So what Adventures do you have planned for 2010?

[roadhamr]

i am honestly impressed with the plans that people have made here but it seems to me that y'all have apile of mileage and not a lot of time to do it in. some of the timeframes suggest that you will be blasting everywhere you go and putting in day after day of long mileage days. where is the adventure? how do you interact with people when you are pushing so hard? i dont want to be negative i just want to bring up an important part of the trip, the journey.

[Wolf]

Toronto - > Manitoulin Island - > Sault Ste. Marie - > Sudbury -> Toronto

Toronto - > Camp North of Ottawa -> Toronto

Toronto - > James Bay - >Toronto - This one is a must!

PEI - I hope not to run out of long weekends.

[RichinOville]

i dont want to be negative i just want to bring up an important part of the trip, the journey.

Riding the bike IS the journey. Some people stop and smell the roses quite a bit. On my ZR7, I could easily do multiple, relaxed 700km days. A 700km circle from Toronto will get you quite a distance away.
Now I find, that I can only do multiple, relaxed 450-500kms days. I just need to spend more time doing the same trip. Sometimes it sucks having a bike that really doesn't like going more than about 90kmph. But now I smell the roses and I don't even have to stop or slow down anymore than I am already going.

[V-Tom]

i am honestly impressed with the plans that people have made here but it seems to me that y'all have apile of mileage and not a lot of time to do it in. some of the timeframes suggest that you will be blasting everywhere you go and putting in day after day of long mileage days. where is the adventure? how do you interact with people when you are pushing so hard? i dont want to be negative i just want to bring up an important part of the trip, the journey.

What do you consider a long day? What kind of bike do you ride?

I've found with my friends that we have no problem doing 8 hours of riding with a stop every two or three hours. We'll aim to leave around 8am and like to be at the hotel before 8pm but don't get concerned if we are a bit later. We try and do secondary roads whenever possible and are riding at around 100 kph/60 mph. That means that we'll often have 800 km days. If there is a lot of superslabbing then we'll try and keep it at 120 kph/75 mph and might end up doing 1,000 km. If the roads have a lot of twisties we'll tend to make the route be shorter. This year on our way down to the Dragon our first day will be something like 800 km and Google projects 11 hours. This will be a longish day but we’ll be starting fresh. I find Google is usually pessimistic (shows longer than it really takes) for actual driving/riding time so it probably is more like 10 hours of riding. After that our route has about 500 km a day and 8 hours or so Google time so there is lots of time for sightseeing and food stops.

My route can easily be changed on the way if we find we are late or have detour/weather issues. We can hop onto I81 easily and make time if we have to.

..Tom

[roadhamr]

800 kms would be a full day for me at this point. i ride a valkyrie interstate, it is a touring bike. but there is still fatigue to consider and if you have to do that for multiple days then you need to stay alert. i like to stretch and chat at each gas stop. force out a bathroom break and take on some water. i would think for a ride to a new area i would like to do around the 600 to 800kms/day i think it would be a good balance of making headway and enjoying the trip. i have had lots of trips where it was 1200 plus kms a day for 7 days and it sucked. i think, and again i dont want to be negative just realistic, but toronto to los angeles to vancouver and back to toronto in 3 weeks and be relaxed isnt really possible. you will end up riding interstates and missing everything. mho. i too try to only ride secondary roads and enjoy. i slow my pace down and try to drink in as much in as i can. also i lik to have a few drinks when i am on the road after the riding so super early morning starts arent for me.

[roadhamr]

Riding the bike IS the journey. Some people stop and smell the roses quite a bit. On my ZR7, I could easily do multiple, relaxed 700km days. A 700km circle from Toronto will get you quite a distance away.
Now I find, that I can only do multiple, relaxed 450-500kms days. I just need to spend more time doing the same trip. Sometimes it sucks having a bike that really doesn't like going more than about 90kmph. But now I smell the roses and I don't even have to stop or slow down anymore than I am already going.

i hear what you are saying and you see my point though right? it isnt that hard to do 700 or even 1000kms in a day for one day. it is however hard to do it for multiple days. it takes its tole on your body and your spirit. and you are right 500 to 600 kms/day is probably more realistic for a multiple day tour to see everything and really get a feel for an area. i have read some awesome and very ambitious plans people have and they are hardier soles than i am. i couldnt take a 14 day 1000km/day minimum trip. it would wear me out. good on you those that can! you are iron butts!

[RichinOville]

i hear what you are saying and you see my point though right? it isnt that hard to do 700 or even 1000kms in a day for one day. it is however hard to do it for multiple days. it takes its tole on your body and your spirit. and you are right 500 to 600 kms/day is probably more realistic for a multiple day tour to see everything and really get a feel for an area. i have read some awesome and very ambitious plans people have and they are hardier soles than i am. i couldnt take a 14 day 1000km/day minimum trip. it would wear me out. good on you those that can! you are iron butts!

On the my standard bike, with a 750cc engine. I could do 700km days over and over again. I did find that I had to pop an extra strength aspirin every hour and a half or so to offset the pain in my wrists from arthitis. But they were very pleasant days, stopped every hour and a half or so. But only stopped for about 10-15 minutes. Never really stop for lunch. Even with a few stops, I still average about 100kms/hour. Get to my destination around 4 or 5pm, sit by the pool and have a beer. Walk around and find some supper. I avoided interstates whenever possible. If I wanted to do interstates, I could take my car and be comfortable.
Now, I'm on a very different bike, I don't need aspirins at all. I have to stop every hour and half to get gas (160km range on the tank). I can make the stops longer because the bike isn't stressing out the body at all, except in my shoulders. But I am stuck with 500km days because the freakin' bike is so slow.
It also now pains me that I have to ride the bike like a cruiser in the twisties. Fast in the straights and slow in the corners, when I use to do the opposite with ease. Twisties aren't as much fun, but on the plus side I can carry almost anything I want to and I really get to see the country very well. Oh, with a 90-100kmph top speed, I really, really avoid interstates.

[etonna]

A long day can go much easier if your ready for it, well rested and prepared! Last September a few friends and I loaded the bikes up in a trailer and headed out to Deals Gap, rode around there for a few days and then the rain hit, My buddies opted to stay for the planned duration but with the rain and a nagging girlfriend at home I decided spur of the moment to suit up and ride home. I left the Deals Gap resort @ 7am on a R1 and thought that the 1400kms ahead of me would be a breeze.... was I ever wrong! LOL I ended making the trip in just under 14 hours stopping 5 times for fuel and a drink and 1 20 minute stop for lunch/dinner/gas. It's not something I would do again on my particular type of bike, and I ended up missing all of the scenery. I plan on riding down this year but taking 2-3 days each way and I think I'll be able to enjoy it this time!

[roadhamr]

On the my standard bike, with a 750cc engine. I could do 700km days over and over again. I did find that I had to pop an extra strength aspirin every hour and a half or so to offset the pain in my wrists from arthitis. But they were very pleasant days, stopped every hour and a half or so. But only stopped for about 10-15 minutes. Never really stop for lunch. Even with a few stops, I still average about 100kms/hour. Get to my destination around 4 or 5pm, sit by the pool and have a beer. Walk around and find some supper. I avoided interstates whenever possible. If I wanted to do interstates, I could take my car and be comfortable.
Now, I'm on a very different bike, I don't need aspirins at all. I have to stop every hour and half to get gas (160km range on the tank). I can make the stops longer because the bike isn't stressing out the body at all, except in my shoulders. But I am stuck with 500km days because the freakin' bike is so slow.
It also now pains me that I have to ride the bike like a cruiser in the twisties. Fast in the straights and slow in the corners, when I use to do the opposite with ease. Twisties aren't as much fun, but on the plus side I can carry almost anything I want to and I really get to see the country very well. Oh, with a 90-100kmph top speed, I really, really avoid interstates.

i wonder what kind of bike are you riding now that only has a top speed of 90km/hr? 160km range is not very long either. also when you have to take pain killers of any description you are not doing yourself any favors. glad to hear you are enjoying.

[RichinOville]

i wonder what kind of bike are you riding now that only has a top speed of 90km/hr? 160km range is not very long either. also when you have to take pain killers of any description you are not doing yourself any favors. glad to hear you are enjoying.

I now ride a Russian Ural Sidecar (800lb bike, 40hp, 19L tank). No joint stress like the sportbike, but it is a physical workout for the shoulders and arms to get the thing to survive the curves in tight twisties. I don't get saddle sore or bored while bouncing down the back roads at 90kmph. The downside is the thing drinks its own weight in fuel every hour, my car gets better gas mileage.

My 700km day limit on the sportbike also coincided with the daily maximum allowed dosage for the pain killers. When I wasn't riding, I didn't need to take them.

[BeastieGirl]

How many miles you log in a day is such a variable - factor in person, type of bike, road conditions, weather conditions, etc.

Part of the reason I tour by myself a lot is because most of my friends consider 250 - 300 mile days biggies (my friends are mostly middle-aged - as am I - I don't mind admitting to being mid-fifties). But I'm lucky - I'm in great shape, no health issues, no back or knee problems to baby along. Add to that the fact that for I'm a little person, so my FZ1 is a great touring bike - almost perfect ergonomics for me - no knees around my elbows

I mix up my days with relaxed days and "make up time days" - and I'll ride along at 130 - 140 on the slab no problem. Again - bike factors in - at 130 the FZ1 runs so smoothly it almost feels like you're sitting still. Other tricks are doing the mega runs on the way to my destination when the enthusiasm is still high and the scenery is new -then I like to leave the shortest leg for the last day home when the post-vacation depression is starting to set in.

The vacation for me counts most for the hours I'm in the saddle - its just me and my personality and not for everybody for sure.

So - its know yourself, your tolerance level and go with what makes you happy.

[roadhamr]

oh well that explains it. you may need other meds besides asprin!

[RichinOville]

how many miles you log in a day is such a variable - factor in person, type of bike, road conditions, weather conditions, etc.

Part of the reason i tour by myself a lot is because most of my friends consider 250 - 300 mile days biggies (my friends are mostly middle-aged - as am i - i don't mind admitting to being mid-fifties). But i'm lucky - i'm in great shape, no health issues, no back or knee problems to baby along. Add to that the fact that for i'm a little person, so my fz1 is a great touring bike - almost perfect ergonomics for me - no knees around my elbows

i mix up my days with relaxed days and "make up time days" - and i'll ride along at 130 - 140 on the slab no problem. Again - bike factors in - at 130 the fz1 runs so smoothly it almost feels like you're sitting still. Other tricks are doing the mega runs on the way to my destination when the enthusiasm is still high and the scenery is new -then i like to leave the shortest leg for the last day home when the post-vacation depression is starting to set in.

The vacation for me counts most for the hours i'm in the saddle - its just me and my personality and not for everybody for sure.

So - its know yourself, your tolerance level and go with what makes you happy.

+100

[roadhamr]

How many miles you log in a day is such a variable - factor in person, type of bike, road conditions, weather conditions, etc.

absolutely beastiegirl, you are right. when you talk days and say 200 to 300 miles do you mean kms? or actually miles? that is barley warming the bike up. i just dont like successive days of heavy mileage where the destination begins to become the whole reason not the journey itself. riding i find opens you up to experiences. you meet people everywhere you go. i dont think i have ever stopped for gas and not had someone come over to talk to me about my bike. my wife thinks it is hilarious because i appear very unapproachable at times she says. i dont know what she is talking about. when the thought of getting back into the saddle seems like torture i know i have been pushing way too hard.

hey does anyone know where you can buy that performance undergarment for riders that helps with the chaffing and the monkey butt?

[Wingboy]

Mosport Festival May 29,30.
Aminal's BBQ.
Sunday morn rides on the Hyper to somewhere.

[V-Tom]

How many miles you log in a day is such a variable - factor in person, type of bike, road conditions, weather conditions, etc.

Part of the reason I tour by myself a lot is because most of my friends consider 250 - 300 mile days biggies (my friends are mostly middle-aged - as am I - I don't mind admitting to being mid-fifties). But I'm lucky - I'm in great shape, no health issues, no back or knee problems to baby along. Add to that the fact that for I'm a little person, so my FZ1 is a great touring bike - almost perfect ergonomics for me - no knees around my elbows ....

Many of the guys I ride with are older than me (I'm 53 in a few days) and don't seem to have any issues with planning 500 to 800 km days. We've done some 1,000 km days (usually at the start of a 8 or 9 day road trip.) It might be the bikes we ride (V-Strom’s) or that we simply love riding. I know that in a few exceptional circumstances that they have done 1400 km days but it isn't something we plan for (those were personal emergencies where they need to get home.)

There is no doubt that having a bike with the right ergos for you as well as a comfy seat can make a huge difference!

..Tom

[BeastieGirl]

I have definitely been guilty of over-extending myself in the past - finding myself on the 407 at 1:00 a.m. in the morning, knowing I had to get up and go to work in less than 6 hours and another hour still to my home in Hamilton. Lessons learned.

If I head for the Grand Canyon in September and don't make it, for whatever reason, I kind of figure "so what". Unfortunately at my office I can't take more than two consecutive weeks off - so I'll make a game plan - again planning the longer saddle days for the way out, and if it starts to not be fun, then I won't do it. It wouldn't be the first time I've changed destinations mid-stream so to speak.

When I first started touring, I was fanatical about mapping out routes, making reservations, having to be here and having to be there. Learning to be more flexible has saved me a lot of stress. And aside from stress, I don't want to put myself in a potentially dangerous situation.

A couple of years ago I had five weeks between jobs and a dream trip to Alaska. Three days in I had a serious accident, broke my collar bone in 3 places, totalled the bike, almost lost my new job. I spent those 5 weeks rehabbing my shoulder, another 3 weeks before I could get cleared to ride and get a new bike. Guess what - the world didn't end

[V-Tom]

...hey does anyone know where you can buy that performance undergarment for riders that helps with the chaffing and the monkey butt?

Aerostich has some undergarments tailored to riding. They are similar to bicycle riding shorts but a little different in length for use on motorcycles. I haven't tried them but have heard some riders say they are great.

I have found that sitting on leather (it breathes) vs vinyl seats and wearing moisture wicking under clothes does the job for me. I like the Tilley underwear (and travel socks!) but Mark's Work Warehouse "drywear" is great stuff as well.

I have done road trips of over 5500 km with some 800 to 1000 km days and had no issues with monkey butt.

..Tom

[roadhamr]

we have a Marks in town i will go and check out the drywear! thanks
i get the monkey butt somethin' fierce!

[gcrouse]

Looking at going to Yellowstone/Salt Lake City/Denver at the end of July and a trip to Beaver Run outside Pittsburgh at the end of August.

Beaver run? Any info on that ? Heading down to PA in June ... info appreciated