Biker sets ‘iron-butt’ record across U.S.

[bungbung]

from www.msnbc.com

Motorcyclist makes 5,632-mile trek
Updated: 10:43 a.m. ET June 24, 2004MIAMI - A U.S. motorcyclist made the 5,632-mile (9,011-km) trek from the northernmost road in Alaska to the southernmost tip of Florida in 100 hours and set a transcontinental record certified by the “Iron Butt Association” of bike enthusiasts.

“I’m a little tired ... a little bit bruised,” biker Gary Eagan said by phone from Key West on Tuesday, a day after finishing the journey on his Ducati Multistrada.

He bested the old transcontinental “Iron Butt” record of 114 hours and 49 minutes, set last year by a BMW rider from Maryland.

A few hours after starting his solo journey on a gravel road in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, a truck forced Eagan off the road and his motorcycle flipped over into the tundra, breaking his windshield, one rearview mirror, auxiliary fuel tank and shearing off the saddlebag containing his spare clothes.

“I think I broke my big toe and dislocated my finger and elbow a little bit,” said Eagan, 56, of Salt Lake City, Utah.

He patched the bike together with zip ties and drove on through Alaska, Canada and the continental United States, making a pit stop in Kansas City to change tires, and stopping occasionally to nap or refuel.

Eagan said he endured suspicious border patrol agents, traffic snarls and torrential thunderstorms but completed the trek without any speeding tickets.

“You don’t have to really ride that fast to do a record like that. You just have to stay on the bike and be efficient,” he said.

Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

[Blackbird]

Makes my 1000 miles in 19 hours look a bit sick. I feel a new challenge coming on!



Geoff

[mangell6]

Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

And I am planning on doing less kms in the same timeframe in January 05.

Man what a guy.

Mike

[Blackbird]

So you're doing Lee's latest event eh? (With Matt towing a fuel trailer? ). It's likely that an Aussie mate from the UK will do the Southern Cross next year and if that is the case, I'll do it with him.

Hope you and Matt are well. Work is driving me nuts at present :sneaky2:

Geoff

[matthewt]

With Matt towing a fuel trailer? Geoff

Yer, I'm just looking for a company to attach a towbar to the MV. It's been done to a mv-f4 so they should be able to do it to a brutale

Geoff, you doing this years 1000 miler ??

[Blackbird]

I haven't given it much thought yet. Every year I say "never again", then one of my idiot mates starts thinking about it and no-one likes to lose face, haha! I'll tell you a bit closer to the time. What about you?

Having not done the 'Cross before, there's a bit of appeal in that. I've also got some long service leave coming up which will be handy.

Safe riding

Geoff

[matthewt]

I haven't given it much thought yet. Every year I say "never again", then one of my idiot mates starts thinking about it and no-one likes to lose face, haha! I'll tell you a bit closer to the time. What about you?

Yup, already got my stuff back from Lee for the 1000 miler. A bunch of us from Wgtn look to be doing the big50 run as well. Ventura make luggage for the brutale so I'll finally be able to carry gear without too much hassle.

Having not done the 'Cross before, there's a bit of appeal in that. I've also got some long service leave coming up which will be handy.

The cross next year starts from Bluff which is nice for the NI people (coz we finish closer to home). I might do it next year it all depends on what my job is doing around then.

Maybe I should of done what this guy did to my f4 for touring ??

[Slim]

http://www.ducati.com/od/ducatinorthamerica/news/detail.jhtml;$sessionid$LBU5F2IAABBKKCRNBQRCFFYKFU GCEIV3?newsId=5701

There's some photo's and stuff there too.