Randy said:
...in order to win you need to do everything contrary to safe riding...
I don't agree.
For example, to earn a Saddle Sore 1000 award, all you need to do is go 1000 miles in 24 hours. That equates to an average speed of 41.666MPH.
Even stopping for 10 - 15 minutes every time you got gas, and taking two 20 - 30 minute meal breaks you could do it safely. The only thing out of the ordinary would be staying at it for 24 hours instead of the usual 6 to 8 hours of a more typical long trip.
For the Border to Border award, the one I'll be doing, you have 36 hours to go from the Canadian Border to the Mexican border. When I did it last summer, via I-5 between Blaine, Washington and San Diego, California I travelled about 1350 miles in three days, and I was making stops to visit family on the way down.
I've recalculated the trip with the award rules in mind, and this time I'll be going from Richmond, B.C. to Tijuana, Mexico -- 1410.8 miles, again via I-5 (or foreign equivalents). I've calculated the route to include stopping for 20 minutes every three hours, riding from 8:00AM - 9:45PM the first day, spending the night in Red Bluff, California, then riding from 8:00AM - 7:36PM the second day. Elapsed Time: 35 hours and 36 minutes. Actual Riding Time: 23 hours and 2 minutes. Distances: 758.3 miles the first day, and 652.5 the second.
If I cut 4 of the 7 breaks from 20 minutes to 15, and only stay in Red Bluff for 9 hours instead of 10 hours and 15 minutes, I'll have an extra cushion and still be riding safely.
If I feel really crazy, I could push myself to do it without stopping for the night in Red Bluff, and get the Border to Border Insanity Award for doing it in 24 hours (but I'm not that insane).
And BTW, all the calculations were done with assumed speeds of 60 to 70MPH on the freeways, and we all know that in much of California no one only goes 70 on the freeways.
Bottom line: long days -- yes. Tiring -- yes. Unsafe -- not really. You just have to follow the Boy Scout motto:
Be Prepared.
