MTF 50/100CC Iron Butt Association Ride
Michael Glass & Viktoria Juodenaite
100CCC Ride Report March 2003
Part 7
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MTF 50/100CC Iron Butt Association Ride
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OZONA, TEXAS TO JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
THE MONEY RUN
Ozona, Texas 8:24AM EST (1296 miles to go – 25 hours 23 minutes left)
After three hours sleep, Vik and I wake up still giddy from the
antics of the night before. That quickly changes as we see the Wayne Doyle’s
ST100 and Bob Coffland’s Wing pull out of the motel parking lot. It’s time
to get back to business.
At this point we’re 100 miles short of where we planned to spend the night,
but still have plenty of time to make Jacksonville. The trick is to keep moving.
To give myself an energy boost, I decide to change my diet from sandwhiches,
micro-waved cheeseburgers and junk food, to just Balance Bars and Gatorade.
I’ve been on the Zone diet before, and it’s proven good for energy levels.
Junction, Texas 9:42AM EST (1205 miles to go) –24 hours 8 minutes left )
About a half hour out of Junction Vik tries to tell me something important on the Autocom. I’m now wearing foam ear plugs so I can hardly hear her. She’s also wearing ear plugs so she can hardly hear me. Another relationship break was not very far off!!!
San Antonio, Texas 11:45 AM EST (1093 miles to go – 23 hours, 55 minutes left)
The weather forecast was rain and thunderstorms, all the way from Houston to Jacksonville. We called JungleJim on the BusaPhone to get a storm update. This is our third and last battery and we’re down to one bar. Jim confirms we would have a wet ride home. Vik and I said goodbye to Jim and don our yellow Helly Hanson storm suits.
Houston, Texas 3:22PM EST (891 miles to go) – 18 hours 22 minutes left)
As we pull into Houston we see the dark skis ahead. Fortunately,
bad weather doesn’t seem to slow down the Texas traffic so we kept a spirited
pace through the city.
Leaving Houston, we hook onto a highway freight train traveling pretty fast. The
engine was a pickup truck, followed by an SUV, then the Busa, and then another
SUV. We rode this wild train through the storm as far as our gas tanks would
take us.
We pick up some time but quickly lose it back on a wrong turn.. We took the I-12
cutoff in Texas, instead of Louisiana! About forty minutes later we were back
where we started.
Welsch, Louisiana 6:41 PM EST (725 miles to go) – 15 hours 9 minutes left)
I think it was near Welsch, Louisiana that I lost one of David
Mandel’s (Vodoo) borrowed rain gloves. I had handed it back to Vik to hold
onto but another intercom snafu confused our signals and the glove flew off.
(David, the new gloves are on order!) Out of frustration, I yank the Autocom
cable out of my helmet and it too blows away into the Louisiana night. The
intercom problem was finally solved!
An hour or so later we approach Baton Rouge and start looking for the real I-12.
That’s when we pass two riders who turn out to be our neighbors from the Motel
from Hell – Wayne Coffland and Bob Doyle. Unsure of which way to go, we slow
down and follow their lead. We leave them shortly at Holden, Louisiana when we
have to stop again for gas.
Holden, Louisiana 8:40 PM EST (594 miles to go) – 13 hours 10 minutes left)
After about thirty minutes on I-12, I start thinking we may have
missed the exit back to I-10.
Of course there isn’t any exit back to I-10 exit – one road runs into the
other – but who knows these things when you’ve lost your maps and notes? I
pull off at the first rest stop to ask for directions. It was then that I
realized Vik has fallen asleep on the back of the bike.
Vik and I talked in the rain to see what we should do next. Vik was not in great
shape. Her Helly Hanson rain suit was catching wind like a sail, and when I
would look back in the mirror, she was getting bounced around like a bubble in
the wind. Her knee had gotten worse, and her butt was now quite sore. I wasn’t
doing great myself, starting to get tired again, and oh, those hamstrings. I’d
say "beat up" would be a pretty good description of the two of us.
I wandered around in the rain looking for someone to ask for directions. In the
distance I see a lone figure talking on a cell phone under the shelter of a
tree. It turned out to be Jason Jonas, another of our riders. Jason’s 2002 BMW
GS Adventure was nearby.
I was later to learn that Jason was on the phone with his sister. He was asking
her about the storm front – how wide was it – what direction was it
traveling – when would it pass.
I could hear the concern and weariness Jason’s voice. I then realize Vik and I
were not on this difficult road alone. There were others like Jason out there on
this dark, rain-stormed highway. We were all doing our best to make Jacksonville
in time.
I spoke to Jason briefly and went back to Vik. She was now leaned against a
fence and actually sleeping while on still her feet. I knew if were going to
make it to Jacksonville we needed more rest.
Ocean Springs, MS Day’s Inn (482 miles to go – 9.5 hours left)
As we approached Ocean Springs, Mississippi, I was having
difficulty maintaining my concentration. I thought I saw Greg Burger (Ultrafirebike)
on his 2002 Ultra Classic Firefighter Special Edition but soon realized it was
just the fog and rain. I pull off at the next exit and we check into the Ocean
Springs Day's Inn. Screaming Meanie is set for one hour.
By the time we leave the motel it’s a little after Midnight. An objective look
at time and mileage shows we were still on schedule to reach Jacksonville on
time. But at the time things didn’t look that clear. By now our brains had
turned to mush, and without maps and notes, we were confused both as the
distance left, and the correct finish time.
We had left Jacksonville Florida at 5:50AM EST on March 10th, making the correct
finish time 100 hours later, or 9:50AM EST, March 14th. But at that moment we
thought the correct finish time was 8:50 AM. On top of that I was not exactly
wide awake. 9:50AM or 8:50AM, there was really no more time for sleep. Either we
would have to ride straight through or accept the 50cc plaque instead of the
100ccc we came down for.
For the first time on the ride I have this sinking feeling that we’re not
going to make it to Jacksonville on time. At the next gas stop I tell Vik that
this is going to be very close. We don’t say anything else but when she’s
back on the bike we both feel a renewed energy and urgency.
9 hours to go. Gut check time.
In spite of no intercom, we now worked as a perfect team. Vik
called the gas stops using the Road Wiz and hand signals. The gas stops became
shorter and I don’t think either of us ate, drank or went to the bathroom for
the next 300 miles. As Vik put it, we were like flying on a broomstick through
the rainy night.
All of a sudden it occurred to me why this was called the 100ccc insanity. This
ride had turned into something truly insane!
Picking up time, we saw a rider ahead. Yes, this time it was real Ultrafirebike
and not the hallucination. Later, we passed Jason Jonas on his GS Adventure, and
then another rider, and then another. I started to slow down as I finally
realized that we were going to make it in time.
Jacksonville Beach, Florida 8:37AM EST
Approaching Jacksonville Beach we took the wrong turn off I-95 and lost about half an hour. As we pulled into official ride-end Shell Station, the time was 8:37AM. As long as my watch was correct, we had either made the 100 hour deadline by 13 minutes, or by an hour and 13 minutes but we were both still anxious about the time. I sped to the pump to get my gas receipt, yelling to a nearby rider, how much time did we have left? He said we had over an hour left and Vik and I were in heaven.
Jacksonville,Beach Shell Station minutes after we arrived.
(Photo: Jason Jonas)
Riders at the Jacksonville finish line.
Vik and I got a standing ovation at the banquet lunch. It meant a lot coming
from such an outstanding group of experienced riders.
Vik collects water from the Atlantic once again.
We toast our victorious ride.
