Your top 5 five reasons for riding. (Include photos)

[RadioHowie]

Seeing new and interesting places

THIS just became my new Desktop!

THANKS...and I hate you for having that kind of scenery close by.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Yea, a full res link to that image would be awesome.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Why do I ride?

To visit places like this...

And to ride with friends!

A few twisties never hurt either.

--G

 

[hppants]

Escapefjrtist - how far up the Alaskan Highway did you ride? Which tires did you run up there? (Distanza's????

That's a bucket list ride that I may never make. I'd need a month minimum. Some years up there, there isn't a month of decent weather.

 

[user 213]

A month would be awesome, but it only takes a few days to ride up to Fairbanks. After that it's 400 miles of gravel to Prudhoe Bay and not really much to see or do.

Weather? Yes, they have that in Alaska.

Go in late June and you have a good shot and not too much rain and the mosquitos are only bug sized instead of hummingbird sized, though plenty of them. Might see some snow here and there.

 

[hppants]

Uh.... it's 4200 miles from my house to Fairbanks (fastest route). That's 10 days each way.

Yeah... I'm gonna need a month...

 

[kballowe]

Just because

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[user 213]

Uh.... it's 4200 miles from my house to Fairbanks (fastest route). That's 10 days each way.
Yeah... I'm gonna need a month...

You ride an FJR, it's 4 days each way.

<helping>

 

[escapefjrtist]

Escapefjrtist - how far up the Alaskan Highway did you ride? Which tires did you run up there? (Distanza's????

That's a bucket list ride that I may never make. I'd need a month minimum. Some years up there, there isn't a month of decent weather.

My trip's a little shorter than yours is 'pants, I'm less than 100 miles from the border!

That trip, we rode a clockwise loop from Seattle to Hyder, Watson Lake, Dawson Creek, Jasper and back home. Started out with a new set of 023GTs, not too bad except for a couple pucker moments in construction zone mud!

--G

 

[wheatonFJR]

Uh.... it's 4200 miles from my house to Fairbanks (fastest route). That's 10 days each way.
Yeah... I'm gonna need a month...

You ride an FJR, it's 4 days each way.

<helping>

Ten days each way if you want to enjoy it. 4 days if you want to TRY and prove you can.

<not helping>

 

[user 213]

Uh.... it's 4200 miles from my house to Fairbanks (fastest route). That's 10 days each way.
Yeah... I'm gonna need a month...

You ride an FJR, it's 4 days each way.

<helping>

Ten days each way if you want to enjoy it. 4 days if you want to TRY and prove you can.

<not helping>

That stretch of road is not an issue for how long you want to ride each day. Above Fairbanks, yes, that's different. And yes, it means riding 16-18 hours a day and not spending a lot of time stopped doing other things. (Have you seen some of these states?!, there's no reason to stop in the lower 48 on the way to Alaska.

)

The point is what do you want to see and do? Maybe hppants really has a burning desire to check out the fringes of TX/OK/KS/NE and the Dakotas, but really, there isn't that much to see on the first 1600 miles. Fargo, ND isn't all that exciting a town... And the next 1500 miles isn't all that exciting either. Prairie mostly for the first half, then you start seeing some forest scenery.

Everyone is different. My wife is a lookie-loo. Knows full well she isn't going to buy a thing, but has to spend the time to look thru the entire store. Travel is the same thing, she wants to see and experience it all, no focus on actually getting to the interesting stuff. Then at the end of the day will admit that we really didn't need to spend 6 hours looking at the largest ball of twine.

(It looked the same at 65 mph as it did at 0 mph, go figure)

400-500 miles a day on the way to AK is a waste of time and money. You're 'enjoying' a hotel room and some wide spot in the road that has little to offer for more time than you're enjoying riding the bike. And if you don't enjoy riding the bike, consider flying up or taking a cruise instead. If you say "but I enjoy riding the bike", then why are you planning to be off of it for so long each day?

Sorry for the off topic rant. (Oh, and the wife and I are going to AK this year in June. I've at least convinced her to blow thru the US quickly, but it will be a slow slog and far too many hours stopped at crappy, little, overpriced, boring places along the way after that before we get to anything interesting that we haven't seen before or wanted to see again.)

 

[builderwill]

Uh.... it's 4200 miles from my house to Fairbanks (fastest route). That's 10 days each way.
Yeah... I'm gonna need a month...

You ride an FJR, it's 4 days each way.

<helping>

Ten days each way if you want to enjoy it. 4 days if you want to TRY and prove you can.

<not helping>

That stretch of road is not an issue for how long you want to ride each day. Above Fairbanks, yes, that's different. And yes, it means riding 16-18 hours a day and not spending a lot of time stopped doing other things. (Have you seen some of these states?!, there's no reason to stop in the lower 48 on the way to Alaska.

)

The point is what do you want to see and do? Maybe hppants really has a burning desire to check out the fringes of TX/OK/KS/NE and the Dakotas, but really, there isn't that much to see on the first 1600 miles. Fargo, ND isn't all that exciting a town... And the next 1500 miles isn't all that exciting either. Prairie mostly for the first half, then you start seeing some forest scenery.

Everyone is different. My wife is a lookie-loo. Knows full well she isn't going to buy a thing, but has to spend the time to look thru the entire store. Travel is the same thing, she wants to see and experience it all, no focus on actually getting to the interesting stuff. Then at the end of the day will admit that we really didn't need to spend 6 hours looking at the largest ball of twine.

(It looked the same at 65 mph as it did at 0 mph, go figure)

400-500 miles a day on the way to AK is a waste of time and money. You're 'enjoying' a hotel room and some wide spot in the road that has little to offer for more time than you're enjoying riding the bike. And if you don't enjoy riding the bike, consider flying up or taking a cruise instead. If you say "but I enjoy riding the bike", then why are you planning to be off of it for so long each day?

Sorry for the off topic rant. (Oh, and the wife and I are going to AK this year in June. I've at least convinced her to blow thru the US quickly, but it will be a slow slog and far too many hours stopped at crappy, little, overpriced, boring places along the way after that before we get to anything interesting that we haven't seen before or wanted to see again.)

There may or may not be a lot to see or do along the way. The point I was picking up is that, if the 4,200 miles is correct, your version of the trip would be doing 4 back to back SS 1000's up and 4 back. To most non-IBR part participants, this would be considered a little extreme.

 

[Spud]

 

[user 213]

There may or may not be a lot to see or do along the way. The point I was picking up is that, if the 4,200 miles is correct, your version of the trip would be doing 4 back to back SS 1000's up and 4 back. To most non-IBR part participants, this would be considered a little extreme.

I suppose you're right. It's been ten years since a 1000 mile day looked difficult. I view that as something anyone can do if they simply get on the bike and ride.

Allow me to re-phrase in a more general set of terms. Consider riding longer days when you're covering known ground or closer to home. Those areas can be more easily explored on other trips. Riding longer days means fewer hotel stops, so it's less expensive that way. And potentially gives you more time to explore places you likely won't be back to soon.

Back to eye candy. Places I've ridden to in the last year. I ride to go places and see things.

Peru, on the way to Machu Picchu, (by motorcycle). And yes, that's all one road.

14" deep river crossing w/basketball size rocks running thru it. Fast moving mountain run off with a 4' drop off the bottom end.

Money shot

Sequoia N.P. in CA

Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. (spent a couple of days there and did the full tourist thing before riding North and around the Great Lakes)

Devil's Tower in WY

That big hole in the earth in AZ (Grand Canyon)

 

[gixxerjasen]

I suppose you're right. It's been ten years since a 1000 mile day looked difficult. I view that as something anyone can do if they simply get on the bike and ride.

This is probably the key to it. It's all psychological. You set out to ride the 1000 miles so that your head doesn't balk at going 1000 miles in a day. When you are done you look back and think "Wow, that wasn't that bad at all." The cert gives you the number to chase and requires that you plan it out rather than just winging it. 1000 miles a day isn't bad but it is possible to be stupid if you didn't plan it right.

After it's all said and done, you then can look at a point on a map and say "Yea, I can do that" and then go see what it is you are out to see. My trip last April was two days, out and back, to see some stuff that was over 700 miles away. Prior to doing my SS1K I think I might have balked or wanted to stretch it out over more days. I didn't have more days but knew it was easily doable so I did it.

 

[beemerdons]

Peru, on the way to Machu Picchu, (by motorcycle). And yes, that's all one road.

14" deep river crossing w/basketball size rocks running thru it. Fast moving mountain run off with a 4' drop off the bottom end.

Money shot

Brother Eric, Papa Chuy is so damned jealous! I've ridden down to Guatemala City, but never on to South America! Wowser, on my bucket list for sure!

 

[user 213]

Peru was awesome and I'd go back to ride there more. We flew down to Lima, then Cusco and rented bikes for a week, used a guide to go to Machu Picchu. You ride from Cusco to Santa Maria on pavement, then it goes to narly dirt for the rest of the way to Santa Teresa then catch the train to Aguas Caliente, (now called Machu Picchu City/Station). After that it's a bus ride to Machu Picchu.

It had rained the previous 9 days strait, but was sunny and beautiful when we got to Cusco. But that meant the water crossings on the back side of Abra de Malaga were running high and fast. Most were fine, but the one in the pic washed out the foot bridge just upstream and brought car size boulders down. Cars were entering the water as high up as possible, then being pushed down stream so they came out on the other side of the water on the opposite side of the road.

On the dirt road from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa my wife rode into a water crossing and promptly into a hole that nearly swallowed her and the bike. Thankfully she was up on the pegs and gassed it, but the front wheel hit the edge of the hole and didn't want to pop out. The back was fishtailing around and I though I was going to have to swim for her any second when the front popped up and she rode it out. She was waist deep and I'm amazed that little 400 didn't die.

It took all day to ride from Cuzco to Santa Teresa and due to a construction delay for 4 hours, we barely made it as the last bit of twilight faded. We were supposed to stay in Aguas Caliente and ended up paying for that night, and a night in Santa Teresa since we missed the last train.

I was suffering from altitude sickness and heat exhaustion by the time we hiked around Machu Picchu. Should have spent another day resting in Cuzco before riding.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Cuzco,+Peru&daddr=Unknown+road&hl=en&ll=-13.090012,-72.391062&spn=0.043054,0.084028&sll=-13.370864,-72.238564&sspn=0.688072,1.344452&geocode=FfifMf8dgsq1-ykxhFkm2NVtkTFdMRgjzJapKg%3BFTGmN_8dBE6s-w&oq=Machu&mra=pr&t=m&z=14

A whipped OCfjr

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Well, after lots of serious thought...

1. I ride because I feel like I am paying back just a little of the debt I owe my Dad for everything he has done for me.





2. I ride because I can transport my Dad and my cousins to places that filled the dreams of their childhood but always seemed too far out of reach.





3. I ride because I know that Death is one mistake away from robbing me of everything...



4. I ride because sometimes 1000 miles in a day for BBQ is worth it if there is a Friendship to build and BBQ to eat. And because doing the Right Thing makes for quality friends.





5. I ride because the entire motorcycle experience tames the dark beast that lurks within my soul. After I get off the bike I am calmed. I am tamed. I can be the husband and father I need to be. Riding helps me to treat my wife and son with the respect and love they deserve.

 

[Niehart]

Redfish Hunter, that is the best that Honda has every looked.

Well thought out and well said. I remember the of the Harley wreck from one of your ride reports.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Awwww, I made it in there. Sure I was shown up several pics later, but at least I made the final cut.