 95 degree wind could be considered cool.  But its better than nothing.  I continue up 75 to Lake City, and finally see some rain clouds.  I had forgotten my waterproof GPS cover (ziplock bag) so right before it looked like it was going to rain, I got the exit # off the GPS and stashed it in the tank bag.  It never rained on me, but it had rained in Lake City before I got there.  I got to the required Shell station, swiped the card at the pump, and... DECLINED.  Crap.  I've heard of cards being cut off after being used at too many gas stations.  So I swiped another card and it worked.  Filled the tank, grabbed the receipt, and.... NO ADDRESS on the receipt.  I stowed it away anyway, and went in for some more bottles of Gatorade.   This receipt had the address so I was good.  The weather was still looking wet to the west, so the GPS was not to be used on this leg.  Good thing I'm from Tallahassee, and knew exactly where the next stop was, so no big deal.  I pulled it out to get an ETA to the Tallahassee Shell station.  I texted the arrival time to the wife to let her know when I would be there if she wanted to drag the kids out to meet me, and headed back to the interstate.  Its around 6pm.

I missed every rain shower! Usually that would be good.  But I wanted to get wet to cool off.  The roads were wet the entire way to Tally, but I never got rained on.  At least now it was overcast.  88 degrees and 100% humidity wasn't a whole lot better.  But at least I wasn't sweating as much anymore.   Another uneventful trek to Tallahassee.  I get to the Shell station and see the wife and kids parked on the side of the building.  I parked the bike at the pump, took everything off, and went over to see them.  We chatted for about 15 mins, and the kids were begging me to come home.  I was 11 hours, and 800 miles in, so there was no chance in hell I was headed home.  We said our good byes, they pulled away, and I went back to the pumps.  I swiped the card that was declined before... sure enough... declined again.  Worth a shot.  So I swiped the other one.... DECLINED!  WTF!    Maybe the reader is bad... there is a sign on another pump that says that.  So I moved the bike to another pump.  I tried both cards again... DECLINED.  Ok.  I have a Mastercard.  Didn't want to use it, but now I have no choice.  DECLINED!!!  Oh Shit.  I count my cash.  I have $11 dollars.  That would get me, with the gas in the tank.... maybe to the finish on fumes.  But then what?  I'm sure Ray would fill my tank to get home, but I don't want to risk running out 10 miles from the end, nor do I want to expect a handout.  I'm way good on time to figure this out.  Its around 7pm so I have 11 more hours to drive 200 miles.  But I can't leave town knowing the bank has shut off our cards.  The wife may need to use it.  So I call the only # on the back of the bank cards... the lost or stolen hotline.  That in itself is stupid.  If I really had lost my card... the # on the card would do me no good... SINCE I DON'T HAVE THE CARD! But I called it since I did have it.  I'm on hold for 30 mins!! But I sat inside in the AC.  Finally a person answers.  "Thank you for calling.  I see you have been on hold for 30 mins.  I just want to apologize.  Someone from the Lost or Stolen Card Division will be with you shortly."  I told him that my card was not lost or stolen, but probably flagged as stolen and I need that fixed.  So I may not need to talk to the Lost and Stolen div, just customer service.  "Sir.  I'm just the operator.  I can't do anything.  You will need to talk to the Lost and Stolen Division".  OK... just thought I'd save myself some time if they weren't the folks I need to really talk too.  "Sir.  I can't help you.  You will have to talk to the Lost and Stolen Div."  F'N TRANSFER ME THEN.  Back on hold.... 15 mins later someone answers.  Yep... they cant' help me.  I need to talk to Customer Service.  He transfers me.  "Thank you for calling.  Please enter your 16 digit account #. " which I did.  "Thank you.............. Our systems are currently down.  Goodbye."  MOTH*** FU*** SHI***  I JUST WASTED ALMOST AN HOUR ON THE PHONE AND IT HANGS UP ON ME!!!  WTF!!  Now what.  I'm stranded.  Called the wife... she didn't answer.  Do I drive home? Do I beg for gas?  What the hell.  I'll try the Mastercard again.  It works fine. Whew... STILL PISSED!!!  But I throw all my stuff on and head out.  I don't know if the rain knocked out communications somewhere, if my cards were locked... But I was not wasting anymore time.  Its now around 8pm.  Still no sign of any of the other riders.

About 50 miles out from the gas stop, I passed the 2 bikes I thought I was chasing all day.  So they were 100 miles behind me.  Then 80 miles out, just before I-75, I passed the group on the cruisers.  So they were 160 miles behind me.  Wow... Not that its a race, but I was way ahead of everyone.  Even after the CC fiasco.  Roads were drying off and the clouds were long gone, so I reattached the GPS.  I had no issue getting to Jax, but wasn't too sure I could make it back to the Gate.  I was getting a bit tired, and my legs were aching a bit... but still I felt OK.  I think the hour off the bike helped more than thought it did.  But I was still nowhere ready to quit.  It was dark by the time I hit the outskirts of Jax.  I knew from the last time I drove through down town, that the new configuration of the I-10 & I-95 interchange was not in my GPS.  It hadn't been updated in 3 years.  No way was I going to pay $79 to update a device I paid $97 for new.   So once I got close in, I knew I had to follow the signs and ignore the Garmin until I got back on 95 south.  And since I was tired, and it was dark... I was driving very cautiously.   Plus there was a lot of construction still.  So I eased it through downtown Jax, and made it back to the Gate.  Of course Ray King was there as the ending witness, but Dad had showed up too!!  They did put his wife in the hospital, but gave her something to knock her out all night.  So they told him he could go home if he wanted.  She'd be out for 12 hours.  So he rode up to meet me and the rest of the riders at the end.  He and Ray had been watching the SPOT tracker which apparently I did get working right again.  I pulled up, got my $1 of gas, and more importantly... the ending receipt!  Officially, I rode 1060 miles in 15hrs 11mins.  My odometer said 1052.  I was done!!

I talked with Ray and dad for a few minutes.  Got something to drink, and started on the paperwork.  Ray and the MTF made it pretty easy.  I had to tape all the receipts to pieces of paper and he photographed them, so we didn't have to send them off.  I filled out the rest of the trip log and witness form, and handed them to Ray.  That was it.  He would collect them all and send them to the IBA for review and certification.  Now I just sit back and wait for the certificate. ( for 2 months!!)

I called home to say I was done.  The wife told me the kids had been sick all night, and if at all possible... head home.  Sure why not!  I've only ridden 1150 miles today.  Whats another 200!  I should have planned on it and completed a Bun Burner Gold... 1500 miles in 24 hrs.  I hung around about an hour longer hoping the other guys had picked up the pace so I could chat with them.  But I called it around 11pm and headed home.  I passed one guy, who ended up riding the whole day by himself also (Rony or Tony Baenzinger)  a mile or two down the road, and the other two touring bikes (David Gillespie and Bobby Downhill) a few more miles down the road.  I never saw the cruisers again (Joe Merkt, Timm Indoe, Greg Haines).  But they all finished!  Now I get to really see how tired I am, and start the 3 hour ride to the house.

I get out of Jax and was just cruising on desolate I-10.  About an hour into the ride home, I'd pulled over in to the left lane to pass a car I was catching.  I have a flip face helmet, so to drink, I have to flip it up, take a swig or two, put the bottle down, then drop the face shield back down.  I had just put the shield down and barely got my hand down on the handle bar and WHAM!!  I ran over a retread off a semi.  Apparently bikers call them "road gators"... because that's what it looked like the millionth of a second I saw it before I hit it.  A 4 ft alligator.  I heard it hit the underside fairings before it went under the rear tire.  I slowed down to see if the tires were going down, or something dragging, or anything out of the ordinary.  Everything felt OK so I kept riding.  I didn't want to stop on the side of the hwy if I didn't have too.  Plus I was tired and just wanted to get home.  A ways down the road when I hit the FL mountains and curvy part of I-10, the bike felt a bit... heavy. Like it didn't want to go where I wanted it to go.  It was drifting, and hard to keep in a straight line.  I figured I was either tired... or did have a tire going down.  I pulled off at a rest stop and checked everything out.  Tires were up, nothing leaking, nothing falling off.... I walked around a min, used the restroom, and headed back out.  As soon as I hit the throttle to get back on 10, it felt really weird. I stopped again on the on ramp.  Checked the tires again since it felt like a low tire.  Nope... all good.  I know I'm not thaaaat tired.  But it feels weird the whole ride home.  In the city it really felt weird.  But tires were fine.  I got home around 2 am, and fell into bed.  I'm home, and if something is broke, I'll figure it out tomorrow.

I called dad the next day to ask him his opinion since he's on Connie #2... he immediately said tires too.  Then he said check the shock.  Sure enough... it was down to 20lbs of pressure, from 45-50.  I had to buy a new pump that would fit the short valve stem, but I pumped it up to 50, and the problem was gone.  Apparently there's a pressure relief valve on them, so if they get hit hard, the seals don't pop.  Good to know.  But all is better.

It was a long ride.  A HOT ride.  But I finished in good time, learned a few things, and will add that too my Rally/Iron Butt database of knowledge.  But overall it wasreeally not that bad.  I never felt like I wanted to quit... I never felt like I needed to stop for rest.  I was a little sore, but the re-cushioned seat helped my ass.  My legs will just have to get used to it.  There is not much I can do about the seating position.  I don't think I want to do the 100 hr Jax to San Diego, back to Jax Coast to Coast to Coast ride anytime soon.  But I Think the 1500 miles in 24hrs is easily doable.  Just not until it cools off!!

Miles Lee
Iron Butt Association Member # 46560
Got the license plate mounted to the bike already!!