NY-to-LA drive in record 28 hours, 50 minutes

[BrokenVisage]

*wind-assisted

 

[ElFenix]

Article indicates they drove 2813.7 miles via I-40, but Google maps only shows 2798 miles. 😕
The other route suggested shows 2814 miles, but they don't pass the states during the run.

Start - 142 E 31st St, New York, NY 10016
Finish - 260 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

.5% margin of error is ridiculously small. i wonder how much extra just lane changes would add to the distance driven?

 

[CZroe]

Not really that feasible. Those small displacement bikes run out of go past 80 pretty quickly. Especially if you weigh it down with extra gas tanks and such.

Not to mention the focus required for the ride for that long that fast. Talk about super human.

Also the weather you'd have to potentially endure. You really could be at risk for either heat exhaustion or just being really fucking cold.

Clearly, you don't know who you're talking to. 🙂 I moved to San Diego on my Ninja 250 in 2008. I moved back the same way in 2011 without stopping to sleep.

First of all, they don't need "get up an go" torque over 80 MPH if they are mostly just maintaining that speed. That's only useful for bursts of speed (passing, falling back to 80, passing again). Even so, I hit 100 MPH indicated on my EX250J daily (commuted to work with it exclusively for three years). That's probably closer to 92 MPH actual, but I wasn't trying to max the speed. Anyway, the time savings I'm talking about would come due to the increased range (not pumping hundreds of gallons).

Second of all, few have ever weighed one down as much as I have (made two cross-country moves carrying belonging and full gear; weighed ~250lbs myself). Tank bags, tail bags, backpacks, hydration bladder, laptop, clothes, etc all piled on.

As for the focus part: Thanks. I guess that makes me ultra-super-human. 😉 I rode for 45 hours straight without sleep, with the last third being as fast as I could due to a horrible miscalculation (dog was going to arrive at airport before me). It would've easily qualified me for Iron Butt if I had logged/verified it (2K miles in under 48 hours). I'd say that it was a hell of a lot harder than averaging 100MPH for less than 28:50:00. To top it off: I left late in the afternoon after a full day of saying my goodbyes surprise activities (it was my birthday) and I was carrying as many belongings as I could fit in a tail bag, tank bag, and backpack (this was the move back in 2011). No: I don't do drugs. Yes: It was hard. The only reason it took 45 hours was because I wasted a few hours at a rest stop the first night and stopped for three hours to shower/prepare for sleep (recalculated and left w/o sleep) and ran out of gas when an 18 wheeler wouldn't let me exit. Let's not forget that the OP is a two-man crew.

The weather? I literally decided to leave for San Diego, CA the night before I left Newnan, GA and I got there December 24th, 2008. I was a new rider and the bike was only three months old yet I left with no heat gear or winter preparation. If I could do it in the middle of the winter, anyone could. In fact, I even saw another: I woke up to a frozen cascade of icicles that was once the flowing fountain at my motel in Texas. I thought that I must be crazy to ride in that until I hear a loud cruiser fire up and pull out before I had even had breakfast. He was probably more prepared than me, but I certainly wasn't the only rider out there traveling in it. Days after I arrived my chest and face were peeling from having all the moisture sucked out of my skin, but I was fine. The worst part by far was ruining my brand new iPhone 3G (water damage). My Tourmaster Flex mesh jacket had a couple layers and I did stop at Wal-Mart for some silk gloves to wear under my protective (ventilated!) ones but it made no difference without something to block the cold air from blowing right through. I felt just as numb when I layered with latex gloves.

It's coincidental that I was also 28 years old and from the Atlanta area like the guy referenced in the OP. 😉

 

[LegendKiller]

I really hope so.

I can't believe this bullshit is "news".

I am sure you are a 100% saint in your personal life.

lol. People getting all bent out of shape over this.

 

[coxmaster]

.5% margin of error is ridiculously small. i wonder how much extra just lane changes would add to the distance driven?

The articles say they experimented with a couple routes out of NYC to determine which would work best. Odds are the one they chose was slightly longer than what Google suggested.

 

[OutHouse]

im surprised that they didnt get popped in the Texas panhandle. every time i drive through the panhandle i see DPS running radar and have people pulled over.

 

[natto fire]

Part of me wishes that they get into legal trouble for doing this.

It's called jealousy, and it's not really that healthy.

I agree this is not really news, but there are quite a few butt-hurt left lane cruisers in this thread. Why should they get a tickets after the fact? In a forum that alludes to piracy quite frequently (which carries a higher punishment than speeding, BTW), it seems like some kind of personal spite for the drivers?

 

[drebo]

Wow, the people in this thread calling for their arrest are all fucking morons.

So, these guys drove 2800 miles in just over a day at speed over 100mph and didn't die...so, of course, those speeds are clearly too dangerous and these violent criminals must be made to pay.

Seriously, going too slow is far more dangerous than going to fast. Studies have proven this. Impeding traffic is more dangerous than passing people.

American drivers are the worst, and you people perpetuate that stereotype.

 

[zoiks]

you would think that if they were serious they would rig up an extra gas tank and just use old mt dew bottles so no stops required

the other question is, how do you prove this? Can I claim that I made it in 26 hours? (Because I totally did)

They have the gps records that were recorded by a third party company.

 

[Nintendesert]

Wow, the people in this thread calling for their arrest are all fucking morons.

So, these guys drove 2800 miles in just over a day at speed over 100mph and didn't die...so, of course, those speeds are clearly too dangerous and these violent criminals must be made to pay.

Seriously, going too slow is far more dangerous than going to fast. Studies have proven this. Impeding traffic is more dangerous than passing people.

American drivers are the worst, and you people perpetuate that stereotype.

No, you're a fucking moron. So are they, they need to be arrested because when morons break the law and post the evidence they deserve to be punished. It's a demonstration to others not to do stupid things and post self-incriminating evidence.

Everyone may speed, but not everyone provides the evidence against themselves for all the world to see. I understand why you don't understand this, you are after all a fucking moron.

 

[drebo]

No, you're a fucking moron. So are they, they need to be arrested because when morons break the law and post the evidence they deserve to be punished. It's a demonstration to others not to do stupid things and post self-incriminating evidence.

Everyone may speed, but not everyone provides the evidence against themselves for all the world to see. I understand why you don't understand this, you are after all a fucking moron.

Blindly following unjust and illogical laws = the mark of the peasant.

Carry on, sheeple.

 

[railer]

No, you're a fucking moron. So are they, they need to be arrested because when morons break the law and post the evidence they deserve to be punished. It's a demonstration to others not to do stupid things and post self-incriminating evidence.

Everyone may speed, but not everyone provides the evidence against themselves for all the world to see. I understand why you don't understand this, you are after all a fucking moron.

Well...they're not going to be arrested, and nothing at all is going to happen to them. 😀
So cry yourself to sleep over that, you fucking sniveling pussy. 😀

 

[freegeeks]

Part of me wishes that they get into legal trouble for doing this.

you would be scared shitless driving in Belgium then, the official speed limit on the highway is 80 mph but almost everyone is driving much faster here

 

[EliteRetard]

And I thought I did pretty good going from the very tip of the Florida Keys to Seattle Washington in 46 hours and change...Though all I had was an unmodified 01 Focus wagon, and had a spark plug come out half way through that required a few hour stop (had to wait for it to cool enough to replace it by hand, then drive a ways to a shop).

Edit: At ~3600 miles that would be ~78MPH total average speed. Sounds about right, over 100MPH that thing rattled so hard I thought it would fall apart (broke the motor mounts, sway bar end links, and some other stuff during the trip).

 

[JackBurton]

I am sure you are a 100% saint in your personal life.

lol. People getting all bent out of shape over this.

Exactly. GTFO of the left lane and you'll be fine.

Ever since I was a kid, I wish I could have been in a real life Cannonball Run. 🙂

 

[postmark]

Article indicates they drove 2813.7 miles via I-40, but Google maps only shows 2798 miles. 😕
The other route suggested shows 2814 miles, but they don't pass the states during the run.

Start - 142 E 31st St, New York, NY 10016
Finish - 260 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Extra mileage for the gas stops?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Clearly, you don't know who you're talking to. 🙂 I moved to San Diego on my Ninja 250 in 2008. I moved back the same way in 2011 without stopping to sleep.
<snip>

As for the focus part: Thanks. I guess that makes me ultra-super-human. 😉 I rode for 45 hours straight without sleep, with the last third being as fast as I could due to a horrible miscalculation (dog was going to arrive at airport before me).

<snip>

It's coincidental that I was also 28 years old and from the Atlanta area like the guy referenced in the OP. 😉

It also shows how stupid you were.
Your body does not have the reflex response and visual accuracy when you go without sleep.
After 18 hours; you were putting yourself and others at risk.

 

[khon]

Am I supposed to be impressed because these morons spent 28 hours and 50 minutes putting peoples lives in danger to set a meaningless record ?

 

[CZroe]

It also shows how stupid you were.
Your body does not have the reflex response and visual accuracy when you go without sleep.
After 18 hours; you were putting yourself and others at risk.

Good thing long stretches of Interstate don't even remotely require my full level of reflex responses and visual accuracy and a motorcycle significantly reduces the risks to others. 😉 I wasn't canyon-carving and I would've stopped if I felt it was too much to risk over a dog. It was also slower than 85MPH for most of the last leg (loaded down in hills). I had to babble and sing and whistle to stay alert, which was a new trick for me.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Good thing long stretches of Interstate don't even remotely require my full level of reflex responses and visual accuracy and a motorcycle significantly reduces the risks to others. 😉 I wasn't canyon-carving and I would've stopped if I felt it was too much to risk over a dog. It was also slower than 85MPH for most of the last leg (loaded down in hills). I had to babble and sing and whistle to stay alert, which was a new trick for me.

Judgment gets impaired and you think you can push along even when not safe. Long boring interstates actually make you worse, because there is nothing challenging you and pumping adrenalin into your system.

All you had to go is drop your bike in the road and cars would pile up; one potentially on you.

A 2 hr catnap at a rest area would have been safer all aroiund

 

[HopJokey]

Am I supposed to be impressed because these morons spent 28 hours and 50 minutes putting peoples lives in danger to set a meaningless record ?

Whose lives were in danger?

 

[natto fire]

Am I supposed to be impressed because these morons spent 28 hours and 50 minutes putting peoples lives in danger to set a meaningless record ?

Don't worry, they probably drove right past you and you missed it while you were texting. 😛

 

[rh71]

they must've left at like 3am and arrived at 750am LA on a Sunday to hit only "light traffic" in those cities.

 

[Qacer]

there's no way americans would tolerate the price tag attached to an autobahn-like highway - the strict policing, driving standards, vehicle standards and road standards cost a fortune. and those things are needed, because there's no way 1/2 of all cars/drivers belong on a highway going 100+ mph.

besides, the american roadworks industry can't (won't) even do a decent job on the regular highways, which are under perpetual construction.

Since I've driven in Germany quite a bit, one other factor that makes the Autobahn work is the driving mentality. For the majority, the Germans do observe the rules and will have no problems telling you if you deviate from it. The passing lane is truly a passing lane, and you can guarantee that if you are doing 140 MPH on the Autobahn, you don't have to be on someone's tail like someone who does 60 MPH on the passing lane with a 70 MPH speed limit. The German driver will already have switched over the moment he/she sees you in the rear view or will switch over at the next opportunity.

 

[OutHouse]

Since I've driven in Germany quite a bit, one other factor that makes the Autobahn work is the driving mentality. For the majority, the Germans do observe the rules and will have no problems telling you if you deviate from it. The passing lane is truly a passing lane, and you can guarantee that if you are doing 140 MPH on the Autobahn, you don't have to be on someone's tail like someone who does 60 MPH on the passing lane with a 70 MPH speed limit. The German driver will already have switched over the moment he/she sees you in the rear view or will switch over at the next opportunity.

yip. i lived in germany for 4 years and loved the autobahn. Germans take driving serisouly and the car inspections are very detailed. i felt raped the first time i had to have my car inspected. no pass no drive period.