A quick review of the IBA list of finishers on their website doesn't list any rider completed this ride on a C-14 - a number of the C-10, but no C-14s.  I can't imagine that this is true.  Perhaps a number of riders completed the ride by never submitted the documentation? 

I know that Brian did the northern route a few years back, but I am guessing it wasn't documented. 

Nevermind, both Brian and Davo's rides are listed under the 50cc Quest GOLD - which is rightly earned due to the northern route they chose.

I'm attempting it next week after the IBA Pizza Party in Jacksonville - wish me luck.

-David
Athens, GA

Not true.  BDF (Brian has successfully completed this.  I know because I had the privilege of escorting him on his last bit to Ocean Shores and documented his cat joke!!  His last effort, well, we won't discuss it   FWIW, he did the Northern route, IOW, the long way.

That is what I remember as well and now I found it.

It's listed under the 50cc GOLD finishers (and rightly so).

I'm wimping out by doing the "easy" JAX-SD route.

-David
Athens, GA

There have been two of us that I know of, and both are documented. I did mine in 2011, and David Jones did one in 2009. Davo's route was a bit strange but absolutely the 'northern' route (50 cc Quest GOLD- coast to coast the hard way!, per IBA rules). Davo rode from Oregon if I remember correctly to South Carolina for the start of that years' IBR which he did participate in but unfortunately died during the rally after a deer- strike in Oregon.

I went from Rye, NY to Ocean Shores, WA in 47:52, actually cracking 48 hours rather than the allotted 50. My indicated mileage was 3132 but the ride was certified at 3,086 miles. The ride was documented and qualified per the IBA, as was Davo's, and both are listed in the IBA database located at: http://www.ironbutt.com/rides/rideslogin.cfm



I have actually attempted it three times but they have gotten progressively worse as Chet mentioned. One more of them and.... well, according to the curve of the last one, the next one won't be pretty. 

If you are going Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA, it should be around 2,350 to 2,400 miles and I believe a at least some, hopefully a LOT, of TX has an 80 MPH speed limit, which helps tremendously.

The very best of luck on this trip! It is truly a fantastic trip and the best way I can describe it is..... it is an absolute gas as they said in the 70's. :-)

Brian

A quick review of the IBA list of finishers on their website doesn't list any rider completed this ride on a C-14 - a number of the C-10, but no C-14s.  I can't imagine that this is true.  Perhaps a number of riders completed the ride by never submitted the documentation? 

I know that Brian did the northern route a few years back, but I am guessing it wasn't documented.

I'm attempting it next week after the IBA Pizza Party in Jacksonville - wish me luck.

-David
Athens, GA

If you are going Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA, it should be around 2,350 to 2,400 miles and I believe a at least some, hopefully a LOT, of TX has an 80 MPH speed limit, which helps tremendously.

The very best of luck on this trip! It is truly a fantastic trip and the best way I can describe it is..... it is an absolute gas as they said in the 70's. :-)

Brian

Thanks Brian.  Yeah, the anticipated mileage is coming in at 2370.  Not nearly as impressive as your 3100 route.  But it will allow me to get a nice 8 hour nap in Junction, TX.

Again, hats off to your and Davo's northern route.

-David
Athens, GA

The biggest difference that means anything between the northern route and the southern route is that on the southern route there is the possibility of sleep. Not enough of course but some sleep. It is almost impossible to sleep on the northern route given the distance and time; to get any sleep in requires a lot of high speed be used on a lot of the trip (by high speed, I mean well above the speed limits).

Some people can 'catnap' during high stress periods and some cannot- I myself cannot. I do not think I could get any sleep on the southern route anyway but if you can, absolutely take full advantage of that! Grab a couple of maybe 2 hour naps or if it works better for you, one longer period of sleep somewhere along the way. You can also use that rest period to avoid riding in the worst weather you may run into; that is a big advantage you can hold 'in your back pocket' if you can bail on the riding for, say, two hours and escape any particularly hard rain.

But as I said before, whatever you do, don't forget to 'suck up the experience' along the way. It really is something- between sleep deprivation, fatigue and sort of being numbed by endless hours on the highway, certain things will poke through and get stuck in your memory. What is amazing about it, at least it was for me, is that it all sort of melds together and does not have a time- line at all: I remember the stench of cow 'leavings' in Ohio and the redness of the land somewhere west, and the Rockies appearing on the horizon in Montana as if they occurred w/in a few minutes of each other. It is almost surreal, but in a neat, interesting way.

Brian

That is what I remember as well and now I found it.

It's listed under the 50cc GOLD finishers (and rightly so).

I'm wimping out by doing the "easy" JAX-SD route.

-David
Athens, GA

There have been two of us that I know of, and both are documented. I did mine in 2011, and David Jones did one in 2009. Davo's route was a bit strange but absolutely the 'northern' route (50 cc Quest GOLD- coast to coast the hard way!, per IBA rules). Davo rode from Oregon if I remember correctly to South Carolina for the start of that years' IBR which he did participate in but unfortunately died during the rally after a deer- strike in Oregon.

Brian

If memory serves, the deer strike was in Washington and not Oregon right after he crossed back into the USA from bagging Canadian boni.  Still a tragedy nonetheless.

-David

Thanks- it is more of a personality thing than anything on the actual ride. Hang around some IBA / IBR folks and you will pick up on the intensity even though they do not appear outwardly anxious or anything like that. But the fierce intensity is there.

'The question is not how far will you go but will you go as far as required'. Sums it up nicely I think :-)

Brian

Thanks Brian.  Yeah, the anticipated mileage is coming in at 2370.  Not nearly as impressive as your 3100 route.  But it will allow me to get a nice 8 hour nap in Junction, TX.

Again, hats off to your and Davo's northern route.

-David
Athens, GA

Yeah, and what made it worse was that I was watching that in pretty close to 'real time' via SPOT. The IBA would not allow SPOT tracking during the actual rally so Davo password protected his SPOT page. But he used an 'easy' password and someone figured it out and passed the word and a lot of us ended up watching him ride. He was w/in 100 miles and maybe 4 hours of the finish when he 'stopped'. There did not seem to be anything there to stop for but perhaps there was a diner or something. Anyway, after watching him not move for a long time (hours), and the time getting close enough that it was nerve wracking that he was going to finish the ride, his SPOT moved the wrong way and not along the highway. We did not find out until afterward that he had been airlifted to emergency care and I think we were watching his bike being towed away via SPOT. The whole thing was unsettling to watch, to say the least, and of course it was a tragedy for Davo and his family.

Brian

If memory serves, the deer strike was in Washington and Oregon right after he crossed back into the USA from bagging Canadian boni.  Still a tragedy nonetheless.

-David

Oh yes, the absolute best of luck both on getting there safely (most important) and then getting that stupid, plastic license plate frame in the mail 'cause it is a really big day when that happens!

I am having a little trouble picturing an IBA pizza party but I am imagining if you are not careful, you could lose a finger or two.... like I said, dem dare peoples be intense! 

Brian

<snip>

I'm attempting it next week after the IBA Pizza Party in Jacksonville - wish me luck.

-David
Athens, GA

I never met Davo, but I sure miss him

I remember reading Davo's thread (which I guess went away with the crash) and it was great until the strike. I was as shocked as could be. Never met him, but got to know him through the thread. Would like to have ridden with him.

add Roger Sinclair to that 50cc list, I believe he earned it during the 2009 IBA, when he finished in 12th spot, and Davo crashed...Godspeed my friend...
Roger placed 4th in 2011, and was one of the few that hit Alaska's bonus en-route... but he was on his old GS in that run...