Day 1 Saturday, July 9
West Chicago, IL to St. Cloud, MN 1018 miles

So I wanted to do a Saddle Sore, an unofficial saddle sore since I wasn’t going to be sending in the paper work to the Iron Butt association and paying for a certificate, just wanted to ride a 1000 miles in less than 24 hours. Where should I go? Hey, I’ve never been to North Dakota. In July the days are long and up north there is more sunlight, The only thing I would be without on this ride, is my GPS since it broke two months ago. I was going to have to do this ride the old fashion way, read road signs and look at paper maps if I got lost. I designed a route that would take me west and north in the morning and early afternoon and then ride east and south towards the later afternoon and evening hours, so I didn’t have to ride towards the rising or setting sun. I don’t like slab, so for the total 1000 miles, only 322 miles were going to be ridden on the interstate. Since I can go about 150 miles before filling up with gas, I originally planned to stop 9 times for gas and fill up between 110-130 miles. My friend Rick was going to join me on the ride, then the day before the ride Kaos decided to come also. Only thing was his bike could only go about 115-120 miles between fill ups, my gas stops were already predetermined and I had no time to research other options. We would have to change some of the gas stops in route. So we were off, three riders that have never ridden so far in one day.

Participating in this experiment:

Rider #1: VIVID1 (Anna) Age: 36 Bike: 2002 Honda CBR 954RR
Rider #2: RickC1957 (Rick) Age: 47 Bike: 1994 Yamaha YZF600R
Rider #3: Kaos (Andy) Age: 36 Bike 1996 Suzuki RF600R

My alarm went off at 3AM. I scraped myself off the bed after only 5 hours of sleep. After a very tiny cup coffee, about 1/3 of what I usually drink in the am, I got dressed and finished loading the bike. It was still pitch black outside and a cool 68 degrees when I rode off in to the darkness.

Gas stop #1 4:05AM West Chicago, IL 0 miles

I pulled up at the Citgo gas station in West Chicago, IL where Kaos was already waiting for me. There was a squad car sitting in the dark a few feet away from him. Maybe he looking for speeders, or he intrigued by the suspicious sportbike and his owner that was parked at 4AM at a gas station. The gas station was closed, all the lights were off. As I pulled up to the gas station I couldn’t believe it was closed. The corner of route 59 and route 64 is a major intersection. I turned my bike around and the both of us were off. Then I realized that we couldn’t make a left turn out of either of entrances. So far my planning sucked. We continued thorough the strip mall until we found a legal left turn on to route 59 heading north.

Lets try this again Gas stop #1 4:18 Bartlett, IL 0 miles

Found an open gas station, filled up and continued. As I passed my the BP Amoco is Starks, IL I honked at Rick, he was all ready to go and pulled in behind us. I was only 6 minutes late, I told him I would be a passing by at 4:30AM. We were now riding away from the suburbs, I started to feel the chill of the morning air. It was at least 10 degrees cooler out here then back in suburbia. You know how the saying goes, it’s always the coldest right before sun rise. Around Rockford, IL I sort of wished I had put more layers on. By 5:30AM it started to get lighter out and the temperatures started to rise.

Gas stop #2 6:04AM Stockton, IL 114 miles

The sun was low on the horizon in the east and the temperatures were finally starting to get warmer. I wasn’t cold anymore and I wanted to enjoy the cool temperatures while they lasted, pretty soon I would be sweating my butt off. This weekend was supposed to get up in the mid to upper 90’s. Time for breakfast, I grabbed one of the four bananas that I brought with. We took off continuing on 20 West towards Iowa. It was awesome to ride through the twisty sections near Galena with hardly any traffic on the road. In Dubuque, IA we made a right on 32 and a left on 52 north. I was surprised to see brown squad cars here. One already had someone pulled over and we passed the other one near Guttenberg going the other way, I slowed down. This weekend there would be no excessive speeding anyway, Rick was riding on a ticket.

Gas stop #3 7:50AM Guttenberg, IA 219 miles

It was time to change out my clear shield for the tinted one. I grabbed another banana. It was getting warm, I took off one layer. We continued on 52 towards Minnesota. Part of route 52 runs through Amish country, there were many buggies on the road. The county folk were already up and working, the small towns on the way were buzzing with all sorts of activity. A portion of the road was still wet from some rain, but the dark clouds were already far away from us. Gas stop #4 10:04AM Chatfield, MN 52 continued with many curves in to Minnesota. We ran in to a small detour that took us about 10-15 miles out of the way. Rick and Kaos already had multiple servings of energy drinks this morning. I was trying to not drink a lot of caffeine. I didn’t want to dehydrate myself too much. But I had a tough time riding like this, I felt tired and sleepy. I wasn’t even fully awake yet, I needed to wake up with a Red Bull. I needed to get some wings. It was already in the mid to upper 70’s, so the last layer came off. I wanted to take off the layers before I started to feel hot. We continued on 52 and got on to I-90 West where the wind was blowing us sideways for the whole length of our interstate ride.

Gas stop #5 11:33AM Albert Lea, MN 397 miles

The so terribly boring slab. I-90 through Minnesota is probably one of my most disliked stretches of Interstate. Every few feet there is a enjoying bump in the road and after a couple of hours that can put you in to a hypnotic coma. The scenery is also very bland, so to get though it quick is best. It was time for a power bar now, although I realized my bar was chocolate coated and it had melted. I ate it anyway. In order to be proactive, I soaked my cool scarf and cool vest. I didn’t want to wait until I got too hot and uncomfortable. It was already starting to climb in to the high 80’s. I also whipped out my iPod, can’t ride slab without music.

Gas stop #6 12:52PM Jackson, MN 485 miles

The I-90 section of the route was almost over now. I couldn’t wit to ride some back roads again. I was already seeing signs for Sioux City, SD, our exit would be coming up shortly. It was well in to the 90’s now and hot. It was hard to believe we were only half way though the route.

Gas stop #7 3:01PM Pipestone, MN 568 miles

When we took the exit off I-90 and started heading North on 75, I started to feel better. But within a few miles we ran in to a detour that would make take us at least 20 miles out of the way, riding through some fields before returning us to 75 North only about 5 miles further north. There were a few cars on this road near I-90, but the more we rode north the fewer cars we encountered. This road was mostly straight but it had sections with nice hi-speed sweepers too. The landscape was mostly farm land and fields, and some hills too. Somehow out here it didn’t look like the Midwest anymore. Was it those white windmills turning on the horizon, or the way the breeze blew across the hills making the blades of grass blow in all different directions as if someone was holding a giant hairdryer to it. The grass itself looked different. The good thing, it was much less windy when we were traveling North. The road made a left and passed right by Lake Benton. Funny to see a beautiful lake in the middle of this prairie. There was a wayside parking right next to the lake calling my name. It would have been nice to park the bikes with the lake as a backdrop for a pretty picture. On the other side other side the white windmills were spinning. But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t waste any time. There would be more picture opportunities ahead that I would have to pass also. I didn’t want to regret stopping now when we were still riding at 2AM tonight. I also didn’t stop at the dam to the Big Stone Lake. It was in the high 90’s now, but it felt like dry heat, my cool vest kept me comfortable.

Gas stop #8 4:48PM Ortonville, MN 673 miles

We could have made it to Milbank, SD for gas, another 20 more miles or so, but this way we would be fresh and rested to take the picture at the MN and SD state line. The gas station on the corner of 75 and 12 had a small restaurant where we grabbed some pizza which has been spinning underneath some heating lamps for a few hours at least. It was very tasty, no, I was hungry. This would be my dinner. The Red Bull I had at 10 AM was still doing its thing, I was so glad I drank it. I was feeling relatively good, although it was scorching hot and I was sweating underneath my cool vest, it felt good, the vest was keeping me cool. I soaked it and the cool scarf again in the bathroom sink underneath the icy cold water. Rick said his thermometer was reading 105 degrees. After a longer break we continued West on 12 towards I-29 stopping at the welcome to South Dakota sign. Then more slab. I-29 North was pleasant unlike I-90 West. There was some construction and lane closures but there was hardly any traffic on the road. The fields were flooded in certain places, the area must have received some big rain recently. The water at times came right up to the edge of the interstate, creating a perfect back drop for pictures. I just looked at the lakes in the middle of the fields, I wanted to stop but could not. There was only one more picture stop on this saddle sore run, the welcome sign at the North Dakota state line.

Gas stop #9 Wahpeton, ND 7:14PM 787 miles

We were now just southeast of Fargo, ND. It was a bit windy up here. And how could a place that is so cold in the winter time be so hot in the summer. Here I felt some humidity. Must have been all those 10,000 Minnesota lakes nearby. We took the exit for 13 East off I-29 and then 210 east bypass. Since we rode additional miles though the two detours earlier, I got the Minnesota map out to figure out a short cut. This short cut we would save about 15 miles. We continued on 210 East in to Minnesota and got on I-94 in Fergus Falls. We traveled to the next exit which was 59 North. What a difference today versus last weekend I rode though here. Last weekend this road was packed with 4th of July traffic, today it was pretty empty. The sun was hanging low on the horizon and the sun would be setting at around 9:30PM here. Last weekend I rode though here in the dark, today I noticed a buffalo ranch on the east side of the road. Another place I would pull over for pictures, if I had the time. In Pelican Rapids we turned east on 108. From here up until Dent the road was twisty, with turns posted from 25MPH to 45MPH. The road travels though farmland, forests and passes many beautiful lakes. This section of the road is called the Otter trail scenic byway. The setting sun now behind us projecting vivid colors on to the lakes and trees. It would be nice to watch the sun set behind one of the pretty lakes here. I’ve been looking out for deer now, this is the time they come out. In the town of Ottertail, there is a huge statue of an otter holding a fish.

Gas stop #10 9:13 PM Henning, MN 900 miles

The first gas station was closed but there was an open one a block away. It was time to change out my smoked helmet shield for the clear one. I felt a bit tired now and grabbed a Red Bull. The line at the gas station’s cashier wasn’t all that long but took forever. Somebody was purchasing a fishing license ahead of us. I was going to have a banana, but when I opened the GIVI case I found that the remaining two bananas had turned completely black from all the heat. So I threw them out before my GIVI case started to stink like moldy bananas. By the time we pulled out of the gas station it was dark outside. We turned east on 210. The bugs were out in full force the minute the sun had set. By the time we turned south on 71 I was having trouble seeing through my visor, the thing was caked thick with bugs. There could have been deer waving at me from the shoulder of the road and I wouldn’t see them. We cleaned our shields at the next gas station and continued. I found a car to follow for a while and tired to follow it closely, letting it shield me from all the bugs, that worked for a bit but then the car turned and we were alone again in the dark with all the deer and bugs. There were many small towns on 71 so every 10 or so miles we had to slow down and ride at 25-30mph to cross some small town. This was a good thing at night. Less deer around populated areas. Surprisingly it was still in the mid 80’s outside and humid. We arrived in Sauk Center and cleaned our shields one more time and stretched before jumping on I-94 east for the final leg of the trip. I started feeling pretty tired now, probably just knowing that it was almost over, knowing that soon I could relax and sleep, just that though probably made more tired. The body was sore and tired and brain was tired too. While talking, it was sometimes hard to find the correct words or form a sentence all together. Everything made me giggle now too. The riding was getting a bit sloppy too. While stopping the bike at stop signs or a light, it was just too hard to try and maneuver the beast in to a precise spot, where it stopped, that’s where I was stopped until it was time to go again. The right and left hand no longer wanted to work together, so getting the clutch and throttle to work simultaneously at times felt like such a difficult task. Once I got moving I was OK though. It was definitely easier to just ride in a straight line and pass some cars occasionally then to have to stop, accelerate and shift gears. That required way more concentration. We found I-94 and headed east. There were a few cars heading the same way this late at night. Finally here on the interstate, the air felt cooler. We arrived at our exit and headed towards the Holiday Inn Express that I had planned to stay at.

The end 12:08 AM St Cloud, MN 1018 miles

Who would have thought that the Holiday Inn Express would be so packed at this hour in this location. There was only one room left and it was a suite with a hot tub. Too tired to ride up the road and check the Americinn, we decided to take it. We unloaded the bikes and started to unpack. The subject of food came up and since it was late, ordering a pizza was the best option for us. At about 12:45AM Kaos ordered a Dominos pizza, then he went to take a 40 minute shower and Rick went to soak in the hot tub, although the jets we’re working. I just vegged on the bed staring at the TV waiting for that all important knock on the door from the pizza delivery guy. At around 1:15AM the pizza was here. It was a delicious sausage and mushroom pizza, we ate every single slice and it was so good. Isn’t it always the case that mediocre food tastes so great after a long ride. At 2AM the lights went off. It was finally bed time.

I was actually amazed that out of the 1000 miles I didn’t miss any turns. And the road signs in all the states were clear and I paid enough attention to stay on track. Leading takes a little more energy than just following bikes, all that without a GPs too.

Day 10 Saturday, July 10
St. Cloud, MN to West Chicago, IL 508 miles

The alarm went off at 7AM. It felt as if I just had laid my head on the pillow. Rick and I went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. By 9AM we were in the parking lot loading up the bikes. It was already 85 degrees and humid. We gassed up and jumped on I-94 East. Within the first 20 miles I realized that I was kind of sore from yesterday and my butt actually hurt more today than it did yesterday. For today I had 500 miles of roads scheduled and we had all day to do it. We stayed on I-94 east until past the Twin Cites, then we took an exit for 35 South and continued on 65 South. Towards the end of the first 100 miles I was shifting all over the seat ready to take a break. We stopped for gas in Ellsworth. l and soaked my cool vest and scarf and I grabbed a Red Bull to get me going. Was my butt going to make it another 400 miles?

We turned east on 10. I really love the hi-speed sweepers here. This is a good road to go fast on, although there was a bit of traffic here at times. In Mondavi we turned on 37 South and then 88 South. 88 has many tight sections, the road is very scenic, it almost looks like riding in the foothills of some mountains, but the blind turns, patched up mulit-color pavement and it being a narrow road keeps my speed towards the legal speedlimit on this one. Towards the end of the road we got stuck behind a jeep though the 30MPH-40MPH turns and I started to get sore again and started to overheat inside my gear. We finally passed the jeep on 35 South but shortly after had to slow down to 25MPH speed limit through Fountain. These 25MPH speed limits through these small towns just kill me, especially when it’s so hot. It feels as if there is an over door open near my legs. I really had to use the bathroom now, so we stopped at a gas station, got gas and Rick mentioned that we passed an interesting restaurant, maybe we should have lunch.

It was 12:30PM and lunch time, so we turned around and headed back. There was no parking outside the establishment so Rick made a right in to the next side street. I was too late to notice the road was steep, as I stopped on an incline trying to figure out what to do now. I could not park where Rick was parking. Not being able to flat foot and carrying extra weight behind the bike and high (GIVI top case) I did not want to attempt to turn around here either. Rick suggested that I climb up and make a left at the next road and turn around there. I did to find out that road was even steeper and narrower up there. I got to a point where I didn't want to go any higher and and I couldn’t turn around either. It just sucks to being short. I pressed the kill switch and shut the bike off and just sat there holding it up, on my toes. I could feel all the weight on my ankles. I was hoping that if they didn’t see me come down, they would look for me soon. And they did come looking for me. Kaos put my kickstand down, since I couldn't balance the bike on one tipie toe. The road dropped off near the edges and the bike was going to lean too much with the GIVI case, I was afraid it was going to fall over, so he held it up while I got off. We placed it on the kickstand but the asphalt was so soft it started to sink in immediately. Kaos grabbed the GIVI rack handle from the right and I grabbed from the left and we were just holding the bike when Rick came up the hill to see what was going on.

I was so hot, I took a breath and cleared my head thinking of the best solution to my predicament. Someone had to get on my bike, turn it around and ride it down the friken hill. Kaos was the tallest out of the three of us so he got on and went and turned it around in front of someone’s garage, where there was like 2 feet by 4 feet of flat road. Then he parked it on the main street for me. It was lunch time. We walked in to the Golden Frog Saloon overheated and sweaty as all hell. After an hour I finally started noticing the air conditioning was on. The food was good, the guys had hamburgers, the fries are extra awesome and crispy, covered in some sort of delicious batter. I had a grilled chicken salad, also good. For those that are a fan of coca-cola in a bottle, they have those too.

From there we continued on 35 South, crossed the Mississippi in to Winona, MN and took 14/61 South until it joins I-90 East. Not only was it in the mid to hi 90’s. I noticed a 96 and 97 degrees on a couple of signs, but it was just so humid today. Hot and humid enough to make sweat drip down my forehead as I cruised at 80MPH on the interstate. Once I-90 turned inland and started to get further away for the river, it got even hotter. In Tomah we took an exit for 131 South, nice sweepers and no traffic. More sweepers could be found when we turned on 71 Southeast and 80 south. In Union Center we stopped for gas again. I was not riding at 100% today. Earlier I pulled away from a stop sign in second gear wondering why my bike wasn’t accelerating. The heat and just being plain sore and tired was taking a toll on me. I needed some energy. I went looking for a Red Bull but they had none so I garbed an Arizona iced tea. It didn’t really give me any wings, not even little ones.

We turned on 33 east. More awesome sweepers and hardly any traffic, but then we got close to West Baraboo and Baraboo and all the sudden the road was crawling with slow cars. We creeped and crawled through many lights and then turned on 12 heading south. More heavy traffic all the way though Sauk City. We took 78 South and found more traffic through Blue Earth. Then we got stuck behind a semi doing under speed limit and at least 4-5 cages following it with a double yellow and sweet hi-speed sweepers for miles. I had no energy to figure out how to pass all these vehicles. Mount Horeb was only 10 miles away, was it even worth it? I was just going to deal with it. After a few miles Rick got on it and went for it, passed them all. Then a few minutes later a passing zone started and Kaos and I went for it, leaving all the cars in our dust.

We took 92 East stopping in Belleville for gas. It was 6PM and the gas station had just closed, but the guy working there was nice enough to sell us what we wanted – water! He brought out the items we needed and we gave him money, we didn't enter the gas station at all. Rick told him our story of the 1000 miles run yesterday and he looked like he wanted to help us out. So I still wanted a Red Bull but they had none, they had a Rock Star energy drink, similar taste only not as good and a huge can. The guy brought it out for me. I drank it and it did the trick. The stuff kept me going until I got home 4 hours later, but back to the story. We continued on 92, passed some slow ass cruisers, turned east on 14, then over to 59, south on 51 and we pulled over in Janesville. Rick was going to take 14 home and Kaos would take that way also. We parted ways after a short break. I was feeling better now, it was still hot but not as much. I continued in to Illinois and stopped for a bathroom break in Belvidere and then on home.

Today was tough, tougher than yesterday. Now I know how a Bun Burner 1500 would feel like, but worst because we had all day to ride 500 miles, with a BB1500 we wouldn't have that kind of luxury. I doubt there is any time for much sleep either. I have definitely learned from this trip that on the first day I have the energy to ride far but on the second day I’m sore and tired. I would have never though that day two, a mere 500 miles, would be harder on me than day one of a 1000 miles. Kaos and Rick felt much better than me on the second day.

I think heat effects my exhaustion greatly. I can easily ride in cold temp, hot temps. ware me out quicker. And it wasn't just hot in the middle of the day. The temperatures were in the mid to high 90's most of the day. Saturday started off cool, but that was the only time all weekend I would feel cold. There was not much cooling off on Saturday night and Sunday morning was already hot when we started out. I drank a lot of water, at times it was annoying since I had to stop for the bathroom before I was ready to stop for gas. By the time I pulled over I really had to go. At least there wasn't much wind on Sunday and just a bit on Saturday. No rain for us all weekend too. Good weather dictates if one can ride a lot of miles, it can really slow you down when it's not perfect.

So now that I've done a 1000 miles in a day I can't help but reflect on those little things that helped me to it. #1 my throttle rocker - Rocked!. I could not have done even 500 straight miles without it. On the second day my wrist was started to get a bit sore but nothing like riding without it. #2 My cool vest and cool scarf. It does cool you down enough to make the ride more comfortable. It works great in dry heat, not as great in humidity #3 my home made kick-ass hydration system. I can drink any time #4 My ipod helped me though all the straight and boring sections and all the slab #5 I really missed heaving my GPs, which is broken #6 just two days ago I received my Zero Gravity ST screen and it’s way better than the double bobble I had on the bike #7 carrying two credit cards and alternating between the two to pay for fill-ups, so it doesn't look like someone stole my card and is running cross county.

There was only one thing missing on this trip that ended up making me very miserable in the end - my stick seat. I don't have any trouble with it up until 700 miles, but after that my butt starts getting sore and continues to deteriorate even through day two.

It was a great ride! Great company and an adventure as always.

 

 

 

 

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