Thank you all, this is really really good stuff. I completely forgot about the way we kept our children quiet in the car on long trips, you know counting VW bugs or license plates from other states. I know I have found that when you stare at the odometer all that runs through your head is crap I only went 100mi or 20mi or whatever. That really does kill the fun of the trip, making the end point the goal not the fun of the ride. I love the counting up and totaling the price of the farkles, if it doesn't keep you busy it might make you cry! I forgot the horror of riding east in the morning, so true. And it's so true the more you ride the further you need to ride to see something different. I was a road salesman for years and I can remember my wife saying lets go for a ride and all I could think of was I needed to ride four or five hours just to get out of my daily territory.
I haven't done 1,000 miles in a day, but I've done some pretty long days on bikes that were not supposedly "ideally suited" for the job. I'm a flower picker and picture taker. 700 miles on a KLR650 is a pretty good one. If your aim is just to get a piece of paper, get on the slab on a big tourer and wind it out. Otherwise, pick a route that is really interesting and run it. The top side of Lake Superior recommends itself. You can keep up a good rate of speed, and still see plenty.
Boredom can make even a short ride seem like an Iron Butt one. For me, it's simple: I ride as long as I'm having fun. When the fun stops, I stop. Finding some place interesting to ride helps immensely. Starting the ride early in the day, well before sunrise perhaps, gives you the advantage of getting out of your home area while it is still too dark to see anything anyway, and saving the daylight hours for new places that might interest you. Initially, instead of seeing how many miles you can do in a limited time, try seeing how many hours you can ride without getting bored and tired of riding, without any mileage goal. See if you can stretch the hours out first, the mileage will follow eventually. That is much safer in that you will not be tempted to ride faster to reach a certain number of miles. It will also let you get off to take photos, eat a snack, stretch your legs, etc., which will help you to last for more hours. One of my favorite places to do Iron Butt rides is the Dalton Hwy. It is interesting, scenic, somewhat challenging, and never boring. It is no trouble to ride my KLR for 30 hours or more when I'm up there, getting off now and then to snap a photo, then back onto the bike and keep moving. When it is no longer fun, then I'll quit those rides and look elsewhere.
On Wednesday, I sent in the paper work for the Iron Butt Silver National Parks Tour. My wife, Nina, and I did it two-up on a 2010 Bonneville T100. We didn't get bored, but we spent very little time on freeways. It was kind of time consuming, but chasing visitor centers at national parks, memorials, seashores, battlefields, etc. ended up being kind of rewarding -- and tiring. We've now ridden two-up through the 48 lower states and one Canadian province, but it took us 35 years. I haven't gotten bored on a motorcycle yet. I guess I'm still concentrating too much on figuring out how to ride them better to give boredom much opportunity. About twenty years ago, I had what looked like a good opportunity to go for a thousand mile day. I was headed home to Washington from Colorado. Maybe 100 miles from my goal, very early in the morning, the headlight on my BMW K100RS started going out and coming back on. I pulled over and slept in the ditch. When it got light, I rode on home. A day or so later, I pulled the gas tank and pushed on the relays. The load shedding relay clicked down. Somehow, after many, many miles, it pretty much unplugged itself. I'm thinking you are probably ready to give it a go. Whether you succeed or not, you still get to ride your motorcycle. And one nice thing about the Iron Butt rides is that if you don't make it, no one has to know. Regards, Chuck
The best training aid....... The seat on my F800gs. After some time on it, any other seat will be like sitting on a marshmallow.
As a moto rider, you get to ride many miles to achieve whatever goal. Perception of the personal importance of those goals varies greatly. Go ahead - ride your motocyle long distances while fatiqued and not smart of mind. Knock yourself out...but please, nobody else. People seek respect in different ways, and from different people/groups.
I've done a pretty fair number of 1000/24 rides and one 1500/24 (Never again, thank you very much) I think the best way to prepare for an "Ironbutt" style of ride is to begin riding bigger miles. If you can ride tank to tank for two or three tanks you've pretty much got the endurance part down. A certain level of core endurance is good as well. For me, working out helps me ride longer distances, it might for you as well. Remember as others have said, do this for fun. For me, it IS fun. I live in the West, and watching the miles unspool from the seat of a powerful motorcycle is soothing and liberating to me. It isn't boring, and I certainly agree with others who say, "Don't do this for bragging rights..." Ok, maybe just a little bragging is ok... Enjoy, take some pix, and let us know how you did!
What do you do for a workout? Running, Lifting, Swimming? Though I'm sure anything is better than nothing
Agreed!! Did a SS1000 on the 1150 GS a couple of years ago and hit all of New England. I live in Central PA and it fit well to make a nice loop up to Maine and back with a few zig zags to get in the miles. I like the long time in the saddle by myself to think. On the 800 GS I've been doing a lot in the dirt. Do what ever is good for you. We all ride because we like it. We don't all ride the same bike. Enjoy it!!
I usually just hop on at point A, set the GPS to point B, and ride. I stand up when my butt hurts, stretch out my legs when they are sore, use a throttle rocker to keep the right hand from cramping, think about serious things that have been bothering me, sing in my helmet, look at cute girls in cars that pass by....before I know it, the ride is over. Like everyone else has said, if it isn't fun for you, no need to do it. I've never done an IBA ride despite doing quite a few 1000+ mile days. Eventually I'll document one just so I can get that damn license plate bracket and so I can hang the certificate next to my college diploma.
I'm defiantly getting closer to the trip. Of course now its starting to get cold. I was out this morning and it was 47deg in north west Sullivan Co. and my hands froze.
Just completed my second IronButt 1000 miler with relative ease. I do some longer practice rides for the fun of riding in the early summer...usually 600 mile days to get used to the time in the saddle. I the IronButt stuff for the shear pleasure of riding and seeing so many different places in a short time. Eating well and resting during ride is important and everyone is different. I really do enjoy riding and with the addition of this last IronButt, I completed my holiday in Utah and back to Edmonton in 9 days with 6,300km on the meter..
Getting ready for it means spending more time in the saddle . Practice your fuel stops to eliminate wasted minutes . Remember ever minute your wheels are not moving your are wasting time . Have fun . Dave
Same here :) - I like to stay focused on riding, and just get in the zone. If the OP gets bored with LD riding, then maybe it's just not his thing. Different strokes for different folks - just do what you enjoy.