Profile
Roger Allen
My first recollection
of a Motorcycle was seeing a Harley Davidson at the age of 9, I was in love and knew one day I would own one,
Several opportunities passed
and were missed, and i settled for other machines but my love was for Harleys but I couldn’t get one while I was in
the Army, never home to ride it, didn’t have the money when I left so couldn’t then either. Eventually it all
fell into place and I picked up my first ever Heritage Softail. Classic, man I loved it and how it felt to ride. I was hooked
on motorcycling and Harley Davidson’s. Eventually I upgraded to the Ultra Classic
I first heard about the Iron Butt Association of America quite a few years ago after attending a HOG (Harley
Owners Group) Rally in Aviemore. I decided to pop up to John O’Groats and head on down to Lands End a total of 874 miles
in less than 24 hours.
After I got back home to
Southampton a friend
suggested that I should try the IBA. I trawled their site and loved what I saw, even though at that time they didn’t
recognise the End to End ride. I knew that as much as I enjoyed the Harley scene, I needed more
For me, it was always about
the ride and actually being on the Harley riding it.
HOG had been good to me;
I had done loads of rallies, ride outs and parades including being only one of 6 Harley riders who provided an escort for
50 British bikes on the Queens Golden Jubilee parade down the Mall in front of the Roya Family. I will always be indebted
to ‘Snob’ of the Angels who organised it, for the invitation, it was one hell of a day.
I have always ridden all
year round, some winter days are as good as any summer day and I clocked my 100,000 HOG miles in a little over 3 years, Butt
I needed more and the Iron Butt was the challenge I needed
My first SaddleSore was done
to raise money for Dreamflight the organisation which sends terminally ill kids to America, I raised over £2,500 and the one
thing I learned, amongst many other riding issues was that I was on my own. My mates just thought I was mad.
I had learnt from my life
that I need to be challenged, both mentally and physically and after a bit of a past problem, running up and down mountains
couldn’t be done no more so this was it. Perfect
Lots of rides followed butt
I wondered if the BunBurner GOLD could ever be done in the UK.
I couldn’t find any record of any rider competing it before here at that time. I decided to have a crack at it on 27th August 2005, Bank Holiday weekend was chosen to give me a day off
after
Meticulous planning followed
and I did it. I was ecstatic although it was the hardest thing I had ever done on a motorcycle (to date) The BB Gold number
plate back is my favourite Biker possession
Long discussions followed
with Mike Kneebone, I knew we had the capabilities to run a dam good Iron Butt Association here in the UK,
it just needed pulling together
The discussions also centred
on two UK rides, the End to End and the End-to-End GOLD. New
rides that the IBA were willing to authorise, if they could be done.
I decided to have a crack
at it and decided the GOLD was the one to go for. I already knew I could do the basic in less than 24 hours
Again, planning was extensive
and on 10th June 2006, I completed the first End-to-End GOLD and reported back to Mike.
A trip to Norway
to do the excellant Iron Butt Camel Rally followed, sadly with a major accident on the way home from which the
injuries sustained are being resolved as each day passes
The good news was this gave
me the chance to concentrate on setting up a web site for Iron Butt UK
riders with the IBA's full support. Out of every negative comes a positive
It was after that that the
Iron Butt UK web site was launched, and since then it has
taken off like a rocket
I think that the main aims
should be
:
-
The passage of information
to Iron Butt UK members
-
A provision
for new potential members to learn about the Iron Butt Association and Iron Butt activities here in the UK
-
A focal point for all Iron
Butt UK members
-
A place to recognise UK
achievements
-
To liase between the IBA
of America and the IBA UK
-
To provide links to other
useful Long Distance web sites, clubs and associations
-
To provide
a platform for ideas and suggestions for new rides in and around the UK
-
For
Members to give support, advice and guidance to other members or those who might be planning to do a ride in the future. Potential
members in particular
-
For
members to provide witnesses and emergency help if required for others doing Iron Butt rides
-
To
promote the sport of safe Long Distance Riding
Anything else we need it
for, above all, its there for the anyone in the UK who has
either completed or is thinking of completing an Iron Butt ride
I have no doubt that the
UK has a wealth of Iron Butt expertise out there and it would
be great if we could tap into it
I have been privileged to meet
with some great people. The Ride o Eat in March 2007 was excellant and the fact that thanks to Chris McGaffin, Iron Butt
Rally veteran's help, we are now at the stage of running the first UK Iron Butt Rally in 2008, after only a year
or so is amazing and promises to be outstanding fun
Sounds dam good to me
