Welcome!
I think you will find a lot of high mileage folks in this group. -JEP-
There are actually a number of long distance riders right here in the East Tennessee area. Vicky Johnston of Green Cove (not all that far from you) has ridden in a couple or three Iron Butt Rallies, Jim Culp of Johnson City has ridden in 3 IBRs (his IBA # is 88), I've ridden in 3 IBRs, and there are several other IBR vets from the east and middle of the state as well. I don't remember if we have any IBR vets from western Tennessee or not, but I wouldn't be too surprised. I'd be willing to bet that the MSTA has a bunch of folks with Iron Butt Association numbers.
I've done a bunch of SS1k rides, a handful of BunBurners, a couple of BunBurnerGolds, and so forth. In 2008, when STAR (our MSTA national rally) was in Kerrville, TX, my riding friend Randy Logan and I did a SS1k from Kerrville to San Diego (1200+miles), got a few hours sleep, and turned around to do a 50cc from there to Tybee Island, GA (near Savannah, GA).
One of my most satisfying rides, however, was when STAR was in Rapid City, SD, and (again) Randy Logan and I kept going until we got to Alaska. From home to AK and back was 17.5k miles in 8 weeks. I wish I'd had 18 weeks just in Alaska.
Have you heard of the annual "Last Big Ride of the Year" held in Stockton, AL? It's an RTE (Ride to Eat) where folks from that area and possibly all over the country descend upon the Stagecoach Cafe for lunch on the 30th of December. At 9:00 a.m., the parking lot may have a smattering of bikes (a few riders show up for breakfast). By 11:00, there may be 700-800 bikes. By 2:00 p.m. the parking lot will be virtually empty. From my house, it's a 986 mile round trip, so on occasion I have extended the ride a bit just to go over the 1,000 mile mark. I was working that day this year, so I couldn't go. Its currently being orchestrated by IBR vet John Harrison, so it attracts a fair number of LD riders.
