Big As Texas Party

IBA BIG-AS-TEXAS PARTY
Allen, Texas 2018

The Iron Butt Association will once again be holding its annual event and rides centered around the Memorial 1000 season held each Fall. The rides and party will be held on October 17-October 21, which is also the final weekend available for completing a Memorial Ride in 2018.

THIS YEAR'S EVENT WILL BE A VAST IMPROVEMENT OVER PREVIOUS YEARS!!

We will be holding a series of seminars and information sessions on Thursday, October 18, given by riders with particular expetise in thier subjects. Areas of discussion include

Rally Management

Rally Routing for new rally riders

Rally Routing for experienced rally riders

European Touring

Basecamp (there will be three sessions on this)

Spotwalla, Bubbler, Spot and other satellite tracking systems

How to fix a flat

Which aux lites are best

And others!

Attendance at these seminars is optional--if you have the time to attend, you will certainly enjoy yourself and leave with more knowledge in the subject.

THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR THESE SEMINARS!!

Festivities will include a good old fashioned BIG-AS-TEXAS Style Dinner which will be served Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. and will include some fine Texas food. A cash bar will also be available for those who enjoy an ice cold beverage with your meal. We will have a short presentation after dinner, however the goal of the two day party is to get a chance to meet fellow long-distance riders, share stories of your Memorial Rides, and do some tire kicking as well!

We have a limited number of rooms blocked at the hotel for those attending the party, at $89 per night single/$99 per night double including breakfast. The hotel does NOT charge for parking or Internet usage. Once your registration is complete, we will forward you the link to obtain the negotiated room rate available only to attendees. To recieve the reduced rate, you must make your reservation through the provided link – NOT through the corporate number or website – so please wait to receive the link if you want to be sure to get a reserved room.

The BIG-AS-TEXAS PARTY will continue the tradition of hosting a unique SaddleSore ride for attendees wishing to complete a themed 1,000 mile day, as well as a more challenging 1,500 miles ride (BBG). We will also have an opportunity for riders to hone thier rallying skills by bonus hunting during these rides. If you have never entered a rally, here’s your chance to taste what everybody is excited about! Ridemaster Danny Dossman has created these two intense challenges around Texas.

For those coming to ‘kick tires’ with fellow IBAers, there will be ample time on Friday to do just that. While the SaddleSore and Bun Burner Gold riders are out on Friday evening, there will be a no-host dinner (that means you pay your own way) at a medium price/nice restaurant near the hotel. In prior years, we went to a fantastic barbeque place and to a very good Italian restaurant. Once we know how many of us will be at dinner, our all-knowing Dallas residents will set up a nice place for a group dinner.

Festivities include an award ceremony on Saturday at 4 PM where IBA President Michael Kneebone will present certificates to those riders who completed any of the rides detailed below, and to those riders doing certificate rides into Dallas for the event. Following this ceremony, at 6 PM we will have a good old fashioned BIG-AS-TEXAS Style Dinner. A cash bar will also be available for those who enjoy an ice cold beverage with your meal. We will have a short presentation--you won't want to miss this--after dinner, however the goal of the two day party is to get a chance to meet fellow long-distance riders, share stories of your Memorial Rides, and do some tire kicking as well!

NOTE: IN ORDER TO PARTIPATE IN EITHER RIDE YOU MUST ALSO BE SIGNED UP FOR THE BIG AS TEXAS PARTY. HOWEVER, YOU MAY SIGN UP FOR THE PARTY ONLY WITHOUT SIGNING UP FOR EITHER RIDE. SEE REGISTRATION DETAILS BELOW.

***** The Big As Texas Party is always a fun event with its opportunity for a unique themed ride. This year’s BAT Party will feature a most unique opportunity and a hard riding adventure. Sign up today for the Big As Texas Rally featuring all the Texas bonus locations of the epic 2017 Iron Butt Rally. Yes, that’s right, 2017 IBR Routing Master Jeff Earls has granted the Big As Texas event exclusive use of the 2017 IBR Rally Book, edited down to the 24 Texas bonuses. There are two versions of the BAT Rides:

BAT SaddleSore 1,000

A preplanned route, of slightly over 1,000 miles, taking you to several notable oil wells throughout the state. Just take a [icture of the well with your rally flag in the photo and email it to BAT Rally Central. IBR picture standards will be in effect. Of course, you’ll have to be back at the Allen, Texas check point within the allotted 24 hours.

To document your ride, commemorative Big As Texas Rally Flags are issued at sign in. If you have never used a Rally flag, please visit: Rally Flag 101

2018 BAT Saddlesore 1000 route:

To be announced.

Click here for larger map image.

The route will be provided in multiple popular formats as well as written GPS co-ordinates and street addresses (where available) no later than 72 hours prior to the 6am Friday October 6th start of the ride so you will have time to set-up your GPS. While the route is fairly simple, using a GPS will simplify following the route and finding the required check in locations. The riders meeting on the morning of the ride should be brief.

If this will be your first Iron Butt event, just think of the bragging rights you’ll have completing the iconic SaddleSore 1000 by visiting historic Texas bonus locations to earn your BAT Rally SS1K Finisher status.

Successful finishers will receive their personalized certificate from IBA President Michael Kneebone at 4pm Saturday at a special presentation preceding the dinner. Registration for the BAT Rally Saddlesore 1000 is $60.18 and is completed when you register for the event at

To be announced

Successful finishers will receive their personalized certificate from IBA President Michael Kneebone at 4pm Saturday at a special presentation preceding the dinner. Registration for the BAT Rally is $60.17 and is completed when you register for the event at

To be announced

***** Note: These rides are open to IBA BIG-AS-TEXAS PARTY participants only. In addition to being a fun option for current IBA members, it's a great opportunity for potential IBA members to earn their first certificate, personally presented to you by IBA President Michael Kneebone at a special presentation at 4:00 pm Saturday and then join us for the festivities at our annual dinner. In addition, there will be awards presented at the dinner for Memorial Ride participants who have reached the 5,000 and 10,000 mile participation levels, as well as recognition of the rider currently holding the most Memorial Ride miles. Trust me, you do NOT want to miss out on this great event!

IBA staff will start arriving at the hotel Wednesday, October 17th. Last year's event was a sellout, and this year, the Saturday night BIG-AS-TEXAS PARTY and the BAT Rally and BAT Rally Saddlesore 1000 space is limited and will likely sell out. We pay for the use of the facilities, so even if you do not want to eat, everyone must pay to enter. Everyone who wishes to attend must register BEFORE Octoner 1, 2018. We expect a large turnout, so to avoid disappointment, we suggest you register as soon as possible. Only Iron Butt Association (IBA) members, their guests or those registering to do a certified ride-in may attend the party. Space is limited and once we are out of room, well, we are out of room....

To reserve your entry to the party you will have to register on-line and pay via PayPal, $59.18 US per person. Please do NOT send cash or checks to the IBA as your registration will not be able to be confirmed. Please drop us a note if the account name for PayPal is different from the name you use to register.

The registration web page can be found at To be announced

IMPORTANT!

If you have problems or questions when registering please contact HEntmanmd@gmail.com. Your confirmation letter, along with exact directions, the hotel room reservation link and contact information, will be emailed to you after you register. These are not computer generated and it may take a few days to receive this email; we appreciate your patience. No worries though - as long as you follow the registration link in a reasonable time after you get the letter, there will be a hotel room available for you if you've registered and paid for the event. Your dinner ticket(s) will be available for pick up at the door - nothing will be snail mailed to you.

A personal word from the President himself:

“I look forward to seeing each of you at the BIG-AS-TEXAS PARTY in Dallas!”

Michael Kneebone
President, Iron Butt Association

REFUND DEADLINE:

Because the IBA party and rides require a certain level of administrative and hotel support, the refund deadline is September 15, 2018 - our deadline for turning in space and meal commitments to the hotel as well as ordering ride supplies. After that there will not be any refunds. However, if weather is not cooperative on the day of the ride, or you can not otherwise make the start line, you may complete these rides up to two years later (including later BIG-AS-TEXAS PARTY events) and apply via snail mail.

Please respect our intellectual property rights. Do not distribute this document, or portions therein, without the written permission of the Iron Butt Association.