Some Stats About the Minnesota Ride

I rode over 44,000 miles during 2018 riding season, with a large majority of that attempting to complete the Minnesota ride. Here are some rough statistics of what exactly it took to be the first person to document riding every highway in Minnesota.

1995 BMW K75S
Miles: 15,375
Gallons of gas: 301
Gast cost: $933
MPG: 51
Tires: 1.8 sets
Oil Changes: 3
Other: 2 transmission oil changes, 2 final drive oil changes, 1 spline lube, 1 valve check, 1 headlight bulb


2007 BMW R1200RT
Miles: 16,647
Gallons of gas: 365.9
Gas cost: $988
MPG: 45.5
Tires: 3 sets
Oil Changes: 2
Other: 1 air filter, 1 set of spark plugs, 1 low-beam headlight, 2 transmission oil changes, 2 final drive oil changes

2009 BMW G650GS
Miles: 3,464
Gallons of gas: 64.1
Gas Cost: $176
MPG: 54.2
Tires: 0 sets
Oil Changes: 1
Other: Nothing :)



Here's something amazing (and embarrassing), if you took my mileage total from these three motorcycles and divided them by various MPH averages...

Mileage total of 35,486 miles:

Avg. MPH	Hours rode	Days rode
50	709.7	29.6
55	645.2	26.9
60	591.4	24.6
65	545.9	22.7

Now, this doesn't count all of the hours I spent waiting at red lights and stops signs. Therefore, I probably spent over a month sitting on my motorcycles this summer 😧

My yearly total for my tracking app (Rever) was 839 hours

Most importantly: I never had a roadside chat with any law enforcement!!

All done!!!

On November 3rd, 2018, Thom Rieck became the first person to document riding ALL of Minnesota's highways.

Starting with a blank, empty map:

Finishing with every single road highlighted!

My Tools of the Trade

For a majority of this "ride" I had two motorcycle to choose from. The first is my 1995 BMW K75S, which currently has over 125k miles. Both have been modified and molded into super long-distance motorcycles. Most importantly, they are both in silver, which I believe is the fastest color ☺

The second, is my 2007 R1200RT, which currently has over 80k miles.



Importantly, neither left me stranded on the side of the road at any time through this journey!!! 

Map update - I'm geting sooooo close!

Just a couple roads left - can you spot them?

Number 16 - MN Highway 86 into Lakefield, MN

Not the most beautiful day out - cold and windy on October 11th.  

Number 58 - Interstate 94 from Hastings, WI

A nice "Major Entrance Monument" example

Number 59 - Highway 10 into Hastings, MN from Prescott, WI

Fun fact - In 2017 Dan Gaz, and I (Thom Rieck) biked across Minnesota, setting a world record for the fastest bike team across Minnesota - West to East.  We covered 194 miles in 9 hours and 21 minutes and ended our ride in Prescott, WI. It was fun to visit again!

Number 6 - Highway 63 into Winona... kinda

Highway 63 into Winona is getting a face lift, so all of the signs are down (you can almost make out the pile from my picture spot).

:(

Number 61 - Highway MN 60 from Nelson, WI across the Mississippi into Wabasha, MN

Both sides of the Mississippi are beautiful here (of course I prefer the MN side).

The only truly gravel road that I encountered on the whole ride - MN 74

Minnesota Highway 74 has a short ~5 mile section that is gravel. However, it does happens to wind through some very beautiful areas of southeast Minnesota, so I can't fault it too much. If you're in the area and have an adventure bike or don't mind a little gravel, it's a fun ride!