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:
