From Iron Butt to Melted Heart

By Marshall Madill

Inspired by a newspaper article, Marshall Madill had dreamed of riding a motorcycle to Alaska since the days of his youth.  However, this dream consisted of a leisurely ride by day, taking in all the sites, and sleeping under the stars by night.  In his mind, Marshall had always budgeted an entire month for this trip.  And while Marshall and his wife Jan are avid motorcycle enthusiasts, he really never envisioned himself as an "Iron Butt" motorcyclist.  An "Iron Butt" in the motorcycle world is someone who rides their motorcycle one thousand miles in a single twenty-four hour period.  Marshall and Jan felt they were really being aggressive when they rode four hundred miles in a day.  The one time they did seven hundred miles in a day, neither could hardly walk or sit down either one.  They were in quite a predicament.  Marshall had absolutely no desire nor intent to even attempt to ride his motorcycle one thousand miles in a day.

 

Then one day, he discovered a handful of fellow motorcycle enthusiasts that he knew were avid "Iron Butt" participants.  Being competitive by nature, his attitude about "Iron Butt" riding began to temper.  Soon he was hearing about an "Iron Butt" event called "48 States Plus Alaska In 10 Days or Less".  When Marshall heard it involved Alaska, his interest was immediately peaked.  He spent the next fifteen months planning and preparing for this "Iron Butt" ride.  He prepared physically.  He prepared mentally.  He studied and memorized the maps of the route, which would take him to every one of the 48 Contiguous United States of America and then on to Alaska.  This route would cover over 8,600 miles in less than 10-days.  Marshall would definitely need to be an "Iron Butt" in order to accomplish this goal. 

 

This is the story of how Marshall planned and prepared for the ride.  It is the story of the life lessons Marshall learned throughout the planning, preparation, the ride itself, and even since the official trip was completed.  It is the story of how God invited Himself along for the journey and it's the story of how Marshall was transformed from an "Iron Butt" to a "Melted Heart" by the special individuals that he encountered all along the journey.  Come along Marshall relives and shares with you this adventure of a lifetime that changed his life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098097110

Book preview

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From Iron Butt to Melted Heart

Marshall Madill

Copyright © 2021 by Marshall Madill

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

A Blessed Reunion

What in the World Are You Thinking?

God’s Positioning System (My GPS)

Divine Appointments

Adventures Within the Adventure

The Blessings Just Keep On Coming

The Final Push

Conclusion

Foreword

I first met Marshall at our local Christian Motorcycle Association (CMA) meeting in Topeka, Kansas. We joined the organization at about the same time, looking for a way to serve Jesus and to ride with fellow Christians. Marshall and I developed a good working relationship and close friendship during those early days serving in CMA.

Marshall is a type A personality, and when he sets his mind on something, it’s not a question of if he will get it done, only when. So when Marshall came up with any big new idea, I simply asked how I could help because I knew it was going to happen.

This leads up to Marshall and his 48 plus one ride. Marshall first came to me with this idea to ride through forty-eight states plus Alaska in ten days. I love riding motorcycles and enjoy life on two wheels, but this sounded like more work than enjoyment. God wasn’t giving any of Marshall’s close friends and riding companions the desire to join him on this ride. That is because God had a plan, and He only had Marshall going on this adventure.

As you read how Marshall went from an iron butt to a melted heart, you will see that God was determined to change a heart and let some of His children know He loved them. The 48 plus one was to be more about glorifying God and sharing His love than anything else.

This book is a wonderful account of how grace, love, and determination all worked together to accomplish a dream. A life-changing adventure from start to finish. The Marshall I met in early 2011 is not the man I know now.

I’m proud and blessed to call Marshall my friend and brother in Christ. I believe with all my heart that after reading this book, you will be encouraged to pray harder and to dream bigger, praying God will also use you in a mighty way.

Now put your boots, gloves, and helmet on. Then ride along with Marshall as he goes from iron butt to melted heart.

Mike McClain

Area Rep, CMA, KS

Introduction

I arrived back in Topeka, Kansas, on July 7, 2016, on day 14 of an Iron Butt motorcycle ride that had taken me through all forty-eight lower United States plus Alaska covering over eleven thousand miles. I had just completed the epic journey on my motorcycle under the rules set forth by the Iron Butt Association called 48 States Plus Alaska.

I have commented many times since the ride that I wish I had a dollar for every person that asked me, How’s your butt? I have also been asked repeatedly if I had fun. This is the story of my adventure that I was certain would test the limits of my physical endurance, or at least my butt, and while I didn’t have time to have much fun along the way, it was an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

What started out as merely a bucket list experience turned into at least sixty encounters with individuals from all over the world. I am convinced that I did not meet these people by coincidence but that each one of these encounters were truly divine appointments.

This is the story of how God chose to allow me to have an incredible bucket list experience that began with absolutely no consideration of how God would be involved and gradually opened my eyes and my heart to how He could be a part of the adventure.

By the time I arrived back home, it was not about how my butt was; it was about what had happened to my heart. I watched God use me from the very beginning of the trip to the end and beyond. I don’t know that anyone could experience what I did without being changed. Please come along with me as I relive this journey and show you how God took me from Iron Butt to Melted Heart.

Chapter 1

A Blessed Reunion

It was about 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 7, 2016. I was stopped at a gas pump about an hour north of Omaha, Nebraska, just off I-29. This wasn’t exactly the middle of nowhere, but this gas station had only pay-at-the-pump. No convenience store or even a bathroom.

But the lack of convenience was the least of my concern as I impatiently filled my Harley-Davidson Road King fuel tank. I could tell from the Life360 App on my cell phone that my wife, Jan, and two of our close friends from Christian Motorcyclists Association were sitting less than a mile away from me back out on I-29.

Jan, Mike McClain, and Chuck Bramhall had left home in the dark early morning hours in the midst of a ridiculous thunderstorm that took trees down as far north as Auburn, Nebraska. They wanted to join me for the final leg of the ride I was about to complete. They wanted to be a part of the ride that had taken nearly fourteen days and covered over 11,300 miles.

I had not seen my wife in over a week. Even though I had discovered a few minutes earlier that Jan was coming to meet me, when the realization that she was so close hit me, I could hardly contain my excitement. I knew they were tracking me with the same app that I was tracking them. Why are they stopping back out on the interstate instead of coming on down to the station? Oh well, it doesn’t take long to fill up a motorcycle gas tank. I replaced the cap and headed back toward the on ramp. I could see the motorcycles long before I could see the riders. Then, there they were.

I pulled up alongside their bikes, took my helmet off so I could kiss my wife, and then just sat there blubbering like a baby. I was not