Thousand mile day.

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I agree with you, to a point. When the ride becomes a torturous event rather than an enjoyable adventure then who wants or needs that? I did a ride up the coast of Northern California to The Lost Coast back in 2021 when we were having wildfires in California. On our last day we ended up in Reno, NV with 610 miles left to go to get home. The next morning we started our ride in smoky conditions, at times so bad visibility was 1/4 mile at best. The temperatures were in the 100 degree range, occasionally hitting 104. There were many traffic stops as fires were flaring up by the sides of the road. Extreme heat. We did it, stopping to hydrate and battling fatigue, we did it. Worst ride of my life but we had no alternative but to push on if we wanted to get home. When I've done my 16 hour, 1180 trips I did them in ideal conditions, leaving early morning, stopping for an occasional cat- nap and for the most part stress free. I still enjoy these types of rides and I just turned 70 years young.
 
The challenge is the same no matter what the ride - staying upright and awake.
Totally agree. I can recall a 24 hour Ride Around Texas one year, at a little over 1000 miles and I was talking to myself, trying to stay awake at the 23rd hour or so, heading back into Fredericksburg!
 
Anyone done one? It's totally doable. I've ridden over 850 miles in a day but it has always been on mostly 2 lane roads. I want to get that notch on my belt.
For some it's a "notch" on the belt, for others, it's just the way they ride.
I still remember the newspaper article I read in the Mpls Star Tribune just months after buying an 05 FJR, that described this group of riders that rode long distances just for the joy of it. To be a member, one had to ride 1k miles in 24 hrs. Something they called a Saddle Sore. Holy Mackerel Batman I thought. At that moment I had a mental compass going envisioning all the places I could go see starting from where I sat at that moment.
Everybody has their own style of riding that puts a smile on their face and a calmness in their soul. For me those smiles come from putting in the miles to ride around Cape Breton, or to Key West, or taking a ferry ride from Victoria to the Olympic peninsula.
It's not for everyone, but if you do find that it's a bit more than just a notch on your belt, welcome to the insanity. :)
 
1) Can anyone do it?... Yes, many have. To get your IBA # you need to 1st complete a SS1000. I'm #45,137... and that was in 2010. Not sure where the numbers are now, but way, way more than that. 2) Vanity or in the DNA? After you've been riding for 20 or 30 years, the challenges become apparent, afterall, you've got decades of experience to be tested, if you feel inclined. It becomes a 'could I do that?' sort of challenge. Mine leans towards vanity, but I've knocked out a few very long distance rides over the years... but only one thousand-mile-day (I'm grinning as I write that). Give it a try and check that box! Not to be confused with true-blue LD Riders who crank out 1k/miles a day for 11 days. That's a parallel universe meant for retards with special IBR DNA.
 
The bucket list. I suppose we all have one. Didn't know that I did until I set out on that fateful day to make my first 2200 mile IBA run (see post 40). For those of you that never saw it, grab a cup of coffee and click on the link I provided there.

I pushed myself well beyond anything I might call my limit. Looking back, Disclaimer: I took some risks that I shouldn't have taken. Nobody should be on the road when they're that exhausted. After a certain period of time in the saddle (any saddle), things start to get uncomfortable and stiff. Later on they hurt until you get out of the saddle to stretch. But eventually, everything hurts as soon as yer but touches the saddle, even after a nap or short snooze. Exhaustion and lack of sleep make matters worse: much worse. I don't know how to describe the pain I endured those last 8 hours in the saddle making my way across northern Florida to my final destination. 48 1/2 hours after I left San Diego, I completed my first (and last) 50CC, thus joining the IBA. I did it: I accomplished what I set out to do.

Looking back, was it worth it? I don't know. Wise? For me: not so much. It was 9 years ago, so I don't think or talk about it much anymore. But it was a great challenge, and at some level just another look into the mirror for me, of how this man is measured.
It's been said that success is tied up in HOW MUCH it takes to stop a man. It's measured spiritually, physically, and mentally in a hundred different ways for all of us. But at the end of the day when ya think about who you are, it's good to know that you still have the ability to accomplish what you set out to do, no matter how difficult the journey.
 
Sheesh! 1000 miles in 24 hours! I'm sure thats not possible. LOL!

Long rides tend to be very cathardic for me, and a rally is the ultimate escape from reality. Being
so focused on the task at hand I find myself living in a surreal mix of fact and fantasy. Good for
the soul.
Sometimes it takes the first 1000 miles for all the internal dialog to melt away.
 
Sometimes it takes the first 1000 miles for all the internal dialog to melt away.
I know,right...After a while it is easier to keep moving comfortably in my own little world than, say, even stopping
for fuel. Having to deal with the reality of a fuel station can be a traumatic experience. LOL!
 
I shudder to think of the distances I’d go between stops if I ever cave in and buy an aux tank. Sometimes the zen sets in and stopping is an interruption.
 
Piff, you fancy street riders. Real long distance is when it takes all day to do less than 200 miles in the forest on a dirt bike. 💪

Or..... taking all day on a street bike to do 150 miles crossing three passes on the most flawless ribbons of pavement in the incredibly scenic Swiss Alps.
 
Replace the bag with a longer drain tube that exits at the inner side of outside of your boot, at about the arch, and about 3" longer than the sole of the boot.
 
Same threads come around every now and then. Still full of the usual mix. Jeeze people, spend some time using Google.

@garyahouse - You did it wrong. Stop thinking it was such a massive challenge. It's an entry level ride. The classic mistake people make is just trying to do a long ride w/o actually reading and learning first, then working up to it and doing the work. It's a progression of correcting all the little things that make your bike less comfortable than it could be. And learning how to make long rides comfortable and not "torture". Those corrections and techniques make your regular rides better too in many cases. The IBA is about safe long distance riding. If you take the time to learn how, it's no big deal.

I've done a few. Not two in one day like some people here, now that's a different kind of crazy. I've also done one on a 150cc scooter. And unlike some of the people posting, I have documentation that I did that with an external source, the IBA. It's not just me making noise that I did it. Like others in this thread, I too have a three digit number. My IBR plate backer is on my scooter. Just for fun. People rarely comment on it. And I've done the Scooter Cannonball too and finished that. Different kind of challenge, still fun in it's own way.
 
Replace the bag with a longer drain tube that exits at the inner side of outside of your boot, at about the arch, and about 3" longer than the sole of the boot.
Actually, I used the bag, with an extended drain tube exiting at the outside edge of my left boot’s heel @ground level. While pumping gas I’d be multitasking, then walk out to the grass patch at the sidewalk to open the valve.

Fifteen gas stops between Santa Cruiz and Jacksonville Beach — I felt like a dog marking my territory all the way across the country.

Brodie
🥴
 
@garyahouse , Thanks for your last post! I think that it is as honest and as real as it can be. When I was younger I entertained the idea of an IBA run. I never did it, and as I am growing older, I feel that not having done one is just fine with me. I really enjoy getting out for rides up to 400-500 miles a day still. But, I want to be able to stop to enjoy the scenery, to stop and relax when I get tired, and have a chat or meal with a friend or stranger. And, I want to feel good enough to do it all over again the next day, and the day after that, and... so on . To me that is what riding is about. I know that this is only me, and I also can understand and appreciate those who want the recognition for (and/or bragging rights about ) doing a rally. The preparation for and doing a one must be such a rush and sense of accomplishment. I dreamed of that many years ago too. To each his own, and as long as we are enjoying our rides the way we like to, that is all that matters.
 
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