Three hundred miles to go. It’s dark, the water is falling out of the sky, and every few seconds my rear wheel slips on a tar snake I can’t see.
And people ask me if Iron Butt riding is boring.
Actually, that’s one of the three things people ask me most. Isn’t it boring? How does your butt survive, mine never would? And isn’t it dangerous to ride when you’re tired?
To answer, let me take you along on my last IBA ride, from Stockholm, Sweden to Palencia, Spain. How I ended up in that storm, and how I got out of it, comes later.
Riding a motorcycle is never dull, and with 1,000 miles in 24 hours you add a real challenge to it. Doing it several days in a row adds even more. The basis of everything is planning, and planning is also where the fun begins. You check the distances and the gas stations. You check whether there are shorter routes that could cut your mileage in the eyes of the IBA inspector. You check for road construction on the roads you’ve chosen.
But planning how to keep your energy up through all those hours is just as important as planning the route. On a multi-day ride you also have to think about what you eat and drink during the last couple of hours each day. No late caffeine, so you can sleep.
My butt survives because of the fuel tank. My bikes go about 220 to 250 miles between fill-ups, and I use exactly that. A 1,000-mile day means about six stops at the pump: one to start the clock, four or five along the way, and a final one to finish. Sometimes an extra stop is needed to mark a corner of the route, so the IBA inspector can follow my track. On a multi-day ride you also leave a little range for the next morning, because each day has to start by filling her up at the exact same station where the previous day ended. That means two and a half to three hours in the saddle at a time, and both my bikes, the Blue Whale, my Indian Challenger, and Gloria, my K1600 GT, are made for exactly that.
Obviously you choose fast roads, to get as much sleep as possible between days. Did I already mention that speeding is not allowed? And you choose interesting scenery, maybe areas you haven’t seen before, to keep it interesting.
With all this you’ve already tackled the three questions. Now you have a plan. All that’s left is to go and complete it, following your plan down to the smallest detail.
And then there’s this thing called nature.
The forecast says clear skies and sunshine. On the second day I fill up for the last time in France. There’s one hour of daylight left, so I decide to ride it without stopping to eat. Just one hour, then a short break to recharge. Five minutes later the sky opens. It doesn’t rain. The water just falls out of the sky.
A couple of minutes later you discover there are tar snakes hidden under the water. Every time the rear wheel finds one, it loses grip. We’re climbing from the Atlantic coast up into the mountains of Spain, and the mountains squeeze the water out of the moist sea air. There’s constant power going through that rear wheel on the climb. The dark clouds take away what’s left of the light. The wet asphalt swallows everything your headlights can produce. Oncoming cars and trucks almost blind you, and there’s water everywhere, in the air, on the windshield, on your visor.
There are still 300 miles to go. No panic, there’s plenty of time left. Even though you can only make about 30 miles an hour, you’ll still make it, as long as you stay focused for the long hours ahead. So you take the energy break now, and you make it a longer one. Coffee, chocolate and the energy gels from my side case. No wheat or anything made from it, no bread, no pasta. Just protein and energy.
But when the rain stops, the water runs off the mountain road almost as fast as it came. All of a sudden you can see again, and you can pick up the pace.
It lasted two hours and added about three hours to my plan, but it didn’t break it. I stayed focused and didn’t feel tired when I pulled into the final gas station. Done.
The extra challenges made it a ride to remember. Now it’s your turn. How long can you sit on your bike before you have to get off? And how many miles does she go before the next gas stop?