Iron Butt Resources (new DVD!)

Hi everyone,

For those obsessed with endurance (long distance) riding, you're probably already familiar with the Ron Ayers book 'Against the Wind' which describes his 6th place finish in the 1995 Iron Butt Rally (if not - I'd HIGHLY recommend it). (for those new to this - the Iron Butt Rally is held every other year and requires riders to cover ~11,000 miles in 11 days to be competitive).

On December 1st, a video documentary was released describing the 2007 Iron Butt Rally. I've been eagerly anticipating this video, and I was not disappointed. Here's a link...

Hard Miles DVD - The 2007 Iron Butt Rally Video

Before you get excited at the price of $50 for a DVD, it's important to remember that it's an independent documentary. This is not a major money-making operation.

Anyway, I just got mine in the mail today and it is excellent. It contains lots of great tips about the rally for those obsessed with this type of thing. I really enjoyed it - perhaps because someday I want to do this event. It really gives you a sense of what the rally is about too and about the people who choose to try it.

My butt hurts thinking of that!

Man, I would imagine the mental prep would be just as key as the physical and bike prep!

-bryan

bmccrary said:

My butt hurts thinking of that!

Man, I would imagine the mental prep would be just as key as the physical and bike prep!

-bryan

Click to expand...

Yup. It seems like that's at least as important. Modern bikes will do the rally on one set of tires and even without an oil change, but can the rider handle it?

In recent years, people have used lots of outside help with planning routes. It seems like the organizers are making a serious effort to cut down on this problem so that the planning aspect is a greater part of the competition.

I've met a few people who've done the rally (including one guy who did it twice). All of them said it's not days 1-5 that kill out - it's the last few days. There are lots of stories of riders who happened to pass near their homes at some point, decided to stop and sleep in their own beds rather than a motel or park bench, and then quit.