The Iron Butt Association (IBA) is a US-based organization dedicated to endurance motorcycle riding with a claimed over 50,000 members world-wide who tout themselves as the "World's Toughest Riders." One of its more popular slogans is "The World Is Our Playground."
The IBA does not have membership in a traditional sense. There are no formal meetings and no monthly newsletter. There are no mandatory yearly dues, although members can voluntarily pay an annual fee to become a premiere member. Premiere members receive occasional news and information from the IBA staff, early notice of some events, additional chances to enter some events, discounted entry fees for some events, and access to special areas of the web-based discussion board.
The IBA is a loose-knit organization with only one way to earn membership: ride one of the several rides the IBA certifies. The minimum is the Saddle Sore 1000 – 1,000 miles (1,600 km) miles in 24 hours or less. Entry into the Iron Butt Rally is by lottery only and every lottery entry must be an Iron Butt Member first. Rally workers and supporters (and Premiere members, as mentioned above) are granted extra chances in the lottery process. A certain number of entrants are drawn from pools that include volunteers, veterans and Premier members. Those that were not drawn from those are then put in with the other applications and the remainder of the entrants are drawn from that pool.
Read more about Iron Butt Association: History, IBA Sanctioned Events
Famous quotes containing the words iron, butt and/or association:
“Industrial man—a sentient reciprocating engine having a fluctuating output, coupled to an iron wheel revolving with uniform velocity. And then we wonder why this should be the golden age of revolution and mental derangement.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“When Dad can’t get the diaper on straight, we laugh at him as though he were trying to walk around in high-heel shoes. Do we ever assist him by pointing out that all you have to do is lay out the diaper like a baseball diamond, put the kid’s butt on the pitcher’s mound, bring home plate up, then fasten the tapes at first and third base?”
—Michael K. Meyerhoff (20th century)
“The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.”
—French National Assembly. Declaration of the Rights of Man (drafted and discussed August 1789, published September 1791)