Your favorite weekend/long weekend trips

[Wasted]

My gf finally decided to come for a ride and loved it, so now I'm hoping that we can get away for a weekend ride or two and hopfully she'll like it enough to get off my bike and get her own. What is your favorite route/destination that can easily be done in a weekend?

[Rotten_Ronnie]

Catskills NY
Lake Placid NY
Renovo PA
West Virginia

Four day weekends get even better.

[nobbie48]

East Ohio, West PA border area

[Carmen]

Catskills NY
Lake Placid NY
Renovo PA
West Virginia

Four day weekends get even better.

I say this with great humility as I realize you have much more travel experience than me Rotten Ronnie, but I feel that the only trip listed that qualifies as a comfortable weekend trip is the one to Renovo. The others require 3 or 4 days to take in for maximum enjoyment.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I say this with great humility as I realize you have much more travel experience than me Rotten Ronnie, but I feel that the only trip listed that qualifies as a comfortable weekend trip is the one to Renovo. The others require 4 days to take in for maximum enjoyment.

My adventure tends to be riding the roads to and from, the people, the culture and the meals along the way. So Lake Placid is a haul and the Catskills are a three day ride plus if you were taking it easy and exploring the area.

Riding solo I have no issues with 1000km days, but prefer 800km, and 500km if the route is twisty such as the Blue Ridge Parkway or if I'm riding on gavel such as the Trans Labrador Highway. These figures include hotel/motel as opposed to camping. I'm not as fast as some here at packing up my gear as I'm not a morning person. I have posted some rather long rides here, haven't I? :P

I tend to get far too many shots like this... :P


You've got a great point. For my first trip with pillion I'd try for 500km days and really nice stops enroute that give you that "Ah, beautiful!" moment. Shared vistas, good food and a comfortable room at the end of it.

Maybe St. Catharines and the Niagara Pkwy into Niagara-on-the-Lake and then the falls all the way down to the Fort Erie border crossing, Lunch Stateside, then down to Springville NY where you can launch off into the Park or get a room for the night.

Google routed this via the fastest roads, I'd hop off and take secondary roads. There's some lovely Amish country through the middle New York section.

http://g.co/maps/p33pc

[BeastieGirl]

What is your favorite route/destination that can easily be done in a weekend?

As a former "pillion", the first thing I would note is that it is actually a lot more uncomfortable to ride for long distances - on the back of a sport or sport/touring bike than in the driver's seat. Now add luggage or camping equipment on the back, and your passenger can end up pretty cramped without the option of squirming and stretching that you have as the rider. Just saying this to recommend that maybe you make your first trip not so long with lots of breaks - and hopefully she will love it.

For weekend, as opposed to long weekend destinations, you might consider Peterborough/Kawartha area - no cross border hassles, Warren, PA is a nice, close destination with some interesting riding (take a ride up to Kinzua dam)and one of the nicest Super 8's I've ever been in, also the Finger Lake area - again nice scenery with some nice riding close enough to ride down for a weekend or long weekend, wine country with lots to do off the bike - or of course you can always run up north, if you feel up to fighting the long weekend traffic.

[Wasted]

Thanks for the responses. The roads out to Renovo look amazing but I agree that it'll have to be a bit shorter with lots of breaks to start out with. The last thing that I want to do is put her off riding by over-doing it on the first trip because, like I mentioned, I'd like her to eventually get her own bike. That being said, PA is definitely a goal now!
Now, a followup question. I use an icon Squad II backpack. It fits all the things that I need for up to a week and I really don't mind the feel, but that's just not going to fly when we both go out. What are my best luggage options? are there any truly passenger friendly saddle bags or am I forced to lighten the backpack load substantially and throw on one of those awful giant tank bags?

[Rotten_Ronnie]

SW-Motech quick release racks from www.aviciouscycle.ca

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade...view/3776/660/



The racks pop off when you get home so you can pose at Timmies. People will walk up and ask "What are those little metal tabs for?" and you can tell him that you can mount up to 82 litres of luggage (waterproof, lockable) luggage for your touring trips.






Ordinarily I'd say that she wears the backpack now, you load up your tankbag and possibly a fender bag. There's no room back there for a canoe bag imho.

Oops, forgot soft luggage saddle bags. I've used Gears, Joe Rocket and Oxford. The Oxford were the best. See if you can borrow a set and have her sit the bike for comfort before you buy them.

You will want to look at standoffs so they won't ruin your paint or melt on the exhaust.

[gwelfmike]

This was my bike for the trip to james bay....

[Rotten_Ronnie]

This was my bike for the trip to james bay....

So where does your girlfriend/wife sit when you're all loaded up like that?

[gwelfmike]

You could try heading north to Tobermorry, ( Cragies, best fish anywhere) , stay overnight there and take the ferry to south bay mouth, Saturday on the Island then head to Sudbury, then south to home on Sunday, nice little loop trip.

[honduhmatic]

I say go for a shorter ride and smell the roses a bit. I doubt the passenger seat on the FZ6R is the most comfortable place to spend back-to-back 10 hr days.

I'd ride to Algonquin and back. Take some fun roads up (Appleby, Hockley, Terra Nova, Big Chute Road), stay a night around Huntsville or Dwight, ride through the park on Day 2, and either take freeways home or stay a second night and explore fun roads around Bancroft.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

Warren, PA is a nice, close destination with some interesting riding (take a ride up to Kinzua dam)and one of the nicest Super 8's I've ever been in...

I went that way for my Turkey Ride, then south through to Kane. It was entertaining and fun as well as beautiful.

[Wasted]

So many amazing options. I think I'll have to ease her in with some of the shorter Ontario trips and then maybe take a few days off and do a PA trip as well. With any luck I can convince her to get her own bike by the 2013 season and the longer routes will be more realistic for a 'weekend' trip. SO pumped for spring now....thanks to everyone for the posts and keep 'em coming!!

[BeastieGirl]

So many amazing options. I think I'll have to ease her in with some of the shorter Ontario trips and then maybe take a few days off and do a PA trip as well. With any luck I can convince her to get her own bike by the 2013 season and the longer routes will be more realistic for a 'weekend' trip. SO pumped for spring now....thanks to everyone for the posts and keep 'em coming!!

Its easy to see what we all do on the weekends in the summer. Its all easy to see we forget sometimes that not everyone thinks of Tobermory as a "day trip"

Now the hardest part is going to be breaking it to your girlfriend on your first trip that she can't pack 5 changes of clothing, makeup, hair dryer, curling iron, matching shoes and bag for each outfit - I still remember the horror when my b/f told me I had one saddlebag on the Bandit for all my stuff for our 4 day trip. On the plus side, we ladies do get used to "grunging" it - and its added incentive for her to get her own bike.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

...I still remember the horror when my b/f told me I had one saddlebag on the Bandit for all my stuff for our 4 day trip. On the plus side, we ladies do get used to "grunging" it - and its added incentive for her to get her own bike.

I gave the ex two bags and kept a side case and the tankbag for myself. :P

[Wasted]

I gave the ex two bags and kept a side case and the tankbag for myself. :P

She came to that realization the other day. I suggested that a good way to double the storage space would be for her to take over my bike and then I'll buy a new one. 2 bikes = 4 saddlebags!! It wasn't immediately shot down like I had expected it to be so I think that I'm making progress hahaha.

[djez]

She came to that realization the other day. I suggested that a good way to double the storage space would be for her to take over my bike and then I'll buy a new one. 2 bikes = 4 saddlebags!! It wasn't immediately shot down like I had expected it to be so I think that I'm making progress hahaha.

Congrats I wish ill get your luck with the wife this spring.

[BeastieGirl]

She came to that realization the other day. I suggested that a good way to double the storage space would be for her to take over my bike and then I'll buy a new one. 2 bikes = 4 saddlebags!! It wasn't immediately shot down like I had expected it to be so I think that I'm making progress hahaha.

Well although I started as a passenger, there is of course no requirement that you log any time as a pillion before piloting your own bike. But on a slightly more serious note, the only reason to ride for either guys or gals to ride is because theyreally want to. If she really wants to ride, you won't have to talk her into it (encouragement and support are good - pressure is bad )

[ATTS]

She came to that realization the other day. I suggested that a good way to double the storage space would be for her to take over my bike and then I'll buy a new one. 2 bikes = 4 saddlebags!! It wasn't immediately shot down like I had expected it to be so I think that I'm making progress hahaha.

The other option is to keep your bike for yourself and get a dedicated sport touring for your 2up trips, luckily my fiancee is good with this. Now I get a second bike, just have to wait until the end of the season probably to buy it.

Make sure not to plan your first ride of the season as a weekend trip. Make it only a couple hours around town if need be until she gets comfortable being on for longer periods of time after not being on all winter. Remember that your seat is way more comfortable than hers and you want her to stay comfortable and build up to longer rides or she will loose interest faster than you want her to.