Toronto to Denver in 2 days? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Toronto to Denver in 2 days?

When you do your run to Montreal and back pay careful attention to any areas of discomfort with your helmet or earplugs. What feels uncomfortable at the end of day one can be excruciating at the end of day two or three. Keep in mind that you also need to make the trip back home, and even a couple of days of rest in between may not desensitize pressure points on/in your ears.

Be prepared to trim your earplugs or adjust the foam in your helmet. Relatively minor adjustments can make a big difference.

The same idea also works for your seat and riding position, although perhaps to a lesser degree. If it hurts on day one, it's going to become miserable on day two or three.
 
I have lived in the CO / UT area before so I have done this trek probably 25+ times ... most likely one of the few guys on GTAM to have done it on a bike many many times

I have done Seattle to Toronto in 3 days ... that's about 4200km ... so its do-able but based on the per person basis ... I was on an ST1300 but my buddy with me was on a ZX14 ...

If I am not trying to iron-butt the ride across the prairies... USUALLY what I do:

- Day1 - leave work early at around 3pm on Friday ... ride the roughly 700km to Michigan City Indiana. Assuming you keep your dinner stop to a minimum (or don't eat dinner until you get there) then with my Nexus pass at the border I can make Michigan City around 10pm'ish (assuming you hold steady to 120kph while moving) ... this would include 2 fuel stops and you would quickly eat something to keep going at the fuel stop ... and I wear a camelbak for hydration on the road. If you stay at the Super8 off the freeway there is a steakhouse literally on the other side of the parking lot ... I usually eat there since they open until 11pm. Also there is a Walmart 2 mins down the road for you to pick up anything you forgot to pack at home. Since you are doing some riding after sun down I HIGHLY recommend you detour yourself down to Interstate 80 ... might mean an extra 30 mins of ride time but Interstate 80 along Indiana has a "animal alert" system ... its basically a bunch of sensors that have laser beams on the side ofthe highway and if an animal passes the beam an alarm goes off and you have probably a few hundred meters of notice because you'll get alot of flashing lights on the road ... NO JOKES, this works !! I had the lights go off and I slowed down and so did all the cars and up ahead was a deer crossing the road. At least this way you will have some warning that something is up ahead.

day 2 - I would leave really early the following morning ... no later then 6pm since you are crossing through the bottom of the Chicago area along I80 ... I usually am able to make it to Kearney, NE or North Platte, NE with no issues (approximately 1100-1200km). Keep in mind that once you get to the IL to IA border your speed limit will go up ... I believe 65mph goes to 70mph ... 70mph = 112kph so you can safely do about just under 80mph which is 128kph ... Once you get to the IA to NE border your speed limit goes up AGAIN to 75mph which is 120kph ... so you should easily be able to do about 135kph ... Though I'm not advocating it, I usually follow the locals through here and am routinely doing about 150kph ... which sounds fast but keep in mind its only 15mph over the limit :p ... North Platte is about an extra hour and a bit past Kearney ... so doing a 135kph day go to kearney, doing a 150kph day go to North Platte ... Kearney townwise I believe is 'better' then North Platte from what I remember.

Day 3 - is a leisurely pace of 580km to Denver ... wake up late and leave the hotel by 9am ... get there around 3pm so you can still have time to check out the town. Also unless they have fixed I76 the past 10 years it is the worst road in the sense that there is a pavement break every 2 or 3 seconds ... so its a BUMP-SMOOTH-BUMP-SMOOTH-BUMP ride ... very annoying

sorry for long post, did not notice it was so long until I wrote it
 
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Great post and interesting info on the deer alert.
OP just remember that unless your bike is corrected 150 is really about 135 - about 84 mph.
Your GPS will show true speed tho.

Traffic around Chicago is brutal and the poster above meant 6am I think for Day 2 departure.
I find 1,000 km days the key is get out early and keep stops to a minimum.
Mars bars are good fill in snacks and a diet cola for caffiene without killing your stomach with marginal coffee )

Hydrate big time....the wind is sucking it out faster than you can drink.
Mind the low sun when heading into it....can be very tiring.

Audible books are terrific for making the time pass and getting engaged in something other than frost heaves. :D
 
Yes that's correct 6am on Day 2 ... not 6pm ... my error
 
Easy to do 1000+ KM's a day if you are prepared.
1. Plan ahead - pick your route and know the weather (best guess)
2. Put the route into your GPS and keep (gas stations) Points of interest turned on
3. Know your milage, if you bike has a fuel gauge only truct it 80%. Knowing the mileage between fill ups is very importatnt
4. Choose healthy snacks and keep the fuilds up (you'll sweat in gear for sure)
5. Start early 5-6am and beat the traffic

I made rode 10,000+ KM's in 9 days doing this and while I was tired at the end of each day, I always felt ready come the morning.
 
Haven't seen this option yet....doesn't Air Canada have a super price on shipping your bike with you? Forget the ride, take the plane and ride in Colorado. No clue how much this costs....but you save a whole whack of riding slab.
 
chiller said:
I have lived in the CO / UT area before so I have done this trek probably 25+ times ... most likely one of the few guys on GTAM to have done it on a bike many many times

I have done Seattle to Toronto in 3 days ... that's about 4200km ... so its do-able but based on the per person basis ... I was on an ST1300 but my buddy with me was on a ZX14 ...

If I am not trying to iron-butt the ride across the prairies... USUALLY what I do:

- Day1 - leave work early at around 3pm on Friday ... ride the roughly 700km to Michigan City Indiana. Assuming you keep your dinner stop to a minimum (or don't eat dinner until you get there) then with my Nexus pass at the border I can make Michigan City around 10pm'ish (assuming you hold steady to 120kph while moving) ... this would include 2 fuel stops and you would quickly eat something to keep going at the fuel stop ... and I wear a camelbak for hydration on the road. If you stay at the Super8 off the freeway there is a steakhouse literally on the other side of the parking lot ... I usually eat there since they open until 11pm. Also there is a Walmart 2 mins down the road for you to pick up anything you forgot to pack at home. Since you are doing some riding after sun down I HIGHLY recommend you detour yourself down to Interstate 80 ... might mean an extra 30 mins of ride time but Interstate 80 along Indiana has a "animal alert" system ... its basically a bunch of sensors that have laser beams on the side ofthe highway and if an animal passes the beam an alarm goes off and you have probably a few hundred meters of notice because you'll get alot of flashing lights on the road ... NO JOKES, this works !! I had the lights go off and I slowed down and so did all the cars and up ahead was a deer crossing the road. At least this way you will have some warning that something is up ahead.

day 2 - I would leave really early the following morning ... no later then 6pm since you are crossing through the bottom of the Chicago area along I80 ... I usually am able to make it to Kearney, NE or North Platte, NE with no issues (approximately 1100-1200km). Keep in mind that once you get to the IL to IA border your speed limit will go up ... I believe 65mph goes to 70mph ... 70mph = 112kph so you can safely do about just under 80mph which is 128kph ... Once you get to the IA to NE border your speed limit goes up AGAIN to 75mph which is 120kph ... so you should easily be able to do about 135kph ... Though I'm not advocating it, I usually follow the locals through here and am routinely doing about 150kph ... which sounds fast but keep in mind its only 15mph over the limit :p ... North Platte is about an extra hour and a bit past Kearney ... so doing a 135kph day go to kearney, doing a 150kph day go to North Platte ... Kearney townwise I believe is 'better' then North Platte from what I remember.

Day 3 - is a leisurely pace of 580km to Denver ... wake up late and leave the hotel by 9am ... get there around 3pm so you can still have time to check out the town. Also unless they have fixed I76 the past 10 years it is the worst road in the sense that there is a pavement break every 2 or 3 seconds ... so its a BUMP-SMOOTH-BUMP-SMOOTH-BUMP ride ... very annoying

sorry for long post, did not notice it was so long until I wrote it
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I also like to head out after work on Friday (or whatever my last work day is) and and least get across the border, so that the next two days can be straight travel times on a trip like this. My first trip to Colorado I hit Denver (or more accurately Golden) in 2 1/2 days - but honestly I felt I had stopped a lot earlier than I needed to, because I had prepaid reservations for the first two nights and resented the 2 hours I spent in hotel rooms I could have been on the road. Also, you are gaining time and daylight as you head west through the time zones, so that helps - though its still the same number of saddle hours, it feels different.

I don't tour with other people that often, because they call me a "truck driver" when I'm touring - so its really a personal thing. The ergonomics between rider and bike, your age and fitness level (I'm old but I don't get physically tired on my bike - its the mental exhaustion that will take me off the road) - weather, how interesting the ride is - and how much you really want to get where you are going. If the only way I could swing a ride out to Colorado because of time constraints was 2 days there and 2 days back, then I'd suck it up and do it, because the payoff is worth it. Riding in the Smokies is awesome - but they are not the Rockies, and neither is PA, or WV, or Ohio or the Adirondacks - all great places to ride, but riding in the big boy mountains is truly special, IMHO.
 
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You really never need to book on the interstate BUT it's a good idea when you do get close to stopping to book online then as often cheaper than a drop in rate. Booking.com been pretty good for me. Super8 consistent tho not the cheapest. They have good beds and pillows.

Starting early 1,000 km is not really hard if you don't get tangled in traffic or construction. But you can't waste time
Gets harder when the days are shorter.
 
MacDoc said:
You really never need to book on the interstate BUT it's a good idea when you do get close to stopping to book online then as often cheaper than a drop in rate. Booking.com been pretty good for me. Super8 consistent tho not the cheapest. They have good beds and pillows.

Starting early 1,000 km is not really hard if you don't get tangled in traffic or construction. But you can't waste time
Gets harder when the days are shorter.
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I actually try and book ahead just because it gives me an end goal to head towards... perhaps everyone is different, I want a target deadline.
 
chiller said:
I actually try and book ahead just because it gives me an end goal to head towards... perhaps everyone is different, I want a target deadline.
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I also typically like to book ahead when possible and set a goal for myself.

The other week, however, I ended up in North Bay and needed a room so I checked booking.com app, hotel.com app, choice hotel app, trifalgo, hotel tonight, and every other app I have on my phone and I decided on the Howard Johnson, downtown North Bay, best price of $85.99 from hotel.com.

I walked in the lobby expecting the counter price to be higher, and then I was going to see if they could price match the hotel.com rate before I booked online.

I was surprised when their counter rate came up cheaper at $79.99 – so I put away my phone. Then I asked if there were any further discounts such as CAA or whatever, and yes, there was, and I got another 5% off for having CAA. I walked out paying $84 including tax for a room with two double beds. Typically I find the apps have the best deals… but not in this case.

Also… a bit off topic for this thread, however The Howard Johnson in North Bay is well set up for bikes… it is right downtown so close to many bars and restaurants, and all of the parking is in a courtyard so no one except for hotel guests has any business being in there and would not be passing through as there is nowhere to pass through to. I felt, as far as hotels/motels go, that it was pretty secure for bikes… with the bikes being just outside the door in a private courtyard just for that hotel.
 
I actually try and book ahead just because it gives me an end goal to head towards... perhaps everyone is different, I want a target deadline.
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That's why said..."don't need to"....I will as well if I want a known level of comfort ahead of me.
We do however book maybe 3-4 hours ahead once we know our positioning....rain etc.

••••

Wonder if the cheaper walk in rate was a Canadian thing.
Have not found it in the US but have used CAA successfully for a small discount.

Usually booking.com gets me best choice tho on occasion Expedia comes out equal and they make it very easy to use my credit points as they are hooked up with TD ...so you can see your points total and book part or all in a single step

I do like booking.com interface and how it remembers stuff tho it gets a bit hectic with the popups..:rolleyes:

••••
 
200kms short of Denver, and I didn't even have the goal to reach CO.
So, it's definitely possible, IMO. After all the pain from Day 2, you will be so mesmerized on Day 3 in Rocky Mountain National Park, the tiredness won't even matter lol

Day 1 - North York to Morris, Illinois

ODO: 893kms
Gas: $45
Food: $25
Hotel: $70 with breakfast
Extras: $165 CAA + $40 Travel Insurance + $3 Canada -> USA bridge toll + $6 at US Customs.

Day 2 - Morris, Il to Sterling, Colorado

ODO: 1355kms
Gas: $75
Food: $13
Hotel: $79 with bfast
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http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?175107-T-O-to-California-in-14days
 
DOHC1 said:
Has anyone rode down to Denver, CO from Toronto? I am considering riding down there this month, but am not sure how I should space out the travel days. Which one of these would be a better option: 3 days of 800km riding, or 2 days of 1200 kms riding?
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I did it last year in 3 days. Toronto to Chicago, then to Omah on day two, then into Denver on day three. It's doable in 2 if the weather cooperates. I had **** weather most of the way. I've done 1200km days and it's doable. I don't think a 1200km day of superslab sucks a whole lot more than an 800km day of same.
 
Don't forget super boring. The Rockies begin, after Denver. 2.5 days of farmland.
 
killerkeith said:
Don't forget super boring. The Rockies begin, after Denver. 2.5 days of farmland.
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Yup. I completely forgot that I had ever been to Iowa until I looked at a map a few months ago and remembered I had actually ridden across the entire state on day two of that trip. It was that boring and forgettable. But coming into Denver and starting to see the foothills was the first "wow, this is great!" moment of that trip, which was a cross the USA trip where I rode out to Southern California then up the coast to B.C. On day 3, riding out of Denver, I encountered by first good twisties and gorgeous scenery. That day took me into Utah and an awful storm that had me and a couple on a Goldwing head for cover under the awning of a Holiday Inn in the afternoon. With the storm being so bad we all stayed the night and had dinner together. They were a groovy older couple, in their 60s (I was 30 at the time of the trip), and we basically made fun of the Mormons a lot that night. Then dude, riding a V-star, came up to me and told me he had ridden there from Mississauga. Small world. On day 5 I made it into Las Vegas where I was chillin' like a villain at Caesar's Palace for a few days to recoupe before riding into the LA area. Riding up the PCH was great and I want to go back and ride down the PCH.

When I got up to San Fran and stopped for pics at the Golden Gate Bridge I met a dude in his late fifties who was riding an early '90s HD touring bike that looked stock, he was from Oregon and was riding home on the PCH so I decided to join him since he knew the way. I quickly learned, as he roared through the twisties, haulin' *** like V. Rossi, that there was nothing stock about the internals of the bike and that this dude has some serious riding chops. When I found him stopped for lunch I asked, as I nibbled on my Pepperoni Pizza slice served by not-so-friendly Mexicans, where he learned to ride. He was a test-rider for HD in his youth. I felt less bad about my apparent motorcycling incompetence compared to him now that I knew he was essentially a professional rider. Anyway, we parted ways, no way I could keep up with him, and I rode on at my own pace enjoying the scenery. Got into Oregon the next day and Washington the day after that, then B.C. Good times.
 
MacDoc said:
Best cure for flat and boing that is an Audible account and a good book.
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I don't know if that would ever work for me.. Anything that requires me to think about what I'm listening to can be very distracting. Hours of music is much better (for me) since it can totally fade in to the background and never demands my attention.

..Tom
 
Try it - you will get completely engaged.
I do music to but the books work better.
go on ....sacrifice a few electrons ;-)

•••

Getting a riding partner and chatting on the Sena/Scala is good too.
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yes ....trouble is kid always wanted to get back to his book.....then it was me too.
 
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I don't like audio books. If I drone out for a few minutes I've missed important plot developments.
 
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