Saddlesore 1000: Mission Went South As I Traveled North

[specialist8]

Day 2 Part II

After crossing the Mackinac Bridge, it was smooth sailing for about 40min until I had the privilege of dodging the car in front of me slamming its brakes to understandably avoid the two deer that were running across the road. Didn't think I'd need to use my rear brake so quickly but it was used and I was more than awake for the day after that.

I didn't get much sleep that night so i wasn't feeling my best on this continuation of the route. I did find a Honda shop named Cycle City in Escanaba, MI to take my bike in and run diagnostics where it was confirmed my speed sensor alone was causing the check engine light to appear. With this put behind me I felt better about just getting home although with no Iron Butt record to achieve, my thoughtless driving agenda for the day didn't prepare me for how much seat time i was going to endure. 400mi the previous day plus all the running around of finding a shop weighed on me from yesterday and I'd be doing this again at 1.5x the rate. I did notice too that when i used rear brake earlier in the day, its effect wasn't too good. I still had brake pads but the grip of the rear tire felt much less of a 'hold' for the little use i needed it for. This wasn't encouraging but i traveled the lakefront of Lake Michigan for some time. My gopro was dead by then and before anyone asks, i couldn't use my cell phone for anything beyond gps since i didn't bring a wall charger so that's why i didn't use any speedo apps at the time.

I did buy a charger the night before and it wasn't charging my phone at all which was odd. My pigtail also refused to charge my phone but it would charge my gopro. So i had to conserve juice and resort to tachometer for guesstimations.

It was a pretty terrible last few hours of the ride. I took a bit too much time at rest stops trying to stay hydrated but also supplementing in energy drinks to stay awake. Worst part of the ride was driving thru Milwaukee after dark and trying to keep up w traffic on the twists and turns of their highways located downtown. People drive over the speed limit a lot these days and with my adamant use of front/rear braking i was taught in my MSF, I was just trying to play it safe but that always had me behind a semi which you don't want to do in case of their tires blows out. So readjusting my lane position was a nuisance. My eyeglasses broke during this stint, but luckily i brought my backup but their not as good when on the bike since they always fall down my nose. Phone screen cracked at a rest stop which never happens to me.

I pulled over about 10miles before reaching home bc i was so exhausted with anxiety and mental fatigue that I felt i was going to faint. Not wanting to risk anything close to that, I got off the highway. Part dehydration was prob a factor. Im sure the energy drinks didn't help this. 90/94 has turned into the new Indianapolis Speedway on friday nights and the crews were out in full effect with the perfect amount of fog to obscure long distances more than I'd have liked. It was a sh*tshow but i do blame my own meandering and listlessness throughout the day to why i arrived home at 12a. Add in that I had the pressure of attending my grandmother's funeral at 10a the next day and it was the perfect way to wrap up a Friday the 13th. I hope I have never have another riding day like that again.

The End.

P.S. Maybe I'll eat my own words but i do think the regiment of the SaddleSore makes those 1000 miles much more bearable. Add in that an object in motion stays in motion and I think the ups and downs of my trip made this 1k miles a lot harder to endure than if my biggest concern was which way i should pull into my 8th gas station. Still hungry for that achievement. Ride report to follow once my bike is out of the shop.



Defer to the route that gives you the most smiles per gallon.