Iron Butt LogoUSA Federal Holiday Rides
USA Federal Holiday Award

Version No. 1.1
Date last revised: December 24, 2022

� 2022, Iron Butt Association, Sheridan, Wyoming
Please respect our intellectual property rights.  Do not distribute this document or portions therein, without the written permission of the Iron Butt Association.

Background:

The United States Government recognizes eleven Federal Holidays.  From time to time, the federal government may add a new holiday.  When the 'traditional' holiday falls on a Saturday, the 'official government holiday' is celebrated on Friday; when the 'traditional'holiday falls on a Sunday, the 'official government holiday' is celebrated on Monday.  The 'official government holidays' are listed at the Government web site.

At the moment, the 'traditional holidays recognized by the Fedeal government are:

  • New Year's Day January 1
  • Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. 3rd Monday in January
  • Washington's Birthday 3rd Monday in February
  • Memorial Day last Monday in May
  • Juneteenth National Independence Day June 19
  • Independence Day July 4
  • Labor Day 1st Monday in September
  • Columbus Day 2nd Monday in October
  • Veterans Day November 11
  • Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November
  • Christmas Day December 25

The Federal Holiday Rides commemorate these important events.

Read the rules for the iconic SaddleSore 1000 on the Iron Butt Association site.  The rules for this ride are similar and you will get valuable background information.

Definitions

DBR - Dated Business Receipt

A DBR is a machine generated receipt with the date, time and LOCATION on it.  Check it - do not assume it is correct.  A receipt with an incorrect time/date/location is worthless.  Check and re-check.

Fees:  See fee page

Rules:

You may ride any certifiable ride.  Most riders choose to ride a SaddleSore, but some have ridden BBG's, and even a very few have ridden 50cc Quests on each of the eleven holidays.

You MUST have at least one DBR on thequalifying holiday dates listed on the Rides of the Month page as a Federal Holiday Ride.

There are other rides that occur on the same dates as these Federal Holiday rides.  These other rides may have additional requirements and different time windows.  For instance, the Polar Bear ride time window is for January 1 only even if the 'official government holiday' is January 2.  Another example--the Fourth of July ride requires certain photos taken during the ride but the Independence Day Federal Holiday ride does not require photos.

If you plan and execute your ride carefully, you might be able to get a 'two-fer'.  Any ride that qualifies for the Polar Bear ride, by definition, will qualify for the January 1 Federal Holiday Ride.  But every ride that qualifies for the Federal Holiday Independence Day ride might not qualify for the Fourth of July ride (if you didn't take the required photos).  If you qualify for both rides, you may apply for both and receive two certificates (miles will be nested, of course).

Rules for the Federal Holiday Award

You must earn a certified ride on each of the Official Government Federal Holidays. You must earn the same type of certified ride for each of the holidays (SS1000, BBG). The rides need not be consecutive in any one year and may be accumulated over many years.

Documentation for the Federal Holiday Award: 

Send copies of your certificates for the rides on each of the federal holidays along with your ride application and fee payment.  If you have not yet received a certificate for one of your claimed rides, please note that in the application.

Spotwalla.com is required.

Merchandise:

There is no additional merchandise for this ride.