Iron Butt

[G-Rex]

Originally Posted by t-rock

So a few local guys have been planning an iron butt for the beginning of summer. Springfield, MO to Birmingham, AL and back. It will be 530ish miles each way with a rest at Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in the middle. Here is the route we will be taking.


For those of you who have done rides this long, what have I probably not thought of? I will have a tank bag and am borrowing saddle bags from a friend. We are going to try to stick together as much as possible, but wont have a designated lead rider or sweep. Every person is going to have a map with recommended places to stop for gas, if there are long stretches without a gas station, etc. I plan on taking a ton of water, rain gear, etc. I will probably try to borrow a friends GPS, just to be safe.

I've done two Iron Butts. A 24 hour/1000 mile on my TLR, and a 36 hour/1500 mile on my Hayabusa. Let's see. Where do I start.

1. Wear ear plugs. Thank me later.
2. I think you'll find that any more than 2 people is 1 person too many on an Iron Butt style ride. Everyone has a different pace they are comfortable with, and everyone wants to stop at different times for fuel/food.
3. Don't lollygag too much. You'll have time to relax, but since this is your first, you'll be surprised how quickly it will pass by. If you can make it work, great.
4. If you do want to certify it through the Iron Butt association, study carefully what they will require you to send in. It may not seem like much, but when you're on the road, it should be second nature. Take a little notepad to log your notes on, as well as enclosing them in a zip-lock bag to make sure it doesn't get wet. Take a pencil. Also, keep a separate zip-lock bag for all of your receipts. You will need those. Don't forget your start/end paperwork. If you stop for more than 15 minutes, you're supposed to record that. Documentation documentation documentation. I can't stress this enough.
5. Take bananas and sour patch kids candy with you. The bananas are good and healthy, the sour patch kids are good to chew on when it's 3am and you're pretty tired.
6. If you think it will start to rain, stop and get your rain gear before it does. PVC rain gear is 10 times harder to put on *after* it's started raining.
7. Don't overthink it too much and have fun!