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IBA Big As Texas Party- Republic of Texas 1000, and the 'councilman'

CaptRehkopf

New member
IBA, BIG AS TEXAS PARTY--THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 1000
AND THE 'COUNCILMAN'
You know people tell me all the time that you miss so much when you ride a 1000 miles a day. How can you see anything they ask, and that is somewhat true, BUT on the other hand, in a 1000 miles a lot can be seen and happen. To this I say, I feel strongly both ways.
Last weekend the IBA (Iron Butt Association) had its first meeting/party in Texas, specifically at the Marriott in IRVING, Texas not IRVINE. The difference is important as you'll see later.
The Big as Texas Party was well attended with 100 plus riders signed up for the Republic of Texas 1000. In IBA lingo a 1000 mile ride in 24 hours is the basic entry ride for membership and is called a Saddle Sore 1000 (SS1000). However, the Republic of Texas 1000 required a little more than just riding 1060 miles in this ride. It also required you to 'gather' 8 bonuses, which meant you had to ride the ride in sequence to collect the bonuses, and 'document' the bonuses. The bonuses were:
1) Lone Star BMW's memorial to Ardys Kellerman, ONE of only TWO documented 1,000,000 mile women BMW Riders, in Austin TX;
2) The San Jacinto Monument, the Birthplace of Texas, in La Porte, TX;
3) Texas Heroes Monument in Galveston, TX; where the 72 foot Monument honors those who died in the Battle of San Jacinto;
4) The Battle of Velasco where a battle pre-dating the Alamo occurred and the Treaty between Texas and Mexico was signed;
5) The Stephen F. Austin Statue, The Father of Texas in Angleton TX;
6) Goliad Massacre and Fannin's Grave, Where the Texans were executed by Santa Anna on Palm Sunday 1836;
7) First Shot of the Texas Revolution, in Cost TX,;
8) The Alamo;
Each bonus require you to read the instructions carefully to make sure you had the REQUIRED documentation. Which could mean a picture of the bonus with you in it , just your flag and/or your bike, and/or any combination. This stopping and documenting added extra time and required extra efforts that normally are not done on a simple SS1000.
Attached are my bonuses with some pictures of the Mustangs of Las Colinas.
The 'Councilman': Who says you don't meet anybody while doing a IBA Certificated ride! I was riding alone as usual and happened to catch up with some fellow riders while going to the San Jacinto Monument in/near Houston TX. Never having been to Houston before I decided to follow some riders and there was one that seemed to know exactly where he was going, so I tagged along. And sure enough lead me right to the bonus straight away. Also, I could tell someone was following me he must have been lost too. Well the three of us, plus others arrived and documented the bonus. By this time the sun was up and it was time to take off some winter gear and we all three did. The guy that I followed and the guy that follow me, we agreed to ride together. I should have been more observant because the guy I follow began to get out his PAPER instructions and ask where do we go next? Big clue I missed in the excitement, he didn't have a GPS or a clue of where he was going! That didn't bother me because if he wanted to follow I didn't have a problem with it. What I didn't realize was his bike could only do about 130-150 miles between fuel stops depending on head winds. My bike and the other guys could do 250 miles between stops regardless of head winds. I had a similar problem on my Border to Border ride with my, never met before the ride, wingman who said his bike had a 200 mile range, and he ran out of gas at 120 miles. I said I wouldn't do it again, but I did, so we stopped often, too often. However, I told him that after the Alamo he was on his own which was a straight shot up I-35, it was about 300 miles and I didn't intend to keep stopping and he was OK with that and thanked me for helping him out.
Well as they say here is the rest of the story. The guy was a friend of the Rallymaster and the Rallymaster double dog (not Triple dog) dared him to do the ride. He had not ridden a motorcycle in 10 years, the local Yamaha dealer loaned him the bike, he didn't have any real winter gear, he didn't have a GPS, all he had was gumption and the desire . I have to say he was a good rider and a safe rider or I would have left him at the beginning. Regardless, he finished and to my surprise he was an Irving City councilman and our guest speaker! At the banquet he again thanked me and said he was hurting pretty bad, but it was fun and he's going to do more IBA rides. The ride obliviously didn't go as planned and I was 90 minutes off my finish goal of 1200am, because of having to stop so often for the 'councilman' and we stopped to help a IBR rider who had some mechanical troubles.
All in all the Party was GREAT, the ride was a success, the councilman was a new IBA member, and I made it there and all the way back, so it a completely successful trip.
Ride Safe,
Robert
 

Attachments

  • Ardys Kellerman Memorial (2).jpg
    Ardys Kellerman Memorial (2).jpg
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  • Battle of Velasco (2).jpg
    Battle of Velasco (2).jpg
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  • Fannin's Grave (2).jpg
    Fannin's Grave (2).jpg
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