IBA Daytona Party - 2014

On the road again.  This time to attend the Iron Butt Association annual Daytona Party.  It's a great opportunity to see some of the best long distance riders in the country.  The camaraderie is excellent, the different rides with all their individualized farkles and the chance to network with new acquaintances is fun.  I'll be using BubblerGPS Pro as the primary SpotWalla track.  I'm also testing out my SPOT Gen3 unit.  It has some features that are supposed to make it a little more reliable and have longer battery life.


See the full SpotWalls map produced by the SPOT Gen3

Sat/Sun, 3/15-16:  Hey, the weather was about to turn bad on my route back home.  So, I blew off the mid-day event and decided to hit the road.  Weather was good till Mississippi then it turned wet.  Stayed that way till I stopped for the night in Vidor TX.  The rest of the ride was mildly wet and really windy on Sunday.  But, go home safe and sound after a great trip and a wonderful IBA Daytona Party.  I rode a total of 2,168 miles, mostly I-10 at a moving average of 70 MPH. 

Friday, 3/14:  Dined with fellow LD rider at the breakfast buffet that came with the room.  After breakfast I helped with the verification process for the riders who rode the Southern Swing 1,000.  It was a well organized process.  Riders had to ride to ten different locations, take a picture of their rally flag  and get back to the finish at the motel before the end of the 24 hours. 

Around 4pm the Jacksonville BMW dealer had a couple kegs of beer for all us LD riders to celebrate  the day.  We enjoyed the free beer until the awards presentation by Mike Kneebone, IBA president, to all rider of the Southern Swing 1,000 and the ride in IBA LD event riders.  Now, the banquet at 6pm.

Thursday, 3/13:  I departed St. Augustine for the short ride to the Ramada in Jacksonville.  Not much was going on as almost 75 riders were gone on the Southern Swing 1000.  I hung out chatting with fellow LD comrades until I could check into my room.  Took a shower then a nap before dinner.  At 7pm me and a couple dozen others attended a route planning presentation by Greg Rice and Alex Schmidt, Podium finishers in last year's IBR.  Great stuff.  Topped off the evening with a few beer and some good camaraderie.

Wednesday, 3/12:  After a quick bowl of raisin bran and a cup of "Days Inn" coffee I hit the road...I-10 to be specific.  Weather was good with temps in the mid 60s till about 3pm then it warmed up to low 80s.  Arrive in St. Augustine around 4:40 EDT.  Had a couple of beers to wash the Interstate out of my throat.  Had a great meal with good company.  Life is good.  Dr. Howard and I took his cool and sexy Fiat 500 to the IBA motel to see what we could see.  Bikers were still arriving at the hotel for tomorrows "Southern Swing" 1,000 in 24 hours.  The ride kicks off at about 5:30 in the morning with a send off by Mike Kneebone, IBA President.  Howard and I talked about attending the departure but we're too old to get up that early just to watch others ride out. 

Tuesday, 3/11:  Leaving around noon for St. Augustine FL with an enroute stop somewhere along I-10 for the night.  Going to visit a Iron Butt Rally comrade, my rally mentor. The weather looks good along the route with a chance of rain through Louisiana. 

The riding was very good today.  Temps in the mid 70s with partly cloudy blue skies.  Stopped outside Hammond for the night.  Only about 9 hours from St. Augustine, FL.