Day 8
I woke up at 5:59 AM (local) in Rancho Cordova, needing to be downstairs at 6:00 AM. It was good that I had showered the night before, so it only did take about 45 seconds to throw on the LDComfort gear and run downstairs. Once downstairs, I was shuffled into a line of people who captured the Trolley museum bonus. Evidently there were some ethical questions about the actions of some riders, and each of us were brought before Kneebone & Austin individually to share what we saw while at that bonus. There were questions about what actions people took before 10 AM when it was available, whether people actually took a trolley ride and where the pictures were taken from. I was completely comfortable with the questions, and also comfortable with my own actions at that bonus, so I didn't feel that there was too much to worry about, but it was still somewhat tense that early in the morning. Due to those discussions, the breakfast and packet handouts were delayed significantly while the organizers addressed the crowd. We received the Leg 3 packets, and I headed back up to the room to plan. After the data entry and categorization, here's what my choices looked like for leg 3:
With 4 days to get back east, there was more of a chance to plan a longer route and chase bonus locations that were a little farther out, so the planning could be interesting. We knew that we needed 60,000 points to be considered a finisher, which also factored into the planning. I had 34k already, so a route that safely got me 26k points was all I needed to successfully finish the IBR on my first attempt. I tried to make the northern route work, as I thought it would be good riding and keep me out of the heat. But the miles just looked too long no matter how I calculated it, and it was chancy whether I could get the required points if I had to cut things short. I then looked at the southern route, which appeared to be the obvious choice due to the large cluster of bonuses all along the southern US. But I *really* didn't want to go that far south. The heat was really taking it out of me, and dealing with triple-digit temps all through Arizona, Texas, and even further eastward seemed like a nightmare that I just couldn't psych myself up for. So what I planned for instead was a simple route straight through the middle of the country. First I'd have to do Death Valley. Yes, this seems silly for someone avoiding the heat, but I go to Death Valley every year and I know the roads like the back of my hand. I knew the Furnace Creek bonus, and was confident I could get it and be on my way. I'd then head for the large bonus in Colorado. From there I'd zip all the way across the country to Kitty Hawk, NC to pick up the large bonus there. With those 3 large bonuses, plus a handful of small ones that were right on that route, I should get just over 60k points without too much trouble.
I called the wife to let her know the plan, took a quick shower, and loaded up the bike. In the parking lot I chatted with both Mark Crane and Jerry White, who took this pic of me leaving for Death Valley:
Both of them understood my reasoning for this last leg, though Mark did try to convince me to go west for just a little while to pick up the SF bonuses, but I had my head set on going east. So with that in mind, I set off on that plan. I had a nice ride up and over the Sierras again, and made it to 395. It was already 100 degrees, and it was still getting warmer as I continued south. I was getting more and more uncomfortable no matter how much water I was drinking, and at one point I realized that my feet were actually burning. I hadn't ever experienced that on this RT, but it was really starting to bother me. It truly reached the painful threshold, to the point where I pulled off the side of the road 30 miles or so north of Lone Pine and wondered if I would be able to continue. I called home base to let the better half know I might be in trouble. It wasn't easy to continue, both feeling so uncomfortable and also knowing how close I was to home compared to going back across the country for another 6k+ miles. I decided to make it to Lone Pine before figuring out my options. I rode the rest of the way with my ankles angled all the way back on my passenger pegs, which was quite uncomfortable, but kept my feet just a bit further from the heat of the engine and the asphalt. It was clear that highway pegs would have been a huge help, and they will be on the bike before I subject myself to any more long distance hot weather. In Lone Pine I called a few people for some confirmation that the bike wasn't in trouble, and it was just something that I could and should find a way to deal with. I received some good pep talks, and I made a plan to move forward. It was simply too hot for me to continue on to Death Valley right then. It was currently 105 in Lone Pine, and I couldn't ride safely. It was 121 degrees in Death Valley at the time. I'd get into a hotel room in Lone Pine, enjoy the air conditioning and cool myself off for a good number of hours. I would then leave for Death Valley in the middle of the night, aiming to be at the bonus location at the very minute I was legally allowed to take the picture (30 minutes prior to sunrise), and then continue my way East to escape the heat as best I could. I knew it would make for a very challenging rest of the leg, going such a short distance on Day 1. Now, instead of averaging a smidge less than 1,000 miles per day this leg, I'd need to average over 1,200 per day for the next 3 days. But it seemed as if I really didn't have much of a choice at that point. So that's how I only went 326 miles on Day 8 of the IBR.
Start: Rancho Cordova, CA at 1:13 PM (east)
End: Lone Pine, CA at 8:52 PM (east)
Length: 326 miles / 42 mph average