I had completed this group of rides in 2013 and later that year I wrote a "how to" on IBA trip planning and ride timing. I thought the info could be useful for riders planning rides.
Planning trips and IBA rides is a winter project for me in Wisconsin. I try to find rides that have not been done on a Victory before.
Some detail on completing 4 IBA rides in one week. A week in June (2013) -
“What’s next?” I had just completed the Ultimate Coast to Coast ride, Key West, FL to Prudhoe Bay, AK (2012) and already my co-workers are asking me what my next ride would be.
My answer “I don’t know but I can’t wait to see what’s next.” I have never had a bucket list but each year I find a location or a ride that becomes a “to do”.
There were a few rides that I thought would be interesting but they were all missing something. The ride to Alaska had spoiled me. Miles would not be enough, I need more scenery.
Winter in Wisconsin is a good time to plan a ride and while doing some internet research I came across an IBA ride called Heaven to Hell. Mount Evans to Death Valley.
The highest point (14,130 feet) in the country that you can ride, to the lowest point (282 feet below sea level) and would include a ride across Colorado and Utah. I like this!
The planning and preparation began.
Now that the ride planning has started I start my program to keep myself in shape for the ride, tread mill, weights and 60 sit-ups every day until a few weeks before the ride starts. I had been doing this for the past 6 years and it seems to give me the back strength I need to do the longer multiple day rides.
This ride uses the same basic rules as the SS1000 but because there is nowhere to get a receipt at the top of Mount Evans and some of the other locations a Spot Tracker will be needed to show the time, date and place. I will be able to print the Spot Tracker location maps and submit them to the IBA.
I used Microsoft Streets and Trips to create a basic route and then started planning the gas stops using online truck stop websites.
There were other questions that needed to be answered. When should I do this ride? June, would there be snow in the mountains? July, how hot would it be in Death Valley? More research.
During the research I found there was another version of this ride, the Heaven to Hell Gold. Pikes Peak to Death Valley with a required ride through Independence Pass and Ely, NV.
Now the decision, Pikes Peak to Death Valley or Mount Evans to Death Valley? Final decision? Do both but do one in reverse, now I have a plan. This trip would now include four separate IBA rides.
The plan
Ride one - Milwaukee, WI to Idaho Springs, CO. Ride two – The top of Mount Evans to Badwater, Death Valley. Ride three – Badwater, Death Valley to Ely, NV a ride through Independence Pass and then end at the top of Pikes Peak. Ride four – Colorado to Milwaukee, WI, the ride home. Each ride is over 1000 miles and I have a week of vacation.
The bike is a 2010 Victory Vision 8-Ball. This bike has been very comfortable on long distance rides and with the 6 gallon tank it has a good fuel range. The power windshield and adjustable lower vents also help to adjust to the changing weather conditions. Other equipment includes an HID Headlight, headlight guard, engine skid plate, Bead Rider seat cover, TireGard tire pressure monitoring system, Spot Tracker, Zumo 350LM GPS and an EZPass for the toll roads. I also packed some tools and tire repair equipment.
For tires I used a Dunlop E3 on the front and a Dunlop Winter Sport run flat snow tire on the rear. I had used this tire combination on the Key West/Prudhoe Bay ride and had great results!
Gear –Good gear is important in any ride but on this ride, because of the possible temperature extremes, I need adjustability. My jacket is an Olympia Airglide; I like it because it is a mesh jacket that has a removable wind/rain lining and a quilted lining. Jackets like this work well and take up less space.
The helmet that I used is a Shoei Neotec modular, what I like about this helmet is the flip down sun visor. The sun visor saves a lot of time when you don’t have to stop to change glasses during the ever changing weather and when you’re going to see the sun set and rise during each of the four rides.
June 14th, I worked a half day, cut the grass and I’m ready to go. Ate dinner and plan to leave the Milwaukee area at about 5:00 pm. I picked this later start time to start getting into the ride rhythm I will need to complete the following two rides. I also enjoy riding at night, its cooler and there’s a lot less traffic.
I get my start receipt at 5:08 pm CDT, wrote the mileage on the receipt and start the ride west to Idaho Springs, CO. The ride went well until Iowa when the sky lit up with lightning shooting from cloud to cloud, time for gas and the rain gear. The lightning was the first of two lightshows on this trip. There would be over 100 miles of rain in Iowa and then more in Nebraska.
Ride one ended on June 15th at 10:56 am MDT in Idaho Springs, CO; I had traveled 1071 miles in less than 24 hours. I have some time to repack my gear and get ready for the next ride. I can sleep late the next morning and it’s better if I do because it’s going to another long day.
June 16th - I had slept well and I’m ready to go. I finished packing the bike, stopped for breakfast and then it’s just a short ride to the top of Mount Evans. It was 45 degrees, windy and sunny at the top. It was so windy that I had to be careful how I park the bike so that it wasn’t blown over.
At the top of Mount Evans I need to find two witnesses to sign the witness form, have someone take a picture of me and the bike in front of the Mount Evans sign and when I’m ready to leave I need to hit the ok button on the Spot Tracker so that it does a time stamp of the time, date and place of this location.
I also note the mileage and zero my GPS so that I can monitor my progress during this ride.
Next I hit the Spot Tracker tracking button and the ride can begin, the time is 10:05 am MDT…. Go, go, go!
I rode to the bottom of Mount Evans and stopped at the gift shop to get an “I was there” pin and a dated receipt.
By the time I reached I-70 it started to rain and it would rain on and off during the ride through the Colorado mountains. The rain lowered my speed but I did notice an increase in fuel mileage.
The rain ends in Utah and the temperature and my average speed is going up. The temps in Utah started in the low 100’s, dropped to the mid 80’s in western Utah and then rose again as I headed south on I-15.
It was also very windy in Utah and with the higher speeds and the gusty high winds I have to make an unplanned fuel stop.
I had planned all of my gas stops for the Peaks and Valley rides and added them in order to my GPS in order. Because I will be able to use some of the stops twice I had to come up with a code so that I could find each stop quickly.
Example – Mount Evans was 1A, Parachute, CO was coded 2A/6B, gas stop two on the ride to Death Valley and it was gas stop 6 on the ride to Pikes Peak.
One extra challenge I thought I would have on this trip was the traffic in Las Vegas, NV. Timing is everything; I rode through Las Vegas at 10:00 pm on a Sunday night. There was no traffic and it was only 100 degrees.
Riding through Las Vegas at night was the second lightshow on this ride. I really enjoy riding through Las Vegas at night.
After Las Vegas I rode to Yermo, CA to add a few more miles, I want to be sure that this trip is over the required 1000 miles. I get my fuel receipt in Yermo at 12:54 am and then ride northeast to Baker, CA to get a picture of the world’s largest (broken) thermometer.
Now I’m excited, my next stop is Badwater, Death Valley. While riding north on highway 127 I’m starting to notice now dark it is, it is about 2:00 am and I can’t see anything past the edge of my headlight and nothing to the sides.
I rode past the Death Valley entrance sign and the local wildlife is busy, there were a lot of jackrabbits running across the road and I also saw one fox that was walking on the road. I rode past him and he just turned his head to look at me and kept walking.
Now I need to concentrate on finding the Badwater sign. I’m watching the elevation on the GPS and its dropping and the temperature is rising. I must be getting close! It is so dark that I’m worried that I may miss the Badwater sign. Did I already ride past it?
Planning trips and IBA rides is a winter project for me in Wisconsin. I try to find rides that have not been done on a Victory before.
Some detail on completing 4 IBA rides in one week. A week in June (2013) -
“What’s next?” I had just completed the Ultimate Coast to Coast ride, Key West, FL to Prudhoe Bay, AK (2012) and already my co-workers are asking me what my next ride would be.
My answer “I don’t know but I can’t wait to see what’s next.” I have never had a bucket list but each year I find a location or a ride that becomes a “to do”.
There were a few rides that I thought would be interesting but they were all missing something. The ride to Alaska had spoiled me. Miles would not be enough, I need more scenery.
Winter in Wisconsin is a good time to plan a ride and while doing some internet research I came across an IBA ride called Heaven to Hell. Mount Evans to Death Valley.
The highest point (14,130 feet) in the country that you can ride, to the lowest point (282 feet below sea level) and would include a ride across Colorado and Utah. I like this!
The planning and preparation began.
Now that the ride planning has started I start my program to keep myself in shape for the ride, tread mill, weights and 60 sit-ups every day until a few weeks before the ride starts. I had been doing this for the past 6 years and it seems to give me the back strength I need to do the longer multiple day rides.
This ride uses the same basic rules as the SS1000 but because there is nowhere to get a receipt at the top of Mount Evans and some of the other locations a Spot Tracker will be needed to show the time, date and place. I will be able to print the Spot Tracker location maps and submit them to the IBA.
I used Microsoft Streets and Trips to create a basic route and then started planning the gas stops using online truck stop websites.
There were other questions that needed to be answered. When should I do this ride? June, would there be snow in the mountains? July, how hot would it be in Death Valley? More research.
During the research I found there was another version of this ride, the Heaven to Hell Gold. Pikes Peak to Death Valley with a required ride through Independence Pass and Ely, NV.
Now the decision, Pikes Peak to Death Valley or Mount Evans to Death Valley? Final decision? Do both but do one in reverse, now I have a plan. This trip would now include four separate IBA rides.
The plan
Ride one - Milwaukee, WI to Idaho Springs, CO. Ride two – The top of Mount Evans to Badwater, Death Valley. Ride three – Badwater, Death Valley to Ely, NV a ride through Independence Pass and then end at the top of Pikes Peak. Ride four – Colorado to Milwaukee, WI, the ride home. Each ride is over 1000 miles and I have a week of vacation.
The bike is a 2010 Victory Vision 8-Ball. This bike has been very comfortable on long distance rides and with the 6 gallon tank it has a good fuel range. The power windshield and adjustable lower vents also help to adjust to the changing weather conditions. Other equipment includes an HID Headlight, headlight guard, engine skid plate, Bead Rider seat cover, TireGard tire pressure monitoring system, Spot Tracker, Zumo 350LM GPS and an EZPass for the toll roads. I also packed some tools and tire repair equipment.
For tires I used a Dunlop E3 on the front and a Dunlop Winter Sport run flat snow tire on the rear. I had used this tire combination on the Key West/Prudhoe Bay ride and had great results!
Gear –Good gear is important in any ride but on this ride, because of the possible temperature extremes, I need adjustability. My jacket is an Olympia Airglide; I like it because it is a mesh jacket that has a removable wind/rain lining and a quilted lining. Jackets like this work well and take up less space.
The helmet that I used is a Shoei Neotec modular, what I like about this helmet is the flip down sun visor. The sun visor saves a lot of time when you don’t have to stop to change glasses during the ever changing weather and when you’re going to see the sun set and rise during each of the four rides.
June 14th, I worked a half day, cut the grass and I’m ready to go. Ate dinner and plan to leave the Milwaukee area at about 5:00 pm. I picked this later start time to start getting into the ride rhythm I will need to complete the following two rides. I also enjoy riding at night, its cooler and there’s a lot less traffic.
I get my start receipt at 5:08 pm CDT, wrote the mileage on the receipt and start the ride west to Idaho Springs, CO. The ride went well until Iowa when the sky lit up with lightning shooting from cloud to cloud, time for gas and the rain gear. The lightning was the first of two lightshows on this trip. There would be over 100 miles of rain in Iowa and then more in Nebraska.
Ride one ended on June 15th at 10:56 am MDT in Idaho Springs, CO; I had traveled 1071 miles in less than 24 hours. I have some time to repack my gear and get ready for the next ride. I can sleep late the next morning and it’s better if I do because it’s going to another long day.
June 16th - I had slept well and I’m ready to go. I finished packing the bike, stopped for breakfast and then it’s just a short ride to the top of Mount Evans. It was 45 degrees, windy and sunny at the top. It was so windy that I had to be careful how I park the bike so that it wasn’t blown over.
At the top of Mount Evans I need to find two witnesses to sign the witness form, have someone take a picture of me and the bike in front of the Mount Evans sign and when I’m ready to leave I need to hit the ok button on the Spot Tracker so that it does a time stamp of the time, date and place of this location.
I also note the mileage and zero my GPS so that I can monitor my progress during this ride.
Next I hit the Spot Tracker tracking button and the ride can begin, the time is 10:05 am MDT…. Go, go, go!
I rode to the bottom of Mount Evans and stopped at the gift shop to get an “I was there” pin and a dated receipt.
By the time I reached I-70 it started to rain and it would rain on and off during the ride through the Colorado mountains. The rain lowered my speed but I did notice an increase in fuel mileage.
The rain ends in Utah and the temperature and my average speed is going up. The temps in Utah started in the low 100’s, dropped to the mid 80’s in western Utah and then rose again as I headed south on I-15.
It was also very windy in Utah and with the higher speeds and the gusty high winds I have to make an unplanned fuel stop.
I had planned all of my gas stops for the Peaks and Valley rides and added them in order to my GPS in order. Because I will be able to use some of the stops twice I had to come up with a code so that I could find each stop quickly.
Example – Mount Evans was 1A, Parachute, CO was coded 2A/6B, gas stop two on the ride to Death Valley and it was gas stop 6 on the ride to Pikes Peak.
One extra challenge I thought I would have on this trip was the traffic in Las Vegas, NV. Timing is everything; I rode through Las Vegas at 10:00 pm on a Sunday night. There was no traffic and it was only 100 degrees.
Riding through Las Vegas at night was the second lightshow on this ride. I really enjoy riding through Las Vegas at night.
After Las Vegas I rode to Yermo, CA to add a few more miles, I want to be sure that this trip is over the required 1000 miles. I get my fuel receipt in Yermo at 12:54 am and then ride northeast to Baker, CA to get a picture of the world’s largest (broken) thermometer.
Now I’m excited, my next stop is Badwater, Death Valley. While riding north on highway 127 I’m starting to notice now dark it is, it is about 2:00 am and I can’t see anything past the edge of my headlight and nothing to the sides.
I rode past the Death Valley entrance sign and the local wildlife is busy, there were a lot of jackrabbits running across the road and I also saw one fox that was walking on the road. I rode past him and he just turned his head to look at me and kept walking.
Now I need to concentrate on finding the Badwater sign. I’m watching the elevation on the GPS and its dropping and the temperature is rising. I must be getting close! It is so dark that I’m worried that I may miss the Badwater sign. Did I already ride past it?