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| Now that the cobwebs have cleared my mind
and the sand is finally out of my eyes, its time to tell my tale.
The quick stats: Total Miles (per GPS), 3180 in 48 hours and 59 minutes, from Kitttery Maine to San Francisco (the K12LT registered 3255 miles). Average Speed 64.92, 12 Gas stops (83.607 gal and 5.5 hours) or 38mpg. Time (while moving), 39.21 hours (per GPS). You can calculate the average speed while "riding." And the thing that screwed me up was trying to do the last leg (1660 miles) in the last 21 hours, which was the price of that great 4.5 hour nap I had. This meant, I had to "average" 79mph for that 21 hours. Another 45 miles and I could have beaten Mike Kneebone's 1704 mileage in 24 hours (maybe another day). I've been on a number of temporary assignments from work that had me in Fremont California and away from my bikes in New Hampshire. I almost bought another to have one locally. When I got word, I be out in California again, I had just read about Todd/Brent's recent 50cc. One of the local NorthEast LD riders, CT Bob (Lyskowski) had done a BBG3k and 50cc last fall on his Harley and it stuck in my memory as one of those "I'd like to try that some time". I'm a believer in "Seize the Day". So I start making plans by figuring out a route and asking for witnesses. Witnesses are an important milestone, when you get their commitment to be somewhere, you've also made a commitment to be there. When George Wacaser said he'd ride in from Kansas City and Mark Urban said he'd come down from South Dakota, I was sure of this trip. After a couple of runs to Savannah (with Rob Nye) and Daytona (with Dennis Kesseler0, I felt the K12 fitted me well and seemed very competent for long hauling. This the first BMW seat that worked well for me! My k12LT only needed a fuel cell, and I almost had Terry Smith (East) talked out of borrowing his for the trip. Fortunately Jazz had a cell in stock and I was able to get it mounted in a couple of days. Jim Frens, Dennis Kesseler, and Howard Chain all agreed to meet me at the start. CT Bob suggested that I start in Kittery Maine as "it sounded better" than New Hampshire. That Friday morning, I rode over the Kittery from my home in Merrimack (add another 70 miles). We chatted in the 90 degree heat and I headed off right at noon, only to realize that I forget my first gas receipt. So 15 minutes later, I returned to find Jim and Dennis still there. So I added some more gas and "officially" left at 12:17. Not a good start, in my opinion, as my forgetfulness usually gets worse over time. The Mass Pike was crowded for a Friday afternoon, The NY State Thruway was a little better and I was beyond the Albany rush hour traffic by 4pm. As I rounded by Buffalo, I could see the storm clouds gathering. I knew a cold front was pushing thru and was encouraged that the blistering heat would be gone soon. It started to rain just enough to slow everybody down and pick up all the oil films on the road. The temps were now in the mid 70's and it looked like it was going to clear. About half way thru Ohio, I could see the sky glowing in the distance with lightening strikes. Within a half hour it was raining hard and my visibility was dropping. I put on my high beam as cars started to pull over. I am now a firm believer in the benefits of HID lighting. My high beam conversion allowed me to see the white lines and reflectors even though they were under water. That light has a way of picking up many more objects that halogen. As I clear Ohio, the temps drop another 10 degrees, by Chicago it was down to 54. Chicago is a quiet and open ride at 2am, far different than the snarling mass of traffic and construction when I last passed thru (Timing is everything!). By Iowa its now 42 degrees and I put on every electric item I had (and glad I packed them!). I was making very good time and figured I would make my mid point about two hours ahead of my estimates (which was important extra time for me to get some much needed sleep). I met George and Mark at a rest stop and we rode a few miles into Greenwood Nebraska. I had a great hot turkey sandwich and then checked into the local hotel to get some sleep. 4.5 hours later I woke up and George and Mark had waited for me. George had some food bars and water for me and Mark had done a marvelous job on my windshield. I'm very thankful for their patience and efforts. They really went beyond the call of duty to help a virtual stranger (Thanks again!). This was a good start to my second leg even though I had given up 3 hours. I felt refreshed and energized as I headed thru Nebraska. About 100 miles later, the rain hit again and continued drizzling for another 200 miles. As I entered Wyoming, the temps started to drop into the mid-40s and I was back into my electrics. There were some long sections of I-80 in Wyoming that are under construction and down to 2 lanes for miles. It was Saturday night, and it seemed every RV was on the road. I felt I lost a lot of time following these slow vehicles. At one point, I had slipped off my glove to get at a piece of candy in my pocket. I had just gotten it unwrapped, when I lost the glove. So now I was stuck until the next gas stop and had to put that hand in my pocket to keep warming it up. I also found that my great high beam had stopped working. So I tried to use the PIAA 910's as my high beam. I've always liked the 910's on other bikes, but was disappointed now. For my old eyes, I'd rather have one HID beam than two PIAA 910's. At the next gas stop, I found the spare set of gloves I had. I also looked at the map and felt very ill. I had to cover 900 miles in the next 11 hours. without my high beam, on roads that were new to me and thru two major curvy sections (into SLC and Donner pass). I had miscalculated. I knew I could do the last 1660 miles in 24 hours and knew that I could make the second 1500 miles in 21 hours, but had missed the obvious. I was ready to call it quits and resign myself to a failure. This was the worst moment of the trip and where I had the most doubts about finishing. I started to think about who to call and decided to just push harder. First push was to check the high beam. All the wiring was there and the bulb looked intact. I started moving the wires and it lit, went out, and then lit again. A loose connection but I had no way to chase it down as it was tucked nicely up in the nose of the fairing. So I wiggled it again and it stayed on. That was all the encouragement I needed and maybe the tide was turning for me. Riding into Salt Lake City is a beautiful ride in the day, but at night when you know you are running late, it has too many curves and blind spots. I'm loosing more time, I thought. I took the 215 by-pass and all three cops on patrol were writing tickets (Another "good" sign!), Out of SLC, I turned up the wick to about 90 and noticed a set of headlights gaining on me. I dropped back down to 80 and sure enough a Sheriff came by and did not pay any attention to me. A very quick gas stop and I was in Nevada. Here, I decided to let it all hang out and set the cruise at 105. This was the worst time for me as I get sleepy and needed to be more awake than ever. The HID is still working and picking up all the road details. I start working my "on board" exercise program to get the blood flowing and keep me awake. Another very fast gas stop, and back on the road. The dawn had started to break which was good for my concentration. I was going to make Reno by 6 and had made up a great deal of time. I was still worried about Donner Pass and was thinking about how to deal with another section of highway that would slow me down. Sometimes life is really good! I had just started the climb from Reno when a little red Chevrolet came up behind me and wanted to pass. I thought this might be interesting at least this guy would be my rabbit and take out any radar traps. But he was much better than that, he really knew the road and the traffic. As I stuck with him for a while, I realized how hard I was pushing to keep up. The K12LT is great handling bike, but one starts to hit limits above 110. Yes this guy was flying and I was hanging on for dear life. I also had the incentive that if I lost him, I'd loose any chance of making it thru this pass quickly. I followed him to Sacramento looking for the road Joe Denton had mentioned, but must have missed it. I called Joe and he had to drive 20 minutes to get to me as I rode too far. As Joe signed me off, I had made the second 1500 BBG by 20 minutes. Now to San Francisco, and I backed off the pace. A whole row of cars stopped suddenly ahead of me and I hit the brakes just in time to run over a broken windshield. Glass chips every where! and I thought what a great time for a flat, more luck as I continued to the Bridge and down into San Francisco. Sam Leopore was waiting for me. (and so were the "window washers"). I had made the 50cc with an hour to spare. Will Lee came around the corner and we chatted for while. Sam had other obligations, so Will took me on a tour of the city and then to a great Chinese restaurant. My advise is to get Will to sign your forms just so you can get him to show you this great place. All in all, it was a good ride. I got myself in trouble by not planning well (a hint to others!) and was very fortunate for the conditions I was in. The long daylight hours helped, as did the full moon at night. And I could not have asked for better people to help me along the way by way of their witnessing and the many little things done to help me along. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it! Ride safe, Paul |
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