[Jon D.]

I have noticed that some may wonder about our experiences on our bikes, so kinda thought some of you might like to share a riding story…Mine started out of Virginia Beach VA and ended in Pasadena,TX. I was riding a 1978 Yamha XS 1100. I had just finished my stint with the USN and my old roomate talked me into moving to Texas to start a new life. I was springtime 1990, so it was WET for 2 of the 3 days that the ride lasted. I had attached a set of highway pegs to my engine guard and a throttle lock so that I could relax on the trip. Nonetheless, rain kept it miserable, met a trucker in Alabama who offered me his slicker, 130 miles later the wind had all but torn it off my body. If you are sitting down reading this ( not my brightest move) I would set my feet on the pegs, set the throttle, grab the handlebars down by the tree and rest my elbows on my knees. So between the bumping of the bike and the weight of my helmet, I ended up with a slipped disc just above my shoulders. To this day when I have tension in my shoulders I do so with discomfort. I still enjoy riding and continue to do so, but I don’t think that a 2000 mile ride ( at least that’s what it felt like) is in my future. My truck is much more comfortable. Take care,ride safe, and God bless. Jon D.

[Munch]

Wow…. I got to the Pasadena TX part and stopped. Yep that certainly had to be a portion for being the worst. Lived there for 2 years. Still have stuff down there. Will never go back to get it.
Hate to here about the self inflicted injuries. I know the ride your talking about… drove that trip many a time. First couple of times took 95 to 10…. Next couple of times… 85 to 75 to 10…. 75 has got to be THE longest stretch of nothing. Especially at 3 am. The sign designating it as “The Lost Highway” doesn’t help that feeling either.
Glad that your still riding.

[BouncingRadical]

My worst ride so far was one warm day I rode out to the lab to do an hours worth of work. The work ended up taking well into the night, where the temperature had dropped 20F and it started raining. So totally ill equiped with thin gloves no liner in my jacket and a smoked visor I had to very carefully make my freezing and wet way home. Not nearly as bad as yours though heh.

[Jon D.]

I took the same route down. The Dragonfly that wiped out my vision as I was coming out of New Orleans, still sticks out in my mind. Pulled into a rest area soon afterward and slept on the bike that night. Man, what a trip. Take care,God bless. Jon D.

[briderdt]

Yeah, any ride is a good one. But there was one in particular that was… taxing?

Foggy commute to work on a cold morning. Fogs is more like a heavy misting rain, and the visor gets that nice layer of water droplets that act like little lenses for every oncoming headlight. So at the first intersection I tip the visor up. Hey, I’m wearing clear safety glasses under it (I do almost all the time — either the clear safety glasses or polarized sunglasses), so I’m thinking all is well. Until they do the same thing. Less than a half mile later I have to take the glasses off so I can see at all. Then I go through the tearing process with unprotected eyes. Every time I have to stop for a light, the same process all over again.

Took my eyes a couple hours to recover from that little 8-mile ride.

[SantaCruzRider]

Does a blind-date bike ride with a woman who turned out to have a jealous not-quite-ex biker husband and two kids at home count?
Actually, the ride was cool. But the aftermath was not for the faint of heart!!! )

[Jon D.]

Ouch, glad the ride was good. Ride safe and God bless

[Jon D.]

Don’t know if it will work, but rain x came out with wipes that might help with the heavy mist deal. Know what it is like to lose visibility when riding. we used zest soap to keep helmets from fogging up back in the day. Man I “am” gettin’ old. Ride safe and God bless. Jon D.

[IanC]

I’ve only been riding since July, unless you want to count the year in High School on my Honda CB90. My best ride was in October on my Rebel a couple of weeks before I got my VStrom. Beautiful road, I was hitting all the corners perfectly and keeping up with a rider of 30 years. Haven’t been able to duplicate that performace yet. Don’t know if it’s the more powerful bike or switching between bikes.

My worst ride was last Saturday three of us were on a curvy road in SoCal me in the lead a corner surprised me (it looked straight) I braked and made the corner, looked in my mirrors just in time to see my friend (with 3 years experience who got me back into riding) going over his handlebars. He ended up breaking his collarbone and banging up his leg. After the ambulance and cop left and while they waited for the tow truck I road home alone to get the car. The first corner I took at about 5 miles an hour and when I got to the freeway it was right lane all the way, counting down the miles. Never been so glad to get on four wheels again.

I finally took both bikes out yesterday to run errands and it was easier to do it than I thought.

[wbsprudels]

My worst ride was a couple of weeks ago with the temperature at 16. I hadn’t ridden in a week and wanted to get my Blast out. The roads were dry and I have decent warm weather gear. I calculated that the 5 mile stretch of Indiana SR-37 had the wind chill in the neighborhood of -40. By the time I got home, a couple of my fingers were white (on the road for a total of 15 minutes). I don’t plan to try that again until I buy heated gloves. Since I only have been riding since October, I am looking forward to rides that are too hot, rather than too cold.

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