Planning was (or wasn’t) afoot, and in the wintertime, I decided that a trip to Germany for work was likely to go ahead. This gave me another opportunity to do something I have wanted for a long time – ever since I first started reading about it in the late ’90s in fact.
Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things.
The Iron Butt Association is an international motorcycle ‘club’ dedicated to the art of safe long distance motorcycle riding. They don’t do things by halves either. The minimum requirement to be a member is to do one of the ‘easier rides’ – 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) in 24 hours, for instance – the Saddlesore 1000. Iron Butt has been around since Mike Rose set it up in 1984 with the infamous (amongst motorcyclists anyway) Iron Butt Rally, one lap of the US in ten days. It was something of a special ride, with many different issues along the way, including broken toes and wasp stings, but it was completed (by all the riders who started it) although possibly not at legal speeds, and history was made. The Association has grown from humble beginnings to what it is today with several different kinds of rides, the Rally itself, chapters around the world and more than 84,000 members.
I decided to become one in around 1998, but it took until 2023 to try. I’m something of a procrastinator I guess.
The ride I planned was around Germany, since I would be there, on a rented motorcycle, since flying my own in there seemed a little silly. Last time I mentioned that planning was mostly inspirational (try stuff and change on the fly) but for an Iron Butt ride you do need to think ahead a little. Most importantly there must be ways of proving you did the thing, so a gas station at the start and end that will give receipts (and are most definitely open) are needed, as is the right distance (thanks to Google Maps, which has a nice way to plan routes, this is straightforward). Oh, and gas on the route too! All those gas receipts are your proof, but for added insurance I also used a satellite tracker.
I planned a lovely route around Germany, one of my favourite places, and then a friend from work told me she was off to Croatia to visit her mother, and the ‘plans’ changed to include a few extra countries. You see, from Frankfurt to Zagreb via Berlin (not a straight line!) takes in Slovakia, Hungary, Czechia, Austria, and Croatia, possibly not in that order, and takes in around 1,700 kilometres.
“What the heck,” I thought to myself. Or words to that effect.
You may have spotted a flaw in my plan, since getting there takes the 1,600 kilometres. Or not, in which case I can enlighten you – “How are you going to get back, Steve?!”
There is a straight line from Zagreb to Frankfurt, which is oddly enough a little over 900 kilometres and only takes Austria in its path. And this is where another Iron Butt ride comes in. It’s called the BunBurner and it is 1,500 miles, or 2,500 kilometres, in 36 hours.
“Hmm, 2,500 kilometres is just about that distance,” I thought to myself. “I’m sure I could do that.”
My flights were already booked, I had a three-day window to get this ride done. I found a place and reserved a bike to ride (A BMW F800GS).
Getting real, now, eh?
