2011 Gypsy MC Iron Butt Run by Wild Bill and Raoul

July/23/2011 Filed in: Event Summaries
The 2011 Gypsy MC Iron Butt was run on June 18th - our traditional Father’s Day Weekend Event. The Paris Chapter has managed our Iron Butt for two years and this year’s event included a lucky thirteen riders. Paris President Jumpy and Secretary Feathers rode to Victoria, the southern command headquarters. Wild Bill and Peach managed the northern command headquarters from Denton.

First, a little history on the Gypsy MC Iron Butt. Our endurance ride was established in 2004 by a former Gypsy named Mount-N and was fashioned after one of the Iron Butt Association’s more modest challenges, the Saddlesore 1000. The Iron Butt Association (IBA), is a group of over 24,000 members worldwide. The IBA is dedicated to safe, long-distance, endurance motorcycle riding and several different endurance rides. The Saddle Sore 1000 most closely parallels the Gypsy MC Iron Butt. The general idea for both the IBA and Gypsy events is to ride a thousand miles in twenty-four hours or less. The IBA Saddle Sore 1000 allows the rider to establish their own route; the Gypsy MC Iron Butt route is pre-established and changes each year. Since the IBA event is “self guided” documentation is required to earn a pin, a license plate back and a certificate. The Gypsy event establishes a route with check points where the rider’s name and time are recorded by Gypsy volunteers. Typically there is a starting point and at least two check points - the starting point is also the ending point. Although the first, i.e., 2004 Gypsy MC Iron Butt route did not meet the requirements for the IBA, subsequent Gypsy events have been planned so the participant can earn both Gypsy MC and IBA recognition. The Gypsy MC award has always included a patch and most importantly, bragging rights. A plaque, with riders names and times commemorates the first two Gypsy Iron Butt rides (2004 is hung in the Big “D” clubhouse - 2005 is in the Gypsy museum). From 2006 through 2010 only patches were issued and, in 2011 a patch and certificate were awarded each rider completing the course.

The demands of endurance motorcycle riding cannot be under emphasized; a thousand miles ridden in a twenty-four period requires a rider to be in good physical and mental condition and his or her motorcycle to be mechanically sound. A thousand mile ride should take approximately eighteen hours without requiring the rider to sustain excessive speeds to accomplish. The IBA offers a list of riding tips, called their “Archive of Wisdom” that summarizes the experience of many riders and offers them as a handy reference guide. Tips include: knowing your limits and planning your trip around them, discouraging high speed riding, forgetting use of stimulants like coffee and “no doze”, preparing your motorcycle before the trip, packing wisely and keeping personal items easily accessible, avoiding boredom and knowing when to stop.

The Iron Butt (either IBA or Gypsy MC) is not a ride for the casual or novice rider; it’s a serious challenge that is accepted by only a few members each year. The Gypsy Iron Butt celebrated its eighth anniversary in 2011. The rally is opened to Gypsy members and prospects only and requires participants ride one thousand miles in twenty-four hours or less. The ride is not intended to be a race but the time required for each participant to complete the run is recorded and listed in order of completion. The first ride started in Dalla
s and ran five hundred miles into west Texas, turned around and retraced it’s tracks back to Dallas. The time for Big “D” member Attaboy, who finished first, was fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes; a total of eleven riders completed the first rally. In 2005, twenty-seven riders started the ride and twenty-three riders finished. Fort Bend member Shrek bettered Attaboy’s time by two minutes (there’s a story behind this record - see http://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=8607) and three other riders came in at less than fifteen hours and eight minutes. Ten riders completed in 2006 with Snap-On coming in the earliest at sixteen hours and nine minutes. In 2007 seven riders completed the ride and thirteen finished in 2008. I don’t have a record of who or how many rode in 2009 and I think that only one rider, Hill Country member Cherri-O started and finished in 2010. It’s good to see the number of riders in 2011 increase - I hope this is a sign that more riders will sign up next year.

Okay, now on to Wild Bill’s report on this year’s Iron Butt.

The mileage for both routes was a little over 1000 miles total. Fifteen riders participated in this year’s Iron Butt (fourteen are listed below - unfortunately, records for the fifteenth rider seem to have been misplaced - the rider was from Harlingen - please shout out and we’ll add you to the permanent record). Seven started out of Georgetown (the northern route) and five out of Victoria, the souther route. Also, one rider started from other check points - Jennings, Corpus Christi and Harlengen. You may notice that two riders were way over the mileage of the others on the south route. They participated in another event during the Iron Butt, and this caused their mileage to be about 80 miles more than the others. Also, I heard that Lost Boy and Wingman both took a wrong turn in Wichita, Kansas, which added a few extra miles to their ride.

T
his year, awards included both an Gypsy MC Iron Butt patch and a certificate of completion. The best times this year came from Lost Boy (seventeen hours and eight minutes) and H.O.B. (seventeen hours and fifteen minutes) Their times were very close (7 minutes difference) even though they each rode a different route.

Especially impressive was was Philip Hernandez & Lydia Valenta, who rode the Ironbutt 2up starting out of Victoria. They say it takes more love to share the saddle than to share the bed. If this is true, then these two may be together for life.

The official times are listed below and verified by Wild Bill, V.P. Paris Chapter Gypsy MC International GFFG

South Route

Carl "H.O.B." Webb, Jennings 1012 mi. in 17hrs 15min.
Milten "Dred" Wilson 1101 mi. in 21hrs 45min.
Michael Morten 1120mi. in 21hrs 45min
Jim Fidler 1026mi. in 22hrs 2min
Philip Hernandez & Lydia Valenta 1048mi. in 22hrs 2min
Carol "Mickey Mouse" Rynearson 1040mi. in 18hrs 5min

North Route
John "Tater Tot" Tygart 1057 miles in 21hrs 10min
Michael "T" Spears 1021 miles in 21hrs 10min
Brenda "This A Way" Pittman 1044 miles in 21hrs 20min
Jim "Wingman" Hartness 1075 miles in 20hrs 1min
Jake "Lost Boy" Morgan 1058 miles in 17hrs 8min
Kim "Mistit" 1040 miles in 20hrs 31min
Cherri "Cherri-O" Forbess 1046miles in 20hrs 4min

Congratulations to all the 2011 riders and to Gypsy MC Paris chapter members Wild Bill, Jumpy and Feathers for there efforts in bringing this challenge to the club.

0 Comments