IBA Certification Ride...

[karstenp]

Have fun! Really enjoy the experience..... it can be a life changing event, even if a small one. You'll never ever forget your first SS1000.

+1..... and be prepared for the insanity if the LD bug bites you after your first ride!....life may never be the same!

 

[redtail]

Heck.. I'm excited for you! :yahoo:

Like Skooter said "enjoy yourself"! If you just keep moving, you'll get to the other end!

 

[sportrides]

Enjoy the ride as that is a nice route. I live in Visalia, CA and if you need anything give me a call. I sent you a PM with my phone number. Yes, you may be bitten by the long distance insanity....but It's a good type of insanity! Ted

 

[Sharif]

So how did it go?

 

[sportrides]

Looks like Billbo and company are almost there. Looks like about 80 or so miles to go at 10:40 pm. Right on guys!

 

[FJRBilldo]

First of all, thanks to Sportrides, who's words of encouragement throughout the day really made a difference. I believe he's doing 500 miles today and will hopefully have some great weather.

Here are my thoughts from the my first SS1000:

-Planning a route is more complicated that it seems. For instance, I stretched out a bit on the map to include the town of Fernley. Bad call - it's a 2 lane town and the traffic barely moves through there. So in gaining miles we lost time. This was one of a few areas with the same situation.

-At about 400 miles my tailbone was in agony - BUT - I realized after another 100 miles that it was as bad as it was going to get. You would have laughed hysterically at the contorted positions I was in trying to give the ole bunghole a rest. (At one point I was sitting on the passenger seat.)

-Even the most comfortable ear-buds become annoying after that long. I learned on this trip that completely relaxing your jaw muscles helps out a lot - at least for me.

-Reno is hot

-Donner pass is stunning!

-Adelanto Sheriff's are magicians. (Long story if you are interested. Could have been bad, turned out okay.) And bike-to-bike communications saved an unnecessary, and timely traffic stop.

-That point in the ride when you think you have it licked - when you think you can pull it off. That's when you see the sign that says you are twice as far from home as you think. In my case, Los Angeles, 362 miles.

-You will see things that aren't there in the middle of the night, blasting across the desert floor in pitch black with no one else around.

-Front wheel vs sat radio charge cord: Charge cord loses.

-Odometer 1091 miles, Google maps 1057 miles. Don't cut it so close.

-I feel surprisingly okay today. Not sure how soon I'll be up for another on :dribble: e

Thanks to all for your support, especially Sportrider.

 

[karstenp]

Congrats!

By the end of the week I bet you are planning your next SS.

 

[FJRBilldo]

Thanks, oh and I forgot, your credit card company will cut off your card because they don't believe one person can actually drive that far that fast. Happened to two of us!!

 

[CAJW]

Good for you and Congrats! Regarding seeing things in the dark, fatigue will make any of us do silly things. Riding solo for the last part of my SS1000 at about hour 16 after fighting wind, rain, fog, dust, smoke and football size rocks in mountain passes all day, my processor went into sleep mode. Fighting a headwind (mainly had a cross or tail wind most of the day) that increased to around 30-40 kts. I didn't take into account that fuel mileage would drop dramatically. Reserve fuel trip meter activated, dark and no gas in sight, not a good feeling, but all turned out ok. Adelanto Constables can be tricky, they used to keep a dummy in a patrol car on the south end of town on 395 to slow down the tourists. Your story would be interesting, no doubt.

 

[karstenp]

Thanks, oh and I forgot, your credit card company will cut off your card because they don't believe one person can actually drive that far that fast. Happened to two of us!!

Yep. Happens all the time!

A couple of solutions if you do more rides.

1) Call the CC company before leaving to tell them what you are doing. You will enjoy the responses you get back Note however, that it is still possible that your CC may be shut down during the ride but would get reactivated the next business day.

2) Carry a second/third CC.

3) The best solution if you get real serious is to have a dedicated CC for your LD rides. The computer will start to recognize your multiple gas transactions over a short period of time and large area as being "normal" transactions for that CC. I rarely have had a problem since starting with this approach.

 

[pmspaul]

Congrats on a successful SS1000! Glad to hear everything went well. If the LD bug has gotten hold of you, a great seat is worth it's weight. But I'm guessing you figured that out

3) The best solution if you get real serious is to have a dedicated CC for your LD rides. The computer will start to recognize your multiple gas transactions over a short period of time and large area as being "normal" transactions for that CC. I rarely have had a problem since starting with this approach.

I've noticed this with my CC too. I haven't called my CC company for my last couple 24hr rallies or SS1K last week. I guess for my CC abnormal is the new "normal".

 

[101stpathfinder]

Congrats on your ride!!! :clapping:

The problems you encountered on your ride (Especially the CC shut-off), I am pretty

sure half the initial SS1000 riders experienced the same situations. As far as planning...

I am still learning that art myself. It is great to tag along with a vet on a ride THEY planned

out. I am amazed at their foresight when they prepare.

And the mere mention of a next ride... means YOU ARE HOOKED. :yahoo:

Welcome to the addiction !

Kiss your time and $ goodbye.

Butt its a good thing... hmmm... i think.

 

[doug5551]

Congrats on the ride and good for Mr. sportrides for keeping an eye on things!

Good luck on your next ride, you never know how far you can go with this stuff...

 

[Sharif]

Congrats and keep rollin'!

 

[redtail]

Congrats dude! Now you've done it! Life is really going to get good now! :yahoo:

Good on you for having someone like sportrider be a spot for you! I had Shinypartsup from Oregon be an anchor for me on my first attempt. I hadn't even met him, but he offered and was there for me to check in with along the way. Bailed me out of a jam when I needed to find a room in the middle of the night in a nasty storm! Always be grateful to him!

 

[stevec677]

Congrats!!! I really want to try an SS1000 next year. Any advice? What would you do different? Did you use your house as the start and end point?

 

[Willie]

Congrats !!!

Willie

 

[not2shabby]

I know what you mean about the butt burn after around 400 miles! I have a Sargent seat and it was good up till then, but if I do another LD ride, I'm gonna get an Airhawk or something. The easiest way to rack up the miles is just stay on the slab. Not as scenic, but the average mph is easier to keep at 70...or so....

 

[FJRBilldo]

Congrats!!! I really want to try an SS1000 next year. Any advice? What would you do different? Did you use your house as the start and end point?

Start/End point as a gas station 2 miles from my house. My wife was a great sport and got up with me to be my witness.

What would I do differently:

I would get a Mayer or Russel Saddle. Without question. My tailbone was really hurting badly.

I would take the advice of others and stay on the slab even though it's boring and potentially unattractive.

I would consider not going with a smoker again. (Not a huge deal until you've wasted an hour over the course of the ride waiting for him to finish his damn cigarettes.)

I would not put a pitch black, 2 lane desert road in the middle of nowhere as the last part of the trip. In retrospect I should have reversed the route entirely.

I would consider cruise control. At the very least my throttle rocker saved me.

 

[sportrides]

Great for finishing the ride! I am glad I could offer the little help with encouragement that I could. I enjoyed following along. I followed you all day. Me and my wife we were sitting at dinner listening to music with my i phone tuned in to your spot link. I had my phone propped up against my glass of soda and we were both watching the progress. My wife was very supportive of FJRBillbo and company "joining" our evening out! She knows the importance of this stuff!!! Glad you had a safe ride.

As far as the cc issue is concerned I have a pretty good system. I have 2 bank accounts with debit cards. One of the banks will shut me down after only one fuel purchase. The other account I have used up to 15 times over a couple of days and they don't shut me down. I carry that card and 2 small prepaid credit cards on all my trips and use them for fuel purchases. They are kept in the little pocket on my sleeve for very easy access.

My ZX-14 and Concours both have a Corbin seat and that is a very useful addition to my riding comfort. My CBR has a Saddleman Gel seat and I did a ss1000 on it and seemed to work fine. My S1000rr that I just did the ss2000 has a stock seat and it really wasn't that bad.

Speaking for myself, comfort and as little distraction as possible is important for me on these rides (any ride for that matter). Little things add up over time and have a tendency to wear me down if not dealt with. It could be something as simple as a little more air getting in my helmet, a zipper that I forgot to zip, a small smudge on the instrument cluster, my tank bag being a little crooked from centerline, etc. It may sound wierd and anal, but I bet others are nodding their heads.

The slab is a great way to cover the most miles, but can be the most boring....guess it depends on what you make of it. Truthfully I'm never bored when I'm riding...I'm more alive than any other time in my life whether I'm riding at the track, in twisties, or on the slab.

I am pretty new to this and have done 4 certified rides this year so I am just learning the game. Just offering my own experience. When we did our ss2000 it was so nice and comforting having Doug and AJ encourage us the whole way. I will always be grateful to them. Knowing people in this community are out there to help in any way possible is a big deal. I'm I'm always willing to help in any way that I can.

Hope you enjoyed the ride and are looking forward to the next one.

My certificate for my 1st ss1000 arrived on December 24, 2011 and it was the best Xmas present I could have received!

Can't stop planning rides since that day.

Looking forward to the TLAE BB Gold 3 weeks from today!

Ted