Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 IRON BUTT MAGAZINE | Winter 2014 Butt Lite follows the IBR format, the -day version of the Five ’N Dime better approximated the duration and distance of the IBR and I felt it was a more realistic test of stamina. If I couldn’t successfully finish the -day MERA event,I reasoned,I had no business riding the IBR. The Five ’N Dime differs from the IBR in several ways. To begin with, the Five ’N Dime is either a five or  day rally, compared to the  days for the IBR. It also has only one checkpoint at the end of the rally, whereas the IBR has multiple checkpoints over the course of the rally. Then there is the matter of route plan- ning. The bonus packets for the Five ’N Dime are sent out  days before the start and route plan- ning is open, meaning the rider is encouraged to get help and has a month to do it.As a relatively new rally rider with limited experience,  days was a welcome luxury. In contrast, the IBR offers no such luxury. The IBR bonus packet is handed to the rider the night before the rally starts, and it is an individual effort from beginning to end. Subsequent IBR bonus packets are then issued at each checkpoint for the next leg of the A fter riding and documenting several Iron Butt Association challenges in the past three years, and successfully finishing a couple of rallies, to include the  Cape Fear, I figured it was time to go after the Iron Butt Rally. The compe- tition for a slot is steep, and to increase my odds,I applied in the “Hopeless Class” and was elated when I heard the good news that I was accepted. In a conversation with Mike Kneebone, however, it was pointed out I had never ridden a multi-day rally. It was strongly suggested by Mike, and everyone else I talked to, that I get this experience before riding in the  IBR. Comparison and Contrast Though the two rallies I rode were competitive, the longest was a -hour event. I went online looking for a multi-day rally, and found that only two were available in the time I had left: the six-day Team Strange Butt Lite and the ten-day Motorcycle Endurance Riders Association’s Five ’N Dime (for- merly the n). While the Prepping for the Iron Butt Rally RIDING MERA’S FIVE ’N DIME By Jack ‘Doc’ Cheasty