I've done a number of long rides previously, I just hadn't done the big one in one day. So when the Motorcycle Tourers Forum (http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTourer/ ), a site devoted to long distance riding, announced that they would be sponsoring IBA sanctioned regional rides, I signed up and paid my money. Now I was committed to depart from South Sound BMW (SSBMW) in Fife (www.southsoundBMW.com) on June 27, sometime between 5 & 5:30am.
My preparations basically consisted of making sure I carried lots of fluids and munching snacks along with rain gear. I had just gone over my bike in connection with my recently completed Alaska trip (http://tbhyder2009.blogspot.com), so I just did a check of my tires and made sure the bike was clean at the start. That's a pretty short preparation list.
So, on the morning of Saturday, June 27, 2009, the alarm went off at 3:45am and I rolled out of bed after about 4 hours of sleep (I had trouble sleeping probably because I was afraid of sleeping through the alarm.) I packed the final items on the bike, did a final tire air pressure check (the front needed a bit, but the back was just fine), and activated my satellite tracking device (SPOT). Then I headed off with a side trip to the cash machine for a little spending money.
Arriving at SSBMW just before 5, many of the riders were already there and some had departed. I presented my paperwork, got my odometer reading recorded, received instructions to stay on the route and not deviate from it (I had wanted to return via LOLO Pass), and got my picture taken (got to love the retro-reflective emblems!).
I also zeroed out my instruments. I even brought along my Passport Radar detector to give me something else to monitor. I'm generally not a speeder, but occasionally need to be reigned in. I just didn't want it to be with "blue lights"! Here are the zero values on my odometer and GPS.
With a good to go message, I headed for the local service station to fill up and get my first receipt. It should be noted that the ride is documented by computer printed gas receipts. After I got this first receipt, I noted that it didn't have a time stamp on it. I stressed a bit about it, but eventually came to peace with myself saying, " I know I was there, and there was a witness at SSBMW who documented when I left." In the end it didn't matter, so all was good. All the rest of the receipts had time and date stamps.
It was then a nice early morning ride up I-5 to WA18, north on WA18 to I-90 and east on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass (3,000 ft). There was little traffic and I hesitated taking pictures as this wasn't the focus of my ride. I made a quick bio-break stop at the Indian John Rest area, and kept on riding east on I-90. Around Ephrata I finally took a couple of pictures. One documents me on I-90, and the other documented that my rubber ducky was along for the ride.
Just before Moses Lake a couple of the event riders passed me and a little bit ahead one had pulled off the freeway just as I passed what turned out to be a seat pad from one of the bikes (it was from the GL1800 and I mistakenly thought it came off the Harley Davidson as it was the HD that had pulled over). At Moses Lake, I passed over the lake and observed fish jumping. It was pretty cool, but I couldn't get any pictures. I then found Ernie's truck stop (a Chevron Station) and did my first fill-up at 8:11am and was gone some 6 minutes later. That first leg was 186 miles, and my fuel economy was 39.27mpg. My bike's range is around 270 miles.
Leaving Moses Lake, it was more of I-90 to Spokane where there was lots of traffic and the freeway on the east side of downtown was very tough riding as it had been ground up plus there were lots of wear grooves in the pavement. After Spokane and the Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, I rode through Coeur d'Alene and along the lake where I shot a few more pictures. It was pretty morning and a pleasant reminder of a previous ride/camping trip there a few years back.
I rolled into Kellogg at 10:55am for my second scheduled fuel stop. This leg was 169 miles and my MPG was 41.11. I also took the opportunity to wolf down a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with Egg and a large orange juice. This turned out to be a 20 minute stop and had to be documented as a long stop. It was then off east on I-90 up Lookout Pass (4,725) and then into Montana.
Then came 4th of July Pass and numerous crossings of the Clark Fork River. During this time I took a brief stop to remove the liner from my jacket as the temperatures had climbed. By the way, for this trip, I chose to not wear my vented mesh clothing as I didn't want to suck the moisture out of my body. It worked really well.
Passing by Missoula and continuing to head east on I-90, I passed through Clinton, Montana and the home of the famous Rock Creek Lodge which is noted for a "special" annual festival. You'll have to google it and compare your results to the picture shown below.
It was then about another 30 miles further to the turn-around point at Drummond, MT where I re-fueled at 2:03pm (PDT) after 177.7 miles with a 38.15mpg. The total distance to Drummond was 536.9 miles which was close to the event sponsor's distance of 534 miles. The speed limit in Idaho and Montana was 75 and my fuel economy really starts dropping above 70mph. I once again took 20 minutes to hydrate and eat a few snacks including my beloved red licorice.
Here are a few pictures from Drummond and I thought the Used Cow Lot rather funny (only in Montana or other cow states).
Refreshed, I left Drummond for the ride home. I passed by a Sheriff's helicopter that was spooling up to take off (didn't get a picture but it was impressive to see the chopper landed on the road). It was then a nice ride west up 4th of July pass and then Lookout Pass before pulling back into Kellogg for another refuel.
Both passes were very nice riding and I'm glad I stayed on the course and didn't do Lolo Pass as it has lower speed limit (however, it's much more scenic). I was able to get a Welcome to Idaho sign heading west on I-90.
The 2nd stop at Kellogg occurred at 5:11pm with mileage for this leg of 177.3 miles and my MPG's dropped to 32.45. I did run even harder on this leg, but the drop in MPG's surprised me. Otherwise the Wing was running just fine. Once again, I did a 20 minute stop to wolf down a basic cheeseburger and a fish sandwich from the local McDonald's.
Back on the road heading west as I approached Coeur d' Alene, an unsecured large shop vacuum came out of a pickup about 30 seconds ahead of me. I hit the brakes, dodged the item and resumed speed. Grrh on unsecured loads.
I liked the inflatable blue dog at a shopping mall in Idaho. It was quickly followed by a Welcome to Washington sign (the picture quality suffered because the sun was ahead of me).
The ride west through Spokane was much nicer than the ride east. It was then lots of I-90 with a brief stop at the Sprague Lake rest area for a hook-up of my phone to an on-bike charger in preparation for a call home from Moses Lake. Arriving in Moses Lake at 8:07pm after 169 miles, my MPG for this leg went back up to 35.88. It was starting to get towards dusk and the ride towards the Columbia River was accented by a very fast moving Washington State Patrol car which approached me from the rear and a few minutes later a County Sheriff's car was running code in the lanes towards me. That was about as exciting as it got.
At the Columbia River and the Vantage Bridge, I took a few pictures which would be my last until the end of the ride. This bridge replaced a ferry that I can remember taking as a child. I found the sunset to be very pretty.
Riding the 10 miles up the Vantage grade was pretty uneventful, but the next 30 miles or so was very challenging due to high gusting crosswinds. It was then a short ride up Snoqualmie Pass and I could start to smell the end of the Saddlesore and it was a good feeling. I wasn't feeling sore and I was sensing that I really could do this ride.
Arriving in FIFE I refueled at the Chevron Station at 11:00pm after 186.5 miles and an average of 34.70. It was then just a couple of miles down to South Sound BMW where I was greeted and checked in. We completed the IBA paperwork, and I got my ride conclusion photo.
It was a nice 1,079 miles (per the bike's odometer) completed in 18 hours. Here's my GPS trip statistics.
Following a short 17 mile ride home, I did a quick post to indicate I had finished and then crawled into my bed where I slept through for 8 1/2 hours. It had been a great trip, and I really enjoyed being able to set my own pace, stops, and navigation. If you've not considered doing a Saddlesore 1000, I would encourage you to do one. Each person has their own style of doing them. What I found as the key is to keep stops at a minimum and ride consistently. One doesn't need to speed, just ride consistently at 60mph or better.
