The following documents my Saddlesore 1000 from Moab, Utah to my home near San Francisco, CA on May 29-30. The Iron Butt Association awards a Saddlesore 1000 certificate for driving a motorcycle 1000 miles in less than 24 hours. Below is the route of my SS1000.
I woke up in the motel room about 6:30 in the morning, had a shower and, because I was in a hurry to get going, went over to a local McDonald's for a sausage biscuit. There's nothing like starting the day off with a good healthy breakfast, and after the sausage biscuit, I wish I had started it with food that was a little healthier. I finished loading up my 93 Yamaha Seca II, got signatures from 2 witnesses on the IBA witness form, and headed to the gas station for to fill up and get the required receipt to indicate the start of the ride. I left the gas station with a receipt listing my starting time as 7:53 AM.
I turned off of Highway 70 and onto Highway 50 and then into the town of Salina. As I was getting off the highway in Salina, I was following a big rig that was just pulling away from the stop sign. Because there was not traffic coming, I sort of coast through stop without making a complete stop and turn onto the road into Salina. Just as I finish the turn, I notice a cop parked on the other side of the road, I think to myself, "Holy crap, I hope he didn't see me coast through that stop sign!" Luckily for me, I think the big rig blocked his view and the cop stays parked rather than coming over to give me a ticket. I pulled off for some gas and said to myself, "Okay, no more stupid driving mistakes, pay attention. You still have 900 miles to go." First stop is 10:27 AM, 158 miles, 3.5gallons, 45mpg.
From Salina, I followed Highway 50 through rolling hills until it reaches Highway 15 and the 2 highways merge. I take Highway 15 south for a short distance until Highway 50 splits off again towards the west. From the split, Highway 50 goes through flat, arid farmland. The temperature begins to rise and it has become quite hot. I arrived in the town of Delta, UT at about noon. I stop in Delta for a little gas and also to cool off. It is now very hot, and I pour water inside my jacket to help keep me cool for the ride west out of Delta. Second stop is 12:10 PM, 73 miles, 1.5 gallons, 49mpg.
Leaving Delta, Highway 50 goes west into the desert. It is flat desert, with some rolling hills. There are no trees, just sagebrush and rocks, and little traffic. At one point I passed a guy riding a bicycle, he must have been hot, I know I was. I also remember passing a guy traveling east riding on what looked like an old Honda 450 twin with a huge pack on the back, like he was carrying everything he owned. We waved to each other as we passed. When I reached the Utah/Nevada boarder, I stopped at a gas station to get a quick drink and to pour some water inside my jacket to help keep me cool. It was still very hot. Crossing into Nevada, the highway started to go up into some mountains, the air temperature cooled as the road wove its way through the mountains and over a pass before descending and heading to Ely. I stopped in Ely, NV for gas and lunch. Third stop: 2:00 PM, 154 miles, 3.8 gallons, 40mpg.
After lunch I left Ely and continued west. The road was now fairly straight, but rose and fell with the terrain. The temperature was now a little cooler and I no longer needed to pour water on myself to keep cool. There continued to be very little traffic on Highway 50. It was fairly common to drive for about 5 minutes without seeing another person on the highway. My next stop was Eureka, NV. Eureka was a nicer town than Ely, the west side of Ely seemed a little rundown. Eureka was smaller, but cleaner and in better condition. Fourth stop: 3:47 PM, 80 miles, 1.6 gallons, 50mpg.
As I left Eureka, the wind started to blow. After a while, the wind became quite strong. Because of heavy wind gusts, I slowed to 50 mph. I was worried a strong gust might blow me off the highway if I drove much faster. As I continued, I was guessing that the wind was blowing about 50 mph and, at times, I was driving straight into it. I finally reached Austin, NV and stopped to take a break from the wind. Fifth stop: 5:15 PM, 70 miles, 1.9 gallons, 37mpg! The strong headwind sure cut down on my gas mileage.
From Austin, I continued into the strong headwind. I leaned down to get behind my small windscreen. My speed was still only about 50-60 mph because of the wind. I would have liked to drive faster, but I still didn't want to be blown off the highway. As I got closer Fallon, NV, the wind finally started to die down. I stopped in Fallon to stretch my legs, have something to drink, and to refuel. Sixth stop: 6:54 PM, 110 miles, 3 gallons, 37mpg. Continued poor gas mileage due to high winds.
On leaving Fallon, I encountered the first traffic of the trip. Lots of stoplights and road construction on Highway 50 slowed traffic leaving town. Driving directly into the setting sun made visibility difficult. By the time I reached Highway 80, the sun had set below the mountains to the east. Turing east onto Highway 80, I drove through traffic in Reno and on to Vendi, NV, the last town before the California boarder. It was now dark, and it was getting colder. So in Vendi I refueled and put on all my warm clothes. I was expecting the temperature to drop as I went over Donner Pass. Seventh stop: 72 miles, 8:54 PM, 1.5 gallons, 49mpg.
There was a lot of fast moving traffic on Highway 80 as I left Vendi. There was also a lot of traffic going eastbound. Highway 80 weaves though the mountains as it gains in elevation. Because of the twists and turns of the highway, the headlights of the oncoming traffic, combined with the dirt and dead bugs on my visor made it difficult to see. There was also some road construction on the highway and most of the reflectors and lines on the highway were dirty and impossible to see. So the first part of the drive out of Vendi was a little scary, following a winding mountain highway with such poor visibility. After about 10 miles, the road construction ended and the traffic lightened up. Near Donner summit, the temperature became quite cold and I wished I had warmer gear, an electric vest and heated grips would have been nice. But as quickly as I went up the mountain, it drops down almost as fast on the western side and it soon became warmer. By the time I stopped in Sacramento, the temperature was again very comfortable. Eighth stop: 129 miles, 11:20 PM, 2.2 gallons, 57mpg.
After refueling in Sacramento, I felt excited about getting home. I drove south on Highway 99 to Modesto. Modesto was actually about 10 miles south of the Highway 120 turn off I was going to take to get to the San Francisco Bay Area. But I needed a few extra miles to make sure I had the required 1000 miles for the SS1000. So I drove down to Modesto and got a gas receipt. Ninth stop: 69 miles, 12:45 AM, 1.3 gallons, 54mpg.
After getting the receipt, I headed back 10 miles north on Highway 99 to the Highway 120 west turn off. Now I was really getting excited about getting home. Highway 120 soon merged with Highway 580 and highway just seemed to fly by as I drove through Tracy and Livermore, before turning south onto Highway 680 in Pleasanton. I needed another receipt to verify that I was going around the south end of the San Francisco Bay rather than taking a shorter route across the San Mateo Bridge. So following Highway 680 south, I stopped in Milpitas for gas and a receipt. Tenth stop: 80 miles, 2:01 AM, 1.8 gallons, 44mpg.
From Milpitas it was a short drive to my hometown of Belmont. Driving north on Highway 101 at a little past 2:00 AM, there was virtually not traffic. It was surprising, because in a few hours, it would be bumper to bumper traffic moving a snails pace. Because I was excited to get home, I got up to 85 mph for the few miles before slowing down and turning off into Belmont. Eleventh stop: 25 miles, 2:33 AM, 0.5 gallons, 50mpg.
Total time: 19 hr 40 min
Total mileage: 1024 miles
Total fuel usage: 22.6 gallons
Average miles/gallon: 45.3mpg