Milwaukee to Denver and Back: BBG, SS1K, SS2K

This ride started out as a BunBurner Gold but since I had to get home afterwards I added a SaddleSore 1000. Once I planned those two rides I realized that there was a SaddleSore 2000 in there too. As far as I'm concerned the BBG was the hardest part of this ride. The SS2K was just icing. The BunBurner Gold was planned from Milwaukee to Denver via Oklahoma City (1547.3 Miles). The SaddleSore 1000 was planned for the ride home which was from Denver straight back to Milwaukee (1052.3 Miles). Once I had those two planned I realized that I would hit 2000 miles in two days before 6:30 PM on the way home so I used my stop in Omaha, NE to get the SS2K papers signed. That was my route and I stuck to it as best I could and since it was all super-slab it wasn't hard to stick with it.

Here are links to the two routes:

1. BBG from Milwaukee to Denver (GPS shot at bottom of page)
2. SS1K from Denver to Milwaukee (GPS shot at bottom of page)

I'm trying to keep the ride report brief and just cover the more interesting parts of the ride because we know that for the most part it's a lot of riding with not a lot happening between gas stops at least when you're choosing the interstates as most of your route. The rain, severe thunderstorm warnings, and tornado warnings started popping up about an hour befyore I was due to leave. Maybe I should have held off but when you sign up for this type of sport you have to expect you're going to have to test your skills once in a while or what's the point and I thought I might get lucky and get south of it before it got to. I left on schedule at 6:30 PM CDT May 21st.

The rain was steady but not bad until I started into Illinois. It turned black and it began to get tough to see. I missed the turn off for I-39 and had to turn around. The median at this point was setup with a turn around lane so I used it. Thank goodness the GPS alerted me to my mistake since I was paying more attention to the traffic than the unexpected turn off I needed to make. I got back on course but had to slow because of the storm. I listened to the truckers on the CB to hopefully get information about the storm but the more I listened the more nervous I got. Most of them started pulling off at a rest area I passed but there was no power so all I had at this point was my new halogen xenon headlamp and my new HID passing lamps. Then I heard a trucker say, "That motorcycle has got a lot of balls being out here" over the CB. At that point I knew I needed to find cover because I wasn't going to make the next 10 miles to my first gas stop in this weather if it got any worse. I pulled off and headed 3 miles to the nearest gas station in Paw Paw, Illinois. It started to hail for a little bit and then started to let up. I decided to leave and head for my gas stop. I made it to my gas stop and the weather was gone! 75 degrees for the rest of the night all the way through Oklahoma!! It went from the worst to the best in a matter of 10 miles. I lost my cruise control but by the next gas stop it was back in action. Wish I knew why that happened but all I cared about at that point was that it was working again.

I passed the truckers on the way to St. Louis and they wondered why I just didn't stay at my last stop and call it a night. I gave them the story. They wished my well and told me if I could make it through that storm there was no doubt in their minds I was going to make it to Denver in plenty of time. I thanked them for the vote of confidence but as I glanced at my time card I wasn't so sure. I made it to St. Louis with no traffic and caught a look at the arch from the interstate. It was a sight to see in the middle of the night riding alone at the I-55/I-44 though the city. With the arch behind me I knew I was onto my next biggest challenge. The Ozarks in the middle of the night. I count my blessings that I didn't see a single four-legged obstacles all through the mountains. Running them at night was challenging but exciting. I finished Missouri and rolled onto the Oklahoma turnpike which presented a wind problem for the truckers but not for me since the concrete median provided a good wind break.

Morning broke as I headed north on I-35 and stopped at the one gas station that took me the longest to find before I left on my trip. The Fountain Oaks gas station Exit 141. I only bring this up because I hit a snag at this stop and didn't notice until I got home to copy my receipts. The timestamp on the receipt was wrong! This was an important turn to prove I went down to Oklahoma City since the toll receipts were in the middle of the turnpike, not at the end points. I ended up talking with the service tech for the station after I got home and he was nice enough to tell me that the pump computer system was messed up over the weekend and the time was off among other things. Hopefully getting his name and phone will be enough to resolve that issue. So checking that there is a time isn't enough. Checking that the time is at least half way right is important also.

The rest of the ride to Denver was uneventful but I was worned about the boredom that would ensue across Kansas and Coloroda until I got to Denver. The warnings were correct and although the night had a few low spots where I was a little groggy they didn't compare to the boredom I felt across Kansas. I would have changed my route and gone through Texas and up along the Rockies but since I knew time would be tight I wanted all interstate and the Texas route required some US and state highways so I'll leave it to a future ride to explore that route. I made it to Denver in just under 22 hours which surprised me but gave me a couple extra hours to visit with friends and still get a full nights sleep. The BBG was in the bag if the issue with my one receipt didn't disqualify me.

Dinner and visiting with friends was great but I knew I wasn't going to last past about 9:00 their time, 10:00 my time. So we headed back to their place gave the bike a once over as I started packing up for the morning. I was in bed at 9:30 and up at 5:30. I packed the bike and got back to the gas station I stopped at to finish the BBG so I could start my SS1K and continue the SS2K. CLOSED, ugh. Down the street I went to find the nearest gas station. I found one three blocks away and hoped that would be good enough as I started to worry about the fact that it's the second receipt I now have to worry about. As I made my way out of Denver I stopped at another gas station where the timestamp was wrong but I wouldn't find this out until I was home. Check your receipts, check your receipts, check your receipts!

I rolled into Omaha with good weather starting to turn cloudy again. I rolled off the interstate and realized my shifter linkage was broken. I feather the clutch to get to the gas station and started to fix it as I waited for Kevin Cummins to show up to sign my SS2K papers. I managed to zip tie the linkage and fill up just as Kevin rolled in. Kevin was nice enough to lend me some wire also just in case which made me feel a little better as I headed out. I have to thank Kevin for taking time out on a day that he was moving to come and witness for me. Thanks Kevin, I hope your move went well.

The ride home turned dark and started to rain on and off. The number of toll stops in Illnois started to suck but the car full of teenage idiots that managed to flush out the State Patrol made me feel better. ;) I rolled into Wisconsin and finally got to my exit after almost missing the I-43 turn off. It wasnm't over yet though as I still needed my end receipt. Amoco was closed and the Mobil had no timestamp. Luckily the pumps were on at Amoco so I filled up. No receipt printed out! Ugh. Pushed over to another pump and took 3 cents of gas. Got the receipt. What a relief after a long weekend. I made it home, 1047 miles, in 14.5 hours. I walked in to have my wife fill out the SS1K papers to finish out my weekend. Although the ride was not without its issues I still think everything went pretty well overall. Time will tell whether my receipt issues will be a problem.

I'm not much of reader of ride reports so I don't expect that anyone else will read this but me but I think the lessons learned will be worth a glance. Some I already knew but sometimes we need to be reminded. I know that was my situation in a couple places.

Lessons Learned
• Plan your stops (Use "The Next Exit", Yahoo, Mapquest, Infospace) and stick to them
• Make a timecard and post it on the windshield (What exit, number of miles, time of stop)
• Pay attention to the the next turn on the GPS (Sometimes it's smarter than you)
• Pick exits with more than one gas station (24 hour and truck stops are good)
• Bring every tool you can so you only need the ones you left at home
• Zip Ties, wire, and duct tape are your friends
• In a storm you can't have enough lights
• Belstaff gear is rain proof and well worth the money. Gloves and boots can't be waterproof enough.
• You cannot see through a windshield when it rains so make sure you can see over it
• Use the web to find your toll fees ahead of time and use baggies to have them ready for each toll stop
• Endurex or Cytomax is the ticket for a refreshment. Doesn't go through you like water and it doesn't build up acid in your stomach. It's just about perfect.
• Things weigh more when they're full. TIE IT DOWN.
• Carrying an extra gallon of fuel gives you one less thing to worry about
• The semi that is going to move over into your lane after you pass can't see you if you don't back off the SUV in front of you so BACK OFF!
• Check your receipt timestamps!!!! Carry a big clock so you can see the time at all times
• Cruise control is nice but don't depend on it
• Make a route, plan your stops, and stick to it. When you get back you'll be glad you did if you need to call a place you stopped.
• Sour Patch Kids are a good wake me up
• Harvest Power Bars and Zone Bars are good. Keep them in a small cooler behind you so you don't have to chop them up.
• A flip-up helmet is a great for waking up, eating, talking, etc.
• The beef nuggets are easier to eat than jerky and is a nice break from sweet snacks
• If you need to cover anything when it rains have the rain cover handy so it can be slapped on quickly and easily.
• Keep your next turn in mind. It will come up on you quicker than you think.
• Call all of your card issuers to let them know you'll be traveling and give them your cellphone number to call if you have one. They'll still turn on off your cards and call your house but it makes you feel better to yell at them that they didn't read their own notes when they flagged your card
• Make sure you not only have the phone number to your card issuers but the number to call when the card has been flagged. They are NOT always the same number.