The Iron Butt

In June of 2007, my friend Randy Smith and I decided to try an Iron Butt Association sanctioned ride.  We actually combined two rides into one.  The first was the Saddle Sore 1000, which was to ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours or less.  The second was the Bun Bunner 1500, which was to ride 1,500 miles in 36 hours or less. After it was all said and done, Randy and I ended up riding 1,700 miles in 35 hours.

We rented a couple of Harley-Davidson touring bikes from Rocklin Harley Davidson, near Sacramento, and set out traveling South to Bakersfield.  The trip took us down to Barstow, over to Las Vegas, NV, up to Salt Lake City, UT, and back through Reno, NV to our starting place in Rockllin.  Most of our stops were for gas (marked on the map with blue triangles).  We stopped for 2 1/2 hours for a showers and dinner in Provo, UT.  Then after completing the first 1,000 miles (in a little over 20 hours), we stopped again for a 3 1/2 hour nap in Woods Cross, just north of Salt Lake City.  After the nap it was a short 650 mile ride west to Rocklin.

Although we didn't have much time for sight seeing or conversation, I must say that I've never felt more free.  Since the time was to be spent riding, we packed very little.  The weather was perfect.  During the day the temperature got up to over 100 degrees near Las Vegas.  But we planned the ride to where most of the hours were in the cool early morning and late at night.  We left Rocklin just before midnight and rode to Bakersfield by the light of the full moon.  The ride from Barstow to Provo was during the day and the final leg back to Rocklin from Salt Lake City was during the night. The full moon provided us with a bit more safety by keeping the nocternal animals off the highways. 

I think that there is at least another Iron Butt ride in our future.  I would like to try the "Border to Border" (Mexico to Canada) ride in 36 hours.  And the "Coast to Coast" in 50 hours sounds pretty fun as well.  I'll keep you posted as I get a little crazier and the plans are made.