I woke up that morning still slightly bummed about not being able to finish trying for a Bun Burner Gold attempt but realized this was my LAST day of the challenge! I took a bit of time coaxing myself out of the room and onto the bike, but once I started rolling again…the adrenaline started to kick back in. My husband made a point that I still could possibly get a Bun Burner certification, it would just be the standard (1500 miles in 36 hours). So, I enjoyed yet again another gas station breakfast in North Dakota and moved my way south. I was excited to finally be familiar with a couple of these roads again, after riding them around during Sturgis last year. A quick jump into Wyoming and back onto the roads through the Blackhills area. I knew it wasn’t too far off the highway, so I enjoyed a quick lunch (timed it perfectly without much of a line) for a Bison Burger at Wall, and decided to make a detour through Badlands National Park. I just HAD to, it was one of my favorite national parks I visited last year and I would absolutely make my day taking the Pan America through it. Though it was a bit more traffic being the middle of the afternoon, it didn’t eat up too much time waiting on traffic/construction areas. I stamped my small piece of white paper at the office/registration area and continue to ride through the vast formations. My mood began to lighten up a bit finally. I did dread a bit off the next part of the route…I knew there wasn’t much to keep me entertained as far as backdrop from the interstate. I came across a duo with Wisconsin license plates, I tried my best to keep up with them as they were cruising through. It was almost like a game for me, but I enjoyed the small “company” I had made for those miles we shared, even if they weren’t truly aware what I was trying to do. I also rode up on another touring style bike, and realized he had an “Iron Butt Association” license plate backer. I gave him the thumbs up as I cruised past, and stopped just a couple off-ramps later. He wished me all the best with the rest of my challenge, and I hopped back on the lonely interstate to make it to the bordering state of “home”: Minnesota. With a bit of road closure and construction, I found a very small town gas station there, and had less than two hours to go! Butterflies began to build up in my stomach, the excitement and nervousness of finally being able to complete the challenge. I rode those miles down to Nebraska and Iowa as quickly as the 65mph speed limit signs allowed. Man they felt like I was crawling after my normal 80mph ones for most of the challenge. I quick stop in Nebraska for some peanut butter M&M’s as I didn’t really need to waste time getting gas, I pulled into Iowa City, Iowa. As I was about to plug in my final hotel stop for the night, I remembered I rode past a Hard Rock Hotel. So, I turned around, and pulled up to the front doors. They had ONE room left, and I quickly reserved it, without question on it’s cost…I just wanted to be DONE. Though it was a bit higher than my normal cheap $100 hotel nights (but still cheaper than my frivolous crap hotel in Vegas). It was absolutely perfectly, and felt like such a spoiled “rock-star” moment. I turned to look at the artwork on the wall, Shinedown: my favorite band. I instantly started to cry, tears streaming down my face. It finally hit me, I accomplished what I set out to do. I rode a brand new 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America Special through all 48 of the states of the United States of America in under 10 days…or: 8 days, 17 hours, 22 minutes, 52 seconds to be exact. I then frantically went through all of my receipts, checked all of my tracking devices and made sure I had everything logged correctly. I knew I had a full extra day if I just had to go back down to a different state to get re-verification. But I didn’t need it, through my hours spent planning, organizing, rechecking I had everything I needed to be certified. I went down to the casino area that night after I freshened up. Put on actual shorts and sandals on for the first time in over a week and a half (becoming so used to my motorcycle boots). I ordered myself a glass of wine (or two), mowed down on some tater tot nachos and celebrated by myself in a casino building full of strangers.
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