2019 RPM Rally and Bun Burner 1500

[aviationfred]

The trip report for the ride out to Oakdale, CA. for the 2019 RPM Rally.

Day #1;

I charted a course on Google maps for a route to RPM from Wichita, Kansas. Being well into Fall, the obvious route through Denver on Interstate I-70 was not an option. Very cold temperatures and the very present threat of snow in the higher elevations. Interstate I-40 was a better route further to the south.

I work night shift, (11:00pm to 6:00am). This presents a challenge for planning. Either take the night off prior to leaving to try and get some sleep and basically waist a day of vacation, or, try and get as much sleep as possible the day before and work a full shift and then hit the road immediately after work is finished in the morning. I opted for the latter. Tuesday morning the 8th, I got a full 8 hours of sleep as soon as I got home from work. Got up and finalized packing and such for the trip. Rode the VFR to Bike night at Cycle Gear, won one of the raffle prizes, (A phone holder clamp w/charging capabilities). Once I got home, I was able to get a 2 hour nap before heading into work. The bike was completely loaded and I took my riding gear in with me. As I was leaving work, I changed into my riding gear and headed to the gas station for my first receipt.

As I got gas and my paperwork signed by a departure witness, the sky started leaking. I had bought a new rain suit just for this ride. A true test under fire. Ended up riding about an hour and a half in steady rain. Once it stopped, it was clear sailing into Gallup, New Mexico.

A small issue arose with my Air Hawk. I noticed that it just didn't seam as comfortable as usual. At the fuel stop in Tucumcari, New Mexico I figured out that it had developed a leak and was deflating as I was riding. A trip to Wal-Mart in Gallup for a bicycle tube repair kit fixed the leak.

Trip meter set at 0000

Mileage for the day was 739. Catch a few hours of sleep and hit the road for California.

The Bun Burner 1500 part. The total mileage by google maps puts the distance from Wichita, Kansas to RPM in Oakdale, California at 1606 miles. With vacation days at a premium and wanting to maximize my time off, the decision was made to attempt an Iron Butt Association, Bun Burner 1500. This certificated ride is 1500 documented miles ridden in less than 36 hours.


Fred

[aviationfred]

Day #2;

I got maybe 5-6 hours of sleep and on the road again. Got going just before 4:30am. I-40 across the desert is mighty dark and F***king cold. Most of the leg between Gallup, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona is between 6000 and 7500 feet elevation. The temperature over the 2.5 hour ride was between 35°F and 45°F. Heated hand grips helped, but with 4 layers of clothing, my chest was still cold running at 80mph. I arrived in Flagstaff as dawn was breaking and thinking.... please let the sun warm everything up. Getting into Kingman Arizona my wish was granted and I started shedding layers.  
As I got closer to the Colorado river the wind picked up. Being from Kansas, riding in 20mph wind is normal and not an issue with me. The winds here were probably in the 30-40mph range. I crossed the river and the freeway turns North. Holy Smokes, the wind got really bad.... I even contemplated stopping for awhile. Fortunately, as the freeway turned toward a more westerly direction the wind ended up being a tailwind and all was good, it helped push me into Tehachipi, California.

I had pre-arranged to meet up with CutterBill in Tehachipi and actually arrived there ahead of him. I waited about 30 minutes and he arrived on his Yamaha Super Ténéré. Being from Southern California and me not having ridden in Socal freeway traffic in 25 years, Bill took the lead and we blazed up Hwy 99 towards Oakdale. It was never discussed between Bill and I, but I think he knew that I would be hesitant to lane split due to being out of practice for 25 years and having the hard bags on the bike. Fortunately we only hit stop and go traffic for a short distance.
I had talked to Bill about the importance of getting my mileage in by a specific time. He had set a trip meter for the remaining miles that I needed and we both kept an eye on the clock. 20 or so miles out of Fresno, Bill picked up the pace and gave me the thumbs up signal when his trip meter hit the magic number I was looking for. I took over the lead, as now I needed a gas station to get my last time and date stamped receipt. I kept an eye on my clock and wanted to pad my mileage as much as I could. The time was getting close so we swooped into Fresno for the final fuel stop. Official mileage was 1515 miles and the time was 35 hours and 53 minutes.   7 minutes to spare.   gassed up and took a breather.

Now for the last push into Oakdale. Pretty uneventful and arrived shortly after dark. I will gather up my fuel receipts and other required documents to send to the IBA for Official Certification.



Fred

[ribbert]

Well done on the IB run Fred.

As I read your trip report I could feel the anticipatory excitement of getting ready to leave on the trip, the cold, the rain, the dawn (is there anything better than first light from the behind the bars of a bike outbound on a trip), the wind, the fatigue, the joy of getting warm, the stamina, the sense of achievement on arriving at your destination, the special level satisfaction of a flawlessly running bike you built and sorted yourself, the adding of another chapter to the bike's memory bank....all of this and more is what makes a bike trip memorable - occasionally emerging from the comfort of your vehicle cab to check the tension of the tie-downs doesn't.

Good on you Fred, you are a motorcyclist after my own heart, again, well done.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

Beautiful words Noel, you get it....Well done Fred!

[Motofun]

Don't forget that the best tasting beers in the world happen after a long ride!   

[aviationfred]

Day #3;

Bill and I had Friday pre planned for a ride to Monterey Bay to have lunch on Fisherman's Warf. Frank (Flynt) had also arrived and we tried to talk him into joining us. He had other plans, so Bill and I headed out for the coast. Both of us were traveling on roads unfamiliar to us. Bill was using an older automotive based Garmin for navigation and I was using the basic Google maps on my phone. About 15 miles out, at a stop sign, my nav said turn left and Bill went straight. We got separated and reached I-5 about 20 miles apart. With a phone call, we met back up and continued on. Once off of the interstate, traffic was steady and allowed for some high speed riding through the mountains. We picked up PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) in Castroville and skirted Monterey Bay into town. Accidentally found the perfect parking spot near Fisherman's Warf with dedicated motorcycle parking. We found a restaurant to our liking and ordered some awesome seafood. Breaded fish, shrimp, Calamari and steam oysters on the half shell. After lunch we wandered down to the end of the Warf and took in the sites of the bay. The return trip back to Oakdale was a bit more interesting. Heavy stop and go traffic. We were actually on a schedule and wanted to be back in Oakdale by 6:00pm. We left Monterey a bit after 3:00pm. I motioned to Bill that I was going to try and lane split to try and make up some time. I used to lane split regularly when I lived on Southern California back in the 90's, and I still had the saddlebags on the bike. We probably did 20-30 miles of lane splitting without a hitch. During a long stretch across one of the valleys, Bills Garmin strikes again, it directs him to head North for about 5 miles, then east for a bit and then South. We end up back on our original route only slightly closer to our destination. The rest of the ride was uneventful and we were only about 20 minutes late for dinner. More good food with great company.

I will trust my Google Maps over Garmin in the future.



Fred

[Troyskie]

Great read and awesome trip. Thanks for writing this up Fred.

[aviationfred]

Great read and awesome trip. Thanks for writing this up Fred.

Thank you, There are 5 more days to list for the complete trip..... Stay tuned 




Fred

[racerrad8]

Look at the difference a gallon of gas costs in other states compared to California.

$2.17 at start in Wichita, KS
$2.69 in Gallup, NM


$4.39 in Fresno, CA...

Crazy how expensive California has become compared to the rest of the country.

Randy - RPM

~DISCLAIMER~
~no political content needed in this topic~
All political content should be posted in the politics section.

[aviationfred]

Day #4;

    Saturday was the Rally ride day. Gorgeous weather with 12 FJ's with a Super Ténéré and a Kawi ZZR included. Hwy132 out of town was a nice warm up road and the Little Dragon did not fail to impress. Randy set a great pace. An incredible relaxing lunch stop on Coulterville. Greeley Hill road was fun and the short twisty section of Priest Grade was amazing. For Noel, there is even a shot of Randy and Rick at the lake stop. Everyone made it back to RPM safely for dinner and camp fire.


Fred

[1tinindian]

Who was riding the 84?

[Flynt]

Who was riding the 84?

I was riding the silver/red one... TLegg was riding the black one.

Stormy is the '84 I ride when solo...  I ride Wizard solo too, but not at a rally.  It is much more useable with Diane on the back.

You coming out to WCR next year?

Frank

[aviationfred]

Day #5;

A few decided to head home early Sunday morning. Others stayed for the Manshed day at RPM. I needed to make an adjustment to my exhaust as I had noticed the muffler was rubbing on the swing arm. With a lift available, the task was easily dispatched. A clutch slave cylinder replacement was accomplished on another FJ while mine was on the lift.

By noon a few more had departed and shortly after that Randy, Frank and I found ourselves as the only ones left. I had not planned to ride, but Randy suggested we head out to the hills for a lunch run. After some prodding from Randy, I headed back to the hotel for my riding gear. Frank and Randy met me at the hotel and off we went. We covered much of the same route as the day before. There was a bit of traffic going up Priest Grade, but with only 3 of us, we were able to pass a few big diesel pushers headed to Yosemite. A few miles from the Yosemite National Park entrance Randy turned onto an old one lane logging road. The best description would be a paved goat trail. This road like all they did was lay asphalt on the ground and let the trucks smooth it out.... it had not worked out well and put the suspension on all three bikes to the test. We stopped at the Evergreen Lodge at Yosemite. We ended up missing lunch by 5 minutes and dinner didn't start until 5:30. While Randy and Frank had a beer, I went outside for a few photos. This is when I discovered the goat trail had jumbled the circuitry in my phone and affected the main camera.   the camera would not focus no matter what I tried. Just blurry photos were being done. The front selfie cam still functioned and I was able to get a couple of shots.
We ended up going back on a different goat trail that was actually much better, but nowhere near what normal roads are. We found a restaurant in Buck Meadows and had an early dinner. The food was awesome and spending extra time with Randy and Frank was priceless. It was getting late and we had to get out of the mountains before dark.... traffic down was much lighter and made for a quick descent into Oakdale. A blurry photo as an example of my defective camera and we got a good collection of bugs on our way into Oakdale. A big shout out to Randy and Frank for an awesome extra day of riding.


Fred

[1tinindian]

Who was riding the 84?

I was riding the silver/red one... TLegg was riding the black one.

Stormy is the '84 I ride when solo...  I ride Wizard solo too, but not at a rally.  It is much more useable with Diane on the back.

You coming out to WCR next year?

Frank

Very nice.
I have thought about next year and it seems that my wife is interested in coming along!
I haven't made a rally for 3 years, so I am due!

Leon

[aviationfred]

Day #6

Departure day and the long ride back to fly over country. I had one of the best times spending time with Fellow FJ owners and riding some great California roads.

Frank impressed on me the importance of having a functioning phone camera for my trip back home. My route back would be much slower and plans were made to ride across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, going through Yosemite National Park. Taking a page out of Cap'n Ron's ride playbook, no day's end destination, but few routes destinations. Sights to see for the day included, Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls and Mono Lake.

Before departure, I had to wait for the phone store to open. Being Columbus Day there was a chance that they would be closed. Fortunately they were shown to open at 10:00am when I googled the store. I found the store and spent way to much for a new phone. Spent another hour syncing the new phone to the old phone and transferring contacts and files.

Finally, on the road at noon. As expected, gorgeous weather and perfect temperatures. A 4th traverse over Priest Grade was fun with very little traffic. Once up near Yosemite I was riding in heavy forest and the temp cooled down a bit. I turned off of 120 towards the sites and wonders of Yosemite. Traffic was light and made good time. Rounded a corner and in the distance was Half Dome. Definitely a sight to see. Literally a block of granite cleaved in half. Continued riding and ride past El Capitan and found my way to Bridalveil Falls. After a short hike to the base of the falls it was time to get back on the road for the ride east to Mono Lake. All along Hwy 120 there were beautiful sights to see, Alpine lakes, shear drop offs, Granite Domes and overlooks where you could look out for miles and see nothing but wilderness. I Crested the pass at almost 10,000 ft elevation and dropped down rather quickly to Mono Lake and the junction to Hwy 395. Gassed up at the filling station and met a young rider on a Versys 1000. He was having issues with the gas pump. My pump was working fine and motioned him over and filled up his tank. He offered to pay for the gas, but I insisted it was my way to help a fellow rider. He was riding from Texas to Oregon. I made my way into Bishop, California for the end of the ride day. The photo of the speedometer shows the elevation under the mileage at Tioga Pass.


Fred