The untimely passing of my brother this past November has caused me to re-examine my life's route, both past and present,  and more importantly, future.

 My presence has been requested, nay, demanded at the wedding of his youngest son in July of this year. Normally I would fly there on Friday and return to Phoenix on Sunday. "Can't miss a bunch of work" is my typical reply. NONSENSE!  The world won't collapse if I take the time to ride there.

My thinking is ride the 1800 miles there, relax for a couple of days, then slide down to Florida and do a CC 50. The Northern Route is unappealing simply because I don't like cold weather. I would rather ride 500 miles in 100 degree weather than ride 200 miles in 50 degrees.

I understand that Jacksonville to San Diego is the shortest route but is there a "nicer" route using a different Southern city as a starting point? Perhaps Charleston? 

School me up, please.

Not really sure what you are asking here but having done a few CC50s, one successfully (one boring and aborted for a good reason, and one an entire story in itself), I might be able to help a bit.

The usual southern route is Jax to San Diego or the other way around. The southern route is quite a bit shorter than the northern route and the basic difference is that you can get some sleep on the southern route. CC50's are strictly highway rides and honestly, a 'nicer route' does not really play into it- you will want the absolutely fastest route possible and that means all interstate highway.

The Iron Butt Association (those who sanction the ride) will not sanction this or any other ride they consider 'extreme' unless you have already done other IBA certified rides, at least one, and the minimum level ride they have is 1,000 miles in 24 hours, and it is called a SaddleSore 1000. And of course you have to have the previous ride(s) certified by them or they will not sanction a CC50.

I will say this though: if you can do it, it is one hell of an experience. The whole ride sort of melds in memory, at least they did for me, and it becomes something like watching a 48 hour movie that you cannot possibly remember so you end up with snippets that have no order or bearing on any other snippet.

Oh yeah, and if you plan on riding any decent distance (say, over 150 miles) after arriving at the CC50 destination, you will probably need a week or so to recover from the CC50 before returning. There is a deterioration in both body and mind during such a trip and a recovery period is needed, at least it was for me and the others I know who have done these types of endurance rides. My first one was 3,132 miles in 47:52 and I could walk at the end of it but I could not lift my leg over the bike- it left me pretty much exhausted and physically diminished and I while I could continue to ride (and did for another 80 miles or so the <other> way), I could not lift my leg over the bike's saddle.

Brian

The untimely passing of my brother this past November has caused me to re-examine my life's route, both past and present,  and more importantly, future.

 My presence has been requested, nay, demanded at the wedding of his youngest son in July of this year. Normally I would fly there on Friday and return to Phoenix on Sunday. "Can't miss a bunch of work" is my typical reply. NONSENSE!  The world won't collapse if I take the time to ride there.

My thinking is ride the 1800 miles there, relax for a couple of days, then slide down to Florida and do a CC 50. The Northern Route is unappealing simply because I don't like cold weather. I would rather ride 500 miles in 100 degree weather than ride 200 miles in 50 degrees.

I understand that Jacksonville to San Diego is the shortest route but is there a "nicer" route using a different Southern city as a starting point? Perhaps Charleston? 

School me up, please.

Thanks,  Brian. That's the kind of information I'm looking for.

Do you think that sanctioning is that important or just an added bonus to the experience? I have ridden 1000 mile days in the past but never had the rides "certified", it never seemed like enough of an accomplishment to get excited about.  CC 50 , on the other hand, is noteworthy. (Btw, congrats on your Gold!)   

My long lost friend Curt, and Texas riding buddy, Charlie, did a CCC100 with a B2B and a SS5k thrown in for good measure.  Curt was a riding machine!

http://www.hard-core-ware.com/trips/100ccc-b2b/index.php

Well, how does it go....  'Every man measures his own greed?' The certificate's value up to each person, and in reality, it is just a piece of 8 1/2 X 11 paper. But it does show that something very specific was accomplished within a very specific envelope. Is it worth it? I guess it was to me at the time 'cause I went through the trouble of documenting the ride with the IBA and paid to have the ride certified (it cost something like $70) yet got nothing of monetary value out of it. I guess it is an 'ego stroker' but it is not as if I cured polio or anything so that is not worth much either IMO. So whether or not it is worth certifying the ride is up to each person. ??

Thanks. I was the 45th person certified on that ride, a CC50 Gold or "The hard way" (the northern route); there are something like 740- odd people who have been certified on the southern route. The southern route is around 2,350 miles while the northern route (anything at or above the line from NYC to San Francisco) is always over 3,000 miles. As I said, the difference is basically that one can sleep for a useful amount of time on the southern route (often 8 hours) while the northern route basically requires one ride the entire time. I rode straight through with no stop being more than 30 minutes (with most being less than 5 minutes, 18 fuel stops in all) and only had 2 hours and 8 minutes left w/in the 50 hour window so really, there is not much time available for anything other than riding, fueling and a couple of quick trips to the powder room.

Somewhere around on this forum is a thread that was written while I was actually making the ride, and I wrote a post- ride note too in another thread. I was carrying SPOT with me and while I could not communicate via the 'Net during the actual ride, other people could and did watch my progress in real time; the thread has some amusing posts made by people watching while I was riding. What was really funny was my reading that thread after I arrived in WA.... I was almost wondering if I made while I was reading the thread two days after I finished the ride. 

Brian

Thanks,  Brian. That's the kind of information I'm looking for.

Do you think that sanctioning is that important or just an added bonus to the experience? I have ridden 1000 mile days in the past but never had the rides "certified", it never seemed like enough of an accomplishment to get excited about.  CC 50 , on the other hand, is noteworthy. (Btw, congrats on your Gold!)

On I-10 you can easily maintain 100 mile per hour once you pass Houston.  I only rode from Fort Walton Beach to El Paso, and detoured to ride the 3 sisters, but it was a fast ride on the concours.  I came back east on two lane roads out of New Mexico and once could easily maintain 85 mph on those roads.  I only had one officer give me a blue light warning to slow down.  I think the High Vis riding suit, helmet, and gloves, sends a message to the LEOs.

I would definitely plan to hit Houston about 2 in the morning.  There is no other 'good' time to go through there.

Very good point: all of my trips were entirely based around getting to Chicago at midnight or a little later, and on a weekday at that. For a weekend, I would try to go through (under actually but close enough to get in the clog) Chicago at 5:00 or 6:00 am.

Brian

<snip>

I would definitely plan to hit Houston about 2 in the morning.  There is no other 'good' time to go through there.

I would definitely plan to hit Houston about 2 in the morning.  There is no other 'good' time to go through there.

Very good point: all of my trips were entirely based around getting to Chicago at midnight or a little later, and on a weekday at that. For a weekend, I would try to go through (under actually but close enough to get in the clog) Chicago at 5:00 or 6:00 am.

Brian

Duly noted. Thank you.

There are some really excellent tips here.

Brian hits the nail on the head with the "what's it worth" response.  I've done multiple "Saddlesores" and "Bun burners", on a Honda Blackbird, and only had one "certified", and that was basically so I could get the licence plate holder.  Those who know, understand, those who don't- well, you and a piece of paper aren't going to make them "get it".

As far as the ride- do the southern route, and then wander back.  Best of both worlds.  I will tell you that from about the CA/AZ border to Lake Charles, LA, you see everything you need to see in about the first 25 miles either direction.  After that, it's miles and miles of miles and miles, with the occassional city thrown in to remind you what traffic is like.  Anymore, there aren't too many places in the entire US that you have to really plan gas stops any more, except on I-10 between El Paso, Ft. Stockton and Ozona, TX.  Pretty sparse on gas stations out there.  Some would argue the same in AZ and NM, but there's a larger city about every 100 miles in those states.  Your biggest issue there is staying awake.  And second staying out of Phoenix, Houston, and the greater New Orleans area any time but from 2300-0500 or so.  Tucson, El Paso, San Antonio and east are not much better, but at least managable about any time of day.

Good luck on the ride, you're wise to have gained the "work won't stop without me" attitude now while you can still take advantage of it.  (Should you stop and detour into the 3 sisters, look me up, I'll ride out with you.  )