Ready for my 13th Iron Butt Ride, the 9th of the year!
I was up at 2am, showered, Bible reading, prayer, and got ready to ride. Today’s ride was my ninth Iron Butt ride of the year, yes, I said this YEAR! My original plan was to be a Bunn Burner Gold. Forecast of storms changed my plan at the last minute. With the last-minute change, I didn’t get to research the options as well as I usually do. The first part of the ride wasn’t a problem, but the last site was my downfall.
It wasn’t the site that was my downfall, it was the route to get to the site. I trusted the GPSs, using the time to the site as my priority. This wasn’t always the best option. Two GPSs arguing over the route, I had at least one going “Recalculating.”
I checked the weather, well, sort of. I checked the radar to see if there would be rain. No rain, I was good. I forgot to check the temperatures. I left home at 3am and it was about 70 degrees. Before I got across the state, it was in the 50s. I was only wearing a t-shirt under my jacket that was designed to keep me cool. I finally found a Walmart that was open (I thought some were open 24 hours, at least none where I stopped) and picked up a long sleeve t-shirt. That helped.
The first site actually had a bonus added. Summerville, GA had the state memorial, but also a Doughboy had been moved from a nearby Veterans Home which had been vacant for a few years. Only other person at the park was a lady walking laps. She passed as I parked, her next lap was as I was getting ready to leave.
The next site was at the Cedartown Library. I pulled into the parking lot. Only other person was a guy walking around the parking lot and grounds while on the phone. My paranoia kicked in and I watched him for a few minutes to make sure everything was okay. I wasn’t able to get the bike and the memorial in the same picture, so I had to get a second picture. That picture done, ready to roll!
The first two sites were fairly easy to get the pictures I needed, though I needed to get a second picture at each site. It was early enough that there were not any people to worry about. By the time I got to the third site, people were moving around. Streets were blocked at two of the next three sites. The other was easy to get the picture, but I was in a No Parking Zone to get the picture. I got the picture and left before anyone had a chance to call the police. The other two of those three sites had activity at the memorial sites. I couldn’t park near either memorial, so I got the picture at the memorial then a picture of the bike.
Between the second and third site, I had to get on the bypass around Atlanta. Another item I should have researched, construction. I spent over an hour walking the bike on the interstate. All day I would run into construction on the road which would slow me down.
The third site was Cornelia, GA. There was a fall festival going on in the downtown square. Luckily, the memorial I was looking to find was not in the town square, but a few blocks away. I still had to work my way around a few detours and road blocks. As I pulled into the parking lot of the memorial, I realized I was going to have to be very alert as to where I parked. The parking lot was very uneven, and there was an event at the center that was going to make finding a parking spot a challenge. There was a truck at a perfect spot where I could have gotten a picture of the bike with the memorial clearly in the background. But, I couldn’t get a good angle. I eventually found a workable parking spot, though I would need two pictures for this site.
The fourth location was fairly easy to find; but parking looked like it might be a challenge. As I sat waiting for the light to change to green, I decided to see if I could pull to the left shoulder since the road was one-way. I moved over and parked. Quickly jumping off the bike to work the rally flag and dodge traffic to stand back far enough to get the picture of the bike with the memorial in the background. Perfect? Nope, but good enough to meet the requirements.
It wasn’t too far for the next site, and Jeff and I have ridden to Washington in the past. We came while he was scouting sites for Georgia when he was the State Sponsor, then again the following year to visit all the sites in Georgia. I pulled into Washington and found roads blocked near the site. I managed to park at the same corner where the memorial was located, but not close enough to get a picture of the bike and the memorial together. There was another fall festival in progress. There was even a tent set up next to the site, but I managed to get a clear picture of the memorial. A second picture from the corner in a No Parking zone with a note to the scorers. I was gone before anyone complained.
Five sites down, Savannah and Donaldsonville were left.
Almost four hours from Washington to Savannah. About an hour and a half of interstate, then Savannah traffic. Savannah was as easy as could be expected to get to a memorial in the middle of a tourist and college area. No parking, lots of people walking and enjoying the park. Dodging construction, road blocks, and pedestrians who felt that the cross walk signs did not apply to them; they were too preoccupied with the cell phones. I managed to get close enough for a picture of the bike with the memorial in the background. I would have loved to have looked at the memorial, but I needed to move. I didn’t even submit that picture until later.
At the opposite side of the state is the last site, Donaldsonville. The trip was about 5 hours. I followed the GPS and some pleasant two-lane roads. It turned dark and I have no idea how the area looked on the way to Donaldsonville. Donaldsonville was the easiest to find and access. Parking was next to the group of memorials. I had to check them all to make sure I got my pictures of the correct one. There was both a 9-11 memorial, as well as the Tour of Honor memorial. It was dark, so I used the flash on the phone.
Seven sites visited in Georgia, but I am only at about 900 miles. I see that Dothan is 40 miles away, that will still leave me short. If I were to head home, a little over 300 miles, I would be about an hour over the 24-hour limit.
I started thinking about getting to the 1,000-mile mark and stopping for the night. I needed gas more than I needed a place to stay. If I didn’t get gas, I wasn’t going to have to worry about anything since I would have to stop.
Being about midnight, some gas stations were closed. While on my way, I hit another traffic delay. GPS said 30-minute delay. I kept on the current road since the detour on the GPS was dirt roads. I may have taken them during the day, but not at night. There was a serious accident which closed all lanes in both directions. By the time I arrived at the scene, the traffic in my direction was allowed to move. Traffic in the other direction was backed up for several miles. As I reached the end of that backup, I found an open gas station. I was over 1,000 miles! I gassed up and checked the map. I was only a few miles from the outskirts of Montgomery. I tried to make a reservation online. Since it was past midnight, the systems thought that I wanted to check in at 3pm this afternoon. I called one of the hotels directly and they had a room. I was on my way. A quick call to MaryJo to let her know I was stopping for the night.
No discount for last minute check-ins. I needed a room, so I wasn’t going to make an issue. I got a shower and made my notes. I didn’t have the laptop, so I had to just make notes. About 1050 miles in just over 21 hours.
Relaxing breakfast the next morning and I was on my way home. I avoided interstates on this final leg. I could have caught I-65 and been home in about 3 or 4 hours. I chose US231, am old familiar friend. I did vary from my usual trip, I made a left onto some county roads in Blountsville which led me to US278. Just outside Cullman, I made the right turn onto AL157. I knew I was close to home.
I pulled into the driveway just after 2pm. Tired, but not as tired as last night when I stopped. Glad to be home.
I checked the email and saw that the Tour of Honor had already sent me an email approving my ToH Extreme. Now I just need to get it submitted to the Iron Butt Association. I should have the certificate in a few days.