Iron Butt Rides?

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What are your reasons for considering a IBA ride?

  • Because...(fill in the blank)

    Votes: 6 6.5%
  • To better my time from the last one

    Votes: 2 2.2%
  • To see as much as possible in a short of time

    Votes: 8 8.6%
  • Then sense of adventure

    Votes: 20 21.5%
  • The thrill of preparing and accomplishing it

    Votes: 31 33.3%
  • To get a new certificate or patch to add to my collection

    Votes: 5 5.4%
  • Competition

    Votes: 3 3.2%
  • To challenge myself & my endurance

    Votes: 58 62.4%
  • I have no interest in IBA rides

    Votes: 20 21.5%

  • Total voters
    93
did the border to border,canuckville to beanerville just to see if i could do it.1590 in 29 hours.check off the bucket list.now its screw valerie bertanelli on the list.i love a challenge.

aim high ,shot low

 
What a great thread. I do it because I love it. I challenge myself further by doing rides on sportbikes. (ss2000 on BMW s1000rr, a few on CBR1000rr). My first was an all California SS1000 last August on a Goldwing. Since then I have done 6 others and as soon as I get home I start planning the next. I love the drone of the engine hour after hour on these wonderfully built technical marvels that we call motorcycles. It is my stress reliever from the day to day grind. Nothing better than a quick 1000 miles or so to set the mind at ease. Twisties, track riding, and off road riding are also my passion, but I don't mind hour after hour on the slab either. As long as I'm riding I'm good! I am kicking myself as I was going to do a certified ride every calendar month of 2012 and I just blew off April. (Jan BB1500, Feb SS1000, March SS1000, May BB1500) so that won't be accomplished this year.

I "train" for long rides that I plan to do on the sportbike starting about 3 weeks before the ride by running, bicycling, leg exercises and several 500 mile + days on the sportbike in the tightest twisities that I can find (and there are plenty in Central California). If this isn't your type of riding (and that's totally ok, of course) then you may never understand.

I love to ride hour after hour after hour on those wonderfully built machines that for the most part perform flawlessly. I have a bond with the bike that can't be understood even by me when "we" are out in nowhere and that machine takes where I need to go mile after mile. I like doing physical/mental challenges that test the limits.

That's enough rambling I have to go prep the Tiger for the upcoming All Nevada BBG!

 
Quite simply, I enjoy riding and I enjoy the challenge. For me, a LD ride is all about getting somewhere and I derive some personal satisfaction in pushing myself (within safety limitations). I won't drive until I can no longer do so safely. I'm not out for a certificate and feel no need to have sombody provide an affidavit that I actually did the ride. (Might do it once just so I can get the cool license plate frame.) Not interested in an extreme ride of any sort. No matter how experienced, that is never safe (IMO).

Ross

 
I've found that I am more interested in LD rallying than just certificate riding.

But the rallying combines distance riding with an adventure.

I couldn't plan an adventure like this on my own. That's why I do this kind of riding.
+1

"combines distance riding with an adventure to foster hyper competitive spirit"

I found the folks doing rallies are out to have a good time to be sure, but part of the rallies satisfaction (and fun factor) is minimizing errors and maximizing points and all that good stuff. I love games. I love riding. So good match for me so far. Competitive bunch!

Setting a goal whether my upcoming 50CC gold or completing a multi-day rally certainly has its appeal.

 
I guess you can't do it in your neck of the woods Fred, but an SS1000 in these parts is easily doable on two lane highways in some absolutely beautiful country.

As nice as it may be, maybe you should venture out of your neck of the woods every once in a while.

Interesting that you recently posted this Fred:

My main point in posting at all, is to encourage other foks to go ahead and open up your horizons. Stuff like this can be fun, fun fun

Maybe you should do a little soul-searching and follow your own advice?
You definitely got me there, Greg. Touche!

And believe, me a longer trip (out west) is definitely in the planning stages. I was really hoping to make it this summer, with NAFO as the carrot in the middle, but we couldn't pull it off. I'm now thinking that next summer, hopefully we'll be able to get ~3 consecutive weeks away, and get to ride and experience some different places. But it'll be done 2-up, so not sure how many 1k days would be likely, if you catch my drift. Still, looking forward to experiencing some of your wide open spaces.

Most of our longer trips to date have been south to the carolinas, VA, WV, etc. The riding down there isn't all that much different from up here, just less frost heaves.

And like-wise, maybe someday you'll come up this-a-way and experience some of our riding. Ever been in the Northeast before? :unsure:

 
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Two summers ago, I rode back from Denver to my house in Austin. 950 miles, 16.5 hours. Folks asked me why I didn't ride another 50, and I told them, BECAUSE I WAS HOME ALREADY! Silly ass question. No interest in IBA.

 
Two summers ago, I rode back from Denver to my house in Austin. 950 miles, 16.5 hours. Folks asked me why I didn't ride another 50, and I told them, BECAUSE I WAS HOME ALREADY! Silly ass question. No interest in IBA.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 
I am in a break of doing a fairly long highway ride. I rode 1300 miles down to south TX from MN. I mostly rode down here so I can ride in the twisty Hill Country this weekend. I have no interest in IBR as a 'fun' activity. Don't get me wrong I chose to ride my bike from MN to TX when work would have flown me and paid for rental car. But I'd much rather find an area of twisty roads and put together some technical routes of 400 miles for a day.

It's really nice sometimes to relax on the highway with some music in, but that gets pretty old after about 6 hours to me. My butt hurts, mostly though I get really tired and bored. I will do many hundreds of miles in twisties and I don't get sore or bored, but still do get tired near the end of the ride when I have to slab it home for an hour or so.

I think I actually may have technically done a SS1000 this last weekend over the two days of riding 1300 miles. I don't see a point in paying anybody to tell me what I already know though.

However, I think ALL of the endurance rides including the entry SS1000 are pretty cool to those that can do them and most of all ENJOY doing them! That's why I frequently check on this subforum to see what crazy **** guys are doing / planning!

 
I did my first Saddlesore 1000 just to see if I could do it. It was a great challenge and was totally addicting. Then I did a 1500/36 (aimed for a Bunburner Gold but misread the rally routing), and finished in a bit over 24 hours. So then I had to do a legit BBG just to see if I could.

I do them on each new bike, usually not documenting them but just to prove to myself that I can do it.

The great side benefit of doing IB rides is that the continent shrinks. A buddy of mine from Cincinnati just got a Harley softail and wants to meet up in Denver, which is halfway between us. That's a really easy day ride nowadays, which means I can do it as a long weekend trip - a day out, a day to hang with buddy and swap stories, then a ride home. Long gone are the days that I thought 1000-1300 miles required a few days' riding.

 
The great side benefit of doing IB rides is that the continent shrinks.
That is the one statement I've heard a few times from this thread and that makes total sense. I'm quite sure when you do a 1000 or 1500 mile 24hr ride you realize how far you can go, how many states away you can ride in just one day and it no doubt opens you eyes to more riding possibilities than you would have previously considered. I am keeping that point in mind!!! ;)

I was talking to FJRBandit and I thought it was cool that he rode from Central Alabama up & around Lake Superior into Canada and back on his bike. I'm not sure if he parlayed that into a IBA ride or not, but what was cool was that a guy from Alabama wanted to ride that far north and see sights he would have never experienced had he not opened up his mind the possibility.

So don't get me wrong, I'm totally down with Long Distance Riding...but to just simply ride interstate for a piece of paper, well I just don't see where that will ever be an interest of mine.

But ST riders are a niche group and IBA riders are sub-niche from that group. Not everything appeals to everybody, but its cool that the passion for riding is there regardless of what form it personally takes for you as an individual. :aarambo:

 
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