1. Choose a safe route
2. Get a start witness to confirm that you were at the start location at the date and time that you stated. 
3. Get a date/time stamped receipt to use as the official start date/time of the 24 hr time period.
4. Collect and track receipts 
5. At the end of your ride, before the 24 hour (or 36 hour for the Bun Burner) time period is up, obtain a computer printed gas receipt with a legible location, date and time stamp. This will be your Official End Time.
6. Get and End Witness to document your ending date and time.
7. Prepare and submit your documentation to the Iron Butt Association Committee.

Once we understood the rules, then it was a matter of planning out the route. We wanted to make sure the each stretch of the leg did not exceed our comfort level of how far we could go on a tank of gas. So we tested exactly how far our bikes could go before we hit reserve, and funny enough, both of our bikes was able to handle a distance of about 160 miles. To make sure that we were not pushing the bikes too far, we decided that it would be best to schedule each gas stop at about 120 miles, no more than 130 miles max. At each stop, we planned for a 15 minute gas break. So then the plotting began.

For each gas stop, we mapped out the directions and time using Google maps. Once we were done plotting out all of the stops, it ended up being 11 gas stops with a 15 minute break at each. However, using the time durations that Google provided plus the 15 minute break at each stop, it ended up being that we were not going to make the 24 hr time period. We were actually going to be about 30 minutes over. So we developed a spreadsheet that would calculate the new durations for each of the legs by adding a certain amount of speed to the average speed that was provided by Google. We found that by adding about 7.5 miles/hour to the average Google speed of 63.9mph, we would have a buffer of about 1 hour and 50 minutes. This means that we would have to hold an average speed of about 71.5 miles/hour per the new calculation.

Once we figured out the ride times, trip duration, and all of the stops, it was now time to decide on our departure time. There was a lot of discussion about what would be the best time to head out and tackle this amazing adventure. But again, when planning a ride of this magnitude, everything needs to be taken into consideration. The initial thought was to leave at midnight. However, when thinking about our arrival time in Tijuana, it was decided that midnight may not be the best time to leave Canada. That would put us in Tijuana at around midnight on Saturday night, probably not the best idea. Then we agreed that arriving in Tijuana early Sunday morning would be the best. This would allow us to get a good night sleep the night before, wake up early and head out on the highway. On a Saturday morning, the traffic would be light and it would be open highway the whole way down. So Jamie and I decided that 7am Saturday morning would be the best time to leave. This would put us into Tijuana at about 6am on Sunday morning, and Tijuana at 6am on a Sunday morning should be pretty safe.

Now that we have our route, our calculated speeds and times, and when we were leaving, it was time to embark on the greatest adventure of our lives.

Here is an overview of our entire route where we begin in Surrey, BC, each of our gas stops, and our finish in Tijuana.

Below is the spreadsheet that we used to calculate the time durations for each of the legs and the target times we expected to hit each stop.

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