tdragger
Living Legend
Originally posted on Tour of Honor Forum. Tour of Honor is a series of rides benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project, Fischer House and some other worthy charities that benefit those who serve. www.tourofhonor.com. Tour of Honor, working in conjunction with the Iron Butt Association, offers special recognition for completing certain IBA rides while also documenting memorial sites. Documenting all 7 sites in one state as part of a SS1000 qualifies as an IBA Extreme ride. Below is my ride report:
I got a late start on my ToH rides this year but glad to finally get out on the road. In looking at the trophy list, both Virginia and West Virginia had 3rd place awards still available as I started my planning. From my Fredericksburg, VA location both states offered perfect routes for making IBA SS1000 runs. As the weekend neared I noticed that the Virginia trophy had been snatched up so I switched my final planning focus to the West Virginia run.
After waking up my wife at 0030 (12:30 a.m.) to sign my witness form, I headed out to a nearby gas station for a starting receipt. Started the pump and held the trigger but no joy. The station manager said something about purging the lines and that it would be 10-15 minutes so I collected my receipt for 0.05 gallons of gas (mostly air) and headed off to a secondary location. 10 minutes later I had my tank full and set out.
The start time was chosen so that I could hopefully make it to all seven stops in daylight hours so the first 5 hours of the trip was in the wee hours of the night with herds of deer lining Interstates 64 and 81. :shock: Needless to say there were some pucker moments throughout the night. I crossed into West Virginia at sunrise and proceeded into deep Appalachian coal country for my first stop in Kimball (WV7).
Much of the day was uneventful as I reached monuments in Charleston, Nitro Parkersburg.
WV6 - Charleston
WV5 - Nitro
WV2 - Parkersburg
Next stop was Chester and things were getting more interesting. First of all it was getting very, very hot outside. The heat from the asphalt was beginning to take its toll on my energy levels. Second, having grown up in agricultural north Texas and now living in a bedroom 'burb in Virginia it was fascinating to ride up the Ohio River and all the heavy industrial areas. It's just not something that I am used to seeing. It proved to be somewhat distracting and slowed me down.
WV1- Chester
Checking the time I noticed that daylight was getting short so I needed to hustle a bit. I made good time down to Fairmont which is a few miles south of Morgantown.
WV3 - Fairmont
Another check of the watch confirmed that I could still make the final stop in Martinsburg with some daylight left so I headed out on IH 68 with haste. A check of the trip meter caused some concern as I would be stretching the limits of the Rocket's fuel range to reach my target fuel stop. Needless to say, I was 2 miles short. The big beast coughed and sputtered at just the right spot to make an exit from the Interstate. I coasted to a stop at a safe place and commenced the hissy-fit for being so stupid running out of gas. A quick call to AMA and they rolled a roadside assistance provider to bring me a few gallons. A big shoutout to AMA and East End Enterprises for the quick service. The service call is covered by AMA. I just needed to pay for the gas. I gave the provider a $20 and called it even.
By now I had no chance of making the final stop by nightfall. I hoped that the monument would be night photography friendly and sure enough it was.
WV4 - Martinsburg
Now it was 2.5 hours back home. Thankfully uneventful. Final gas receipt collected at 2348 (11:48 pm) and rolled into my garage at straighup midnight. 23 hours on the clock and 1038 miles on the odo. Woke the wife up again to sign my witness form.
I had underestimated the difficulty of making a SS1000 as part of the ToH. My previous runs were almost exclusively on Interstate highways and achieved in 18 hours. Due to the need to ride some back roads, the time requirements are extended on the ToH. I can't wait to do it again.
Spotwalla Route
I got a late start on my ToH rides this year but glad to finally get out on the road. In looking at the trophy list, both Virginia and West Virginia had 3rd place awards still available as I started my planning. From my Fredericksburg, VA location both states offered perfect routes for making IBA SS1000 runs. As the weekend neared I noticed that the Virginia trophy had been snatched up so I switched my final planning focus to the West Virginia run.
After waking up my wife at 0030 (12:30 a.m.) to sign my witness form, I headed out to a nearby gas station for a starting receipt. Started the pump and held the trigger but no joy. The station manager said something about purging the lines and that it would be 10-15 minutes so I collected my receipt for 0.05 gallons of gas (mostly air) and headed off to a secondary location. 10 minutes later I had my tank full and set out.
The start time was chosen so that I could hopefully make it to all seven stops in daylight hours so the first 5 hours of the trip was in the wee hours of the night with herds of deer lining Interstates 64 and 81. :shock: Needless to say there were some pucker moments throughout the night. I crossed into West Virginia at sunrise and proceeded into deep Appalachian coal country for my first stop in Kimball (WV7).
Much of the day was uneventful as I reached monuments in Charleston, Nitro Parkersburg.
WV6 - Charleston
WV5 - Nitro
WV2 - Parkersburg
Next stop was Chester and things were getting more interesting. First of all it was getting very, very hot outside. The heat from the asphalt was beginning to take its toll on my energy levels. Second, having grown up in agricultural north Texas and now living in a bedroom 'burb in Virginia it was fascinating to ride up the Ohio River and all the heavy industrial areas. It's just not something that I am used to seeing. It proved to be somewhat distracting and slowed me down.
WV1- Chester
Checking the time I noticed that daylight was getting short so I needed to hustle a bit. I made good time down to Fairmont which is a few miles south of Morgantown.
WV3 - Fairmont
Another check of the watch confirmed that I could still make the final stop in Martinsburg with some daylight left so I headed out on IH 68 with haste. A check of the trip meter caused some concern as I would be stretching the limits of the Rocket's fuel range to reach my target fuel stop. Needless to say, I was 2 miles short. The big beast coughed and sputtered at just the right spot to make an exit from the Interstate. I coasted to a stop at a safe place and commenced the hissy-fit for being so stupid running out of gas. A quick call to AMA and they rolled a roadside assistance provider to bring me a few gallons. A big shoutout to AMA and East End Enterprises for the quick service. The service call is covered by AMA. I just needed to pay for the gas. I gave the provider a $20 and called it even.
By now I had no chance of making the final stop by nightfall. I hoped that the monument would be night photography friendly and sure enough it was.
WV4 - Martinsburg
Now it was 2.5 hours back home. Thankfully uneventful. Final gas receipt collected at 2348 (11:48 pm) and rolled into my garage at straighup midnight. 23 hours on the clock and 1038 miles on the odo. Woke the wife up again to sign my witness form.
I had underestimated the difficulty of making a SS1000 as part of the ToH. My previous runs were almost exclusively on Interstate highways and achieved in 18 hours. Due to the need to ride some back roads, the time requirements are extended on the ToH. I can't wait to do it again.
Spotwalla Route
