I am sitting in a hotel in Crossville TN and have been on a 3 week bike ride. I live in Woodland Park CO and it's about 1200 miles away.

I plan on leaving here tomorrow at 0400 and will document the entire trip, stop, etc. I will also turn on my GPS bread crumb feature that will document my travels. This said, I really don't feel comfortable asking the motel owner nor a gas attendant to sign a form as my starting witness. Plus, I do not have a printer.

I can prove my location and departure times with gas receipts and GPS tracks. Do you think they will disapprove my submission without a starting witness?

Thanks.
Dave

 

They will probably think hard about it. Here is part of the documentation.

In order to document your ride, the Iron Butt Association requires that obtain an eyewitness to document the start of your ride. Witnesses for the basic SaddleSore 1000 and Bun Burner 1500 may be a friend (but not one on the ride with you), spouse or even gas station attendant willing to answer a letter from the IBA about your start or end time. If a passenger is on the ride with you, please ask your witnesses to sign the form for them also.

Make sure that you inform potential witnesses that the Iron Butt Association may be auditing certain aspects of your ride and may be sending them a letter with a copy of the page they signed asking them to verify the information provided. Receipts are your primary concern, however, a good witness has "saved" many rides, so try to pick the best witness possible to see you start or end your ride. Keep in mind that a witness who doesn't bother to respond to an audit letter or phone call is as good as having no witness at all!

If a witness someone you know, a short thank you note after you complete your ride is always appreciated. Besides, many of them will be waiting to hear how you did. If you can read .pdf files (Adobe Acrobat) and want to see a deluxe "Thank You" letter, click here. Most thank you letters are not that deluxe!

Try to remember that you are a salesperson each time you approach someone to sign your witness form. If someone doesn't want to provide their home address - suggest they give a business address. According to experienced riders, taking a few minutes to explain your ride to potential witnesses will get them involved. Most people will actually feel honored to sign your witness form. However, attitude plays a key role, if someone refuses to sign your book, don't argue, move on to the next person.

Many IBA members also volunteer to be witness, you might want to check http://www.saddlesore.com/witness/witness.htm to see if there are any close to your start or end points.

 

That's a good question. I thought the gas receipts would have been adequate, but then I suppose a person could be in a car and get the same receipts, so in that regard it does make some sense.

Why don't you want the hotel guy to witness it. I would just walk up to the front desk and put them on the spot. They can't really say no since you're a paying customer. Heck, get them to witness it before you hit the hay. Then when you submit the forms provide a note saying that you left in the middle of the night blah blah. Buy gas when you leave at 04:00 to document your start time.

I think they're reasonable people at IBA.

 

I get what you are saying but based on training in the career field that I am , I would not sign anything like that. Especially some sketchy sounding story about riding for 1k miles. I will list the hotel and show my hotel receipt adn if they need to audit, they can call the dude and confirmed that I showed up and left on an MC. I have been posting pics in another thread as well that shows that I have been on an MC ride. Plus I can provide 50 witnesses from the East Co neighbors, co-workers, etc. that can vouch that I rode my MC, solo, from CO to VA and then back.

 

My experience with the IBA is that everything has to be by the books, they have those rules for a reason and if they make an exception for you they would have to do it for everybody. I would think the hotel staff would be more than happy to do it for $20. Without a starting witness i bet they don't certify the ride.

 

Hey zeus,

No. I have thought about one, but my greater concern with one is it will prevent my handling of the bike in rough conditions. Many trails I have been on I have to sort of walk the bike through and that does toss me about a bit. I think the backrest may do more harm than good???

I do wear a very wide kidney belt with a fleece lining that does hold me more upright, or reminds me to sit upright when I start slouching.

Ride safe

 

I did my I.B.ride on 07-07-07.
.
Just short of 1100 miles in 17 hours - my b.i.l rode too. Gas receipts and a begin and end witness is all I submitted which got me the award.
.
I did it on a soft tail classic - it would have been much easier with my current SEUC with the back rest

 

Saddlesore 1000 on the 883C Sportster I had
Saddlesore 1000 on my Street Bob (that ride set 2 records for worlds largest saddlesore ride and largest all in Virginia Saddlesore ride)
Saddlesore 2000 on the Street Bob which also resulted in qualifying for another Saddlesore 1000 and Bun Burner 1500

I did another Saddlesore 1000 on the Street Bob but never sent the paperwork in

The Saddlesore 2000 was a great experience but very exhausting. My wrist was so damn sore for a week or 2 afterwards. I don't think I'll ever attempt that one again. I would like to do a Bun Burner 1500 Gold though. It is about 1500 miles back to Oklahoma and I have been thinking of trying to do that ride within 24 hours, it would be tough though. I remember driving my old S-10 pickup out there in 24 hours and I could barely walk when i got there after being scrunched up in that little truck. multiple packs of smokes and Mt Dew helped me on the way.

 

I just completed my Saddle Sore ride, I just gave an update.
I was in Crossville, TN yesterday as one of the stops.

1,136.6 miles total, in under 20 hours.

I'm looking forward to doing another (longer) one.

 

I did a saddle sore 1000 from Omaha to Sturgis and back before the rally kicked off last year. Rode 1,200 miles in 18 hours on my Night Train with no wind shield and a stock seat. The next day when I was going through my receipts, I found I was missing two of them, dont know why or how. So I have to redo it this year, then Ill be looking to do the 1500 in less than 24. Ill be making sure I dont lose any receipts this year!