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Smackdab Summer Solstice Run –*Kansas to North Dakota!
- Thread starter Tanshanomi
- Start date
Tanshanomi
New member
There are only a couple of days left to become eligible to get your finisher’s patch at half price ($5, rather than $10). Simply register online at smackdab281.org before the end of May. There is no cost or obligation to pre-register. If you’re not sure yet, pre-register anyway. You have the option of indicating how confident you are (or aren’t) of making the ride. Conversely, registering prior to the ride is not mandatory. It’s simply a way for us to gauge interest, have a way to contact prospective participants.
Your contact information will never be sold or shared.
Your contact information will never be sold or shared.
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BeardedDBA
Member
Spyderlover Representation
I did my part this year to ensure that a Spyderlover made this years Smackdab Run. Last year, I believe, there were 4 Spyders, out of the 15 that rode. This year, my Spyder was the only one.
I was joined by a Harley, a Honda, a Kawasaki, and a Yamaha. We stuck together and made the trip as a group. It was fun.
I've been joking to my friends, family, and co-workers that if you want to get away from it all, North Dakota is the place to be. When I say 'all', I mean, ALL. Like buildings, people, food, fuel, shelter, etc... But with enough planning ahead, it was really quite beautiful.
These were at the beginning, and at the end. Sorry, I was to busy ryding between them to remember to stop and take pictures along the way.
I did my part this year to ensure that a Spyderlover made this years Smackdab Run. Last year, I believe, there were 4 Spyders, out of the 15 that rode. This year, my Spyder was the only one.
I was joined by a Harley, a Honda, a Kawasaki, and a Yamaha. We stuck together and made the trip as a group. It was fun.
I've been joking to my friends, family, and co-workers that if you want to get away from it all, North Dakota is the place to be. When I say 'all', I mean, ALL. Like buildings, people, food, fuel, shelter, etc... But with enough planning ahead, it was really quite beautiful.
These were at the beginning, and at the end. Sorry, I was to busy ryding between them to remember to stop and take pictures along the way.
Tanshanomi
New member
Thanks for the ride report, and for representing the Spyder community on this year's ride!
Tanshanomi
New member
SMACKDAB #3 will be SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 2017.
Yes, we're still 7½ months out, but there's already some activity that should make this coming year's event a slightly grander affair! Rider magazine printed my letter about Smackdab, in which I mentioned the website address. It has triggered a healthy spike in traffic:
Also, I found a couple of new threads discussing the event on other web forums:
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?155363-2017-Smack-Dab-16-5-hr-Ride
http://www.romeoriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=4314
All this looks promising for a good turn out this year!
Yes, we're still 7½ months out, but there's already some activity that should make this coming year's event a slightly grander affair! Rider magazine printed my letter about Smackdab, in which I mentioned the website address. It has triggered a healthy spike in traffic:
Also, I found a couple of new threads discussing the event on other web forums:
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?155363-2017-Smack-Dab-16-5-hr-Ride
http://www.romeoriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=4314
All this looks promising for a good turn out this year!
DGoebel
Well-known member
Tanshanomi, Thanks to your post last fall, My good friend Jerry and I will be Spydering the 2017 Smackdab later this month! We've got our room reservations for the night before and after, route planned from Faribault to Lebanon to Rugby and back NO INTERSTATES. We'll do 1,700 Miles from Noon Friday to our Sunday arrival back home.
We're looking forward to meeting all the hardy riders celebrating a summer solstice run from the center of the US to the center of North America!:yes:
I think there's at least one other Spyder Ryder doing this year's Smackdab.
We're looking forward to meeting all the hardy riders celebrating a summer solstice run from the center of the US to the center of North America!:yes:
I think there's at least one other Spyder Ryder doing this year's Smackdab.
Tanshanomi
New member
David,
Yes, my records show you and another Can-Am rider. My wife and I will also be on our Spyders again this year, so there will be at least four of us!
Tanshanomi
New member
David, was great spending time with you and Jerry! I'm glad you enjoyed the event and I am confident you made it home safe. Did you hit any bad weather on the return?
Tanshanomi
New member
Online pre-registration should be available on the smackdab281.org website by January 15th. I will post again once you can register.
- Pete
- Pete
Tanshanomi
New member
Now that the holidays are over, I am getting busy on updates and sending out a press release. I have a bunch of photos to post on the website within a few days.
Tanshanomi
New member
The 4th Annual Smackdab Summer Solstice Run will be held on Saturday, June 23, this year.
RE-REGISTRATION FOR SMACKDAB 2018 IS NOW LIVE ON THE WEBSITE.
Online registration is still optional, but registering AT THE SMACKDAB WEBSITE (not just replying to this thread) prior to Memorial Day gets you your finisher’s patch for half price.
http://smackdab281.org/registration
I just added lots of pictures from last year's run. I will be updating the riders' instructions very soon, to accommodate some suggested changes from last year's participants. (An alternate validation scheme is in the works for those who don't want to meet at the monument in Rugby at dusk.)
RE-REGISTRATION FOR SMACKDAB 2018 IS NOW LIVE ON THE WEBSITE.
Online registration is still optional, but registering AT THE SMACKDAB WEBSITE (not just replying to this thread) prior to Memorial Day gets you your finisher’s patch for half price.
http://smackdab281.org/registration
I just added lots of pictures from last year's run. I will be updating the riders' instructions very soon, to accommodate some suggested changes from last year's participants. (An alternate validation scheme is in the works for those who don't want to meet at the monument in Rugby at dusk.)
DGoebel
Well-known member
2018 Smackdab
Registered! and Very interested in the alternate validation scheme, Jerry and I want to do an Iron Butt 1500 as part of the Smackdab.
We thought about driving from Faribault to Lincoln, NE for a nights rest, then get up at 4AM, drive to Lebanon, arriving at dawn, driving the Smackdab to Rugby, ND as quickly as legally allowed and immediately driving back down 281 to Lincoln, NE (1525 miles), for as long a rest as needed to drive back home. We would travel Highway 281 both south to north, and north to south within 24hrs on our most comfortable Spyders.... and get an IBA Bun Burner 1500 GOLD or at least a Bun Burner 1500 if we had to do a protracted rest stop.
Just curious, have any other riders (any other cyclists) done the Smackdab both directions in one day (24hrs)?
Registered! and Very interested in the alternate validation scheme, Jerry and I want to do an Iron Butt 1500 as part of the Smackdab.
We thought about driving from Faribault to Lincoln, NE for a nights rest, then get up at 4AM, drive to Lebanon, arriving at dawn, driving the Smackdab to Rugby, ND as quickly as legally allowed and immediately driving back down 281 to Lincoln, NE (1525 miles), for as long a rest as needed to drive back home. We would travel Highway 281 both south to north, and north to south within 24hrs on our most comfortable Spyders.... and get an IBA Bun Burner 1500 GOLD or at least a Bun Burner 1500 if we had to do a protracted rest stop.
Just curious, have any other riders (any other cyclists) done the Smackdab both directions in one day (24hrs)?
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Little Blue
SpyderLovers Ambassador
Smackdab Run
Oh man, that sounds like a grand adventure. I would love to do something like that, if I were 20 years younger. :thumbup:
Oh man, that sounds like a grand adventure. I would love to do something like that, if I were 20 years younger. :thumbup:
DGoebel
Well-known member
Les, we'll see you there (likely long before then as well),
Little Blue, we're only 60, but there were many riders on 80 some bikes that were much older than us. It's an adventure! Bucket list kind of check off item.<G> C'mon out and join the ryde, weather permitting it's a beautiful day!
Last year we took our time, had nice lunch and a long dinner, plenty of stops (we're riding 998 powered spyders so fuel every 150 miles) and leaving Lebanon at dawn, arrived at the Rugby monument by 8:15 with plenty of light left.
Little Blue, we're only 60, but there were many riders on 80 some bikes that were much older than us. It's an adventure! Bucket list kind of check off item.<G> C'mon out and join the ryde, weather permitting it's a beautiful day!
Last year we took our time, had nice lunch and a long dinner, plenty of stops (we're riding 998 powered spyders so fuel every 150 miles) and leaving Lebanon at dawn, arrived at the Rugby monument by 8:15 with plenty of light left.
Tanshanomi
New member
This press release is available for distribution as a PDF file: Smackdab-Press-Rel_2018-02.pdf
LEBANON, KS — Saturday, June 23, 2018 will mark the fourth annual Smackdab Summer Solstice Run, a one-day, 675-mile motorcycle tour held between dawn and dusk on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice. The ride starts between dawn and sunrise at the monument marking the Geographic Center of the 48 Contiguous States, just outside Lebanon, Kansas. Riders head north toward a similar monument marking the Geographic Center of North America in Rugby, North Dakota, and must arrive by dusk. The event is not a group ride. Participants ride individually, travel at their own pace, and stop whenever and wherever they like. There is no registration fee; the only expense is the optional purchase of an embroidered patch, which is offered to verified finishers at cost.
The Smackdab Summer Solstice Run is the brainchild of Peter Zilliox, a motorcyclist from Kansas City. “It’s a very grass-roots, unstructured thing,” Zilliox said. “I originally conceived of the trip as something to do with my wife and a riding buddy of ours. The three of us had previously explored a lot of rural Kansas by motorcycle, and I was looking for a new adventure. But it was a quirky enough idea that I posted an invitation on an online riders’ forum, and a dozen others joined us for that first run in 2015. So, I had some finisher’s patches made up for everyone. Several prospective riders who couldn’t make the inaugural trip expressed an interest in continuing it as an annual event. The next year, a totally new crop of riders completed the trip, and then participation really skyrocketed in 2017.”
A total of 87 riders—eighty motorcyclists plus seven co-riders—completed the most recent Smackdab Summer Solstice Run last June. This year, participation is expected to be even greater. “Most of our growth has been through word-of-mouth and social media,” Zilliox said. “I’m amazed how many people have expressed interest in this year’s event. Online registration went live on January 10th, and less than a month later we already have more than 30 riders signed up.”
The ride starts twelve miles south of the Kansas–Nebraska border, just off US Highway 281. The solstice allows over sixteen hours to ride the 675 miles across Nebraska and South Dakota, then through most of North Dakota. The route follows Highway 281 north for 95 percent of the trip, until it turns west on US Highway 2 for the final 34 miles into Rugby, North Dakota, which is within 50 miles of the Canadian border. Just before dusk, finishers gather at the monument in Rugby to swap stories of the road and share a great sense of accomplishment.
“All types of bikes make the ride, even as small as 250 cc’s,” Zilliox said. “From Harley dressers to adventure bikes to trikes—any motorcyclist is welcome to show up and ride. It’s just an excuse to spend a day exploring some new territory on a bike, meet other bikers, and have a bit of adventure.”
For more information and photos, or to register, visit the Smackdab website at http://smackdab281.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fourth Annual Smackdab Summer Solstice Run Expected To Be Largest Yet
LEBANON, KS — Saturday, June 23, 2018 will mark the fourth annual Smackdab Summer Solstice Run, a one-day, 675-mile motorcycle tour held between dawn and dusk on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice. The ride starts between dawn and sunrise at the monument marking the Geographic Center of the 48 Contiguous States, just outside Lebanon, Kansas. Riders head north toward a similar monument marking the Geographic Center of North America in Rugby, North Dakota, and must arrive by dusk. The event is not a group ride. Participants ride individually, travel at their own pace, and stop whenever and wherever they like. There is no registration fee; the only expense is the optional purchase of an embroidered patch, which is offered to verified finishers at cost.
The Smackdab Summer Solstice Run is the brainchild of Peter Zilliox, a motorcyclist from Kansas City. “It’s a very grass-roots, unstructured thing,” Zilliox said. “I originally conceived of the trip as something to do with my wife and a riding buddy of ours. The three of us had previously explored a lot of rural Kansas by motorcycle, and I was looking for a new adventure. But it was a quirky enough idea that I posted an invitation on an online riders’ forum, and a dozen others joined us for that first run in 2015. So, I had some finisher’s patches made up for everyone. Several prospective riders who couldn’t make the inaugural trip expressed an interest in continuing it as an annual event. The next year, a totally new crop of riders completed the trip, and then participation really skyrocketed in 2017.”
A total of 87 riders—eighty motorcyclists plus seven co-riders—completed the most recent Smackdab Summer Solstice Run last June. This year, participation is expected to be even greater. “Most of our growth has been through word-of-mouth and social media,” Zilliox said. “I’m amazed how many people have expressed interest in this year’s event. Online registration went live on January 10th, and less than a month later we already have more than 30 riders signed up.”
The ride starts twelve miles south of the Kansas–Nebraska border, just off US Highway 281. The solstice allows over sixteen hours to ride the 675 miles across Nebraska and South Dakota, then through most of North Dakota. The route follows Highway 281 north for 95 percent of the trip, until it turns west on US Highway 2 for the final 34 miles into Rugby, North Dakota, which is within 50 miles of the Canadian border. Just before dusk, finishers gather at the monument in Rugby to swap stories of the road and share a great sense of accomplishment.
“All types of bikes make the ride, even as small as 250 cc’s,” Zilliox said. “From Harley dressers to adventure bikes to trikes—any motorcyclist is welcome to show up and ride. It’s just an excuse to spend a day exploring some new territory on a bike, meet other bikers, and have a bit of adventure.”
For more information and photos, or to register, visit the Smackdab website at http://smackdab281.org
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easysuper
Active member
For the folks that want to hit another geographic point after the Smack-dab ride, the geographic center of the entire United States is just 22 miles north of Belle Fourch SD.
Not to far from the end of the Smack-dab ride. It's a little hard to find as it's off the Old US Hwy. 85 and across a ranchers fence. Lonely and Windy but a bucket list never the less.
Not to far from the end of the Smack-dab ride. It's a little hard to find as it's off the Old US Hwy. 85 and across a ranchers fence. Lonely and Windy but a bucket list never the less.
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