Badcat
Well-known member
[SIZE=12pt]May 11th, 2008[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt][/SIZE]
My Bun Burner Gold started a week before the actual ride with a final addition to my '06 FJR. The cruise control expertly installed by a new friend turned out to be a godsend during the 24 hour, 1500 mile excursion. The bike now outfitted with the new AVCC cruise control, gps, Starcom Advance for cb, ipod, cell phone, Skyway's Hydration kit, radar detector, top case, and a Russell Daylong seat and Cee Bailey windscreen is ready for action. I had the oil changed and all systems checked in the week prior to the ride.
On Friday night before the Saturday departure I loaded a few items I thought I might need including some snacks, extra batteries for the cb, extra clothes in case it was too hot or too cold along the way, winter gloves, a couple of road flares, two ipods and other items. I checked the oil level and tire pressure and made sure all was well.
Up at 4 am on Saturday and at the departure gas station at 4:45 I filled my hydration kit with purple Gatorade, drank a bottle of water and made a final check of everything. My witnesses showed up a few minutes before 5 and we got the paperwork filled out. The only thing to do was fill-up with gas and get the start receipt which when the question came up on the pump asking if I wanted a receipt and like I had done dozens of times before, out of habit, because I didn't need one, I punched NO! Crap, now I have to go inside and get a receipt, what a way to start. Oh well, it's only a minute.
The receipt secured I was on my way, first stop, 212 miles away, Wilcox, AZ. The temp was in the high 50's/low 60's which was good and traffic was light except in Tucson where I-10 is under construction. I was in and out of the stop in less than 10 minutes.
The next leg was to Vado, NM which is southeast of Las Cruces, NM and 206 miles. The FJR was running well, gas mileage in the low 40's, traffic was heavier but not bad and the temperature now in the 80's. I was hit by NM patrol radar twice but I guess 7 or 8 over the limit was not a good enough prize for them. I was concerned about pushing too hard in NM because of the "safety corridors" along I-10 where the fines double for speeding. The stop was uneventful and lasted 11 minutes.
The next fuel stop was in Balmorhea, TX about 220 miles away. There is nothing special about I-10 through this part of Texas except its dry, boring and the semi trucks are limited to 65 while everyone else gets to run 80. Gas, take a leak and refill my cooler and I'm on my way thru the dry, boring waste land of Texas to the half way mark Ozona, TX about 210 miles away. The gps has been good at locating the gas stations except in Ozona. The station, an Exxon didn't exist. But I did spot a C-Store a block down and it turned out to be a good place to take a 20 minute break. Gas mileage on this leg was around 49mpg because of a tail wind. The air temperature was 99. It had taken almost 11 hours to get half way. I fueled the bike, downed a sandwich and cleaned my face shield, hit the restroom and took a few minutes to stretch my legs, back, arms and neck. Stretching out like an athlete before an event is something I try to do before every ride as it really helps keep the aches and pains to a minimum.
Now time to retrace my steps and get home in under 13 hours. Remember the tail wind? That was now a bad head wind back to Balmorhea, TX. I'm watching the average mpg on the display show 24 to 26 mpg and wondering if I was going to make it to the next stop. I hit the flashing mark with 20 miles to go and knew I was ok.
The first half of the route I was again showing around 26 mpg but as the sun set the wind died down and the last half showed in the mid 40's I cut my speed down as the speed limit goes from 80 to 65 at night. That was probably a good thing because I was hit by radar many times before I hit El Paso. I now know what a micro waved tv dinner feels like. 6.3 gallons of fuel at Vado and it was goodbye slow and boring Texas and hello 75 mph New Mexico. I put on my jacket liner as it had cooled off rapidly and was now in the high 50's. The folks at the gas station watched in wonder as I, in full Atgatt, was hopping around, doing jumping jacks and stretching prior to getting on the bike and riding away. I was very confident at this point that a successful finish was going to happen.
The new cruise control was fantastic. It operated flawlessly and allowed me to keep a constant pace across New Mexico and back into Arizona. Arriving in the town of Wilcox the gps routed me into the middle of town to an Exxon station that was closed. I backtracked to a Maverick and refueled. I am now feeling tired, hungry and despite stretching and a couple of Tylenol, quite sore. I asked the station attendant if there is a restaurant open at this hour to which the answer is no. I check to gps and find a Denny's in Benson 30 miles away. So, I stiffly climb back on and head to Benson. The biggest thought in my mind at this point was how good a grand slam breakfast is going to be! I pull off the freeway and roll up to the stop sign. As I am checking for traffic my visor fogs up. I'm not sure how I did it but I tried raising the visor right after I had eased out the clutch and I cause the bike to turn hard to the right and into the grass shoulder, luckily I had enough mind left to straighten the front wheel before hitting the brakes or I would have dropped it. I looked around to see if anyone had seen this act of stupidity. Nope, no one, except the city cop, now at the stop sign. He rolled on by. Whew!
I somehow found my way safely into the Denny's parking lot and removed my gear. I checked the gps and realized I only needed a little over 100 miles to finish and I had 3 hours to do it. Feeling much more awake now I enjoyed some hot chocolate and a good breakfast. I put another layer of clothing on and headed for my last stop.
Traffic was light even through the Tucson construction. I caught a rabbit north of Tucson and followed him for a while. I was debating on whether to stop soon after I hit 1500 miles or finish the ride where I started. I decided that I would go with the original plan and finish at the Quiktrip where I started. The time stamp was 3:45 am. I finished with one hour and 15 minutes to spare. Once again, I'm sure there was concern about my sanity from the station employee as I was jumping up and down and celebrating my first Bun Burner Gold!
[SIZE=12pt][/SIZE]
My Bun Burner Gold started a week before the actual ride with a final addition to my '06 FJR. The cruise control expertly installed by a new friend turned out to be a godsend during the 24 hour, 1500 mile excursion. The bike now outfitted with the new AVCC cruise control, gps, Starcom Advance for cb, ipod, cell phone, Skyway's Hydration kit, radar detector, top case, and a Russell Daylong seat and Cee Bailey windscreen is ready for action. I had the oil changed and all systems checked in the week prior to the ride.
On Friday night before the Saturday departure I loaded a few items I thought I might need including some snacks, extra batteries for the cb, extra clothes in case it was too hot or too cold along the way, winter gloves, a couple of road flares, two ipods and other items. I checked the oil level and tire pressure and made sure all was well.
Up at 4 am on Saturday and at the departure gas station at 4:45 I filled my hydration kit with purple Gatorade, drank a bottle of water and made a final check of everything. My witnesses showed up a few minutes before 5 and we got the paperwork filled out. The only thing to do was fill-up with gas and get the start receipt which when the question came up on the pump asking if I wanted a receipt and like I had done dozens of times before, out of habit, because I didn't need one, I punched NO! Crap, now I have to go inside and get a receipt, what a way to start. Oh well, it's only a minute.
The receipt secured I was on my way, first stop, 212 miles away, Wilcox, AZ. The temp was in the high 50's/low 60's which was good and traffic was light except in Tucson where I-10 is under construction. I was in and out of the stop in less than 10 minutes.
The next leg was to Vado, NM which is southeast of Las Cruces, NM and 206 miles. The FJR was running well, gas mileage in the low 40's, traffic was heavier but not bad and the temperature now in the 80's. I was hit by NM patrol radar twice but I guess 7 or 8 over the limit was not a good enough prize for them. I was concerned about pushing too hard in NM because of the "safety corridors" along I-10 where the fines double for speeding. The stop was uneventful and lasted 11 minutes.
The next fuel stop was in Balmorhea, TX about 220 miles away. There is nothing special about I-10 through this part of Texas except its dry, boring and the semi trucks are limited to 65 while everyone else gets to run 80. Gas, take a leak and refill my cooler and I'm on my way thru the dry, boring waste land of Texas to the half way mark Ozona, TX about 210 miles away. The gps has been good at locating the gas stations except in Ozona. The station, an Exxon didn't exist. But I did spot a C-Store a block down and it turned out to be a good place to take a 20 minute break. Gas mileage on this leg was around 49mpg because of a tail wind. The air temperature was 99. It had taken almost 11 hours to get half way. I fueled the bike, downed a sandwich and cleaned my face shield, hit the restroom and took a few minutes to stretch my legs, back, arms and neck. Stretching out like an athlete before an event is something I try to do before every ride as it really helps keep the aches and pains to a minimum.
Now time to retrace my steps and get home in under 13 hours. Remember the tail wind? That was now a bad head wind back to Balmorhea, TX. I'm watching the average mpg on the display show 24 to 26 mpg and wondering if I was going to make it to the next stop. I hit the flashing mark with 20 miles to go and knew I was ok.
The first half of the route I was again showing around 26 mpg but as the sun set the wind died down and the last half showed in the mid 40's I cut my speed down as the speed limit goes from 80 to 65 at night. That was probably a good thing because I was hit by radar many times before I hit El Paso. I now know what a micro waved tv dinner feels like. 6.3 gallons of fuel at Vado and it was goodbye slow and boring Texas and hello 75 mph New Mexico. I put on my jacket liner as it had cooled off rapidly and was now in the high 50's. The folks at the gas station watched in wonder as I, in full Atgatt, was hopping around, doing jumping jacks and stretching prior to getting on the bike and riding away. I was very confident at this point that a successful finish was going to happen.
The new cruise control was fantastic. It operated flawlessly and allowed me to keep a constant pace across New Mexico and back into Arizona. Arriving in the town of Wilcox the gps routed me into the middle of town to an Exxon station that was closed. I backtracked to a Maverick and refueled. I am now feeling tired, hungry and despite stretching and a couple of Tylenol, quite sore. I asked the station attendant if there is a restaurant open at this hour to which the answer is no. I check to gps and find a Denny's in Benson 30 miles away. So, I stiffly climb back on and head to Benson. The biggest thought in my mind at this point was how good a grand slam breakfast is going to be! I pull off the freeway and roll up to the stop sign. As I am checking for traffic my visor fogs up. I'm not sure how I did it but I tried raising the visor right after I had eased out the clutch and I cause the bike to turn hard to the right and into the grass shoulder, luckily I had enough mind left to straighten the front wheel before hitting the brakes or I would have dropped it. I looked around to see if anyone had seen this act of stupidity. Nope, no one, except the city cop, now at the stop sign. He rolled on by. Whew!
I somehow found my way safely into the Denny's parking lot and removed my gear. I checked the gps and realized I only needed a little over 100 miles to finish and I had 3 hours to do it. Feeling much more awake now I enjoyed some hot chocolate and a good breakfast. I put another layer of clothing on and headed for my last stop.
Traffic was light even through the Tucson construction. I caught a rabbit north of Tucson and followed him for a while. I was debating on whether to stop soon after I hit 1500 miles or finish the ride where I started. I decided that I would go with the original plan and finish at the Quiktrip where I started. The time stamp was 3:45 am. I finished with one hour and 15 minutes to spare. Once again, I'm sure there was concern about my sanity from the station employee as I was jumping up and down and celebrating my first Bun Burner Gold!
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