Today was a long day, but the miles seemed to fly by. As planned, I completed the Iron Butt 1000-mile “Saddle Sore” riding contest. The idea behind this is to ride 1000-miles within a twenty-four hour period.

Like most riders who accomplish this ride, I planned 1100 or so miles – just to be on the safe side. I completed the ride in about 15 hours. I left the Chicago area around 6:00a and navigated through a few country roads to Interstate 88 and took 88 west to Interstate 80. I’m still riding on Interstate 80 as I pen this, but am ready to branch off into the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area – but more on that in Day 2!