800 km in one day on a 250 cruiser

IMAWILDPARTY

IMAWILDPARTY

Well-known member
I figure, based on posts I've read, that some of you folks might not like this thread, but hopefully a few find it somewhat interesting.

So, tomorrow(Sunday the 30th) I'm heading to Athens, Ohio, on my Virago 250. Coming back on the 4th.

-800km one way. Fortunately the seat of my bike is aftermarket and fairly comfortable.

-Looks like rain. I bought a new rainsuit. Hopefully it doesn't suck. Pretty sure I'll be able to give a thorough review of the thing by the end of the trip.

-I'm a new rider, only had the bike a month and a half and personally put over 2000 km on it so far. I drive like an old lady, never faster than traffic, the bike can't go much faster anyway.

- Longest trip I've ever done by time: almost 3 hours. (this trip by google's estimation should be 8 hours. I estimate around 10, factoring in traffic and getting lost, plus stops)

- Longest trip I've ever done by distance: about 150 km. (this trip is about 800km, assuming I don't stray too much)

- Loaded up heavy, saddle bags full, small bag on luggage rack and backpack on, the bike(virago 250) is fairly comfortable driving with the flow of traffic on 400 series highways, just not much faster(I'm about 6'2'' and 180 or so pounds) I've never hit reserve, but I never go much more than 200km without refueling. I figure a stop every 200 km isn't a bad idea anyway.

- This trip, with an eye to comfort, I won't be loading up a backpack, but just a small bag on the luggage rack, plus the saddlebags. Heaviest things I'm taking go in the saddlebags, clothes on the rack bag and within that bag plastic garbage bag to keep them dry. Things I'm bringing, other that clothes and gifts for the trip, are what I always have with me, small tool kit, knife, flashlight, a bit of food and drink, extra bungie cords, and garbage bags.

I appreciate recommendations for things to consider(any and all advice welcome), and you're welcome to warn against the trip, but I don't think anything but snow or fire is going to stop me from setting out tomorrow. I really want to do long, multi-day trips in the future(hopefully on a bigger bike eventually), and I see this as kind of a real-world test for how I might fare. If anyone's interested in doing a part of the trip, shoot me a PM, I'll be checking back and updating later on.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend.
 
As long as you are slabbing and get started very early you should be okay but take breaks and stay hydrated.

That's a big jump to 800k.

We're pretty beat after 550k today on bigger bikes - mind you marginal weather, and hour at the border and some twisties in that mix.
 
MacDoc said:
As long as you are slabbing and get started very early you should be okay but take breaks and stay hydrated.

That's a big jump to 800k.

We're pretty beat after 550k today on bigger bikes - mind you marginal weather, and hour at the border and some twisties in that mix.
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Thanks for the advice, I expect the trip to be a challenge, and I intend to leave before 11am. I work 12 hour shifts, and mostly overnights, so while I do get tired, I think I can handle 10 hours in daylight. Hopefully no big issues. Still deciding whether to just throw my raingear on whether it's raining or not when I set out, since I can be almost certain to get rained on at some point. Just thinking that with my riding jacket plus raingear on, it could get pretty hot when it's not raining. May be best to just sweat it out.
 
Stay hydrated, try to stay away from caffeine as much as possible. If you feel you need it, your better off having a rest and/or a power nap.

Take a lot of pic and tell us about your trip. Enjoy and keep safe.
 
Longest trip for me in a day on a cbr125 was around 600km (last Wednesday).

Stay hydrated (eating is a good idea too) and if gas stations seem like they're appearing less often, fill it even if you're at 3/4 tank. Don't wanna run out of gas in the mid of nowhere.

Having a cloth to clean your visor, or whatever eye protection you use is a good idea as well especially if you're hitting countrysides. I had to clean mine twice on the road and once again when I got home from my trip to Tobermory On.


Can't imagine doing a long trip in rain though, I would think you would get tired a lot faster than usual cause thats how I feel when I ride in rain.

If you see a nice place to stop, pics are great just so you can look back at this trip and/or share it with others.



Good luck and have a safe trip :P
 
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Thanks for the advice, I expect the trip to be a challenge, and I intend to leave before 11am.
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umm that's half way through the day - I can pretty much guarantee you'd be riding a couple of hours in the dark - not good for a new rider.
Try 6 am and then you MIGHT make the distance.
 
At 11am I think you're leaving too late.

There are a ton of deer in Ohio, PA...hell, any of the north eastern states. I would avoid riding at dusk and night altogether.
I just got back from a trip to TN and we had a couple of close calls with deer during the day and saw a ton of deer carcasses on the road.

Ride safe.
 
MacDoc said:
umm that's half way through the day - I can pretty much guarantee you'd be riding a couple of hours in the dark - not good for a new rider.
Try 6 am and then you MIGHT make the distance.
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Jason Bourne said:
At 11am I think you're leaving too late.

There are a ton of deer in Ohio, PA...hell, any of the north eastern states. I would avoid riding at dusk and night altogether.
I just got back from a trip to TN and we had a couple of close calls with deer during the day and saw a ton of deer carcasses on the road.

Ride safe.
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^ What they said. Although you're probably already gone by now, if not, well... Fail.
 
Here's what I like packing
1. Tire in a can
2. Chain lube

I like starting early. Really hate night riding in the boonies. Deer & bugs, not fun
 
What everyone said was 100% good advice, I had to ignore some of it due to circumstances. I did set out later than I wanted, but that was since I had obligations to meet in the morning. Next time, I'd make sure to plan differently.

On night riding: I've set out on shorter trips at night, in order to avoid riding in rain the next morning. Myself, I'd prefer night riding/no traffic to riding in the rain during the day with traffic. Deer are by far my greatest concern with night riding, and are really the only thing that concerns me about it.

Anyway, so I my trip experiences so far:

Leaving toronto to head towards the peace bridge was horrendous traffic until almost grimsby. At that point I thought I was in way over my head, this trip was going to be 20 hours long. Never hit any traffic after that point, and that was fortunate.

Anyway, didn't really take pictures on the way down, I knew I wanted to ride at night as little as possible, so I didn't want to stop too many times.

Had a wee bit of excitement at the border, when US border guy got real angry after I offered to help him out(He clearly was having trouble with my saddle bags).
He took out the canadian flag I had, "what's this for?"
I didn't really know what to respond to a question about the use of the flag, and I resisted telling him I intended to wear it like a cape.
He took out a freezer bag with my little kit which included flashlight, pocket knife, lighter, batteries, toothbrush, some tools.
He was just angry at this point "What, are you some kind of survivalist?"
I don't see those items are particularly odd, Im glad he didn't see the magnesium block and firesteel that I forgot in there since a trip to my friend's cottage.
I want to be clear that I wasn't giving the guy any attitude, I just genuinely wanted things to go as smoothly as possible.
He asks me if I have any pot, I say no and that I would help look through anything he wanted to look through(The bag on the back of my bike is on there pretty tight with bungie cords, and you could probably hurt yourself if not careful. I also didn't want him tearing the garbage bag I had inside, full of my clothes.)
"Listen, I don't need your permission, if I want, I can take your bike apart and make you carry the engine home"
I don't really know what set this guy off, the last time I crossed the border and my stuff was searched, I had a super friendly agent and we just shot the **** about some of the things I had that time. Maybe the guy was having a bad or on a power trip or something.

Anyway, I got across the border eventually, and started down i190 and then 90w, when I hit around 180km for the trip and decided it was time to fuel up.(that distance cost me about five bucks)

In Pennsyslvania(sp) I stopped to eat and shot the **** with a guy on one of those massive touring-type harleys with the radio and everything. For some reason, it always seems like guys on biked like that park beside me. Talked about touring and stuff, I waited for him to leave first so he wouldn't laugh at the sound of my engine. Got a pic but I'm on a mac and I have no idea how to use it, any pics from the trip I'll post up when I get home.

About a half hour after eating I suddenly became extremely, and dangerously tired. I pulled off at the next ramp and bought a large energy drink at the gas station, drank it, ate a snack then fueled up. I know caffeine's supposed to dehydrate you or whatever, but it really saves me sometimes on 12 hour overnight shifts. Napping didn't really feel like an option. That was probably 4 hours into the trip, and I never felt tired at all after that, never had another energy drink either.

I'd like to note that I found the signage for off-ramps and the such very good everywhere I went, better (in my opinion) than Ontario, like more warning or whatever.

Had some scares with sporadic light rain for about 2 hours after turning south onto 271(I think) then 8 and 77. The furthest I went without fueling up was 210 km , and I decided it was probably not a good idea to do that again.

I hit the edge of west virginia around 8 or so, and by that time It started to get dark and deer were at the top of my mind. I saw a lot of porcupines, coyotes and rabbits scattered across the road.

Once night really hit, I was treated to something I thought was spectacular - fireflies lit up the side of the road everywhere, more than I've seen in my life. Really was something else.

I only got lost/missed an exit once and I realized it within 1 minute of passing it, easy course correction.

Signage was telling me I had about 10 miles to my destination, and I had 150 kms on my tank. I figured that was fewer than 20 kms, keeping me well less than the 200kms I was used to getting from the tank. I took the final offramp to Athens, and I'm in for more excitement - right on the ramp my bike dies, sputters and the lights go out. 175 kms on the tank. That was exciting.

I turned the key on and off - have battery power. Turn the engine over fine - no luck, not starting. I figure(and desperately hope) it's just that I've hit reserve time. I figure since I spent most of my time since fueling driving at least 110 kph, that had something to do with it, or I didn't fully fill the tank or something along those lines. After fumbling around for a flashlight out of my 'survival bag', I look at the fuel switch thing(highly technical terms here people, try to keep up) and realize I don't actually know how to start the bike after having starved the engine. I fiddle around with it in prime and reserve, playing with the throttle, getting nothing. I'm starting to get frustrated with my own incompetence. Eventually I try turning the choke on, and the bike starts. That was a good moment. I wave down a truck and it turns out I'm like 1 km from a gas station. I show up 5 minutes to spare, happy as a clam.

Looks like people are starting to stir from last night's festivities, so I should go. Anyhoo, sorry about the rambling, I didn't expect to write so much, hopefully it wasn't too boring.
 
Good tale - good for you for hanging in there. Yeah they can be a bear at the border sometimes.

The fireflies last night were incredible as I was getting towed back to the motel at 9 pm after an 11 hour marathon getting found.

Loads of deer beside the road but the fireflies were just an incredible treat after a long day sitting beside a stranded bike.
We did get in good riding in the morning and kid had a ball.

Congrats......next time leave MUCH earlier :D
 
I find that it doesn't matter how friendly you are to them. The only thing that matters is if they're having a good day or not, or if the person before you was an idiot.
 
The guys or girls at the border can be complete @ssholes. I went across niagara once on foot with two other people and got the half hour long conversation full of attitude. I ended up saying "I'm wearing shorts and shirt, you think I'm smuggling humans over or something?" That didn't go over too well but eventually we made it and upon return had a human being instead of robo-***** from before.

You're a braver man than I for doing this trip, simply for doing it on a 250. Sounds like it's been quite the adventure though and that's all that matters. :thumbup:
 
nice read on your trip thanks for sharing , I think any kind of touring like this on a smaller cc bike is cool, it adds to the adventure of the trip.
 
Well you got their in one piece and learned a few valuable lessons along the way - fatigue on long distance trips can have serious and disastrous consequences. Avoid it at all costs, stop & hydrate as often and don't ever push yourself. Rather get to your destination a day later than never at all.
 
You've got a bike and the right attitude, that's all you need.
Have fun, be safe. Watch out for deer at dusk and dawn. I have used transports as blockers in hopes of sweeping the deer, but they can still shoot out into the gap between you and the rear the truck.

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stevie t said:
You've got a bike and the right attitude, that's all you need.
Have fun, be safe. Watch out for deer at dusk and dawn. I have used transports as blockers in hopes of sweeping the deer, but they can still shoot out into the gap between you and the rear the truck.

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I would caution you about using trucks to clear the way of any deer. Trucks won't stop for deer but it is possible that they run one down and leave the carcass in your path as you follow behind him. There wouldn't be enough time to avoid it if one ended up on the road in front of you.
 
Jason Bourne said:
I would caution you about using trucks to clear the way of any deer. Trucks won't stop for deer but it is possible that they run one down and leave the carcass in your path as you follow behind him. There wouldn't be enough time to avoid it if one ended up on the road in front of you.
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I hear you. In all my years of touring, I can count thee number of times I rode at night on one hand, well maybe two. As Mac doc said, I usually prefer cars as they provide better sightlines, the last time I did it was coming out of kenora, only thing on the road were transports, hence the transport reference. Although I would still think the driver would hit the brakes out of reflex and that's a heads up. More than the deer will give you. I'm still a good 10 bike lengths away from the sweeper.
I generally try to avoid night riding in road rat areas.
 
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