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Fundraiser for the Ultimate Coast to Coast World Record Attempt

I think it is great for someone to try such feats... though i still prefer to go by the IBA feeling that it at the end of the day is about SAFETY, and Safe Riding long distances... granted the Tri-ifica has been done by a few people (4500miles 72hrs) but that is still a platinum level IBA ride that is risky to say the least with the amount of others on the road he has to deal with and deal with him... I have stopped short multiple times in BBG1500 rides and other like 1kss for weather to just bad timing instead of over pushing the limits... and i do push the limits... 18hrs and 1020 miles last week is just warming up somedays..

Giennus World Records stopped allowing records on public roads a while ago.




But if he is a terminal Insominac then it is a great use of his time...
 
It's A Go!!!

Scheduled to arrive in Fairbanks on 23 May +/- a day or two. Two days at my place for tires, oil change and any other required maintenance, then he heads north to Deadhorse.
 
Kevin,

Please be sure to share photos when he arrives. Wish we had thought to put a SPOT on his bike so we could all share the progress in real time.

Paul
 
Is he attempting this "feat" in stages and using elapsed time or is he planning to just do this in one shot?

If he's planning on doing this I would consider supporting him provided he used a closed track where no one else is at risk for his fatigue and sleep deprivation. Doing this on the open roads with other folks driving there is neither smart nor safe.
 
Sadly, we've become a nation of critics.

What we need are dreamers and doers.

John's a doer. With the talent and skill and experience to get it done. Safely.

Getting ready to celebrate!

Voni
 
The site below provides some interesting background info on Mr. Ryan. Some of us that lead traditional lives can feel mystified, maybe even challenged by a person who dances to a different drummer. He will be the third such individual I've hosted in my home in as many months (Sjaak Luccesen / Doris Weidermann) and I find them fascinating; not to mention entertaining people with whom to share an adult beverage.

http://longerfasterstronger.wordpress.com

(Guess he's really the 5th such person. Had those adventurers Paul and Voni stop in for a visit last summer too!)

 
Last edited:
AKBeemer said:
The site below provides some interesting background info on Mr. Ryan. Some of us that lead traditional lives can feel mystified, maybe even challenged by a person who dances to a different drummer. He will be the third such individual I've hosted in my home in as many months (Sjaak Luccesen / Doris Weidermann) and I find them fascinating; not to mention entertaining people with whom to share an adult beverage.

http://longerfasterstronger.wordpress.com

(Guess he's really the 5th such person. Had those adventurers Paul and Voni stop in for a visit last summer too!)
Click to expand...

:wow

That's pretty tough company ; )

I can vouch that your hospitality is beyond measure!

Voni
sMiling
 
Good luck on the quest for the new record. Gary Eagan's record, I presume, still stands. Some individuals have ability, skill and discipline acquired through experience and pose no significant risk to themselves or the general public, which is why most riders in IB complete the event tired, but, unscathed. I believe that their safety per mile excees that of motorcyclists in general.

Endurance riding is about expanding the time, distance, speed envelope. It attracts riders for multitude reasons and is best evaluated by those that have participated in such events. While there is a competitive nature to it, the real challenge is the personal quest for the participant to go beyond what has previously been done by that rider in previous attempts. It isn't about physical endurance as much as transcending preconceived and self imposed limits. It is a mind game. It is exhilirating.

In the 80s, the 1000 in 24 attracted a few. Other western state events expanded the mileage, then they expanded the duration. 24 hours gave way to 36 hour events and, then, 48 hour events. Doing 2K in 24 became a reality to those that were prepared and several have achieved it. Notably, without fatalities or public damage. There have always been critics, mostly within motorcycle fraternities. There have been cries for limitations, mandatory rest stops and other nonsense that simply gets in the way of striving to reach the highest level of endurance possible.

Still, the Cognoscente forge ahead, achieve what hasn't been done before and in the process get a glimpse of human and machine potential. Motorcycling is the symbiosis of man and machine in whatever format one chooses, each depending on the other. It is riding pure and simple and assigns the rhetoric of the naysayers to the same trash heap that has held back progress and advancement since human history was recorded. We have no idea of our ultimate potential.

Ride hard, young man.
 
The premier endurance race is the Le Mans. Even they use multiple drivers working in shifts and for a 24 hour race. It's also done on a track where there is no risk to the general public.

This "endeavor" for a meaningless record is neither smart nor safe. After 48 hours of sleep deprivation the driver reflexes and higher brain functions are significantly degraded. After 72 hours the degradation is more than a little severe. There are far more effective ways to support charity than a silly stunt like this.

I'll state it again. If he wants to pull off a stunt like this it needs to be done on a track, not in traffic. Doing so in traffic is irresponsible at best and extremely negligent at worst.

Ron White said it when he coined the phrase, "You can't fix stupid".
 
Motor31 said:
The premier endurance race is the Le Mans. Even they use multiple drivers working in shifts and for a 24 hour race. It's also done on a track where there is no risk to the general public.
Click to expand...

i'm pretty sure that Mr. Ryan will not pose much of a danger to those who happen to cross paths with him during his journey.

as someone who tried a few long distance rides, i know it is not for me. i'm an 8 hour a night sleeper, i don't work well on little sleep or weird schedules. some people are perfectly coherent and highly functional on a sleep schedule different than mine. John also has a ton of LD riding under his belt and what i've learned from most people who do these sort of endurance rides is that sleep and fatigue are king. they will stop if they feel they are putting themselves or others at danger. no LD record is worth injury or death.
 
freedom45 said:
Good luck on the quest for the new record. Gary Eagan's record, I presume, still stands. Some individuals have ability, skill and discipline acquired through experience and pose no significant risk to themselves or the general public, which is why most riders in IB complete the event tired, but, unscathed. I believe that their safety per mile excees that of motorcyclists in general.

Endurance riding is about expanding the time, distance, speed envelope. It attracts riders for multitude reasons and is best evaluated by those that have participated in such events. While there is a competitive nature to it, the real challenge is the personal quest for the participant to go beyond what has previously been done by that rider in previous attempts. It isn't about physical endurance as much as transcending preconceived and self imposed limits. It is a mind game. It is exhilirating.

In the 80s, the 1000 in 24 attracted a few. Other western state events expanded the mileage, then they expanded the duration. 24 hours gave way to 36 hour events and, then, 48 hour events. Doing 2K in 24 became a reality to those that were prepared and several have achieved it. Notably, without fatalities or public damage. There have always been critics, mostly within motorcycle fraternities. There have been cries for limitations, mandatory rest stops and other nonsense that simply gets in the way of striving to reach the highest level of endurance possible.

Still, the Cognoscente forge ahead, achieve what hasn't been done before and in the process get a glimpse of human and machine potential. Motorcycling is the symbiosis of man and machine in whatever format one chooses, each depending on the other. It is riding pure and simple and assigns the rhetoric of the naysayers to the same trash heap that has held back progress and advancement since human history was recorded. We have no idea of our ultimate potential.

Ride hard, young man.
Click to expand...

I've stayed quiet because I didn't want to rain on this guys parade, but after reading this "superman" speech I have to say, again, look at the math:

Prudhoe Bay to Key West is 5566 miles. Dividing that by 96 hours means you have to average 57.979mph for the duration of the 96 hours. That doesn't account for sleep, food and fuel stops, or the fact that averaging nearly 60mph on the Dalton is not likely.

Study after study after study has shown how badly reaction time drops in sleep deprived people. They found that people who drive after being awake for 17 to 19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent.

So I ask, when is he going to sleep? 96 hours = 4 days. Lets still be risky but give him 4 hours of sleep a day with no other stops. That cuts him down to 84 hours to cover 5566 miles. Now he has to average 69.5mph over the trip. Not only is averaging 69.5mph over the whole trip pretty hard, 4 hours of sleep a day for 4 days is not nearly enough sleep from a safety standpoint. They don't let truckers do that for a reason.

I can see the IBA thing - you can cover 1000 miles in 24 hours averaging just under 60mph and still get 7 hours of sleep a night. You can even do the 1500 in 36 and get some good sleep in the middle.
 
Josh, I'll disagree with your assessment of his ability to average 57 or higher on the Dalton. It's been done at much higher averages. A skilled rider with little likelihood of being pulled for speeding means this could be a stretch where one gains a bunch of time.
 
AKBeemer said:
Josh, I'll disagree with your assessment of his ability to average 57 or higher on the Dalton. It's been done at much higher averages. A skilled rider with little likelihood of being pulled for speeding means this could be a stretch where one gains a bunch of time.
Click to expand...

Even so, he has to average a pretty high overall speed to keep an average of 60, and again, that's a figure for sleepless riding. For example, I rode from Raddison, QC to North Bay, Ontario - 752 miles. I was averaging 80+ on the James Bay Road (slowing for bumps), but after fuel and only one "long" stop to eat, I still ended up averaging about 60mph. Get rid of my food stop and switch to only gas stops and I'm sure I would have been averaging a little bit higher, but in the end I'm just saying, even forgetting about the Dalton and considering the distance he has to go, I don't see how this is safe since even getting very small amounts of sleep takes his average up to 70mph or more.

I hadn't really posted much about this after my initial post because I didn't want to rain on the parade, but seeing some of the talk of "superhuman" bothered me a little. Nobody can function on a lack of sleep, regardless of if they think so - humans need sleep. I hope he IS smart enough to stop if he's endangering others on the road. I'd enjoy seeing his trip plan, just to know how much sleep he has planned. I honestly hope he has a safe ride.
 
Understand your concerns and such an endeavor is not without risk. Because he's on a bike and not in a car the risk to others is small. In my opinion we have become a risk averse society which can lead to mediocrity and blandness. It's as if Ralph Nadar and Phil Donahue have taken control of our society. Yes we are safer for it, but sometimes don't you get the urge to to run with scissors? There are those that consider people like you a wild eyed fanatic because you ride a bike; these same people would support legislation to stop you irrational and irresponsible behavior. I think we are better off if we have people willing to take a risk and run that appliance without a three prong plug.
 
Endurance riding is a specialized endeavor and to perform well takes progressively longer saddle time during which one acquires added skills and discipline. Auxilliary fuel allows for saddle times of four to five hours staight, yet, there are many riders that would find it impossible to stay in the saddle for that length of time. An experienced rider can do it repeatedly. This is part of the process of minimizing the physical barrier to achievement. The tougher aspect are the mental barriers.

Overcoming fatigue and finding the individual mechanisms to stay alert for extended periods of time requires a dedicated effort, but, it can and has been done multiple times. I don't disagree with some of the observations about diminished reaction times and the effect of fatigue in general. But, that's exactly the point -- experienced and successful endurance riders have acquired the ability to extend their safe riding envelope. They can and do recognize when the "signs" of fatigue are beginning to have an affect and react accordingly.

Granted, this level of riding is difficult to master and, in many ways, is beyond the interest or ability of the majority. No problem. OTOH, I would caution those that have neither talent nor inclination to participate at this level to recognize there are some select riders that have gone well beyond the limitations that they, the critics, cite or perceive. Beyond that, it seems those critics that simply can't recognize the ability of others are, perhaps, a bit too quick to dismiss those that give us an idea of the human potential when man meets machine.

Endurance riding is not the place for moma's boyz, whiners or slackers, all of whom drop out early on. It is a tough endeavor where seldom is found disparaging words about those rider's integrity or ability that choose not to participate. It would be nice if that were reciprocal.

Go get the record! Smash it!
 
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