1500 mile Bun Burner IBA ride
Aug 24 / Aug 25th, 2007
Report by Moonshine
This ride starts from the Canadian Tire gas bar at 3200 Rutherford Road, Concord, then follows a highway route encompassing Buffalo, Ny; Erie, Pa; Akron, Oh – via I-79 south, then I-80 / I-76 west; Beckley, Wv; Lexington, Va, Gananoque, On – via I-81 north; then Hwy 401 west and Hwy 400 north returning to 3200 Rutherford Road, Concord.
Start time: 2:02am Aug 24/07. Odometer reading: 49,469km
The temperature was around 20 degrees as I left the gas bar. Very comfortable to ride in. There had been quite a display of lightning to the east earlier, but I took no notice of this as I would be riding west for the time being. I turned south onto Hwy 400, then took Hwy 407ETR to Hamilton. As I left the worst of the city lights behind I could see that the sky was only lightly clouded and some stars shone through. My fear of being caught in a thundershower, which had been in the forecast, was eased somewhat. Picking up the QEW at Hamilton I continued on towards Buffalo, Ny. Again, I saw lightning flashes ahead of me, but there was no sign of rain.
The border crossing was a piece of cake, as I was the only vehicle crossing at that time of day, somewhere around 3:45am. I stopped just past the inspection booth to install the E-Z pass transponder on the windshield, then carried on via NY 190 to I-90 west towards Erie, Pa. The BMW R1200 has amazing fuel capacity, and while I still had a good supply of fuel I stopped at the Angola Service centre for a short break and to fill up the tank. The tank took US$10 worth of fuel. Odometer reading was 49,687km. Unfortunately I neglected to ask for a receipt, as is required on this type of ride. Oh well.
Continuing west on I-90 I again saw lightning flashes in the distance. Soon they seemed to be all around me, and while it got pretty windy there was no rain. Soon the turn for I-79 south came up and I transferred to the southbound route. Needless to say there was very little traffic and I was able to cruise along at 130 – 140 km/hr quite comfortably. As 6am approached I could see the sky getting brighter to the east, and as the sun rose over the trees it made quite a spectacular and colourful show in the early morning mist.
Before I knew it I was leaving I-79 and turning onto I-80 west. At the exit for Mercer, Pa I left the highway for another fuel stop. Time now 6:21am. Odometer reading 49,906. Daylight is now in full swing. Early morning traffic has picked up a little, but still very light, and the trip to Akron, Oh is over before I knew it. The sky is a clear blue, and there is a promise of a hot day ahead.
In Akron I transfer to I-77 south, and then leave the highway at one of the last Akron exits for a morning coffee. I had spotted a Starbucks sign, and thought it would be a good time to stop and call the family to let them know where I was. It is 7:45am when I arrive at the Starbucks. I make several phone calls, first to my wife, Gail and my daughter Kristin, who both, conveniently, work at the same office. They are glad to hear I am still in one piece and not wedged underneath a transport truck. Then a couple of business calls – this is a work day after all. A fellow Starbucker asks me where I'm riding to, and then tells me all about his lone bike trip to Bar Harbour Mn and back.
I set back again at about 8:15am and re-join I-77 south. Its sunny and really warm now, and at my next stop at Marietta, Oh, I am sweating profusely after I finish re-fueling. Time is 9:57am. Odometer reading 50,209. I take a 15 minute break, have a snack, and decide I will ride without the jacket for a while and enjoy the warm air. As I'm enjoying the break a couple of other bikers roll in for gas. Both on noisy Harley's. I walk up to the nearer of the two and we exchange greetings of “Nice day for a ride, etc” This one has his girlfriend / wife as a passenger. Her helmet has a number of stickers proclaiming various things, the pride of place being given to one that says, “I'm not your effing baby”. Also she looks as though she's been poured into her jeans and someone forgot to say, “when!” His helmet has a much more polite sticker which says, “I'm not deaf, I just ignoring you”. When I mention I am on an Iron Butt ride he says his buddy, on the other bike, is on his way to Tennessee to start an Iron Butt ride as well. I return to my bike and the second rider comes over to say hi. Much politer fellow – no stickers at all. He says they are going south on I-77 and I ask to tag along.
So, the 3 of us leave in a little group and re-join I-77. Almost immediately we pass the “Welcome to West Virginia” sign. Wow, I think, making progress now. Our pace is a little faster than the rest of the traffic, usually around 140kms/hr. The highway has become a little more twisty as the terrain is now hillier. We pass through Charleston, Wv, then leave the highway at a little place called Coal Fork. They both need to re-fuel. I still have over half a tank left. I say that I thought I-77 was a toll road, and they tell me its just about to start. Sure enough after rejoining the highway we come to the toll booths. My transponder is still on the windshield, and I am pleased to see that it also works in West Virginia. My E-Z Pass statement says the time was 12:11pm
The highway now sweeps downhill pretty much all the way to Beckley. There are quite steep twists in the road as we continue south. Very enjoyable scenery in the West Virginia mountains. I think their pace is a little hot for some of the twists, as we're still doing a steady 140kms. I maybe shouldn't admit to such a thing but I actually find leaning over into a fast curve a little scary, and have been known to develop a brain fart in the midst of the corner, and do something stupid, with one or both brakes being involved. Now I think to myself, “Holy rubber-band final drive, Batman, if they can take these bends at this speed, on Harley Davidsons, one of them riding 2-up for Heavens sake, then a BMW, even with me perched on top of it should be able to manage”.
I do my best to keep up, but eventually my nerve gets the better of me, as I hear a brain fart go off in my helmet, I slow slightly and a lady in a bright red SUV pulls out into my lane, then just stays there, going even slower than I was. I watch as the 2 Harley's disappear into the distance. Shortly I come to a rest centre and pull in for a drink – diet pop.
I-77 has now become I-64 which seamlessly turns into the east bound highway heading towards Lexington, Va. Beautiful mountain scenery continues on this mostly downhill section. I leave the highway at Beaver, Wv for another fuel stop. Time is now 1:08pm. Odometer reading 50,470. Have now ridden 1000kms in 11 hours. Still hot and sunny. Wait a minute. I see dark clouds up ahead, and there is some more lightning.
I leave the highway in a hurry at a place called Clifton Forge, I think. The receipt at the Shell station didn't have a location on it, but I believe thats where I was. The recorded time was 2:33pm. The rain starts in an almighty rush as I am parked under the gas station / store canopy. I am safe for the moment, and take my time putting on my rain gear. I also buy a couple of bottles of orange juice, drink one, and take a bathroom break. Looks like the rain has slowed a bit, but its still coming down pretty hard. I set off anyway.
Back on the highway I remember seeing a sign saying “Lexington – 30 miles” As I travel the rain slows to a little more than a drizzle, which continues as I join I-81 northbound. I see this change of direction as being homeward bound, although it is still a long way to go, indeed. I make a point of stopping at every Rest centre along the highway. I call Gail and Kristin again from one at about 4pm, just before they leave work. It has started to rain a little harder, and as I'm talking to them I snap a picture of the highway with the spray washing out from the transport trucks. Picture doesn't do it any justice.
My next stop was in New Market, Va, where I refuel again. Time is now 4:35pm. Odometer reading 50,770kms. On the other side of the gas pump is a family filling up an enormous motor home. The owner offers to flip me for an exchange of bills. I politely refuse. Cost me $11.20 to fill up. Man, its getting expensive. By the time I have paid for my gas the motor home's pump is already over $100. I leave the pump quietly, park near the store, and as the sky has now brightened considerably, I take off my rain gear. A motorist parked next to me sees me struggling to get my rain pants off over my boots, and comments that it looks like a lot of work. I say, “Yes, and the next thing that'll happen, is that it'll start raining again.”
But it doesn't, and I am comfortable riding in just jeans and t-shirt. Traffic is fairly heavy, and at times it is tough to get past slow drivers. I am now stopping at regular intervals, certainly at any Rest Centre. Then somewhere between Minersburg, Pa and Mahon City, Pa there is a massive construction project which has reduced I-81 to one lane. I was stuck in stop and go traffic for an hour. The bike almost got to the overheated temperature, but not quite. Then the one lane continued for miles. The local police were having fun, it seems at stopping daredevils taking the shoulder as a personal shortcut, then making them stop and wait. My next gas stop was at West Hazleton, Pa, where I was just about on fumes, and it had taken me 5 hours to travel 400 kms. Time now 9:21pm. Odometer reading 51,158kms. This is enough for the 1000 mile Saddle Sore award.
It is still really warm, so I continue without the jacket. Continuing north there is quite a bit of construction going on, but small areas that do little to slow me down, as the traffic has now thinned out again. I continue to make regular stops as I can feel the weariness creeping in now. I see Syracuse as a major beacon on my way home, thinking, “Well its not far from there”. Wrong!. Eventually as I approach Syracuse, I am treated, if one can view it as a treat while riding a motorcycle, another lightning storm. The strikes seem to be all over the city. A couple of rain drops hit the visor, and I am thinking that I would be forever thankful if I could just reach an exit to put on my rain gear again before the rain starts in earnest.
I get to an exit, and leave the highway, but its not an area of Syracuse that I'm familiar with. It has started to rain. I take a side street, and park the bike, illegally as it turns out, next to a hospital. The lightning is now striking really close, at my feet seems like, followed by deafeningly loud thunder. I retrieve my rain suit and motorcycle jacket from the side boxes, and while I go over to lean on the hospital wall to put the rain pants on, I, for some unknown reason, leave the rest of the outfit, and the jacket, and my gloves on the seat of the bike. It starts to rain so hard that in seconds there is a river of water rushing down the side of the road, must have been 4 feet wide. The bike is standing in a lake. By the time I have got the rain pants on I am left to put on the wet motorcycle jacket, then the wet rain jacket, the soaking gloves, and even the inside of the helmet is dripping. My glasses are smeared with rain drops as well, and the only thing I have to wipe them with is my wet gloves. Useless. I did feel quite despondent at that moment.
But, time moves on, and so did I, slowly at first as visibility was a bit of a problem, but gradually the rain stopped as I motored towards Watertown, aptly named I always thought, as this is the second trip when I've been nearly drowned on this section of road. By the time I get to Watertown, though, it doesn't look as though they've had any rain. I take the Arsenal Street exit and pull into the Express Mart for fuel. By way of explanation for my appearance, I tell the station attendant that I was caught in a cloudburst in Syracuse. Time is now 2:26am Saturday. Odometer reading, 51,541kms. A little over 24 hours and traveled 2,072 kms.
I take a few minutes here to re-adjust myself. I remove the rain jacket, but leave the pants on. Too tired to go through that process again. I figure the warm air might dry out the motorcycle jacket. There is about half a litre of water in the side box, a result of me leaving it open in Syracuse. I empty that and dry it with paper towels. I also change into dry gloves, as I noticed my hands and fingers have gone wrinkly.
Back on I-81 its only minutes to the Canadian border crossing, and once again I'm the only vehicle rolling up to the inspection booths – only one open at that time of night. Assuring the guard I am not importing any firearms or pepper spray I am allowed to enter the country, and soon find myself on the 401 headed west towards Toronto.
Its not raining, but I imagine it has recently as the road surface is wet, and passing trucks throw quite a spectacular flume of spray over me as they pass. I am in quite a bit of pain from, feels like welts on my backside, which continue to be chafed by my wet jeans. Fatigue is a constant companion now, so I am riding at a little over 100kms/hr, which means that virtually everyone is passing me by. The distance between service centres seems incredibly long. There is nowhere comfortable to sit anymore.
As I see the sky lightening behind me I feel it'll be a bit better after it gets light. Its not, sad to say. But, I am nearly at the end of the ride and somehow that does spur me on. The 401 is quite lightly traveled as its only 7am 'ish so I stay on it rather that head north to the 407. Eventually I turn north on Hwy 400 and exit at Rutherford road. Wow!. Made it. The time is 7:21am, exactly 29 hours and 19 minutes after I set out. Final odometer reading, 51965. A final distance traveled of 2,596kms, or 1,576 miles.
I have to say, this trip was right at the very edge of my endurance limit. I don't think I could have gone any further. But, then who knows what might happen on another day. In the end, I don't think its a bad achievement for an out of shape fellow, who has 60 years of age, not quite here yet, but definitely looking around the corner at him.