Any Iron Butt Challenge Alumns on here?

1busa

Registered
I’ve got a couple big trips planned for the end of this month/ 4th of July weekend. Starting out in PA riding down to the Dragon and then hopefully winding up on Bourbon Street!!! Plan on doing an IBC on the way home. Should be just around 1,100 miles. Been prepping for it and have my route planned out. Can’t wait!!! Hopefully get to cross off 2 bucket list items on the same trip. Always wanted to see “Nawlings” and I’ve been looking forward to testing my myself to see if I can complete an Iron Butt Challenge.

Any memebers on here ever tried an I.B.C. ?
 
Not officially an IBC member. I didn't document my ride with the properly (they are really anal about that stuff:laugh:) But I did ride 1500 in 23 hours (Pittsburgh-Denver) It was zen like and a blast! Hayabusas are deceptively comfortable to ride long distance.
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Don't miss more than 1 gas receipt . I got screwed out of my saddle sore 1000 on my Stock DR650 due to a 2nd station receipt malfunction . This was 2007 . The small tank made for way more fuel stops ;(
 
Don't miss more than 1 gas receipt . I got screwed out of my saddle sore 1000 on my Stock DR650 due to a 2nd station receipt malfunction . This was 2007 . The small tank made for way more fuel stops ;(

Roger that!

I’ve got a 6 gallon fuel tank so I’ll be making less stops and leave less room for error. That’s actually 1 of my biggest concerns cause sometimes it doesn’t spit out a receipt or ran out of paper
 
I completed a Saddle Sore 1000 about 10 years ago. The beauty of it was that i did it on a rental bike that i had for 24 hours. I won a 1-day rental from a Harley dealership, so I picked up a softtail deluxe (or whatever it was) at about 10am, rode from Salt Lake City to Denver, went to a Ratt/Extreme concert, and then rode straight back to Salt Lake. It was a total of 1083 miles i believe.
Riding home through Wyoming in the middle of the night i definitely battled some fatigue. So if you're going to split your ride into two parts then i recommended actually resting during the non-riding part of your trip instead of going to a rock concert!
 
Iron Butt Challenge Completed :banana:
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Well when it was all said n done I rode 2,800 miles in less than a week. Started off near Pittsburgh and rode down to Robbinsville NC with some coworkers. I organized a group ride and rented a cabin for the weekend. They’ve never been down and rode “The Dragon” before. Even though this was only my 2nd trip down it felt like I’ve been riding them a lot longer.

We got in 2 solid days of riding and hit up the popular roads like Dragon, Blue Ridge, Cherahola, etc. Managed to dodge most of the storms and overall everyone had a good time. Monday morning we all left with them heading north and me heading south to New Orleans. A buddy from the marines invited me to come down and celebrate the 4th “Nawlings” style

Figured I could hang out there for a few days relax and prep for my IBC. It’s roughly 1,100 miles from New Orleans to Pittsburgh. Little did I know the real challenge would be getting down to New Orleans... Everything was going well and making good time till I got South of Birmingham AL. I could see the dark clouds and lightning in the horizon. In my mind I thought to stop and put my rain suit on but figured I had time till the next exit. I didn’t......:redface: Mother Nature is a bitch!!! Sky opened up and absolutely dumped on me! Bye the time i could get my suit on I was pretty much soaked head to toe. Seen quite a few cars pulled off the side of the road with hazards on so I figured if cars ain’t driving in this I should get my ass off the road too!!! Attempted to dry off @ a gas station/ subway for a half hour or so hoping the storm would pass or lessen. Eventually it went back to normal rain again so I jumped back on the highway. Sky opened up again but I wasn’t stopping...... Turned my 4ways on and stayed alert for cars in my rear view. Eventually a cop pulled up along side me and gave me the thumbs up sign asking if I was ok. Gave 1 back and I could see him shake his head and smile.

Harley’s might be slow and heavy but that’s exactly what I needed in this storm. Bike felt solid and planted on the highways. Wasn’t getting blown all over the place or hydroplaning. Once I seen what this bike could do I jumped out the slow lane and started following the flow of traffic 70-80+mph no problem. Thank Goodness I prepped my helmet the night before with anti fog on my visor!!! I rode from AL to New Orleans pretty much in a torrential downpour. A couple times I hit some sun and heat which made me take off my rain gear only to get dumped on again!!! Like I said right now me and Mother Nature still ain’t on speaking terms:mad:

Eventually I made it to my buddy’s house and was in desperate need of a hot shower n dry out my gear. The stuff I packed in my travel bags were dry as a bone. Shout out to OGIO and Nelson Rigg for that! I had a great time in New Orleans but the whole time in the back of my mind I’m thinking about that IBC..... Worried about the weather wondering if physically all the riding I did prior would have an effect??? Never rode or drove 1,000 miles before. Did 8 or 900 a few times in my truck but that is not this. The whole time I kept thinking 2 myself I can’t be worse than the ride down!!!

Turns out I was right...... While the IBC was long it was rather uneventful. Biggest concern was collecting the gas receipts and taking pics of the odometer. I pretty much stayed dry until a few thunderstorms got me in Kentucky but those storms were a joke compared to the 1’s I rode in to N.O. The thought of stopping never crossed my mind!!! I had a mission and this so called storm wasn’t gonna derail me from it. I just kept fueling up and watching the miles fall off my GPS.

Overall it was a great experience and it allowed me to see a a lot of this country I’ve never seen before. I was tested physically and mentally but kept on keeping on. Finished the 1,100 miles in a little under 19 hours or 20? Can’t remember cause I rode through 2 time zones. Either way I think I made good time and definitely felt like me and the Harley had more left in the tank if needed. One of the biggest takeaways from my overall trip was my Harley. I know they catch a lot of flack for being big, heavy, slow, underpowered and overpriced. But that “tractor” didn’t let me down. I kept it above 70mph most of the way and kept up with the flow of traffic which was usually between 80-85mph. Rode through all kinds of bad weather and bad roads for 19 hours straight and it still never faultered :super:
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Just got a confirmation email from the I.B.A. that my submission has been approved and I’m now an official member of the Club!!! :banana:

Gonna take a couple weeks to get the certificate in the mail etc. But I’ve already got a member ID and access to the store and forum. Pretty stoked and surprised I heard back so soon!!!

I think next year I might try a 1,500 Bun Burner
 
Thanks Arch :beerchug:

Yeah I’m pretty stoked about it!!! Was able to spend a little bit of time on the forum and members site.

Here I thought I was a “Hardcore” rider..... you read some of these guy’s mileage reports and it’ll make your head spin!!!!

They have rally’s and events year round that are absolutely insane...... Read about 1 called the 11-11 challenge. 11,000 miles in 11 days :shocked: And thats just the tip of the iceberg. These riders take this very seriously and are ultra competitive.
 
Hey Arch you ever think about giving it a go?? You got that nice new shiny Beamer......:rolleyes:

There’s a TON of BMW riders on that Iron Butt forum! Seems like Beamers & Goldwings are the majority
 
Hey Arch you ever think about giving it a go?? You got that nice new shiny Beamer......:rolleyes:

There’s a TON of BMW riders on that Iron Butt forum! Seems like Beamers & Goldwings are the majority

Yup! We have three different ones planned out. I may pick your brain on this. You know in BMW circles you are a punk until you get an Iron Butt. I was told "you know you're not a true BMW rider until you have an Iron Butt." I told him "in Busa circles we respect Iron nuts". Lol!
 
Yup! We have three different ones planned out. I may pick your brain on this. You know in BMW circles you are a punk until you get an Iron Butt. I was told "you know you're not a true BMW rider until you have an Iron Butt." I told him "in Busa circles we respect Iron nuts". Lol!

No problem bye all means pick away!!! I don’t know if it was my attention to detail or just luck of the draw but usually it takes 2-3 months to review your entry and hear back from somebody but I got a response back in less than a month!!!

Now that I’ve got my cherry popped so 2 speak I’m already thinking of a destinations for a 1,500 mile Bun Burner. Let me know if you wanna tag along for that 1 I’ll swing thru VA and pick you up :beerchug:
 
No problem bye all means pick away!!! I don’t know if it was my attention to detail or just luck of the draw but usually it takes 2-3 months to review your entry and hear back from somebody but I got a response back in less than a month!!!

Now that I’ve got my cherry popped so 2 speak I’m already thinking of a destinations for a 1,500 mile Bun Burner. Let me know if you wanna tag along for that 1 I’ll swing thru VA and pick you up :beerchug:
Maybe I will can't take on too much at the moment due to parent's health but looking forward to when I can get Pop back on his feet and hit the road.
 
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