- This topic has 14 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 9 months ago by Ursula Alusru.
Anyone planning any big road trips this season?
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July 17, 2010 at 5:23 am #4111madjak30Participant
I am planning a road trip that will have me travelling about 2000kms over five days of riding…from Red Deer, Alberta to Jasper, Alberta to Kamloops, British Columbia to Nelson, British Columbia to Invermere, British Columbia to Red Deer, Alberta…all through the mountains and passes to visit friends. I figure 400kms per day should be enough and give some time for tourist attractions, pictures and maybe a couple of evenings at a pub…lol
I just need to find a riding buddy…hopefully I will meet a few other riders in my area…otherwise I will have to wait, since I don’t think riding alone is a great idea. Not that far anyway. And none of my current friends ride…
Anyone else looking to put some miles on during a road trip? If so where…
July 17, 2010 at 7:31 pm #27554owlieParticipantNot really planning any big rides. I’d like to ride up to Chilitna, but the season has been so wet that I don’t really feel like spending 8 hours on a bike to not see Mt. McKinley.
As for a riding buddy, I know the feeling- but I may have a solution soon. One of my friends told me last weekend that he totally wants to learn to ride a motorcycle but he would never do it by himself. He didn’t know I ride (okay, so I’m shy about it! I admit it!) or I think that would have come out last year when I was thinking about picking it up. So, we are signed up for the BRC at the beginning of August. We’ll see where that takes us.
In the meantime, I finally got my courage up to take the road up to Hatcher Pass- then I chickened out at the Motherload and turned around. *sigh* This afternoon, I think I’m going to go out and do Knik River road. I went to do it last fall, but when I got within about 1/2mi of the river, it was so freaking cold that I turned around. I have better gear, and the day is warm sunny…
July 18, 2010 at 2:31 am #27558eonParticipantWell, all my road trips seem to be getting canceled due to lack of money, time or both! I was really bummed to miss out on a week long tour of Oregon. I have the GPS route of this organized tour since I had already paid for it, but I just couldn’t take the time off. Maybe next summer I will get to do it. Meanwhile I have been getting in long day trips and occasional over nighters. Trying to chalk off as many of the ‘must do’ rides as I can this summer. Last year I just couldn’t find the time to do anything.
I’m planning on doing a long day trip around south Vancouver Island very soon. That looks like it could be fun. Also want to do an overnight trip around Whistler to Lilooet (or something like that) then back home. Want to do both these trips within the next 4 weeks. But then in September I am doing a 5 day tour of the Scottish Highlands with two of my brothers and a nephew. That is going to be so much fun (though probably pretty wet).
Try looking at meetup.com for motorcycle groups in your area. I’ve made so many great friends though that here. It’s a bit hit and miss as obviously you get all types going along but after awhile you will find a small group that has similar riding tastes to you that you get along with. Then you start to branch off and do rides with just them. If there are none in your area you could try starting one. You might be surprised how many people are in the same boat as you.
July 18, 2010 at 5:56 am #27561gitchy42ParticipantSo far all I really am doing, or have planned are long day trips. Sometimes I ride with some guys from work, but as often I go out alone. Probably not the best thing, since I tend to do the ‘Where does this road go’ thing. I almost always end up somewhere interesting, though not always somewhere you want to be alone. So far I have had a bunch of 100+ mile days, a few 200+ mile and one 300 mile day. I think that I’m going to need to get some luggage if I plan on being out for more than a day, a big bulky backpack doesn’t quite cut it, lol.
Right now I’m working out a long day trip, only 260 miles, but it should take around 7 hours. I’m considering doing it tomorrow, but will probably wait to do it until I have someone to go with.
July 18, 2010 at 6:58 am #27564madjak30ParticipantMeetup.com has a group in Red Deer. There are three other members in the area, and one from about an hour away…no activity on the group for two weeks, but I posted to it to see if anyone just cruises the site to see if there is anything going on without signing in. The only down fall is, my wife walked in while I was signing up…all she saw was MEETUP.COM…ooops, that was a bit of a discussion…but she beleived me…like I’m looking for another “Boss”…MY GOD, LIKE I NEED ANOTHER ONE…lol…hopefully it creates some interest on the site…
gitchy, I have been thinking about some soft saddle bags for on my GS…I saw a Katana with some on it, and it didn’t look too bad. And the bags would be nice for when you need to stop in and get something on the way home…if it doesn’t fit inside my jacket (unless I am wearing my back pack), I just can’t take it home…I’ll have to check the local bike shop to see what they have, then check online to see what kind of prices I can get…
July 19, 2010 at 11:35 pm #27600gitchy42ParticipantA coworker has some Corbin soft bags on his bike that look pretty good, and hold most of what he needs for a long trip, looks pretty good too. I’ll be posting some photos from a ride yesterday. I’ve also been considering upgrading the saddle to a Corbin, my butt gets tired after a while.
July 20, 2010 at 4:00 am #27606madjak30ParticipantI use a back pack right now, but it isn’t that convenient if you want to stop and take a few pics…putting on the back pack with you jacket on can be a pain…so I don’t like to put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off…I told my wife I wanted to get a tank bag and soft saddle bags for my bike…not that receptive to it..”just use your back pack”…and I don’t think it would be that great for a longer ride of a few hours…would probably cause back pain issues…
Aahh, maybe I’m just a whiner…?? She doesn’t want me to spend anymore money on the bike this year…oh, well…I’ll find the stuff I like and keep dropping hints…birthday is coming up…lol
I also want to make sure that what I get is easily transferable to another bike, incase I upgrade next year…although I have decided I don’t get to upgrade until I lose some weight…atleast 50lbs…time to start making use of my “diet tracker” on facebook…lol
Later.
July 21, 2010 at 12:42 am #27639owlieParticipantAs long as your sweetie doesn’t do what mine did…
I told him I really wanted saddle bags for my birthday, even sent him some links so he didn’t have to worry about getting the wrong size, and what did he do? He went out and bought me a gear bag for BJJ.
I guess that he would rather me spend time rolling around with other men than riding a motorcycle.
… I still don’t have saddle bags …
July 21, 2010 at 11:56 pm #27680Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI might buy these saddlebags below eventually- I just put down some blanket protection, then bungee a regular rolling suitcase to the passenger seat. The saddlebags would lower the center of gravity, but I figure the suitcase is still lower than most passengers. I put the heavier stuff in the bottom.
http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/product.php?productid=149&cat=31
July 23, 2010 at 8:53 pm #27547Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI am planning to go to Deals Gap, Tennessee (it borders North Carolina) for the third time next month, with about 7 other people on motorcycles, and maybe 1 driving. We will stay at a motel for 2 nights in either Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. It is about 250 miles from my home, with a long stop for lunch and several extra fuel and rest stops. We go here for the curvy mountain roads, the scenery, good restaurants, and seeing a lot of other motorcyclists.
My typical ride is a 22 mile loop near my home with curvy country roads including one that is along a creek with great air to breathe. Once in a while I ride to a new bike dealership to look around and dream, or get on the interstate for an exit or two to keep used to going 75 mph. Once in a while I will do a longer day trip to a good restaurant with a couple of friends on their bikes. I used to ride 70 miles from my college to home for some of the weekends and holidays by myself, and it would be safer now since most people have cell phones to dial 911. It seems like fewer cars pull out in front of you now, because motorcycles are more common and drivers are more used to seeing them. Maybe it is also because I wear a brighter colored jacket and helmet, compared to the old days on my Yamaha XS-650 (1980 to 1985).
July 27, 2010 at 4:05 pm #27786Ursula AlusruParticipantI’m planning a trip from Toronto to Nova Scotia in the next couple of weeks. I usually use a back pack if I have gear, but I’ve got say it’s not really comfortable for a long ride and its either too tight and hangs off my shoulders or too loose and flaps around in the wind. Anyhow, I want to camp along the way and while I’m out there, as well as bring my bicycle (I want to cycle the Cabot trail). My friend says he’s disassembled his bicycle and put it on the back of a GS850 for a good long road trip which is a lovely picture. However, my sweetie says he’ll drive the pace car with the gear and the dog; we’ll meet at the end of the day at the campsite. I thought it was a deal that sounded too good to be true so, I’ve taken him up on it. I was telling my dear old Dad about the trip and he was pretty upset – he believes that the entire provence of Quebec is full of biker gangs and I’m going to get myself into a world of trouble – in fact, he suggested that I shouldn’t even stop for gas if I could help it. This has had me entertained for about a week now.
July 27, 2010 at 4:44 pm #27787eonParticipantLMAO. That’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. Poor old dad….
Strapping a bicycle to a motorbike sounds like a painful task and probably not pleasant to ride. You would have to be dedicated to do that so I’m glad you’ve missed that wonderful experienceJuly 28, 2010 at 11:17 am #27808TrialsRiderParticipantI’m thinking those Cabot Trail uphills would be better riding the motorcycle, but I still wish my dog and I could join you
Yes, Quebec is full of bikers, motor sports are possibly 30% more popular in PQ than in Ontario right across the board. You are totally safe with the bikers, it’s the minivans you have to really watch out for.
July 28, 2010 at 7:10 pm #27799JtownJJAParticipantI don’t have any long trips planned for this year. My wife is going back to school, and she is there all morning and afternoon on Saturdays, so I’ll be with my 2 sons during those days. I might get a few pleasure rides in on some Sunday afternoons, but that’s probably it. UNLESS I win the big contest sponsored by Progressive Insurance, Bike Bandit, and Quaker Steak and Lube. It is THE contest to win. Basically, the winner gets to choose anywhere they want to go riding for a week within the continental USA, and they pay for getting you, your bike, and a friend and their bike there. They also give you a a couple thousand dollars worth of gear from Bike Bandit to take with you. AND, lodging and gasoline are covered. Talk about a dream come true. Want to enter? Here is the link… http://www.ultimateridegiveaway.com/
Now, if I would win, where would I go? At first I thought I would definitely want to go back to southern Utah where I went last Summer and ride through all the canyon lands. However, I started looking up around Oregon and Northern California, and now I’m leaning toward that. Probably won’t be faced with making the decision, but it’s fun to dream about it. Where would you go if you were the lucky winner?
July 29, 2010 at 12:53 am #27829Ursula AlusruParticipantI wish I was riding west instead of east, I drove my car out to Vancouver from Toronto last summer – what a great drive in the mountains, it was amazing going from the prairies up up up into the clouds. I’d love to do it again on the bike, perhaps a plan for next summer. As for the Cabot trail, it would be kind of cool to cycle it and then ride it on the motorcycle – just to compare the experience. A question for everyone – What is the maximum distance you’ve safely ridden in a day, that you were able to get up the next morning and do it again?
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