More hints - D'Iberville, MS
D'Iberville, MS
How to Ride a Motorcycle 1000 Miles in 24 Hours If you're the type of rider who'd rather be rolling down the road than hanging out in a cafe for hours on end, or stopping for a photo every ten minutes, you may have what it takes to be an endurance rider. This ride can be completed in 16-18 hours, but of course you can use the whole 24. You may choose to get your ride certified by the Iron Butt Association (and earn a nifty license plate frame that says "World's Toughest Riders") but that is certainly not necessary just to meet this personal goal. StepsTips and Warnings 1 Decide if you will be certifying your ride with the IBA. If so, go to Ironbuttand read the rules for a SaddleSore 1000. You will learn the documentation requirements. In a nutshell, you need to find witnesses for your start and end points, and keep a fuel log with all receipts. 2 Plan your route. Choose roads that allow for higher speeds, such as interstates or major highways. Try to avoid going through too many stop signs or traffic lights, because they will slow you down. You can plan a loop route that begins and ends at the same place, or a one-way route. Know your bike's touring range (how many miles between fill ups) and make sure you'll be able to buy gas when you need it. Many riders use trip planning software such as MS Streets and Trips, because it calculates distances and has gas station information. However this is not necessary, and it can certainly be done old-school with paper maps. Account for time of day: Avoid big cities during rush hour, avoid deer-infested forests at night. 3 Prepare your motorcycle. Your tires should have enough tread to complete the ride, and be properly inflated. Your riding position should be comfortable for long periods. A relatively upright position is best, though people have done this ride on racer-type bikes or ape-hanger'd cruisers. You should have a way to rest your throttle hand, either a cruise control, throttle lock, or wrist rest. Verify that your lights work, because you'll need them. 4 Have the right personal equipment. Besides the standard safety gear like helmet and boots, you'll need to be prepared for varying weather. This means layered clothes and a rain suit. It will be very helpful to have earplugs, because all that wind noise can be very fatiguing over a long period. 5 Have a way to stay hydrated. Many people have a Camelback, but you can rig up any type of container with a drink hose so you can drink while underway. Pack snacks for the road. You can eat energy bars or beef jerky while moving. 6 "Plan your ride and ride your plan." Now that you've prepared, go out and do it. Enjoy the trip! Tips One approach is to depart around sunset and ride until the wee hours, then stop at a motel and grab a few hours of real sleep. Get up early, eat a quick breakfast, and head out to finish your ride. Sure, the sleep could cost you your shot at 1,000 miles -- but not sleeping could cost you much more. Besides, riding when you are bleary-eyed and yawning isn't much fun. Plan your eating carefully. Small amounts of high-protein, low-fat foods can help to keep your body's energy levels even; sugary snacks and large hot meals are probably best saved for your post-ride celebration. Daylight is your friend. Plan to ride during the summer when the days are longest. Try to time your ride so you do most of your riding during daylight, especially the last few hours, when you are most at risk due to fatigue. Some Iron Butt riders are so efficient that they can log the whole thousand miles between sunrise and sunset. Practice fast fuel stops. You should be able to get out of a gas station in 10 minutes. This may seem minor, but if your bike has a typical fuel range, you'll be stopping quite a few times. Develop a routine that you follow each time so you can do a fuel stop automatically without forgetting where you put your gloves. Even if you're not going for IBA certification, visit http://ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cf m and read the 29 tips for safe long distance motorcycling. Try a 300- or 500-mile ride first. It's far less dangerous and you will learn what works for you and what doesn't. If you plan to do much long-distance riding, invest in a custom saddle and a good windscreen. If not, or if your bike isn't very comfortable, think about renting a bike instead. Minor discomfort can become excruciating pain over a thousand miles, and you will avoid racking up miles on your own motorcycle. Think about riding alone or with others. The more people you're with, the harder it is to synchronize fuel and bathroom breaks. You'll be stopping more frequently, and for longer periods. On the other hand, you may feel more secure having someone watching your back, and it's fun to share the experience with a buddy. Make an informed decision. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I don’t know what it is, but there’s something special about a long distance motorcycle trip. Maybe it’s the excitement of getting to spend a good chunk of time exploring somewhere new. Or, maybe it’s the prospect of getting to spend a lot of time on a motorcycle. Whatever it is, I’ve taken many long distance motorcycle trips now, and one thing I definitely know is that I get just as excited now, as I did the first time. Of course, planning for a long motorcycle trip takes a little more thinking ahead than a simple road trip or vacation by car might take. Why? It boils down to one simple reason: motorcycles have far less storage options. Yes, if you have the latest Honda GoldWing Touring motorcycle with a trailer, you’re going to have to cut back a little less than the guy touring the country on a 250cc dirt bike. But, the planning tips below still work no matter what your ride. And, if you’re anything like me, at the end of the trip you’ll walk away thinking about how much “stuff” you really don’t need to have a good time. The amount will probably surprise you. Hint: It’s far, far less than you expect. Let’s talk about the basics, first. The things that you need to do before you even start thinking about a long trip on your bike. Don’t worry – there are only three things, and they’re pretty easy. Get a comfortable, waterproof, motorcycle riding suit. Getting wet sucks. Being cold sucks. And if you take a long enough trip, you’ll most likely encounter situations where you’ll be both wet and cold. Not only does being wet and cold really suck, it’s also unsafe. It’s ***********centrate on the road when you’re soaked through to your undies. A riding suit helps with this. Get it now. Don’t think about it, go down to your local dealer and pick one up today. If I only had the choice to bring one thing other than my wallet, a good quality motorcycle riding suit is what I would bring. I’m not talking about those full leather suits. I’m just talking about a good full suit that you can slip over your clothes when the weather starts getting less than ideal. Install some ways to attach luggage to your motorcycle. Motorcycle Luggage racks, etc. Backpacks won’t cut it. They’re great for students going to class, or maybe taking a ride down to the park for a picnic, but they make really bad long distance travel partners. You know that attractive person you dated in high school? The one that was really great to look at, but after you spent some time with them you found out that they were dumber than dirt, their voice annoyed the snot out of you, and frankly they weren’t that attractive in the first place? That’s what a backpack is to a motorcyclist. They look great at first (hey! I can carry all of my stuff on my back!), but turns into a shoulder pinching, posture ruining, loud wind-flapping-ear-drum-popper at speed back attachment you wish you’d never brought. When I first started touring, the first thing I bought was a $50 luggage rack for my motorcycle. I still own it and consider it one of the single best accessories I purchased for my bike. Give your motorcycle a checkup. Use your best judgment here, but in general if anything mechanically is “bugging” me about my bike – I’ll take it into the shop for a quick tune-up before a long trip. If I don’t have any worries, than I just do a general checkup (Tires, Oil, Lights, Brake Fluids, etc.). I’d rather waste a couple of hours taking it to a shop beforehand, versus wasting the 2-3 days when I’m out touring and having a break down. Motorcycle Packing Tips Long motorcycle trips are an exercise in doing without. After you do a couple of trips, you’ll begin to find that “less is more” is actually true – and quite empowering. This leads to some long motorcycle trip packing tips: Create a packing inventory list. For every item on that list, ask yourself if you didn’t take it, and found that you did need it, could you easily buy a replacement on the road without breaking the bank. If yes, remove it from the list. Every trip you take, mark off the things you don’t use and don’t bring it on your next one trip. If you keep doing these two things, pretty soon you’ll have a lean, mean list. Bring paracord (or if you don’t have any, some bungee cords) Bring paracord and learn to tie the single knot every motorcyclist should learn: the truckers hitch knot. Why paracord versus bungee cords? It’s more versatile and takes up less space. Why bungee cords or paracord in the first place? On long trips one of two things always seems to happen to me: I get about 100 miles in and something that I had packed comes loose and I need to tie it down to stop it from flapping in the wind. It’s a lot easier just to throw another tie on then trying to repack everything. After sleeping, I start strapping on my gear to go and find that I can’t recreate my strapping system that I had meticulously created before leaving and I’m short one strap. Don’t pack “outfits”, but do bring layers. You’re a motorcyclist. You’re taking a long trip exposed to the elements, with a much higher level of risk than the average driver. Don’t worry about looking good and having a perfect outfit for every possible scenario. Do worry about bringing things that you can layer, especially for those longer trips. Bring paracord (or if you don’t have any, some bungee cords) Bring paracord and learn to tie the single knot every motorcyclist should learn: the truckers hitch knot. Why paracord versus bungee cords? It’s more versatile and takes up less space. Why bungee cords or paracord in the first place? On long trips one of two things always seems to happen to me: I get about 100 miles in and something that I had packed comes loose and I need to tie it down to stop it from flapping in the wind. It’s a lot easier just to throw another tie on then trying to repack everything. After sleeping, I start strapping on my gear to go and find that I can’t recreate my strapping system that I had meticulously created before leaving and I’m short one strap. Don’t pack “outfits”, but do bring layers. You’re a motorcyclist. You’re taking a long trip exposed to the elements, with a much higher level of risk than the average driver. Don’t worry about looking good and having a perfect outfit for every possible scenario. Do worry about bringing things that you can layer, especially for those longer trips. Our early fall Colorado Motorcycle Tours are a perfect example of why layering is critical – in a single day you can go from 80 degree, sunny weather, to 30 degree and snowing weather. Don’t over think it. Really, don’t. I have to get on my soap box a bit here, we live in a very consumer oriented world – we can’t live without our gadgets, and that is sad. Get out there, explore, and don’t worry about taking a **** load of stuff with you. You may have more fun than you’ve ever had – or at the very least create some really great memories. Aren’t creating memories really the reason we travel in the first place? The final tip: Stop browsing the internet and just try it. Yes, that means stop reading this article as well. Look there is a ton of information out there, and it all sucks, or it’s all good depending on your experience. See that last word there? “Experience.” You can read, plan, and debate the merits of this packing method versus that but it’ll never be better than building up good old fashioned experience by doing. Have fun, ride smart, and most of all ride safe xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx Some long distance riding tips I thought I'd write down some of the tips I've learned, discovered, re-learned and put to good use as I've ridden both my motorcycles up and down Colorado's roads and the roads of several other states. First and foremost, take care of your motorcycle and it'll get you home. I do my own services where I can, not only to save money but to get to know my motorcycle more closely in case it ever breaks down. Not only that, but when I do a service, I know it was done and done as right as I can possibly do it. Speaking of working on your motorcycle, try and do the work with just the tools you normally carry on your motorcycle. You obviously won't have that fully stocked tool chest in your garage with you when riding, will you? If I find my onboard toolkit does not have a tool, I buy it and carry it from that point on when riding. I've accumulated quite a bit more tools/materials than what the motorcycle came with! LINK Buy a good service manual, check your basic stuff at least once a week: Tire pressure, loose or missing fasteners, check the oil and brake fluid reservoirs, your lights and signals, the horn and lastly check for leaks. Keep your motorcycle clean so you can spot the leaks early! Buy your motorcycle the high octane gas, she deserves it. Carry a tire puncture kit and know how to use it, heck, practice using it on an old tire. The side of the road, in the rain and late at night is not the time to try and read the instructions that came with the kit! Invest in a small air compressor, those CO2 tubes really aren't up to the job. Carry a cellphone, along with a charger for the longer trips, more often than not, you'll have coverage and can call for a tow truck. Now, for on the road: Read up on and practice the Master Yoda Riding Position. Sound weird but it works! I've done many a 10-12 hour day, 600+ miles at a stretch, and still not hurt too badly at the end of the day, and this is with stock seats on both my motorcycles! If the link above is broken, just google the phrase! Your feet are not meant to just be in one position on the pegs, move them around once in a while! Point your toes down a bit if your knees are starting to feel sore, it really helps. When I first started motorcycling, I thought you were supposed to keep your feet still and in the same spot on the pegs, wrong! Move your butt back towards the rear of your seat if your knees are getting sore, I sometimes slide back onto the pillion seat to allow my legs to stretch out a bit during the straight runs. If your motorcycle's clearance allows it, and you can get up on the pillion seat while still holding the grips, then you can let your feet dangle free for a few moments. You can also try resting the back of your booted ankle on the top of the pegs as well to give your knees some relief. Remember, be careful and do this when there's little traffic and no curves! On the same line of long straight stretches of road with little traffic, invest in some kind of "wrist rest" device, sometimes referred to as cruise control for motorcycles. There's many types and brands but they all do one thing: They allow you to lock the throttle in place, letting your free your throttle hand for a few moments to stretch your fingers, wiggle your wrist and whatever else hurts from holding the throttle for long periods of time. Personally, and I am not saying to try it, but sometimes with the throttle locked and going straight where I can see very far ahead, I'll lean back and rest one arm on the respective side case for a minute or so, it helps stretch the back and shoulder muscles. Get a kidney or back support belt and wear it nice and tight under your outer riding gear. Speaking for myself and my bad posture, having some lower back support is a wonderful thing on the day long rides! Consciously avoid using the death grip on your handlebar grips, a light touch is plenty most of the time. If your wrists are bent downwards, you're not doing it right. Try to form and keep a V shape with your thumb and index finger when gripping the throttle and left hand grips. Keep your elbows up and your back straight! The cruiser riders like to stretch out their legs and rest them on top of their engine guards or on highway pegs they've mounted on their engine guards or frame. I like to sometimes rest, for a just about 30 secs or so, my boots on the engine guards that I mounted on my R80 airhead. No such luck with Maria, my 2004 R1150RT due to her fairing. Yes, they do make pegs that one secures to the valve covers but its not in my future. Sometimes, if the road is really empty and straight, try standing up on the pegs, while securely holding onto the handlebar! Don't go blaming me if you crash for doing something this risky without at least giving it some thought! Just standing while riding, for 15 seconds or so, makes the world of difference for me and allows me to ride further on. Note: You may attract unwanted attention from the local law enforcement, apparently they believe your standing is a prelude to popping a wheelie or a mark of being a squid up to no good. Standing on the pegs, it's been floated on the Internet, is also a way to get that idiot cager who's been tailgating you to back off as you're exhibiting unexpected and possibly dangerous behaviour. I don't know how effective this is, just be careful. Invest in good riding gear, use the layers concept to stay warm in hot or cold weather. Pack rain gear, because you will get rained on if you ride enough. Wear a helmet! Yes, being ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time) can be a PITA, can make you sweat on hot days but you damn sure won't have time to put it all on when you go down! Let the others make jokes, or try and tell you that you don't need all that gear. I am here to tell you, it's saved my butt a couple of times. Gear can be replaced....your body parts tend to be sensitive to pavement when contacting it at anything above say 5 mph! Plan your meals around the traditional meal times, otherwise you get caught in the "lunch rush" and lose valuable riding time. I tend to not eat a big lunch when riding, it I eat at all....I get "food comma" where one feels sleepy after a big meal, not a good thing when riding a motor vehicle! Spare key, carried somewhere independent of your regular motorcycle key. Known how long you have, in terms of mileage, when either you have to switch to final reserve on your older motorcycle or the fuel low warning light comes on in your newer motorcycle. These things are a pain to push even for a short distance. It will, most times, pay off to top off when you reach the midpoint in your range, sometimes the planned for gas stop is not there or its closed..... Keep hydrated, even in cold weather, you lose a lot of water through perspiration of course in hot weather, but you lose water as well in cold weather. I am bad about this but working on it, I do travel with a water bottle now, even for day trips. The cognoscenti say: "if you pee is a dark yellow, you're not drinking enough water". Signs of dehydration are headaches, sore throat, and impacts on your reactions and reasoning abilities. Be careful, if you stop sweating in hot weather, that's bad. There's more to riding in hot weather, I might do a posting on what works for me, later on. Keep exposed skin to a minimum, to avoid sunburn, windburn, excessive evaporation due to wind. If you're doing ATGATT, this should not be an issue except for the back of you neck. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you’re planning a long-distance motorcycle ride in the near future, then you’ll appreciate these tips which we compiled after taking multi-day trips on our Harley. In addition to packing the bare necessities listed on our motorcycle checklist, these things are worth considering as well: Whenever possible, try to find a hotel that’s in walking distance to a restaurant/bar so you don’t have to get back on the bike before you turn in for the night. Eat very light for breakfast, then eat an early lunch before the lunch crowd arrives. If you’re going to eat a heavy meal or a lot of food, save it for the last meal of the day when you’re done riding — because big meals take a lot of energy to digest and will make you drowsy. Don’t eat at chain restaurants. Instead, stop at mom & pop restaurants and local pubs whenever possible. (The hole-in-the-wall dives have much more character, and you learn a lot more about the people and things to do in the area.) For example, we stopped at a small pub in Crossville, TN called Cowgirls Sports Bar & Grille for a burger. We met the bar’s owner and learned about an unadvertised show featuring a very famous Country Music star who is going to unveil a new band he’s promoting there in a few weeks. Pack snacks if you have the space. We like snack-size peanut M&Ms, hard candies (like Sweet Tarts, Gobstoppers, Jolly Ranchers), and mixed nuts in snack-size ziploc bags. Carry water and make a point to drink some every time you stop (even if you don’t feel thirsty). It’s important to your alertness and your overall comfort level to stay hydrated. We like to start the trip with a frozen bottle of water. It lasts a long time. Some like to use a Camelbak Hydration Pack instead, so you don’t have to stop in order to get a drink. We had a cigarette lighter accessory installed in one of our saddlebags. That’s how we charge the battery in our mobile phone while we’re riding. We also carry a travel power adaptor so we can use the same phone charger in hotels using an electrical outlet. Even if you only remotely want to see something, then STOP! Enjoy the ride and everything there is to see and do along the way. Otherwise, you’ll be wishing you had if you didn’t. It helps to find places ahead of time by searching online or viewing other motorcyclists’ itineraries (on the map sites mentioned earlier). To avoid having to keep unfolding then refolding the map while on the bike, I sometimes use an app called CamScanner to take a photo of the exact portion of the map we are most interested in for that particular leg of the trip. That way, we can just zoom in to the “photo” of the map that is stored on our phone in order to see things on the map even closer while we are on the bike. The app produces higher quality and more detailed images than a typical camera app. It turns your phone into a photocopy scanner and stores images as PDF’s which you can then save, share, or upload to the cloud. Take a photo at each and every stop — including state lines, historic roadways, and noteworthy locations. Try to take a group photo at the start of each day. We keep a small pair of binoculars in the front pocket of the luggage. They could come in handy to see what’s up ahead of you on the road or to view wildlife in the distance. If you wear glasses (like I do), take a cheap spare pair along with you rather than your everyday pair — in case you lose them, misplace them, sit on them, squish them while packing, etc. I have sunglasses that go over eyeglasses — so I can wear both at the same time. (This comes in handy if I need to read the map while we’re riding.) We haven’t invested in motorcycle glasses for riding at night yet. Instead, we each wear a cheap pair of clear lens safety glasses during our nighttime rides. On chilly or windy days, I wear clear silicone earplugs to keep the wind from entering my ears since I’m prone to ear aches. If you have long hair, then you know that tiny flyaway hairs are constantly slipping out from under the helmet and slapping you in the face. (When you’re going fast, they feel like sharp little knives.) I spent weeks trying to figure out how to keep flyaways from slipping out of my (very tight, elastic) ponytail holder, by experimenting with hair combs and barrettes of all shapes and sizes. Finally, I tried wearing a simple wide, stretchy headband underneath my helmet… and it worked! No more flyaways. Not one. (During the winter I plan to use my thin fleece pullover headband that is a little warmer and covers my ears as well — to cut down on the wind. For the summer, I may upgrade to one that has wicking properties like this Under Armour headband.) Like many people, I photograph everything we do in life and I document those things in scrapbooks and online. I never thought I’d be able to take my Nikon D80 digital camera with me on the bike, but I just couldn’t head out on our first long-distance motorcycle trip without it. Most of the time, I draped the thick camera strap around my neck and loosely held the camera near my body while it rested on my leg. Other times, I simply used my mobile phone’s camera to point & shoot things we saw whenever we stopped. We learned the hard way that many places — especially little towns — don’t take American Express. Plan ahead! Have plenty of cash (or a debit card) available instead. We’ve found that we can comfortably ride about 100 miles before our butts need a break and our legs need a stretch. We ride about 300 miles each day max. Truth be told, by the 4th day of our most recent motorcycle trip, we had to stop and stretch (and take pressure off of those key “pressure points”) more and more frequently — as often as every 30 minutes. Since we don’t have that much saddle time in yet, I expect our need for butt breaks to decrease the more we ride. But I’m seriously considering an AirHawk Motorcycle Seat Cushion! (See reviews here and here.) Other things that could come in handy and might be worth making room for: 2 bungee cords, a roll of duct tape, kickstand pad (for parking on grass/sand/gravel/asphalt), fanny pack or waist bag (I got one of these; I like how it hooks right on my belt loops), non-cycling shoes & clothing (if your trip requires it), shampoo, and soap (if not staying at a hotel). For keeping the motorcycle clean, we borrowed an amazing product from a friend called Fastwax FW1 Wash & Wax. It’s a waterless car wash that is an aerosol foam. It works great, but it’s expensive! We searched all over for another aerosol foam waterless car wash & wax product, but they are next to impossible to find in stores. Finally, we found Foamtek waterless car wash. It works just as well as the FW1, but costs much less. We highly recommend it! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx