Iron Butt Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge
© 2001, Iron Butt Association, Chicago, Illinois
Please respect our intellectual property rights. Do not distribute this
document, or portions therein, without the written permission of the Iron
Butt Association. The Ultimate Coast to Coast is a
trademark of the Iron Butt Association.
Last Revision: June 5, 2008 - always check that these are the current
rules before starting your ride! Note: The Iron Butt Association web
site always has the current rules.
WHAT'S REQUIRED:
Your ride needs to be completely documented (steps outlined below) and
cross North America from Key West, Florida to Deadhorse, Alaska (also
known as Prudhoe Bay, Alaska) in 30 days or less. The ride can be
completed in either direction; Alaska to Florida OR Florida to Alaska
You must ride the same motorcycle for the entirety of the ride, NO SWAPPING
of motorcycles allowed. If you break down, you must repair your motorcycle
before continuing and return to the point it broke down and continue your trip.
WARNING: Due to the tragedy in New York City on 9/11/2001, there has been
renewed talk of closing the road to Deadhorse. You should check to insure
the road is open to the public before attempting this ride. Additionally, this ride will
take you to the far-north. You can expect snowy conditions EVERY MONTH
of the year. The most practical times to plan this ride is in July and August.
Even then, you may face snow storms, road construction and endless miles
of impassable road. Additionally, in Canada and Alaska you are dealing
with more wildlife than in the rest of North America. You should be prepared
for encounters with bears, moose and other large animals that will cross
your path.
NOTE: If you are carrying large fuels cells, you still MUST
stop at least once every 400 miles to obtain a gas receipt.
NOTE: These rules serve as a guideline. When you are on the road,
concentrate on finishing the ride without an accident. If you lose one
receipt, we can generally reconstruct your claim without a problem.
For example, do not backtrack just to obtain a missing gas receipt!
PREPARATION FOR THE START (assumes Key West start):
You MUST take a picture of you AND YOUR motorcycle in front of a Key West
landmark. For example, a "Welcome to Key West, Florida' sign or the
large concrete marker on the south-west side of the island proclaming you
have reached the southern most point of the United States.
Find at least one police officer, firefighter, judge, notary public or
authorized Iron Butt Association member willing to sign your witness form
(sample attached). You may fill out the witness section with the Police
Station/Fire House address. Ask the officer to supply his badge number
and note it on the witness form. Should you be unable to find a
willing police officer (please note that to date, this is rarely
a problem - it is easier than it sounds) or you wish to
start your ride from a motorcycle dealership, the Iron Butt
Association will gladly accept the signature of any two dealership
employees. If that is not possible, you will have to find at least
three (3) independent eye-witnesses.
Fill up your gas tank and obtain a computer printed gas receipt with a
legible date and time stamp.
* * THE COMPUTER TIME STAMP WILL BE YOUR OFFICIAL STARTING TIME * *
The following log entries and completed witness forms are mandatory:
1. Log entries must be made at each gas stop. A log entry includes
the following information; DATE, TIME, TIME ZONE, LOCATION (i.e. Yuma,
AZ) and ODOMETER reading. A receipt must accompany each log book
entry. All gas receipts must be readable and it is vital that we
can read the date, city, state and number of gallons purchased. If
the city is not pre-printed, ask the clerk to include a mailing address
or contact phone number.
2. Log entries must be made at each stop longer than 10 minutes (for
example a rest stop). Each entry must include the start time and
ending time. Meals are considered rest stops - don't forget to obtain
a restaurant receipt.
3. If your route includes any toll roads or bridges, you must obtain a
dated receipt and make a log entry.
When you reach Deadhorse, Alaska, if possible, obtain a
computer-printed gas receipt with a legible date and time stamp.
Also, obtain the business phone number (usually just asking for
a business card of the gas station will take care of this requirement).
* * THE COMPUTER TIME STAMP BE YOUR OFFICIAL ENDING TIME * *
If a computer receipt is not available (afterall, Deadhorse is really nothing
but a few trailers!), we will accept time stamps from
any Deadhorse, Alaska business.
After you get the gas receipt, find at least two (2) independent
eye-witnesses OR one police officer, firefighter, judge, notary public
or authorized Iron Butt Association member willing to sign your witness
form (sample attached). Please note that Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay has
very few actual residents. Most people live in other areas, and work
several weeks on and off. Make sure you get an address of a witness where
they can get mail several weeks after you submit your ride documentation.
You MUST take a picture of you AND YOUR motorcycle in front of a Deadhorse/Prudhoe
Bay landmark. For example, the "Prudhoe Bay Inn" sign or the
Deadhorse airport sign on one of the hangers.
Before sending for your award, take a map and circle the cities
you stopped in (don't forget the start and ending points) for
gas/food/etc (a Xerox of a map is acceptable). We use this map to
assist the person verifying the routes (several riders turned in
winding, twisting routes that sometimes took hours to find the small
towns they stopped in).
To obtain your award, (a paper certificate and an Ultimate Coast to Coast
pin), forward a set of copies of your documentation and a check
(U.S. currency) to:
Iron Butt Association
P.O. Box 9450
Naperville, IL 60567-9450
* * Retain your original documentation - only send copies! * *
Please make your check payable to the "Iron Butt Association". Please
note that we do not make any money on this ride, this is our
approximate cost of administrating this program.
Before we can issue your award, you may be asked to clarify
certain aspects of your ride and/or documentation. Additionally,
certain aspects of your ride are subject to audit which may delay the
final determination of your claim for the award.
Provided your documentation is in order, your time will be computed as
follows:
Local time at finish - local starting time +/- time zone changes as
required. (Please provide your time claim so that if we do not match
your numbers, we can contact you).
We strongly caution that these rules are guidelines. Out on the road
it may not be possible to follow these rules to the letter. If that
happens, please explain any problem you encountered and we will do our
best to work out a solution. For example, on the 50cc Quest, 49 hours
and 44 minutes into the ride and needing a good receipt to stop the
clock, one person could not find a gas station with a
computer generated receipt (obviously, our favorite type), so she got
six locals to witness the time she arrived. Her other documents
clearly supported her claim of riding from Jacksonville, Florida to
San Diego, California in the time-frame she claimed so we did not
hesitate to process her award.
If you have any questions about this ride, you may write to the Iron
Butt Association at kneebone@ironbutt.com
Obtaining Suitable Eyewitnesses for Iron Butt Association rides:
In order to complete an Iron Butt Association ride, we require that
you obtain "independent corroboration" in the form of signed
authentication by independent, impartial adult witnesses. Attached is
a sample witness form that is designed to comply with Iron Butt
Association requirements (although our sample is typed, you don't need
anything that fancy). Additionally, you will need to maintain a log
book in chronological order. Each entry in this log must contain the
following information:
Date and time of stop, location (city and state) and odometer reading
(sample attached).
Generally speaking, you will need to find one police officer at both
the start and end of your ride to witness the date, time and location.
According to riders that have attempted these rides, you can easily
(usually) find police officers to sign your log book. However, there
may be times when you need to ask several officers to find one that
will be willing to be your witness. Getting an officer to sign your
book may take a bit of salesmanship on your part. Persistence pays
off - just keep asking officers until successful. Before attempting
this ride, it is highly recommended that you print up some sample
forms and practice at a local police department.
==> If you wish to start your ride from a motorcycle dealership, the
Iron Butt Association will <==
==> gladly accept the signature of any two dealership employees. <==
Should you not be able to obtain Police Eyewitnesses or start in a
motorcycle shop, you may substitute three independent people (however,
they may not be fellow riders that are also trying the ride with
you!).
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. Remember, a witness who doesn't
bother to respond to an audit letter is as good as having no witness
at all! To this extent, it is highly recommended that you send a
thank you note to all of your witnesses after you complete your ride.
Besides, many of them will be waiting to hear how you did.
Try to remember that you must act as a salesperson each time you
approach someone to sign your log. 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.
EYEWITNESS FORM
Ultimate Coast to Coast Witness Form
Date: ______________________ Local Time:______________
License Number: ____________ Odometer Reading: _______
Miles
(Kilometers)
License State: ____________ Make & Model: ___________
___________
This witness form is for: _____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
(Riders Name and address)
The location of this stop is: ________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
First Witness (Please Print) Second Witness (Please Print)
Witness Name: ___________________________ ___________________________
Address: ___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________ ___________________________
Signature: ___________________________ ___________________________
Phone: ___________________________ ___________________________
(Note: Obtaining a phone number where we can contact your eyewitnesses
will speed up the issuing of your award)
LOG
Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge:
__________________________________________________
(Fill in Name and Address above)
DATE TIME LOCATION ODOMETER READING
(include zone)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Checklist of documents needed for the Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge:
___ Copies of Witness forms (starting and ending, others)
___ Copies of Receipts (do not send originals!)
___ Map (may be photocopy) showing route with towns stopped in circled
___ Explanation of any problems encountered, for example, "In central
Illinois, at my third gas stop, I was unable to get a dated
receipt. I asked the attendant to sign his name on the back
but he refused to do so. The phone number of the station is
(555) 555-1212 - he will verify that I was there at 10 a.m.
on August 4, 2001."
If you wish to have a SaddleSore 1000, 2000 or
Bun-Burner 1500 certified on the same ride, there are
some savings for us in postage and administrative costs
that we can pass on to you.
Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge (complete package, verification,
pin, and certificate): $55.00
If desired, SaddleSore 2,000 verification and certificate $20.00
If desired, SaddleSore 1,000 verification and certificate $20.00
If desired, Bun-Burner 1,500 verification and certificate $20.00
If desired, Bun-Burner GOLD verification and certificate $20.00
Additional Ultimate Coast to Coast pin if desired $10.00
Total Enclosed: _________
Also, please complete the following information for your certificate
(it goes to the person that does the certificate and not the verification
team):
Rides completed (circle all that you are applying for) Ultimate
Coast to Coast Challenge, SaddleSore 1000, SaddleSore 2000,
Bun-Burner 1,500, Bun Burner GOLD:
Address to send your award to (since the certificate package is
nine inches by 14 inches, it is best to us a work or other address
with a large mailbox):
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Contact phone number(s), best time to reach you:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
If you have one, your e-mail address: ___________________________
Name you want on certificate: ___________________________________
(for example, Jonathan J. Smith, SR or John Smith)
Your age (only used for statistics): _________
Circle One (only used for statistics): Male Female
Did you do this ride with anyone else? Y/N If so, who:
______________________________________________________________
Date of start: ___________________ (for example, May 5, 2001)
Motorcycle make/model ridden: _______________________________
Note: this is used on your certificate. For example, do you want
us to list your Honda Gold Wing as a Honda GL1500 or do you want
us to list it as a Honda Gold Wing. You may also include a
model year if you want, for example; 1993 Honda Gold Wing.
Actual time from start to finish: Days: _________ Hours: ________ Minutes: ________
Miles Ridden according to your odometer: _______________________
Note: These will probably be changed by the verification team.
If you used a GPS (Global Positioning Device) and noted your
mileage, please enter that reading here: _______________________
Start and end Cities/towns your ride included:
Name of start city: ______________________________________
Note: for the **certificate** you may substitute a large coastal city
nearby if you want; for example, if you start in Ocean View Beach,
Florida, (a very small community near Jacksonville, Florida), it is
acceptable to put Jacksonville as the starting point for the certificate.
Name of end city ________________________
Note: Same rules apply to these cities as noted above.
SaddleSore/Bun Burner documentation:
If you want to include a SaddleSore 1000, SaddleSore 2000 or Bun Burner
with your award, please list start city, end city and highlight the 24
hour periods you want to use in your trip log (this does not have to be
anything fancy, just mark up in your log, START SaddleSore 1000, END
SaddleSore 1000.
Start City: ______________________________
Note: Same rules apply to these cities as noted above.
Name of end city ________________________
Note: Same rules apply to these cities as noted above.
Miles ridden (please note start and end points in your log): __________
Finally, you must certify that what you are telling us is accurate:
I (print name): _____________________________, hereby certify that the
statements in this application for certification are true to the best
of my knowledge and belief.
Signed: _________________________ Date: ___________
Send the package, along with a check for US funds to (PLEASE DO NOT
USE A STAPLE ON YOUR CHECK) to:
Iron Butt Association
P.O. Box 9450
Naperville, IL 60567-9450
Should you decide to tackle the Ultimate Coast to Coast Challenge, we
wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing about your ride!
Please remember to ride safely as possible and be aware of your
limitations.
| 
Printer-Friendly version