Redwing19 IBA route planning -- Google to the rescue

Problem:
I need to identify stop points along the 1000 mile IBA route Redwing19 has laid out. I know that my Valkyrie with a topped off tank and at semi-legal speeds will go about 120 or so miles before I hit reserve. So, I want to find specific stop points, aka way points, in the vicinity of interstate ramps or road intersections to increase the likelihood of being near a gas station.


Solution:
Google maps and Google docs.

Fire up any browser. I use Firefox because it allows multi-tabbed viewing of different web sites simultaneously. In one of the tabs, I went to Google maps and entered the starting point address.

View Larger Map

Then, I right clicked anywhere on the map and chose 'Directions to here'.

View Larger Map

Google maps does just what you'd expect: It enters the address as the start point and the destination is where you clicked. Driving directions are shown to the left of the map (on the Google map page, not on the inset above). Pay attention to the distance traveled.

Zooming out a bit to show more of the map, I dragged the "B" marker along the designated route. When the Google route, shown as a blue overlaid line or track, didn't follow the designated route, I clicked anywhere on the blue track and dragged it back to the designated route. This puts a "via-point" along the Google track ensuring the directions and distance correspond to the designated route.


View Larger Map

Dragging the "B" marker down I-95 and around I-295 to I-64E, I found exit 205 to be about 130 miles from the start point. Perfect.


View Larger Map

Using the Google maps gadget Position Finder, I found the latitude and longitude of this first way point. Here's what I got: 37.51613^o,-77.18977^o. I'll use this information in my GPS unit later.

I need somewhere to store all of this information. I opened another Firefox tab and went to Google Docs. I created a new spreadsheet and stored the data in columns. In addition to the lat, lon, I recorded Google's distance and time estimates. Check it out:



To find the next way point, I switched the start and destination points and repeated the steps. The spreadsheet above shows all of the way points I'll be using for my route. You can see that summing all of the distances gives 1039 miles which is very close to the Redwing19's estimate of 1036. Google thinks I can do this distance in a bit over 17 hours. When I add my 20-min break times, I get almost 20.5 hours. If I left at 6am, I'll get back around 2:30am. Close to my previous rough estimate.

My next post will focus on getting this information into a format my Garmin 450 Zumo GPS can read.

Redwing19 IBA route planning -- rough estimate of time & speed

1000 miles in 24 hours....that's 42 mph. That doesn't sound too bad.

Let's estimate an average of 50 mph since most of the route is interstate roads. While on I-95 and I-81, I can probably do better than 50 mph, maybe much better. However, I've learned from experience--130K miles worth--that riding at high speed on my Valkyrie doesn't necessarily mean I can cover long distances faster because I end up having to stop more times to refuel. Keeping speeds at reasonable levels, I can expect to travel 120- to 130-miles before I need to switch to 'Reserve' on my fuel tank. So, I'll stop every 120 or so miles for gas. I'll allot 20-min at each stop to refresh. The math:

1000 mi at 50 mph equates to 20 hrs.
Stops every 120 miles means I'll stop 8 times during the 1000 mile route.
Taking a 20-min break at each stop adds 160 min to the trip for a total of 22 hrs 40 min.
Start time is no later than 6 am, meaning I'll be back at 4:40 am the next day.

I can do this.

Can I ride 1000-miles in 24 hours?

For sake of argument, let's say I'm going to do the Redwing 19's Iron Butt Association's Saddle Sore 1000--1000 miles of riding in 24 hours or less. First, it'd be good to know the route.

From their web site:


Start / finish is in Chantilly VA. The route heads south to Richmond, east to the shore, west and then north back to Richmond, west to the mountains, south to the tip of VA, and return to Chantilly. The estimate is 1036 miles. Nearly all of it is interstate roads--not exactly the most desirable for motorcycle riding but certainly the best for making time.

So, it all distills down to 1 question:

Can I ride 1000 miles in 24 hours?

I've ridden several 500-mile trips and came to the conclusion that 500 more would be nigh impossible.

Hmmmm...still thinking...it's certainly for a good cause!

Redwing19 Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 all in VA

2009 Redwing19 Ride attempting to break 2 world records (largest 1K/24 hr ride & largest 1K/24 hr inside VA).


Hmmmm...IBA Saddle Sore 1000...in May...in VA...I'm thinking of entering...

Ducati dry clutch Haiku

Ducati to work
Dry clutch sounds loud at stoplight
Music to my ears

Snow melting--warm weather promised

Despite sub-freezing temps, the sun beating down on dark macadam is generating sufficient heat to melt the snow away. Yea!

Weekend temps promised to be in mid-60s or higher. Yea!

I'm optimistic bike reading season is just around the bend. Yea!

Gotta pull maintenance on the Multistrada and Valkyrie. Boo!

Big snow = no mo...

...torcycles

At least I hope it doesn't. Today's unofficial snow fall amount, measured on the top of my car, is 6" thereabouts. Motorcycles and snow don't mix well. Drive your car or stay home. Trust me.

I've seen intrepid motorcyclists ride in the snow--I've done it myself. But it's not to be condoned; especially so for new riders but for experienced riders too. Unlike rain, good tires and good riding technique (see tip 9 in my 9 tips post) cannot compensate for the loss of traction in snow. A motorcycle, unlike a car, is inherently unstable. It can go down in the snow even when not leaned over. Coupling this with generally poor visibility--including when it warms enough for road spray to be a factor--suggests motorcycle riders should exercise their car driving skills when the ground is white.

If you really can't stand not riding when there's snow & ice on the roads, then make sure your life insurance is paid up and be prepared for some puckering experiences.

Be careful = be smart.

Lava lamps akimbo

In a previous post, I mentioned purchasing a lava lamp and using it to stimulate pleasant thoughts.

Well, I love it so much I got another. The first is a "blue" lamp: blue water & blueish white lava. My new one is a "black" lamp, which is more accurately described as a chocolate lamp. Very cool.




If I'm not careful, I'm going to have one in every room!

Have fun...john

Summer riding plans firming up

I might have found a theme for this summer's rides. Recall that my last summer's theme was photographing suspension bridges in VA. This summer might be a run to see how many weird and wacky travel sights we can visit. Check this out: click me.

I'm open to suggestions if you have other ideas. Please pass them along.

later...john

Motorcycling Malaise Ended?

Something is not right. Today marks the 5th day in a row that temps have been above 50^oF. Very unusual for February in the Washington metro area. Earlier in the week, temps were nearing 70^o! Yet, I felt no compulsion to ride. On the contrary, I drove 4-wheels every day but today. What's going on?

I hesitate to be too introspective asking 'Why'...I'm concerned I might not like the answers.

However, this morning, I donned my riding suit and rode my Valkyrie to work. Cold air, stinging eyes, numb fingers...and yet, a most excellent commute. The stars aligned and I was forced by traffic to slow down through a sweeping right hander in time to give a respectful nod to a uniformed radar operator.

All is well with the world.