Breakfast In New Orleans -- SS1000 #2
Purpose: Ride an SS1000 starting Saturday Morning at 12:00 am, finishing around 5-6 PM Saturday Afternoon. The route has been planned for 1037 (Microsoft maps) Miles, 16 hours, with 6 planned stops.
Route: Leave Loganville, GA, travel via Ga Routes 81 & 138 to Conyers, west on I-20 to Birmingham AL through Eutaw AL to join I-59 near Meridian MS. I will follow I-59 to I-10 to New Orleans LA, then returning east via I-10 to end in Jacksonville, FL. Trip will have 6 planned mandatory stops on the route (including Start). They will be approximately 250 miles apart to maximize travel time and reduce stops. They would be:
Stop Approx Time (EDT) at Stop
Loganville, GA (Start
oint) 12:00 AM
Conyers, GA (Actual Start Mileage/Time) 12:30 AM
Eutaw, AL 4:30 AM
New Orleans, LA 8:30 AM
Defuniak Springs, FL 12:45 PM
Jacksonville, FL (Actual End Mileage/Time) 5:30 PM
Jacksonville, FL (Witness Signoff Location) 6:00 PM
Plans – 4 days before start
Travel – Plan is to leave around Midnight from the Atlanta Metro area and travel I-20 to the Junction with I-59 around Birmingham, Alabama. Leaving Atlanta Metro Area at then will be optimum for a number of reasons. Traffic will be reasonable for the traverse of the Atlanta city center (crossing I-75 on I-20) and the other metro areas through to exiting New Orleans, hopefully before 8am local time. Second, if on schedule I will end well before dark on Sunday afternoon. I have not been past the Georgia line on I-20 for many years (Anniston Alabama was a far as I went then), so this will be mostly new ground to me until I reach I-10 for the leg into New Orleans. I expect I-20 and I-59 will be similar in traffic and in construction so I’m not going to obsess about it. It should be easy minus any construction because this section will be in the early morning hours. With one stop only, I should be able to average +70 MPH for this half. I expect to reach New Orleans (half way point on the ride) by around 7-8 am local (central) time. After leaving the NO Metro area, the only major metropolitan areas are Mobile Alabama, Pensacola and Tallahassee Florida, with Tallahassee being the only one after noon. In my timeline I have allowed 15 minutes for each stop. I am certain that I will have at least one stop at 30+ minutes (probably #5 at Defuniak Springs). I also expect I can beat the timeline (avg 65 MPH + the 15 min stop intervals) to that point so I should be good for an extra interval by then. On my previous SS1000, I traveled as self-contained as is possible, the only thing I purchased other than fuel was tolls and one candy bar. I will do the same this time, hopefully without the tolls and the candy bar. I was/am pleased with the flexibility it allowed on the trip.
I learned some things on the previous trip that I will need to mitigate along with some other dangers I need to be sure to watch for. This plan is different from my first SS1K. On my first trip, fatigue was not a problem, but stiffness in the last 150-200 miles was significant. On that ride, I started in daylight and finished in the dark, cooling as I moved toward home. That final section was certainly was the least focused part of the trip. I made a conscious effort so it would not become a blind rush to get home. For this attempt, I will be traveling at night for the first sections and finish during the day. I should be fine while fresh during the first half to ?¥ but it will be very warm for the final 6-8 hours. I need to pay closer attention and be sure to move around more in the last third of the ride and to stay hydrated and alert. If you have ever ridden I-10 along this stretch, you know it is only just slightly more memorable than the surface of a pop tart. That and the fact that I know the section between Tallahassee and Jacksonville -very well- will make the tendency for a ‘head-to-the-barn’ downhill run home even greater this time.
Motorcycle: 24K Service is complete, last inspection before trip will be Friday afternoon. Inspect Tires (<6K old, 25-30% used). I will have a GPS and a Tank bag for this trip that I did not have the first time. I am not worried about the route, just will have a better handle on travel averages and mileages. I will review Toolkit and spares carried, but other than that, I’m good to go.
Weather and Clothing: Plan is complete. Leaving from Loganville at night will be cool but not cold. Night temps 65-75 degrees, Daytime temps 80-90 degrees. Rain along route is likely, especially along I-10 toward/across Florida. Expected Severe weather will postpone or cancel the trip but once committed (under 24 hours), will proceed. I will ride my standard summertime attire, (helmet, gloves, boots, jacket and pants (mesh). I will start out with a fleece under the jacket and slim down after daylight. I will carry rain gear, various extra gloves and dry bags for my personal items. I will certainly worry more about sunburn than getting wet.
Carried /Needed Items
Food:
Bottled Water (6)
Gator Aid (6)
Sandwiches (4)
Fruit/Nuts
Energy Bars
Cell Phone
GPS
MP3 Player
Ear Plugs
Tool Kit
Tire Repair Kit
Spares
H7 bulb
.5 Qt oil
Last Day Planning – 12 hours to start
Well, it is about 12 hours until start. My final prep is almost complete. The bike is checked and ready. I have setup the GPS, loaded my printed route sheet(s) in the map pocket on my tankbag, checked tires, oil is good/full. Tools loaded, flashlights checked, riding gear set. I have been charging phone and MP3 player. I have been watching the weather forecasts for the route (it is about as expected - I will have calm partly cloudy to clear skies with temps starting in the high 60s to low 70s until daylight. After that, it will rise to the upper 80s/low 90s fairly quickly.). Since I will be riding from Midnight through around 6 pm Saturday. I will expect the hottest (and probably wettest) portion of the day tomorrow after 10am. I will start out in rain gear, with a fleece underneath to be the most comfortable in the early morning hours. It will also be insurance in case I run into a shower somewhere along the southbound leg. I’ll drop the fleece at my N.O. stop for the trip eastbound. I may increase to two stops for each section (south and west bound). If I do, I will have one in Birmingham and one near Hattiesburg on the southbound section. Regardless of what I choose on the south bound section, I will probably stop in Pensacola and Tallahassee rather than try to stretch with only one stop at Defuniak Springs (Defuniak to Jax is 275 miles, longest segment of the trip) . As hot as it promises to be, I may even add an extra stop somewhere after Pensacola fuel (@ 10-12 hour mark).
Food will be done last thing before I get to sleep. I’ll try to get 5-6 hours before Midnight if I can. If I get to first fuel around 12:30/45 I’ll be good to go.. Next Entry will be for the actual trip.
The Trip
Started a little later than I planned, at around 2am. Weather was very unsettled around Loganville across western Georgia and Alabama,.According to the Weather Channel, it was severe around Birmingham, moving south along my planned route. The extra two hours allowed it to move far enough south so as not to be an issue. My first fuel stop was in Conyers (Highway 138 at I-20). It was too warm for a fleece under my mesh gear so I did not wear it. The receipt was 2:13 AM. I got on I-20 and headed west through Atlanta. Traffic was light, weather was warm (78 degrees) and muggy and the skies were semi-clear with a ?¥ moon. As I got west of Atlanta and it began to turn cooler (high 60s) and bordered on uncomfortable, not so much so to stop and change. It did help to keep me alert. The trip through Georgia and Alabama on I-20 was very quiet with little traffic traveling southbound. Much of the time I had nothing in sight to either the front or rear. I set the cruise on 75 and just let it run, listening to my MP3 player. I passed through Birmingham AL and followed I459 around the city to join I-59 toward Tuscaloosa. On the south side of Birmingham, I-20 and I-59 remain together all the way to Meridian MS. About half way between Tuscaloosa and Meridian MS, I had my first Fuel stop at Eutaw AL. I have to say that driving up to the Midway Plaza Chevron at exit 52, there is no warning that you have entered an alternate universe. I soon found out that Pay at the Pump Credit cards readers / receipt printers don’t work there and it has a different IQ scale for the inhabitants out and about at that hour. I may have mentioned in other posts that I am usually a PressOnRegardless kind of guy (anyone else would have gone to the station next door, the only rational explanation is everyone’s IQ drops as you enter the zone..). After 22 minutes of walking back and forth from the pump to the ‘attendant’ I managed to actually accomplish a 10 minute fuel stop. I also knew I was storing up trouble for the future – In my frustration I did not get a full tank, guaranteeing another stop in order to reach New Orleans. In addition, I managed to forget all about putting on my fleece or cleaning my faceshield. Truthfully, I was just glad to be out of there, I did remember to record all the pertinent IBA required info. I was 236 miles along, 3 hours 56 minutes into the run. I headed south again through to Meridian MS where I-20 continues west and I-59 turns south-southwest to New Orleans. The sun came up somewhere about that time so all thought of needing to get warmer were gone. Traffic began to thicken, and I learned that road surfaces are not the best in Mississippi. I have never traveled this route before so I wanted to be sure I did not get too close to New Orleans before I fueled again. I also wanted to eat/drink and rest for a few minutes before entering the (even more) busy highways around and through the city proper. Hattiesburg MS seemed to fit the bill, so I took my second stop at a small truckstop on Highway 11. I had come another 148 miles in 2 hours and 28 minutes. It was 7:37 AM central time, 6 hours and 24 minutes and 384 miles into the run. Leaving Hattiesburg, the road surface improved and traffic began to really pickup both in volume and in speed. By the time I reached the junction of I-10, I-12 and I-59 I was running just shy of 80 mph in what I would consider significant city traffic. It stayed that way for the remainder of the route into New Orleans (including the 45 MPH construction zone across Lake Pontchartrain bridge). The second strange thing of this trip happened as I entered New Orleans. I-10 started to slow for a construction delay, but for some reason, my GPS routed me off on I-510. It took me over to Lake Forest Blvd, then the back way into my planned stop on Bullard Ave. I thought it had changed the route and I verified it when I reviewed the printed route plan. I have no idea why it did this.) Of stops for the entire trip (with the possible exception of arriving home) this was the best. I fueled, ate a sandwich, drank two Gatorades, checked over the bike, cleaned my face shield, recorded my stop info, and was gone in less than 20 minutes. I had added another 97 miles in 99 minutes (you can guess how fast the last 30 miles through city traffic was) since the Hattiesburg stop so I was pretty fresh after the shortest leg for the trip. I considered myself officially half way now at 502 miles and 8 hours and 3 minutes. I saddled up and headed out directly to I-10 east (no alternate routing this time, matched the printed route exactly) and on toward my next large metro area in Mobile. The trip out of New Orleans was about the same as the trip in, fast and crowded. It didn’t get any better until I was across the MS state line past Bay St Louis and Pass Christian about 25 miles to the east. It was still crowded (only 2 lanes eastbound, Saturday morning at 11 am) but traffic continued to move well, 70+ mph across the remainder of MS and into AL. All along the way to Gulfport, traffic eased as it exited to the beach side communities to the south. From Gulfport through Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, it began to build again until we hit a significant backup entering the I-10 Tunnel at Mobile. At that point in the route, five eastbound lanes shrink to two entering the tunnel and then cross the low bridge over Mobile Bay. As you exit the tunnel, you can see the BattleShip USS Alabama on the right in Battleship Park. Having seen Mayport FL based Aircraft Carriers up close, the ship itself wasn’t particularly awe-inspiring although those guns were somewhat impressive. BTW, the backup east bound was a kiss from your mommy compared to the one westbound to the tunnel. It was stopped a full five miles from the start of the bridge. The trip across the rest of AL into Pensacola was just a tuneup for the empty space between Pensacola and Tallahassee. As a friend once said, ‘there is less there than meets the eye’ in of that portion of Alabama and Florida. If you believe the maps, it is only slightly farther from Jacksonville to Pensacola than from Jacksonville to Miami. If you drive it, you will swear it is Much Farther to Pensacola and the maps are wrong. If I had not watched the GPS map move east, I would have sworn I was riding around in a circle. I got a good fill in New Orleans so I extended my next stop from Defuniak Springs over to Bonifay (about 25 miles further east). That was the longest segment on the trip at 282 miles in 4 hours and 26 minutes. It was 1:42 PM CT and I was now ~250 miles from the finish, easily reached on this last tank. The section from Bonifay through Tallahassee to Jacksonville was predictable. Traffic was light even though it was afternoon, and there were no delays or problems. Somewhere west of Tallahassee, it began to rain (my first of the trip), and I continued through patches of (sometimes heavy) rain and sun until the outskirts of Jacksonville. About 20 miles west of the city, it began to rain in earnest and traffic began to slow / bunch up. I left I-10 at exit 358 – Cassat Ave. My final stop was at 6:51 Pm ET in Jacksonville. My trip had been 1030 miles (1037 according to the GPS) and 16 hours and 39 minutes. My GPS listed stopped time as 1 hour and 5 minutes since leaving Loganville. It was a good trip and seems is a good route, I plan to use it as a base for a BunBurner (1500 miles in 36 hours) combined with a turn up from Jacksonville through Columbia SC later this summer. Depending on the outcome from that, I may try a BunBurner Gold over the same route in the fall.
Overall this was a good trip. The heat was not so much of a problem as I expected. The boredom across the empty spaces in the trip was manageable and considering the pace I would need to keep for a Bunburner Gold, probably unavoidable. I did not see any law enforcement on the highway from early in Alabama to I-10 west of Jacksonville. Traffic was always moving 5-10 MPH above the limit and I had no real problems along the route. Things I would change: My original plan was to do this on a Sunday rather than a Saturday. I would start at Midnight Sunday morning. I would keep closer to my original stop schedule. (These three things would make the traffic easier in New Orleans, Mobile and Pensacola. They would also help get the day done a little earlier). Now that I have seen the route, I will select better stopping points around Eutaw and Defuniak Springs / Bonifay. I could have eliminated the Hattiesburg stop had I know a more dependable place to stop. The traverse from New Orleans to Jacksonville was about the same distance and went fine with just one stop, I am sure three intermediate fuel stops will be adequate. I will wait until the IBA comes back with the certification, but the route itself seems solid with only the mandatory start/stop and one in New Orleans to anchor the plan. Since I commute weekly to Loganville, I should be able to run this route every two months or so. And so ends my second SaddleSore 1000.
Purpose: Ride an SS1000 starting Saturday Morning at 12:00 am, finishing around 5-6 PM Saturday Afternoon. The route has been planned for 1037 (Microsoft maps) Miles, 16 hours, with 6 planned stops.
Route: Leave Loganville, GA, travel via Ga Routes 81 & 138 to Conyers, west on I-20 to Birmingham AL through Eutaw AL to join I-59 near Meridian MS. I will follow I-59 to I-10 to New Orleans LA, then returning east via I-10 to end in Jacksonville, FL. Trip will have 6 planned mandatory stops on the route (including Start). They will be approximately 250 miles apart to maximize travel time and reduce stops. They would be:
Stop Approx Time (EDT) at Stop
Loganville, GA (Start
oint) 12:00 AMConyers, GA (Actual Start Mileage/Time) 12:30 AM
Eutaw, AL 4:30 AM
New Orleans, LA 8:30 AM
Defuniak Springs, FL 12:45 PM
Jacksonville, FL (Actual End Mileage/Time) 5:30 PM
Jacksonville, FL (Witness Signoff Location) 6:00 PM
Plans – 4 days before start
Travel – Plan is to leave around Midnight from the Atlanta Metro area and travel I-20 to the Junction with I-59 around Birmingham, Alabama. Leaving Atlanta Metro Area at then will be optimum for a number of reasons. Traffic will be reasonable for the traverse of the Atlanta city center (crossing I-75 on I-20) and the other metro areas through to exiting New Orleans, hopefully before 8am local time. Second, if on schedule I will end well before dark on Sunday afternoon. I have not been past the Georgia line on I-20 for many years (Anniston Alabama was a far as I went then), so this will be mostly new ground to me until I reach I-10 for the leg into New Orleans. I expect I-20 and I-59 will be similar in traffic and in construction so I’m not going to obsess about it. It should be easy minus any construction because this section will be in the early morning hours. With one stop only, I should be able to average +70 MPH for this half. I expect to reach New Orleans (half way point on the ride) by around 7-8 am local (central) time. After leaving the NO Metro area, the only major metropolitan areas are Mobile Alabama, Pensacola and Tallahassee Florida, with Tallahassee being the only one after noon. In my timeline I have allowed 15 minutes for each stop. I am certain that I will have at least one stop at 30+ minutes (probably #5 at Defuniak Springs). I also expect I can beat the timeline (avg 65 MPH + the 15 min stop intervals) to that point so I should be good for an extra interval by then. On my previous SS1000, I traveled as self-contained as is possible, the only thing I purchased other than fuel was tolls and one candy bar. I will do the same this time, hopefully without the tolls and the candy bar. I was/am pleased with the flexibility it allowed on the trip.
I learned some things on the previous trip that I will need to mitigate along with some other dangers I need to be sure to watch for. This plan is different from my first SS1K. On my first trip, fatigue was not a problem, but stiffness in the last 150-200 miles was significant. On that ride, I started in daylight and finished in the dark, cooling as I moved toward home. That final section was certainly was the least focused part of the trip. I made a conscious effort so it would not become a blind rush to get home. For this attempt, I will be traveling at night for the first sections and finish during the day. I should be fine while fresh during the first half to ?¥ but it will be very warm for the final 6-8 hours. I need to pay closer attention and be sure to move around more in the last third of the ride and to stay hydrated and alert. If you have ever ridden I-10 along this stretch, you know it is only just slightly more memorable than the surface of a pop tart. That and the fact that I know the section between Tallahassee and Jacksonville -very well- will make the tendency for a ‘head-to-the-barn’ downhill run home even greater this time.
Motorcycle: 24K Service is complete, last inspection before trip will be Friday afternoon. Inspect Tires (<6K old, 25-30% used). I will have a GPS and a Tank bag for this trip that I did not have the first time. I am not worried about the route, just will have a better handle on travel averages and mileages. I will review Toolkit and spares carried, but other than that, I’m good to go.
Weather and Clothing: Plan is complete. Leaving from Loganville at night will be cool but not cold. Night temps 65-75 degrees, Daytime temps 80-90 degrees. Rain along route is likely, especially along I-10 toward/across Florida. Expected Severe weather will postpone or cancel the trip but once committed (under 24 hours), will proceed. I will ride my standard summertime attire, (helmet, gloves, boots, jacket and pants (mesh). I will start out with a fleece under the jacket and slim down after daylight. I will carry rain gear, various extra gloves and dry bags for my personal items. I will certainly worry more about sunburn than getting wet.
Carried /Needed Items
Food:
Bottled Water (6)
Gator Aid (6)
Sandwiches (4)
Fruit/Nuts
Energy Bars
Cell Phone
GPS
MP3 Player
Ear Plugs
Tool Kit
Tire Repair Kit
Spares
H7 bulb
.5 Qt oil
Last Day Planning – 12 hours to start
Well, it is about 12 hours until start. My final prep is almost complete. The bike is checked and ready. I have setup the GPS, loaded my printed route sheet(s) in the map pocket on my tankbag, checked tires, oil is good/full. Tools loaded, flashlights checked, riding gear set. I have been charging phone and MP3 player. I have been watching the weather forecasts for the route (it is about as expected - I will have calm partly cloudy to clear skies with temps starting in the high 60s to low 70s until daylight. After that, it will rise to the upper 80s/low 90s fairly quickly.). Since I will be riding from Midnight through around 6 pm Saturday. I will expect the hottest (and probably wettest) portion of the day tomorrow after 10am. I will start out in rain gear, with a fleece underneath to be the most comfortable in the early morning hours. It will also be insurance in case I run into a shower somewhere along the southbound leg. I’ll drop the fleece at my N.O. stop for the trip eastbound. I may increase to two stops for each section (south and west bound). If I do, I will have one in Birmingham and one near Hattiesburg on the southbound section. Regardless of what I choose on the south bound section, I will probably stop in Pensacola and Tallahassee rather than try to stretch with only one stop at Defuniak Springs (Defuniak to Jax is 275 miles, longest segment of the trip) . As hot as it promises to be, I may even add an extra stop somewhere after Pensacola fuel (@ 10-12 hour mark).
Food will be done last thing before I get to sleep. I’ll try to get 5-6 hours before Midnight if I can. If I get to first fuel around 12:30/45 I’ll be good to go.. Next Entry will be for the actual trip.
The Trip
Started a little later than I planned, at around 2am. Weather was very unsettled around Loganville across western Georgia and Alabama,.According to the Weather Channel, it was severe around Birmingham, moving south along my planned route. The extra two hours allowed it to move far enough south so as not to be an issue. My first fuel stop was in Conyers (Highway 138 at I-20). It was too warm for a fleece under my mesh gear so I did not wear it. The receipt was 2:13 AM. I got on I-20 and headed west through Atlanta. Traffic was light, weather was warm (78 degrees) and muggy and the skies were semi-clear with a ?¥ moon. As I got west of Atlanta and it began to turn cooler (high 60s) and bordered on uncomfortable, not so much so to stop and change. It did help to keep me alert. The trip through Georgia and Alabama on I-20 was very quiet with little traffic traveling southbound. Much of the time I had nothing in sight to either the front or rear. I set the cruise on 75 and just let it run, listening to my MP3 player. I passed through Birmingham AL and followed I459 around the city to join I-59 toward Tuscaloosa. On the south side of Birmingham, I-20 and I-59 remain together all the way to Meridian MS. About half way between Tuscaloosa and Meridian MS, I had my first Fuel stop at Eutaw AL. I have to say that driving up to the Midway Plaza Chevron at exit 52, there is no warning that you have entered an alternate universe. I soon found out that Pay at the Pump Credit cards readers / receipt printers don’t work there and it has a different IQ scale for the inhabitants out and about at that hour. I may have mentioned in other posts that I am usually a PressOnRegardless kind of guy (anyone else would have gone to the station next door, the only rational explanation is everyone’s IQ drops as you enter the zone..). After 22 minutes of walking back and forth from the pump to the ‘attendant’ I managed to actually accomplish a 10 minute fuel stop. I also knew I was storing up trouble for the future – In my frustration I did not get a full tank, guaranteeing another stop in order to reach New Orleans. In addition, I managed to forget all about putting on my fleece or cleaning my faceshield. Truthfully, I was just glad to be out of there, I did remember to record all the pertinent IBA required info. I was 236 miles along, 3 hours 56 minutes into the run. I headed south again through to Meridian MS where I-20 continues west and I-59 turns south-southwest to New Orleans. The sun came up somewhere about that time so all thought of needing to get warmer were gone. Traffic began to thicken, and I learned that road surfaces are not the best in Mississippi. I have never traveled this route before so I wanted to be sure I did not get too close to New Orleans before I fueled again. I also wanted to eat/drink and rest for a few minutes before entering the (even more) busy highways around and through the city proper. Hattiesburg MS seemed to fit the bill, so I took my second stop at a small truckstop on Highway 11. I had come another 148 miles in 2 hours and 28 minutes. It was 7:37 AM central time, 6 hours and 24 minutes and 384 miles into the run. Leaving Hattiesburg, the road surface improved and traffic began to really pickup both in volume and in speed. By the time I reached the junction of I-10, I-12 and I-59 I was running just shy of 80 mph in what I would consider significant city traffic. It stayed that way for the remainder of the route into New Orleans (including the 45 MPH construction zone across Lake Pontchartrain bridge). The second strange thing of this trip happened as I entered New Orleans. I-10 started to slow for a construction delay, but for some reason, my GPS routed me off on I-510. It took me over to Lake Forest Blvd, then the back way into my planned stop on Bullard Ave. I thought it had changed the route and I verified it when I reviewed the printed route plan. I have no idea why it did this.) Of stops for the entire trip (with the possible exception of arriving home) this was the best. I fueled, ate a sandwich, drank two Gatorades, checked over the bike, cleaned my face shield, recorded my stop info, and was gone in less than 20 minutes. I had added another 97 miles in 99 minutes (you can guess how fast the last 30 miles through city traffic was) since the Hattiesburg stop so I was pretty fresh after the shortest leg for the trip. I considered myself officially half way now at 502 miles and 8 hours and 3 minutes. I saddled up and headed out directly to I-10 east (no alternate routing this time, matched the printed route exactly) and on toward my next large metro area in Mobile. The trip out of New Orleans was about the same as the trip in, fast and crowded. It didn’t get any better until I was across the MS state line past Bay St Louis and Pass Christian about 25 miles to the east. It was still crowded (only 2 lanes eastbound, Saturday morning at 11 am) but traffic continued to move well, 70+ mph across the remainder of MS and into AL. All along the way to Gulfport, traffic eased as it exited to the beach side communities to the south. From Gulfport through Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, it began to build again until we hit a significant backup entering the I-10 Tunnel at Mobile. At that point in the route, five eastbound lanes shrink to two entering the tunnel and then cross the low bridge over Mobile Bay. As you exit the tunnel, you can see the BattleShip USS Alabama on the right in Battleship Park. Having seen Mayport FL based Aircraft Carriers up close, the ship itself wasn’t particularly awe-inspiring although those guns were somewhat impressive. BTW, the backup east bound was a kiss from your mommy compared to the one westbound to the tunnel. It was stopped a full five miles from the start of the bridge. The trip across the rest of AL into Pensacola was just a tuneup for the empty space between Pensacola and Tallahassee. As a friend once said, ‘there is less there than meets the eye’ in of that portion of Alabama and Florida. If you believe the maps, it is only slightly farther from Jacksonville to Pensacola than from Jacksonville to Miami. If you drive it, you will swear it is Much Farther to Pensacola and the maps are wrong. If I had not watched the GPS map move east, I would have sworn I was riding around in a circle. I got a good fill in New Orleans so I extended my next stop from Defuniak Springs over to Bonifay (about 25 miles further east). That was the longest segment on the trip at 282 miles in 4 hours and 26 minutes. It was 1:42 PM CT and I was now ~250 miles from the finish, easily reached on this last tank. The section from Bonifay through Tallahassee to Jacksonville was predictable. Traffic was light even though it was afternoon, and there were no delays or problems. Somewhere west of Tallahassee, it began to rain (my first of the trip), and I continued through patches of (sometimes heavy) rain and sun until the outskirts of Jacksonville. About 20 miles west of the city, it began to rain in earnest and traffic began to slow / bunch up. I left I-10 at exit 358 – Cassat Ave. My final stop was at 6:51 Pm ET in Jacksonville. My trip had been 1030 miles (1037 according to the GPS) and 16 hours and 39 minutes. My GPS listed stopped time as 1 hour and 5 minutes since leaving Loganville. It was a good trip and seems is a good route, I plan to use it as a base for a BunBurner (1500 miles in 36 hours) combined with a turn up from Jacksonville through Columbia SC later this summer. Depending on the outcome from that, I may try a BunBurner Gold over the same route in the fall.
Overall this was a good trip. The heat was not so much of a problem as I expected. The boredom across the empty spaces in the trip was manageable and considering the pace I would need to keep for a Bunburner Gold, probably unavoidable. I did not see any law enforcement on the highway from early in Alabama to I-10 west of Jacksonville. Traffic was always moving 5-10 MPH above the limit and I had no real problems along the route. Things I would change: My original plan was to do this on a Sunday rather than a Saturday. I would start at Midnight Sunday morning. I would keep closer to my original stop schedule. (These three things would make the traffic easier in New Orleans, Mobile and Pensacola. They would also help get the day done a little earlier). Now that I have seen the route, I will select better stopping points around Eutaw and Defuniak Springs / Bonifay. I could have eliminated the Hattiesburg stop had I know a more dependable place to stop. The traverse from New Orleans to Jacksonville was about the same distance and went fine with just one stop, I am sure three intermediate fuel stops will be adequate. I will wait until the IBA comes back with the certification, but the route itself seems solid with only the mandatory start/stop and one in New Orleans to anchor the plan. Since I commute weekly to Loganville, I should be able to run this route every two months or so. And so ends my second SaddleSore 1000.
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