How not to fall asleep on a motorcycle?

[Sirref]

damn, and it's not like you're short on energy or anything like that you're just so bored with riding in a straight line that you don't even feel the need to be awake to do it. I don't know what to say that's out of my league of experience.

[greenaero]

Jason, I'm able to maintain my concentration on long trips by focusing on all the little details needed to needed to be safe, efficient and get great fuel economy. It similar to racing but with more time between actions and a different goal.

I constantly monitor traffic around me, my speed, looking as far ahead as possible to plan my line and any adjustments. Long, straight freeway runs are the hardest; there I use just enough concentration to keeps things going well but will allow myself to think of other things, often brainstorming problems or challenges. I do some of my best problem-solving while on long rides.

I love riding (and driving ) and frankly don't get bored. The gas mileage game makes even the most mundane trip a challenge if you push it to the max like I do almost all the time. Keeping your mind occupied is the key, it makes the time and miles pass quickly. When I'm driving on long trips I will sometimes listen to an audiobook but I don't even listen to music while riding.

I stretch and move around on the moto a lot while riding . When stopped I'll do some stretching and calisthenics. I get started early in the morning and try to get most of the day's rding done before I stop for a lunch break.

Something to think about is how much and well you are sleeping. I would also be concerned about narcolepsy. Falling asleep while riding or driving is very dangerous. I hope this is helpful to you.

[Sirref]

How would you improve gas mileage while riding other than just cruising at low rpms the whole time. Isn't it all stuff that you do in preparation?

[Xtina]

I tend to nod off on long rides/drives too. Nothing like towing a bike and drifting across 3 lanes. Red bull etc is a must for long distance.

[greenaero]

Originally Posted by Sirref

How would you improve gas mileage while riding other than just cruising at low rpms the whole time. Isn't it all stuff that you do in preparation?

For steady state situations ( no stops, minimal traffic, no corners, no incline) it can be as simple as staying at the target speed in the tallest gear possible and maintaining it. But its also being able to look for other opportunities to improve FE ( fuel economy ) such as catching a draft ( using a safe following distance ), coasting downhill, climbing upgrades efficiently and keeping the ride segment as long as possible, avoiding braking and complete stops. It takes patience and discipline, it's not rocket science. It's similar to riding as fast as you can all the time; for racing when you're on the straightway, WFO, stay full throttle as long as possible, brake hard for the corner, accelerate as hard as possible down the next straight,etc. repeating the cycle until the race ends. For hypermiling its about getting to the target speed and maintaining it with the corrrect adjustments ( coasting , maintaining high cornering speeds, avoiding stops and slow downs. Kinda like toboggan racing.

[Sirref]

that makes sense I guess, I'm not much for good gas mileage though I've been getting low 40s high 30s on my baby 300.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

I'm not sure if its sleep patterns because no matter how much or little I sleep or wether I'm on the road traveling or at home its always the same deal. It also doesn't matter what time of day. I could have just gotten the best 8hrs of sleep even and feel refreshed enough to go run a marathon but 20 mins down the hwy and I'm fighting to keep my eyes open.

I fully agree with adouglas' post.
However, if extra rest doesn't work for you, you may have a problem of chronic fatigue and seeing a doctor may be good.
If not, then long trips are not for you, especially alone.

If the source is simply boredom, you will need to find something challenging to do while driving/riding: have you ever tried riding a sidecar while sitting in the car and controlling the throttle with your left hand?
I have, and there is no way to get bored doing that. I know that you don't ride sidecars, but hope you get the idea.

What is happening to you is very dangerous; so, please consider a solution carefully.
Several times, I have fallen to sleep while driving after severe sleep deprivation, and each of those times I could have killed myself or/and others.
It happens in a way that you cannot control, and waking up while driving is one of the scariest things that anyone can experience.

[min nin]

It sounds like you have Narcolepsy. You might want to seek medical advice for that.

[allanoue]

It has been 30 years since I have been woken by rumble strips. Not a good wakeup call. How much sleep to you get a night on average? How often do you wake up? How long does it take to go back to sleep?

[Asspire]

i had similar problems, I found out recently i have sever sleep apnea. After getting that sorted out, i don't fall asleep during the day anymore and find it easier to stay focused.


or you can buy a R6 and run it with out a muffler.

[Whiskey]

Caffeine, cocaine & amphetamines... they should keep you awake & if boredom is what's dropping you then add a little LSD, that should keep things interesting.

You may not make the race but it'll be an interesting trip

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

Caffeine, cocaine & amphetamines... they should keep you awake & if boredom is what's dropping you then add a little LSD, that should keep things interesting.

You may not make the race but it'll be an interesting trip

What ever happened to Ralph Steadman?

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

Caffeine, cocaine & amphetamines... they should keep you awake & if boredom is what's dropping you then add a little LSD, that should keep things interesting.

You may not make the race but it'll be an interesting trip

I believe ether was the drug of choice for long drives.

What ever happened to Ralph Steadman?

[rojoracing53]

Well I made it down to Fort Ord with the moot and Mtb this morning and I'm just hanging out till my race starts. Having the Mtb hanging off the rear of the Ninjette ensures a constant flow of people honking, accelerating back up to me to take pictures or video and the kids in cars giving me the thumbs up. I guess as long as I'm monitoring the constant crowd of onlookers that seem to hover around me while on the hwy I can stay rather entertained and keep the boredom at bay.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

.........Having the Mtb hanging off the rear of the Ninjette ensures a constant flow of people honking, accelerating back up to me to take pictures or video and the kids in cars giving me the thumbs up..........

Pics ???

[Sirref]

^ seconded, you're probably inspiring some little kid to grow up and get a bike with that setup.

Hmm, LSD and a motorbike. That **** on a regular bike is already intense as all ****.

[snot]

Sucking on fire balls works. A lot of riders that do sport touring eat fire balls when they are sleepy.

[JohnnyBravo]

Find the back roads, I can't ride an interstate As far as I can the country roads . Too monotonous for me to ride to long a stretch.

[choneofakind]

Think you get gawking and staring now? Wait until there's someone riding tandem on the MTB while you're operating the ninjette.

[ez12a]

Originally Posted by DEFY

I know that feeling I shake my head to stay awake to. I have fallen asleep riding a bicycle before and got a concusion from crashing because of it.

That is impressive (the falling asleep on the bike part). How long of a ride was it?


I have yet to do a longish trip, but I plan to make my way down to San Diego from OC on the 22nd which isnt even 2 hours.

If I feel tired, I pop a 5 hour energy. I've done it twice for night rides past when i would normally sleep. I've also popped one when my friends and i would drive up to mammoth at 12 am from LA which is about a 5-6 hour drive to make it by opening. It keeps me awake but not wired to a point where I cant sleep if i really wanted to once i got to my destination. I dont know how to describe it but maybe it's cause i dont usually take caffeine. Like i'll feel "tired" but i could easily stay awake for a few more hours or make the conscious decision of going to sleep.

another thing i did was talk to myself on the latest night ride, and sing my favorite songs. :P

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Find the back roads, I can't ride an interstate As far as I can the country roads . Too monotonous for me to ride to long a stretch.

That doesn't really work for what is normally an 8+ hr drive by highway lol. California is big yo.

[rasta]

Originally Posted by Whiskey

Caffeine, cocaine & amphetamines... they should keep you awake & if boredom is what's dropping you then add a little LSD, that should keep things interesting.

You may not make the race but it'll be an interesting trip
[IMG]Fearing and Loathing[/IMG]

Good book...but I found the movie to be incredibly boring.

[greenaero]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Well I made it down to Fort Ord with the moot and Mtb this morning and I'm just hanging out till my race starts. Having the Mtb hanging off the rear of the Ninjette ensures a constant flow of people honking, accelerating back up to me to take pictures or video and the kids in cars giving me the thumbs up. I guess as long as I'm monitoring the constant crowd of onlookers that seem to hover around me while on the hwy I can stay rather entertained and keep the boredom at bay.

I forgot about your MTB on the rack! The attention you are getting is similar to the attention Alan and I get while riding our streamliners: a constant flow of gawkers, filmers and wavers. It definitely is entertaining and keeps your spider-sense tingling as they get close for a better shot or view. You may have already solved your boredom/sleepiness problem concern with your unique means of transporting your MTB.

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by DEFY

I know that feeling I shake my head to stay awake to. I have fallen asleep riding a bicycle before and got a concusion from crashing because of it. Just keep moving about is how I keep myself awake. I have yet to have this feeling on a bike though.

85 miles and 21 hrs into my second 100 mile ultra marathon I fell asleep while running(more of a stumbling at that point) and damn near walked off a several hundred foot cliffs edge. I was lucky my pace was right behind to grab me before going over, you better believe I didn't forget to grab that can of coke at the next aid station.

Here's the link to the thread about building the mtb rack http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=157087

here are the gawkers in action at my last race

[DEFY]

@rojoracing53

O I wish I could do running marathons like such, having athletic induced asthma takes all the fun out of that. If I ran even half that length I'd fall over from lack of oxygen. Sucks.

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by DEFY

@rojoracing53

O I wish I could do running marathons like such, having athletic induced asthma takes all the fun out of that. If I ran even half that length I'd fall over from lack of oxygen. Sucks.

Nick grab a preventative inhaler and take a shot 30 mins beforehand, this is how we keep my dad in the mix on our fast rides. It's not a full proof fix but it helps tremendously. As for ultra distance stuff you pace is much slower so most sufferers of sports induced asthma never go over that limit as long as they're good with pacing. In a 24hr event I average 140-150bpm and in these less then 5 hr races I'm averaging 170-180 with my max at 188 so were in the powerband the whole time so to speak.

[nickjpass]

wheelie

[DEFY]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Nick grab a preventative inhaler and take a shot 30 mins beforehand, this is how we keep my dad in the mix on our fast rides. It's not a full proof fix but it helps tremendously. As for ultra distance stuff you pace is much slower so most sufferers of sports induced asthma never go over that limit as long as they're good with pacing. In a 24hr event I average 140-150bpm and in these less then 5 hr races I'm averaging 170-180 with my max at 188 so were in the powerband the whole time so to speak.

Yea, I use to carry one also had a steriod mixed one as well, never used it though. I will probably look back into getting one. Issue I had with them was just the idea that I never really used it so they usually expired. Perhaps I will get a new one each year or something. I remember when I was in High school being told I had to give my inhaler to the nurse and gym was outside, sh*t wasn't going to help me if I fell over gasping lol.

[kdogg2077]

If you have a full face helmet opening the wind shield might help. A cool blast of air is sure to wake you up for a while.

I think other people said it best though. Just stop and rest/take a nap if you need to. A little sleeping bag is no problem to carry in a backpack.

[misfitsailor]

It's strange, but in all my years of street riding, I have never felt like falling asleep on the road. I've been bone weary many times, like during 14 hour rides, ect, but there is something about being in the saddle that keeps me focused and very much awake.

In a car, yes, many times I have had to pull over due to nodding.

[rojoracing53]

A solution has been found. After riding 1100 miles in two days getting out to Utah I came up with a solution for keeping myself awake while riding. It's actually quite a simple solution, all you need to do is aquire some form of bodily trauma that activates your endorphins and the side effect is zero drowsiness. The real trick is finding and elegant way to cause this trauma and activate your endorphins. Luckily I didn't go all the way to Utah for the history, I was there for a Mtb race held on some of the rockiest terrain if come across. About 12 miles into my 86 miles race I had a get together with a sharp rock and opened up a nice exposure of forearm. Now with my endorphins fully activated I decided some adrenalin would also be nice so I continued for another 10 miles before calling it quites and riding back to the starting line. I went to the ER, got stitched up and then rode 7hr back to LA with none of my previous problems of falling asleep. Here's a little something for those of you who need that visual aid.

[csmith12]

dood..... NOT a long term solution. lol

[Sirref]

^ I think...hope he knows that

[greenaero]

Ouch! Not the optimal solution IMHO . All the best for a speedy recovery.

[rojoracing53]

They said I could remove the stitches in 10 days so I figure as long as I stick with a two week cycle with this method I'll only have to worry about one set of stitches at a time. Plus chicks dig scars

[EternalNewb]

Wonderful way to wake up this morning. Wait, I thought you were in northern CA? Have a bike race this week or something?

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by EternalNewb

Wonderful way to wake up this morning. Wait, I thought you were in northern CA? Have a bike race this week or something?

I do live in NorCal, but all my friends are in the SoCal area so it's the perfect place for me to stop in, chill out, play for video games with friends and rest up for the final 400 miles.

I raced in Utah last weekend but I'm back home working now planning my next race weekend on the Mtb and track day on he Ninjette the following week. No rest for the wicked.

[EternalNewb]

Gotcha. Good stuff. I'd try to tag along on a ride next time, but I know you're a fast guy, and I'd get left in the dust and bore ya.

[CZroe]

I had been awake for over 55 hours when I arrived in Atlanta from San Diego (ride was 45 hours). I was nodding repeatedly the first night until I realized that it's impossible to fall asleep while singing! I was literally seeing spots, but I was definitely not falling asleep! Eventually I had to hum, click, or babble to save my voice box.

I also stayed on the phone as much as possible. Ford's research showing Bluetooth speakerphone can actually improve safety was DEAD ON.

[Hossua]

Originally Posted by Aggrotech

Stop somewhere and do a mini workout? jumping jacks/sit ups/push ups?


and alot of monster/redbull.

I'm a truck driver and I find the 5 hour energies really help with the nods.