The 1600 Mile Day
I have never posted the story about this ride. Seems like a good time for a story about a cold weather ride.
The April weather in Wisconsin had been cold and this would be my first long ride of the year.
I had two reasons to try this ride, first I needed one more Gold rated IBA ride to receive the IBA Silver Mile Eater certificate and also to see if I could complete another BBG1500, 1500+ miles in less than 24 hours.
To receive the Mile Eater Silver you must complete 5 IBA rides in a 12 month period and two of the rides must be rated Gold or Extreme.
I had completed 5 IBA rides but only one was rated Gold so I needed one more Gold before mid-June 2014.
Four IBA rides in June 2013 - Mt. Evans-Death Valley-Pikes Peak - ADVrider
One in September 2013 - The Wisconsin 1000 - Day Ride Around Wisconsin - ADVrider
This ride started in southeastern Wisconsin on April 17th at 8:03 am (receipt time), it was colder than I thought it would be, colder than the forecast!
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The route was simple. Leave the Milwaukee area, ride to Julesburg, Colorado and then return until I reached the 24 hour point. The goal was to ride over 1500 miles in less than 24 hours. The IBA BBG1500.
The Spot Tracker map -
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The first 500 miles went well - (The next 500 miles also went well - 1000 miles in a little under 15 hours)
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The temps rose to 55 degrees in western Nebraska
but there was still snow along the side of the road -
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Everything looked like it was dead -
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The sun was starting to set as I reached the Colorado border -
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Once I reached Colorado I needed a gas receipt to show my location before I turned around. I also bought a Colorado jacket pin and took a picture at the sign - Taking pictures does add some time to the rides.
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The sun set in Colorado and then the temperature quickly dropped. By 2:00 am it was 31 degrees. It would be a long, cold night!
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At 6:08 am it was 29 degrees!! - A LOT colder than I thought it would be!!! What's the wind-chill?
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On the return trip in Lincoln, Nebraska, I-80 was closed and I had to take a long, slow detour. This added time to the ride and an extra gas stop would be needed to prove the extra miles ridden - I also used the Spot Tracker to show the detour -
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Watching the sun rise in eastern Iowa -
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I arrived at my planned stop in Hillsdale, IL at 6:52 am. I had ridden over 1500 miles but I still had a little over an hour of ride time left so I decided to see if I could reach the 1600+ mile point. I left and headed north but I didn't know where I would be able to get a receipt to stop the clock. There are not a lot of gas stations in this area.
It was an exciting finish as I rode into the gas station in Rochelle, IL with only 11 minutes to spare. The gas receipt showed 7:52 am. The GPS mileage was 1606.9 miles!
Spot Tracker start and finish -
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It had warmed up to 41 degrees!
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1606.9 miles in 23 hours and 49 minutes based on receipt time -
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After the timed part of the ride ended I still needed to ride another 100+ miles to get home.
The stats -
Total trip time based on receipt time - 23 hours and 49 minutes
GPS mileage - 1606.9 miles
Odometer - 1601.8
Moving average speed - 74 mph
Overall average speed - 68 mph
Moving time - 21 hours and 44 minutes
Average MPG - 35.58 - My lowest fuel mileage on an IBA ride. Cold weather?
This ride was approved but I am still currently waiting for the IBA Mile Eater Silver Certificate.
I have never posted the story about this ride. Seems like a good time for a story about a cold weather ride.
The April weather in Wisconsin had been cold and this would be my first long ride of the year.
I had two reasons to try this ride, first I needed one more Gold rated IBA ride to receive the IBA Silver Mile Eater certificate and also to see if I could complete another BBG1500, 1500+ miles in less than 24 hours.
To receive the Mile Eater Silver you must complete 5 IBA rides in a 12 month period and two of the rides must be rated Gold or Extreme.
I had completed 5 IBA rides but only one was rated Gold so I needed one more Gold before mid-June 2014.
Four IBA rides in June 2013 - Mt. Evans-Death Valley-Pikes Peak - ADVrider
One in September 2013 - The Wisconsin 1000 - Day Ride Around Wisconsin - ADVrider
This ride started in southeastern Wisconsin on April 17th at 8:03 am (receipt time), it was colder than I thought it would be, colder than the forecast!
The route was simple. Leave the Milwaukee area, ride to Julesburg, Colorado and then return until I reached the 24 hour point. The goal was to ride over 1500 miles in less than 24 hours. The IBA BBG1500.
The Spot Tracker map -
The first 500 miles went well - (The next 500 miles also went well - 1000 miles in a little under 15 hours)
The temps rose to 55 degrees in western Nebraska
but there was still snow along the side of the road -
Everything looked like it was dead -
The sun was starting to set as I reached the Colorado border -
Once I reached Colorado I needed a gas receipt to show my location before I turned around. I also bought a Colorado jacket pin and took a picture at the sign - Taking pictures does add some time to the rides.
The sun set in Colorado and then the temperature quickly dropped. By 2:00 am it was 31 degrees. It would be a long, cold night!
At 6:08 am it was 29 degrees!! - A LOT colder than I thought it would be!!! What's the wind-chill?
On the return trip in Lincoln, Nebraska, I-80 was closed and I had to take a long, slow detour. This added time to the ride and an extra gas stop would be needed to prove the extra miles ridden - I also used the Spot Tracker to show the detour -
Watching the sun rise in eastern Iowa -
I arrived at my planned stop in Hillsdale, IL at 6:52 am. I had ridden over 1500 miles but I still had a little over an hour of ride time left so I decided to see if I could reach the 1600+ mile point. I left and headed north but I didn't know where I would be able to get a receipt to stop the clock. There are not a lot of gas stations in this area.
It was an exciting finish as I rode into the gas station in Rochelle, IL with only 11 minutes to spare. The gas receipt showed 7:52 am. The GPS mileage was 1606.9 miles!
Spot Tracker start and finish -
It had warmed up to 41 degrees!
1606.9 miles in 23 hours and 49 minutes based on receipt time -
After the timed part of the ride ended I still needed to ride another 100+ miles to get home.
The stats -
Total trip time based on receipt time - 23 hours and 49 minutes
GPS mileage - 1606.9 miles
Odometer - 1601.8
Moving average speed - 74 mph
Overall average speed - 68 mph
Moving time - 21 hours and 44 minutes
Average MPG - 35.58 - My lowest fuel mileage on an IBA ride. Cold weather?
This ride was approved but I am still currently waiting for the IBA Mile Eater Silver Certificate.
