Ol' Iron Butt
Iron Butt .. a phrase thrown around in the motorcycle community loosely. I've done it myself. Heard the term for years. But , what does it "really mean?"
Well, for most of us, Iron Butt refers to simply knocking out a 1000 mile trip within 24 hours (not everyone understands the time frame restriction). Until the last year or so, I thought that was all it was about. I knew their was an organization out there (IBA). I know you could get a patch. But to be honest, I thought ... that was it. I never gave it much thought, never thought it was that big of a deal. I mean I'd done a bunch of 300+ mile days. I'd done a few 400+ mile days back in the 80's on my Kawi' LTD1000. And coming back from Sturgis back in '11 and 13, I'd done a a pair of 600 mile days. I remember thinking "who in their right mind would intentionally do a 1000 mile day??" I had zero desire to do so. I still believe the 'perfect day on a bike is 250-300 which allows you to make a few stops, take your time, enjoy the view. Take it ALL in. To me, it was some measure of manhood that made zero sense to me. hell, I've rarely done that much in an air conditioned vehicle with the music blaring. Why would you?
Well, things change. Back in 2015 I was headed to Sturgis Bike Rally to ride with a group of friends for the week. Initially, my wife was going to fly in as she's done before , and I was going to do it in three days ( versus 2 in '13) to take my time and truly enjoy the ride. Well, I had a personal situation come up and she had to canx and I had to delay a day. Crap, I'm back to a pair of 600 mile days . Well, as the departure day came up, my situation worsened and I slipped another day. I had a choice to make; shorten my trip by a day or..... do the unthinkable.
So, I manned up, got up at 0230, got on my bike and by 0300 I was headed down the driveway , determined to do the ride in a single day. No planning, no concerns, just leaving early to make the most of the day and try to escape some of the heat on the first part of the run. In retrospect , I made a few good decisions and few bad ones. The good ones were that I did not stop, for any large meals. Time killers were, I did take my time on my stops, grab some light snacks, lots of energy drinks and BS'd with other riders at gas stops. My two big mistakes were I didn't pack a cooler of water and snacks, and I didn't pack any heavy leather in case it got cold. My trip was a total of 1150 miles since I stuck to two lanes whenever possible, which to me, is the whole point! I have no desire to roll up the interstate. What I didn't' expect was to arrive at my destination as late as I did ... over 20 hours later. I still remember when I hit the 800 mile mark; man I was getting a lil beat. Nothing that slamming some water and an energy drink couldn't fix. At 900 miles, I was really looking forward to getting off that bike. near the 1000 mile mark, I was exhausted. There was a motel up just ahead, near the gas station as I was determined to make it. I'd realized my total miles and my ego has suddenly entered the picture. I wanted bragging rights for my own personal "Iron Butt" run. When I pulled up for gas, throwing in the towel I called in to one of my buddies waiting for me and told him, the sun was going down and I was pulling the plug. I hadn't packed a leather jacket and the temps were falling. I was starting to get lil' chilled. His response? Well, the probably the same response I'd have given him under the same circumstance, reversed. He called me a *****y. Now, anyone that knows me, knows certain things don't fly. My ego is as big as the next guy's sometimes. So, I hung up, filled up, took a leak and saddled back up for the final run. When I pulled in it was around 10 or 11 pm SD time, 1150 to the T' on my trip odometer, and it was in the 40s temp wise. I was literally freezing my ass off, exhausted, and ... had done what I thought was 'The Iron Butt.' Well, what exactly is the Iron Butt? I'm glad you asked.
The Iron Butt Association (IBA) is a US-based organization dedicated to endurance motorcycle riding with a claim of over 60,000 members worldwide who tout themselves as the "World's Toughest Riders." One of its more popular slogans is "The World Is Our Playground."
The IBA does have membership in a traditional sense. There are monthly newsletters sent to subscribed members. There are no mandatory yearly dues, although members can voluntarily pay an annual fee to become a premiere member. Premiere members receive occasional news and information from the IBA staff, early notice of some events, additional chances to enter some events, discounted entry fees for some events, and access to special areas of the web-based discussion board.
The IBA is a loose-knit organization with only one way to earn membership: ride one of the several rides the IBA certifies. The minimum is the Saddle Sore 1000 – 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in 24 hours or less. Entry into the Iron Butt Rally is by lottery only and every lottery entry must be an Iron Butt Member first. Rally workers and supporters (and Premiere members, as mentioned above) are granted extra chances in the lottery process. A certain number of entrants are drawn from pools that include volunteers, veterans and Premier members. Those that were not drawn from those are then put in with the other applications and the remainder of the entrants are drawn from that pool.
Well, I'd gotten that out of the way. Done. I have to admit, deep down, it felt good. I felt like I'd just proven myself and was part of some upper echelon or something. The next day, it was back to reality and a week of riding in the hills with my buddies!. We got to Sturgis about 4 or 5 days before the actual official kickoff so the traffic wasn't too bad. But, by that weekend it was ridiculous.
When we should have been riding 55 or 60, we were doing 1/2 of that due to traffic. We'd end up in lines I swear were a mile long ( due to accidents, etc ) , in the hills! When you got to downtown Sturgis, it was mayhem. I swore I'd never go DURING the Rally ever again. And I swore I'd NEVER do another Iron Butt type ride again. I had nothing to prove. Been there done it.
On the final day I'd decided to roll home by myself in two 600 mile days (approx). This would be a cake walk after the trip up. I was looking forward to the empty two lane roads , giving me time to think, time to dream, time to enjoy our beautiful country. No major planning needed; just a good time. But, mother nature was starting to kick up another South Dakota storm .. hell, a major front was coming in and headed from the West and headed our way. I left late in the morning, relaxed and with a good nights sleep. On the road I began to realize the front was not far behind me. I was headed Southeast, so I was having trouble making headway on it. At some point in the early evening, I realized I had a potential problem. If I stopped for the night, I was most likely going to be in a seriously wet situation the next day. And it looked like the rest of the trip could conceivably be in that rain. So, I opted to do "Iron Butt II.". And I did. I'd almost made it home but about a hundred miles out as I hit the Texas border I was literally exhausted. I think it was about 0430 hours, and i was starting to see 'double'. I was pushing it and thinking I might have made a mistake. I've got just over a 1000 miles under my belt and I'm almost there. So, I pulled into the Texas State Line Rest Area and sat down at a picnic table about 75' from my bike and closed my eyes , for just a minute or two.
Okay , maybe it was closer to 120 minutes. A couple of hours in that rest stop, and the sun was coming up , the empty lot was full of people and I was more than surprised to be honest. But, bike was still there, my wallet was still in my pocket and ... I was back in the game! Well, two hours later, I pulled into the driveway. Mission Accomplished! Two Iron Butts in a week; made for a good story and as I'd said before, I'll never do again!
Well, a couple things have caught my attention as of recent. The biggest one was from last month. In early June, Eric Kent an Indian Motorcycle rider out of Princeton, MN was headed out on a 48 state riding spree over 10 days. I didn't truly grasp the magnitude of this when I first caught wind of it. I think I'd first heard of it in May time frame. I've seen maps where people hit all 48 states, over a period of time. I assumed that period of time was a month or two. But, this crazy bastard I soon found out was doing it in 10 days. TEN DAYS ( actually 9 when the smoke cleared ). I sort of blew if off at first, but daily I kept seeing updates of where he was via the Bison Thunder Motorcycle dealer up in MN. I found myself trying to figure out his route, to see if I was in his path (how cool would that be to jump out and ride with him for a bit? ). I found myself following and reading his daily updates and mesmerized by it all. Forty eight states in 10 days. No **** way. But he did. We connected up via FB and I congratulated him about the 48 and he made an obscure comment about wishing he'd done '49'. I was thinking 'huh ..49???" and asked him if he was screwing with me . His comment? "Routed it out of Washington state to Hyder Alaska.. I needed 30 hours but only had 18 left" Damned. Could you imagine? You know what I say to all that ? #RESPECT! Soon afterwards, I'd spoken to Rick Dittel a buddy of mine up there, and the subject came up. I knew Rick had escorted him out of town, but what I didn't know is Rick headed out 500+ miles with him, turned it around and did an Iron Butt that day. Well, not an Iron Butt, but a Saddlesore 1000, with receipts to join the IBA. He thought this one out a little better than I did back in '15. He was making it 'official.'. Got me to thinking a little. I've said I don't care, but here I was , and am, thinking of it. What I was unaware of was Kent had just done the IBA's "48 States in 10 Days". Never occurred to me this was something 'official.' Kent has entered the record books with a select few that have the balls to knock that out. This IBA thing has gotten me thinking.
Last week I started reading up on the IBA. I found myself reading a guys blog entry he'd put together and realized when it came to long distance riding, I had no clue. I haven't scratched the surface. Why? Well, look at Kent's 48 day ride. The other thing these crazy bastards have is an "Iron Butt Rally". It's an ELEVEN day competition. It's not just about the days, the miles,etc. They have a process to gain points and it pushes some of these guys to the edge. These happen annually. I found myself reading Steve Braken's blog about his try at winning the rally. By the time I was done reading, I was mesmerized. Realized my lil' 1000 mile ride was just a warmup!
Now, I'm not a Long Distance Rider per se'. I've already admitted 250-300 sounds like an awesome day to me. But, there's a time and place, like my '15 trip. And, as it turns out , my August 2017 Trip. In several weeks I head to Minnesota for a week of riding. The previous five years I've gone up there for a Dealer Event , riding twice, trailering three times. The two times I rode I could have easily rode the whole thing. So, as I write this, that's the plan. But, the problem is it's only 950 miles. So, I've got to stretch it out a little bit. Probably closer to 1025 to make sure there are no misunderstandings; you file your receipts, trip maps, etc with the IBA to get officially certified and join. Hell, I'll be doing the 'easiest one', the Saddlesore 1000. The easiest? Yep; go figure. And after next months long ride, I hope I never do it again? Now, I just need to do some better planning, better packing, better routing and knock it out quicker.
Know what the crazy thing is? I have no desire to to an 11 day IBR... or a 48 States in 10 days .. or .. any of this . But damned if I don't want that patch. The 'easy' patch. It's the real deal. I feel I 'earned' it two years ago; now I want to officially earn it, since the opportunity is presenting itself. And a month from now, I'll probably be ranting "NEVER AGAIN!"
Well, for most of us, Iron Butt refers to simply knocking out a 1000 mile trip within 24 hours (not everyone understands the time frame restriction). Until the last year or so, I thought that was all it was about. I knew their was an organization out there (IBA). I know you could get a patch. But to be honest, I thought ... that was it. I never gave it much thought, never thought it was that big of a deal. I mean I'd done a bunch of 300+ mile days. I'd done a few 400+ mile days back in the 80's on my Kawi' LTD1000. And coming back from Sturgis back in '11 and 13, I'd done a a pair of 600 mile days. I remember thinking "who in their right mind would intentionally do a 1000 mile day??" I had zero desire to do so. I still believe the 'perfect day on a bike is 250-300 which allows you to make a few stops, take your time, enjoy the view. Take it ALL in. To me, it was some measure of manhood that made zero sense to me. hell, I've rarely done that much in an air conditioned vehicle with the music blaring. Why would you?
Well, things change. Back in 2015 I was headed to Sturgis Bike Rally to ride with a group of friends for the week. Initially, my wife was going to fly in as she's done before , and I was going to do it in three days ( versus 2 in '13) to take my time and truly enjoy the ride. Well, I had a personal situation come up and she had to canx and I had to delay a day. Crap, I'm back to a pair of 600 mile days . Well, as the departure day came up, my situation worsened and I slipped another day. I had a choice to make; shorten my trip by a day or..... do the unthinkable.
The Iron Butt Association (IBA) is a US-based organization dedicated to endurance motorcycle riding with a claim of over 60,000 members worldwide who tout themselves as the "World's Toughest Riders." One of its more popular slogans is "The World Is Our Playground."
The IBA does have membership in a traditional sense. There are monthly newsletters sent to subscribed members. There are no mandatory yearly dues, although members can voluntarily pay an annual fee to become a premiere member. Premiere members receive occasional news and information from the IBA staff, early notice of some events, additional chances to enter some events, discounted entry fees for some events, and access to special areas of the web-based discussion board.
The IBA is a loose-knit organization with only one way to earn membership: ride one of the several rides the IBA certifies. The minimum is the Saddle Sore 1000 – 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in 24 hours or less. Entry into the Iron Butt Rally is by lottery only and every lottery entry must be an Iron Butt Member first. Rally workers and supporters (and Premiere members, as mentioned above) are granted extra chances in the lottery process. A certain number of entrants are drawn from pools that include volunteers, veterans and Premier members. Those that were not drawn from those are then put in with the other applications and the remainder of the entrants are drawn from that pool.
Well, I'd gotten that out of the way. Done. I have to admit, deep down, it felt good. I felt like I'd just proven myself and was part of some upper echelon or something. The next day, it was back to reality and a week of riding in the hills with my buddies!. We got to Sturgis about 4 or 5 days before the actual official kickoff so the traffic wasn't too bad. But, by that weekend it was ridiculous.
On the final day I'd decided to roll home by myself in two 600 mile days (approx). This would be a cake walk after the trip up. I was looking forward to the empty two lane roads , giving me time to think, time to dream, time to enjoy our beautiful country. No major planning needed; just a good time. But, mother nature was starting to kick up another South Dakota storm .. hell, a major front was coming in and headed from the West and headed our way. I left late in the morning, relaxed and with a good nights sleep. On the road I began to realize the front was not far behind me. I was headed Southeast, so I was having trouble making headway on it. At some point in the early evening, I realized I had a potential problem. If I stopped for the night, I was most likely going to be in a seriously wet situation the next day. And it looked like the rest of the trip could conceivably be in that rain. So, I opted to do "Iron Butt II.". And I did. I'd almost made it home but about a hundred miles out as I hit the Texas border I was literally exhausted. I think it was about 0430 hours, and i was starting to see 'double'. I was pushing it and thinking I might have made a mistake. I've got just over a 1000 miles under my belt and I'm almost there. So, I pulled into the Texas State Line Rest Area and sat down at a picnic table about 75' from my bike and closed my eyes , for just a minute or two.
Well, a couple things have caught my attention as of recent. The biggest one was from last month. In early June, Eric Kent an Indian Motorcycle rider out of Princeton, MN was headed out on a 48 state riding spree over 10 days. I didn't truly grasp the magnitude of this when I first caught wind of it. I think I'd first heard of it in May time frame. I've seen maps where people hit all 48 states, over a period of time. I assumed that period of time was a month or two. But, this crazy bastard I soon found out was doing it in 10 days. TEN DAYS ( actually 9 when the smoke cleared ). I sort of blew if off at first, but daily I kept seeing updates of where he was via the Bison Thunder Motorcycle dealer up in MN. I found myself trying to figure out his route, to see if I was in his path (how cool would that be to jump out and ride with him for a bit? ). I found myself following and reading his daily updates and mesmerized by it all. Forty eight states in 10 days. No **** way. But he did. We connected up via FB and I congratulated him about the 48 and he made an obscure comment about wishing he'd done '49'. I was thinking 'huh ..49???" and asked him if he was screwing with me . His comment? "Routed it out of Washington state to Hyder Alaska.. I needed 30 hours but only had 18 left" Damned. Could you imagine? You know what I say to all that ? #RESPECT! Soon afterwards, I'd spoken to Rick Dittel a buddy of mine up there, and the subject came up. I knew Rick had escorted him out of town, but what I didn't know is Rick headed out 500+ miles with him, turned it around and did an Iron Butt that day. Well, not an Iron Butt, but a Saddlesore 1000, with receipts to join the IBA. He thought this one out a little better than I did back in '15. He was making it 'official.'. Got me to thinking a little. I've said I don't care, but here I was , and am, thinking of it. What I was unaware of was Kent had just done the IBA's "48 States in 10 Days". Never occurred to me this was something 'official.' Kent has entered the record books with a select few that have the balls to knock that out. This IBA thing has gotten me thinking.
Last week I started reading up on the IBA. I found myself reading a guys blog entry he'd put together and realized when it came to long distance riding, I had no clue. I haven't scratched the surface. Why? Well, look at Kent's 48 day ride. The other thing these crazy bastards have is an "Iron Butt Rally". It's an ELEVEN day competition. It's not just about the days, the miles,etc. They have a process to gain points and it pushes some of these guys to the edge. These happen annually. I found myself reading Steve Braken's blog about his try at winning the rally. By the time I was done reading, I was mesmerized. Realized my lil' 1000 mile ride was just a warmup!
Now, I'm not a Long Distance Rider per se'. I've already admitted 250-300 sounds like an awesome day to me. But, there's a time and place, like my '15 trip. And, as it turns out , my August 2017 Trip. In several weeks I head to Minnesota for a week of riding. The previous five years I've gone up there for a Dealer Event , riding twice, trailering three times. The two times I rode I could have easily rode the whole thing. So, as I write this, that's the plan. But, the problem is it's only 950 miles. So, I've got to stretch it out a little bit. Probably closer to 1025 to make sure there are no misunderstandings; you file your receipts, trip maps, etc with the IBA to get officially certified and join. Hell, I'll be doing the 'easiest one', the Saddlesore 1000. The easiest? Yep; go figure. And after next months long ride, I hope I never do it again? Now, I just need to do some better planning, better packing, better routing and knock it out quicker.
Know what the crazy thing is? I have no desire to to an 11 day IBR... or a 48 States in 10 days .. or .. any of this . But damned if I don't want that patch. The 'easy' patch. It's the real deal. I feel I 'earned' it two years ago; now I want to officially earn it, since the opportunity is presenting itself. And a month from now, I'll probably be ranting "NEVER AGAIN!"
_________________________________________________
| Saddlesore 1000 | 1,000 miles in less than 24 hours |
| Bun Burner 1500 | 1,500 miles in less than 36 hours |
| SaddleSore 1600K | 1,600 kilometers in less than 24 hours Outside USA |
| Bun Burner 2500K | 2,500 kilometers in less than 36 hours Outside USA |
| Bun Burner 1500 GOLD | 1,500 miles in less than 24 hours |
| National Parks Tour Series | Visit at least 50 National Parks in at least 25 States |
| Great Lakes Series | US/CANADA Great Lakes Series (Lake Michigan 1000, Lake Huron 1000, Lake Superior 1000 and more) |
| IN-state SaddleSore series | For rides completed in State or Province |
| Coast to Coast series | USA Coast to Coast series (other countries on the BIG LIST below) |
| 48 States in 10 days | 48 States in 10 days series |
| Ultimate Coast to Coast | Key West, Florida to remote Prudhoe Bay Alaska |
Comments