Iron Butt

[Pirate looks at --]

Well in order to train for our ryde to Valcourt, my wife and I, along with our good friend Judy decided that we needed a training ryde to see if we can do 600 miles a day. One of our friends had said why not just do an Iron Butt. I was foolish enough to take the challenge. So at 4:45 AM yesterday we took off from Elk Grove California and drove to Needles California. Took a picture and turned around and drove home. 1050 miles!:yikes: We had a blast!:yes: Temp at the start about 40 degrees, Needles 95:yikes: and back home to 50. We were so lucky, there was no traffic, no wind, no rain and we made great time. Finished in 19.25 hours. We are so lucky to be able to ryde these wonderful machines. We had a13 RTL, 14 RTL, and a 16 F3 L. They all handled FLAWLESSLY!!!!:yes::yes::yes: They made this ryde easy! Today after getting home at midnight, I have some slightly sore shoulders, but other than that just a bit tired. We did see two other spyders out on Interstate 40, anybody here out that way? I would love to hear anybody else's experiences on one of these monumental rydes! Now its time to clean 1000 miles of bugs!!:banghead::banghead:

 

[easysuper]

No Iron Butt yet, but last year when I was working in SO-Cal my wife and I would leave Glendale and Sleep in Lakehead at Lake Shasta . We did this ride 5 or six times, then it was only about 6 hours to home the next day.
We have done many 500 mile days with no problem we both have 2014 & 2015 RT Limited and pull trailers, mine an Aspen and she pulls the dog trailer. We're planing on riding to Deadwood this summer but taking it a little slower, 9 days round trip. I want to stop and smell the sage brush and pet some Buffalo.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

500 miles is a haul, no question. We took mostly interstates and with the lack of traffic, it was really not too bad! I love that Lake Shasta area!

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I haven't done an Iron Butt but we do ride lots of miles several days in a row. The Spyder King of Iron Butts is HalBikerDoc. Last year he completed one in every month. He's been somewhat sidelined from the marathon rides after surgery but I'm sure he'll be back in the swing of it soon.

Pirate, what route are you taking to Valcourt? We are going to do some sightseeing prior to the event and are leaving on the 23rd. Our stops are Fort Morgan CO, Des Moines IA, Cleveland OH, Niagara Falls, Portland ME then we head to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick before Valcourt.

 

[DKRED]

Congratulations on Joining the Club!!

It really isn't that bad....if you are enjoying a comfortable ride and decent weather. The miles and the hours just wiz by. I got mine in 2016 doing Tampa FL to Aberdeen MD. Although it was on a Goldwing and 100+ degrees in July:yikes:.

But we had a blast. Can't wait to put those miles on my Spyder RT!

 

[roofus7044]

Congratulations

Congratulations! I did the SS1000 on my Kawasaki Concours and it was a lot of fun but pretty tough also. I think it would be easier on my Spyder since it has cruise control and highway pegs which my Concours did not. Great job on the awesome achievement. I love being able to tell people that I'm a member of the IBA.

 

[Buddha]

Congrats and welcome to the IBA Club!

Up until you finish the first IBA certification ride, it is easy to slip into agreement with the "Are you NUTS??" chorus, while you're collecting witnesses and receipts. After the first one, be careful because it can get addicting! Having done at least one cert ride a month last year to achieve Silver Mile Eater status, enjoying the privilege of being asked to speak at this year's annual IBA "Pizza Party" about why I ride a Spyder and just finishing the Florida Tour of Honor SaddleSore 1000 Extreme, I can tell you first hand about the addiction thing. Safe travels to Valcourt and hope to meet you folks up there!

 

[Pirate looks at --]

I haven't done an Iron Butt but we do ride lots of miles several days in a row. The Spyder King of Iron Butts is HalBikerDoc. Last year he completed one in every month. He's been somewhat sidelined from the marathon rides after surgery but I'm sure he'll be back in the swing of it soon.

Pirate, what route are you taking to Valcourt? We are going to do some sightseeing prior to the event and are leaving on the 23rd. Our stops are Fort Morgan CO, Des Moines IA, Cleveland OH, Niagara Falls, Portland ME then we head to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick before Valcourt.

Ann, the way you ryde you have done a number of Iron Butts! You just don't have the T-shirt! One reason we did this training run is that we are going from California with the San Diego Chapter of SRA in 5 days! We are going to be doing our sight seeing on the way home. Hope to hookup with you and Joe!

 

[SpyderAnn01]

Ann, the way you ryde you have done a number of Iron Butts! You just don't have the T-shirt! One reason we did this training run is that we are going from California with the San Diego Chapter of SRA in 5 days! We are going to be doing our sight seeing on the way home. Hope to hookup with you and Joe!

You will do fine on the trip. We will have just 4 bikes in our group which is just about perfect, your group will be a bit larger. I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts on the trip when you get to Valcourt.

 

[Chupaca]

Congratulations. ...🎖

I know they call it iron butt but that ryde with those temps should have tenderized your butt...:roflblack::2thumbs:

 

[PistonBlown]

Love doing Iron Butt style rides but the type I like in particular are the rallies where you have checkpoints as well. So you have to not only clock up the miles but also visit all these weird places along the way. Love the way that makes you go along twisty little roads that you'd never normally never take and seeing places well off any normal route. It adds a sense of adventure and exploration to the whole thing.

Spyders are just fantastic for that sort of riding with their level of comfort and safety. The Rotax engines are more than happy running for extended periods like that as well. When I'm doing multi-day endurance events I've been quite happy getting back on my RS after a 3 or 4 hour sleep, not something I could say for bikes I've owned.

They really are great endurance machines.

 

[Abbot Spyder]

Welcome to the Iron Butt club. In 2015 I did the 48 /10 witch is all lower 48 states in less than 10 days. I did it with a friend who rode a Goldwing and I have a 2011 RTS. We rode 8294 miles in 9 days 9 hours and 17 minutes. A lot of people said its insane, true but it's not. This year I am doing the 4 corners with the same RTS, the rules and guidelines are from the southern California motorcycle association. Our start day will be May 29. :ani29:

 

[Buckeye Bleau]

Congratulations on your achievement, that is awesome.

I have been planning one and I was talking to some of the Mahoning Valley Spyder Ryders about it. It seems that one of them and a friend just picked up one day, rode the Charlotte, ate at the Waffle House and then tuned around and rode home. Boom, 1000 miles.

He said he they did another Iron Butt that was planned but barely got in on time, they went around Ohio, Michigan, Ontario Great Lakes. The problem was construction delays in Detroit, border crossing delays and such all got it down to the 23rd hour.

Joe

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Love doing Iron Butt style rides but the type I like in particular are the rallies where you have checkpoints as well. So you have to not only clock up the miles but also visit all these weird places along the way. Love the way that makes you go along twisty little roads that you'd never normally never take and seeing places well off any normal route. It adds a sense of adventure and exploration to the whole thing.

Spyders are just fantastic for that sort of riding with their level of comfort and safety. The Rotax engines are more than happy running for extended periods like that as well. When I'm doing multi-day endurance events I've been quite happy getting back on my RS after a 3 or 4 hour sleep, not something I could say for bikes I've owned.

They really are great endurance machines.

Piston, that sounds like a lot of fun. For our first one we stuck to the interstates to make great time, but I love getting out in the great unknown!:yes:

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Welcome to the Iron Butt club. In 2015 I did the 48 /10 witch is all lower 48 states in less than 10 days. I did it with a friend who rode a Goldwing and I have a 2011 RTS. We rode 8294 miles in 9 days 9 hours and 17 minutes. A lot of people said its insane, true but it's not. This year I am doing the 4 corners with the same RTS, the rules and guidelines are from the southern California motorcycle association. Our start day will be May 29. :ani29:

Wow Abbot that is really something, I must have been a monumental task just to plan such a route! You must have seen some incredible sights along the way! :clap::clap: Kudos to you!:firstplace: That would be fantastic to do. Maybe after I retire.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Welcome to the Iron Butt club. In 2015 I did the 48 /10 witch is all lower 48 states in less than 10 days. I did it with a friend who rode a Goldwing and I have a 2011 RTS. We rode 8294 miles in 9 days 9 hours and 17 minutes. A lot of people said its insane, true but it's not. This year I am doing the 4 corners with the same RTS, the rules and guidelines are from the southern California motorcycle association. Our start day will be May 29. :ani29:

Abbot, I forgot to ask, what din you do for oil changes on the 48/10 ryde. You needed to get at least two!:yikes:

 

[Firefly]

Some may have done an Iron Butt without even knowing it as it's only 1,000 miles in a 24 hour period. Probably smart to grab a bit of a nap between legs.

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Yep

A nap could be of value, but interestingly enough, I was rarely tired on the ryde. I got yo at 3:15 AM after not sleeping to well the night before. Had a 5 Hour Energy drink and dressed and headed out the door. A couple of times I started to feel tired as we were heading to one of our scheduled stops, but once we stopped and I had a very small bite to eat, I was energized again and ready to roll. There was a general sense of exuberation through out most of the trip. :yes:

 

[PistonBlown]

Piston, that sounds like a lot of fun. For our first one we stuck to the interstates to make great time, but I love getting out in the great unknown!:yes:

Yep they are good, there are a couple of organized annual ones here but I often make up my own as well. I normally choose a 'theme' and then use that to dictate the route. For example Anzac day on the 25th April is our equivalent of your Veteran day. Back in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli landings I plotted out a route going to various first world war memorials, peace halls, etc. I picked ones that were in the middle of nowhere and unlikely to have a proper remembrance service. At each I read the names, left a red poppy and observed a minutes silence.

 

[WilderThomas]

Restaurant Recommendation

I haven't done an Iron Butt but we do ride lots of miles several days in a row. The Spyder King of Iron Butts is HalBikerDoc. Last year he completed one in every month. He's been somewhat sidelined from the marathon rides after surgery but I'm sure he'll be back in the swing of it soon.

Pirate, what route are you taking to Valcourt? We are going to do some sightseeing prior to the event and are leaving on the 23rd. Our stops are Fort Morgan CO, Des Moines IA, Cleveland OH, Niagara Falls, Portland ME then we head to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick before Valcourt.

When you're riding through Iowa if you have the time, check out a family restaurant in the Amana Colonies, (Homestead, IA) called Bill Zuber's Restaurant. Just a thought.