Just had a phone call from an exhausted-sounding Jan. He has ridden 1,350 miles from Elmore, Ohio to Rawlings, Wyoming in 24 hours. He was aiming to do the next ride up from Iron Butt  – which is 1,500 miles in 24 hours. But, he has encountered road works on I-80 almost all the way through each state with a single lane and 55mph speed limit. He said he was really cold through the night and his knees are very sore.

There are no motels available in Rawlings – thanks to a huge oilfield, they are all taken by workers and cost three times the going rate anyhow. So now he has to ride on another 200 miles to Evanston.

I made him promise to have a rest and a good meal before setting off again – actually, I tried to persuade him to find a motel where he is at any cost but he said there are no rooms to be had.

I am so proud of the stubborn bugger. Hope to hear from him in a few more hours and tell you he is safely tucked in bed.

I could cry for him 😥

To zoom in, please click on the google map below.

Update:

Here’s Jan’s description of the ride:

Shortly after arriving in Toronto, I got the bike going, then rode to the Sombra – Marine City crossing.
I had the usual service done, at GT Motors in Lansing Michigan. The Metzeler Tourance rear tyre, from the return from Alaska, 2012 was worn out, after 9989 Miles.

It was replaced with an Avon Road Rider. I have never used that before, but I had forgotten to order a new Michelin Pilot Activ, and Larry had the Road Rider in stock.

As you know, for my certificate, Iron Butt Ride last year, I only managed to do 1172 miles, in the 24 hr period, due to evading bad storms. So This year was going to be different.

I planned a route from my mates  house in Helena, to the Ohio Turnpike / I 80 and carry on to Evanston Wyoming giving a total of  1604 miles in 24 hrs.

No sooner had I set off, in Ohio, when I hit a stretch of road works, where the whole of the other 2 lanes, were closed for maintenance, so it was one lane only, in each direction over large areas of I 80, that continued in ALL the darn  states it passes  through !!! The weather stayed dry for the whole trip, apart from western Nebraska; it must be low-lying, because it was full of swirling mist banks that not only wets through everything and make you cold to the marrow, but also play optical tricks in the beam of the headlight.

Needless to say, I could not cover the distance in the time available, so, from 10 am to 10 am I managed to get into Rawlins, with 1392 miles on the clock. Better than last year  but not by much.

Anyway I said, bugger this, and went and had a decent breakfast, after which then set off from Rawlins for Rock Springs – about 130 miles away.  You have to fill up there, cos after Cheyenne & Laramie, Wyoming has very few gas  stations along I 80

That part went reasonably well. After filling up at Rock Springs, there is another to get gas; it’s called Little America, but it’s a sort of kids place, with all kinds of junk on sale, so I passed on that, and shortly after Little America, I came to road works again, exactly the same as the other states.

I persevered, and did do the 1604 miles, just not in the 24 hrs as I had hoped.
Once I arrived at the motel,  I removed all the bags, and put the bike on its center stand, so I could check the oil level.
Obviously, I had checked tyre pressures, and the oil level at Pete & Barb’s, yesterday morning before departure.

Anyway, after unpacking, and  getting a six-pack of Newcastle Brown Ale,and some Brandy from a local shop (Got brandy, due to lack of any smaller bottles of decent Whisky) to try to combat all the coffee I had consumed trying to warm up, from a ride that was colder than I had anticipated.

Once the engine was cool enough to let go of the dipstick, I checked the oil. All the oil I got, during repeated attempts, was a brown drop, on the little knob, at the bottom of the stick. Also, once again, oil splashes all over the rim of the rear wheel, and oil drops hanging from the cluster of breathers.

I emailed Larry in Lansing, and he reckons the main rear seal has gone. Now I am faced with having the engine taken out, gearbox removed and the seal replaced.

On a positive note, its a good time to replace the clutch plate as that has to be removed to get at the seal. so it’s basically a freebie.

Apparently a new Guzzi shop has opened up, in Sandy, Utah, only 89 miles from here, Evanston, Wyoming, practically on the Utah border. It’s 07 55 here at the moment so I’ll call them at 10 am and see what they say. I hope to hell they are able to fit me in, and not fully booked for the next week. Or Longer !

At least here, I am in a reasonably priced  good motel with excellent secure wifi. It makes everything sooo much easier to deal with.

I will keep you updated, as soon as I know anything.
check the Blog for the full story and photos so far.   motoguzziriders.com

Take Care Out There.