Matt Watkins Wandering North America

Leg #1 – St. Louis, MO to Perce Rock, Quebec

78,844 points. Standing #43

4258.4 miles (S&T) 39.8 mph

Day #1 – Chesterfield, MO to Somerset, PA – 693 miles
St Louis Arch 3565
Moundsville, WV IBA Mural 5099

Day #2 – Somerset, PA to Campbellton, NB – 1077 miles
Reynolds Sport Center Buxton, Maine 5300
6 hour rest bonus 7155

Day #3 – Cambpellton, NB to Augusta, ME – 728 miles
Campbellton, NB – Giant Salmon 3014
Perce, Quebec Hike across ocean floor! 33000
Call In Status Bonus 2000

Day #4 – Augusta, ME to Somerset, PA – 744 miles
Bath, Maine – Schooner 1888
Brunswick, Maine – Udder Place Coffee 456
Milford, NH – Worlds Largest Rocking Chair 465
Hinsdale, New Hampshie – License Plate House 1001
Winchester, NH – Ashuleot Covered Bridge 1201
Reading, PA – The Pagoda 920
York, Pennsylvania – Anti Grinch 1712

Day #5 – Somerset, PA to Chesterfield, MO – 1016 miles
Newark, OH – Longaberger Basket 489
Marysville, Ohio – Honda motorcycle factory 1578

St Louis, MO GAS 1 (thought it might be paired with a second leg bonus worth a bunch…but it wasn’t)
Gas Bonus 10000 (for completed gas log)

Leg #2 – St. Louis, MO to Central California

193,210 points. Leg #2 standing #14 (for that leg only)

5789 miles – 141 hours = 41 mph

Day #6 – Chesterfield, MO to Moriarty, NM – 1001 miles
Survivor Tree/Oklahoma City Memorial 3110

Day #7 – Moriarty, NM to Death Valley, CA – 1009 miles
Mancos, Colorado – Giant Arrows 2767
Shiprock, New Mexico 5320
Holbrook, AZ – Wigwam Motel 1845
Jackrabbit Trading Post 677
Kingman, AZ Golf Ball House 976
Lake Havasu City, AZ – London Bridge 1320
Paradise, Nevada 3112 (aka New York, NY Casino)

Day #8 Death Valley, CA to Madera, CA – 698 miles
Death Valley National Park, Scotty’s Castle 4996
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California 18567
Yosemite National Park, California (Ahwanee) 4567
Glacier Point – Yosemite 10234
Mono Hot Springs, California 12667

Day #9 Madera, CA to Lovelock, NV – 739 miles
Rest Bonus – August 28 7723
Santa Cruz, California – Boardwalk 2984
Mt Hamilton, California – Lick Observatory 24057
Livermore, CA – Centennial Light, 3123
San Francisco, CA – Cupid’s Arrow 1415
San Francisco, CA – Christopher Columbus 2567
Lombard Street, SF, CA 4109
San Francisco, California – Palace of Fine Arts 2452
San Francisco, California – Sutro Baths 3345
Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point 2453
Sacramento, CA – Huge Coca-Cola Cup 993
Grass Valley, CA – Bridgeport Covered Bridge 3314
Grass Valley, California area 2786

Day #10 Lovelock, NV to Dillon, CO – 926 miles
Wendover, NV – Wendover Will 2878
Call in bonus August 27 2077
Salt Lake City, Utah 1021
Dinosaur National Monument, Utah 9102
Independence Pass, Colorado 4341
Leadville, CO – Tennessee Pass 4320

Day #11 Dillon, CO to Chesterfield, MO – 1316 miles
Idaho Springs, CO – Steve Canyon Statue 878
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 6320
Chalk Canyon, Kansas – Monument Rocks 3012
Greensburg, Kansas – only building standing 4791
FEMA tent 1
Olathe, KS – Garmin International 3189
King City, Missourri – Big Pump 1891
Columbia, Missouri 1910

Rider Emergency Contact Card 4000
Gas Bonus 10000

Final Standing #14

Gold Medal

9,857 miles

272,054 points

Source: Iron Butt Rally 2007 Official Rally Data

Dad and I drove an Bun Burner Gold in the Chevy Silverado to get back. 28 hours for 1900 miles. Back home in my comfortable home with DVD’s full of memories bouncing around my head. My agenda is a shower, some nappy time, reintroduce myself to my slightly confused cat, and figure out why my home computer won’t boot up.

The IBR was a good thing. Another life list thing done.

Sunset somewhere in Western Nebraska riding home with Dad.

——–

Although I think I ultimately made a fine choice of a Metzler ME-880 tire and had plenty of tread at the end of 9700 miles……it cupped very badly. Riding a tire on straights for a very long distance (say from New England to California)…then doing some twisties (like to Lick Observatory) seems to do some weird things to the treadblocks on a tire. Combine the cupping with some fatigue on Night 9 cruising across Nevada and I thought my rear end was doing a BMW impersonation and trying to grenade itself!

First pic shows general center wear expected of a tire in the IBR.

Right of center shows a canyon that has a huge amount of extra tread on the right side and a shortage of tread on the left side of the cut. At 60 mph or so, going left or right around a corner on a two-laner and one seriously wonders if the rear end is going to explode. While riding down the Interstate dead straight at FJR nominal, however, it is fairly quiet.

That’s the kind of thing that will play serious mind tricks on a person in the as they crest Donner Pass in the dark hours of night headed to Nevada.

Fortunately, after talking with Warchild around Reno about the symptoms he gave me some reassurance and I run what I brung. He called it “tire howl”.

In the clear morning light of Wendover……things seemed better again…in their proper context.

Tire happy when going straight…..tire unhappy when cornering. Go straight if possible.

By the end of the rally even when going straight there was some howl.