my SS1000 Tale

[grizzly660fan]

Many thanks to all those on the board here who provided info, encouragement, and support. On July 22nd (Saturday) I started and successfully concluded my SS1000 ride. Now I just need the IBA to verify and endorse the ride.

 

here is my tale:

 

2:45am the alarm goes off, I think to myself, did I get any sleep? should I really do this? Thoughts of preparation run through my head, and the conclusion “what the heck, lets go!”

 

3:10am, finished packing the RT most was done the night before, however I had a few things in the fridge (frozen nalgene bottles with water, etc) kiss my wife and off I go.

 

3:22am, the official start time of my ss1000 ride. Tank full, its dark, no moon out, very warm, home thermometer says its 85f out still. Wow gonna be a hot one.

4am’sh climbing up the Spanish fork canyon, passing diamond fork recreation area and whats this? The moon rise is coming up over the mountains. Its just a little sliver of a moon. Just below the moon a very bright star, must be one of the planets. Its an interesting sight, brings on new thoughts. I continue winding my way up the canyon, its cool here, very little traffic, the deer are sleeping. Its all good.

 

5:17am – 117 miles - after Price is a small town called Wellington, my bladder is screaming, I must stop. I have the start of a head ache, might as well take something for that too. Short stop and off I go again, as I head south, the early start of the sunrise begins, the shadows are long and dark on the book cliffs, making interesting shapes. To my right the light is starting on the San Rafael swell. There is smoke in the valley, must be from the wildfires in southern Utah? It makes for some interesting lighting. Very mind bending the sights. All of a sudden what’s that in the road? A little bunny, phew missed it. Then another, and another. For about 10 miles I see 30 or 40 bunnies playing frogger on the road. Somehow I miss all of them.

 

7:25am – 287 miles – passing grand junction Colorado, coming up on Clifton Colorado, I am a little hungry, lets stop for some food and another gas stop. As I leave and start to head up the canyon on I-70 I come across a couple of v-twin riders. These are the first motorcycles I encounter on my route. They are going along at a good clip, I settle into formation with them and follow them. I notice that one of them has very tall ape hanger type handle bars, and is a hard tail. I think to myself, wow, I don’t think I could ride that thing for more than an hour at a time. That guy is very ambitious. After about 15 – 20 minutes of following them they slow to lower than the speed limit. I take that as my queue they don’t want me to follow them anymore. As I pass I give a friendly wave and am greeted with the same.

 

10:20am – 463 miles – I need to stop in Frisco Colorado. I have plans to meet my sister and her family for lunch in Denver. This is approx 1 hour away from Denver and a good place to check in with her and make sure our plan is still intact. There is a very nice lake in the area, its cool and a nice stop. While stopped a group of 4 Harley Davidson riders pull up. We have a brief chat about what a wonderful day for a ride. very nice people I am glad to see riders out and about. Lunch Plans are still on. Next stop Denver!

 

11:41am – 549 miles – Lunch stop Denver Colorado. My sister and family arrived a minute or two ahead of me. We go in and enjoy conversation and I opt for a salad bar. I don’t want a heavy meal to bother me in the afternoon heat. Its so good to see my family again. Its been about a month since we were at the same place at the same time. As I leave, my four year old niece tears up, she misses me and doesn’t want me to go. We share big hugs all around and off I go. I am sure its hard to understand in her young mind why I can’t stay longer. I promise next visit will be longer. Lunch was approx 1 hour 10 minutes.

 

12:51pm – back on the road and headed north on I-25. Denver sure has a lot of motorcycles out on the road today. It’s a little cooler so far (85f according to my sisters car) and a nice day for a ride. as I pass the Harley-Davidson store way north of town I notice they have a huge shin-dig going on. The entire lot is full of both cars and bikes! Massive amount of people.

 

2:26pm – 665 miles – Cheyenne Wyoming. Here is my first and only mistake on the ride. I was just cruising along on I-25, I found a SUV that had its cruise control set and I just paced myself behind it so I didn’t have to monitor the throttle as much. This allowed me off inside my head to think about many things. Cheyenne comes up, I take the I-25 off ramp on to I-80 and realize I need to stop here and document I reached Cheyenne. I have passed the truck stops on I-25 and think, well no big deal, there will be some stations on I-80 also, well, not so. There is nothing there. Now I am westbound on I-80 and Cheyenne is disappearing in my rear view mirrors. I need to turn around and make a fuel stop, get a receipt prove I went to Cheyenne and didn’t make any short cuts. So on I cruise, well its 12 - 15 miles west of Cheyenne before there is a place to turn around. Then 12 – 15 miles back, stop for fuel, get receipt and then I can be off again. I only wish the IBA would allow me to count the extra miles I ended up riding for this silly mistake. Its finally hot enough I need to get my cool vest out. I slip it on, brr, its cold at first. I sure am glad I have this device!

 

4:37pm – 818 miles – Rawlins Wyoming. Oh the miles are ticking by now. I am starting to feel like this thing is gonna work out and that I can actually make it. I stop here for a short rest and drink some water to re-hydrate. I am starting to wonder, do I need to stop in Rock Springs or can I make it on to Evanston. Time will tell, my body is holding out ok, need to re-soak my cool vest.

 

7:30pm – 1035 miles – Evanston Wyoming. Well, as I get to Rock Springs I am still feeling pretty good, lets push on. Green River Wyoming is next, I can stop there if I need to. Green River comes, I am still feeling pretty good. Now I am coming up on Fort Bridger, I think of the many times I have been here on my way to Flaming Gorge to do a little boating. Wow, I am not that far from Salt Lake now. Next comes the Sisters, they sure are easier when not towing anything. Ha ha ha. Also, my folks are headed from SLC to Flaming Gorge, I keep an eye out on the eastbound traffic in case I might spot them. Would be fun to give a friendly wave. Around the corner and there it is. Evanston! Yippee! I stop here again for some re-hydration (both me and the cool vest). I turn the phone on, call my wife and my end of ride witness to let them know my ETA (according to GPS). It says I should be there approx 9:10pm. Wow, lets finish this thing!.

 

9:15pm – 1135 miles – Riverton Utah. The ride from Evanston

to SLC is a pleasant one, there is not a lot of traffic even though it’s a state holiday weekend. The air is cool at elevation and I cruise right along. I drop down Parleys canyon into the valley and wow, its like a blast furnace. The temperature is still over 100f at 9pm. I sure am glad I didn’t encounter those sort of temps while on the ride. that heat would have made the ride very uncomfortable! 9:15pm is the time stamp on my fuel receipt and signifies the end of my ride. My witness is there to sign my form. He is a neighbor of mine who is a Firefighter/EMT. I told him about the ride and he volunteered to meet me at the gas station and sign my end of ride witness form. Right now I am all keyed up as I actually accomplished the ride. It would be another 2 or more hours before I calm down enough to drift off to sleep.

 

Interesting Stats:

Odometer Indicated Miles = 1135

GPS indicated Miles = 1090

 

Fuel = 23.005 gallons

Avg MPG = 49.80

Fuel Cost = $68.02

 

Worst MPG = Denver - Cheyenne at 43.7mpg

Best MPG = Evanston - SLC Utah at 55.218mpg (all down hill)

 

Thanks again to all,

 

Garry

[BFish]

congrats and thanks for sharing that with us.

[Heck]

Great Post!! Congratulations on your SS1000- I did one back in June but it was a lot cooler- don't know how I would have fared in the heat. Waiting for things to cool down a little before I attempt the BB1500

 

Congratulations again- FYI the IBA is taking around 12 weeks to certify a ride according to correspondence I had with them. Patience!!!!

[bakerzdosen]

Congrats on the completion.

It was a good day to be at higher elevation.

 

Monday was the day to be worried about traffic coming back into town. I went up that way yesterday and it was pretty bad coming back into town. I decided to try just looping around the Bear Lake/Logan canyon (fun, but the construction took some of that away) way. It was better but there was still traffic at times.

[Firefight911]

Congratulations!! Excellent post. Thanks for taking us along!

[Huzband]

Congratulations!

Thanks for the detailed ride info. I felt like I was right there with you.

The wife & I are planning a SS1000 of our own,so your report is very helpfull.