Okay, have you ever been just going about your business and all the sudden you realize you've crossed a milestone and not even realized it? For a while, I thought rolling 30k on the new bike would be a "wow" kind of moment. Now I realize rolling a bunch of miles on a motorcycle isn't the milestone, it's what happened during all those miles that matters.
The first thousand miles were gone in a week and included a bit of traveling locally. Yes, when I picked up the R1200RT I scheduled the 600 mile start-up service for that weekend :) Next, I had the great pleasure of once again competing in the Mason Dixon 20-20 endurance rally. I still remember the look on the volunteer's face when I went to complete the odometer check before the rally. I don't know that I had the lowest mileage bike in the event, but it had to be close. Beautiful mountain roads in West Virginia (Rt. 50) at 2:00 am included a few deer, light rain and mist rising off the tarmac, and a Bubba in a pick-up truck. And the goal? In part it was to get back to where I'd been less than 24-hours before, but more so, to get safely back to Jennifer waiting at the finish line. In a bit over a month I was at the shop to schedule my first 6k service.
Since then the motorcycle and I have traveled to Canada, been to the top of Mount Washington, sat with family in Michigan to watched the Woodward Cruise, and then we did a little jaunt across country (check the September 2009 archives for more on the 100CCC).
It is in no small part fitting that I rolled the last few miles of my "30,000 or 3 year" warranty out on my way to the Iron Butt Association's Florida "Pizza Party" for 2010... with the man who sold me the bike. It is the people and the places we share on our travels that are the milestones, that make up the cathedrals of our lives.
This is what I will try to remember as I compete in the Iron Butt 5000 Rally this August. But tonight, I'll get home late after a quick ride home from the city, park the motorcycle, put a leash on the dog, and got for another late-night jog for a few miles without wheels.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Time to test the training...
Just got back from a WONDERFUL trip to JAX, FL to kick tires and talk riding with some of the world's most accomplished long-distance motorcycle riders. To say this was a "who's who" of the Iron Butt Association wouldn't do it justice.
But it's time to put some of my IB5k preparation training to the test. The quick down and back to Florida (700 miles each way) confirmed I haven't lost the ability to, "sit there and twist that" for hours on end. Tomorrow Jennifer and I see how our seven weeks of training for our first ever race pans out. Less than two months ago neither one of us felt like we could jog more than a minute... and even then we were out of breath. We're up to 2 and a half miles at a time. So, with a bit of quick stepping in the middle to cool down, we're shooting to finish the race in about an hour.
Yep, tomorrow morning we start the 8k (~5 miles for all those folks who don't remember their metric schooling from back in the 1970's). I just received my replacement SPOT tracker, so I'm going to see if we can get it up and you can follow along. And no, you do not have to get up and run along with us at 8:00 tomorrow morning. I'll post the map if this works. But if you do want to check it out before I get it posted, link to http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=4184
Wish us luck, and legs that won't quit!
But it's time to put some of my IB5k preparation training to the test. The quick down and back to Florida (700 miles each way) confirmed I haven't lost the ability to, "sit there and twist that" for hours on end. Tomorrow Jennifer and I see how our seven weeks of training for our first ever race pans out. Less than two months ago neither one of us felt like we could jog more than a minute... and even then we were out of breath. We're up to 2 and a half miles at a time. So, with a bit of quick stepping in the middle to cool down, we're shooting to finish the race in about an hour.
Yep, tomorrow morning we start the 8k (~5 miles for all those folks who don't remember their metric schooling from back in the 1970's). I just received my replacement SPOT tracker, so I'm going to see if we can get it up and you can follow along. And no, you do not have to get up and run along with us at 8:00 tomorrow morning. I'll post the map if this works. But if you do want to check it out before I get it posted, link to http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=4184
Wish us luck, and legs that won't quit!