The Road to Provo - Part 1 of 2

 Trying to capture what I'm up to isn't as easy as I would like... my typing speed is okay, my thoughts of what trips I should capture is okay, but I just can't seem to get the groove going... well, I'll keep trying :)

So I packed up and made all my final preps for leaving the house... one dink move was that I didn't get the lawn tractor gas can's refilled before I left so Teri would have gas.

Right now I'm sitting at the Provo Marriott waiting for the official activities of the Iron Butt Rally to begin. I arrived here in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after making some minor adjustments to my planned trip here from Minneapolis, MN.

I left home Thursday morning, the 10th of June to make my way to Minneapolis so I could participate in the Minnesota 1000 24 hour rally run by the Team Strange group. It was a hot day getting up to 97 for much of the ride through Missouri. I didn't schedule any stops, except for gas, until Des Moines Iowa where I would get a old railway depot for AULDR. From here I would my rooster and a 9/11 memorial before entering Minnesota. My plan on this trip overall was to complete Minnesota for AULDR.

Packed and ready to go

Crossing into IOWA

Always looking for water towers in new states

Next stop was for a bonus for the Grand Tour in Clear Lake, IA. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JD Richardson (The Big Bopper) played their last concert at the Surf Ballroom there on Feb 2, 1959. The task was to take a photo of the stone memorial honoring them.

Next up was to cross into Minnesota and ride the Shooting Star Sunflower Scenic Byway on my way to Rochester to capture an old railway depot for Minnesota. Along the way I found my water tower for Minnesota and a Tour of Honor site before moving on to the railway depot.

I arrived at the railway depot after dark.

It might be difficult to tell how the bike is parked, but shortly after taking these pictures I dropped the bike as I was preparing to leave for my next destination. I recently converted my rear tire to a car tire (this is known as Darksiding) and am still in the "getting to know you" phase. I had the bike parked at an angle to the driveway and as I prepared to leave, I decided to gently roll the bike backwards before taking off. As my rear tire made contact with the driveway lip, it start to follow it which resulted the bike being forced over onto the right side. This happened pretty quickly and in an instant the bike was on it's side and I shut it off and dismounted. I had just gotten gas which means that the bike was at it's maximum weight. I had also been riding in 97+ degree whether all days crossing Missouris and Iowa. It took me two attempts, but on the second attempt I gave it a good push and was able to right the bike and ease it onto it's kickstand. After a few minutes recovery and cursing myself I was able to take off to make my way to a 2019 IBR site LAKEC which is a lighthouse on the Mississippi river before making my way to the Prime Rate Inn near the Rally HQ's for the MN1000.

The trip to the hotel totaled about 850 miles in all. Excepting for the heat and bike drop in Rochester, it was a good trip overall.  I secured a ground level room which was easy for me to get in and out of and unloaded the bike to prep it for the upcoming rally.

Since check-in for the rally wasn't until 5pm on Friday, I made a short day trip of around 300 miles to capture some TOH and AULDR bonus' including the Merci Boxcar.

Team Strange had BBQ for the riders and staff at 6pm followed by the Riders meeting at 7pm. Upon checkin we received our swag bag which consisted of our TShirt, a Team Strange glass and a MN1000 Rally sticker. Umm, did I remember to reserve space in my load to pickup rally swag?

The Riders meeting was short and simple. We were given directions of when to report for odometer checks in the morning and that we would be starting sharply at 8am on Saturday morning. Arriving late (after 7:59:59am) Sunday morning would result in a DNF (Did Not Finish) and to not have reported to scoring by 9am would result in minute by minute penalties.

A quick scan through the rally pack confirmed that there were no surprise bonus's (group pic, etc) that would occur before the official rally start time.

The bonuses for the rally were spread over Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and into Wyoming. General rule of thumb was that the closer you were to rally HQ the lower the value. There were two combination bonuses one in North Dakota and one in South Dakota. The North Dakota bonus was a value quite a bit higher than the South but also included many more stops, 14. A combination bonus is when you meet certain criteria, then a bonus amount of points are awarded. In this case, each bonus consisted of completing the task at all the designated points. The North Dakota combo was named the Talking Trail and most of the 14 stops consisted of visiting a way marker which had a phone number and a code. You would dial into the phone number, punch in the code and listen to the recording. The bonus in the rally packet would have a question to which the answer was in that recording. Each of these bonuses were valued at 50 pts and the combo was 3000. To put it in perspective, the winner of the rally scored 14,000 points, so 3000 was pretty significant. Here's some pics of my stops.

At the end of the day I did not finish very well. Part of that was that I played a more safe game and another factor was a little disagreement the rally master and I had regarding the scoring of the Talking Trail combo costing me those 3000 points. All in all it was a good rally run by the good group at Team Strange and all riders were tip top!

My official mileage for the rally was 1207 miles while the top finishers were just over the 1400 mile mark. I did learn from this rally that I need to trust myself more in what I'm capable of doing... part of my hesitation on this rally was in looking towards Provo and the Iron Butt Rally in that I wanted to arrive in good shape and ready to take on the 11 day adventure and challenge of the Iron Butt Rally.

Following the awards Sunday morning I headed back to my hotel for some rest as my departure for Provo was planned for 11pm Sunday night.... more on that next post...

Upcoming Agenda

 For those who may be checking this blog here are my upcoming activities and links.

I plan to put up a ride report for my trip up to Minnesota and participation in the MN 1000 Rally which was a 24 hour rally that completed this morning, Sunday June 13, at 0800.

Tonight I'll be departing for a 2 ½ day journey through Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah to finish up at the Iron Butt Rally HQ in Provo.

Here are links to the latest rides:

Ride to Minneapolis and the following day ride before the rally: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/3c1d-2d0cfbd-5c6f/view

My route for the MN 1000 Rally (0800 June 12 to 0800 June 13): https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/2227-bee395-f486/view

My two upcoming rides which will take me to Provo, UT. The first is the IDE and if you've been following then you know this ride must start and end in towns that begin with an R. Nothing will show up in this link until I start the ride: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/1f0e-e89b45-dc9e/view

The next one will take me through the Badlands. For both rides I'll be knocking off Tour of Honor and America's Ultimate Long Distance Rider bonuses while traversing some beautiful country: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/3e51-1642ffd-f8e7/view

Most interesting link of all, the Iron Butt Rally Reports link. This is where the daily reports from the rally will be posted as well as other links. I recommend you bookmark this link. I will be in a grey out from social media Sat and Sun (June 19 & 20) and in a social media blackout from June 21 to July 2. There really won't be anything at this link until the start weekend: https://ironbutt.com/ibr2021/index.html

Tour of Honor Extreme rides for Louisiana and Mississippi (May 24 & 25)

 Out to knock of some Tour of Honor sites and get some points on the books for AULDR (America's Ultimate Long Distance Rider). 

As my plans adapt in the course of the season, I decided a couple of back to back Tour of Honor Extreme rides (all Tour of Honor sites for a state in at least 1000 miles under 24 hours) were in order. This would throw down some points for AULDR and get me at least 2500 miles on my dark side tire (care tire on the rear of a motorcycle). So I mapped out a circuit that would capture the state of Louisiana followed by Mississippi. I had debated on making a jaunt over to Florida to finish it for AULDR but I had a dentist appointment on Wednesday that I had to be back for.

For Louisiana I still needed a few AULDR stops such as a 9/11 memorial, 2 TOH sites, a scenic byway, and a 2019 IBR site. In order to get the mileage in Louisiana would work out great as I could start the clock right here in Collinsville and finish in Slidell, LA with a bit over 1100 miles without having to pad anything to get it. It also meant that once I started the clock in Collinsville that I would be able to knock down a chunk of miles since the first site I needed to stop at would be in Monroe, LA, a run of 472 miles which would require one gas stop in route. The remaining 700 + miles would be a gentle glide through Louisiana heading down to the mouth of the Mississippi. Along the way I would be able to hit New Orleans and then include the San Bernardo Scenic Byway before doubling back through New Orleans to capture the final TOH site and the 2019 IBR site "VENI".

Start time for the ride was 03:33am on 5/24 as evidence by my Dated Business Receipt (DBR). The Iron Butt Association uses a combination of things to verify that a rider has completed a ride that they claim. One of the mandatory items is a DBR that proves the time and location of an event (start, finish, corner, intermediate fuel stop, etc). The picture of the DBR is taken with the odometer of the motorcycle and this provides a certain level of confidence that the rider was in a specific location at a specific time with the motorcycle. The START DBR begins the clock for the ride. So, to complete my Tour of Honor SaddleSore (1000 miles in less than 24 hours) Extreme (all 7 TOH sites) I would need to have a FINISH DBR by 03:33 the following day.

My route would initially take me through 4 Tour of Honor sites. LA5, the Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe, LA2 the War Memorial Civic Center in Deridder, LA7 the Veterans Memorial in Opelousas, and LA4 the Port Hudson Historic site in Jackson.

LA5

LA2

LA7

LA4

My next stop was to the Gold Start Family Memorial Monument in Baton Rouge. These monuments are being constructed in all 50 states to honor the families of the fallen. These are a work in progress and most recently completed the dedication of the 50th state to receive one. There are still more on the way across the country. More information on the GSFMM is here: https://www.tourofhonor.com/pages/gold.html

a

Next on the list was a stop for AULDR, the Merci Boxcar for Louisiana in Baton Rouge (https://www.themetrains.com/merci-train-roster.htm). I have had a difficult time with several of the boxcars in trying to find them and Louisiana was no different. This boxcar is on display downtown on the grounds of the Old State Capital Museum. After riding around the museum for several minutes I was about to give up when I spied the boxcar through a heavy grounds fence. Due to the construction on museum grounds the car was inaccessible but barely visible through the fence. (for AULDR, one's motorcycle must be in the submitted picture in lieu of a flag being used.

Next up was LA3 Veteran's Memorial Park in Gonzales followed by LA6, the Victory Arch in New Orleans. New Orleans is a daytime only stop and this is what had been driving my timing since the start since I had to be at LA6 between sunrise and sunset.

LA3

LA6 Victory Arch

The Victory Arch was erected by the citizens of the 9th Ward of New Orleans following World War 1. The monument was relocated to it's current location in 1951. I've included pictures of the plaques affixed to the monument. Notice a sign of the times in that the names are listed by color.

Here's a link to a news article from 1919 providing some historical context for the monument:

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~neworleans/military/victory_arch/1919_news_article.html

Following the Victory Arch was now a run to follow the San Bernardo Scenic Byway. This was to be a short 15 mile out and back since it crossed the Mississippi River. After the scenic byway I had the final TOH stop and a 2019 IBR site to visit on the other side of the Mississippi and so would have to pass through/around New Orleans after completing the scenic byway.

At the end of the byway, both of my GPS units identified another route that would save me 20 minutes. Since both of them agreed, I jumped on it. This route was taking me to Pointe a la Hache which I assumed was another bridge to cross the Might Miss and was approximately 45 miles down the road. This would save me riding back through New Orleans along with several miles. Unfortunately, once I got to Pointe a la Hache, I discovered this was NOT a bridge, but a ferry and while the sign at the ferry said the ferry ran on the hour, every hour, until 10pm it looked pretty locked up at 8:25pm. So instead of waiting for the 9pm and then the trek across the river, I decided to back track my way to my original route. What had occurred was that on a previous venture I had changed my avoidances in my GPS from avoiding routes that included ferries to allow ferries as that particular trip required one. Once reconfigured it correctly, it plotted a route back up through New Orleans that was now adding 2.5 hours to my route :(. As I was leaving the ferry, I spied a fire station and decided, before leaving the area, to enquire what they knew about the ferry schedule. There I learned that the last ferry was 8pm, not 10pm, and that it was locked up fore the night. So away I went back to New Orleans and to travel down the west side of the Mississippi to LA1 Fort Jackson in Buras followed by the 2019 IBR site VENI.

LA1

VENI

In the 2019 IBR, VENI was used as part of a combination bonus that riders were able to choose to ride the entire length of the Mississippi and VENI was used to get the riders as close as possible to the mouth of the Mississippi.

From VENI I was off, back up through New Orleans, to my hotel in Slidell via a 9/11 Memorial and a Huey for both TOH and AULDR before getting a few hours rest for the follow on TOH Extreme ride through Mississippi.

9/11 Memorial in Slidell

Final Stop for the night

The link to my route for Louisiana is here: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/576a-229c605-8c28/view

A few hours later my TOH Extreme for Mississippi began. My first stop was to ride the NASA Scenic Byway to Space. This was to be a 30 mile ride around NASA's Stennis Space Center. After following the trail for about 20 minutes the trail led me to the main gate of Stennis, to which was not open to the public and I was unable to gain access. Not completing a scenic byway for Mississippi would prevent me from completing the state and cost me two points for state completion. After some parking lot re-rerouting I discovered the Beach Blvd Scenic Byway which was perfect for my route as I had a TOH memorial to hit in Bay St. Louis which would be right in the middle of the scenic byway.

Beach Blvd Scenic Byway

MS1 Bay St. Louis

For the remaining trip through Mississippi I had planned a mix of TOH (I still had to complete all 7 Mississippi sites), AULDR, and Team Stranges Grand Tour. Due to the loss of so much time on the Mississippi the night before, I mad the decision to cut the Grand Tour sites from the route because I had a dental appointment at 10am on Weds and wanted to get a couple of hours sleep before sitting in the chair. So off I went for the next stops of MS2, the Veteran's Memorial in Columbia followed by MS5, the Veteran's Memorial in Liberty.

MS2 Columbia

MS5 Liberty

Next stop was Jackson to capture the Merci Boxcar for Mississippi and an Old Railway station. The information I had (remember my problems with locating these boxcars?) was that the boxcar was located at the Museum of Mississippi History in Jackson. After circling around the museum, which is a sizable campus of several entities, I assumed the boxcar would be inside the museum since I couldn't locate it outside. Parked the bike, traded ball cap for helmet and then walked to the entrance. Once there I was greeted by security who wanted to empty ALL pockets, pat me down and run me through a scanner. This was going to be a true PITA and I didn't even know if the boxcar was inside or not! I asked the guard whether the boxcar was inside the museum and he didn't know. I pushed a little harder and pointed to the information desk behind him and asked if we couldn't ask them. Good thing we did because a nice staff person took me outside and gave me directions to where the boxcar was located a few blocks away - so off  I went on my hunt. Turns out the boxcar was located right next to an old train station converted to offices, a 2 fer!

Mississippi Merci Boxcar

Train Station in Jackson

Now off to Flora for MS3 Veteran's Memorial which I happened across a large rooster needed for AULDR. These would be followed by MS6, the War Memorial in Quitman, MS7, the War Memorial in Tupelo, and MS4, the War Memorial in Iuka. This would complete the 7 TOH memorials for Mississippi and all that was left were some AULDR stops along with completing the 1000+ miles on the way home for my dentist appointment.

Rooster in Jackson

MS3 Flora

MS6 Quitman

MS4 Tupelo

National Cemetery in Corinth

9/11 Memorial in Iuka

I will mention that the trip along the Mississippi the night before had created quite the layer of bugs on both my windshield and my light. Seeing through my windshield had been impossible since the night before. This isn't so much an issue as I sit just above the windshield and rarely look through it unless I'm looking at something up close to the motorcycle. The night in Mississippi though revealed that the layer of bugs was cutting down the light from my forward facing lights and thus resulted in a stop to clear them of the layer of bug crud. 

After leaving the National Cemetery in Corinth, the ride was pretty much a 400 mile ride straight home with brief cat naps and fuel stops. As I crossed Arkansas a very heavy fog, intermittent with rain, set in and with my tired state slowed me down a bit and required a few more cat naps along the way than I would have like. Still, I was able to complete the ride pulling a finish receipt in Webber Falls Ok and finally arriving home around 8am - in time for a shower and short nap before the dentist.

I was able to complete 2 Tour of Honor Extreme rides for the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and closed out the states of Louisiana and Mississippi for AULDR earning those bonus points. I didn't get any of the Grand Tour photos that I had planned on and so those will be left to another time.

The Spotwalla track for Mississippi is here: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/a7fa-2f781fd-6947/view and the track for the entire two days is here: https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/8233-9cc14d-f4fd/view