New Gear - Boots!

I meant to post this up in March when I made the trip out to Florida, but ...

Part of my prep work for the IBR has included looking at my existing gear and getting comfort down there. This started last August in Tulsa at the IBA National, where I started stocking up on socks and underwear. I also decided that I needed new footwear, as my old boots had seen better days.



Other than being old, these boots have been fantastic. A bit tight when layering up socks with heated/winter gear, but otherwise no complaints. Very water proof, and tested in both the Atlantic AND the Pacific on multiple occasions. Maybe the salt water, combined with zero care taken on my behalf, is what led to them looking so bad in only 5 years. Well ... five years and about 90,000 miles.



And my new Sidi boots! A Christmas present from Cass, these boots are insanely comfortable when adjusted right and also waterproof to boot. The only problem I've encountered has been when I over-tightened the arch support once on my way out to Florida. Had I loosened it up when I started feeling pain, I probably would have been pretty good, but I was stubborn. They have a large sole, makes it easier to man handle the taller bikes, and adjust more easily to accommodate different sock thickness. Excellent ankle support ... I can say that drive a manual transmission car with these boots on is a bit of a pain. :)

Two Months and Counting!

With just over two months remaining until the start of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally, it's time to bring things into high gear.

Any waffling over whether I could afford the rally are in the past. I can't, but I can't afford to pass up the opportunity either. :) So, my grandiose plans for bike setup and support are out the window and we're running on more of a shoestring budget.

This weekend was supposed to be the first weekend ride to get myself back in shape, but alas it was not to be. The ride has been postponed to next weekend, so this weekend I'm working to get my web tools for friends and family sorted out. In addition to my SPOT providing tracking updates, and Hipcast giving me audio updates to the blog, I'm tying everything together through Twitter and Facebook for the friends of mine who use those resources for their updates. All this should make my life easier too ... as I only need to do updates once for everyone, rather than updating multiple places.

If been slacking off on posting my updates and progress in prepping for the IBR, and have had a false start or two along the way, but things should be taking shape now as the weekly rides start to form and last minute changes to the bike are finalized.

More to come!

IBA Spring Party

Executive Summary - good times.

I hadn't done any specific IBA events until the National meet last year in Tulsa. I've been trying to make if out for the spring party in Florida for the past 3-4 years, even had tickets once or twice, but never made it out. After the fun we had in Tulsa, doing these kinds of things with this group of people moved up on my priority list, and I'm glad it did.

Most of my closer friends that I hung out with in Tulsa weren't able to make it to Florida this year, which is always good and bad. Hated not catching up with them, but also talked to more people that I probably would have otherwise ... some people I've rallied with a few times, or even just names I've recognized off a riding forum or mailing list somewhere. Got to talk with Jim Bain and Andy Kirby for a pretty good bit before dinner. Also had several good convos with Mike Langford both before and after dinner.

For me, the best story of the weekend was one about Mike Allen. I met Mike for the first time last year at the Void IV. Mike's done lots of rallies, but apparently never got around to doing an IBA certified ride (the number of rally riders who haven't still surprises me), so decided to do a BBG (1500 miles in 24 hours) into Jax to knock one out in style. Yeah, BBGs are ranked as extreme rides and aren't usually encouraged for new riders, but Mike isn't exactly new, and got approval to go for it. For me, the BBG is still the toughest ride I've done ... having certified one back in 2005, and done another undocumented BBG back from California last November. So Mike heads out to start his BBG, and about a hour in comes across a stranded BMW rider on I-95 who's run out of gas. Now Mike's never met Claye, don't know she's involved with the IBA or MTF, just sees her trying to push her bike up the shoulder to the next exit. Mike pulls over to find out what's going on, and hearing it's just that she's out of gas, proceeds to start removing his fuel cell from his bike in order to dump some fuel into Claye's. Goes so far as to start trying to get fuel to go out the vent line when they can't get the quick disconnect on the fuel line to open. Claye finally asks whether he's on the clock or not, and learns about the BBG. Mike get's her sorted, then gets back to his ride. If I remember hearing from Kneebone right, Mike finished his ride with twelve minutes to spare. 12! After checking in and getting sorted, Mike just happens to run into Claye in the hotel to realize who he helped on the side of the road.

The lawn care company with the trailer full of mowers ... and full of gas cans ... couldn't stop to help Claye out, but a guy who is on the clock riding one of the toughest rides I've done yet, stops and helps, knowing it might well mean he runs over time. Just outstanding.

On a downer note, while a group of Harley riders (4 total I think) where receiving their first SaddleSore 1000 certificates (1000 miles in 24 hours) from Kneebone, news that sounds like my friend Bo Griffin's final drive on his BMW failed him on his way out to Florida with the group. I haven't been able to confirm with Bo yet, but sounds like he got hooked up with roadside assist to take care of his stuff, and the rest of his group continued on to Jax.

I'm starting to feel so overwhelmed with stuff that still needs to get done before August, but at least it's apparent that whatever the outcome ... there will be good people there to share the experience with.

You know what they say ...

One of the words of wisdom for any big motorcycle trip is to not make changes to the bike before heading out. Well, we'll throw that right out the window this trip. :)

About two weeks ago I received my custom bags ... custom tank bag and fuel cell cover. I really wanted to test out these bags on this trip, there's no time stress, short(ish) mileage, and no stress from being on the clock. Unfortunately, work has been hectic, so I didn't get a chance to install these bags until tonight.

The tank bag I'm not so worried about. It uses a strap system for mounting, which is something I'm not used to, but it looks to be pretty secure. The fuel cell cover, however, required some slight modification. For starters, in order to install the bag, I had to remove the vent line for the tank temporarily, so that I could thread the line through the bag. Once the bag was installed, the new vent line routing was longer than the previous, so it wasn't working out as just a plug and play setup. No worries, I needed to reroute the vent line anyway, but didn't plan to do it the night before.

All in all, it's a minor change, but I would have been a little more comfortable getting a few test miles in before hitting the road for Florida. I still need to install a fuel filter for the vent line, but I'll make that change when there's more test time before a ride.

Custom Bags Are Here!!!

Finally starting to feel like I'm making progress (even though I didn't do anything, Linda did all the work).

My custom bags (electric tank bag, rally book, and aux fuel tank cover with bike cover) all arrived from Florida today. I ordered these at the IBA National Meet in Tulsa last year, but understandably Linda has been swamped with orders from fellow IBR riders ... not to mention it was a lot of fabric to sew together (you have seen the barn door I call a windshield, eh?).

I'll get pictures shortly ... right now I need to clean up the bike a little so I can put this stuff on for a trial fit.

Tire Problem Resolved

As suspected, the sound in the rear wheel was coming from the tire pressure sensor which had detached itself from the wheel and was thrashing about for 3000 some odd miles. Once we got the tire off the rim, we found the different parts tossed around. No damage to either the tire or the wheel, so a new sensor was installed, tire remounted, and back on the street. Good to know in case the same thing happens in August ...

1st Test Ride of '09 Postponed ... Again

Hopefully not a sign of things to come...

My prep plan for the IBR had me trying to do at least one big ride a month, each month leading up to August. The ride I had planned for January got postponed due to scheduling conflicts, but was slated to go down this weekend, Feb 7. Everything in place, I go out to check the bike over before heading to bed ... check oil, tires, etc ... hmmm, something is rolling freely inside the rear wheel. Tire looks ok, pressure was as to be expected, but the noise is concerning. Most likely it's the tire pressure sensor that's come off since the last tire change ... might be ok, but I don't want to get all the way out to Van Horn TX to have the tire fail and me be stranded out there.

I'll get the bike into the shop tomorrow morning and see if I can't salvage some kind of ride this weekend.