What a disappointment!!! Was: BB 1500 to Wheels and Waves France, PremierPlus Program and Spotwalla and a some other questions...

[Jens]

Hello from Germany!

I'm just planning my first Bun Burner as a "Wheels and Waves Ride" heading from Germany to Biarritz, France.

I've a few questions I can't find out searching:

1. As a European, do I have to declare it as a Bun Burner 2500k or can I choose it as a Bun Burner 1500?
2. I want to choose the PremierPlus Program because it's very cheap in conjunction with Spotwalla. Is this programm open to Europeans?
3. For personal reasons it is important for me to have the certificate issued by the Iron Butt Association USA and not IBA Benelux. If I submit through the PremierPlus Program, who will issue the certificate? IBA Benelux is ok and doing a great job, but family and relatives living in the USA - not in Belgium, Netherlands or Luxembourg, which is the Benelux countries. I am very often in the USA and feel very connected to it. That's the reason.
4. If I make it, it would be nice to read on the certificate, that the goal was the Wheels and Waves Festival and have a Wheels and Waves picture on it. Is it possible? What's to do to achieve this?

And here are some special bubbler questions:

1. I want to use Spotwalla with my cell and the bubbler app. What I didn't understand: If there's no cellular coverage, will bubbler store every 5 minutes my position and upload it later the when cellular coverage is available again? Or are these positions lost?
2. What's the sense of the camera funktion in bubbler? I can't find any kind of manual or documentation.
3. Same for the email function. It's works and sends testmail. But what is it good for?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Stephen!]

Cannot help with the procedures and rules questions, but I can answer these...

• I want to use Spotwalla with my cell and the bubbler app. What I didn't understand: If there's no cellular coverage, will bubbler store every 5 minutes my position and upload it later the when cellular coverage is available again? Or are these positions lost?

Bubbler will store upwards of 1,500 position messages waiting for a signal it can use to upload them all.

• What's the sense of the camera funktion in bubbler? I can't find any kind of manual or documentation.

You can take a picture and attach it directly to one of the several different message types. One caveat with this is that Bubble must be able to get a location fix for the picture or it will not upload the picture to Spotwalla. For example, if you take a picture using Bubbler inside a cave and try to upload it, even if you have a cell signal, if Bubbler cannot assign a position to the picture because it cannot get a GPS signal, the picture will never upload.

• Same for the email function. It's works and sends testmail. But what is it good for?

You can assign an email to specific message types. When Bubbler sends that type of message to Spotwalla, it will also send an email to the address assigned to that message type.

 

[Ira]

1. You can choose either one.

2. Yes.

3. It should be certified by IBA USA. You can request it by sending a note along with your submission.

4. We will work with you on the specific certificate wording. Include in your note what you want it to read.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association

 

[Jens]

Great answers! Thank you!!!

 

[Jens]

1. You can choose either one.

2. Yes.

3. It should be certified by IBA USA. You can request it by sending a note along with your submission.

4. We will work with you on the specific certificate wording. Include in your note what you want it to read.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association

Ira,

after a Bun Burner 1500 and 22 days with 15 conversations your colleague Howard from the premier service decided not to give me a certificate by the US organization. I've to accept a certificate from a country where I'm not a citizen nor I speak the language nor I took the ride.

Is this the way IBA treads members? Your word doesn't count? I'm asking before?
I'm very disappointed by the IBA and will never again deal with it.

Jens

 

[Ira]

Ira,

after a Bun Burner 1500 and 22 days with 15 conversations your colleague Howard from the premier service decided not to give me a certificate by the US organization. I've to accept a certificate from a country where I'm not a citizen nor I speak the language nor I took the ride.

Is this the way IBA treads members? Your word doesn't count? I'm asking before?
I'm very disappointed by the IBA and will never again deal with it.

Jens

I spoke with Howard and he showed me at least part of your submission. From what I can tell, you did the ride there, you have a mailing address there, (correct me if I'm wrong) you are currently living there, and became an IBA member through IBA Benelux.

There is no reason obvious to me that you would want the US-based teams verify your ride, as opposed to IBA Benelux. And a few reasons why you should submit the ride to them.

We established European IBA offices expressly to reduce the turnaround time and improve certification quality of rides completed in Europe. The Premier verification program, with its US-based verification teams, was established to rapidly turn around verification requests. They are not equipped to verify European rides and still meet this objrctive.

I'm still not exactly clear on your reasons for insisting on the US-based IBA organization performing the verification - you receive the same recognition no matter which of the IBA offices performs the verification. I went back and reread your original message. I apologize for misspeaking regarding the Premier program being able to perform the verification. But although we cannot process your request through the Premier program, you are still free to submit it through the standard IBA US submission process. But from experience, I can tell you the turnaround time on such a request can be extremely long, especially compared to the IBA office local to where the ride took place.

Ira

 

[EddyC]

Ira,

after a Bun Burner 1500 and 22 days with 15 conversations your colleague Howard from the premier service decided not to give me a certificate by the US organization. I've to accept a certificate from a country where I'm not a citizen nor I speak the language nor I took the ride.

Is this the way IBA treads members? Your word doesn't count? I'm asking before?
I'm very disappointed by the IBA and will never again deal with it.

Jens

There used to be an IBA Germany. During the void between the end of IBA Germany and the start of IBA Benelux, I informed at IBA UK if my ride could be examined/certified by them. I learned that such would not cause a problem. IBA Benelux was born at the time I did my SS1600K.
It didn't matter to me that I do not speak German fluently enough, nor that I do not live in Germany or the UK, or that I was not planning to ride in an "strange" country like the UK. I just wanted to have my ride certified.
My priority lies in accomplishing the ride and have it certified according to the IBA standards, wherever the IBA office might be at such a time.
I am also thinking of riders living in France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Austria, Switserland etc.... where there is no IBA Office. Should they too request they certification at IBA USA? I think not.
In my humble opinion, I think you are acting a bit unfriendly and as far as I am concerned, I 'd advise you to take a second look at your priorities.
Btw, IBA Benelux issues its certifications in English. They are also signed by the President of IBA Mr. Michael J. Kneebone. That should be sufficient.
Good luck, stay safe and greetings from Belgium.
Ed.

 

[Jens]

I accept all the arguments but nevertheless that's why I'm asked before I did the ride. But it is like it is and it's now up to me.