What I'd do Different
26 August 2008 - 09:21 .
A week later, and I'm still sore in some places. No doubt the Iron Butt ride was tough. Many have asked me why I did it... all I can say is 'because it's there'. Why do people climb mountains? Or go free diving in the ocean?I have no plans to do this to myself again any time soon. In a few years maybe, but not any time soon. That said, if I ever do an IBA ride again, there are a few things I would do differently, that I think would guarantee my success.
(This posting is really little more than search engine fodder for those thinking of doing an Iron Butt ride. Regular readers, or those who don't care, should feel free to ignore this post.)
Things to keep in mind if I were to do another Iron Butt Association ride (these may or may not be good suggestions for you if you're ever silly enough to attempt something like this):
- Ride a bike that's comfortable, not a bike that you love to ride.
Think your bike is comfortable? Take it for a 4 hour ride, and see how you feel afterwards. Then imagine feeling 4 times worse. That's what the 1000 mile ride is like. I still love riding my bike, but I won't do an IBA ride on it again.
- Get a throttle lock or cruise control. Use it.
Most riders I know will take their left hand off the bar for a period of time, and shake out the wrist and arm. Not being able to do that for my other arm was a serious problem for me.
- Be fit.
The physical toll for me was significant. Over the course of the ride I injured my neck, my wrist, my shoulder and I have an as-yet-undiagnosed injury to my ribcage. Don't underestimate the physical requirements of doing this ride.
- Know your route.
Talk to people through forums or other means to find out the peccadilloes of your planned route. For example, I found out late that my planned route was prone to Sunday evening traffic jams. Knowing this in advance would have been very helpful.
- Geography matters.
I didn't plan on dealing with 105 degree heat as I went through a desert, nor the bitter cold of the mountain passes. In fact, I completely missed that there would be so many passes in the first place.
- Dehydration is your enemy
Remember that when you ride, you sweat. And at highway speeds that sweat tends to get wicked away. This means you lose a lot of fluid, very fast. Dehydration was probably my biggest foe on this trip. Get a water pack or something similar.
- Know your limits, and accept them.
Pride is fine, but dead people can't claim the prize. If you're sitting there wondering if it's safe to go on, then it probably isn't.
Of course, this list is far from exhaustive. There's more tips at the IBA website, and many of mine are on the redundant side. But sometimes hearing it from a different source helps to solidify that they're not blowing smoke out of their asses.