At 7:45am CT on Friday, 31 August 2007, I pulled a gas receipt at a Chicago suburb c-store marking the completion of what I submitted to the IBA as my 25th Iron Butt ride and 12th Bun Burner Gold. I covered 1,510 miles in 23 hours 40 minutes, riding from Miami Beach FL to Summit IL by way of Jacksonville, Atlanta, Nashville, Paducah, and East St. Louis. The most remarkable aspect of this ride was that--once again--it was only by the intervention of Divine Providence that I was able to complete it...

At 5:12am ET on Tuesday, 3 July 2007, I pulled an ATM slip at the South Beach WAMU to mark the successful completion of what will hopefully be certified as my 24th Iron Butt ride and 11th Bun Burner Gold. On this BBG, I covered 1,536 miles in 20 hours 42 minutes, giving me an MTH (miles traveled per hour) of 74.20. My route was from San Antonio TX east on I-10/I-12/I-10 to Mobile AL, then north on I-65 to Montgomery AL, south on US231 through Dothan AL to Florida, east on I-10 to Jacksonville, and then south on I-95 to Miami Beach...

At 3:08am CT on Saturday, 30 June 2007, I pulled a gas receipt at the TA TravelCenter in San Antonio TX to mark the successful completion of what was certified as my 23rd Iron Butt ride and 10th Bun Burner Gold. On this BBG, I covered 1,528 miles in 22 hours 10 minutes, giving me an MTH (miles traveled per hour) of 68.92. My route was from Miami Beach FL north on I-95 to Jacksonville FL, then west on I-10 to US231, north through Dothan AL to Montgomery AL, south on I-65 to Mobile AL, and west on I-10/I-12/I-10 to San Antonio TX.

Welcome to Bruce's Biker Rock 100(tm), an online jukebox serving up 100 of the all-time greatest classic rock biker tunes, highway hits and motorcycle songs!

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 marked the end of eight days and 6,603 miles in the saddle for me. My two-wheeled trek began when I logged the start of what should be certified as my 21st Iron Butt ride--a SaddleSore 3000 run covering 3,069 miles in 65 hours 26 minutes. It ended three hours and 130 miles after I logged the last stop of what should be certified as my 22nd Iron Butt ride--a BunBurner Gold 3000 run covering 3,055 miles in 47 hours 7 minutes. In the first three parts of this series, I told you about the three legs of my SaddleSore 3000 run from Florida to Arizona last May. In these last two parts, I'll tell you about my BunBurner Gold 3000 run back the other way:

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 marked the end of eight days and 6,603 miles in the saddle for me. My two-wheeled trek began when I logged the start of what should be certified as my 21st Iron Butt ride--a SaddleSore 3000 run covering 3,069 miles in 65 hours 26 minutes. It ended three hours and 130 miles after I logged the last stop of what should be certified as my 22nd Iron Butt ride--a BunBurner Gold 3000 run covering 3,055 miles in 47 hours 7 minutes. In the first three parts of this series, I told you about the three legs of my SaddleSore 3000 run from Florida to Arizona last May. In these last two parts, I'll tell you about my BunBurner Gold 3000 run back the other way:

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 marked the end of eight days and 6,603 miles in the saddle for me. My two-wheeled trek began when I logged the start of what should be certified as my 21st Iron Butt ride--a SaddleSore 3000 run covering 3,069 miles in 65 hours 26 minutes. It ended three hours and 130 miles after I logged the last stop of what should be certified as my 22nd Iron Butt ride--a BunBurner Gold 3000 run covering 3,055 miles in 47 hours 7 minutes.

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 marked the end of eight days and 6,603 miles in the saddle for me. My two-wheeled trek began when I logged the start of what should be certified as my 21st Iron Butt ride--a SaddleSore 3000 run covering 3,069 miles in 65 hours 26 minutes. It ended three hours and 130 miles after I logged the last stop of what should be certified as my 22nd Iron Butt ride--a BunBurner Gold 3000 run covering 3,055 miles in 47 hours 7 minutes.

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 marked the end of eight days and 6,603 miles in the saddle for me. My two-wheeled trek began when I logged the start of what should be certified as my 21st Iron Butt ride--a SaddleSore 3000 run covering 3,069 miles in 65 hours 26 minutes. It ended three hours and 130 miles after I logged the last stop of what should be certified as my 22nd Iron Butt ride--a BunBurner Gold 3000 run covering 3,055 miles in 47 hours 7 minutes.

At 7:58am on Saturday, 12 May 2007, I logged the end of what should be my 20th certified IBA ride and 9th Bun Burner Gold. I had covered 1,708 miles in 23 hours 3 minutes for an MTH (miles traveled per hour) of 74.09. This trumped my previous personal best from three weeks earlier of 1,614 miles in 22 hours 47 minutes and 70.84 MTH. It also exceeded what I had previously computed to be the maximum number of miles I could reasonably expect to cover in a 24-hour period without adding a fuel cell to my FXDS. Consequently, this BBG run represents a personal best that I am not likely to even attempt to outdo.

At 7:44am Saturday morning, 21 April 2007, I logged the end of what should be certified by the Iron Butt Association as my 19th IBA ride and 8th Bun Burner Gold. On this run I covered 1,614 miles in 22 hours 47 minutes for an MTH (miles traveled per hour) of 70.84. This is far from being an IBA record, but it did top my previous personal best of 1,602 miles in 22 hours 40 minutes and 70.67 MTH, and marked the second time I rode "over 1600 in under 23". My targeted route was from Miami Beach north on I-95 through Jacksonville FL and Savannah GA, turning west on I-26 in SC through Columbia and Spartanburg to Asheville NC, then back the same way.

At 8:03am on Saturday, 31 March 2007, I logged the end of 23 hours and 6 minutes of some of the most frustrating distance riding I have ever had to endure. My route of 1,544 miles was good enough to meet the "over 1500 in under 24" requirement for certification as my 18th IBA ride and 7th Bun Burner Gold, but the only thing really good about this run was that it was finally over!

For eleven days in August, I dodged and defied the deadly iron cages of cellphone-impaired KILARYDAs to make my annual pilgrimage to Sturgis for the great gathering of the brave tribes of the proud RYDABYKA nation. I rode my steel horse 2,365 miles from Miami Beach to Gillette, Wyoming, where I made my base camp. From there, my travels took me 1,135 miles more through our sacred Black Hills and the scenic Badlands and Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana. I then logged another 2,421 miles of saddletime returning home.

At 10:04am on Sunday, 11 February 2007, I logged a fifty-one cent gas receipt in Fort Lauderdale marking the end of what I hope will be certified as my 17th Iron Butt ride and 6th Bun Burner Gold. A BBG requires that you cover over 1,500 miles in under 24 hours, and I made it by the skin of my teeth: 1,501 miles in 23 hours 55 minutes. Looking at those statistics alone, this would appear to be the worst of my six BBG rides. Less miles covered, and more time logged, than any of the previous five. But as we all know, statistics can be misleading:

At 1:07am on Tuesday 23 January 2007, I completed what should be my 16th IBA-certified ride, having met the Iron Butt Association's SaddleSore 1000 requirements by covering 1,060 miles in 16 hours 27 minutes. My performance as indicated by an MTH (miles traveled per hour) of 64.43 was no personal best, but it was much better than I expected given weather conditions at the start.

At 11:08pm on 19 January 2007, I pulled an ATM receipt at a 7-11 in the Washington DC suburb of Falls Church Virginia, marking the end of what should ultimately be certified as my 15th Iron Butt ride. This time it was another SaddleSore 1000, as I had covered 1,113 miles in 18 hours 30 minutes. With an MTH (miles traveled per hour) of only 60.16, this was far from my best performance. But I still logged over 1,000 miles in under 24 hours, and that is all the Iron Butt Association requires for their SS1000 certification.

At 8:31am ET on Saturday, 25 November 2006, I logged an ATM slip at SoBe WaMu marking the end of a run that upon certification should be my fourteenth Iron Butt Association Certified Ride, and my fifth IBA Bun Burner Gold. Riding from San Antonio, Texas north to Waco, east to Fairfield, south to Houston, east to Jacksonville, and then south to Miami, I covered 1,602 miles in 22 hours 40 minutes for an average MTH (miles traveled per hour) of 70.67. Although this accomplishment pales in comparison to those fabled few who have ridden 2,000 miles in a day, it was a new personal best for me in terms of both distance covered and MTH achieved in under 24 hours.

A couple of months ago, in an article entitled "Murphy's 13th Ride," I told you about how anything involving the number 13 always seems to bring me bad luck. I ended that installment saying "I don't know when I'll go after my 13th Iron Butt certificate, but I sure hope and pray the gremlins stay home so I can live to tell you about it..."

Regardless of whether you're riding cross-town or cross-country when it happens, having a flat tire sucks. There is no such thing as a good time to have a flat; there are only bad and worse times. One such time came for me during an attempt at a fifth IBA Bun Burner Gold ride on a Saturday of last November:

I am one of the most un-superstitious guys you'll ever meet, except when it comes to two things: Murphy's Law, and the number 13.

At 7:34am Saturday, 7 October 2006, I pulled an ATM slip at WAMU South Beach to mark the end of a round-trip ride from Miami Beach FL to Raleigh NC and back, logging 1,555 miles in 22 hours 36 minutes. My route was I-95 north through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, then I-40 west to the Raleigh suburb of Garner, and back the same way.

At 11:58pm Saturday, 10 September 2006, I pulled an ATM receipt at WAMU South Beach to mark the end of a long day's ride around the Sunshine State. I logged 1,095 miles in 16 hours and 7 minutes, earning upon certification another Iron Butt SaddleSore 1000 certificate. The entire route was within Florida borders and never intersected or crossed over itself, so it should qualify for the in-state "FL-1000" designation. Here's the route, leg by leg:

I began and ended my weeklong Independence Day 2006 holiday break with successful Iron Butt Association ("IBA") Bun Burner Gold rides, covering over 1,500 miles in under 24 hours each time.

I began and ended my weeklong Independence Day 2006 holiday break with successful Iron Butt Association ("IBA") Bun Burner Gold rides, covering over 1,500 miles in under 24 hours each time.

I rode 5,315 miles over 11 days in August, joining more than half a million other motorcyclists and trailerists for the 2006 Black Hills Trailer Classic, an event still appreciated and referred to by some as the 66th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Tuesday May 30, 2006 marked the end of seven days and almost 5,500 miles on two wheels for me. The lion's share of this saddletime was devoted to my successful completion of what the Iron Butt Association calls the CCC Gold or 100CCC Insanity. The 100CCC requires that you ride from coast to coast to coast in 100 hours or less and that each of the back-to-back, coast-to-coast runs be completed in 50 hours or less. In this case, I rode from Jacksonville Beach, FL to San Diego (Ocean Beach), CA and back again, covering 4,728 miles in 95 hours 49 minutes.

Tuesday May 30, 2006 marked the end of seven days and almost 5,500 miles on two wheels for me. The lion's share of this saddletime was devoted to my successful completion of what the Iron Butt Association calls the CCC Gold or 100CCC Insanity. The 100CCC requires that you ride from coast to coast to coast in 100 hours or less and that each of the back-to-back, coast-to-coast runs be completed in 50 hours or less. In this case, I rode from Jacksonville Beach, FL to San Diego (Ocean Beach), CA and back again, covering 4,728 miles in 95 hours 49 minutes.

Long distance motorcycle riders have four basic means of routing and navigating their tours and timed runs: printed maps, online maps, GPS (Global Positioning System) devices, and if all else fails, asking for directions. Our focus this month is the second of these, online maps.

For me, Monday March 13 marked the end of five days and almost four thousand miles in the saddle. My trip began with a 1,610 mile Iron Butt BunBurner 1500 ride from Miami Beach FL to Round Rock TX via Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, Shreveport, Dallas and Bruceville. I completed this BB1500 in 29 hours 5 minutes road time, 33 hours 27 minutes total time. My trip ended with a 2,083 mile Iron Butt SaddleSore 2000 ride from San Antonio TX to Miami Beach FL via Dallas, Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, Charlotte, Columbia, Savannah and Jacksonville. I completed this SS2000 in 36 hours 30 minutes road and total time, as I did not stop for a motel sleep break. Last month I told you about my Wet Ride West. This month, let me tell you about my Hard Ride East:

For me, Monday March 13 marked the end of five days and almost four thousand miles in the saddle. My trip began with a 1,610 mile Iron Butt BunBurner 1500 ride from Miami Beach FL to Round Rock TX via Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, Shreveport, Dallas and Bruceville. I completed this BB1500 in 29 hours 5 minutes road time, 33 hours 27 minutes total time. My trip ended with a 2,083 mile Iron Butt SaddleSore 2000 ride from San Antonio TX to Miami Beach FL via Dallas, Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, Charlotte, Columbia, Savannah and Jacksonville. I completed this SS2000 in 36 hours 30 minutes road and total time, as I did not stop for a motel sleep break. Next month, I'll tell you about my Hard Ride East. But first, let me tell you about my Wet Ride West:

This is the seventh installment in a series about the combination of rider, ride, route and resources required to endure and enjoy long distance riding (LDR). Our resource focus this month is helmets.

Over the Christmas holidays, I attempted two Iron Butt runs ... a 1,046 mile ride--from Miami Beach (FL) to Elizabethtown (KY)--which I aborted after 743 miles due to imminent hypothermia ... and a 1,194 mile ride--from Atlanta (GA) west to Birmingham (AL), south to Mobile (AL), east to Jacksonville (FL) and then south to Miami Beach--on which I survived the cold and succeeded.

This is the sixth installment in a series about the combination of rider, ride, route and resources required to endure and enjoy long distance riding (LDR). Our resource focus this month is the ubiquitous bandanna.

If you want to ride 1,000 miles in a day, our 1 MINUTE = 1 MILE rule says you can expect the run to take about 16 hours and 40 minutes. Safety and scenery considerations suggest you'll want to make as much of the run in daylight as you can, but most of us can pretty well count on some night riding being required. Here is why:

After two weeks of riding across the country, and another two doing what little I could to aid bikers hit by Hurricane Katrina, my web business backlog precluded participation in this year's Key West Poker Run. I did manage to break away for a ride south to Islamorada, however, on the Sunday when everyone else was riding back north to nurse their hangovers.

For me, Sunday August 14 marked the end of ten days and 5,151 miles in the saddle, passing through three time zones and nine states to take part in the 65th annual Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, a.k.a. the Black Hills Motor Classic, a.k.a. STURGIS (SturgisMotorcycleRally.com). Last month I told you about the ride, so this month let me tell you about the rally:

For me, Sunday August 14 marked the end of ten days and 5,151 miles in the saddle, passing through three time zones and nine states to take part in the 65th annual Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, a.k.a. the Black Hills Motor Classic, a.k.a. STURGIS (SturgisMotorcycleRally.com). Next month I'll tell you about the rally, but first let me tell you about the ride:

This is the fifth installment in a series about the combination of rider, ride, route and resources required to endure and enjoy long-distance riding (LDR). Our focus this month is the all-important resource gasoline.

This is the fourth installment in a series about the combination of rider, ride, route and resources required to endure and enjoy long-distance riding (LDR). Our focus this month is the route.

This is the third installment in a series about the combination of rider, ride, route and resources required to endure and enjoy long-distance riding (LDR), and the second of two parts discussing the ride. Our focus last month was what kind of motorcycles distance riders do ride. Our focus this month is what kind of bikes they should ride.

This is the second installment in a series about the combination of rider, ride, route and resources required to endure and enjoy long-distance riding (LDR). Our focus this month is what kind of motorcycles do and/or should distance riders ride. Let's address that in two parts:

Last month, I wrote that as long as you have the right combination of rider, ride, route and resources, long-distance riding (LDR) is not only a great way to enhance your motorcycling experience, but also a practical transportation alternative. This month, let's talk about the most important item on that list: the rider. In order to endure and enjoy LDR, a rider must be fit, skilled, disciplined, prepared and alert. More specifically:

When I received my first acceptance package from the IBA it included a handwritten note from President Mike Kneebone. The last line reads "... Welcome to the insanity!"

According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2003 the 5.37 million motorcycles registered nationwide traveled a combined distance of 9.54 billion miles. This suggests that the average American motorcyclist logs less than 1,800 miles of saddletime annually, which is less than 150 miles a month.

Welcome to the first installment of Bikin' and Bytin' with Bruce, a new monthly column for Wheels on the Road. Miami Mike has graciously provided this platform to let me preach about my passion--long distance riding--so long as I also pass on pearls from my profession--web design. Thank you, Mike! Now, let's get started: