BMW Luxury Touring Community banner

Leaving on a Light Train ( LT )

3K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  Rlamar2398 
#1 ·
Leaving tonight at 9pm to do a Georgia Dash. It's an IBA run of at least 1,000 in 24 hours and you stay in the bounds of the state of GA. I'll start here at home in Valdosta and run to all four corners of Georgia and hopefully be back home by about 6-7 Tuesday evening.

It's a lot on interstate in the middle as that's the safest at night and then by morning I'll be up North of Lavonia, GA and then turn West to run through the GA mountains - Clarksville, Helen, Blairsville to Dalton then turn the corner in NW GA at Fort Oglethorpe. I stay close to the GA - AL border coming South into Columbus, Albany, Thomasville and then home.

Should be about 1,100 miles and the rear tire will probably be done by then also. This will be my second 'Saddle Sore 1000' ride since my 70 birthday and will qualify me for the Georgia pin.

I'll post again, if I make it, of course.

Later
 
#3 ·
Good luck Tommy.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Well, Guys... I made it back home. I'm a couple of days older now... and just a bit wiser, I guess. You know how sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach when you are really hungry. Well sitting in front of your computer screen with MapSource open I find it easier to plan a route than to implement it now. Especially when you decide to do it alone. No body to say, "Are you really that hungry?" or "Can't you hold it a little longer?" So I was, and I didn't.

Probably made a few more stops than needed, but hey I was on 4 lane roads and running right fast so I was a couple of hours ahead by the time I was up near Augusta, GA and heading West on I-20 into Atlanta so I had an early breakfast at Waffle House. As I was pulling my tired cold body off the LT I saw a shadow sort of pass me and then saw there was this guy right near to me. Evidently he had come out of the Waffle House and that little Chinese scooter way over there was his. Now it's about 5am in the morning and I had been riding for about 8 hours and was tired and really cold and questioning my mental state and my sanity at this point. First words out of his mouth were, "That's my bike over there... I got it right after I got out of Conditional Release !!" WTF! Where'd he come from?

This guy was pretty big and instinctively I put my right hand in my pants pocket. Yeah it was there and I could feel the cold handle just sticking out of the Uncle Mick's holster. I just smiled and said, "Nice scoot", but what went through my mind there is the saying about 'Don't fight an old man.. He'll just kill you'. But he was just a talker and maybe not all the lights were on up there . And then the nonstop rambling on started... Something about when he took it in for service they broke the tail light and lost his under-seat-tray that had all his important papers in it. I finally made it into the WH and got my order going then he came back in and sat at the counter with his paper. He was either talking to me, the waitress or the cook. Mostly I couldn't tell so I nodded and mumbled a reply. He looked to be about maybe 45. Said he had a 21 year old son somewhere up north. I never touched on the 'Conditional Release', I knew better than to go there and I was just too hungry and cold and needed that cup of hot coffee and my Grilled Cheese.

But so far the trip had been great and the bike was running like a scalded dog. I was really using the HID headlights and the Moto Lights to their fullest. The little conversation with the guy at Waffle House ranked third on the trip. The Armadillo and later in the night the Deer in the road had him beat out for first and second place. But all were good wake up calls.

After the breakfast I hit I-20 and headed for Atlanta. Got to 285 North to I-85 a good bit before most of the morning traffic. The trip out of NE Atlanta on I-85 as like any other interstate and I had to gas up pretty quickly. At the stop light just before hitting the I-85 ramp again a guy pulled up on some big crotch rocket. I don't think he had much of a jacket on and if it was it was really thin, and when he left me going up the I-85 ramp it was really flapping in the breeze. What ever. When I got up on the interstate again and got comfortable... I just kept bumping the cruise button. I think BMW says it increases 1.2 miles a bump... I bumped it a lot... his bike got louder and louder and at about 90, I just eased by him and waved... I quit bumping and pretty soon he was gone. I don't know if he turned off or realized that was a thin jacket. The LT was just getting started.

As I neared the end of I-85 I watched the temp gauge on the OBC drop from about 45° down to 37° as I left the interstate and headed up Ga 17 towards Clarksville, Helen and Blairsville. You start to climb up pretty quickly in the mountains. You loose 2° air temp every 1,000 feet of altitude so I put on another warm vest and was fine, but sure wished I'd included the snow pants too. I had on my Innerware and lined Jeans but my knees and upper legs were cold. The sun was coming up just as I made the turn into the mountains of North GA and it was hitting to tops of the mountains and was a beautiful sight with the fog in the valleys. Also the school buses came out at about 7 or so and normal traffic was up and going to work.

The ride through the mountains was wonderful and a the trees are turning and the deer were out and lots of wild turkeys up near Blairsville and Brasstown Bald Mountain. I got into really heavy clouds and fog near Blue Ridge on the up side of the mountain and that and the curved roads there had me slowing down considerably. I could tell I was a little behind schedule as I got near the turning point that would take me South again near Ft. Oglethorpe in the NW corner of the state. The old navigator in me started to work and I was busy riding and working the Zumo. Yeah I was going to be very close on the time line if I kept my original route and maybe even late getting back home. The IBA rides of which this was one for me, states that on a Saddlesore 1000 you have to do 1000 miles within 24 hours... so I made an 'executive decision' when I was almost due West of Atlanta, to head towards I-75 at about Griffin, GA. That would put me in a better situation to go directly down I-75 and home and I was hurting a good bit in my arthritic hands and bunions on my big toes. Small price to pay tho' to get to ride these.

So I high balled it into and through Griffin and hit I-75 just East of there and high balled it down I-75 South to a loving wife, good food and a warm bed. Arrived back into Macadoo's Shell station for the final fill up on this trip so the IBA will see that I did it again.

The first and last gas tickets show that I gassed at 8:54pm on 10/24/11. My odometer showed me 37,700 (surprised me too that it was on an even number). The last ticket shows me filling again at the same Macadoo's in Valdosta at 7:05pm 10/25/11 and the odometer shows 38,834. So the bike says it went 1,134. I don't believe that as that's probably the 4% that most odometers show too much. My Garmin Zumo says this ==>

ACTIVE LOG: 24 OCT 2011 20:58 6902 10/24/2011 8:58:49 PM 22:15:22 1091 mi 28819 sq mi 49 mph -- Which means I did 1,091 miles in 22 hours and 15 minutes total time including gas, pee and food stops and a few to take a pic or two. The 6902 are the number of track points over the time period, and I averaged 49 for the time frame. I had a great time. Lord willing, I'll probably do another.

Below is GoogleEarth with the imported track from MapSource and the obligatory picture of how alert and happy I was for the wife. Also the '99 LT with many upgrades and extras.



 
#7 ·
Hey Tommy, Bill here, 75 years old and getting younger. Congrats on your ride. I just a did 1500 miles over 7 :dance: :dance: days from Montevideo, Uruguay to Iguazu Falls, Brazil, and return on a BMW F800GS. Would do it again in a heartbeat...and fortunately the old ticker continues to count the miles...and I have a smile on my face just like yours.
 
#8 ·
Tommy....I was within 4 minutes of you when you went up I-85 on the NE side of Atlanta. Wish I could have jumped on my LT and kept you company. Hat's off to you on your ride! Don't know if I'm up to riding at night here in GA. with all the critters out there. Glad you got home safe!
 
#14 ·
Great ride and report.

I just completed 1700 miles on my basalt gray '00, but it took me three weeks... :histerica

(just bought the bike and love it!)

My wife and I are planning a trip somewhere in May from Wisconsin. The smokey mountains are on our short list. Perhaps you can offer some insight on some of the best roads for scenic back-road riding for us to spend a day or two down in your neck of the woods?

Or from any of you other LT riders for getting there and back?

-Joe
 
#15 ·
Blimey...... And I was worried about handling the weight of the LT and I'm only 60!!!!!

Good for you.

An inspiration....

Stuart
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top