White Pine Fever

[Warchild]

Here's an excellent shot taken moments after SkooterG pulled into the Finish Line from his epic ride:

1) George Zelenz (beeroux) puffing away on his victory cigar.

2) Matt Watkins (Ignacio)

3) "GateKeeper" H Marc Lewis, recording the final odometer reading.

4) "The Man"....... SkooterG: the top Mileage Hound at White Pine Fever!

5) Tobie Stevens, who's pointing out the decapitated bird head on the windscreen.

6) Bill Weyher, a season veteran of Nevada-based Endurance events.

7) "GateKeeper" Chuck Hickey (chicky191) cross-checking the odometer readings

 

[Groo]

Who's that behind Iggy's left shoulder wearing what looks like a red stitch?

 

[Warchild]

Who's that behind Iggy's left shoulder wearing what looks like a red stitch?

That is Tom Sperry, who rode two-up with his wife on their BMW K1200LT Teutonic Whale Barge, and they earned their entry into the coveted 1800-Mile Club!

They also finished in 3rd Place in the "2-Up" category in this year's Utah 1088.

 

[Groo]

... on their BMW K1200LT Teutonic Whale Barge...

:lol: I've got a friend at work who just bought a used one. I call it the "Teutonic Titanic"... :lol:

Still and all, those kind of miles 2 up is muy, muy bueno, and deserving of much applause, even if just for being in close proximity to your spouse for that long... :blink:

 

[Ignacio]

Still and all, those kind of miles 2 up is muy, muy bueno, and deserving of much applause, even if just for being in close proximity to your spouse for that long... :blink:

Those two are such at home riding 2 up that there seems to be a little bit of angst as Tom's going to ride the SPANK rally alone because Rosie has some other committment. She may have been mocking about it, but she worried he'd like riding by himself.

Those two are also on the shortlists of IBA solo rides including back-to-back Bun Burner Golds and Border to Border to Border. I may have done a 2K+ day, but haven't done either of those.....and I'm riding solo and a bit younger.

Tom and Rosie Sperry rock!

 

[FastJoyRide]

Fabulous achievements for you all - well done! The FJR is confirmed as the LD sled to beat, and that kind of torture testing confirms the stoutness of our beloved FJR's to sustained extreme use.

Will be very interesting to see if any of these FJR's ever develop the dreaded tick...

 

[Groo]

Will be very interesting to see if any of these FJR's ever develop the dreaded tick...

Dale's been telling Skooter his has been ticking for what? a year now? Hasn't seemed to slow him down much....

 

[Bugnatr]

Awesome job guys, Nevada the FJR state!

 

[skyway]

First, none of this would have happened for me if Warchild did not send me the invitation to WPF, and for this I am truly grateful. What also made this special for me is that last weekend was my birthday.

Without trying to talk up this ride, I'll try to put it into perspective. 2K is about the equivalent distance of hopping on your bike and riding from Los Angeles CA to Birmingham AL.

Being in the presence of the group of riders assembled in Ely was an awesome experience for me. I got to talk with several LDR veterans in detail about their experience in the IBR and other brutal craziness, my mind was like a sponge soaking up all the advise given to me. What a great bunch of folks gathered for sure.

Also of note was the weather. I think the riders moving through the desert kicked up the various thunder & lightning storms that I was dodging with the aid of my 2730 GPS. Being on the edge of a storm is not a perfect situation either though. Heavy side winds and wet highways all add in the mix. At one point I pulled into a gas station just before dark, during a sand storm and heavy rain lashing sideways on me. I couldn't even put my gloves down for fear of them blowing away. I removed my helmet to grab a quick bite and got a face and eye full of sand, the weather was brutal! I paused for a moment thinking to myself, WTF am I doing right now? A quick check of the GPS tells me that its still on for 2K, so within 5 minutes I'm back on the road pounding the miles. Last weekend I got my first real taste of what the iron portion of butt really meant.

The Nevada desert is also home to a very large concentration of various size critters. During my first run through the Extra Terrestrial Highway I dodged 2 antelope, 1 deer, 1 cow, countless birds munching roadkill (magnum blasters are your friend here ) and luckily only managed to explode one bird with my windshield. Rabbits do not affect the handling of the FJR, so don't swerve if one crosses your path. :dribble:

Anyways to make long story short, I pulled back into the parking lot, asked H. Mark Lewis to verify my mileage, he came back and said all was good. Result! :yahoo:

Before last weekend my furthest ride to date was around 1030 miles, as until now I had never attempted a BBG. I had planned to shoot for the BBG on this ride, but since I was making good time I decided to keep pushing.

Being invited to a event of this magnitude was a huge honor for me, so performance was in the forefront of my mind. It was a one shot deal, so I tried my best to come up with the goods, this time out fortune and glory (and lots of luck :clapping: ) were on my side.

Also noted above is the achievement of SkooterG, dang that boy can ride. :clapping:

 

[skyway]

Here's an excellent shot taken moments after SkooterG pulled into the Finish Line from his epic ride:

What you can't tell from this picture is ScooterG shivering like all crazy, refusing to pull over for the Widder, which would eat into his mileage. B)

 

[skyway]

Fabulous achievements for you all - well done! The FJR is confirmed as the LD sled to beat, and that kind of torture testing confirms the stoutness of our beloved FJR's to sustained extreme use.
Will be very interesting to see if any of these FJR's ever develop the dreaded tick...

My bike is repaired ticker and I will agree with you 100% that the FJR can handle a lot of sustained punishment.

 

[Toecutter]

:: Greg Marbach - 2004 Yamaha FJR1300:: Matt Watkins - 2005 Yamaha FJR1300A

:: George Zelenz - 2005 Yamaha FJR1300

:: Ian Laing - 2004 Yamaha FJR1300

Big ups to that major accomplishment :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Any of you guys run w/o a fuel cell?

 

[Rogue]

Way to go guys! :thumbsup:

 

[fjrchik]

holy canolies! u rock in a serious way skooter! congrats on kickin a$$ and takin names. fur shizzle!

 

[Warchild]

Any of you guys run w/o a fuel cell?

To my knowledge, the sole FJR that did not have an aux fuel cell was the Lisa Steven's relatively new 2006 FJR.

All other FJRs were carrying a minimum of 11.5 gallons... and several carried a spare can (which was allowed under the rules we operated under).

The largest fuel capacity of any bike was 2nd Place Finisher Gary Eagan, who had a 12-gallon cell on the back of his Ducati ST4, in addition to his main cell (5 gallons and change). That's 17+ gallons.... which makes for serious range even at daytime rally speeds.

Here is Gary about to depart for his Odometer Run.... the bags/water jug on the rear cell make it look even bigger than it is....

 

[Ignacio]

:: Greg Marbach - 2004 Yamaha FJR1300:: Matt Watkins - 2005 Yamaha FJR1300A

:: George Zelenz - 2005 Yamaha FJR1300

:: Ian Laing - 2004 Yamaha FJR1300

Big ups to that major accomplishment :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Any of you guys run w/o a fuel cell?

A cell was pretty much required for the 2K+ day. It seems this weird thing that the reserve light of the primary tank would come on A LOT earlier than 200 miles :blink:

Skooter and I both observed at what mileage they came on and I remember 132 miles once while I think he said 120 miles. Think he said he had one leg that was close at 280 miles with the cell. I carried a 2 gallon can just in case, but never had to use it. I filled up with 11 gallons on my final leg at a horribly inefficient mileage of 26 mpg.

The ride back home on the seriously worn out tire was at times sub-speed limit, I found myself gassing in Winnemucca and then not again until home at 502 miles. I got 45 mpg on that leg.

 

[Bounce]

Congratulations. Having been in the area, ridden Congno rides and put in some miles that bordered those of this ride (in the 24 hour category), I can truly appreciate the herculean effort spent by everyone who did this ride. Kudos to you all. A serious salute to all the successful finishers.

One question: Who the hell had time to stop and take pictures while on this ride?

 

[turbodave_98]

Way to go guys, I am envious and remember I want to play next year also, Good Lord willing!!

 

[Warchild]

Way to go guys, I am envious and remember I want to play next year also, Good Lord willing!!

Alright then, young man.... we'll see you get an invite to whatever insanity we put together next time! B)

 

[Ignacio]

One question: Who the hell had time to stop and take pictures while on this ride?

I seemed to have time for two pics during the 24 hours. One was while I was riding at the speed limit (so the camera wouldn't be ripped from my hands) to snap a curious GPS reading involving averages......but haven't included it for public consumption.

The other was my last 20 miles coming back into town. I was on deep gas reserve, had about 30 minutes until my time limit, and wasn't going to get any more highway miles in. It was just too beautiful to pass up and I had time.......unless I was going to gas up and try and use my extra 10 minutes racking up miles at 25 mph.

Damn! I could have gotten 4 more miles in!!!!!

Clicky here for a nice sunrise. Otherwise all my pics are before or after the run.