I've posted frequently on this forum about the ride I did four years ago with some friends -- an ironbutt 48 States in 10 Days ride.

I'm thinking about doing it again, this time as a fundraiser for child abuse prevention. The idea is to invite riders to participate and have them get pledges or sponsors, kind of like the walkathon we did as kids for the March of Dimes. People could pledge a certain amount per state visited, or just make a lump sum donation. I'd like participants to shoot for a minimum of $500 in donations in order to participate.

What do you guys think? Anybody interested? Any tweaks to the idea that you would suggest? I appreciate any input you can offer.

 

Pick me, pick me!!! Can I bring my Panhead? And will there be awards for Most use of Right Leg to start Ride? Slowest bike? Stops at Dentist to get fillings re-cemented? He’s crazy, but damn...!

 

There would have to be an award (a major award at that) for the panhead.

Of the 232 certified finishers of the Ironbutt 48/10, only 32 accomplished the feat on a Harley. Among those:

18 (including one passenger) were Electra Glides (all but one either Ultra or Limited)
5 were Road Glides (one Ultra)
4 (including one passenger) were Road Kings
3 were Street Glides (one CVO)
2 were Dynas
2 were Softails

No panheads yet. You might as well be the first!

 

What is the charity?
Does all the money go to the charity. are you using some of it to pay your expenses ?
Will there be some accountability of money raised vs amount give to the charity?

 

48 states in 10 days??? I can't see that's even possible. Mainly because I couldn't do 10 states in 48 days.

 

Fortunately, they're not all as big as Texas.

 

Good questions. I'm glad you asked.

No money will be used to cover my expenses, and I expect to raise at least $1,000 in donations personally above my expenses. Donations should be made payable to the National Exchange Club Foundation.

The National Exchange Club Foundation engages in child abuse prevention efforts nationwide. Here is a link to the page of the Exchange Club's website about Child Abuse Prevention:

https://www.nationalexchangeclub.org/cap/

I have worked with the NEC Foundation for several years in conjunction with motorcycle ride fundraisers for child abuse prevention. Because they are a 501(c)(3) entity, donations to them are tax deductible. The funds in this case would go directly to the NEC Foundation. One of the cool things about the NEC Foundation is that they can then direct the funds back to the local area from which the funds came. So, if a rider from Michigan wants the funds to go to Michigan, that's where they'll go. Funds raised here in Utah will go to support the Utah County Family Support & Treatment Center, which provides a crisis nursery, education, and counseling for child abuse prevention.

Please let me know if you have other questions. That's the easiest way for me to get information out.

 

I've considered doing something different for a different charity. Just a couple of thoughts I had that I will share.

It may be best if the charity puts something out to add credibility as I am sure that many will have the same questions as 71on72.

Have some way for people to follow you and/or the other riders. Spotwalla is a free website that will provide tracking so anyone who visits a link can see where the rider is and where they have gone.

Try and do a daily update while on the road. Post on a blog or a website, possibly email to sponsors for the riders, etc. Basically let them be part of it.

And lastly there are the legal liability issues of having riders who are not known to you. The charity and potentially the organizer could be responsible should something happen. And while the riders may swear up and down that they would never do such a thing, their families or some innocent bystander who may be injured could. (sorry for being a downer on this but it happens. While the likelihood of something going wrong and it resulting in a Legal issue is somewhat low the impact could be rather large so a conscious decision should be made on this). It may be possible to make it an AMA event and thus have insurance if it is required.

 

Chris,

All good tips, thanks.

We'll definitely have the charity involved in getting out the word. The ride will actually be organized through the Utah Valley Exchange Club, which is organized under the National Exchange Club.

I definitely agree with tracking and a blog. Although it's surprisingly difficult to post a blog at the end of a 1000 mile day, it's definitely important. On our last 48/10, we used something called greenalp, which tracked the android phone one of the riders was using. He (with contributions from all of us) blogged about the ride here: http://48states10days.blogspot.com/. For a future ride, I would like to see us be able to "live stream" a vlog giving periodic updates. Spotwalla is now the much more recognized site/device for location tracking, so that's a likely direction we would go, although I also have a DeLorme (now Garmin) inReach Device that allows for similar tracking and even works in areas without cell phone reception.

As for the legal liability issues, I couldn't agree more. We will, of course, have a waiver for the riders/passengers to sign. We have liability insurance through the Exchange Club too. I may still want to organize either a corporation or limited liability company to further shield club members and riders from the negligence of others. A person is always liable for his or her own negligence, but a proper entity properly used can shield other participants from liability for the negligence of other participants.

 

One point to make on the liability side. You can have all the waivers you want and even if they hold up in court, someone must pay the lawyers and they are not cheap. That is what the insurance is for. And be sure the insurance through the Exchange Club covers you. It may be just as easy to get insurance through the AMA that you have more control over.

And sorry, one other point. Have everyone check their motorcycle insurance policies for mileage limits. Some Geico policies limit riders to 500 miles a day. Not sure if that is all or specific states but better to be safe.

I know exactly how difficult a daily update is after covering 800-1,000 miles a day. I rode in the Iron Butt Rally this summer and to help cover my costs I sold patches and stickers. I also had quite a few friends who wanted to know how I was doing. I was sending a short update via email to two friends of mine who would then send it out to those interested either via email or by posting on another forum. One of the other riders had their spouse provide daily updates on their blog for them.

And that reminds me of one other thought - Patches and Stickers. Consider selling them to give sponsors something for their money. Below is what I had created for me. Stickers were round and patches were square. ParrotHead is my screen name on another forum where I primarily sold them