There’s a fair chance that you have not heard about the Iron Butt Association, outside of perhaps some assortment of “posterior” jokes. Even as a motorcyclist with 9+ years of nearly continuous riding experience (as of Spring 2020), I had not come across the term ‘IBA’ until my delightful comeuppance with the ST Owners riding community. While one could jump right into the IBA story, I’d instead like to take some time to setup this journey which spans three-quarters of a decade of learning and experiences: so kindly bear with me 🏍️🏍️🏍️ :)

Early on in my motorcycling life journey, I realized that my 2-wheeled riding identify was that of a “long-distance touring” rider (signifying my preference for long rides of 100 miles or more, over shorter jaunts). Broadly speaking, this touring category can be further split into a] Cruiser Touring (think the big bagger Harleys, Indians, Victorys etc) b] Sport Touring (BMW K-series, Honda ST series, Yamaha FJRs, Kawasaki Concourses etc) and c] Adventure Touring (BMW R-GSes, Honda Africa Twins, Yamaha Super Teneres, etc) based on the type of motorcycle. Most of my bikes (4 out of 5) have been in either the Sport or Adventure touring category except for a 2-month stint when I had a mid-size Yamaha cruiser (my back regretted it, despite enjoying the motorcycling experience itself). …