Posted: 08 June 2007 at 1:27pm | IP Logged

After completing a ss1000 last september, I wanted to "raise the bar" so to speak by attempting a BBG. I plugged in some different routes, trying to figure out the one that would help make my attempt succesful. I posted a question here ( Chip if your reading this thanks for the idea of Knoxville) about a route from my home on Long Island New York. The best route in my eyes was one that took me from L.I.  to 78 in PA, 81 through Maryland, W. Virginia, Virginia, to 40 in Tennessee towards Knoxville and return. I like to plan every aspect, so gas stops, start, turn around, witnesses were all planned for my attempt. I broke one of the IronButt commandments, by farkling my bike about a month before my ride. I added a 5 gallon tourtank, and auxiliary lights, plus a new helmet, and jacket. I did my best to break in the new add ons before the BB, although I was confident I wouldn't have any problems. The tourtank gives me a range of over 300 miles, so I planned my fuel stops between 250 and 300 miles. The shortest actually turned out to be 240 miles, and the longest 280 miles. My bike is a 2006 Buell Ulysses, and in addition to the latest goodies, has g.p.s. and sirius radio. My planned witness ( a Suffolk county C.O.) fell through at the last minute, so I asked the officer on duty at the local precinct, and was told no problem. I had planned to leave Thursday 6/7/07 at midnight, and decided to sleep from 6 pm until midnight. Well that didn't work out to well, as I was so excited, I hardly slept. At midnight, I got out of bed, prepped the bike, went to get my witness form signed, and headed off to get my start receipt. The time was finally here, and I started my ride at 2:11 a.m. My first stop was in Carlisle Pa., taking southern state pkwy, to the throgs neck, over to 95 south and then to 78 west. Now here's another observation I made, I know everyone says to practice your stops, so when you do a ride, you have a routine. Well I always practiced a routine while fueling up during my daily commute, however it didn't include my tank bag, auxiliary tank, helmet wires, refilling a camelback etc; so needless to say, my stops were very sloppy, and costing me valuble minutes. That done, my next stop was 279 miles to Salem Va, near Roanoke. About an hour after leaving the first stop, I realized I never used the facilities, and now I need to go, oh man, I don't want to stop! I actually made it the 200 miles before using the men's room! This turned out to be my abort point, and make it a SS1000 depending on how I felt, and how I was doing on time, so I decided to go for it. During the planning stage, I gave myself 15 minutes for each stop, subtracted the time stopped, and figured the average speed needed. Having this speed, I figured the times between each stop, and it appeared I was on schedule. (even with the bad stops). Onward to Knoxville, the weather, having been in the 50's all night, was now warming up and I couldn't wait to get to my stop,and get my jacket liner and sweat shirt off. After arriving in Knoxville, I noticed I had made up time, and turned out to be 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Needing to use the facilities again, I went inside the store, and stood behind someone in line for the bathroom. Turns out his 3 young children were in there, and it took 10 long minutes to get in. Oh well, my time is shrinking again. Anyway, back from whence I came, back to Salem for another stop after the turn around. Having time to think, I was thinking it was going to be close, but as long as nothing crazy popped up I might do it. Salem came and went, and it was back to Carlisle, but now the " something crazy"   popped up. Traffic was backed up for a couple of miles southwest of Carlisle Pa. Great, now my chances are decreasing as we speak of for completing this in 24 hours. I was behind a long line of semi's in the left lane, when I realized the right lane was completely open and clear!? The lane wasn't closed for another couple of miles, but everyone was already merged to the left and stopped. I jumped in the right lane and continued on past all that traffic, having thoughts of the Red Sea, and saw a sign that said "use both lanes until merge point", so I wasn't doing anything wrong. After the merge, we contnued at a 20 mph pace for some miles until the road opened up again. I finally arrived at my stop, and tried to pick up the pace of my stops. Continuing on the last leg of my trip, I was doing math in my head the whole time. Another construction site east of Carlisle, really had me steamed, as I was only a couple of hundred miles from my goal of 1500 in 24. I sat, merged, and followed all the lane shifts etc; until that too cleared up, and was able to continue at a better pace. Still doing math, this was going to be VERY close. The rest of PA, New Jersey, and thankfully, but unbelievably, the Cross Bronx, was uneventful, and as I crossed the Throgs Neck at about 1:30 a.m., I felt a little better. I ended my ride in Lindenhurst L.I. and got an ending receipt at 1:55, and was ecstatic. I went across 109 to the 1st precinct, and got my ending witness to sign. Final mileage was 1537 gps, and 1538 odometer, and with only 16 minutes to spare. I must say this was a very challenging ride, and fully realize the importance of having a rigid and disciplined routine at the stops, and have an amazing respect for the riders that do bbg3000 and 4500. Anyway, thanks to all for the tips, hope you enjoyed the report, and look forward to the next ride!

Chopped58  

Posted: 08 June 2007 at 2:16pm | IP Logged

Let me be the first (opps second) to congratulate you, "chopped 58". Completing a BBG is no small accomplishment. It is a tough, grueling ride. And like you say, how some folks can put 'em back to back (or back to back to back) is mindboggling.

Aside from the extra 500 miles, the main difference to me between a SS1K and the BBG is the element of uncertainty. Most riders with experience can pull off a SS1K if they put their mind to it. With the BBG, there is a real possibility you may not make it if things don't go according to plan. When you talk about doing the math in your head as you neared the finish, well, I hear you.

Well done!

Posted: 09 June 2007 at 11:19pm | IP Logged

Thanks all, like I said, it was a tough ride......I will definately work on my stops.......I think I just got lucky with the time......sachiwilson, I haven't rode with friends yet, however I may plan a SS2000 in the fall, and hope all goes well with my buddies.

Let me ask this.....if a newcomer wants to tag along for a ride, and the ride ends up being a SS2000, will that rider get credit for a ride before completing a ss1000?

Posted: 10 June 2007 at 7:39am | IP Logged

Hello again, "chopped" -

Best thing to do (imo) is send Ira an e-mail and get an official answer. However, you might want to review a recent thread, "rules ss1k" or something to that effect, where the same question was asked. Ira replied that if a non-certified rider accompanied a certifed rider on a successful SS2K, a SS2K certificate would not be denied to the non-certifed rider. If I were your riding buddy, I think I would like to have an e-mail from the IBA confirming this to send along with his/her ride documentation.