Iron Butt SaddleSore 1000 - Looking for tips

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to attempt the SaddleSore 1000 this coming Saturday. Any tips or recommendations?

Thanks,

Wayne

Where are you going?

rhyeks said:

Where are you going?

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I'll leave Rock Hill, SC and am looking at two loops.

One goes down to Savannah to Alabama and back.

Second Option goes to Jacksonville to Alabama and back. Missing Atlanta.

wayne.bogan said:

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to attempt the SaddleSore 1000 this coming Saturday. Any tips or recommendations?

Thanks,

Wayne

Click to expand...

Just keep your pace, try to combine fuel, water and bathroom stops into one efficient stop, don't drink huge amounts of water at each stop or you'll need to stop again before your next fuel, plan your fuel stops so you have some reserve but not so frequent that you could go another 60 miles and of course avoid traffic, avoid riding into the sun at sun up or down and as you may expect peak times near major cities.

Thanks BMARC153920 for the feedback.

Visit the Iron Butt web site. They have many time tested tips.

Thanks akbeemer. I'm going through the site, good info.

First option looks like a better ride to me and might be a little cooler in the afternoon sun but you have to deal with Atlanta so timing there is important.

Be well rested before you start. Stay hydrated. Most riders find sipping/drinking frequently while riding is better than gulping something down at a stop. I use a water bottle with a drinking tube. Voni has a Platypus cell in her tank bag. Keep your necessary (fuel, bathroom, food, etc) stops as short as you can. Get off and walk around a little and stretch when you need to.

You only need to average 42 mph overall. Many SS1000 rides are done in 18 hours or less. That means you can ride several hundred miles, rest or sleep for 4 hours and still have plenty of time to finish in 24 hours. Or you can ride straight through if that suits your fancy.

Thanks mikegalbicka and PGlaves. Really appreciate the help.

I can't give much input on the second route, since I am not familiar with most of those roads. I can definitely give some opinion about the route thru Atlanta, since I unfortunately live in the Atlanta metro area. Unless you will be passing thru at 3 am, I would stay clear of Atlanta. Even on a Saturday, traffic can become a nightmare. Road construction creates backups and one accident can foul things up for a couple of hours. West of Atlanta to the Alabama line, I-20 has a few construction zones with speed limits posted at 50 mph IIRC, although many blast right thru at 70 or above, there can still be slow downs around these areas.

I hope you have a safe and uneventful ride.

I think the weather is looking great for either route. There may be some traffic in Tallahassee and Columbia around the ball games. You will not be far from me on part of your ride, so if you need anything, just get in touch. Good luck and enjoy your day of riding!

Just a couple thoughts.

• Timing is better in early June, just because of the increased daylight. You may want to consider postponing till next summer. Riding at night can be exhausting and you won't see as many potential dangers.
• Bring clothes for all the weather situations you think you could encounter. You don't want to be uncomfortable being either too hot, or too cold. It'll tire you out.
• Remember the SS1000 is really a test of the rider, not the bike. Heck, I did mine on a 400cc scooter. And the next day when I went to work, the bike was like nothing had happened the day before.
• That said, the biggest mechanical failure you might have is a flat tire. Bring your favorite tire repair kit with you. I like the Slime SPAIR that includes both the Slime solution and a air pump. Whether you feel safe riding the rest of the way on that, is a subject better reserved for a separate thread...but at least it'll get you off the side of the road.
• You'll be tired when you're finishing, so I'd leave early early in the morning so you're doing the night riding when fresh. When you're tired at the end, hopefully, you'll still be in some daylight.
• Plot out the approximate times that you'll hit the major cities...and traffic jams.
• Count on using more gas than you planned for. You'll probably ride a bit faster than normal and your mpg will decrease.
• I have a friend on another forum who tried a BBG and hit a road construction backup in the first couple hours. He didn't make it. In retrospect, he says if he had restarted his BBG timing and mileage after clearing the traffic jam, he would've made it. Don't lose track of what your ultimate purpose is.
• Be safe. While getting a SS1000 is great, no one will remember later but you. It's not worth making this the last ride of your lifetime.
• Enjoy the ride. The best memory I had was coming back across Eastern Washington, heading west. Traffic was light. There were some clouds over the Cascade Mountains ahead of me in the far distance. I just soaked in God's creation as the miles went by.
• Look at where you're ending at. Those same Cascades mountains were a mountain pass with road construction I hit in the dark and when really feeling tired. I know what I did was dumb, but I kept going even though I knew I should pull over for a few minutes of sleep. I was afraid that if I slept for 20 minutes, I wouldn't wake up. As I hit the top of the pass, not only was it dark, but I hit rain for the rest of the trip home. That was a really bad combination of events at the last couple hours.
• Don't service your bike in the last day. Check the oil. But don't take it in for a service check at the dealer. Too many people have taken their bikes in for a thorough checkup and service at the dealership, then set out the next day...only to find the technician forgot to fasten something and they are now broke down at the edge of town.

Chris

Thanks ducster, rhyeks, and daboo. Really appreciate the feedback.

ducster, Think I'll skip the loop with Atlanta. That was one of my concerns already.

rhyeks, thanks for the offer for help. Hope I won't need it but appreciate the offer. Used to live in Charleston, love the area.

daboo, great points. Luckily I know the early morning and late evening routes very well but will consider if I should postpone until next summer.

wayne.bogan said:

Thanks ducster, rhyeks, and daboo. Really appreciate the feedback.

ducster, Think I'll skip the loop with Atlanta. That was one of my concerns already.

rhyeks, thanks for the offer for help. Hope I won't need it but appreciate the offer. Used to live in Charleston, love the area.

daboo, great points. Luckily I know the early morning and late evening routes very well but will consider if I should postpone until next summer.

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You got the route, the bike, the desire and the time do it now because you never know what tomorrow brings.

Be sure to keep your gas receipts, etc. in an organized way. Have a designated place to stash them where they won't get lost, and where you can stash them in a hurry and be on your way. You don't want to get 30 miles down the road and realize you forgot the last receipt. The SaddleSore is a piece of cake. Too many just get on Interstate, ride 500 miles, turn around and ride back...I did mine on secondary roads , as have many others. It was a long time ago when I did mine, and things may have changed, but at the time Mike Kneebone wasn't very forgiving about sloppy record keeping. Rules are rules.

wayne.bogan said:

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to attempt the SaddleSore 1000 this coming Saturday. Any tips or recommendations?

Thanks,

Wayne

Click to expand...

Wayne, thanks for posting on this great subject, hope it went well or goes well in the future,

I for one did my first SS via interstate ,, 500 one way and did the return, reason being, hey the unexpected could happen, like you get to tired and don't want to finish, plus there are tons of hotels, food stops, rest
Stops etc.. Which I felt gave me the confidence to do it for my first time..

Klim camel back for water, drink small amounts more often was key for me and I didn't cramp up, plus
Eat what you would normally would eat when your hungry and need to snack..don't try a red bull
Or 5 hour energy crap, or nutritional stuff your system may reject or having bowel issues.
I did one trip where I stopped and sucked down blue Gatorade, that crap layed heavy in my stomach,
And oh boy.. I had to pull over and toss my cookies..

And I left at a comfortable early (7am), I am not an early riser, so I knew by trying to leave 4-5 am
I would be miserable and spent by 2 in the afternoon,
Don't put yourself into a too high expectation, and enjoy the ride!! 24 hours is more than enough time,
Slow and steady wins the Race.
Take pictures of receipts, mileage on bike at each stop, I created a portfolio of actual receipts, plus
Pictures, a copy of google map route as well.

All the best,