Done!

Whew...what a ride. The Legends Saddle Sore 1000 is in the books and what a ride it was. For those that don't know what a Saddle Sore 1000 is, it is 1000 mile ride on a motorcycle in under 24 hours. There have been over a bunch of SS1000's that have been certified by the Iron Butt Association but this one was special for two reasons: it was held in conjunction with the IBA's banquet and it had IBA legends at each check point.

I rode the ride with my good friend Mike for the entire 1038 miles. We were supposed to ride with another couple but they bugged out on us after our first gas stop. Guess we were too slow or something. Oh well, enough of that. We also had two other good friends on the ride, David and Ray, who we kept passing and being passed by during the day.

We started at 0600 with temps in the high 20's/low 30's from Jacksonville, FL, riding south to Daytona for checkpoint number one and the chance to meet our first legend, Bob Higdon. With 15 bikes at the checkpoint, we didn't get a chance to say anything but thank you and have a good ride, then back on the bike.

Checkpoint number two was in Tampa, which meant a ride through downtown Orlando on I-4 during morning rush hour. What a blast that was...not! It was slow sledding but we made it to Tampa in good time and met Dave McQueeny. Again, no time for pleasantries, had to get back going.

On the way to our next stop in Ocala, my left mirror came loose while riding. I had to twist it back tight while riding down I-75. This leg was very quick, all Interstate and smooth sailing. We got to meet a very gracious lady, Ardys Kellerman, who, even in her 80's, still rides and rides a ton of miles. In 2007 she had rode over 100K!

The next leg was to Chiefland and I had my second issue of the trip. My high beem burnt out, so I had to ride with low beam only. Mike didn't have any problems but misplaced his cell phone, which meant an additional stop down the road to find it. At this checkpoint we met Jim Owen, winner of the 2009 Iron Butt Rally.

Our fifth leg was up US 19 to Tallahassee and a chance to meet Shane Smith, former winner of the IBR. What a treat! He was so nice and encouraging to all of us, giving us bandannas to honor Fran Crane, a fallen rider that was dear friend of Shane's. We now had about 470 miles in the books, but the sun was heading toward the horizon.

Our next leg was due west to Pensacola...directly into the sun! I told Mike that we needed to hustle because daylight was running out and with temps in the 40's in daylight, our night temps would be considerably colder. On the way to Pensacola, we stopped to check on a group of 3 riders that had stopped, turns out one had run out of fuel and they were in the middle of siphoning fuel to his bike.

As we approached Pensacola, I noticed my headlight wasn't showing up on the vehicles in front of me. So I had Mike go in front of me and sure enough, all headlight function was gone. Lucky for me, when we got to the checkpoint, Mike had a spare in this saddlebag and another rider offered me his spare also. So after meeting Marty Leir, another former IBR winner, I got the headlight changed with Mike's help. Back on the road again, about 350 miles to go.

Heading back to Tallahassee for our last checkpoint and the sun dying at our backs, we started to brace for the cold...and boy did it come! As we pulled into Tallahassee for our last checkpoint with Ross and Jan Copas at the Waffle House, it had to be about 34 or 35 degrees and it was only 7:40 or there abouts...time gets away from you when you are having this much fun.

When we walked into the Waffle House, I playfully asked Mike if we could stay there but I knew that we only had 3 hours left once we gassed up and got back on the road. But I'll tell you what, those plates full of WH food looked like prime rib to me. We donned our gear another time, knowing that the last leg would have one more fuel stop and that the temps were still falling. As we left, we saw our friends David and Ray pulling in. Ahhh, we are out in front of the 'lectric wearing buddies.

Crossing the northern part of Florida on I-10 on a cold night is not fun. There are no towns dotting the countryside to look forward to, just an occasional exit with a lone gas station/convenience store. The cold was getting worse or maybe it was just starting to take it's toll. Nothing on my body was warm. All I could do was keep telling myself and Mike that it would soon be over.

As we got within 50 miles of Jacksonville and the end of the ride we had to make one last stop. That stop was problematic because neither Mike nor I had traveled this stretch of road so we didn't know what station or what exit would hold the valuable juice that gives our machines life. We had to get off three times until we found one open and then we found neither of our credit cards where working any more...dam theft protection!

On our last 50 mile leg into the finish, I was just trying to survive...not the ride but the cold! I was starting to shake and feel pain in my hands and feet. Not wanting to stop, I soldiered on. We ended up back at the finish at 11:40, all in one piece and cold but happy.

In retrospect there are a couple things I would do differently. First would be have heavy riding pants and heated gloves for the ride. Nothing beats good gear. Second, I would make sure go over my bike before leaving, checking all the connections and such so the mirror or something else doesn't seem loose. Third, bring extra bulbs! Fourth, make sure the credit card people speak English and understand what I mean when I call them and say "Hey, I'm going on a trip all over the state, so don't turn off my credit card, ok?" I guess I slipped into Chinese or something.

It was a great ride, a great time with my friend, and a challenge. On Friday I hatched a new plan for a ride, but more on that later. I can't wait for the next big ride!