Its July 4th. of 2009 and I'm getting reardy for the Iron Butt Rally which starts August 24th.

Since I picked up the cycle from Boxerworks Service I've persued the idea of riding at least one saddlesore every week until immediately before the rally.  A saddlesore is a minimum of 1,000 miles in 24 hours that is documented with starting and ending witnesses, reciepts and a fuel log.

Several weeks back I did what's called and "in-state" saddlesore which was 1,060 miles in a bit over 18 hours all inside of North Carolina.  There is one in the works for South Carolina and Tennessee in the weeks ahead.

On June 15th I started a 100CC Iron Butt Association ride.  This is a "do anytime" ride that involves riding coast to coast in 50 hours or less and then turning right around and returning to the original coast in 50 more hours.  There are specific rules and documentation on the IBA website.  At 11 pm on Sunday night I started from Wilmington, NC and 46 hours later was standing in the Pacific at San Diego.  45.5 hours later I was in the Atlantic at Jacksonville Beach, FL.  Total time on the  official ride was around 97 hours.  Then include the time riding to Wilmington and the time riding from Florida to Winston-Salem and I had a fun filled 106 hours.  The cycle ran flawlessly. Some folks suggested that I must have been flying butt I rarely went over the posted speed limits, this is after all a 50 horsepower cycle.  The way to successfully complete the ride is to stay in the saddle.

I really enjoy riding and this is one way to have fun and to get ready for the big ride.  On each ride the bike is packed exactly as it will be for the Iron Butt so I can get used to where I keep my gear.   I try for less than five minute fuel stops including updating the fuel log and storing the reciepts and so-far-so-good.

I'm also trying out a new brand of tires, Avon RoadRiders.  As of today I have 8,500 miles on the rear and 8,000 on the front.  The tires stand a little over 1/2" taller than the Bridgestone S11s I'd been running. There is an improvement in cornering and stability.  They are about the same as the Bridgestones on rain grooved pavement.

As far as grip, I'm a happy camper.  Two weeks ago I set off on a Friday night for a 1,000 miles ride through Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and home and three hours into the ride on I-81 in VA I ran into rain.  I noticed on the NXRAD weather radar on my GPS that the cell was going from yellow to red to an angry ochre color about the same time that the screen announced I was entering an area with a Tornado Warning.

The rain started coming down in a solid mass and traffic slowed to 15 mph.  It was 11:45 at night so there was fairly light traffic. Then the hail started, along with the rain. This was followed by a constant wind which was pushing the hail almost sideways.  Within a few minutes the hail was so deep on the interstate that it covered the lane markers and it looked like a snow-scape.

I pulled to the side of the highway three different times but realized that I was going to have to sit there for another forty minutes or so till the storm moved on and the hail was starting to sting.  There was no shelter or exit from the highway close by and the radar showed that I could be out of the storm in a few miles if I continued on, so thats what I did.

As I was midpoint in the storm I saw a tractor trailer about 2/10ths mile ahead in the right lane that suddenly was in the median. He didn't drive there, he was sort of deposited there.  I stopped and then asked on the CB radio if he needed help and his reply was that  he was "plumb stuck" and I should get moving again before someone came along. 

I ended up following another truck in the left wheel track which squished most of the hail and ice-mash out of the way.  Within a mile the hail stopped, another mile and the rain slacked off, three more and I was on dry pavement looking at the nearly full moon.  When I stopped at the next rest area to open the vents on my riding gear (it was 72 degrees) I found that the small dog-dish I have on my fairing for snacks was full of melting hail.

Through all of this the R60 was solidly planted and never missed a lick.  This has driven off any worries about how the Avons will handle bad weather as well as how reliable and steady the cycle is in the 'weather.'