2020 Update: It took me a while, but we finally have a video to go along with the written story below. Hope you enjoy!
I love the Iron Butt Association, and I’ve used my day job as an excuse to tackle their challenges before – like going from Border to Border in 24 hours when work took me to Seattle. The IBA has some crazy challenges, and I’ve always told myself that the furthest one I’d try is the 50CC. Back in the fall of 2018 I had to be in Orlando for a conference, and you can guess where this story is going…
I started the trip by asking you guys and gals for suggestions on what I should ride, and you had some great suggestions.
My first choice to cross the United States was the homegrown Motus MST-R – it seemed appropriate to use something built in the US for such a ride. I had some wonderful conversations with Lee Conn, President and Co-Founder of Motus, but he said that Motus had some big things coming up in October and he wasn’t able to spare a bike at the time. Of course, Motus went out of business in early September 2018, rendering the whole thing moot anyway.
Pictured: not me.
Don’t feel bad for me – I ended up on the incredible-and-much-more-available-at-a-dealership Kawasaki H2 SX SE! I took about a week to ride from Los Angeles out to Orlando, then attempted the coast to coast challenge on the way back:
Day 1 – October 18th, 2018 – Los Angeles, California to Tucson, Arizona: ~500 miles
Day 2 – October 19th, 2018 – Tucson, Arizona to Monahans, Texas: ~630 miles
Day 3 – October 20th, 2018 – Monahans, Texas to Memphis, Tennessee: ~850 miles
Day 4 – October 21st, 2018 – Memphis, Tennessee to Cleveland, Tennessee: ~420 miles
Day 5 – October 22nd, 2018 – Cleveland, Tennessee to Byron, Georgia: ~300 miles
Day 6 – October 23rd, 2018 – Byron, Georgia to Orlando, Florida: ~350 miles
Days 7-9 – October 24th-26th, 2018 – Orlando, Florida to Jacksonville, Florida: ~200 miles
The Iron Butt Association 50CC (Coast to Coast in 50 Hours) challenge starts here:
Day 10 – October 27th, 2018 – Atlantic Beach, Florida to Sonora, Texas: ~1,290 miles.
Day 11 – October 28th, 2018 – Sonora, Texas to Santa Monica, California: ~1,200 miles
As always, thanks for reading!