Iron Butt ride, do you submit it or do it for you?

[Global Rider]

Does anyone ride IBA type rides for the fun of knowing they have done it and are happy with that?

Certainly not for the fun. I'd sooner experience the ride. I had to go from point A to Point B, and I was a student and couldn't afford a motel for the night. Simple enough reason for a few long days. Besides, it really isn't very challenging if you ride the right motorcycle and even less challenging if you ride above 60 MPH.

I certainly wouldn't do it for a certificate. I have enough of those silly things that were given to me and they're all sitting in a box in the basement.

[Davo]

I like riding my bike  

Number of miles is never a point in that its just that I can go places I never thought I could in the limited time I have available. I have certs for maybe 5% of the IBA length rides I have done. Don't need them apart from what Jerry said earlier, for unique rides. Just don't go neeking up on me ya hear.  

I want one of them 11,000 miles ones next  

[SalsaShark]

Meh, it's not the number of miles. It's the quality of miles. People can think I ride or think I don't ride. I simply don't care.

james

I half agree with you. I believe it's not only about the miles, but it's always about the quality. We ran into some bikers hauling their bikes up to Canada and when they found out we were doing an IBA they told us that their IBA was all interstate. I can't imagine a worse punishment. Our route was canyons and lonely two lane roads... The only real interstate came at the end on the way home. Yeah, it would have taken less time to stay on the slab, but man... how boring!

[REAPER]

Maybe a better question would be " Why do you ride IBA type of rides?"

I do 'em for the license plate holders!  

[wbrisett]

Missed this topic a few months back...

I was thinking about this recently because my local club (BMW) had several people listed in one of the magazines for miles. When I asked how many miles one of the guys there had, he said 12K. 12k? Holy smokes, I thought (well not those words exactly). I did 6K the last 3 months of last year on my '04 RT. I did another 10k over the spring/summer with my '07 Buell Ulysses, and I didn't even count the other miles I put on the RT from various distant rides.

I think my ride reports, photos and memories simply mean more to me than the license plate holder or any magazine with my name in it for miles. I'm getting ready to leave on Friday for a nearly 4K ride to the north east and back, now that my route is planned, my hardest decision is what bike to take. My new '09 RT, or  the '07 Ulysses, both have their merits and both are fun to ride long distances.

Wayne

[Westy]

Just for the heck of it, I did a 1152 24hr ride.....only Sslab was little over 30 miles to get out of New Orleans, later found out rain was over 2" an hour for hrs. and crazy lightning show along with high winds ect, 4 clipped states of lousy weather and 2 last states were mostly clear but windy as heck.... After initial Sslab was all secondary and lesser roads to ck out the local stuff with one 148 mile detour due to bridge washout in Oklahoma .

Have to say butt never really got sore, just legs got a bit tight even though I do isometrics in the saddle on some long days.  My take is that 1k+ days on highways/Sslabs are easy but boring mostly, maybe a 1.5k run would be more appropriate on S/SHslabs since it's mostly 70-75 posted roads. I like small roads that perferably have '10mph'  corners on them or no road beneath the rubber are just as nice so 1k days are almost physically impossible on that stuff without minute detailed mapping and all two-track dirt.  Would I do that again? probably not, just don't see the point of it. Physically and mentally it was not a challenge for me, felt more like a waste of time, especially the hrs in the dark, but once you state your goal to yourself you have to finish and not "flail it".... Also a few 1k on Sslabs or SHslabs would probably cause my brain to shutdown permanently due to lack of electrical activity.

I'm goofy, I can take a 100mi car trip and turn it into a 300mi bike ride easy, the little stuff is the frosting.  I get asked "how far do you ride a day normally?",  my answer-"12-16hrs."

[Bounce]

I guess the point of all this is that a lot of people ride a lot of miles but if it's not certified by the IBA it's not an "Iron Butt" ride As the subject mentions).

[Andrew]

I am amazed this thread is still around,

I guess the point of all this is that a lot of people ride a lot of miles but if it's not certified by the IBA it's not an "Iron Butt" ride As the subject mentions).

Ok so when I started the tread I just used the term "IBA" not as an official term even though it is (more to the fact that I am rather lazy at putting things into written form and just used the term loosely)  What I should have asked may be closer to, Do you use the IBA guide lines to do rides just to do them and not send the paperwork in? Or do you do the ride just for the certificate? Proof to yourself or proof to the world?

[jwhite518]

Do you use the IBA guide lines to do rides just to do them and not send the paperwork in? Or do you do the ride just for the certificate? Proof to yourself or proof to the world?

I have done both. Most usually I will do a ride that meets the guidelines, but don't submit paperwork. I keep an IBA-style fuel log but don't get witnesses. Once in a while I'll get the witnesses and file for a cert.

So why are you asking this question (yet again)?

[turbodave_98]

yeah. Unlike a SS1K, a BBG rarely happens "accidentally". You have to start out with the determination to finish and avoid any bad luck that might delay you at all.

The above is a truism, IMHO the desire to start and complete the BBG24 is the most important factor for success.  The "average" motorcyclist would not even consider the ride.  Most of the "Riders" I know look forward to the opportunity to do the BBG.  

[BrookR1]

I almost did a non-certified BBG last weekend. I was actually finishing up my first attempted SS1000 and on my final leg I looked at my pace and realized I could do it.  I had a vague memory during the ride of a different set of rules and when I got home, sure enough, they require you to have completed a SS1000 plus two witnesses each for the start/finish each. After 1000 miles, I also thought to myself that the only friggin way I'm going to continue with this ride is to get the cert.  

I'm sending in my paperwork. It will make a good conversation piece for my friends. I'll have to say that I got a chuckle when my girlfriend asked where I went for my ride. I told her Reno.... ....the look on her face was priceless.

The cert just opens up more opportunities for me should I decide to take this seriously. I don't think I will, but you never know. I passed up so many nice places along the 395 that I otherwise would have stopped to enjoy. But then again, I only had a day for my ride because of plans on Sunday, and I did see quite a bit in those 16 hours.

[ServoJockey]

I did one last year, mostly for the license plate and partly to see if I could do it. Characteristically, I decided that anyone can do 1k of freeway in 24 hours    so I chose to go around Lake Michigan. The route I picked was 70% freeway and 10% Chicago. (There should be extra points for Chicago!)

I also have three kids so my riding time for me is limited. There is not much time for me to spend alone, much less riding in new and unique locations.

[Davo]

I also have three kids so my riding time for me is limited. There is not much time for me to spend alone, much less riding in new and unique locations.

Which, oddly enough, is precisely why most of us do it

[Tony T]

Do you use the IBA guide lines to do rides just to do them and not send the paperwork in? Or do you do the ride just for the certificate? Proof to yourself or proof to the world?

I did my first IBA ride to prove to myself I could do it. But the other part of it was that I have a scott-oiler touring kit on the back of the bike that is larger than the plates. The IBA license plate holder does an excellent job covering it up and leaving the top refill-tube accessible, it looks great.  

I look at the IBA rides as a challenge and as a guide. I see the different rides and try to tweak them to make them more of a challenge if I think they are too easy. I don't double-up on certs, (SS1000 + BB1500) nor do I intentionally send in for certs if I already did that ride. ( 2x BB1500)

My first ride was a BB1500, afterwords I was so hyped-up that I rode the same exact route 2 weeks later. I was trying to do a BBG and did ending with 1724miles. Unfortunately I failed to see that little rule they have about being a current IBA member before getting approved for a BBG. I ended up with 2 BB1500's.   So I noticed that if you go over 1800 miles while attempting a BBG they just list you as 1800+ Ok, sure, I know I can do a regular BBG, now my challenge to myself is to be listed as 1800+  

[Bounce]

they require you to have completed a SS1000 plus two witnesses each for the start/finish each.

really? that's a new one to me. i always thought it was a cop/fireman/approved IBA witness at each end (1 ea, please) and the timed receipt and you were good to go.

maybe it's 2 winos, hookers, or bike shop employees when you can't find one of the above?

[Tony T]

In order to document your ride, the Iron Butt Association requires that obtain an eyewitness to document the start of your ride. Witnesses for the basic SaddleSore 1000 and Bun Burner 1500 may be a friend (but not one on the ride with you), spouse or even gas station attendant willing to answer a letter from the IBA about your start or end time. If a passenger is on the ride with you, please ask your witnesses to sign the form for them also.