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[JCZ]

On our last trip cross country we did some 500+ plus days just to blow out some areas and 100-200 days for must see areas. On the long days our lunch stops were short with just a energy drink and a breakfast bar at gas stops. We tried to end up at our motel by 4:00pm to unpack and take a swim or enjoy some regional food with site members along the way. The short days we would get to the destination early to enjoy the area like we did in Memphis and hung out all day at Graceland. Later that evening we met up with a site member and visited Beal St. The next day another short run to Nashville...
Some lessons we learned:  
1. Don't take too much stuff, plan on doing laundry on long trips.
2. Get the best rain gear available and those long rain days won't be much of a problem.
3. A full face helmet is a must have for the elements...rain, wind, hail, snow... we didn't and wished we did almost every day.
4. Don't leave without a good GPS. Its nice to know how much longer it wil take to get to you destination, where the gas stops are, how    to get to the motel or camp ground, and play MP3's. If its not water proof a good ziplock freezer bag will work fine.
5. Keep a good attitude because circumstances and opportunities change daily...its an adventure.

I agree.  But in #1.....buy a bag of cheap sox and underwear.....just throw them away each night.  Lightens the load and makes room as you go

We just grab a quick bite with the continental breakfast and burn through a tank of gas, then eat breakfast at the first gas stop.  The Iron Butt Riders Assn. recommends oatmeal.  It's filling, nourishing and doesn't bog you down or make you sluggish. 

You may be interested in this thread that I started about five years ago......the information is still good.....   http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=5540.0

[kraut]

if you do an extended trip just two up through unknown territory just for the fun the most important thing is to stay flexible.

In densely populated middle Europe you always got alternative routes and will find a bunk at almost every town. So when we go on a ride for a week or more we just decide on the "points of interest" we absolutely have to see. Everything else will be decided on the fly. We go with Wellington: we cross the bridge when we come to it  Under those conditions we average 250 m/day, getting on the road around 10:00 and starting to look for quarters around 17:00, having a break whenever there is something that fetches our interest which may happen every 30 min or may not for 2 hours - just depends. We always calculate one day more than probably neccessary to cover the distance just in case. If you ride with a group that's even more important: in looking back the last days decides if it was a great trip or just like all the others, you should never have to rush that one.

If you just have to cover a distance of boring landscape, let's say in the Baltic or in Russia where you will see nothing but trees for a whole day and only potholes or an occasional elk gives a diversion it's important to stay awake and alert so we stop at least every 2 hours (have to anyway not to run out of fuel) for fuelling, having a coffee, a smoke and a chat. Those rides have to be carefully planned for fuel and quarters. Under this conditions we average 400 m because you may have to detour, may come in bad weather or find a piece of road in unexpectedly bad condition and still have to reach the planned quarters in daylight.

If we just run for the Mediterranian on Autobahn as fast as we can we average 700 m taking it easy. That's Dresden to Venice and about as far as we ever have to get in one day in small Europe. It still allows for an extended lunch and relaxed riding, 10 hours net riding time at not over 110 mph. In a steady downpour you will still seriously dislike the ride after 300 m already 

But I'm afraid those rules will not apply easily to your country as we (normally) don't have extreme weathers, different roads and different speed limits 

[hogsty]

I never tour two up, she just doesn't go on long trips.  Getting from point A to point BI can do 750-800 miles comfortably, have done up to 1200, but that's pushing it just a little

[bubtrauma]

DAM good thread thanx for the read.

This is how the wife and I ride. I listen to her, BUT, sometimes its my BUTT and the amount of "I have had enough" that talks to me. I find setting realistic goals is good. So many differant thoughts here and ALL are great.

I like to keep my ego at bay so I try to keep it enjoyable instead of being able to say we drove "x" number of miles.

One thing we try to do is plan to have an extra day built into our schedule. This is a flex day so it can be used for chitty weather, breakdown, heaven forbid the words we all HATE to hear "I WANT TO SHOP" or this is a cool place to look around.

Anyway LOOKIN forward to Sturgis this year.

Bub

Oh, one more thing depending on your wife pulling a trailer is a Marrige saver........lol. Remember a happy wife is a happy & memorable voyage. 

Just sayin.....

[16HD117]

On our last trip cross country we did some 500+ plus days just to blow out some areas and 100-200 days for must see areas. On the long days our lunch stops were short with just a energy drink and a breakfast bar at gas stops. We tried to end up at our motel by 4:00pm to unpack and take a swim or enjoy some regional food with site members along the way. The short days we would get to the destination early to enjoy the area like we did in Memphis and hung out all day at Graceland. Later that evening we met up with a site member and visited Beal St. The next day another short run to Nashville...
Some lessons we learned:  
1. Don't take too much stuff, plan on doing laundry on long trips.
2. Get the best rain gear available and those long rain days won't be much of a problem.
3. A full face helmet is a must have for the elements...rain, wind, hail, snow... we didn't and wished we did almost every day.
4. Don't leave without a good GPS. Its nice to know how much longer it wil take to get to you destination, where the gas stops are, how    to get to the motel or camp ground, and play MP3's. If its not water proof a good ziplock freezer bag will work fine.
5. Keep a good attitude because circumstances and opportunities change daily...its an adventure.

X2

All very good points!
 

[Gecko]

Sturgis is 625 miles from me.  I'll usually leave around noon and stop somewhere as I like to get into the Hills while I still like to be on the bike and before the afternoon storms.  On the way home it's leave at sunrise and three or four gas stops.  I don't think I'd like to do several of those in a row, however.  Especially if it is hot (105 humiditure last year) or very windy; those fatigue me more than the riding.  Given my choice I'd say 400-500 and after that I'm just thinking about getting there rather than what's going on around me.  If that makes me a wimp    Don't care. 

[1sharprdkg]

My best and favorite riding buddy,(wife) best trips have always been the ones without a lot of rules or time and miles guidelines! We,(maybe just me) have found I don't always play well with others! If we have only one day to get there say 300 to 600 miles from home we try not to waste any time but we stop as often as we need to, for food, gas or whatever. We have done week long trips with 80 mile days and on the same trip with 200 or more mile days. Once we took several days and rode the entire length of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Chattanooga to Panama City to New Orleans to Natchez, Miss. then on Parkway to Nashville then home to Chattanooga. Very nice trip with my wife following me on her 1st bike (Little Red) Honda Shadow 650. Now she is racing me on her 03 Road King Classic... Don't worry about how many miles you ride each day, just enjoy your riding companions and the trip itself!!!       

[grandpadoc]

We had a theme for out trip also-meet site members and eat regional food. If you don't mind itineraries it makes it easier meet and greet by staying near the restaurant/destination to meet up with site members and  . We stayed mostly at Best Westerns to get that early breakfast out of the way and get on the road by 7:00am so we could have more time to enjoy what's down the road and get settled by late afternoon. We got a good discounts through HOG and ended up with some free stays.
Planning a few extended stays in metropolitan areas every few days is a good idea also to take care of those unexpected mechanical issues and...  
The Bushtec trailer we tow is a fantatic piece of equipment for a long trip. It keeps all that weight off the bike which seems to make it handle better and I swear you have to look in your reaview mirror to make sure its still there. The cooler always kept the beer and water cold and the snacks fresh. It does complicate thinkgs a little with two more tires, bearings, air in the shocks but actually ended up saving our lives on the Ohio Turnpike (good bumper). Doc

[Spiderman]

I have to say the more people that post on this thread, the more amusing it becomes. Riding all day and all you see are trees is boring ? Well I suppose at one point after 44 yrs of living in Maine, I might have agreed with that. Then I moved to SoCal and found out that anytime you want to go anywhere other than up PCH, you have to ride through the desert. And mile after mile after mile of nothing. Now the 1st time I came down off of I-40 out of Flagstaff and got to a point below Needles where I could see forever in any direction I thought "how beautiful " Then I went on a long trip that involved two days in the Mojave and learned that that beauty can be damn near fatal. So I've learned to ride in the desert and at times do still look at the sunrise in awe as Forest Gump described it "where you can't tell where the earth ends and Heaven begins"  BUt when you've ridden 2500 miles and you're still 800 miles from home and you know most of it is desert, it's - - -well it's tough some days. Then there's days where you ride all day in the rain. If you're prepared, you can be warm and dry but 400 miles of riding in the rain can leave a knot between your shoulders that even the best massage from your BSR won't get rid of.
  So long distance riding is always a bit of good times and bad. The wonderful thing about us Homo Sapiens is that we have this inate sense of being able to look back at those tough times and see them in a more humorous or less painful light. When we did the Western GTG in Sedona, I must say the day we did a group ride in the cold and rain sucked a bit. BUT, we got back to the hotel and laughed about it and it became part of why we all had such a good time on that trip.
  When all is said and done, you just have to get out there and ride. 100 miles, 200 miles, 300 miles, 1000 miles - -as noted in other posts, whatever feels right for you. The more you ride, the more you want to. When you get home from a 7,000 mile round the USA trip you swear you're never going to do it again; but a week later and you're already planning your next one. I don't know if H-D Inc had this in one of their ads or where I heard it, but " It's all about the ride " - - - -as well it should be.

B B

[REDMAN]

I agree.  But in #1.....buy a bag of cheap sox and underwear.....just throw them away each night.  Lightens the load and makes room as you go

We just grab a quick bite with the continental breakfast and burn through a tank of gas, then eat breakfast at the first gas stop.  The Iron Butt Riders Assn. recommends oatmeal.  It's filling, nourishing and doesn't bog you down or make you sluggish. 

You may be interested in this thread that I started about five years ago......the information is still good.....   http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=5540.0

If you turn your socks and underwear inside out you can get two days out of the disposable ones instead of just one day !!

[grandpadoc]

If you turn your socks and underwear inside out you can get two days out of the disposable ones instead of just one day !!

If you can't remember which side to wear just keep the railroad tracks out.   

[JCZ]

If you turn your socks and underwear inside out you can get two days out of the disposable ones instead of just one day !!

Or just go commando......and not have to worry about it at all.

[110tHunDer]

 
Wear these and wash 'em in the sink at night! http://www.ldcomfort.com/