General procedure for IBA rides

In order to successfully ride an IBA Ride, a few points must be observed.
This overview shows how to do it, but it does not replace reading the official guidelines.
The two essential documents are:
“IBA Ride Guidelines.pdf”
"Creation of the Ride Documentation.pdf"
and should be read before planning an IBA ride.
You can find the documents here.

Planning

With regard to the route length and travel time, your ride is only documented via fuel receipts.
Tracks are not accepted for testing your ride, only to support to check the fuel stops.
The fuel receipts must be machine-printed and show the address of the gas station, the date, time and the amount of liters used.
You have to purchase a fuel receipt every 560 km at the latest.
Your route will be reconstructed from all machine-printed receipts that you submit.
To do this, the receipts are lined up chronologically and the shortest route between two fuel receipts is determined. The sum of all sections results in the eligible route length.
The fuel receipts alone are often not enough to accurately map the route taken.
For example, at the apex, turning point or corner of a route it is often necessary to acquire additional machine-printed receipts, so-called “tactical receipts”.
These are also required if you want to drive a different route than the optimal route calculated by the route planner.
And most of your route must be on separate roads, so a to and back route on the same road is not accepted.
The document “IBA Ride Guidelines.pdf”, which you can find here, describes how to plan and drive an IBA Ride. Use your camera in the phone to capture the receipts along with your motorcycle's odo meter.

While driving

When you refuel or buy anything else during the trip, you should fill out and check all receipts. Be careful with documentation of so-called vertices with receipts that clearly verify your itinerary.

An IBA run is not a speed race. You must obey the traffic rules and be considerate of other road users.

We do not accept rides without stops longer than 560 kilometers, it will result in a disqualification for the IBA certification.

End your journey like this
You will end your IBA ride according to your plans, after you have covered enough distance and within the stipulated time frames. You end the trip with refueling your motorcycle. The timestamp of receipt of this refueling is your end time. Even at the end of the IBA journey, two people must register and certify the information on your witness form.
Or take the appropriate photos at the tankstation to prove that you and your motorcycle are at that specific location at that specific time.

Ride documentation and testing

So that we can check and certify your ride, we need ride documentation.
The ride documentation includes all receipts, photos according to the photo method, the coordinates of the petrol stations and the respective mileage at the respective petrol stations.
The document “Creation of the Ride Documentation.pdf”, which can be found here, describes how the Ride documentation is to be created and how it is sent to us.

Why does the distance data from odometer and GPS data differ?

This is a question offen asked after certification of your ride. We check all rides with 2 different route plan applications and compare them to your photos with the ODO meter. This differs where GPS data is pretty accurate and our route plan application follows the maps deliverd by HERE, Google and TomTom is close to the GPS data from for example Spotwalla, the ODO meter is dependent from factors like tyre pressure, tyre condition, factory  setting of the ODO meter, etc. See for more info www.mapon.com

A word on our own behalf ..

It takes a few weeks until we have checked your ride and we would like to point out that all activities for IBA Germany are carried out on a voluntary basis and in your free time. We are non-profit, i.e. the proceeds are donated to charitable organizations.
Our notarization team carries out these tests very thoroughly and that is exactly what makes the certificate really valuable, which is that not everyone can acquire a certificate and become an IBA member through “some tricks and means”.

When it meets the requirements for an IBA SaddleSore or Bun Burner ride, you will be notified.

New riders can opt for the starter pack or a full starter pack. Existing IBA members can choose the option only certification with certificate in the webshop. This allows us to create the SaddleSore or Bun Burner Certificate and your unique IBA membership number and induct them into the IBA Hall of Fame. This way you can prove to your friends that you are a member of the unique group of long-distance runners called the Iron Butt Association.

If you have any questions, please contact us BEFORE your trip. We look forward to supporting you.
Have fun and a safe journey at all times!

IBA rules

Rules for certified rides by Iron Butt Association Benelux.
Iron Butt is all about safe long distance riding on a motorcycle. Keep in mind that safe always goes first for long distance rides.

We recommend that you arrange driving, refueling and breaks in such a way that you use the photo method. The driver shoots the entire receipt and the odo-meter of the motorcycle in the same photo. Time, lace and odo-meter reading must be fully legible on all images.
Also take a stop and start photo in connection with planned longer breaks. Make also ‘selfies’ with your bike, to prove that you as the driver rides your ride.

Only correct photos will be accepted as proof of vertex and basis for distance calculation. Wrong photos = mileage lost. The one who checks will not do magic to find missing information. The photos must be collected in a .pdf file that can be printed on A4 format (for example by inserting the images as a presentation or report (.ppt or .doc) and first printed to PDF. This is welcome as well as it is clear who did what, in the same pdf :-). The forms on the link below still need to be filled in (except perhaps the testimonials). And it's fine that you still want a witness within the family, and find a witness, for example, just keep doing it. It can be easier to just keep track of the receipts along the way than to remember to take photos and include all the details in all the photos. The choice is yours.

Are you taking a pillionrider on a motorcycle and do you want him or her to also earn a certificate for your ride? Which can! Indicate this when certifying and click on the correct article in the webshop. This is only possible in combination with the rider's certification AND if the co-driver is at least 16 years old or older.

The first and last receipt is always a petrol receipt. In between, receipts may refer to something else, but must be printed with a clearly marked time and place.
The witness method is to have one/two witnesses in addition to the gas receipts at both the beginning and the end. In the meantime, make a note of the meter readings and fill in the logbook.
The photo method is that the first receipt, the last receipt, and all receipts are photographed along with the meter reading throughout the ride. Clear and legible. Driver's responsibility.

Doesn't seem that hard to me, does it? The little procedure you have to deal with at each receipt stop is your own opportunity for self-assessment. When you notice that it is difficult to write in the logbook, or arrange with photos, then it is time to think whether it is a good idea to continue driving. Fatigue is a risk.