Boxer Shorts Article

I was asked to write a little something for the March 2011 issue of the Yankee Beemers Boxer Shorts. The Boxer Shorts is the monthly newsletter of the Yankee Beemers motorcycle club. Read it here first.

My Obsession by Wallace French

Hello, my name is Wallace French and I am an addict.

Like many of you, my obsession happens to be motorcycles, and, more specifically, long distance riding. I wasn’t always like this. When I got my first street bike back in high school (1976 Kawasaki KZ400), I mostly liked riding around town then gradually started to get into sport riding and some minor touring. There was a gap in my obsession too. I got over it and stopped riding for about 10 years and then it happened… I bought the RT in 2006 for a one time cross-country trip and the addiction returned. That’s when my wife would say the “trouble” started. Every time I get on that bike, I don’t want to get off.

When I discovered the Iron Butt Association (IBA) a few years ago, I immediately set out to start racking up the ride certifications. It’s an addiction. Then, I discovered competitive rallies and found groups of people that like to do what I do. I’ve been a quiet follower of the Iron Butt Rally (IBR) crowd for the last few years through various blogs, the LD Rider list, forums, and publications. After the 2009 IBR, I decided I was going to do everything I could to try and get into the 2011 Rally. When the time came to apply for a spot, I sent my application and a few months later received an email. “Congratulations! Your application was drawn for entry in the 2011 Iron Butt Rally.…you can expect to ride through blistering desert heat, numbing cold, pounding rain, painful hail and blinding snow on some of the worst roads North America can offer.” What’s not to love about all of this? I fully expected not to be selected this time around. I have heard stories about people applying for years and never getting selected so I’m not sure why, but I’m in and I’m pumped. There is some randomness to the “drawing” so perhaps they were looking for a certain percentage of rookies and I just happened to be drawn.

Once I got the message, I immediately created a punch list with all the tasks I needed to accomplish in order to be fully ready for the Rally. The RT is a work horse and ready for anything at any time, but I wanted to make some modifications to enhance my personal safety and increase my chances of being competitive with technology. The bike is a 2004 R1150RT. Here are the modifications that will eventually be on the bike: Ohlins suspension, custom seat, custom windshield, auxiliary lighting, HID headlight upgrade, 4.5 gallon fuel cell with custom cover and attached rally book case, communications system, two GPSs (and a third spare), radar detector (and spare), laser jammer, cb radio, satellite radio, cruise, electrified tank bag, tire pressure monitor, and a SPOT tracking device. None of this is going to give me an advantage because 90% of the field has the same stuff, but I think it is going to help me be competitive and give me some comfort on the ride. I have also done a few other things based on lessons learned from IBR veterans. I purchased the Florida and California equivalents to EZPass which should come in handy. I am working on a NEXUS card for speedy border crossings. The IBR is notorious for locating high value targets in Canada and Alaska and my guess is this year will be no different. I did a rally in Canada last year and zig-zagged across the border a few times. The NEXUS card would have been useless because the NEXUS lanes were always closed, but it is one of those things that if I don't have it and discover I could have used it then I’ll beat myself up over it. Especially if it would have saved me from being late to a checkpoint so I am going to mitigate that risk.

In terms of riding preparation, I am planning an “extreme” IBA ride in the spring. I am in the middle of an IBA National Parks tour which is a fun way to pretend you are in a rally. The National Parks tour rules require the rider to get 50 National Park stamps from 25 different states within one year. I’ve got all of them from the six New England states and a few from New York. In the spring, I will ride down to Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland to get as many stamps as possible and then ride back on the same day. I will complete the National Parks tour during my 3000+ mile ride to the start of the Rally.

I will be doing the Minuteman Rally in May. The Minuteman will be a good test of my routine and gear and some additional routing practice. You’ve got to have a routine in competitive rallying. For example, pull up to the gas pump, use credit card for gas, get receipt, verify information on receipt, enter data into the rally paperwork, file everything away, get on bike, and go. I can usually do this in less than two minutes. A routine is critical because when you are riding for days, mental mistakes are common and could cost you at the scoring table. I argued with Rob Nye for 10 minutes at the Minuteman scoring table last year on a technicality, but if I had stuck to my routine I probably wouldn’t have needed to argue for the points. I lost the argument. Routing is also critical and something I continue to work on. In this game, you’ve got people who can ride big miles, but lack the ability to route efficiently. Then you’ve got people who are excellent at routing, but can’t do the big miles. I am in the first category. I can do the big miles, but I am only mediocre at routing. If you excel at both and have a reliable machine you can be competitive. You also need a fair amount of luck which I am lacking.

I could go on and on about my preparations, but I’ll force myself to stop here for now. I could talk about this stuff all day. Are you starting to see the “obsession” factor here? What can I say; I’m an addict with no thought of entering rehab any time soon. For three weeks in June and July, I will be riding nearly 20,000 miles and I can’t wait to do it. Not 10 minutes go by during the day where I don’t think about the Rally. I’m obsessed.

No Riding Rut

It has been awhile since I've posted. Mostly because I am bummed that I haven't been on the bike in about a month. This snow and ice is putting a damper on things. Prep work for the IBR continues. My custom fuel cell cover is taking forever to be completed so I am still patiently waiting for that item. It is the last thing I need before dropping off the bike at the shop to get a makeover. There is a private forum on the IBA board for us riders of the 2011 IBR. I haven't posted very many things, but I read the posts every day. There are so many riders that are doing way more than I am doing for this thing. I thought I was obsessed, but these guys make me look like a total amateur. When I started seeing what others were doing in preparation for the Rally, I got a little nervous like I wasn't doing enough or that I was out of my league. I got over that feeling. I am sticking with my game plan for now and hope it's enough. The last few weeks I've been thinking about my riding/routing prep work. I would like to do a few weekend long rides as soon as the weather will allow. I am planning on doing one rally before the IBR. The Minuteman 1000 is the end of May. The Minuteman is a 24-hour rally and starts in MA so it is close to me; there are usually a few IBR vets riding the rally so it can get competitive. I am heading to the International Motorcycle Show in NY this weekend. Maybe I'll find another farkle or two for the bike. The picture in the post is what my neighborhood still looks like after a winter storm a couple weeks ago. The snow is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Ride to Eat

Spent about 12 hours riding and eating yesterday. I met New Guy Ray in the Chelsea Market Basket parking lot at 6:00 and we made our way to Cohassett MA to pick-up Marc and Valerie. Marc then led us on a nice south coast ride to the seaside town of Marshfield MA. We had breakfast at Arthur & Pat's. You can't really tell by the picture, but this little shack served the best eggs benedict I've ever had. They used pastrami and something about it really tasted good. We hung out there for about an hour then made our way to Smithfield RI to meet with the rest of the gang for a ride around RI and CT. We met our friends Mo, Larry, and Victor at Victor's place. Chatted for a few minutes and got right down to business hitting all the backroads around RI and dipping into CT for lunch at the Dogwatch Cafe in Stonington CT. We got done with lunch around 2:00 and Victor said "let's go to the Vanilla Bean for coffee." Victor led the way. The Vanilla Bean is in Pomfret CT which is about an hour ride from Stonington. We left Stonington and three hours of backroad riding later we were still not at the Vanilla Bean. I don't think he'll admit it, but he was lost. Anyway, New Guy Ray and I bailed on the rest of the adventure to head back to Boston. I got home at 6:00. The weather was perfect. Sunny and chilly, but not too cold.

Beemers and Pancakes

Every year around this time my motorcycle club (http://www.yankeebeemers.org/) does a ride to Gould's Sugar House in Shelburne Falls MA for the seasonal closing of the restaurant. I met Marc, Valerie, and New Guy Ray at our usual Hwy 2 meeting spot and we took 2 to meet the rest of the group in Orange MA. We hung out in Orange for about an hour. Marc had a "super secret" route planned for the ride to Gould's, but a few others were planning the same route so it wasn't much of a secret. In order to prevent getting stuck behind a bunch of motorcycles, we jumped out a little early and started the route ahead of everyone so we could move along at our own pace. It was a great ride with lots of twisted roads to negotiate. It was a technical ride and definitely not for a beginner. We took so many turns that there is no way I could do that route again without Marc. He's got it memorized. I'd like to do it again this weekend, but I think we're heading to Vermont. Anyway, we did about two hours of riding before arriving at Gould's for some pancakes and conversation. Marc and Valerie had to go home after lunch, but New Guy and I had some time to do a little more riding. We did a nice loop around Heath MA including a bit of gravel which is always fun to me. We dipped into southern Vermont for a little while on VT100 and VT9 before linking with 119 through southern NH and then dipping back into Mass along 119 to Moto Market in Acton. Moto Market is a cycle gear shop. I ordered a cable from them and had to pick it up. It is a cable to replace the one I have that goes from my iPod to the helmet so I can listen to the iPod on the road. We got there just a few minutes before they closed. A couple other club members were there so we chatted for a bit and then New Guy and I booked it home. He lives in Medford which is near Chelsea so we basically took the same way home. It was a nice day on the road.

IBR preparations continue. The boxes are arriving on a regular basis. I received my cb and comm system late last week. I think the fuel cell will be the last thing to arrive. Once I get that, I will bring the bike to the shop. I did a nice little ride yesterday. The Yankee Beemers monthly breakfast was in Mendon MA yesterday. I met a group in Cambridge early Sunday morning and we cut through some backroads to get to Mendon. After breakfast a few of us did a backroad route to the Vanilla Bean coffee shop in Pomfret CT. Someone from the club mapped the route and I loaded it into the GPS. We split into two groups. I hate riding with more than three people in tow. We must not have matching map sets because my GPS took us through a CT state park with nothing but gravel and boulders for a road. It was an interesting challenge to get through there. We hung out at the Bean for a couple hours before riding the high-speed pavement back to Boston. It looks like I will be nominated for a club officer position for next year. More on that in another post. I spent some time last night mapping out a local 1,000 mile loop which includes a border crossing into Canada and back into the U.S. I think it will be a decent prep route for running some local weekend SS rides before the big event. I've also mapped-out a cross-country BBG3000 and SS3000 I would like to do before next June. The tough thing is finding the time to do these things.

Iron Butt Rally Prep

The tag line for the Iron Butt Rally is 11 Days 11,000 Miles. That is true, but I have heard it as 11 Days 11,000 Dollars. I am in the process of modifying my bike for the Rally and it is quite the ordeal. I have a checklist of items and a schedule to get things done well in advance of the Rally in June. I want the bike to be totally tricked-out by February. I want to break everything in and get used to the bike and the modifications. It is going to be a completely different ride when I am done with it. Some of the farkles and mods include: Ohlins suspension upgrade, digital HID headlight replacement kit, 4.5 gallon aux fuel cell, custom fuel cell cover, cb, satellite radio, communications system, and a bunch of other stuff. I don't think it will amount to $11,000, but it is still a lot of stuff to buy. I have been chatting back and forth this week with the guy who is building my fuel cell. He is in Washington state. The base for the cell is the passenger seat on the bike so I had to scour the internet to find a used seat to send to him. I did not want to ruin the one I have because I am thinking I won't have the cell on the bike all the time and want to be able to swap it out with my seat. I found one on a BMW forum board and it is being sent to my guy in Washington now. Once the cell is done in a couple weeks, I will have it sent to the woman who is going to make a custom cover for it in Florida. A lot of moving pieces to coordinate all of this, but I love doing that stuff. So far, the plan is working and things are moving along. The good thing about this fuel cell is that it is basically plug and play. He is building the cell, mounting it on the seat base, and will be providing all the necessary plumbing to connect it to the tank. I've heard good things about his tanks so I am looking forward to that modification. With the addition of the fuel cell, I will have a range of almost 400 miles without having to stop for gas. For everything else, the plan right now is to get everything ordered and then have my mechanic install everything that I can't do myself which is most of it. Their labor rates are significantly discounted during the winter months so I will have them do it in December.

Colors in the Catskills

I was out the door by 4:30 am on Saturday. I made good time up to Hunter Mountain in Hunter NY for the Colors in the Catskills Rally and Oktoberfest. The Rally was organized by the BMW Motorcyle Owners of America (http://www.bmwmoa.org/) and sponsored by Max BMW. I wanted to get there early and sign-up for the demo rides. The BMW demo truck was there with about 20 demo bikes available for rides. As I prepare my bike for the Iron Butt Rally, it is going to be less and less of a canyon carving sport touring bike and more and more of a long haul long distance trucker so I was looking forward to testing out some potential new bikes. I would really like to have a second bike for my weekend rides. I wanted to test the BMW K1300S model bike. I got to take one out for a 30-minute ride on Saturday and I was ready to buy it after spending five minutes on it. It's a perfect fit. It has gear shift assist so you don't even need to use the clutch to shift up. You can just hammer on the throttle and speed shift up. Very cool. I spent the day riding demo bikes and hanging out with a few friends then made my way back home. I started the Iron Butt Rally spending frenzy today with the purchase of a new Garmin Zumo 550 GPS. What's better than having one GPS? Why having two of course. Now I will be able to have a route mapped on one GPS and manage scenerios, options, and timing with the second one without interrupting the routing on the primary GPS. I've heard good things about the Zumo 550. It is a rugged waterproof GPS so it should be serviceable on the RT in all sorts of conditions. Many more farkles to come.