2013: A Year of Adventures

I knew 2013 was going to be a high mileage year.  I had lots riding goals to accomplish.  I started the year with 3,507 miles on my 2013 BMW R1200GS Adventure on January first.  On December 31st the odometer read 57,987 for a 2013 grand total of 54,480 miles.  I went through some tires during the year.  I have been running Michelin Anakee 3 tires since the first tire change after taking delivery of the GSA in October 2012.  The Anakee's are supposed to be high mileage adventure touring tires.  I'm still doing the evaluation of their performance and will post updates as I make them.

Risk management is something I work at while riding.  Riding many miles, on all types of highways, in all types of traffic conditions and in all types of weather I'm happy to report I had no "close calls" while riding during the year.  I define a close call by an instance of emergency maneuvering to avoid a crash after being surprised by a road or traffic condition. And, as far as riding and risk management goes acquiring, installing and using the FLIR PathFindIR thermal imaging system was one of my most important and innovative 'farkles'.  It was invaluable for riding dusk, night and before dawn.  Especially useful during the 10,000 Miles in 10 Days ride in Texas and on the  IBR.  Using the FLIR while riding helped me to detect and identify warm blooded critters way out of the reach of my driving lights.  I can't imagine riding between dusk and dawn without it.

Of course, my primary riding objective was achieving my goal for the 2013 Iron Butt Rally.  I had many training rides leading up to the IBR during the first half of the year and some therapeutic  P.I.S.S rides afterwards.  Listed below are some of the highlights of the riding adventures during the year.

January:

Using Proximity Point Alerts on the GPS

Big Bend Video Shoot

The Clock Is Running

March:

100ccc Gold Ride Plan

Ride Report -- 100ccc Gold

April:

LD Riding on the Clock -- An Organizing Framework

ROG -- Run Out of Gas Testing

Cape Fear 1,000 Rally

May:

Texas 10,000 Miles in 10 Days

July:

The Iron Butt Rally -- 11,000 Miles in 11 Days

August:

The Colorado 1,000 -- 2013

September:

Round Trip to Salt Lake City

October:

Big Tex Rally -- Posse Ride

IBA Big As Texas Party -- Republic of Texas 1,000

November:

Fun with Bubbler GPS Pro

2014 Is already shaping up to be a fun year.  I have applied for a position on the 2015 Iron Butt Rally.  If I am drawn for a slot I'll be doing several focused training events and rides to keep my riding skills sharp.  I am in the preliminary stages of planning a trans Canada ride with a comrade during August.  I want to ride my motorcycle from The farthest eastern city, St. John's NS to Vancouver BC.  That should be fun.  And, if drawn for a IBR slot, good Canada ride training.  The IBA International Meeting is taking place in Denver in August.  So, the plan is to head there at the end of the trans Canada adventure.  I'll keep my schedule open for more Hard Riding Adventures!