seeking advice/comment for a 1000mi in 24 hr ride next month

2220 Views 56 Replies 34 Participants Last post by Charlie Chaplain, 4 d ago

OracleDba

Discussion Starter · 23 d ago

My local ohio IMRG is doing a 1000 mi in 24 hr ride June 10th we are meeting 4am and once assembled - away we go.

I think they did this last year too but I didn't attend.
I have no experience with a ride of this duration. I have already "signed up" 15 of us so far.
I will attend but no idea what to expect hence seeking input...

I am seeking advice/comment with 3 questions:
a) in the 30 day's between now and then what (if anything) should I do to prepare for ride.
b) what, if anything should I do in the 24-48 hrs before 4am June 10th
c) general advice.

Additional background:
I am not worried about my overall skill level, I ride almost daily, doing ~11K a year.
I ride at night often, ride in rain often enough, and parking lot practice almost every ride.
Though I confess most days describing what I do as parking lot practice is being generous.
There's a lot at corner of street and I whip in, and do a few fig 8's trying to hit 18' loops but getting 19' loops.
followed by at least one attempt of being at 20 mph with covered brake and trying to stop in 15' but getting 17'
with these two things done I decree myself done and proceed with the day.
I normally rise at 7.
'
I routinely carry:
a toolkit sufficient to jump batteries, inflate tires, and fix minor issues solvable with MC hand tools.
a first aid kit with stuff I have seen others need over the years: OTC pillls/bandaids/bandages/bug-bite/creams/anti-itch/ace bandages/two tourniquets.
3 bottles of water
I have a pouch with hard candy, BP Rx
I ride with ear protection
MC phone holder charges by magnetic induction when phone is cradled.
Mechanically bike in great shape and will be due for oil change end of May.

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ridehard76

· #41 · 13 d ago

Sounds like the old iron butt ride. It's a very doable ride I would suggest how ever setting it up break it up in Small groups even if you ride an hour apart

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Dochardtail

· #42 · 10 d ago

Great advice from all,but could I add one more.
Toilet paper lol.
And not a roll,but the small square size that fit in your pocket.and leave it in your pocket.
That is if you have an affliction for gas station burritos and your route takes you to small gas stations that don't let you know they haven't refilled said paper and you had no idea untill you sat down.
Not that I have any idea about that.

Reactions: 2

Whiskey Tango

· #43 · 9 d ago (Edited)

My Iron Butt runs are solo - it's easier that way.

To the point of your post, +1 on being slept-up prior to the departure date. The old answer to the old question of, "When does a good soldier sleep?" is "Whenever he can!"

+1 on the Airhawk and the hydration pack. Staying hydrated is important. Having energy (protein, sugar and salt) snacks on your tank bag and assessible on the roll is good. Beef jerky is good.

To your specific questions:
a) in the 30 day's between now and then what (if anything) should I do to prepare for ride.
Exercise, bend, stretch, mild muscular-skeletal toning. If you can, swim!

b) what, if anything should I do in the 24-48 hrs before 4am June 10th
Sleep, bland diet, nothing your system isn't used to, avoid alcohol and excessive caffeine, relax!

c) general advice.
Bicycle rider underwear, powder (monkey butt sucks).
Make sure you wear (and ride) with all your gear in advance. Hot spots and stuff that's irritating sucks on a Saddlesore 1000. In many parts of the country, 1000 in 24 is simple easy.

One last thing; there's no shame in quitting if things just aren't right and safety is compromised. But dead or really banged up isn't good and is unfair to your loved ones and those who count on you. Be safe and have fun.

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vsteel

· #44 · 9 d ago

Something I have not seen called out, unless I missed it.

Start really early in the morning so when you are at your most tired you are finishing up when the sun is up. When you are starting out and most fresh, that is when you handle the dark. Nothing worse than being tired and riding in the dark.

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Mr. P

· #45 · 9 d ago

I rode from Iowa City Iowa to Deckers Colorado. Started out at midnight and arrived at the cabin around 4pm. Needed 65 miles to complete the 1000 mile mark. Went farther than I should have and ended up with 1001 mi. in Fairplay Colorado. Coming over the Kenosha Pass was spectacular. BUT, I was dog tired by the time I got to Fairplay and the temps started to drop fast at 10,000 ft. Had to drive back on unfamiliar road in the dark and cold with every deer in Teller county out for a walk about. No cell service and the wife was frantic when I arrived back at the cabin. NOT a good way to start a vacation. Lesson learned: Watch out for brain fog toward the end of the trip!

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Dochardtail

· #46 · 8 d ago

I have the weather radar downloaded on my phone,makes it easier to skirt heavy rain.
Sometimes just takes a 100 miles out of your way.
I hate riding in the rain.

Reactions: 1

Cameroni79

· #47 · 8 d ago

It’s funny to me when I see the dire warnings. When I’ve done long rides they were all on a whim with no prep at all. It’s possible that I’m just that big of a bone head. I never considered that I wouldn’t make it. I made the hotel reservation in Vicksburg Mississippi and started riding. To be fair my longest ride was on the pan america. It’s by far the most comfortable bike I’ve ever ridden.

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Lee-Bro

· #48 · 8 d ago

So funny thing, I'm doing an Iron Butt ride on Sunday. We're kickstands up at 8am. We're doing a loop around the state of Ohio and it's just 3 of us. The guy coordinating things has a cousin who lives about 1/2 through the loop and we're planning on resting at their place for a few hours in addition to scheduled stops.

I plan on recording the entire ride on my Insta360, may live stream some of it, and will definitely report back on my experience.

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Dochardtail

· #49 · 8 d ago

Cameroni79 said:
It’s funny to me when I see the dire warnings. When I’ve done long rides they were all on a whim with no prep at all. It’s possible that I’m just that big of a bone head. I never considered that I wouldn’t make it. I made the hotel reservation in Vicksburg Mississippi and started riding. To be fair my longest ride was on the pan america. It’s by far the most comfortable bike I’ve ever ridden.

I'm the same,I just take off,but I did download a radar app in a rest stop,under a picnic table in a rain storm,lol.
The toilet paper I'd rather not go into.

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Dochardtail

· #50 · 8 d ago

Dochardtail said:
I'm the same,I just take off,but I did download a radar app in a rest stop,under a picnic table in a rain storm,lol.
The toilet paper I'd rather not go into.

Did I mention those big gas station burritos?

Reactions: 2

Cameroni79

· #51 · 8 d ago

Dochardtail said:
I'm the same,I just take off,but I did download a radar app in a rest stop,under a picnic table in a rain storm,lol.
The toilet paper I'd rather not go into.

Hah! There’s a good man. I wore an adv suit and ignored the rain completely. Pretty sure i rode through all four season that day. I drank a big bottle of Mountain Dew zero at every stop and went with a 12” subway. I also found it super useful to switch between audio books and music on my Cardo.

Reactions: 1

Lee-Bro

· #52 · 8 d ago

Dochardtail said:
I'm the same,I just take off,but I did download a radar app in a rest stop,under a picnic table in a rain storm,lol.
The toilet paper I'd rather not go into.

In Boy Scouts we learned to each carry a roll of t.p. in a small coffee can and had a plastic lid. I think my troop had the worst weather luck when it came to camping, one time we saw a guy with a bunch of animals building what looked like a large boat. But I digress...

No matter how lousy the weather was, there were two things we knew would be there: 1) dry toilet paper, and 2) Scout Water to get a fire going even in the rain.

I keep a small roll double bagged in one of my saddlebags to this day. The old coffee can was too cumbersome.

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DarkHorse65

· #53 · 7 d ago

Wow!!! 1000 mi. My ass hurts just thinking about it. My best was 800 over 3 days,

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New Mexico Boondocker

· #54 · 4 d ago

There's a lot of good info on here and many of it from likewise experienced iron butt riders.

I would emphasize...

If you haven't ridden a few 700+ miles in a day, I suggest you give that a whirl before you go out and attempt the SS1000. When you've already knocked down 700 miles and realize you still have about a 1/3 of the ride left, it can be daunting.

I'm a solo rider by nature and there's no way I'd go on a SS1000 with a group. I realize that's a personal opinion but there's too much stuff going on with a group. What are the experience levels of the other riders? What happens if someone has a flat? Does the group all stop? Do they move on? Stops with a large group will be mess b/c it will take people a long time to fuel, use the bathroom and piddle around with water/food. Some guidelines or expectations of how your ride is impacted would be helpful so you can manage expectations. I realize this may sound a bit harsh but after doing group rides, I realized that I'm a solo rider by nature.

Whatever you choose to do, be safe and scrub the ride if it becomes zoo. You can always come back and do it again with a smaller group or solo.

- Tim

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Lee-Bro

· #55 · 4 d ago (Edited)

2

@OracleDba -I just did a SS1000 w/ a couple of friends, one who put the ride & route together (and lead the ride) mostly in Ohio for me (image below), here are my thoughts:

We rode the speed limit the whole time, meaning, I couldn't get them to go +5 or +10 over, even when the highway limit was 50mph or 55mph. As I said earlier in the thread, this is a marathon, not a sprint, but if you can safely ride +5 on the Interstate vs. posted limits, you'll likely shave 1-1.5 hours off actual road time. Find out what your group's plan is regarding pace vs posted speed limits.
The Mayflies in Sandusky are/were swarming in the lake regions and without a windshield, I would've been screwed, even w/ a full face helmet (see photo below).
A backrest, highway pegs, windshield, and fully comfortable seat are mandatory (for me). My Russell Day Long seat held up to its name. My butt was fine the entire time and NOT sore the following days. My shoulders...
Speaking of shoulders, make sure your handlebars are set at a comfortable position for extended riding. This is one thing I need to work on w/ my Springfield -They're rotated as far back as possible, but I still ended up w/ the pain between the shoulder blades. I may need to rotate them up a bit.
EDIT TO ADD: if you're not regularly exercising now, start. Get to the gym, do workouts at home, etc. Get your shoulders, arms, and core accustomed to being worked. Push-ups, dumbbell extensions, sit ups/crunches/planks, etc. You know how to look up exercises and figure out what you should work on.

Other thoughts I had about doing this in a group:

Find out if it's going to be split into two packs and if you're going to be leap-frogging each other on the stops, or will both groups hit the same stops.
Find out if the stops are going to be pre-planned and if not, are they going to be based on time, mileage or a combo of both?
A group of this size (you mentioned 15) sometimes will have a support vehicle. Will this ride have one? If so, will they be able to carry some gear, lightening the load of the individual riders?
What is the rain/severe weather plan?

Again, good luck and I look forward to seeing how it goes for you.

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Dean E

· #56 · 4 d ago

Defiantly do the Air Hawk! My suggestion is two things. First use Monkey Butt or talcum powder and generously do your legs and backside. Try to find some seamless underwear. Stitching on the backside will start to chafe on a very long ride. Try to take quick 1 minute breaks to keep the blood flowing even if you feel like you don’t need too. If you wait till you start getting sore it is too late. Dean

Reactions: 1

Charlie Chaplain

· #57 · 4 d ago

I use Gold Bond Medicated powder. It’s really good for preventing monkey butt..
Reminds me of a story I once heard…
President Clinton was on a road trip, and one of his Secret Service men asked him how he was doing. He answered, man, I’m doing ok, but when I get home, I’m gonna rip Hillary’s panties right off!!
‘The Secret Service agent replied, wow, I didn’t know you missed her that much!
The President replied, I don’t miss her at all, but they’re chafing me!!
Charlie

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