Virginia Iron Butt Ride in June

    Setting up a 1000 mile ride around Virginia.


    I will be starting from Fairfax, VA zip code 22039. Kinda sorta near DC. Can bunk quite a few if you want to stage before launch or crash after success. No charge.


    Fairfax, west on 66 to 81 a wee bit south of Winchester. 81 down to Bristol. The western spine of VA. A wee bit back up 81 to 58 across the southern border of VA. 58 to the confusing interstates to Virginia Beach. Should be sweet scenic ride. Pick up 64, ride past Richmond to route 15 to Gordonsville. 15 to 20 to 3 to 95 near Fredericksburg. Another sweet ride, if you just like to cruise. 95 back to 22039.


    Any man down will get brief attention, then be promptly abandoned. I am neither a mechanic nor a doctor. I just ride.


    Google suggests 18 hours, which does not include pit stops for fuel and nose powdering. I think it can be done in less, having done such rides before.


    Not good for socializing if you don't have helmet comms - I will have a Sena headset. No food stops. Unless a hurricane, no stops for rain. Having done this before, I can provide tips for travel snacks, hydration and dress if you need.


    Thinking any Saturday in June. Depends on who cares to post. Happy to accept those who want to pick up and drop off along the trip.


    Great chance to prove your sling is not just a driveway ornament.


    @MACAWS, @Cameron Roberts, @Jdin, @TheRock, @DocG, @3rdwheel, dharmab, @V-SHOT, @WraithSS, @lrobbi, @WOLF, Tango, @Trucon01. Hpocus, @nastydugout. If I missed somebody, sorry. Encourage all to add more @ signs.


    Happy to and will ride alone if no takers. I ride.


    -e

    Omg. I'm no Iron Butt for sure. But depending on the day, I might be able to support or provide aid for breakdowns or maybe even be a water rest stop.


    Really? A thousand miles in a day? My hat off to you!

    Boating with the dolphins, US Navy '76-'84

    I will definitely pick up the ride somewhere along the way.
    Gotta stop to pee once in a while. Once you have a date I can confirm for sure. I only have a head se in my full face helmet by June I am wearing the shorty so unless we pull alongside each other and yell conversations will be at a minimum.


    Nice of you to put this together


    Thanks

    The more people I meet

    The more I love my Dog!

    Way cool. It would be great to catch up again. My kingdom if I could pee more than a tablespoon at a time, so I hear you. Protocol will be jump an front and put on turn signals. I will probably benefit from a pit too.


    No helmet comms may be a plus. Most tire of me rather quickly.


    I will pick a specific date after a few days. Need to see if anyone else is up to the challenge.

    .


    @ethermion I see the IBA is now certifying Butt Burners for "Trikes" ...have you asked or are you going to submit this ride in the Slingshot ??


    Curious what the powers that be ruling would be given that the Slingshot is not a "motorcycle" in many states......


    .

    :REDSS: The ghost of SLingshot past ......

    Huh. This thread has some life.


    @Jdin, I will pm you some contact info. You were bad ass at summit. A chin wag sounds great.


    @Orangeman, I will check into what IBA is thinking. But frankly,I will do this just to make me happy. It is what I do. I propose that I certify for slings. More on that later.


    At the moment, thinking to launch 06:00 from 22039 on June 11.

    I will check the date and get back to you tomorrow - will be home later tonight

    The more people I meet

    The more I love my Dog!

    I will check on the date with my half that will be in the other seat. Thanks :-) I do enjoy a good Track Day :-)


    Quote from ethermion

    @MACAWS, just lemme know. If we don't hookup my trip is a failure. Any Saturday in June works for me.

    I am an idiot - I thought that date had some meaning. My daughter is finishing her residency at VCU Richmond and there is a big ceremony / luncheon on the 11th - She goes from there to Duke so I also have to move her somewhere around that week. I completely forgot. Guess I blew my Fathers Day gift huh. Give me a day or so to see if I have a free Saturday in June.... Dam I am sorry

    The more people I meet

    The more I love my Dog!

    @MACAWS, you are an idiot? I am too. We should definitely hook up if only to compare notes. Could slip into July if that helps, but prefer not.


    @Jdin, pm sent. Would be way cool if we could lay down some miles together. If your better half posts too, even better.

    Okay, time for an update.


    Due to overwhelming interest in my ride, I was ready to wimp out. Friday night, I taunted Gadget Dude mercilessly to do the ride. Yesterday morning, he posted at 7:00 a.m.


    Blasted an hour out 66 to 81. Blasted 5 hours down 81 to Bristol. 6 hours, 360 miles. Yay!


    Back up north to exit 19 north side of Abington to catch 58 east. Boom. Hit the Jefferson National Forest. An hour and a half of hairpin turns, rock faces, streams and trees. Nobody else really on the road. Not good at all for laying down miles (we must have averaged less than 40 mph over 2 hours), but a really sweet ride. Will do again for sure.


    Picked up speed after Galax, past Martinsville, Danville, on to South Boston. Then, uh oh. Nasty weather ahead. Phone says tornado warnings, flash flood warnings torrential downfall warnings. Blue skies above us, but nasty skies going east in our direction of travel. Thunder and lightning and gusty winds. Something about the gadget dude and bad weather - it follows him. Pressed on to Clarkesville, heading up 15. Stopped in a parking lot to call out @MACAWS name, but no reply. Quite a lake they have there.


    Time to abort. We were at 600 miles after 12 hours, probably another 8 hours to 1k miles. Would have put us back at my place after 3 a.m. Just not in the mood for that in the dark and the rain, not counting if we would have to wait out the weather here and there.


    Decided that 15 was too rural, back to 58 to 85 to 95 to home. After 17 hours of riding, I crested 800 miles. Gadget dude, might have crested 900 miles, as he lives an hour away in Maryland.


    It was my call to abort. Gadget dude is a tough SOB and was ready to press on.


    Will try again in the fall.


    Thanks @Gadgeteer for riding with me. I had a great time. Let's ride again soon, something a little less challenging!

    Ah, now I get it! Stumbling on to this thread, the day after the ride, explains SO much. ;) All this time I assumed the ride was a lark; I didn't realize it was a semi-official mission. I've been in such a fog over the past few weeks, so I'm pretty much living moment-to-moment with very little fore- or after-thought. All I could put together was, "Ride? Sure! 1000 miles? Hmm... 18 hours? Uhhh... ok." Granted, the "uhhh" part took a couple days to work through my brain, even with ethermion's "persistent encouragement." In the end, I figured if it got too rough... meh ...we could kick back, cut it short, whatevs. I guess it's true; ignorance IS bliss. In the end, it was an interesting challenge and I'm glad ethermion talked me into it. :thumbup:


    I did cross the 900 threshold, but after we parted ways, I was honestly considering taking a roundabout way home to squeeze in those last 100. Fortunately, except for a brief stop, I went straight home. I was awake, but I wasn't fully aware that my vision was getting laggy (light trails and ghosting) until I walked in the house.


    "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
    ― Douglas Adams

    Yeah, laggy vision here too the last hour. Not fun doing fender to fender battle on 95. Abort was correct for me.


    Next time, leave earlier. Next time, not so hot. I could not drink water fast enough. Next time, more efficient pit stops. Both of us where chatty with absolute strangers about our rides. A no-no for such a ride. As is a Walmart visit, dude...


    And 2x check the weather. At abort time, we were 150 miles from Virginia beach, with the storm right in our face. I called no way, and I think I was right.


    But I did get some sun.

    A bit itchy.

    Quote from ethermion

    Next time, leave earlier. Next time, not so hot. I could not drink water fast enough. Next time, more efficient pit stops. Both of us where chatty with absolute strangers about our rides. A no-no for such a ride. As is a Walmart visit, dude...


    And 2x check the weather. At abort time, we were 150 miles from Virginia beach, with the storm right in our face. I called no way, and I think I was right.

    You were right on all counts, but in my defense, I've never done a ride like that and as I said, I wasn't aware we were operating under tight constraints. Let's chalk it up as a learning experience. I know I learned a bunch. :)


    Also, the Walmart stop was a necessity. If we were in a larger group, I would have gone on my own and caught up with the pack further down the road. The long sleeve shirt reduced dehydration and kept me cooler, extending my endurance. The Tylenol kept my headache (due to fatigue, exposure, and lack of sleep) at bay, and the seat cover saved my back. In my previous SS, all that was kept on-board, but I hadn't transferred it to the new one yet. At least I didn't insist we stop for ice cream. :D


    "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
    ― Douglas Adams

    No defense needed. You were a monster. It was me that crapped out, not you. If the weather held up, we would have been golden.


    Just making notes for the next try. There will be a next try. This can be done. This will be done. Lessons are important . I know how to do this, and I did not deploy my wisdoms. I blame only me.


    Ice cream is okay if you can eat whilst driving.


    Cheers