What is the definition of "long distance" riding?
I see challenges to do X miles in Y hours, and stuff like that, but is there more to it than that?
Oh, heck yes. Rallies are one of the biggest parts of LD riding. Just imagine a scavenger hunt on steroids, done entirely on two wheels.
Go to the MTF site and click on the calendar photos:
http://www.mctourer.com/Calendar/
Here is the IBA list of events:
http://ironbutt.com/?p=CF69A4C6E2BC44B712FD2093BB5A4FED
The RideMaster site created by Jason Jonas, the creator of SpotWalla:
https://rides.jasonjonas.com/
Many of these are timed events (12H, 24H, 36H, 48H, 5 Days, 10 days, weeks long, months long, a year long, etc. For example, the Tour Of Honor (I'm rider 344 and have been riding this since 2012) begins April 1 each year and continues until Oct 31...
https://www.tourofhonor.com This is a completely different rally, ridden on your own terms, on your own schedule, and you can ride to one memorial location or you can ride to hundreds of them.
The IBA's extensive list of possible rides is right here:
http://www.ironbutt.com/themerides/
Want to just ride to National Parks? Want to just ride to Lighthouses? Want to ride to places where you can get a penny stamped? Want to follow the route of George Wyman, the first person to ride a motorcycle from San Francisco to New York City?
Or maybe you want to ride one of the rarest timed rides out there... the Atomic 1000 created by yours truly. I believe that we're still under 10 riders having accomplished this. All it involves is riding to the Trinity Test Site at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. However, the site is only open 2 days a year, and only open for 6 hours on each of those days. You have to ride 1000 miles within 24 hours, and you must document a stop at the detonation site as part of that ride. Easy peasy.