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It’d been three years since I’d been able to attend the annual Iron Butt Association meetup in Jacksonville, Florida. Opportunities have seemed scarce to reconnect with certain folks in the LD community, what with the cancellation (or late announcement) of several key rallies over the past couple years. When Wolfe Bonham began sending out feelers for interest in his intent to host a new 24-hour rally in Florida, while many riders were to be down in the area anyway, it certainly peaked my interest. This was a welcome excuse to try extra hard to arrange my schedule accordingly and attend “Jax” this year.

The stars aligned and I was able to free up the designated weekend, which as usual falls at the end of Daytona Bike Week on the calendar in early March. I registered for the IBA banquet in mid-January, since it sells out quickly, but still had concerns about the bike at that point due to the lingering fast-idle problem after my alternator replacement. Once I got that issue fixed at the end of January, it took about a week considering registration for the rally, before finally pulling the trigger. I really enjoy attending the IBR finishers’ pizza lunch on Saturday down there, and riding the rally meant that I’d have to miss out on that experience for yet another year. I’d also need to take Monday off work to accommodate my trip home starting a day later (I usually hit the road straight from Stavro’s on Saturday afternoon).

But I’ve always wanted to ride in a Lobo Loco rally, which have always seemed well thought-out and fun. With the IBR back on and a dire lack of other rally opportunities on the horizon, it was just too tempting to pass up, regardless of how little I’d ridden since October. The Jax trip is always good for jump-starting the riding season, so why not a fun one-day rally as a cherry on top, to get the mental gears turning, and spreadsheets dusted off? Plus, as a further enticement to those of us on the fence, Wolfe posted online that stopping by the Stavro’s Pizza party DURING the rally would likely be worth MANY POINTS. OK dammit, I’m in.

February weather continued to do what it does in New England, preventing any opportunities to sneak in a ride to start regaining any sort of in-saddle conditioning for the upcoming trip.

Rally packs were released via email the evening of Feb 21. Over the next couple weeks, the Facebook event page we used for rally chit-chat exploded with comments, questions (many from myself!), and ever-so-patient answers and clarifications from the Rallymaster.

The rally turned out to be distinctly Florida-themed, with bonus locations divided into six major categories:

1. Gator
2. Shark
3. Beachcomber
4. Restaurant
5. Famous Entertainers, and
6. Other.

OK, I love a good theme with cool regional bonus locations to visit, and this one looks like a lot of fun! In an interesting twist, prior to the rally start riders must choose one of three Groups to join:

1. Alligator Wrestlers,
2. Shark Hunters,
3. Beach Combers.

Your group determines which category of bonuses you can claim while out on the rally. So a Shark Hunter can collect Shark bonuses, but not Gator or Beachcomber, etc. All groups can claim the restaurant/famous/other bonuses. There are five combos available that had fairly complex requirements that you must factor in to your routing in order to claim their much bigger points. There is one combo for each of the bonus categories except Other, but we are not required to claim a combo to finish. As promised, there is also a special group photo bonus at the IBR finishers pizza party in Daytona Beach at noon. While also optional, that bonus is worth a lot of points.

As I sliced and diced the GPS waypoint locations in Basecamp and began plotting routes, it became clear that the Rallymaster had done one bang-up job of creating an even playing field amongst the three groups. The bonuses were spread out and timed in such a way that there was no obvious group that seemed better than the others. It was obvious, however, that each group would be focused in a different region of Florida, if you were attempting to find the most competitive routes. Shark Hunters would be going down the Keys, possibly as far as Key West (of course). Alligator Wrestler bonuses were more focused inland and on the central part of the state. Beachcombers were likely to head out the panhandle for their biggest bonuses.

After hours of routing over the first few days, I’d looked at well over 20 different route variations across the three groups, trying to decide which one to join. My best Shark Hunter route seemed like the most points on paper, so that’s what I initially chose. Over coffee that morning, I texted my decision to Wolfe as per the SAFTXT pre-rally bonus some points. This bonus ensured the riders and RM had each others’ numbers for any urgent communications.

As soon as I sent it, I kept thinking about trying to ride out the Keys on a Saturday afternoon during a 24-hour rally….no way man, what was I thinking?! About nine minutes after my first text, I texted again, changing my selection to Alligator Wrestler. My two best gator-wrasslin’ options looked maybe a bit more doable and would hopefully entail less traffic on the smaller two-lane highways (?). Looks like I’ll be seeing a lot more of central Florida on this trip!

We finally got some rain towards the end of February and a bit of warmish (or at least sunny) weather. That melted off some of the recently accumulated snow and salt, cleaning up the roads enough to finally get out for a short ride to see how the ST is feeling these days. March 1 was opening day for Rota Spring Farm, a popular ice cream stand about an hour north of me, so what a great excuse to get back on two wheels again and meet up with a few local riders.

When I got back home, I decided to take advantage of the day’s nicer weather (>50F) and bang out the other pre-rally bonus, PTESTS. This one is meant to test our ability to email properly resized bonus photos from our mobiles to the rallymaster.

“Take a photo of yourself with your motorcycle in your best tropical vacation outfit.”

 

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Southeast MA – Spring Hill WV
Wed Mar 5, 2025
(~496 miles)

Just a few days later, it was time to hit the road. After putting an early-start full day of work in on Wednesday, I geared up and was out the driveway by around 14:30. It was 59 degrees, cloudy, and humid, with a bunch of weather up ahead of me.

The rain hit me on I-84 just past Waterbury and came down steady, not letting up until I got through Scranton on I-81. I stopped for fuel in Dorrance and the weather tapered off to sprinkles and some light showers, with the second heavy band of the big storm system somehow magically splitting around me as I crossed into Maryland.

I pulled off my exit in Spring Mills, West Virginia, just north of Martinsburg, around 22:00, fueling up at the local Sheetz and picking up a steak sub there for a late dinner in my hotel room. Tonight’s accommodation is the affordable Quality Inn next to the interstate, where I’ve stayed several times before. They had some renovation work going on, but my room was clean, comfortable, and most importantly warm and cozy after that slog in the cold rain.

 

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Spring Hill WV – Jacksonville FL
Thu Mar 6, 2025
(~801 miles)

Colder weather is moving in and I can see it creeping as a blue radar blob into the western Alleghenies towards my path southbound via I-81. It looked to be a FRIGID ride down through the hills until North Carolina, where temps would increase to simply COLD, based on the temperature pattern.

Temperatures were in the mid-30s under clear skies as I left the refuge of my cozy hotel around 05:30. It didn’t get any warmer for a long while, in fact dropping to around 30F in the higher elevations of southwest Virginia. Once I got through Fancy Gap, however, the temperature climbed quickly to over 40F in less than 10 minutes! Wow, it felt downright tropical now!

It stayed above 40 through North Carolina and gradually warmed up to 61F or so by the time I was crossing through Georgia and into Florida. As I approached the Jacksonville area, I thought briefly about scoping out the gator bonus located there, since it was likely to be my first bonus of the rally. But I’ve never felt it sportsmanlike to physically visit known rally bonuses prior to the event, since not all riders have the time or means to do it. Instead, I hopped on the western I-295 loop around the city, circling down through some nasty rush-hour traffic to the host hotel at the southern edge of town.

The Ramada Inn Mandarin was a familiar and (mostly) welcome sight after several trips down here. While affordable and boasting a super accommodating layout and friendly staff, the place has suffered from neglect, especially after changing ownership a few years back. Everyone is aware of the problem, but the IBA just hasn’t been able to secure another venue with reasonable prices for this particular weekend, which also coincides with a local pro golf tournament in addition to all the Bike Week visitors to the region.

It was nice to be greeted with a couple familiar faces at the entrance, my friend Gerry hanging out with Wolfe as he conducted odometer checks for arriving rally riders. I was not concerned with applying for a Saddlesore certificate during the rally, and the odo check wasn’t otherwise required nor worth any points, so I elected to skip it. I was feeling the mileage of the trip down, as usual after a couple months with hardly any riding. All I wanted was to check in, get a shower, and relax.

Despite having done the hotel’s online check-in, the process was not very quick at the front desk, though the girl checking me in was a peach. They gave me a decent room on the south side of the building, ground floor so I could park outside it. It was expectedly aged and somewhat squalid, but everything seemed to be working, and I’m pretty sure the shower water was cleaner than I was. 😀

Not a lot going on Thursday nights as a lot of the event attendees are usually out riding whatever locally-based certification rides the IBA has offered up for the occasion. Gerry and I got some grub from the nearby Whole Foods buffet like we’d done my last time down and enjoyed it sitting outdoors, somewhat of a treat for us New Englanders in early March!

Back in the hotel bar, I enjoyed a free Yuengling beer, courtesy of the IBA (thanks!) while chatting and catching up with a few other rider attendees hanging about the hotel today. Then for some reason the bar cranked up the background music really loud, making conversation all but impossible and it was time to hit the hay.

 

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Jacksonville FL
Fri Mar 7, 2025

The next day was a zero-mile day. I enjoyed a nice long breakfast and conversation in the hotel cafe with good people, greeting a lot more riders who had arrived at the hotel later last night or were returning from their certificate rides this morning.

After 10:00, I wandered in to the function room adjoining the cafe that was designated Rally HQ for the Snowbirds event. Chatted with Wolfe and Karine a bit while completing my rally registration (waiver signed, Spotwall link verified, etc). Each rider received a small hand-made Florida trinket related to their chosen group — a gator tooth necklace in the case of us Alligator Hunters…a very nice touch!

I also scoped out the rally trophies on display in the room — they are always interesting and creatively sculpted for the Lobo Loco rallies, based on all the pics I’ve seen. He had trophies for places 1st – 3rd, top 2-up team, and top rider from each group.

Part of registration was the interesting step of sealing of each rider’s driver license into a small manilla “Angel envelope”, as Wolfe calls them. Meaning, if we are perfect little angels while out riding the rally and obey all traffic laws, the license is expected to remain sealed in that envelope until the finish. An unsealed envelope would result in a points penalty large enough to take any rider out of a top finish position. While I can envision several legitimate reasons these days why a rider may need to show ID besides a cop stop, I think it’s a good compromise and helps protect the integrity of the event, while leaving strict speed enforcement to the LEOs out on the roads. I’d brought my passport card as well as a copy of my license in case ID was needed for hotel check-in etc. during the rally.

Feeling excited yet under-prepared for the rally after the ride down, I mostly retired to my room for the next few hours, working on my final route, trying to eke out any possible improvements or time savings that I could. I eventually settled on a generally counter-clockwise route that would target the GATORS combo as well as the big group photo bonus in Daytona. The combo requires claiming seven specific bonuses in the Alligator Wrestlers category, plus any three additional locations of that type (so 10 of 18 total). Finally, after making a hotel reservation for the mandatory rest bonus tomorrow night, my route was officially chosen and I could relax a bit now.

The IBA certificate presentations started in the on-site comedy club hall at 16:00 per usual, with a free keg of Yuengling beer tapped and available for all attendees to enjoy. With a rally to ride early tomorrow, I allowed myself a single beer. As usual, there was quite a lot of certificate paper to hand out, but everyone deserved and received their due applause for their riding accomplishments this week.

The banquet followed the presentations, in the usual big function roo. The food was the standard hearty and satisfying buffet fare: fatty beef cuts, salad, mac & cheese, and baked fish. I treated myself to a slice of peanut butter pie, which was OK, if a bit too marshmallow-y.

There were several impressive riding achievements recognized amongst the membership during the banquet, with some rarer high-level certifications awarded to much applause. Paul “LongHaulPaul” Pelland talked about his next crazy half-baked ride idea for riding a 50CC scooter for the 50CC IBA Certification (that’s coast to coast in under 50 hours) to promote his charitable efforts for MS. Is he kidding? When is he not? That doesn’t mean he won’t try it.

But the biggest news was of course Paul Tong’s new post as Iron Butt Rally organizer. Still a commanding presence even in his lovely little yellow-flowered shirt, he received a well-deserved ovation for basically rescuing this most treasured event of the LD community. He made a few brief remarks, hinting that this year’s rally would certainly be different from past years, would be particularly challenging, and admonished all of us entrants to “come ready to ride”. Bring. It. On.

Wolfe had scheduled the main rider meeting for Snowbirds at 21:00, immediately following the banquet. While we were all warned to be present and accounted for in the room or risk being locked out and delayed for our start in the morning, a certain young lady pushed things a little close and ended up knocking on the locked door some 15 seconds late. Wolfe, being the extremely nice/forgiving/Canadian fellow that he is, allowed her in to the meeting with only a wry glance of exasperation. 😐

The meeting tone was light, casual, and fun, but Wolfe covered all the bases efficiently and answered any lingering questions from the riders. We had 25 motorcycles that would be on the starting line tomorrow morning, including three two-up teams. We were given some basic reasonable guidelines on watching our speed, and then finally released to our own devices until morning.