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May 08, 2005
Iron Butt Rally 2005
PALM HARBOR, FL -- May 8
Well, we made it. 493 on the odometer, and I would have happily driven around the massive Lansbrook cluster of subdivisions 7 times to get an official Iron Butt entry. But Diana was having none of it. As it stood, she barely made it the final 10 miles through Pasco and Pinellas Counties to my parents' house. I guess fate just couldn't let almost 500 miles of 4 lane rural US 19 be too boring, so let's recap our adventures of the day in a rough travelog:
5:45 am. - The watch beeps and I leap out of bed, grabbing a 30 second cold shower to wake me up.
5:59 am. - Jarboe and Nic left a nice note attached to the door sending me off. I'm officially outside mothercrow and backing Diana out of the driveway. The sky is just beginning to turn blue enough for me to see the controls.
6:12 am. - The eye-opening jolt of the 10-lanes-wide conglomeration of Interstates 75 and 85 flies by underneath me. I chose this as the better altnerative to snaking my way through the traffic-light-riddled downtown and College Park.
6:45 am. - I'm freezing, having shed my inner jacket liner under the pretense it would soon be 80 degrees and sweaty. I exit I-75 for US 19, whose shields and arrows I'll be following pretty much the rest of the way until I hit my parents' neighborhood.
8:15 am. - North of Butler, GA, I experience my first gas cutover when I overestimate how many miles I can go on a single tank when holding Diana's throttle wide open in 5th gear at 75 mph.
9:00 am. - Americus, GA. I'm really hungry now, but where's the food? No restaurants whatsoever are open. It's Sunday in Georgia, I guess. The nice lady at the Harvey's Supermarket tells me I'm pretty much screwed if I don't like McDonald's as she rings up my apple to tide me over.
9:05 am. - Americus, GA, Harvey's parking lot. Breakfast is served!
9:50 am. - Albany, GA. A big sign for Granny's Country Cookin' looms up at me. I salivate.
9:51 am. - Albany, GA. That sign has fine print declaring "Closed Sundays" as I pass by it. Damn.
11:25 am. - Thomasville, GA. I can't hold out any longer. I go onto the business route in search of the center district which I've heard is known for its quaint antique shops and nice cafes.
11:28 am. - I park in the beautiful center square of Thomasville. It's a ghost town. Every nice cafe and quaint antique store is closed. There's a chinese buffet 3 blocks off the square, though.
11:35 am. - I lug the tank bag and backpack 2 blocks to the Chinese buffet. I'm practically the only customer. I get my fix of grease, MSG, tea in leiu of coffee, and thank the staff thoroughly for being the only oasis open in this godforsaken town.
12:05 pm. - As I walk back to my bike feeling slightly reinvigorated despite missing the great country cooking I had envisioned, every one of the 4 churches within a block of the center square opens at once as if a factory whistle went off. There is pandemonium everywhere as the once deserted center square floods with families dressed in their Sunday best going back to their cars. I have never seen a sight quite like this in my life.
12:20 pm. - After 15 minutes of fighting the thick traffic of church commuters, I'm finally out of historic Thomasville and back on US 19.
12:34 pm. - I cross the Florida state line. Despite the desparation to make good time and lack of good shoulder, I can't resist pulling off for a picture. I really doubted at times Diana could make it this far.
1:40 pm. - Another gas cutover. Wait, didn't I just fuel up 50 miles ago? What the hell is going on? Am I just riding too fast for her?
3:10 pm. - Crystal River, FL. A nice guy in a brand new white Suzuki Volusia is filling up at the pump opposite me and we engage in friendly chit chat which includes the inevitable "You made it all the way from New York on that thing formality. He's taking a more modest jaunt from Tallahassee to Orlando, and wishes me the best of luck.
3:49 pm. - Weeki Watchee, FL. On top of my newly reduced gas mileage, the shifting begins to feel odd. I experience a rattle as she gets into first from a standstill, and she doesn't seem smooth until I'm at least in third.
4:30 pm. - Hudson, FL. I'm pretty much counting stop lights at this point, and trying my best to avoid coming to a full stop anywhere, even if it means sandbagging approaches at already red lights, or flooring it through yellow ones.
4:56 pm. - Palm Harbor at last. I roll in neutral down the last turn to my parents' house, and find my mother outside entertaining the neighbor's kids. I've made it. I wonder if Diana will make it any further as I let her cool off.
6:40 pm. - Dinner is served. Grilled orange-n-balsamic pork loin with yams, green beans, and plenty of wine. My clutch hand finally stops vibrating and regains sensation.
9:05 pm. - CBS is showing some weird Elvis biopic. I don't think I'm going to make it through.
10:13 pm. - I get as far as Heartbreak Hotel, and hit the guest room pillow with a decisive thud. I sleep for 11 hours.
Here's the Gallery for today:
Here's the playlist:
| Title | Artist | CD |
|---|---|---|
| Talkin' About The Good Times | The Pretty Things | A's & B's |
| And Before The First Kiss | The Field Mice | Where'd You Learn To Kiss That Way? (Disc 1) |
| Four O'Clock Blues | Skip James | Complete Recorded Works (1931) |
| Movie | His Name Is Alive | Stars On E.S.P. |
| Take Me Out | Franz Ferdinand | Franz Ferdinand |
| Stand! | Sly & The Family Stone | Greatest Hits |
| Uptown | Roy Orbison | The All-Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison |
| Reggae Feet | Lloyd Williams | Mojo Presents: Studio One Selector |
| Put Your Fila's On | Schoolly-D | The Adventures Of Schoolly D. |
| The Village Green Preservation Society | The Kinks | The Village Green Preservation Society |
| C'mon Billy | PJ Harvey | To Bring You My Love |
| I Know | Herbert | Bodily Functions |
| Thumblerdoll | Liliput | LiLiPUT/Kleenex (Disc 1) |
| Crest | Stereolab | Transient Random-Noise Bursts |
| Lament | The Cure | Japanese Whispers |
| In Another Land | The Rolling Stones | Singles Collection: The London Years (Disc 2) |
| Olsen Olsen | Sigur Rós | Ágætis Byrjun |
| Sad Day | The Rolling Stones | Singles Collection: The London Years (Disc 2) |
| Afternoon Tea | The Kinks | Something Else + 8 |
| D. Khansakatov (Turkestan) | Urul Chykdy | The Secret Museum Of Mankind Vol. 6: Central Asia: Ethnic Music Classics: 1925-1948 |
| Ego Tripping At the Gates of H | The Flaming Lips | Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robot |
| Brand New | DNA | Dna On Dna |
| Star Power | Sonic Youth | Evol |
| 100% Dundee | The Roots | Things Fall Apart |
| Have You Seen Her Face | The Byrds | Younger Than Yesterday |
| Poverty Train | Laura Nyro | Eli and the Thirteenth Confession |
| The star’s gone out | The Third Eye Foundation | Ghost |
| Capricorn | The Miles Davis Quintet | The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings 1965-68 (3) |
| Alien | Lamb | Fear Of Fours |
| When The Sun Hits | Slowdive | Souvlaki |
| Time Has Come [Portishead Plays U.N.K.L.E. Mix] | U.N.K.L.E. | Headz 2 B (Disc 1) |
| Prelude | Nico | The Marble Index |
| Helpless Child | Swans | Soundtracks For The Blind |
| Parallelogram Bin | Squarepusher | Music is Rotted One Note |
| Time / The End of Time | The Chameleons | Strange Times (bonus tracks) |
| Templeroy | Felt | Absolute Classic Masterpieces |
| Something Better Beginning | The Honeycombs | The Joe Meek Story-The PYE Years |
| Aqualung | Morcheeba | Charango |
| The Girl With No Name | The Byrds | Younger Than Yesterday |
| Stone-Hearted Mama | The Pretty Things | A's & B's |
| Boy Child | Scott Walker | Scott 4 |
| Holler | Tangle Eye | Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Remixed |
| Spiders and Snakes | World Famous Blue Jays | Star Power! |
| The Black Arts | Stereolab | Sound-Dust |
| Fun | Miles Davis | Miles Davis Quintet 1965-68 (4) |
| Track 01 | Family Fodder | Savoir Faire |
| Intermezzo/Yu-Gung (Live) | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II (Disc 1) |
| La La La | Laura Greene | It's A Soft Rock World Vol.3 (Sr9605) |
| Message from Thee Temple Ov Psychic Youth | Psychic TV | Force Thee Hands Ov Chants / Blinded Eye In Thee Pyramid |
| The Fall of Christopher Robin | Current 93 | Island |
| Underneath It All | Money Mark | Push The Button |
| Twenty Four Hours | Joy Division | Closer |
| Endlessly | Mercury Rev | Deserter's Songs |
| Do It, Do It | Schoolly-D | The Adventures Of Schoolly D. |
| Tony's Theme | Pixies | Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim |
| Misty Mountain | Silver Apples | Silver Apples |
| Stranded In Time | The United States Of America | The United States Of America |
| My Maria | John Cale | The Island Years (Disc 2) |
| Poppy Day | The Legendary Pink Dots | The Tower |
| Don't Be Mean | The Raincoats | Looking in the Shadows |
| Just Drifting (Midnight) | Psychic TV | Force Thee Hands Ov Chants / Blinded Eye In Thee Pyramid |
| T.V. Playtime | Silicon Teens | Music for Parties |
| She's Lost Control | Joy Division | Unknown Pleasures |
| Holiday In Risk Theme | Carla Bley / Paul Haines | Escalator Over The Hill (Disc 2) |
| Home | His Name Is Alive | Stars On E.S.P. |
| Truly And Utterly Bill | David Carradine & Uma Thurman | Kill Bill, Vol. 2 |
| Subbacultcha | Pixies | At The BBC |
| Playing Golf | Family Fodder | Savoir Faire |
| Claudine | The Geraldine Fibbers | Butch |
| I Saw the World | Pearls Before Swine | Balaklava |
| No More Heroes | Stranglers | Greatest Hits 1977-1990 |
| I Don't Care Of The Sun Don't Shine | Elvis Presley | The Sun Sessions CD |
| I Was A Prisoner In Your Skull | Swans | Soundtracks For The Blind |
| Staking Out Sal | Don Ellis | The French Connection |
| The Payback | James Brown | Make It Funky - The Big Payback: 1971-1975 (Disc 2) |
| Banister Fight | RZA | Kill Bill, Vol. 1 |
| Blood From The Air | COIL | Horse Rotorvator |
| End Of Head | Carla Bley / Paul Haines | Escalator Over The Hill (Disc 2) |
| Concentric Circle | DJ Food | Headz 2a |
| Fackeln! | Einstürzende Neubauten | Strategies Against Architecture II |
| The Summer Of Love | Current 93 | Swastikas For Noddy |
| Blind Dumb Deaf | Cocteau Twins | BBC Sessions (Disc 1) |
| The Last Dance | Disco Inferno | |
| Flipper Queen - Du Kannst's Am Besten | Die Moulinettes | Harpsichord 2000 |
| Keep An Eye | Diana Ross & The Supremes | The Best of (Disc 2) |
| Lullaby of Birdland | Sarah Vaughn & Clifford Brown | |
| . ] . ] . ] . [ . | User | Symphony #2 For Dot Matrix Printers |
| Love Child | Diana Ross & The Supremes | The Best of (Disc 2) |
| Town Criers Walk | Dose One & Boom Bip | Circle |
Posted by Todd at May 8, 2005 08:12 PM