Iron Butt attempt late March or late April

v4_jeff · February 14, 2013, 08:27:22 AM

Anyone interested in an Iron Butt ride this spring? Just in the early planning stages, thinking Austin to New Orleans by way of Memphis for a Bun Burner 15/36 attempt. Shooting for end of March or end of April.

Don't have details yet, still working it out. Rough plan is Austin to Memphis for the 1,000mi in 24 hour Saddle Sore, catch a few hours of shuteye, then head the last 500 miles to New Orleans for the 1,500mi in 36 hour Bun Burner cert, then hang around the Big Easy for a day or two and ride home. Haven't decided whether I'm coming straight home or taking a leisurely route. I have vacation scheduled for the week of 3/25, then again the week of 4/29. The rest depends on weather and fate I s'pose.

Any joiners?

Smoked U · February 14, 2013, 01:36:12 PM

Been there, done that, got the pins.

Eat yer Wheaties and powder your underwear heavily

v4_jeff · February 15, 2013, 02:37:11 PM

Quote from: Smoked U on February 14, 2013, 01:36:12 PM
Been there, done that, got the pins.

Eat yer Wheaties and powder your underwear heavily

haha.. Thanks man. Yah, I read your posts, even looked at your meetup page from last year. Good to see there's a fellow DXer around.

Troystg · February 18, 2013, 11:21:57 AM

I did Fredericksburg VA to Eureka Springs Arkansas and back for a MOOTMaG.... Makes for a long day... But a long day riding STILL beat a day at the office any time...

Smoked U · February 18, 2013, 02:12:27 PM

In all seriousness Jeff, try hard to find someone to ride with you. It's good insurance and alleviates an "I'm all alone" feeling in the middle of the dark highway.

hop along · February 19, 2013, 11:47:35 AM

If I didn't have plans to ride to MIlwaukee on a work trip the week of 3/25 I'd join... but perhaps you might be persuaded to head north if the weather is right

Hop Along

rjb/AKA Bob Barram · February 21, 2013, 10:00:41 AM

I am not sure if you know about it but once a year IBA sponsors an event that takes care of all the documentation part of the ride, you don't need to collect all the paperwork, just ride.
Last year it was on a Saturday and started/ended in The Colony, NW of Dallas, the turn-around point was in NM.
It should be listed on their Web site.
If you do pick up a partner, be sure it is someone likeminded, you do not want to push or be pushed into riding beyond your limit.
I did mine alone, the hardest part is the beginning, because you are thinking how far you have to go...
But it gets fun seeing the people along the way.

Smoked U · February 21, 2013, 10:21:23 AM

The one in The Colony may not happen this year. The woman that was running it didn't send the paperwork into IBA after the event. Pete"the fireman" and I rode it and he & I ended up hammering the IBA for a month before they relented and sent us our certificates and pins. This type of program is a good thing, but only as good as the person responsible for management.

rjb/AKA Bob Barram · February 21, 2013, 10:36:53 AM

Wow, that is a bummer, sorry to hear that.

v4_jeff · February 21, 2013, 05:40:43 PM

Quote from: Smoked U on February 18, 2013, 02:12:27 PM
In all seriousness Jeff, try hard to find someone to ride with you. It's good insurance and alleviates an "I'm all alone" feeling in the middle of the dark highway.

I'd like to find one or two bikes to add to the ride, which was most of my reason for posting here. Also posted to a couple Facebook groups but nobody's jumped so far. I've done long distance rides alone in the past and I've been fine as far as the "I'm all alone" feeling, but it's definitely better riding with a buddy, especially with comm gear between the bikes (did I mention I have an extra G4 for someone to use?). I definitely don't want too large a group, probably 4 bikes max, and I'd like to do a break in ride first to make sure our riding styles are compatible, to Bob's point below:

Quote from: rjb/AKA Bob Barram on February 21, 2013, 10:00:41 AM
If you do pick up a partner, be sure it is someone likeminded, you do not want to push or be pushed into riding beyond your limit.

... but if nothing else, I don't have a problem tackling it on my lonesome. I'll have plenty of emergency and comm gear, probably picking up a Spot tracker for the ride too. I've kinda' wanted one since I first heard about them anyway...

Smoked U · February 21, 2013, 09:52:36 PM

Quote from: rjb/AKA Bob Barram on February 21, 2013, 10:36:53 AM
Wow, that is a bummer, sorry to hear that.

That gal had been running that event for a couple of years, so I don't know the specifics of the problem last year, maybe something personal. Pete & I waited several months, but when I saw people getting processed on the IBA site for dates they rode after our ride I knew something was screwy.

Again, it took some "pointed" e mails to the boss dog at IBA, but he was very nice about getting us processed after a short period of time. He made a very nice apology for the delay (it wasn't his fault in my book anyway).

IBA is very professional and I appreciate the way they finally handled this matter. They don't get paid worth a damn for all the work/problem solving they do for the long distance riding adventurers.