I slept in a little since I had time to kill, ate breakfast, and spent over an hour and a half wandering around a tourist info center anxious to get started on a long day. But I couldn't leave because the earlier I started the earlier I had to finish which meant more time riding at night. For some information about riding strategies read the "Iron Butt Riding Strategies" page on the right.
So finally 11:00 came and I got my gas at a Flying J truck stop. I topped off my tank and got my receipt. I started to stash the receipt in the envelop I had to collect all my receipts for the trip, but I hesitated just a second to look at it. I saw the date but I didn't see the time. I looked at every line very carefully but I just couldn't find the time anywhere. Damn! The receipt would be worthless if it didn't verify exactly when and where I started my trip. And I couldn't go to another truck stop and get another receipt because my tank was completely topped off.
About that time some guy pulled up on the other side of my pump. My only hope was to talk to him. As I said hi and asked if he would help me I could tell he took a step back and looked me up and down as I stood there in all my riding gear and helmet on. I talked fast and explained I was starting a long distance, sanctioned ride and I needed a witness to the start of my trip. He said he probably couldn't do it since he wasn't from there but was just traveling through. I said if he had a cell phone and wouldn't mind a phone call from someone just verifying that he saw me here that would be ok. After some more explanation and convincing he wrote his name, the date and time, and his phone number on the back of the receipt.
That would prove critical to my ride later. I almost put that receipt away assuming it was like every other receipt I had every gotten. I don't know why I looked at it, but if I hadn't my entire effort to come would have been wasted.
With my now-timestamped receipt safely tucked away I finally hit the highway and pointed west.
Here is an actual GPS track log of my route over the next 2 days.
I rode all day long, mile and after mile, watching the terrain morph into varying hills, mountains, rain squalls, and high Wyoming flat lands. I didn't know Wyoming was so high - from 6000 to 7500 feet. Many hundreds of miles of not very much to look at. My butt got tired so I shifted back and forth on the seat, stopping only every couple of hours or for gas. Many times I just stood up, which was pretty cool since my chest and head were out in 80 mph wind and I couldn't see the bike below my full face helmet. It was kinda like flying along the highway floating in space. With the cruise control all I had to do was steer and I could do that mostly just by shifting my hips from one side to the other. It was quite a wind on my chest, however, so it didn't take long for my hands and arms to get tired of hanging on and I had to sit back down.
As I got into southern Idaho I was traveling mostly west/northwest and as the sun got lower it got more straight into my eyes. After several hours I remembered a tip from a magazine about putting some tape over your visor and I actually packed some. So I stopped and found the little roll of black electrical tape and put a strip over my visor about halfway down. I folded both ends back onto themselves so I could just grab them and pull it off easily with my gloves on. That was a major improvement and as the sun got closer to the horizon I just lowered my helmet and blocked it with the tape. Finally the sun went below the horizon and I pulled the tape off. Great idea!
I was also surprised at how late it got dark out there. The sun didn't drop below the horizon until about 9:30 and it was still somewhat light at 10 and 10:15 or so. I kept riding another several hours and made my goal of Boise about 11:30 pm. That was about 730 miles in a little more than 11 hours but with many gas stops along the way.
Gas stops were frustrating as I couldn't seem to get away in less than 25 minutes. I had to stop, lift the tank bag out of the way, pump the gas, replace the tank bag, get the receipt, record the miles and gallons in my little trip log, go inside to take a leak, eat a power bar (I didn't stop for any meals), drink a little from my camelback, put my earplugs back in, jacket on, gloves on, reset the GPS for my next waypoint, helmet on, and take off. It is amazing how those many little tasks add up in time.
Coming into Boise I didn't know where I was going to stay. I didn't really feel that tired but I knew I had to sleep just for a few hours. I saw a sign for a Motel 6 for $41 and said "That's It!" Pulled into there, checked in, unloaded the important stuff off the bike (GPS, tank bag, shaving kit), took a shower, and hit the pillow about midnight and it was lights out.
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