Masochism or Torture—or Fun?

The Iron Butt Association is a club of long-distance motorcyclists. Their motto, justifiably, is "The World's Toughest Riders." They are careful to point out that their rides are not races, but exercises in endurance. In a race, you try to get from point A to point B faster than someone else does. In an endurance contest—well, once a bunch of Harley riders pulled up to a stoplight next to a guy on a BMW, and they challenged him to a race. He said, "Okay, there-and-back, I get to pick the turn-around point." The Harley guys agreed, and money was placed with a neutral third party. Then the BMW rider chose Chicago as the turn-around. He got the money.

Endurance riding is self-inflicted pain for some, bike-inflicted for others, high adventure for still others. The bragging rights are pretty good, too. And actually, the ride isn't too bad, if you prepare. Okay, for some rides it's bad no matter how well you prepare, but that's part of the glory.

To join the IBA, you have to complete at least their shortest named ride, and prove you did it with appropriate documentation. That shortest ride is a Saddlesore 1000: Ride 1000 miles or more in 24 hours or less (mine was 1050 miles in 23.5 hours). This can be done without ever breaking a highway speed limit. Membership is a lifetime thing, by the way, and the Saddlesore 1000 is challenging but doable. You finish kind of tired, but happy, and with a sense of accomplishment. If you have a decent bike, the ride ends just before it really stops being fun. I recommend one for everyone who wants to be a serious motorcyclist. Some define "serious motorcyclist" as spending serious money on a motorcycle (and I agree  that that's painful) and riding around. They are entitled to their opinion, but whenever I see a motorcycle on a trailer, I say, "Nice trailer!"

The IBA has other sizes of torture adventure. You can, for instance, ride farther than 1000 miles in a day, Say 1500 miles. That's a bunburner. (Sorry for the coarse language, but if you do one, you'll decide that it's justified.) Then there's the 50 CC. Cross the country in 50 hours or less. The IBA's longest ride (that I know of) is the Ultimate Coast-to-Coast. Ride between Key West and Prudhoe Bay in 30 days or less. That sounds pretty doable to me, and I have ambitions to do one.

All these rides require a certain amount of planning and preparation, and suffering, but to my mind, about the worst thing you can do to yourself is a trifecta. Three 1500-miles days in a row. More in the next post, if I can bring myself to describe it.