1000 mile trip

[jesse4b11]

I dont really know where to post this, so nobody get mad, just put it where it belongs.
Now back to my topic, I live in new york, ive driven my car to florida many times in 18 hours non stop, I dont get tired at all, my butt just kills me lol.
Now I know its a whole new ball game on a motorcycle, I am well aware of that, im going to be working in florida foe the summer, and I want to take my bike, not my car.
So I'd suggestions for a 1,000 mile ride only taking lots of breaks, not a motel or anything
What should I look out for ? What should I check before my trip? Anything people can think of, id love to hear.

[Desmoluci]

I'll go a hundred miles and stop for ten minutes, then go another hundred or so until I need gas. Rinse and repeat.

Eat well the day before, but light on the days that you ride. More food makes you sleepy and not as alert as you need to be, eating light means less bathroom stops too.

Take a good rainsuit.

Make sure your bike is 100% first thing.

[JohnnyBravo]

never been that far in a day ona bike

[corksil]

Fatigue will set in at some point. Riding with fatigue is less than smart behavior.

It's been proven that the human brain never needs "rest" -- merely a change of pace/thought. Proof being the fact that your brain becomes _more_ active during sleep.

When you don't feel 100% focus, and when you feel your mind drift, take the next exit, get off the bike, walk around, stretch, talk to random people about random stuff, give your mind a chance to switch gears.

We've all had that 'wakeup call' when we narrowly avoid a dangerous situation and we wonder "where was my brain... I should have seen that a mile away..."

^^ that's fatigue. Your goal is to avoid it before you get into trouble or have that thought reversion reflex review.

Good luck and try for consistency. Eat small amounts, drink small amounts, keep things level and don't take anything to extremes. Be smooth, flow.. Ride safe, and enjoy the ride

[CC Cowboy]

I would ride a tank and take a rest.

I would eat good (healthy). Food is energy.

I would be is great shape before I leave.

I would make sure the bike is tip-top.

I would take some long rides before hand to get acclimated.

Most of all, I would do it in two days and only ride during the day.

P.S. watch out for trucks, cars, other bikes, animals, debris, and most of all police.

[NevadaWolf]

Ah! If you are going to do a 1000 miles non stop, then I highly recommend reading up from the group that does those rides routinely.

The Iron Butt Association's Saddlesore is a 1000miles in less than 24 hours and the ride that most Long Distance riders start with. Becuase of the vast number of riders who've been doing these sorts of rides for decades, they have a fantastic Archive of Wisdom for long rides.

I second CC's advice to build up to it. Simply hopping on the bike and going to Florida may be possible but certainly not easy. Over a week, I went from a 300mi, to 500mi, to 700mi ride before doing the 1000mi. Whatever the longest is you currently have ridden on the bike, split the difference with the 1K and ride that.

Definitely take breaks. Some folks need a break every hour or so, I know I can go about two and a half hours before my body starts rebelling. This is what the pre rides do, help you find your limits. If riding two hours, then walking around the bike after you fill up works for you, great!

Food and drink. I do avoid a heavy dinner and breakfast, but I keeo snacks on the bike and always carry 4 liters of water in my Camelback. Don't avoid eating or drinking to avoid restroom breaks, your body needs the fuel same as your bike. So what if you have to go to the restroom every gas stop? Means your are keeping yourself properly hydrated and that helps keep you from running low on energy later in the day. Same with snacks, I keep veggies, jerky, crackers, and cookies in my tank bag to snack on as I go. Full face helmets mean finding food durable enough to stick up under the chin bar if snacking on the bike, but you could pull your helmet off during your breaks and snack on something bigger, like an oat bar, or fruit. Whatever.

Your bike needs to be up to the task. Check all the comsumables, especially your tires! Make sure the chain is within spec and devise an easy way to keep it lubed. While nothing major needs to be done specifically because of the trip, it helps knowing when things need to be serviced and if you should do those before or after. For a 1k ride, I just do a slightly modified TCLOCK, paying particular attention to my tires. I've run them to the cords 200 miles from home, don't care to repeat that.

Gear. Normally, if its just a 1K ride, no more gear than any normal ride is needed. But if you are moving to FL for the summer, how are you gerting your stuff (clothes, etc) there? Extra liggage will definitely put an extra load on the bike, lowering fuel mileage and maybe affecting handling depending on how heavy/awkward the load is.

All in all its just another ride. Really. Keep yourself comfortable, fueled, entertained, and your bike will carry you however far you want to go.

[NevadaWolf]

Oh and the biggest bit of advice...

When you get tired, genuinely tired, when breaks, or soda, or music isn't helping: STOP!

Each ride is different, each day is different. There is no reason to put yourself or those around you at risk. Riding while exhausted isn't worth it. Get off the bike, take a nap, or get some sleep, and finish the ride later.

In the end, that is the most important thing about any ride, making it to your driveway in the same condition you left in.

[jesse4b11]

wow, im kinda surprised and happy that nothing negative was posted, and for that i appreciate the support, the comments were great, nothing but great helpful information, im only carrying a duffle bag full of clothes, nothing crazy, if anyone has anything else, feel free to keeping adding on.

[Alex]

/moved to general

Don't forget this sticky thread in the riding skills areas; there are 4 or 5 good threads linked there on long distance riding.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by jesse4b11

wow, im kinda surprised and happy that nothing negative was posted, and for that i appreciate the support, the comments were great, nothing but great helpful information, im only carrying a duffle bag full of clothes, nothing crazy, if anyone has anything else, feel free to keeping adding on.

Why would you think something negative would be posted? Its a legit question. And as Alex has shown, you certainly aren't the first to tackle long rides on a Ninja.


Also I just noticed the horrendous spelling mistakes in my original post. I am fully blaming an overly cuddly cat who thought the tablet was her own personal heating pad and my hands were there to scratch her chin.

[jesse4b11]

at least you have a cat to blame !
on my new phone everything is always misspelled, mainly because i hate the phone and dont care to learn to use it lol

back to what i said before, i said what i said because i am actually pretty anti forums, ive never had a good experience on any forum ive ever been on, its usually full of people who comment in a snotty way, trying to show off how much knowledge they have, or to correct, or just put people down for whatever reason.

ive had a lot of bad experiences on forums, it took a lot of convincing to even make me join this one, im also a member of the kawasaki 300 one, been on it for 1 hour, never went back on it, dislike most of the peoples attitude on it, thats why i was a little shocked, this being my first true post on here and seeing nothing but helpful positive advice.

[Joshua763]

I'm lovin it, I want to hear about how it goes when you get finished.

[Kscreations08]

Originally Posted by jesse4b11

im only carrying a duffle bag full of clothes, nothing crazy,

For super cheap, reliable, and interesting luggage option, please see this thread:

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=175601

I did this to my bike as well, for a trip across state, and havent taken it off my bike since lol

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by jesse4b11

back to what i said before, i said what i said because i am actually pretty anti forums.

We do have our moments of being pills, or trolls, or argumentative, but overall I have yet to see one person here who hasn't contributed postively in one way or another. Sometimes you have to find them in the sections they are knowledgeable in, but we are all here to learn and help.

I've wandered through other 250 forums when I first got my bike and loved the community here so stuck around. And the awesome thing is I have met several members IRL and they are just as cool in person as they are on here.

I do hope you find the same to be true and stick around with us.


Um um, okay enough with the back on topic.

I love taking long rides on the bike and finding the outer limits of my personal endurance. Its a fun activity to try out and getting out further and further is really exciting.

[capt_bugaloo]

In my experience, even 500 miles is a long day in the saddle. I'd do the trip over a couple of days myself.

[verboten1]

I usually only do about 600 miles in a single push on my bike, but I have been known to stop for a nap, lay down in gear on one of the tables and sleep for a few minutes. I always feel better, and I'm ready to go til my next one!

I actually fell asleep on my KLR, I got the stand down, laid my helmet on the bars and slept, I figured it would be a few minutes in that position, it was closer to an hour. A group of harleys pulling out of the gas station woke me up

[jesse4b11]

Most I rode on my bike was 4 hours and I didn't even realize it had been that long, that usually happens when I drive to Florida, im hoping and praying its the same on the bike.

[corksil]

I'm going to plagiarize... just to be clear about it... HEY EVERYONE I'M ABOUT TO PLAGIARIZE!

"sometimes it takes me an entire tank of fuel just to start thinking clearly."

My advice is post back after you've successfully made the trip without so much as a hiccup. Maybe even post back with some advice for the next guy looking forward to a long ride like yours.

On another note, yeah this forum is pretty cool (thanks alex-goderator-mod) -- I've ditched many forums over the years and I still receive rude emails from them chastising me for posting DIYs that weren't clear enough for a toddler to follow, etc..

From my experience, phones are like cats. Once you learn how they work, and train them properly to mesh well with your methods of operation, they become more of a +1 than a hindrance. A decent modern phone with a healthy understanding of gestures (drag finger over the letters to spell a word instead of trying to sausage-finger-out-each-key-with-thick-reading-glasses-in-direct-sunlight-squinting-because-you-can't-read-text-that-small-without-a-magnifying-glass...)

Back to reality... watch your chain, watch your oil, and don't run out of fuel. Machines do exactly what you ask of them, presuming you are asking them to operate within their specified operational capacity, and you do the proper maintenance to ensure that they are capable of providing that capacity of operation.

Cats on the other hand... they are foul beasts, they climbed directly from dante's 7th circle of hell, if the had wings, they would biblically be defined as 'demons' -- yet they are foul enough to make an average life barely exciting enough to be considered 'tolerable.'

(brb megalomaniacal cat secretary has decided that RIGHT NOW is the precise time for dinner regardless of my responsibilities to creatures other than it.)

Ride safe!

[alex.s]

build up to it. everybody is different and depending on your unique body/style of riding you'll get sore in different ways. take a few nice long whole day trips and see how long those legs will last before they go numb. maybe you'll notice a few things you can change that will make your long trip easier. also don't rush things. 1000 miles is pretty far. unless you're really booking it you're probably better off splitting it up. but i guess leaving at dawn and doing a full day, you could do 1000 miles at highway speed. i guess it depends on traffic. i would not want to be in a lot of hazard at the end of the trip, you know.

[Kscreations08]

Oh! and something I really wish I had when I did my trip


http://www.2wheelride.com/throttle_pro.html

[Chuffmonkey]

I'm going to offer some different advice. Is there some burning need to do it all in one long slog? There are usually very few opportunities in life to do an epic trip like this. If it were me I would rather spread the trip over 3 or 4 days and go and see whatever great stuff lies between you and the journey's end. There's no way that I would want to just put in 1000 freeway miles in one go. Hit the twisties, see the sights, take your time and enjoy the journey

[supersport]

I would honestly rent a uhaul and put the bike in it.

[corksil]

He's trying to get there. He's not riding his first bike, and he's motivated. He has a time deadline and he's trying to get there on a meticulous schedule. Leave him alone, he's riding tomorrow. Putting his bike in a uhaul and driving it toward the destination is a surefire way to waste 9 hours of kicking the tires.

Good luck OP. If you're planning on putting your bike in a uhaul and driving, uhhhhh, don't drive through any bad neighborhoods.

[supersport]

i wasn't trying to be a dick but a uhaul to me is a good option. If the OP is set on the riding there then just take my suggestion as an after thought.

Good Luck to you OP. Make sure to air out your head and get the blood in your legs flowing by resting as much as possible.

[Ducati999]

Jesse4b11 Best of luck on your trip. I have never done a 1000 mile trip but I have done over 500 in one day. Follow the advice above and ride safe. You will arrive safe if you keep your mind focused and stop when you cant. I find that riding on the highway makes it hard to keep my concentration focused after an hour or two so that is when I pull off to rest and refocus. You have experience at doing this trip (in a car) so you know mostly what to expect. You believe you can do it so I believe you can do it. Best of luck and I totally agree with you about forums. I have been on a few others and the responses were 90% negative for the sake of being a jerk not to be helpful. That is why I stay on this one, the people actually want to help you!

[jesse4b11]

thanks for all the positive comments everyone ! as stated ive done this trip many times in my car, leave at 4am get to florida at 10pm, i know it can be done, but this will be my first bike trip, everyone told me all the same negative comments listed above when i drove my car there, and i ended up being able to do it more than once non stop, hopefully i can do the same on my bike ! also yes i do have a deadline, work opportunity, interview next week, im HOPING to leave sunday, so i'll make sure to post up sunday morning if i leave, and sunday night when i get there, to let everyone know how it went !

[NevadaWolf]

I'll forwarn you, its not the same as in a car. More of your body and mind is involved and so becoming exhausted is more of a factor.

18 hours is a good amount of time to cover the distance, but mentally allow yourself to take more if needed. You say the most you've done is 4 hours, and I find things really start feeling different after about 10 hours. You really begin noticing what is uncomfortable, either with the bike or your gear or you.

Give yourself permission to stop more often to stretch and don't compare your time and experience in the car with how you are doing on the ride.

You'll make it I have no doubt. Just remember, be safe and rest when needed and stop if necessary.

[cbinker]

Stop every 100 miles and rest.

[rojoracing53]

I just did a 3000 mile trip last month with two days being over 800 miles in I think 12-13 hrs with stops. Damn it was long but after 6hrs I kinda just zoned out and time seemed to just pass on by. I have an intense get on a motorcycle and fall asleep problem so if I can make then anyone can. I stop every 80-100 miles to ether take a piss or get gas and if I need nether I just drink some water and maybe have a cookie or something. Its not a bad idea to stay a little on the over hydrated side since it'll give you a good reason to stop for a moment between gas stops. If you can spare the space I suggest filling up a 32oz jug(like a Gatorade) with gas for the trip because you never know when you'll come to an exit with an out of service station and the next stop is 40 miles away.

[CC Cowboy]

Cruise Control, Cruise Control, did I mention Cruise Control. Your wrist will go before your ass. Remember, like when driving, everytime you stop it's 20 to 30 minutes added to trip. Between slowing down, getting gas, checking over the bike (making sure everything is still tight, making sure your tires are good, and your chain isn't too tight or loose), taking a restroom break, a few stretches of the acking muscles, a drink and snack, and getting back on the road and up to speed takes mre time than you think.

All your traffic will be from New York to Richmond so plan your departure time accordingly. Rt 301 is nice, from Delaware to Richmond, to avoid Washington.

Gasbuddy.com, plan your gas stops. There are some long spots with no gas.

Have emergency information on you (just in case). Give someone your intinerary and time schedule (just in case) and stay in contact with them. Whie riding through the south sing the songs from "Deliverance" and "Easy Rider".

Take everything you will need for the bike. You can always buy clothes when you get to Florida but if you're stuck on the road you can't buy whatever you need for the bike.

As far as WW (wild women) just get numbers and tell them you're in a rush and will call them later.

[allanoue]

Link to original page on YouTube.
I got a Go Cruise Throttle Control @NevadaWolf advice and I love mine.

[Desmoluci]

Originally Posted by Kscreations08

Oh! and something I really wish I had when I did my trip


http://www.2wheelride.com/throttle_pro.html

I've been using these for a long time. They really help.

http://www.throttlerocker.com/

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Oh and the biggest bit of advice...

When you get tired, genuinely tired, when breaks, or soda, or music isn't helping: STOP!

Each ride is different, each day is different. There is no reason to put yourself or those around you at risk. Riding while exhausted isn't worth it. Get off the bike, take a nap, or get some sleep, and finish the ride later.

In the end, that is the most important thing about any ride, making it to your driveway in the same condition you left in.

This. I've slept on my old CB350, laying on the seat, feet up over the handlebars. Didn't take much, maybe 30-40 minutes with my eyes closed and about 75% asleep (I was still aware of noises around and such) and I was good to go. Power napping does wonders for one's alertness level if you can actually manage it.

And some kind of throttle rocker device (I'm not a fan of actual throttle locks, but on long straight roads with little traffic, they are ok.). Just be sure if you get one that locks, that you are absolutely sure you know how to easily and quickly disengage it. Practice in the parking lot before you even get going.

[CC Cowboy]

You might want to ship (UPS) your clothes and stuff and ride light.

[spooph]

Originally Posted by corksil

It's been proven that the human brain never needs "rest" -- merely a change of pace/thought. Proof being the fact that your brain becomes _more_ active during sleep.

Your brain actually does need "rest", but it's different from the "rest" your body needs. Your body needs to be still long enough for your brain to clean itself: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/op...lean.html?_r=0

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

Ah! If you are going to do a 1000 miles non stop, then I highly recommend reading up from the group that does those rides routinely.

The Iron Butt Association's Saddlesore is a 1000miles in less than 24 hours and the ride that most Long Distance riders start with. Becuase of the vast number of riders who've been doing these sorts of rides for decades, they have a fantastic Archive of Wisdom for long rides.

I second CC's advice to build up to it. Simply hopping on the bike and going to Florida may be possible but certainly not easy. Over a week, I went from a 300mi, to 500mi, to 700mi ride before doing the 1000mi. Whatever the longest is you currently have ridden on the bike, split the difference with the 1K and ride that.

Definitely take breaks. Some folks need a break every hour or so, I know I can go about two and a half hours before my body starts rebelling. This is what the pre rides do, help you find your limits. If riding two hours, then walking around the bike after you fill up works for you, great!

Food and drink. I do avoid a heavy dinner and breakfast, but I keeo snacks on the bike and always carry 4 liters of water in my Camelback. Don't avoid eating or drinking to avoid restroom breaks, your body needs the fuel same as your bike. So what if you have to go to the restroom every gas stop? Means your are keeping yourself properly hydrated and that helps keep you from running low on energy later in the day. Same with snacks, I keep veggies, jerky, crackers, and cookies in my tank bag to snack on as I go. Full face helmets mean finding food durable enough to stick up under the chin bar if snacking on the bike, but you could pull your helmet off during your breaks and snack on something bigger, like an oat bar, or fruit. Whatever.

Your bike needs to be up to the task. Check all the comsumables, especially your tires! Make sure the chain is within spec and devise an easy way to keep it lubed. While nothing major needs to be done specifically because of the trip, it helps knowing when things need to be serviced and if you should do those before or after. For a 1k ride, I just do a slightly modified TCLOCK, paying particular attention to my tires. I've run them to the cords 200 miles from home, don't care to repeat that.

Gear. Normally, if its just a 1K ride, no more gear than any normal ride is needed. But if you are moving to FL for the summer, how are you gerting your stuff (clothes, etc) there? Extra liggage will definitely put an extra load on the bike, lowering fuel mileage and maybe affecting handling depending on how heavy/awkward the load is.

All in all its just another ride. Really. Keep yourself comfortable, fueled, entertained, and your bike will carry you however far you want to go.

Sooo good! Also, so jelly... I can barely do 100miles in the seat before I have to get off and stretch...

AirHawk seats work great: http://www.compacc.com/p/airhawk-2-s...RYJWt-_7_D_BwE

especially for skinny people like me...

This is awesome for chain maintenance on the road: http://www.packjack.ca/

Stop for the bathroom rather than get dehydrated...

[corksil]

You should condense the information in that sleep article into one paragraph and go post it in my 'cool facts' thread in the off-topic forum.

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by NevadaWolf

We do have our moments of being pills, or trolls, or argumentative, but overall I have yet to see one person here who hasn't contributed postively in one way or another.

You have forgotten a person or three

[Milsparro]

Remember the SS1000 paperwork

[corksil]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

You have forgotten a person or three

/me looks around... looks around again... slowly raises his hand... slowly at first, but then quickly, because he doesn't want the responsibility of being ousted as the offending participant..

/me watches someone at the front of the class turn around and notice his raised hand...

/me withdraws his hand rapidly and puts his hat over his face, feigning a napping student.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

You have forgotten a person or three

No, I haven't.

I said: "Sometimes you have to find them in the sections they are knowledgeable in..."

Even those that are clearly trying to troll, or be argumentative, or bashing others, whatever, have posted good information to questions that they do know the answers to. And there are times that when they don't know something, they learn, and then share what they learned.

Take Jiggles for instance. I told him that originally I thought he was an ass, but I kept reading his posts and saw when he gets serious, his posts are amazingly informative and very applicable to many riders. I mention him because we've met and I really hope I wasn't too uncool to hang out with.

I like our little community, I like seeing it be as varied and human as it is. Even with the weirdos like that napping kid in the back of the class.