So my good friend and I are talking about taking a ride on the bikes. He said he was going to leave Friday morning and circle Lake Michigan and do a Saddle Sore 1000. Well that took about 30 seconds of convincing me and I asked if he wanted a wing man for the ride. We started at his place at 03:30 and made it back there by 23:30. Well 20+ hours and 1078 miles were completed an awesome ride.

Awesome weather just about the whole trip. 72 degrees when we started. Got through Chicago and to Indiana by 6:45. Nice sunrise view of the Chicago skyline.

Made the gas stops to hydrate, snack, refuel and move along the route. Seemed that most stores had social distancing checkout lines, but all were orderly and friendly.

The stop before crossing the Mackinac Bridge it looked like a bit of rain, but no heavy downpours. Just a few miles before the bridge a light shower started, continued as we crossed. Now for those that have crossed this bridge know that the bridge is 8000+ feet and one lane is open steel mesh. There is a bit of pucker factor, going more that a mile on that dry, now add water!! The bike handled it well and we kept our distances. Thankful that the winds were calm. Temperatures were only in the low 60’s on the north shore of the lake, but being from Wisconsin, good riding weather with the gear on.

You would never know that it was mayfly hatching along the lake areas...thank goodness for wearing a full face helmet and windshield! They were only in an isolated area, so a bit tolerable, just need to scrub the bike.

A few more stops to get back home. No mishaps or issues on the ride. Great to see some awesome scenery.

My son-in-law is an Iron Butt member. I know he’s done at least one SS 1000. Last year he rode all the way over to N Carolina to ride the Dragon’s Tail, but I don’t think he did a 1000 mile stint during that trip. I think it’s crazy myself; 750 miles in a car is a long day. He threw a loop around Lake Superior two years ago.

What's this saddlesore 1000 stuff. Did people go all Politically Correct and do away with the Iron Butt 1000? Hey, do 1000 miles on a CB750 withthe factory seat and you damned near needed an Iron Butt to survive the ride.

Congratulations on the accomplishment. For the unwashed that means riding 1000 documented miles with timed recipts in less than 24hrs total start to finish... I was asked several times to ride a "saddle sore" but couldn"t go at that time. In 10yrs put 77,500+ miles on my "05 Honda Vtx 1800 F2 (darksided) but in August 2016 lost bike due to a major flood with 41inches of water in the garage. Ride safe. Watch out because they are not looking for you. .......................drill sgt.

Wow, that's quite a feat!

Gutsy move including Chicago on a SS route.

Should have given me a shout. I would have met you at M77 and US 2.

I don’t ride anymore. When I did, I rode a BMW GS 1200 Adventure. I took several long trips every year. I’ve never done 1000 miles in a day but have done several 900 mile days. They were doable but you really have to be focused on safety and staying hydrated. I stopped every 2 hours to get off the bike, visit a restroom, eat something, and hydrate. I also walked. You can get blood clots if not moving around enough.

I never thought of it being a big deal. To me it was getting from point A to point B, where the fun started.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
What's this saddlesore 1000 stuff. Did people go all Politically Correct and do away with the Iron Butt 1000? Hey, do 1000 miles on a CB750 withthe factory seat and you damned near needed an Iron Butt to survive the ride.

Iron Butt is the name of the organization. The long-distance rides all have different names. I guess some people think they are all "iron butts."

https://ironbutt.org/rides/

Congratulations on your first SS!

It's hard to comprehend, but to travel 1000 miles in 24 hours, all you have to do is average 43 mph. Easy right? Not really, because even though you're going 65 or 70 mph, every time you stop for fuel, food, to pee, etc; and every minute the wheels aren't turning, or every time you have to slow down for one reason or another, you're lowering your average mph at a fast rate.

I have a few Saddle Sores in the books, including an all in-state PA ride. Along with a 2000mi/48hr, a 3000mi/72hr, and a 1500mi/24hr. The 1500/24 I made with only minutes to spare & that one kicked my arse because it was sweltering hot that day.

Congratulations and a nice ride too!

Nice! Up until today, I thought I had done a 1,000 mile trip on my 1998 ZX9R in under 14 hours. I rode from Naples, FL to the Horse Cave KOA in Kentucky. On my odometer, it was just over 1,000 miles. I remember it clearly because I had planned on stopping at the previous exit, but it was just under 1,000 miles, so I rode to the next exit. I just checked google maps and it says it's 957 miles. It was 20 years ago and I'm sure I used mapquest to plan the route on my computer before I left. I didn't have a gps or even a cell phone.

My best friend growing up does the iron butt thing. Not my cup of tea but I can totally understand why he does it. Congrats on your great ride. That's quite a feather in your cap my friend.

I like long distance rides but 400-450 miles is about as much as I'd like to ride in one day. The sales guy at my favorite BMW dealership does iron butt rides. I think he did a ride were they did 10k miles in 10 or 11 days. Glad you achieved your goal, enjoyed the ride and made it home safe.

My sister, BIL, and another couple went from Northern Michigan to the West Coast and back. That sounded like an iron butt ride to me.
Rod

Sounds like a good day.
What were you riding?

I've done 2 unofficial saddle sore rides, but I never bothered to get one verified. I kind of wish I had, but I don't have a bike these days so I don't know if I will ever get an official one. They were a lot of fun, for me the key was staying off the interstate as much as possible so I could move around on the bike a little.

NIce job, now were you on a sporty or a bagger!

Great description of the bridge … we did it last year on Harley's. I felt like puking. LOL.

MDS

I have a friend with did a SS1000 on his '36 Knucklehead and even had enough time to sleep in a hotel for a few hours!

I've done a few 500+ mile days in the saddle but never really gave much thought to an official attempt at it myself.