Second year riding, thinking of heading to Florida in May. | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Second year riding, thinking of heading to Florida in May.

A long trip on a bike is one of life's great pleasures. Doing it on a 300cc is very doable, but doing it all on the super slab is going to SUCK! Winding that 300 out almost all the way for hour after hour will be awful, not to mention being blown around by semi's. Then there is the Cities. You have to consider where you are staying and what kind of parking they have available. A decent motel will usually let you park the bike right outside the front door in plain view of their security staff and security cameras. Who knows what kind of security you'll get at an Air BNB or Hostel. Then there is the partying. If you luck upon a great club and have an epic night, there's a good chance you'll spend the next day hung over and not making any miles. Can you stay an extra day at these places with no notice? Also your budget is unrealistic. Traveling on a bike and planing on going to clubs + lodging and food on $100/day? Unless you like bed bugs, the bar will let you drink tap water and you like gas station hot dogs, it's going to be pretty tough to stick to that budget. What kind of a buffer do you have in your budget for the unexpected? Do you have some extra $$ in case you get a flat or something else happens? Do you have a time buffer? It sucks having to cover 4+hrs in the pouring rain. You should plan a few extra days at the end of the trip for when you need to be home. Maybe you get perfect weather and you get home 2 days early. Worst case is you spend 2 extra days on the road due to rain but you still get home without being late for something. You will also have to plan time for stopping at laundromats. You will have limited space for clothing, especially on a 300, so you might only have one change of clothes.

There is nothing wrong with taking an extended trip like this solo, but I would rethink the plan. If it were me, I would plan a route using secondary roads and taking the scenic way as much as possible. Plan on hitting one town for a night of partying on the way down, spend your week in Florida and then maybe one night of partying on the way back. The rest of the nights you'll have to settle for a couple of beers on a patio chair outside the hotel. You'll still get a few nights of partying in different cities and you'll have a much more enjoyable ride. Best of both worlds.
 
OP

Have you done any trips ? Maybe you should do a weekend trip or a 3-4 day trip somewhere just to get your feet wet.




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OP

Have you done any trips ? Maybe you should do a weekend trip or a 3-4 day trip somewhere just to get your feet wet.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Na, the longest I have ridden is Brampton to Hamilton, and I have done it about 30-40 times, back and forth. Highway, and as well as the Horse Ranch area/Derry road. It wasnt too bad. It rained once, and I had to haul back, and it was not a good experience riding in rain. I would say like that was about 2-3 hours in a day that I was hauling back and forth. Yeah, my uncle is in Kentucky, so if anything, Brampton to Kentucky is a 3-4 day trip. Anything goes wrong, I will just stay at my uncle's. If not, depending on how I feel, I will either turn back, or continue south.
 
I dont actually care if I make it to Florida or not tbh. Haha, I just wanna go off for as long as I can till I run out of money. I got 40 days to kill, so I am in no rush. Yeah, I am still undecided on if I should hit the major cities, go hard, or just take it slow and steady to Florida, spend a week their, and come back. I am just looking for a good time, and am in no rush to reach anywhere. Toronto has been so cold, haha it would be nice to get some sun, but if not, I dont mind. I am gonna go to Maldives next summer to make up for it lol. For now, I just want a good time. Florida would be nice, if not I might go through Pennsylvania, New York and other cities, and just feel the vibe, have a good time and turn back to Toronto.
 
I dont actually care if I make it to Florida or not tbh. Haha, I just wanna go off for as long as I can till I run out of money. I got 40 days to kill, so I am in no rush. Yeah, I am still undecided on if I should hit the major cities, go hard, or just take it slow and steady to Florida, spend a week their, and come back. I am just looking for a good time, and am in no rush to reach anywhere. Toronto has been so cold, haha it would be nice to get some sun, but if not, I dont mind. I am gonna go to Maldives next summer to make up for it lol. For now, I just want a good time. Florida would be nice, if not I might go through Pennsylvania, New York and other cities, and just feel the vibe, have a good time and turn back to Toronto.

When in April are you able to leave? Judging from the weather, you might want to bomb it south on the highway to Virginia and stay on the east side of the mountains. Seems to have been warmer on that side recently. Weather changes quickly around there as well. A couple winters ago, I slept in my van in Sproul state forest, Pennsylvania and it was loads of snow -5. The Maryland/Virginia border area was sweater weather the same day.

Watch the weather and plan your general route around that if you're leaving soon.

Highway sucks but so does riding in colder weather. If you have the itch to get going sooner, get east of the hills and south. On the way back you can explore P.A. and N.Y. when it's warmer late April or Early May.

If you've ridden 2-3 hours in a day lots of times, you should easily be able to do 6 hours seat time through out a full day with lots of breaks. Eat light and often to keep your energy up and stay hydrated. Not drinking enough water and eating big meals at once will mess up day long endurance easily.
 
Na, the longest I have ridden is Brampton to Hamilton, and I have done it about 30-40 times, back and forth. Highway, and as well as the Horse Ranch area/Derry road. It wasnt too bad.

If you're comfortable on the gauntlet of the 401 on your CBR300, American highways between cities will be easy.
 
I've driven to Florida a few times non-stop and is one of the most boring drives ever on the slab, whether you plan to take more time or not. Can't even imagine this on a motorcycle let alone a 300. But then again I was young and foolish too and thought I can do everything (so I guess I'm still young as the foolishness continues). If you want to avoid the fastest yet extremely punishing as-the-bird-flies route I-75 or I-95, I have a suggestion that I haven't seen posted as yet. Of course it may affect your limited budget, but then again, it may not since the trip is done in less than a day, and you are saving gas, accommodation, meals, wear and tear, nerves, health, safety...you know the drill.

About 30 years ago a pilot program was launched for east-coast snowbirds and their cars heading south to Florida that only operated in the early winter (to take cars south) to early spring season (bring cars back north) by RAIL. Now it is so successful they operate year round and will also take motorcycles, boats or whatever, and it runs from Washington, DC to Orlando. You and your bike/car are on the same train and travels non-stop and arriving in 18 hours
. You can book a regular seat or a bed in the sleeper car and arrive rested and fresh. You ride your bike away from the Sanford FL train station. You can book one way or round trip.

Ride the coasts of Florida, or the Keys in fine weather, or take your bike to Cuba by ferry, and leave from Miami or Key West, your choice. Now THAT is a real adventure!

Check it out for rates and schedule. http://www.amtrak.com/auto-train
 
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[FONT=&quot]take your bike to Cuba by ferry, and leave from Miami or Key West, your choice. Now THAT is a real adventure!
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what companies offer ferry service? I've found a few articles about companies applying for licensing but looks like they havent started offering this service yet...at least the few I've came across.
 
I've driven to Florida a few times non-stop and is one of the most boring drives ever on the slab, whether you plan to take more time or not. Can't even imagine this on a motorcycle let alone a 300. But then again I was young and foolish too and thought I can do everything (so I guess I'm still young as the foolishness continues). If you want to avoid the fastest yet extremely punishing as-the-bird-flies route I-75 or I-95, I have a suggestion that I haven't seen posted as yet. Of course it may affect your limited budget, but then again, it may not since the trip is done in less than a day, and you are saving gas, accommodation, meals, wear and tear, nerves, health, safety...you know the drill.

About 30 years ago a pilot program was launched for east-coast snowbirds and their cars heading south to Florida that only operated in the early winter (to take cars south) to early spring season (bring cars back north) by RAIL. Now it is so successful they operate year round and will also take motorcycles, boats or whatever, and it runs from Washington, DC to Orlando. You and your bike/car are on the same train and travels non-stop and arriving in 18 hours
. You can book a regular seat or a bed in the sleeper car and arrive rested and fresh. You ride your bike away from the Sanford FL train station. You can book one way or round trip.

Ride the coasts of Florida, or the Keys in fine weather, or take your bike to Cuba by ferry, and leave from Miami or Key West, your choice. Now THAT is a real adventure!

Check it out for rates and schedule. http://www.amtrak.com/auto-train

Thats actually pretty freakin sweet.
 
what companies offer ferry service? I've found a few articles about companies applying for licensing but looks like they havent started offering this service yet...at least the few I've came across.

Agree, I can see the regular service that was licensed and given the green light in 2015 but has not started as the port in Cuba is still under construction.

However, SC Line (registered in Panama) transports vehicles between Port Everglades and two ports in Cuba, but it may be commercial and you may need to travel on a regular ferry. And if you are heading to South America and need a detour around the Darien Gap, they also sail to Columbia and Venezuela. They have a website and you can check rates. There are a couple more but they are not very well advertised, but research should get you there. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-shipping-cuba-broward-20150924-story.html


And if that is too costly then just stay in Florida or take the passenger ferry to the Bahamas and you can rent a regular bicycle or moped there and likely see the island easily in one day.
 

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