Against the Wind: A Riders Account of the Incredible Iron Butt Rally

[longride]

From 2005 taken from the Iron Butt web site:

"Mark Kiecker, taking fourth, proved that his second place finish in 2003 was no fluke. He lost a 1,000-point gas bonus on the first leg. That stuffed him down in 29th place. Riding hard and smart on the second leg pumped him up to tenth. In the final four days he rode 5,485 miles, winding up with 13,354 miles altogether, three miles short of being a new record for the rally. The Crew's t-shirts proudly read, "Ride Harder/Not Smarter." It is perfect truth in advertising."

You are right again. I don't know what I am talking about. How about 1330 miles a day? And they brag about it! Still not sleep deprived? Remember you told me it isn't a race, yet every guy in the article knew what place he was in at all times.! LOL

My 'bluster' is called fact in the real world. Post up the results of your friend off the web site so I can see who you are talking about.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by longride

From 2005 taken from the Iron Butt web site:

"Mark Kiecker, taking fourth, proved that his second place finish in 2003 was no fluke. He lost a 1,000-point gas bonus on the first leg. That stuffed him down in 29th place. Riding hard and smart on the second leg pumped him up to tenth. In the final four days he rode 5,485 miles, winding up with 13,354 miles altogether, three miles short of being a new record for the rally. The Crew's t-shirts proudly read, "Ride Harder/Not Smarter." It is perfect truth in advertising."

You are right again. I don't know what I am talking about. How about 1330 miles a day? And they brag about it! Still not sleep deprived? Remember you told me it isn't a race, yet every guy in the article knew what place he was in at all times.! LOL

My 'bluster' is called fact in the real world. Post up the results of your friend off the web site so I can see who you are talking about.

The Ironbutt used to just be a lark of a thing. People rode the 4 corners of the US and got a certificate or something. Then, like most things, it had to turn into a competition. Since people are now cheating in order to "win" the Ironbutt it can't be denied that it's become a race of sorts because the riders certainly think they are racing each other and there's only one winner.

Still, it's not as bad as those idiots who try to ride coast-to-coast in 50 hours. That's criminally irresponsible. Think of the Ironbutt guys as two wheeled truckers. You know. They carry three logs... one for the DOT, one for the company and one honest one.

It was more fun in many ways when motorcycling was still smaller and we were largely under the radar.

[sachiwilson]

Originally Posted by longride

You are right again. I don't know what I am talking about. How about 1330 miles a day? And they brag about it! Still not sleep deprived? Remember you told me it isn't a race, yet every guy in the article knew what place he was in at all times.! LOL

Of course it's a competition. It isn't a race, but the people in it are still competing hard. The guys in it don't know how everyone else is doing, except at the checkpoint(s), of which there are only 1 or 2 each event. They have to ride on their own in between, and hope that they can get to the bonuses they planned and that their own route is more productive than the other guys'.

YOU can't do this kind of ride, because you don't train for it, plan for it, or even imagine it can be done. The guys who do plan and train can do it without sleep deprivation.

Seru, the 50 C to C can be accomplished with a good 8 hours of sleep at the halfway point. It is hard on your butt but easy to do otherwise. "Criminally irresponsible" my eye.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by sachiwilson

Of course it's a competition. It isn't a race, but the people in it are still competing hard. The guys in it don't know how everyone else is doing, except at the checkpoint(s), of which there are only 1 or 2 each event. They have to ride on their own in between, and hope that they can get to the bonuses they planned and that their own route is more productive than the other guys'.

YOU can't do this kind of ride, because you don't train for it, plan for it, or even imagine it can be done. The guys who do plan and train can do it without sleep deprivation.

Seru, the 50 C to C can be accomplished with a good 8 hours of sleep at the halfway point. It is hard on your butt but easy to do otherwise. "Criminally irresponsible" my eye.

You mean like that chick's story on MO a couple years back where she had to ride virtually without stopping and was nearly running off the road from fatigue by the end. LOL!

[sachiwilson]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

You mean like that chick's story on MO a couple years back where she had to ride virtually without stopping and was nearly running off the road from fatigue by the end. LOL!

No one "has to ride." If she was not willing to stop once it became apparent that she could not finish that ride safely, well . . . . It isn't the C to C itself that was the issue.

Any of those rides can be done safely, but of course if you can't do it at a reasonable speed or with enough sleep, the proper course is to bag it. I've done it myself - last year I was on track to do a bun burner gold (1500 in 24) but wound up having farkle problems near Flagstaff. (I use a Centech fuse box to power the various additions, and fused the power wire from the battery to the box. The fuse holder was heating up and losing its connection-- a totally invisible fault. It's fixed now.) I spent about 45 minutes trying to track down the fault, and finally had to press on. I gave up on the plan of doing the BB Gold, and instead did a "regular" bun burner (1500 in 36.)

I'll be trying another bun burner on May 3-4. Once again, I'll be pacing it to complete it in 24 hours. I don't expect to reach that goal, though, because the ride goes through Death Valley west of Beatty, and it also goes down 101 south of San Francisco. The road through Death Valley is full of slow turns, and I suspect that 101 (which I'll hit at night) will also be difficult. Unlike that "chick" in the previous article, I don't push myself past my abilities.

[sfcdjevans]

I plan on doing my own 1K this summer. A circumnavigation of the state in which I live. Am I going to try to do it in 24 hours, of course. Do I think I'm smart enough to bail if necessary or out of my comfort zone, you bet.

[sachiwilson]

Good for you. Have you found the IBA's Archive of Wisdom yet?

I have my own hints page up here.

[longride]

Originally Posted by sachiwilson

Of course it's a competition. It isn't a race, but the people in it are still competing hard. The guys in it don't know how everyone else is doing, except at the checkpoint(s), of which there are only 1 or 2 each event. They have to ride on their own in between, and hope that they can get to the bonuses they planned and that their own route is more productive than the other guys'.

YOU can't do this kind of ride, because you don't train for it, plan for it, or even imagine it can be done. The guys who do plan and train can do it without sleep deprivation.

Seru, the 50 C to C can be accomplished with a good 8 hours of sleep at the halfway point. It is hard on your butt but easy to do otherwise. "Criminally irresponsible" my eye.

Just for the record, please tell me what years you competed in the Iron Butt Rally and your finishing place each year.

[sfcdjevans]

Originally Posted by sachiwilson

Good for you. Have you found the IBA's Archive of Wisdom yet?

I have my own hints page up here.

Thanks for the tips!