After a great send off dinner with family I had trouble sleeping Friday night. My brain did not want to settle down. The thoughts about the pending journey set to being played through my head. The excitement, anxousness, uncertainity, the gravity of distance I need to cover in a short period of time, the Mosquitoes and the Bears!!! I started to doubt myself and think had I planned enough. I initially started planning the trip in November of 2022, I remember telling my brother about it, putting it out there like that made it real, something I wouldn’t want to back away from. So deep down I knew I planned as well as I could.

After sleeping less than 3 hours Friday night the alarm went off way too early at 4:15am. My girlfriend came up from Miami a couple of days prior so we could ride together to Key West, then I’d drop her off at her house and continue the journey solo. We had not anticipated the 100deg temps when initially planning that.

My plan was to be at the first gas station by 5:30am so I can get my official gas receipt to start the Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 and Butt Burner 1500. Everyone that knows me knows I’m perpetually late, so I felt good about leaving my house at 5:35am. I drove a few miles down the road and filled up by 5:40am, only 10 min later than planned.