Texas Tour of Honor - 1545 Miles in 35 Hours

My Texas Tour of Honor (ToH) ride is now history. I'm happy to say that I met my goal of completing the 1500+ mile ride in under 36 hours. I e-mailed the ToH administrator the required photos to verify that I visited the correct locations on Sunday and heard back from her on Monday that my photos had been accepted/verified and that I had been identified on their website as having visited 7 ToH sites. I mailed my documentation package to the Iron Butt Association (IBA) yesterday and am hopeful that they will certify my ride as a Tour of Honor Extreme Bun Burner. Unfortunately, I may have to wait up to 3 months to hear back from them...I'll let you know when I get my certification :-)

I left my house at about 3:30 Friday morning and cautiously made my way to Palacios, TX. Riding at night can be little nerve-wrecking. The reduced viability makes it even more important to watch your speed and your surroundings. Not too far from Palacios some kind of animal ran across the road in front of me making the ol'sphincter really pucker-up. I'm almost certain it was a chupacabra...whatever it was it wouldn't have been a pretty sight if I had actually hit it. The adrenaline rush from the near-miss experience kept me pumped-up for hours. The miles from Palacios to Galveston and then to Tyler were uneventful but watching the sunrise over the coast was magical.

Overall, I really enjoyed the ride but there were times during those many miles that I questioned my sanity. One of those times was riding through Dallas, TX during rush hour. There's not much I dislike more than crawling through traffic on a motorcycle...and after having been on the bike for over 13 hours, operating the clutch and throttle became extremely painful. This was my lowest point in the ride. I really felt defeated and the delay made me question whether or not I was really going to be able to finish in under 36 hours. I made an unplanned stop at a McDonald's as soon as I exited I-20. The short time I spent there did wonders for my attitude. I got back on the bike more determined than ever to complete the ride and meet my goal.

I pulled into San Angelo, TX at about 2:30 in the morning, a little more than an hour after my planned arrival time. In order to make-up some time, I decided to cut my rest period short. I slept for about 3 hours, showered, and hit the road around 6:30. I felt good and the cool morning air was refreshing. As I made my way to Andrews, TX I witnessed another beautiful sunrise. I couldn't help but feel cheerful and blessed. I enjoyed the solitude and beauty of West Texas. There's a quiet stillness there that rejuvenates the soul.

As I clicked off the miles from Andrews to Pecos to Van Horn my excitement and confidence grew. I had maintained a good speed (without speeding) and was on-track to make it to the last ToH site in El Paso, TX before my 36 hour window closed. The last 120 miles to El Paso seemed to drag on forever...I just wanted to get there. The only saving grace in those last hundred miles was the magnificent landscape. Mountains rose up all around me and they were breathtaking. This in one of the most beautiful parts of Texas.

I made my way through El Paso to the US Border Patrol Museum at about 2:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. I quickly took the required photograph and went inside to request a signature on my IBA witness form to document the end of the ride. A museum employee was happy to help me. After getting my witness form signed I went to the gift shop and purchased a US Border Patrol pin for my vest. The date/time stamp on the receipt providing the official end time to my Iron Butt ride...13:39 MDT. I did a little Happy Dance to celebrate riding 1545 miles in 35 hours and 1 minute.

My Happy Dance was cut short when it hit me that I needed to ride another 600+ miles to get home. I spent a few minutes taking in the sights of the museum before saddling-up for the ride home. I decided after 35+ hours with only 3 hours sleep I would stop for the night in Van Horn, TX but not before stopping at Barnett Harley-Davidson, billed as having the world's largest selection of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. I spent about 30 minutes in Barnett's. I'll have to say I've never seen a larger selection of Harley motorcycles and t-shirts anywhere. The place was huge.

Realizing I hadn't had anything except a couple of granola bars and some Gatorade in the last 22 hours, I stopped at McDonald's as I left El Paso. I don't think a grilled chicken sandwich, fries, and a diet coke ever tasted so good. Refreshed and refueled I pushed on to Van Horn and checked into a Motel 6. The only thing I can say about my Motel 6 experience is that it was cheap and I got a good 9 hours of sleep. I was back on the bike just after sunrise on Sunday. A short four and a half hour later I pulled into my daughter's driveway in San Angelo. I spent the rest of Sunday and half of Monday playing with my granddaughters and grandson. I look forward to the day when they're big enough ride with me. I think they'll enjoy it. I know I will.

My wife had driven to San Angelo on Thursday so we left together at about 1:30 Monday afternoon. The sky looked like it would open-up at any moment but it never rained. As we got closer to home, the clouds broke to reveal a beautiful blue sky. When I pulled into my garage at 6:30 my trip odometer read 2181 miles. That's the most miles I've ridden in such a short period of time. I know to some hard core long distance riders that isn't a lot but it is to me. It was an adventure I'm sure to remember for a long time to come. I'm excited to see where my next adventure will take me. Now more than ever I want to Live free and Ride Hard!

SpotWalla Tracking Map of My 2181 Mile Adventure

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To view more photographs of my adventure across Texas, please visit my Facebook Page.

To learn more about the Iron Butt Certification rides, visit the Iron Butt Association website.

To learn more about the 2013 Tour of Honor, visit the Tour of Honor website.

Happy Dance Time...

Wow, it’s hard to believe that I haven’t posted in over a month. I’ve wanted to post but each time I thought about sitting-down and putting pen-to-paper, my attention was diverted…and then I was off in a different direction. Between work and family visits there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of time left for writing or riding for that matter. Unfortunately, I think my mental health has suffered for it. I get a little anxious if I go without any saddle time for a while. Riding helps me clear my head and motivates me to work harder in other areas of my life. Riding calms my soul. 

Provided the weather isn’t too extreme on Friday, 11 October 2013, my soul should be doing a happy dance. I plan to start my Tour of Honor Bun Burner Extreme Iron Butt ride between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. If all goes as planned, I should cover the 1500+ miles in under 36 hours. I’ve mapped out a route that will take me from my house to the farthest Tour of Honor site in the state, the National Border Patrol Museum in El Paso, TX. Here’s an overview of my planned stops:

A. Home
B. Camp Hulen Historical Marker, Palacios, TX
C. USS Cavalla SSK-244, Seawolf Park, Galveston, TX
D. Gas Stop, Centerville, TX
E. Historic Aviation Memorial Museum, Tyler, TX
F. US Veterans Museum of Granbury, Granbury, TX
G. Cedar Park County Veterans Memorial, Cedar Park, TX
H. Gas Stop, Brady TX
I. Rest/Sleep Stop, San Angelo, TX
J. Andrews County Veterans Memorial, Andrews, TX
K. Gas Stop, Pecos, TX
L. Gas Stop, Van Horn, TX
M. National Border Patrol Museum, El Paso, TX

Given my bike’s 4.5 gallon tank, I’ll be getting gas at each Tour of Honor stop as well as the gas stops listed. The nice thing about having a smaller tank is you have an opportunity to stretch your legs more often but the downside is the more stops you make the more difficult it becomes to maintain a good average speed. I’m hoping I can improve my average speed between stops and possibly reduce my stop times to give me a little more wiggle room to complete the ride in the allotted 36 hours. As it stands now, if I don’t increase my speed averages and decrease stop times I’ll only have about 15 minutes to spare before running out of time. Let me know what you think of my detailed ride plan:

While I’d really like to accomplish my goal and earn an additional Iron Butt certification, safety will be my primary concern. I won’t push myself if I get tired and I’ll ride within my limits. I’m a little nervous about the hazards wildlife poses at night but will lower the risk of having a wildlife encounter by maintaining a slower speed and maintaining good situational awareness. At the end of the day, I’m riding for my personal enjoyment, not to earn a certificate.

If you’d like to “follow” me on this adventure, I’ll be using BubblerGPS and SpotWalla for tracking. You can check on my progress here. The SpotWalla map should initialize between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Unlike a SPOT tracker, my BubblerGPS app will only upload my location when I have a good cell phone signal so my “track” may appear a bit sporadic.

I’ll post a full ride report and pictures as soon as I can once I’m back. Until then, wish me luck and Godspeed. Gotta get ready for my Happy Dance…