Chris' 2005 Iron Butt Rally

Chapter 1

A Journey Begins

            Endurance riding is not one of my favorite pastimes.  I don’t particularly enjoy doing it.  I find riding long distances mentally and physically demanding.   Perhaps even taxing might be a better description.  Every distance ride I have ever accomplished has been difficult for me.  Having said that, I am glad I rode each and every one of them.  I treasure every one of those memories. 

            I do not find an endurance ride itself particularly fun.  The destination is frequently irrelevant and the sights seen are often fleeting and quickly forgotten.  I often joke that I have seen the exits for some of the most famous landmarks in all of North America.  And of course that does not even mention all the breathtaking sights I have passed in the dead of night.  I have heard it said that writers hate writing, but love having written.  In that same vein, I hate endurance rides, but I love having ridden them. 

            I love the competition, either against the clock or against other riders.  Without that competition or challenge, I find a 400 mile day on a motorcycle to be about my limit.  There are days when I complain to my girlfriend Nancy that I am too sore to walk after 200 miles on a bike.  All that changes when I compete in a rally or some other ride.  The miles seem to fly by without a care or notice.  The mind soothes the body and pushes me further down the road, past all those exits to some obscure destination. 

            I had tried before to gain an entry into the Iron Butt Rally, the mother of all motorcycle endurance competitions with no success.  I held out hope that my entry for the 2005 Rally would be successful, but I was not sure.  The Rally is sanctioned by the Iron Butt Association, the governing authority for endurance riding around the world.  The IBA describes the Iron Butt Rally thusly:

“The Iron Butt Rally is held in the United States every two years. Although we have looked into moving the rally to other countries, only Australia offers the wide-open spaces without international borders for the running of this 11 day, 11,000 mile plus marathon.”

“The Iron Butt is a fairly simple concept. The rally consists of five [three in 2005] checkpoints located around the perimeter of the United States. In order to be considered a finisher of the event, riders must be present at each of these checkpoints within a two hour window.”

“No consideration is given for bad weather (during the running of the Iron Butt, riders can expect to ride through rain, sleet, snow, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes and the occasional tornado). Temperature extremes routinely run 125 degrees or more in the desert Southwest in fact, in living up to the name, "World's Toughest Motorcycle Competition", event organizers intentionally route the rally through such places as Death Valley or the Mojave Desert during the hottest part of the day, to extreme cold at the top of mountains like Pike's Peak in Colorado where competitors may have to struggle up a muddy road to reach the peak's 14,110 foot summit.”

            If I was looking for a challenge and competition, there was no doubt the Iron Butt Rally would provide both.  The event attracts the best endurance riders in the world.  It is a brutal test of both rider and machine.  Of the thousands of riders clamoring for an entry for each Rally, only about 100 lucky ones are chosen.  Many fewer than that will finish the rally as attrition gnaws at the field during the 11 day marathon.   

Late in the spring of 2004, I received the news I had been waiting for.  My entry for the 2005 Iron Butt Rally had been accepted and I was fortunate enough to receive one of the entries into the rally.  In a way, this had become an end unto itself.  I had put so much energy and effort into gaining an entry into the IBR over the last few years, that I had begun to lose focus on what this meant.  I was now going to have to actually ride in the rally.  It would shortly be time to see how I would fare in the “World’s Toughest Motorcycle Competition.”  Elation gave way to doubts, fears and apprehension.  It would be a long journey to find the answers to questions that raced through my mind that spring afternoon.

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