Making the time to tour

[oomis]

I saw this question in another thread, and thought that it was worthy of a thread all of it's own:

How do you guys do/accomplish these sort of tours, with all due respect - jobs, wives/mistresses, kids (legitimate and illegitimate), dogs/cats/goldfish don't throw up roadblocks? Or are you the perpetual traveler/drifter, working only to get up a bank account in order to see you through the next great trip (truly curious here)...

I put on about 20 to 30,000 kms a year on a bike (though this year may be a low year), and am usually on the road 2-3 weeks a year. dr_sarcasm's question is a great one, and one that I suspect quite a few other folks find themselves asking as they read ride reports or hear other riders talk about their adventures.

So for the riders that feel the itch, this thread is for you. Are you wondering how to make it all work? Ask your questions here, and let folks who have figured out a solution that works for them share some advice. Not that what works for us will work for you, but maybe bits and pieces of it will.

Or...let's turn this into another GTAM &^%$ show. Whatever.

[Rotten_Ronnie]

My first wife didn't like the motorcycle, my second wife is the motorcycle.

I minimize my expenses, ride a bike that I can do a lot of the maintenance on myself, and choose camping or three star hotels while enroute.

My goal is to travel and experience what I can while living within my means.

My question to you is where are you going to strap the walker onto your bike if you wait too long to do this?

[oomis]

I minimize my expenses, ride a bike that I can do a lot of the maintenance on myself, and choose camping or three star hotels while enroute.

My goal is to travel and experience what I can while living within my means.

Solid. Another question is "how do you afford it?" My answer - I afford it by wanting it badly enough and making tough choices.

I don't ride the latest and greatest 2 wheeled hot rod. Like Ronnie, I do pretty much all of the regular maintenance by myself. On the DL1000, that includes valve clearance inspections and adjustments. I make a point of getting the service manual for every bike I own, and doing as much of the work as I can myself. All fluid changes, chains and sprockets, and I have a guy that mounts my tires for me. I built up a good relationship with a local shop, and they take care of me when I need something from them that I can't get online.

When I'm on the road, all I need is a roof that doesn't leak and a bed with no bugs in it. I've camped, but most of the time in the States, it's mom and pop hotels, which can often be had for under $50 / night in small towns. I don't spend very much money while I'm on the trip - it all goes towards gas, lodging and cheap and cheerful meals. And maybe a coupla brews at the end of a day (bless the US, for they sell beer in gas stations!)

Is it luxury travel? Hell no. I've stayed in some dumps. I mean, dee, you, emm, pee, ess DUMPS. But those are the places where you meet the most interesting people, and where all the most interesting stories live. I'll stay in a dive almost any day over a Holiday Inn Express.

[Kri$han]

Wicked, Good thread oomis.

I feel this way about some other annual trips i take every year -as in making sacrifices in my daily life, just to be able to afford another vacation- but being relatively new to motorcycling, I have yet to take any lengthy tours. I've done one 4-hour ride to NY with my gf (on her own ride), in which we both learned that she is not the "touring" type of rider. To me, the 'tourer' is willing to put up with *almost anything in order to get in a great day of riding: rain, less-than ideal sleeping conditions, etc.

As I get older I think I'll be looking to do this more, but I think I'd rather do this with another rider or two. Solo touring would make for a really lonely experience, IMO. I'd like to get a tour to the Dragon, and I've often fantasized about shipping my bike to Europe and backpacking/riding as much as I can within an allotted time of maybe 2-4 weeks.

[oomis]

As I get older I think I'll be looking to do this more, but I think I'd rather do this with another rider or two. Solo touring would make for a really lonely experience, IMO.

Solo touring isn't for everyone, that's for sure. I've done it, and I've spent months looking forward to it, but on the second day - yes, it gets lonely. Especially if you're not the type to make instant friends at the bar. If you're more of an introvert than an extrovert, you can definately get to the point where it feels like something is missing. But in my experience - again, just mine - this is one of the things that makes coming home so great. I miss my family so much, and this is part of the recharging process.

[stevie t]

Solo touring allows you to go where/when you please, sometimes this is a good thing. Besides, you are never really alone, you have your bike with you.

You can also tour for 3 or 4 days, not every trip has to be a multi-week endeavour, although, I try to avoid touring on long weekends in the summer, too many idiots on the road.

With respect to making the time, it's like anything in life, you need to prioritize, I knew after the first trip to Vancouver and back that I would be touring until I couldn't ride anymore. I always preferred to go far, not fast, but that's just me.

Finally, yes communication is key, you do need to check in with those people that truly matter, puts their minds at ease.

[BeastieGirl]

[QUOTE=oomis;1757083]Solid. Another question is "how do you afford it?" My answer - I afford it by wanting it badly enough and making tough choices.QUOTE]

Yep.

Having said that, a lot of it is a matter of timing. I no longer have dependent children, I may or may not have a significant other at any given point. As much as we would all like to be free spirits, there is a time when for many of us family responsibilities such as mortgages, children, children’s education, etc. take priority.

I am a “moderate tourer” – not a road warrior. My longest trip to date was to Arizona last June – which lasted 16 days. I get four weeks vacation time a year, but firm policy does not allow more than two consecutive weeks in any month. So I try for one major trip – and then less ambitious extended weekend trips, ie up north, or stateside to Virginia and West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Vermont, NH, etc.

Still it requires planning and as others have said, choices, when you don’t have unlimited funds or time. Every February my gal pals head off for a winter vacation to somewhere warm – this year Cuba. $800.00 is ¾ of my vacation budget for my trip to New Mexico this year, so again I declined to go. I don’t buy a new bike every 3 years, my leathers have that “well worn” look about them. I camp and if I don’t camp, staying in the occasional “dump” of a motel isn’t the end of the world. I’ll live on $10.00 worth of granola bars and sports drinks for a couple of days and don’t consider it a hardship. I accept that if I do want to go to a long-distance destination in a short period of time, it involves sucking it up for 10-12 hour days, I don’t let minor things ruin my whole experience – yeah I’ve ridden 10 hours in the pouring rain on the highways – so what??? The other six days were spectacular and if I had sat that day out in a motel somewhere, I would have had to cut short a day doing what I wanted to do.

I have to admit that I do worry when I have both time and money to make a "grand" trip - maybe another shot at my ill-fated trip to Alaska, I won't have the physical stamina to do it - but who knows? I can see me a little white-haired granny on a Maxi-Scooter - or maybe a Trike

[oomis]

I've had people ask me how I can justify spending 2-3 weeks / year on the road, away from family.

It's simple. I need to take that time. Though I wouldn't always call the riding that I've done "relaxing" pe se, for me it's recharging. I'm a better person when I've had the opportunity to recharge. I can be more "present", I'm less cranky, more optimistic... and it's a deal-breaker for me. I ride - it's what I do, and it's a part of who I am. Someone who doesn't get that, well, it is what it is, I guess.

I'm lucky in that my family has always encouraged motorcycling as a passion, and touring as a pastime. Not everyone has this luxury, which I imagine might make it hard, but there are things that can be done to make things easier. Just 2 things, off the top of my head - would love to hear from others.

1. Regular communication on the road. Checking in at least on a daily basis helps to ease worried minds back home, and helps to set expectations. When I'm on the road, my world stops at 7:30 pm EST, no matter where I am, no matter what's going on, so that I can make a call home to tell my kids about my day, and to tell them good night. I get a chance to connect with them, and them with me, and makes us feel closer. In order to avoid roaming charges on my cell, I look for wifi, and I use Skype.
2. Sharing pictures - I take a lot of pics on a real camera, but I'll always take a couple of shots on my iPhone. This way, when I hit the wifi, I can do some quick and dirty sharing, so they can see some of the things that I have seen, and share a little bit in what I'm doing.