Things I Learned on My Summer Vacation

This post is in reference to my trip planning, execution and the ultimate aborting of an EPIC motorcycle adventure. I thought I would do it as a stand-alone thread rather than tacking it onto the original planning thread.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/163426-cross-continent-ride/page-1

This is not, per se, a ride report but includes some of what went into this venture and what happened. Perhaps some of the lessons I learned along the way may be of some value to others planning big trips. Maybe not. In any case, I wanted to write some of this up for myself as much as anything. The trip was not a waste of time and was, by no means, all bad. Most of what I did, in fact, was pretty good.

Introduction:

For my 60th birthday present to myself, I decided that I would take a bike trip of a lifetime. This was to be a one-month solo trip designed to allow me to see and experience many places and things that were entirely new to me. It was to include mostly camping along the way - to help defray accommodation and food costs as well as the fact that I enjoy it (under the right circumstances). Most of my riding is solo and I have done a few trips that were on the order of a couple of weeks. I didn't think this would be all that different other than in scale.

Planning:

I started by making a long list of all of the places I wanted to see. Spent a day on the Basecamp tutorial. Threw it all onto a map and started connecting the dots with some nice (as possible) roads. I received a lot of useful information and suggestions from a number of people on the forum. Even some offers for a maintenance depot (mid-trip oil change) and a couple invites for an overnight stay/beer/meal etc. I came up with a pretty amazing route after some considerable editing and playing a bunch of different scenarios.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrj2q3zatvpx0om/2015 Big Trip.gdb?dl=0 (Should open in Basecamp or Mapsource - download to computer and open)

With the mapping done, I was able to consider whether it would be possible to do in the allotted month - the math said that it could be done if I could sustain an average of 500 miles per day with no more than a couple days off (or at lower mileage). Total was close to 14,000 miles without any unplanned extras along the way. I THOUGHT I would be able to do it so got stuff ready and tidied up some stuff at work. June 27 was my departure date.

The Trip:

You can see some of the details in the other thread but it turned out that it couldn't be done; at least not by me. Although I knew better, I made insufficient allowances for a whole host of issues that should be expected. As the trip progressed, I was feeling more and more pressure to push myself so I didn't fall (further) behind on my overly-ambitious itinerary. Setbacks due to weather (rain and heat), holiday traffic (and lack of campsites), construction slowdowns and a couple of major traffic accidents that blew hours of time made it more and more difficult to keep up the pace. I suppose fatigue was also beginning to cloud my judgement. I found myself bypassing places I wanted to see (Gunnison NP) or paying a flying visit to other places - Mesa Verde NP received about 2 hours of my time instead of the full day it really needed. I was passing up all sorts of photo ops because each inevitably takes 10 minutes by the time you park, get the camera out, take the photo(s) and get rolling again. After spending a night camped on asphalt in a (mostly) RV campground on July 4th, getting very little sleep, breaking a tooth eating breakfast the next day, dropping my bike in the parking lot in a convenience store parking lot when I failed to fully deploy the sidestand, I was not in a great mood. This was also the day I chose to bypass Gunnison and rushed through Mesa Verde. I decided to forego the alternate route (discussed in other thread) up to the Natural Bridges and ended out taking a motel rather than ride through a major electrical storm. That is the night I decided that I had enough and that THE PLAN wasn't going to work.

Yes, it was a bad, awful day but revealed to me the fundamental flaw in my planning. For a longer trip, it is a virtual certainty that shit will, in fact, happen and you have to allow for it. It has happened to me before and I was simply in denial that it could royally screw this trip. I knew that after eight days on the road under some adverse conditions, I was in need of some down time. Unfortunately, a day of rest was not in THE PLAN. After some considerable soul-searching (and a couple drinks of rum), I came to the conclusion that I would head for home with the full intention of trying this again; applying what I have learned for the next time. In the nine (I think) days before turning back, I had accomplished about a third of THE PLAN but some of it was in a rather half-assed manner. If I had started with the same itinerary but with six weeks to do it, it would have been much more enjoyable and could have been done in a relatively stress-free manner. Similarly, a shorter loop could (should) have been planned since the needed six weeks was not available. Anyway, I decided to "Run away and live to fight another day". Five long days on the road back home for a total of 7400 miles in the two weeks.

I saved the extra two weeks of vacation so I can either do a couple of more (shorter) trips this year or see if I can scrape together the needed six weeks for a similar Grand Tour in a year or so. Part of the trouble with the shorter trips is that its hard to see a bunch of really new stuff. I have to ride at least a couple of days each way before I get into things that are truly new. More than half the time getting to and from makes it difficult to accomplish much if the object is to see new stuff. The big loop as per THE PLAN can accomplish this quite efficiently.

Lessons Learned (in no particular order):

1) The FJR is an awesome machine for this sort of venture. I guess we all knew that but its worth saying again. At 138,000 miles on the clock, it didn't burn any measureable amount of oil in 7400 miles. Other than a headlight burning out two days before getting home, it was completely flawless.

2) The FJR LOVES to run at higher altitudes. Above 4000 ft., it seemed to be smoother and certainly got better fuel mileage - even doing 75 to 80 MPH on Colorado highways.

3) Car Tire - Just say NO to it for a trip like this. I have done the Darkside before and didn't find it to be a completely negative experience. I decided I would give it another go and mounted a General Tire GMAX a couple of weeks before the trip. I was hoping that I could squeak 15,000 miles out of a front but figured there was no way for the rear. The car tire is good (maybe even superior) for Interstate riding getting to the destination and even pretty good on higher speed sweepers. I found it truly nerve-wracking on tight twisties and in slow speed maneuvering almost anywhere; especially on uneven road surfaces. This was made much worse since the bike was quite heavily loaded with camping gear and was quite top-heavy. I was getting less confident with it as the trip (and fatigue level) progressed.

4) Bridgestone T-30 GT front still has half its tread left so I think it would have made the whole trip - aggressive twisty riding wasn't the principle venue.

5) Garmin Basecamp is an awesome program for setting up a trip like this. I am still learning and haven't progressed beyond the fundamentals but I am pretty happy with it. I hope that Garmin continues to refine it. One IMPORTANT point. When you finish the route on Basecamp, ZOOM in to quite close and examine the route segments in detail. I received some mis-direction because I hadn't placed a waypoint quite right. Don't ever assume that Garmin hasn't done something really foolish when it routed you a particular way. ALSO, check the route in detail once its been transferred to the GPS. Harder to do but could be worth it.

Now for the real stuff...

6) ALLOW ENOUGH TIME!!! At least 50% more than what is "needed". It would have made a tremendous difference to me.

7) On a relatively short trip (i.e. a week), planning is MUCH easier. For the most part, you can have a reasonably good idea of the weather you should expect. If shit happens, not much is lost and you can head for home and be there in a day or two. You can also seriously make plans on where you are going to stay and maybe even where you are going to stop to eat. I had nothing more than a general idea where I might be more than a couple of days out. As a consequence, I sort of just let accommodations "happen". As a result, I ended out in some crappy and/or too-expensive motels when suitable camping couldn't be found. For future trips, I will work on a 48 hour short-term plan with some definite targets for camping locations (making reservations the day before). Its worrisome to find yourself riding down the road with dusk approaching and NO idea where you are going to end out for the night.

8) I have the camping thing fairly well worked out. I need to give food a little more thought. Heated up canned soup/chili/beans etc. is OK but becomes a little tiring after awhile. Again, I do not worry too much about "proper" nutrition for a short trip but for a month, I need to have some better attention paid to what I eat. Alternative is ending out sick.

9) Still have to experiment (on weekend trips) on how I can pare down the amount of camping stuff I have with me. I am doing some reading and will try stuff. Rapid setup and pack up is really important.

9) DRINK MORE FLUIDS. Easy to forget while riding - especially in hot, dry weather.

10) EAT properly during the day. Helps stave off fatigue and I am much better focussed. What works best for me is to have a good breakfast, eat lightly during the day and a good dinner with lots of calories. Avoid the junk and limit alcohol to a couple of beers (just for re-hydration). Obviously, the beer is just for after the riding is done for the day.

11) Take tons of pictures. Next trip, I am bringing a backup camera with me in case of problems. I will also force myself to stop and take the time!

12) Spotwalla is a wonderful application and Bubbler GPS (for Android phones) provides an extremely functional interface to collect and transmit data to Spotwalla. You can even upload photos which will display on the map. My trip is here:

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=dc45558bdc3c07703

13) GET BETTER RIDING GEAR - I found that my equipment was not up to the task. Jacket does not provide adequate ventilation in hot weather and is not entirely waterproof. Similarly, my armoured pants are too hot and not dry with sustained downpour. My so-called waterproof gloves had not been properly tested in heavy rain and let's just say they were found wanting.

14) Get custom earplugs. I have been using foam earplugs for many years without major issues. I typically wear a pair a few days and dispose of them when they get dirty or wet. After the first 8 or 9 days, my ear canals began to get quite irritated. By day 11 or 12, they were downright painful. The use of lotion and (eventually) Neosporin helped a bit but not enough.

15) I found that I can still do multiple successive long riding days; even on a stock FJR seat. (I may have to bite the bullet and upgrade before the next attempt.)

16) Simple tiredness can be dealt with easily. If this becomes fatigue due to multiple long days of riding coupled with a fairly high stress level, judgement will be clouded and you cannot ride safely. This is what I felt was happening to me and ultimately why I decided to turn back. Under the circumstances, it was the correct decision although one of the more difficult I have had to make.

Feel free to comment on any of this stuff. I may add to it later...

Thanks again for the planning help as well as the support and comments along the way!

Good comments.....I'm always surprised how many riders think continuous 500 mile days on vacation is going to be relaxing and fun....and it is for a few....but 250-350 mile days usually works the best for most of us.

Hey Ross, glad you made it back home safe and sound! Sorry we didn't get to meet as you had planned to when getting to B.C.! How would I compare your journey to mine back in 2010? I planned to ride across Canada, all ten provinces and then basically drop down to Florida and then cut across to San Diego then up the west coast back to B.C.? Initially I was travelling with four fellows which dropped down to two. We were both retired so time wasn't a constraint. The plan was to leave in early August, the 4th actually and get home when we got back! My wife is one of those special people who said go be free, enjoy yourself, but be safe. I purchased a Spot Tracker with the unlimited report back package to keep my family in the loop. My riding partner also had the benefit of this location device. Initially our planning included a communication system consisting of Star Comm Digital equipment. Unfortunately it didn't work very well? Not sure why, but I think it had to do with his VTwin vs my FJR? Too long a story to tell here but we each threw a grand away on the attempt? In the planning stage my riding partner became involved with a new relationship since his wife had passed away! He now had made plans to meet her part way on our journey and have her ride with him for a couple of weeks from Ontario to Nova Scotia. I initially thought this would be a "Guy thing"? and hadn't really planned the trip as a threesome? I offered to let my partner opt out of the trip but he wanted to carry on. We rode across Canada staying off highway 1 almost the whole way. Of course we did some side tours but we had to be in Ontario buy a certain time and then had to be in Nova Scotia by a certain time to catch a plane back to B.C. for his passenger! It left some time for sight seeing but did put us on a clock that didn't allow for extra sight seeing? It sounds like I'm annoyed by this extra passenger thing but, because of my riding partners extended family we had lot's of opportunity to stay with his family and friends on the cross Canada journey which really did help with the camping, motel, friends and family opportunities to overnight. In Newfoundland we were able to stay two nights in St.John's with a friend of my cousin which made that opportunity fantastic! George St.! Kissed the Cod, the whole nine yards. Screeched and listened to some great music. She lent us her car for our second day of touring and that made seeing the sights a lot better as we ride ATGATT. Meaning each stop is a hassle getting in and out of you gear! I had said the plan was to go south on the east coast to the Florida Keys but my partner and I had ridden to bike week in Daytona in 09 after trailering our bikes to Phoenix and then riding across to Florida. Did Miami and then rode the Alligator highway back across to Everglades city where we were treated to the best Seafood meal I have ever had! Then back to Phoenix on 10? Been there done that? We decided to ride the Blue Ridge parkway all the way down and then give the Dragon a go! I won't bore you with the return journey but buy the time we got back home it was October 8,2010. We had ridden 25500.00 kms and were glad to be back. During the trip there were many times when I was swinging my leg over the bike and thought I would rather not be doing that and just sitting in a car/truck? No mechanical problems, oil and filters every 5000kms and each of us did tires in Kansas at about 17,500kms. I'm not trying to compare but having a friend along was a great asset even though I didn't always seem appreciative?

Here is a link to our trip: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1afd4c44b6e65e209

Mark - It sounds to me like your trip was along the lines of what mine could have been. It covered many of the areas that were in THE PLAN or areas (i.e. Newfoundland, Gaspe etc.) that I have already done a few times. I have already done the across Canada run as well as some BC riding - although I was more than willing to repeat that last part.

For me, having a riding partner would be a two-edged sword. On one hand, it would be nice to have someone to share the experience with, to help with planning/decisions and to help defray accommodations costs. On the other hand, the individual would have to be like-minded (i.e. they would have to be willing to do it MY way). Seriously, I would have difficulty finding anyone who would commit to a trip this long or as many successive high-mileage days. The solitude of a long solo ride can be quite therapeutic. I don't really mind it - most of the time.

With all of the issues I mentioned in my post, the real kicker was time. By comparison, my trip plan (distance wise) was around 95% of the one that you did (before I did any location-based add-ons). The allotted time was less than HALF! As it was, I ended out doing half your distance in just two weeks! While it might be sustainable, you certainly can't do much in the way of meaningful sight-seeing. For what it's worth, I did manage to sustain the pace for over a week and I did (sort of) see most of the stuff on the list to that point. A day and a half in Utah and a blast to California might have been possible but I saw things would be falling apart by about then. The ride home doesn't count because is was pretty much a straight blast on the slab.

I didn't change oil on this trip. The original plan was to change at the half-way point. Compared to short trips and stop-and-go riding, long runs where the oil stays hot is MUCH easier on it - particularly for a good fully synthetic oil. Doubling (or even more) the normal service interval would not concern me in the least.

The more I think about it, the more resolved I become about trying this again. I might shift the time of year some so I can include Florida and Gulf coast states as well as the desert. I would have to be willing to risk issues in the mountains with late or early snow. On the other hand, if the trip spanned TWO months, you might be able to do both with some degree of comfort.

If I had a spare motorcycle, I would consider doing half the trip in April/early May - home to Florida, the Gulf coast, and to the California desert. Park the bike and fly home. A flight back to resume the trip in late June/early July. Don't have a spare bike right now and not sure about the flight costs.

I learned a long time ago from trying to do THE PLAN that it isn't for me. I like to know where I'm sleeping, I know the heat kills me, I simply physically am miserable trying to go too far.

But I have also found new gems of scenery, monuments, geography and culinary right here in my own area. Sure I'd love to make a trip across the country perhaps even across the continent. Who wouldn't? But a man's got to know his limitations and multiple 500 days to stay on schedule is way beyond my limitations. Hell, 350 miles on non-interstates takes me at least 10 hrs, simply b/c I like to stop and smell the roses. Riding across the country is one thing but IMHO seeing the things our country has to offer while riding is totally different and cannot be adequate accomplished and appreciated by following THE PLAN.

Just my $.02. I admire the attempt and good luck if (when!) you do it again.

I am perfectly OK with 350 to 500 miles per day and don't really mind 12 hours of riding/sightseeing in a day - sometimes longer. In fact, I would rather do a long saddle day and as much as 800 miles if it quickly gets me from one "area of interest" to another. While, for example, the plains can be interesting, there isn't much that can't be seen @ 80 MPH while riding through. I would rather do this and save some low-miles days for the mountains and forests; perhaps a little visiting time or down-time along the way.

It is MUCH easier if you have an ultimate destination for the end of each day and you aren't terribly time-compressed to finish a daily "quota".

September is the best month to travel. The weather has cooled a bit and usually the big summer thunderstorms are finished, the kids are in school and tourist season is over. Still plenty of daylight, much easier to find places to stay and I always enjoy watching farmers starting the fall harvest while pounding the miles across the farm land.

It's a big country and I learned years ago you can't see it all on one trip. Glad you made it home ok Ross and your invite is still here for when you do make this far west.

Ross - once again, I'm sorry that things didn't work out as well as expected. It's good that you took time to write down your thoughts. 500+ miles per day for a month is entirely too much if you want to see things and camp. 200-250 is pretty much the max for me. I can ride 750-850 on day 1 and day "end" to get to and from the fun quicker. But once I'm there, I want to allow plenty of time to sniff.

One thing I think I'll try on my upcoming tour is to pick a more centralized place to camp, and then run a couple of daytrip loops out of the campground, before moving on to the next site. I think this will save valuable time and energy in the setup an break down of camping.

I've talked and written to a few people that have taken month long bike trips. All of them have told me that every 4-5 days, you need to just take a day off. Most use the weather as a driver of this - when Mother Nature gives them a crappy day, they get a cheap hotel, park the bike, wash clothes, and hole up with a good book or some TV. Take a long afternoon nap. The next morning, they are up early and full of energy. I think I'll take this advice even though I'm only going to be gone for 15-17 days.

Respectfully, at the risk of repeating myself, I think the biggest flaw in your plan was THE PLAN itself. I used to travel with a very strict and rigid plan, but to be honest, it is entirely to stressful. The energy and concentration it takes to stick to the plan is exhausting and takes a lot away from the adventure. Certainly to each his own - and I get the security that comes with knowing where/when/how. But on your next trip, do consider letting your mind enjoy the excitement that TRULY comes from NOT knowing what's around the next curve.

I hope one day we can share some miles together.

'Pants

A PLAN (of some sort) with specific routes and milestones is pretty much necessary for this mission. This doesn't mean to say that I couldn't take a day off now and then or go "off mission" if an appropriate distraction presented itself. I had "things to see" (primary goal) and there was a specific route that attached the points from one to another. There were some excursions that could be dropped without interrupting the flow too much but I would rather drop them because I found something better rather than because I ran out of time!

Yes, it became stressful when I began to realize that I could not do it all; at least not with the attention the targets deserved while holding on to a shred of my own sanity. It was never so rigid that specific days were attached to specific locations (i.e. This is Tuesday so that must be the Grand Canyon). The camping takes a minimum of an additional 1 to 2 hours per day which was not really in my accounting for time. While I like the idea of setting up a basecamp and doing day excursions from there (have done this before), it doesn't really work for this sort of trip.

Overall (as I have said) the biggest issue was TIME. All of the other issues would have faded into insignificance as they really had no effect other than make it take longer! I really am OK for some consecutive very long riding days but a day (or even a half day) of downtime is nice every now and then. A 24-48 hour moving window for rigid planning (reservation and locations) is, I think, a good way to stay on top of things and to make sure I'm not sleeping on a park bench somewhere!

Another thing I learned but forgot to mention in the original post -

17) When creating in Basecamp and transferring routes to the Zumo, I created a total of 11 segments by geographical area or "sub-mission" In retrospect, it might have been a better idea to create (more) smaller segments that could be easily edited (on the Zumo) on the fly. Didn't bring a laptop with me so full Basecamp remapping was not an option. I found a few instances where I wanted to alter a route but it was not easy. Probably should have created a few routing contingency plans as well.

This is a very good thread with lots of lessons learned. My style is to hell with a detailed plan. I pick a destination or a set of destinations (for instance the National Parks in Utah) and plan the next the night before.

Mileage wise I enjoy 250 to 300 miles days with a off bike day every fourth or fifth day.

Hppants said it much better than I but the idea is the same.

And a big thanks for posting and sharing you experience.

This is a great thread. I have yet to do any kind of big ride. I am planning, someday, when I can to do a big ride. The more I read posts like this I find my self thinking about what I can do after retirement. Maybe a few multi day trips prior to that, however the no holds barred, get on the bike and ride would prolly have to wait till I am done working. For me anyway so that time is really not a factor.

Thanks to you guys for sharing the info and experience and also sharing your spot tracking. That is awesome and I am sorry that the OP did not get his dream trip in...

Mike

BlacknWhite23 said:

This is a great thread. I have yet to do any kind of big ride. I am planning, someday, when I can to do a big ride. The more I read posts like this I find my self thinking about what I can do after retirement. Maybe a few multi day trips prior to that, however the no holds barred, get on the bike and ride would prolly have to wait till I am done working. For me anyway so that time is really not a factor.
Thanks to you guys for sharing the info and experience and also sharing your spot tracking. That is awesome and I am sorry that the OP did not get his dream trip in...

Mike

Click to expand...

My trip will happen (or continue from where I left off); just not right now! If you are planning a big ride, you MUST do some shorter multi-day ventures with the same sort of daily itinerary that you are planning for the big one. You have to be able to determine your tolerance for multiple sequential long days of riding - some are OK for a couple of days and then need a break. You have to be sure of how well your bike ergonomics suit you and you have to figure out your personal tolerance (and riding gear suitability) for weather variables.

If you are camping rather than hotelling, getting the required gear sorted out is a significant undertaking. I have done a dozen or so MC camping trips of varying length and I discover something new each time.

In 2012 heading to NAFO in Castlegar, BC Spanky and I started a trip with 3 reservations; The first night out in Kentucky, Yellowstone on the 8th or 9th day, and the host hotel in Castlegar. For the trip home we just winged it. We only had to go to a second choice for hotel twice during the whole trip. We planned the ride the next day based on where we got each day. We did 7500 miles in 14 days of riding. It wasn't terrible except for the blistering heat especially on the way home. Records were broken. We had to average 535 miles/day, however we had some more than that and one day(2nd to last) at 860 miles. We proved we could do it, but have no desire to ride like that again. We just did 6500 miles in 15 days going to SW-FOG. That only dropped the required miles/day to 433, but that was much more manageable. We had several days that we did over 500, but several at or below 400 too. That trip was much more enjoyable. It was also almost two weeks earlier which made for slightly cooler temps. I forced myself to manage mileage on the way out to Utah by having advanced reservations for every night. VERY un Bob-like trip! We did wing it on the way home, though.

I don't mind piling on the miles when it is to make it to a particular destination or between points of interest although if I do more than 800 or so, I tend to pay for it the next day. Once there, I like to have some leisure time to enjoy what I came there for - this was missing from my itinerary. The 100 miles per day difference between the two scenarios (above) doesn't sound like a lot but makes all the difference in the world. A couple of extra hours to decompress, eat a leisurely meal and plan the next day's activities. A little extra time is needed even more if you are camping!

Last chapter...

Lesson #3 (addendum) - I swapped out the GMAX car tire today and installed a new Michelin PR2. Funny how going to the car tire didn't seem horrible when I did it; I clearly remember thinking it wasn't all that bad. After nearly 9,000 miles on it, I think I can safely say I won't do that again. The switch back was an ENORMOUS relief.

I had attributed some of the handling issues to fatigue coupled with a top-heavy load but in retrospect I would say 85% was the tire. OK for a straight slab run across the continent but the hundred bucks (or so) saved on rubber translated into a great deal of anxiety (or at least diminished enjoyment) on any roads but the really easy ones. The experience of the Blue Ridge, Cherohala, Rocky Mtn NP, Mesa Verde etc. was much less than it might have been due to the CT.

Start with new rubber and be prepared to make a change somewhere along the way if necessary. If you drop-ship some tires to a willing forum member (who has tire-changing equipment), its only going to cost a couple or three hundred bucks and a (six-pack of beer).

Ross, I appreciate you sharing this very much. I also got some really good information from all of the responses, so my thanks to all those who responded as well.

I am going to disagree with some of you, I like to have A Plan. In fact, I am so uncomfortable without A Plan that it takes away from my enjoyment of The Trip. It is also important to have Plan B, Plan C, and a Must Get Home NOW! Plan.

BUT!!! I try to be smart about The Plan. I know that when I am on a motorcycle vacation I am not interested in high mileage days. I already know about how many miles, and more important, how many hours Pop and I want to ride a day. I have made enough trips to know what we like and what we do not.

Some places require a reservation. You cannot get around it. You are not going to pull up at 6:00 pm at Old Faithful Inn at YellowStone and get a room. You are not going to do it at The Grand Canyon, and you cannot do it anywhere in Glacier National Park. In fact, you cannot pull up at The Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66 in Tucumcari New Mexico and get a room. Sometimes, you have to have a reservation. Which means A Plan.

I always have a notebook with miles/times between the major towns/cities along my route. I have phone numbers and addresses for at least 3 hotels in any town where I think I might stay. I check for hotels with guest laundry services and I try to find suitable restaurants located up to an hour before the hotel so we can eat beforehand.

Does this put me in a vice like grip of I Must Get This Far Today? Absolutely not. It is important to remember that we are on a motorcycle trip and we are supposed to be having fun. We have to have flexibility. What I try to do is give myself enough free time in the course of a day to deviate from The Plan and I leave myself the option of discarding The Entire Plan and just shooting from the hip.

Learning to Ride a Motorcycle Trip has the same type of learning curve as learning to ride a motorcycle. The more you do it, the better you get. Use what you learn each time and long trips become less stressful, go smoother, and become more fun. And Fun is why we ride in the first place isn't it?

'Fish

On a trip such as this, I came to the conclusion that I do, indeed, need a plan beyond the stuff I want to see and the roads that connect the dots. For several weeks on the road, there is no way to pre-plan it all other than in a very general fashion. I figure that for the next attempt (and there will be one), I will try to work on a (flexible) window 48 to 72 hours out. I agree that campsites near the most favored NPs will be hard to come by but I can't book weeks in advance.

As far as food is concerned, I love to eat but simple sustenance is all I need - at least most days. I certainly don't plan on where I am going to eat on a daily basis. Breakfast at campsite, light lunch/snacks through the day and either a nearby restaurant or cooking at campsite for dinner. Even allowing 50% more time than this attempt, long riding days are still essential. Maybe 300-400 miles per day (average) with a day off, or at least minimal riding, every five days or so. I'm pretty certain I can sustain this pace indefinitely as long as when I start out each morning, I have a final destination for the end of the day.

To me, a solo trip is VERY different from one shared with another individual. In some ways, it is better although I can't deny there are times it would be nice to have someone else along.

I have enjoyed a number of fairly long solo trips and managed quite well with nothing other than some general planning. This one had far too many targets for the time available and the itinerary COULD NOT be accomplished without skipping a lot of stuff or not giving places and things the attention they deserved.

I would love to break this trip up into three or more segments with some time in between. It would be nice to do the deep south in the early spring, the Cali deserts in the fall and the mountains in the mid-summer. Unfortunately, most of the stuff I want to do is on the left side of the continent and I am in the (Far) Northeast. Four or five long slab-riding days (minimum) each way would pretty much suck up the time available. If I had an extra bike to leave somewhere and could afford a couple of round-trip flights, it would certainly be easier to do it this way. It would be so much easier if I could manage a small lottery win. In lieu of this, the grand circuit is the only way I can manage it.

As I said, I learned a lot with this trip and will do better the next time.

Fly and ride to west coast destinations...jsns

I think you not only learned a lot, but I think you did great as well. Knowing when to shut it down and then having the courage to say so is a wonderful thing. I do not always have enough sense to do either.

One difference between us is that I like love to eat. I can eat a very light lunch and be okay but come suppertime...

My best riding partner is Dear Old Dad. With the bike to bike comm system it is almost always better to ride with Pop than by myself. He understands about Ride Reports and forum silliness and makes all that easy for me. Having the right person with me makes it a lot easier to enjoy all of it. And Pop likes knowing I have everything under control, all he has to worry about is his riding.

I will be looking forward to reading your RR for next year. You have plenty of time to PLAN something epic. Sorry, I could not help myself.