Border 2 Border

Border to Border IBA Ride

June 21, 2019

This is my second IBA ride, the first was in June 2018. My wife and I have ridden about 150,000 miles over the last six years, but we are new to the IBA. She didn’t want to do the Saddle Sore 1000 with me, but after talking with me and my son about this ride, she was all in for the Border to Border ride. I think knowing we were willing to stop and sleep for a few hours was what tipped the scale.

My first concern with the Border to Border ride was going into Mexico and getting out without wasting a lot of time. I posted a question on the IBA Forum  and was able to get some great information on the crossing at San Louis, near Yuma, AZ .  The overall route was simple, US 95 from Mexico to Las Vegas, NV, then I-15 north to Canada. It was just over 1,400 miles.  Most IBA riders could do it easily in 24 hours. We just wanted to do under the 36-hour limit.

My wife and I are on a 2017 Harley Davidson Ultra Limited and my son was on a 2017 KLR 1290 Super Adventure.  He rode down from northern Utah to St. George, Utah and met up with us. The first day we rode to Yuma, AZ to start the ride the next morning.

The first surprise was going into Mexico. You just ride in! There is a section of roadway that is about ten or twelve long and covered with mushroom head bumps about eight inches across and six inches high, spaced about four inches apart. There were several cameras that were mounted on poles and two Mexican guards standing off to the side as we rode in. Just past this section you are right into the town. We rode about a half block south and then two blocks north to a VIP gas station to get a business receipt. It was about 4:00 am and the receipt said 03:36. Great, lost twenty-four minutes with the first receipt!

Now for the exit. In the IBA Forum, I learned that we should arrive early to beat the traffic. I guess 4 am is not early enough.  We turn up the street to get to the exit road and traffic was backed up at least a half mile. Then I remembered, someone suggested that lane splitting was legal in Mexico (not sure on that) but also the left side of the road is for emergency vehicles and you could ride up that side and cut in just before the check station. So that’s what we did, and it worked out great. No one honked or yelled at us and there was only one car in front of us to the check point.

I mentioned that the route was simple, US 95 to Las Vegas and then I-15.  The traffic was light, and we got to Las Vegas about noontime. Even with the construction (we missed most of it) it was smooth sailing.

My second concern with this trip was the weather. From Mexico to just north of Cedar City, the elevation was about 5,000 feet, we had just a wind breaker on. Now it was time for coats. Really, it was perfect riding temp, just cool enough for a coat but not cold.

From Provo, UT to north of Salt Lake City, UT the traffic was busy, but we stayed in the express lane and we were able to keep around the speed limit…. or a little more. Most of I-15 is 75 or 80 mph speed limit. Utah drivers will run you over if you are at or below the speed limit!

We found a clean cheap hotel in Idaho Falls, Motel West, just off the main exit to downtown, it was around midnight. So far about 950 miles, good place to stop for a few hours.  We were back on the road by six, I know, we were lazy.

This day brought the cold. Thank goodness for heated jackets and pants. For about seven hours the warmest it got was in the high thirties, and of course most of that was in the rain.  Why are all the curves on bridges? I was nervous about the rain freezing on the bridges and on top of that you are leaning over for the curve. We stopped in the little ranching community of Dell, Montana for breakfast. The cowboys thought we were stupid. What, a little sleet on the windshield never hurt anyone. The Calf-A in Dell is an old schoolhouse that still has the blackboards on the walls. Real blackboards! By Great Falls the rain had stopped and warmed up to the mid-forties. Last stop for gas, then the border.

At the border the hardest question was, “How long are you going to stay in Canada?’ “Uh, long enough to get a receipt?” “What?” There are not many places in Coutts, Alberta to get a receipt. We turned into town and got a picture in front of the post office and then rode over to the Duty-Free Shop. Once you get there the only exit is to the United States. We went in and bought a soda, the receipt time showed 5 pm, “What?” We missed it by an hour. I go to the ATM and get the smallest amount of cash $20, Canadian. The receipt is correct, a few seconds after 3 pm. Relief.  My son comes over to me, “Dad, your receipt for the soda is okay, the credit card one.” I look and sure enough it shows the correct time. Great, now I two receipts that are good and twenty bucks of Canadian money! So, the wife got a t-shirt and I was happy with a good receipt.

Time to head toward home, Border to Border finished in 34 hours, under time which is good enough for the girls I go with, and about 1,430 miles. The second IBA ride for me and my son finished, and my wife got to tag along too. Now, what’s next? Probably a Heaven to Hell and maybe a Coast to Coast.