| Author | Message | ||
     Capital_g |
500 miles a day is a good pace. As the days go on the 500 miles gets tougher and tougher, so it is important not to wear yourself out the first day or two. Do not carry your wallet in your back pocket; it makes you sit unlevel and really torques your rear end and spine. | ||
| Slamber777 |
l agree with the 500 mile-a-day guys. That's always been a target max for us when we ride. l've done long distance trips before, like WA to AZ and WA to AK and one thing l found out is...chose your underwear wisely. Seems goofy, but some are made with the panels sewn so that you're sitting on the seams. Those little seams feel like ropes after a while. Bicycling shorts used to be the ticket for long stints in the saddle. But get the good ones. l believe they are 9 panel shorts. They are made so you aren't sitting on the seams and they are padded in the right places. Also, a little powder in the shorts doesn't hurt either. (that should get some play here  ) | ||
| Etennuly |
Are you tent camping or motel campers?  | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Motel! Im not draggin a tent around. Also I want a good nights sleep between ride days. | ||
| Etennuly |
Sorry!  I carry two tents and a cooler on my Uly. If the cooler looses half of its contents a night, sleeping is no problem! | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
If the cooler looses half of its contents a night, sleeping is no problem! Nope, its the waking up that is the problem!  | ||
| Froggy |
I love my electric cooler!   I also had a cup holder and 3ft long straw, stopping is for sissys | ||
| Babired |
Froggy. you plug your electric cooler into the outlet under the seat? I've charged my cell phone while riding on the ULY. I am planning a trip to Colorado for this August and I just picked up a book called ROAD TRIP USA its got some good things to see in there if you don't want to bust the mileage iron butt style. K | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
I got to thinking I might need a plan B. If the weather is really bad and I cant depart from nashville I may have to go a little further south into Georgia. Where do I park my truck and possible trailer for 5 days? Any tips? | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Where do I park my truck and possible trailer for 5 days? Any tips? I can't give you any specific areas, but as for types of places to look for. Any motel near an interstate that has Trucks in the lot. They usually offer a low cost parking rate to semi trucks looking to get away from a truck stop. Other than that if you are near a decent population center, I would use craigslist. Just post up a quick ad for some short term driveway space. You might even luck out with barn/garage privileges. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Where do I park my truck and possible trailer for 5 days? Any tips? check out the BRAN - lots of Buellers on BadWeB who'd be glad to help, i'm thinkin'. FB | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
ps: back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back 500-mile days suck, in my opinion. been there, done that, many times, and it's a butt-load of work. you'll use up all your energy and time cranking out the miles, and will have very little time for actually enjoying the ride. that's just an honest opinion from someone who's been there. hope you guys have a great ride. FB | ||
| Rotorhead |
All great advice form the group!! I've done a few LD trips and 3 SS1000. although not a xb9 but my ULY. Heres my 2 cents. Riding partners suck after the 1st day even (specially) if they are related to you. You on a 9 and him on a gsxr will make the gas stops odd. Work out when gas stops are before you leave each day. Ride as far and as long as your body will let you. No matter what shape your in don't ignore your body telling you to stop. Even a 10 min break and pushups and jumpingjacks in a parking lot will get you a few more miles down the road safely. and will give a greta laugh to anyone watching a guy with all his gear on doing a workout! Preventive Advil really does work!!!! Try to keep the same schedule you normal day is when not riding. get up the same time and eat the same way you normally would. Keeps the body happy not to change. Make sure you have room to carry the layers your wearing when the temps rise. kind of sucks looking like a carny caravan when you hit the FL state line with a wad of cold gear strapped to the bike. Ask me how I found this out. That rain gear you have is a great outer layer for the cold just to break the wind. BRAN, BRAN, BRAN, never leave home with out it. Ulywife can taylor make you one for your trip if you ask nice. It saved me a 3day stay in Santa Fe, NM one trip. Think about a AAA membership just for the occation that you need a tow. They will get you a nifty trip map with up to date construction, hotel discounts too!! Bordom on the super slab. if you have the means get a cheap 2 way intercom like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CARDO-SCALA-RIDER-Q 2-MULTISET-HEADSET-BLUETOOTH-MP3-INT_W0QQcmdZViewI temQQcategoryZ34284QQihZ022QQitemZ350148392106QQrd Z1QQsspagenameZWDVW worth it when you day gets long or you want to tell your buddy where to go! If in doubt about the LD days read this http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cfm | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I never carry passengers, but always keep the passenger pegs on so I can move my legs around to new positions when I get tired/sore/bored. I also pack a tank bag whether I need it or not, so I have something to lean forward on for short periods of time. Medicated GoldBond is great! I consider my X1 a perfectly comfortable long distance bike but my ass goes to sleep after 250 miles or so. The goldbond really wakes everything up! | ||
| Edgydrifter |
+1M on the Gold Bond. It keeps your unit cool and dry under adverse conditions and prevents chafing. I always powder up before hitting the saddle in the morning. I'll also second the recommendation to choose your undies wisely. The leg-holes on briefs will chafe you after a long summer ride, and boxers can bunch up in unexpected ways. My preference is the hybrid boxer-brief, which is like a thin cycling short. Try them and I'd wager you'll never again ride with anything else. Stop every hundred miles. Get some gas, chug some water, read an interpretive plaque, take a picture--whatever. Just get off your bike for a few minutes and move around. It doesn't add much time to the ride, and your body will thank you for it at the end of the day. Wear good gear and stay hydrated. This last point really can't be emphasized enough. On a hot day, riding fast is like standing in front of a full-body blow dryer. If you aren't peeing every couple hours, you aren't drinking enough water. Dehydration and heat exhaustion will completely ruin your day. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Great link rotorhead! Some great tips in there but 4 of the first 6 I fall into the no-no department. I was starting to sweat a little!  1. Know your limits and plan your trip around them. If the longest ride you have ever taken is 300 miles in a day, don't plan a trip with a string of endless five- hundred mile days. Im the highest miler in our group at around 450ish... one time. Otherwise always less than 200. The others are less than 200 per trip. If the high miles take the fun out of our trip we will just not go as far as we had planned. 3. Leave your drugs and coffee at home! (The Iron Butt Association includes coffee and colas on this hot list) Coffee and Mt Dew are always near me.  5. Avoid adding accessories or doing maintenance immediately before a trip. A trip is also not the best time to try out that new rainsuit, helmet or packing technique! My bike is all torn apart. One of us needs a new helmet. As for packing technique, well never packed anything for riding so any packing technique will be new! A rainsuit What for? I was born waterproof. 6.Use an electric vest. Thats not gonna happen. Were Minnesotans. Its literally been below zero this year more than I can ever remember. 40 degrees is going to be like t shirt weather. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
check out the BRAN - lots of Buellers on BadWeB who'd be glad to help, i'm thinkin'. I didnt realise that was a link. Im thinking bran like raisin bran! In my head Im thinking....thats gonna add some extra bathroom stops cause bran does not like me much!  Thats pretty cool. I am going to add myself to the BRAN list. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Find various positions that you're comfortable riding in. Moving around can help reduce fatigue. This guy has the hang of it! | ||
| Etennuly |
If you need a place to park a truck and trailer, I have plenty of mostly secure space. East of Knoxville Tn. PM me if you are interested. A great place to launch a ride anywhere in the Smoky Mountains.  | ||
| Brinnutz |
a little off topic...but... Where do you guys find the cigarette lighter? I could have sworn there was one that would plug into say, where the battery tender plugs into, the 2 pin deal. anyone have a line on those? Thanks. | ||
| Jlnance |
How many miles do you think we can realistically, enjoyably, and safely ride in a day? Realistically? Between 5 and 7 hundred. You can ride more than that one day, but you will suffer for it if you try to do it on consecutive days. Enjoyably? It's a mental thing. It hurts to be on a bike for a long time. Just because it hurts doesn't mean you can't enjoy the experience. I suspect it hurts to run a marathon too, but people love the feeling of accomplishment it gives them. If you can ride 700 miles in a day, you've done something most riders never will. There is a feeling of pride that comes with that. You're going to suffer to earn that pride. You have to decide if it's worth it to you. My best and worst day on the bike:  600 miles from Denver, CO to Draper, UT. Freezing cold all day, and just as I'm about to make it I hit a blizzard coming over a mountain pass. The fuel light is on, I can't find gas, I can't see because the snow is coming down so fast, and I manage to loose my glasses. It sucked. I would have quit right then if I could have figured out a way to do it. I'm glad I couldn't because I can't tell you how proud I am of that day. | ||
| Jlnance |
Leave as early in the morning as you can each day. That gives you time to take breaks. A 600 mile day is pretty easy if you break it down into 3 200 mile chunks. Hang out in a restaurant for an hour between the chunks. | ||
| Etennuly |
Try this.....get a chair....most any chair. Find a comfortable up right position. Sit there for eight to ten hours. Put your arms out on a counter or something in front of you, don't let go and limit the movement of your body and keep your feet in the same position, only getting up every two hours for a couple of minutes. Doing that in your living room, I bet will be harder than doing it on your bike out in the environment, with the wind blast and noise and all of the other things out there. | ||
| Rotzaruck |
park my truck and possible trailer We can find room around here, being almost half way from Nashville to Suches. Or you can find a BadWeBer on into Georgia, depending on how time and distance works out. If you can get that quality/quantity thing sorted out, there are some MUCH better ways to get from Nashville to here (especially the last half or so[Dixie Highway]) avoiding I-24. You see some pretty country from I-24, you're just, you know, not IN it. I rode from here to Savannah last spring. It was forever.(first long ride in 30 yrs) Fun, but the interstate flying beat me up. My buddy on the goldwing just didn't understand what my problem was. The only interesting part was entrance ramps. I'd coast till he caught up. Next stop he'd say "Man! that little bike is quick!" If the weather doesn't change throw a canoe in the truck. We just set a daily rainfall record. Creekbeds and roadbeds are all confused. Waterproof. UhHuh. Be sure you leave me your keys. When we have one of those 60 degree rainy days followed by one of those 12 degree days, I can go collect the Buellsickle! I can hear it now. "Rotz! We're in the sunny South in Macon. It's snowing, the roads are iced over....." Rotzaruck! | ||
| Froggy |
Sounds like me playing World of Warcraft on the weekends | ||
| Akbuell |
I love the Badweb! Having made a few long distance rides, this thread is not only reaffirming things I already do, but has provided new tips. Thanks to all. As to the rain gear, place a chair in your shower. Put on the gear you usually ride in. Turn on the water (cold only) and sit there for a minimum of 1 hour. You can make motorcycle sounds if you wish. If still comfortable at the end of the hour, then you don't need rain gear. I truly hope you are just kidding. I carry mine. Ride safe, have fun!!! Dave | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
"place a chair in your shower. Put on the gear you usually ride in. Turn on the water (cold only) and sit there for a minimum of 1 hour. You can make motorcycle sounds if you wish. Don't forget the goldbond  | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Etennuly and Rotzaruck, Thanks for the offer! As time grows closer and I see what the weather entails I may be in touch. Thanks.  | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Enjoyably? It's a mental thing. It hurts to be on a bike for a long time. Just because it hurts doesn't mean you can't enjoy the experience. I suspect it hurts to run a marathon too, but people love the feeling of accomplishment it gives them. If you can ride 700 miles in a day, you've done something most riders never will. There is a feeling of pride that comes with that. You're going to suffer to earn that pride. You have to decide if it's worth it to you. You couldnt have said it any better! We disscussed this and this is the attitude we have. We feel that its something we really want to do. If still comfortable at the end of the hour, then you don't need rain gear. I truly hope you are just kidding. I dont own rain gear. I am not afraid to get wet. I rode every day last season rain or shine. The day that I rode 450 miles, 200 was in a flat out down pour in mid 60 degree temps. I have a pretty effective system of using garbage bags that I use occasionally though.  However, because of the possibility of rain in lower temps I am considering buying some rain gear for this trip. I cant thank you all enough for the great tips, links, offers of help, and inspiring words. | ||
| Froggy |
I hate rain gear, its a pain in the ass to take on and off. Got full waterproof gear now, it takes a few hours of constant heavy rain for it to penetrate my Aerostich. I think I have only gotten wet 2 times last year with the stich. |
