Saturday morning I awoke somewhere between eastern and mountain time zones. Woody did not. We had a wonderful night. When I arrived Woody was still at the shop so I was greeted by another rider on a KLR with Alaska plates. He shall forever be known as Dave not Mark...
After getting the blessing to tag along from the ride leader I got down to business. I have been riding a GSA since 2003 and I rode some of the Alpine Loop while attending an Adventure Rider Rally at the Ouray KOA in 2004 so I had some familiarity with the area...
Compass card is spinning Helm is swinging to and fro Oh, where is the dog star Oh, where’s the moon You’re a lost sailor You’ve been too long at sea Indeed this is how I felt upon returning home. I wasn’t so unhappy about not finishing the...
Just over four weeks ago yesterday I started my fifth and final Iron Butt Rally. A test of endurance, strategy, planning and execution the Iron Butt Rally is an 11 day ride throughout all of the United States and Canada. It proved to be a mistake for me...
My first big motorcycle rally was the BMW Rider Association’s “National” in 1998. I was a new member of the Yankee Beemers which was the local club tapped to put on the rally for the BMW RA. The person who introduced me to the club had volunteered...
After enjoying a great ride to Florida it was time to enjoy what brought me south in the first place.Back in the day the finishers of the Iron Butt Rally would get together in Daytona for a pizza party. This was an intimate gathering as back then very few people had...
There are many ways for a Yankee to get to Daytona Bike Week and I’ve sampled just about all of them. I’ve put my bike in a trailer, on a trailer, in the bed of a pick up and I’ve even gone without a bike and flown to Florida. A few times...
Finishing the Iron Butt Rally is an experience unto itself. After over a year of planning, months of training, thousands of dollars spent and a little over 10 thousand miles of riding in 11 days it’s over. It is also a bit strange to see such a crowd...
Leg ThreeThere are certain types of bonuses that I prefer. These are generally isolated or so incredibly obvious (a lightship for example) that they are easy to find. Even better is when there is parking available where I can hang my flag on the case for a...
The bikeThe Iron Butt Rally can be very hard on a bike. From taking Sport Tourers down goat paths to running an over-loaded dual sport on western interstate the rally offers plenty of opportunities to make a new motorcycle old in only a little over a week.Fortunately...