Being a goal oriented person, I like contests and other similar
events. I've read a few times about the Iron Butt Rally, which is an
extreme 11 day ride that covers 11,000 miles (17,700 km). Being a new
rider, that's more than double the mileage I have ever rode. You also
have to be a member of the Iron Butt Association,
which currently has 30,000+ members world wide. The only requirement
to become a member is to complete one of their smaller certification
rides. These certification rides can be done at any time, and by any
one. It's one of these rides that I'm considering done. The
minimum ride is 1000 miles in 24 hours, or as we say in Canada, 1600 km
in 24 hours. This is known to the IBA as the SaddleSore 1000. Since
you can choose any route, I've been considering a circle that takes me
from the GTA to Owen Sound to Sudbury to Ottawa and back again. By
doing some more reading I discovered the IBA also has a Lower Great
Lakes 1000 ride which goes around Lake Erie and Ontario. This struck
me as more interesting and safe, since I'll be able to stay on the
major roads and if I feel I can't safely continue, I can always abort
as I make my way past Buffalo. Below is the route I'm now considering. - Tank up at my local gas station for the first receipt.
- Head onto the QEW westbound.
- Take the 403 heading towards London, Ontario.
- Near London this will eventually become the 401.
- Follow the 401 to Windsor.
- In Windsor the 401 turns into Highway 3. Follow this to the Ambassador Bridge to the US.
- In Detroit, follow Ambassador Bridge Street which will circle around back to West Fort Street.
- Follow West Fort Street to Clark Street and then get on the 75 Highway.
- Follow the 75 through Toledo and get onto the Ohio Turnpike (Highway 80 and 90)
- Follow the Ohio Turnpike towards Cleveland and then get onto Highway 480.
- Take Highway 271 North. After Cleveland this will become Highway 90.
- Keep
following Highway 90 to Buffalo. This is the point of no-return. If I
feel I can't continue for another 8 hours then this is the place to
call it quits.
- Keep following Highway 90 as it goes past Rochester.
- In Syracuse, NY, take Highway 81 North. This goes all the way to the Thousand Island Bridges.
- Follow the Thousand Island Bridges to 401.
- Follow the 401 back to Pickering.
- In
Pickering, judging by the traffic, either follow the 401 back home or
take Brock Road north, then turn onto the 407 and head home.
Total
driving time should be under 18 hours (according to Google Maps) and
over 1600 kilometres! Now I just need to flesh out this route with gas
stops. I'll be riding a VTX 1300 which can generally get 200km to the
tank, but I figure it's probably more safe to fuel up every 100km and
stretch a bit too. For this ride, I'll be traveling fairly
light. I figure my regular set of riding gear along with a full helmet
should be good. I can bring a small pack on the back cargo rack with
some snacks, water and my raingear. I would like to get some sort of
tank pack where I can store my iPhone, as well as a USB charge for the
iPhone. (The whole purpose is that the iPhone has a GPS tracker that
I'd like to use, as well as Google Maps if I get lost.) Which reminds
me, that I should bring along some good'ol fashioned paper maps. Of
course, I'll need something to carry all my receipts in (something
waterproof in case of rain), and a log book to document my stops. Since I'll be taking some toll routes, I'll need to bring some American coins and cash. I've calculated the cost of the Ohio Turnpike at $4.25 USD; New York Toll Highway at $9.20 USD; Ambassador Bridge Toll at $4.75 CDN. If I decide to use the 407 near the end, that's another $20 CDN! Timing-wise, I figure I'll do this somewhere around the end of June when there is the most sunlight available. My fuel stops: - Esso near home.
- Canadian Tire Gas Bar in Woodstock (get off 401 at the Norwich Avenue exit) 503 Norwich
Avenue, Woodstock, ON - 92km
- Esso in London (get off 401 at Wellington Road and go north) 1251 Wellington
Road, London, ON - 47km
- Esso in Tilbury (get off 401 at Highway 2 before Tilbury, follow Mill Street westbound to get back on 401) 53 Mill Street West, Tilbury, ON - 130km
- Westside Esso (turn right onto Tecumseh Road in Windsor, from highway 3) 2625 Tecumseh Road
West, Windsor, ON - 55km
- Dixie Highway Shell (get off Highway 75 at North Dixie Hwy and turn left, go over bridge) 1488 N Dixie
Hwy, Monroe, MI - 59 km
- BP (Get off Ohio Turnpike at highway 53) 3428 3430 N
OH-53, Fremont, OH - 85 km
- Lehigh Gas (On Ohio Turnpike just after Pyle South Amherst Road) 46402 Middle Ridge
Rd, Amherst, OH - 84 km
- BP (Turn south on Highway 44 from Highway 90) 7515 Auburn
Rd, Painesville, OH - 100km
- Shell Convenience Store (Exit south onto Perry Highway from Highway 90) 8030 Perry
Hwy, Erie, PA - 113km
- Kwik Fill (Take Camp Road south from Highway 90) 5466 Camp
Rd, Hamburg, NY - 130km
- Citgo Gas (Take exit 48 to Park Road, from Highway 90) 8204 Park
Rd, Batavia, NY- 77km
- Sunoco (after exit 43 on Highway 90) Clifton Springs, NY 14432 - 90km
- Sunoco (exit 32 to East Avenue going westbound, from Highway 81) 3016 East
Ave, Central Square, NY - 110km
- Sunoco (exit 45 to westbound Arsenal St, from Highway 81) 1255 Arsenal
St, Watertown, NY - 83km
- Four-O-One and Division Gas Bar (exit southbound onto Division St, from the 401) 1213 Division
Street, Kingston - 100km
- Shell (exit 519 to service center on 401, after Trenton) 17278 Hwy 401, Brighton, Ontario - 97km
- Esso ( exit 444 to service center on 401, before Newcastle) Newcastle - 76km
- Sunoco (exit 401 to Brock Road northbound) 1800 Brock
Road, Pickering, ON - 45km
- Esso near home - 91km
Figuring an average fuel price of $1/litre and getting 7L/100km, I'm figuring about $117 in fuel. Add on the tolls and I'm looking at anywhere between $140 and $160 CDN for this little trip. |