April 6, 2019
The premise of this long-distance (LD) ride is rather interesting. The originator of the ride (Brian)...I've done a little bit of riding with. He is another one of the LD motorcycle-riding members of the Iron Butt Association. I'm going to take a bit of liberty and extract a few words from a post he made on a motorcycle forum a while back about the ride that describes it well:
"You may remember that [October 2017] my wife and I established the Atomic 1000 SaddleSore. This was an SS1K that we rode to the site of the very first nuclear detonation in New Mexico. This ride is unique in that it is only available to you twice a year; the first Saturday in April and the first Saturday in October, and you only have a SIX HOUR window in which to be there. In order to qualify for the certificate you must ride at least 1000 miles within 24 hours and your ride must include the Trinity Test Site parking lot as either the starting or ending point, or as a waypoint during your ride."
A brief history of the immediate area can be found at the links below:
White Sands Missile Range Trinity
Trinity New Mexico Nat'l Historic Landmark
Now, when they did the ride that year, it started near their home in the suburbs of the Phoenix metropolitan area. This easily gave them the necessary miles to accomplish the Saddlesore.
After a bit of research and routing effort, I now have a good, solid route that actually pads the ride in New Mexico - and keeps me out of Texas. Since the initial ride done by Brian & Brenda, a handful of others have done the ride. I had things interfering with the two opportunities available in 2018, so here's hoping I can do it in 2019.
Now, this map isn't accurate around the target area. Roads that are typically closed are open only to allow visitors the opportunity to go to Trinity. Google Maps doesn't exactly understand this restriction. On my first attempt, it tried to route me there...and I know it's inaccurate. I've been told that from the last sliver of civilization (San Antonio, NM - D on the map above) to the entry gate (E on the map) is around 11 miles. From that gate to the Trinity site, and back, it's around 50 miles. Add another 100 miles to Hondo (F on the map) and my next gas stop/corner on my big loop around the entire White Sands range. That stop at San Antonio, NM is mandatory, so...fuel & receipt there!
The gate opens at 8AM local time, and closes at 2PM. I'll need to be on the clock and moving at 3:30AM at the latest tomorrow (Saturday) morning. I really don't want to get there when the place opens; my understanding is the wait can be close to an hour long. I also understand that the crowd thins out a bit later in the morning. My goal is to be there around 11:00 AM local time. We now enjoy the fun of most of Arizona remaining in Mountain Standard Time, while New Mexico is Mountain Daylight time - one hour ahead.
Two hours or so to actually be there to see the sights, take the photos, get a small extra dose of radiation and experience the hole in the ground...then the ride home. Fun!
Oh, yeah...this turned into a two-up ride about two weeks ago. Cool!
The trip report starts here: Atomic 1000 Saddlesore Ride Report
August, 2020The premise of this long-distance (LD) ride is rather interesting. The originator of the ride (Brian)...I've done a little bit of riding with. He is another one of the LD motorcycle-riding members of the Iron Butt Association. I'm going to take a bit of liberty and extract a few words from a post he made on a motorcycle forum a while back about the ride that describes it well:
"You may remember that [October 2017] my wife and I established the Atomic 1000 SaddleSore. This was an SS1K that we rode to the site of the very first nuclear detonation in New Mexico. This ride is unique in that it is only available to you twice a year; the first Saturday in April and the first Saturday in October, and you only have a SIX HOUR window in which to be there. In order to qualify for the certificate you must ride at least 1000 miles within 24 hours and your ride must include the Trinity Test Site parking lot as either the starting or ending point, or as a waypoint during your ride."
A brief history of the immediate area can be found at the links below:
White Sands Missile Range Trinity
Trinity New Mexico Nat'l Historic Landmark
Now, when they did the ride that year, it started near their home in the suburbs of the Phoenix metropolitan area. This easily gave them the necessary miles to accomplish the Saddlesore.
After a bit of research and routing effort, I now have a good, solid route that actually pads the ride in New Mexico - and keeps me out of Texas. Since the initial ride done by Brian & Brenda, a handful of others have done the ride. I had things interfering with the two opportunities available in 2018, so here's hoping I can do it in 2019.
Now, this map isn't accurate around the target area. Roads that are typically closed are open only to allow visitors the opportunity to go to Trinity. Google Maps doesn't exactly understand this restriction. On my first attempt, it tried to route me there...and I know it's inaccurate. I've been told that from the last sliver of civilization (San Antonio, NM - D on the map above) to the entry gate (E on the map) is around 11 miles. From that gate to the Trinity site, and back, it's around 50 miles. Add another 100 miles to Hondo (F on the map) and my next gas stop/corner on my big loop around the entire White Sands range. That stop at San Antonio, NM is mandatory, so...fuel & receipt there!
The gate opens at 8AM local time, and closes at 2PM. I'll need to be on the clock and moving at 3:30AM at the latest tomorrow (Saturday) morning. I really don't want to get there when the place opens; my understanding is the wait can be close to an hour long. I also understand that the crowd thins out a bit later in the morning. My goal is to be there around 11:00 AM local time. We now enjoy the fun of most of Arizona remaining in Mountain Standard Time, while New Mexico is Mountain Daylight time - one hour ahead.
Two hours or so to actually be there to see the sights, take the photos, get a small extra dose of radiation and experience the hole in the ground...then the ride home. Fun!
Oh, yeah...this turned into a two-up ride about two weeks ago. Cool!
The trip report starts here: Atomic 1000 Saddlesore Ride Report
I learned a bit of additional information on this ride from an authoritative source recently. During motorcycle rallies that used to be held in New Mexico, there are others that had done an equivalent ride as part of a different ride being held at the same time. Since that motorcycle rally is extinct, this ride variant would be the replacement for the previous rally ride that included a Trinity stop.
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