It's been quite some time since my last post on the blog. April really didn't see much "fun" riding as there were other things in life that were taking up my time. None the less, in between work and other commitments I've been getting ready for my Iron Butt Bun Burner Gold ride. For those not in the know, that's 1500 miles in 24 hours or less.
I managed to get my new Russell Day Long seat yesterday thanks to the help of folks there expediting the build and shipping it out 2nd day UPS. The seat is instrumental to the ride as my Rick Mayer seat just hasn't met my expectations. Other new additions to the bike in preparation for this ride were a Valentine One radar detector and SPOT Satellite tracker. And of coure this past weekend I changed the oil as it was time for my 30K service. During that routine maintenance I checked everything I could to make sure I didn't have mechanical problems on this ride.
Preparing for this ride has meant preparing my body for the ride. For the past week I've avoided caffeine and alcohol. By last Thursday I noticed I wasn't getting as sleepy in the afternoons as I usually do. I could definitely feel a more even energy level through out the day. I've also made sure to get plenty of rest this week. I call it putting sleep in the sleep bank.
This morning my day started like a normal Tuesday, get up and go walking. I skipped my bow flex workout and had breakfast. A quick check of my inbox and a little last minute packing. Then it was time to get back to bed and take a nap. It was more like laying in bed and watching the History channel but it was rest and that's what I was looking for. When 10am came around my alarm went off and I grabbed a shower and started getting dressed. Everything was going as planned. Once I was ready I walked into the garage to make last minute checks on the bike. First problem...
When I turned on the key, my installed accessories did not power up. I turned off the key and tried it again. Still nothing. Worry was starting to creap in, was my trip about to be scrapped over some silly electrical issue? I unpacked everything and began troubleshooting. I have a delay circuit installed that keeps my accessories on for 20 minutes after the key is turned off. It's not supposed to give me problems so it's tucked deeply up in the tail section and requires removing the top case and side case mounts to gain access. Once all that was removed I tapped on the onboard relay and I heard the magical click. Things turned on and I was back on track after putting things together again.
Since I wanted to leave at noon, I decided to get Reagan and my lawn guy Ryan to sign my start witness form. With that done it was time to get on the bike, say good bye and go get my start receipt. All the planning was done, the only thing left was to ride the first 1500 miles of the trip before noon the next day...
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