A few questions about riding with strangers...

[Mr_Salad]

Cool man, sounds like you had a great time.

I don't ride an RR, but my Seca II has a bit of lean to it. I haven't done any long rides, but am planning on taking a trip down to Myrtle Beach in August. I live near DC. So the trip is going to be about 450 mi each way. Any tips on surviving the long haul?

[Muse]

I don't know if a Kawi Ninja 500 is truly considered a sport bike (arguably more of a sport touring) but I did 2500km in 5 days last year on mine. I rode from Calgary to Oliver, BC for the SportBike West rally with two friends, one on a Katana and the other on, whaddaya know, a Gixxer 750. We had a great trip! I was sore and hot and loved every second of it.

As for passing large groups, I think MOST groups are pretty accomodating of other riders, especially someone riding alone. If you'd been with a larger group, it might have been harder to just let you guys ride in the middle like that. Nice job!

[Kaiser Soze]

10 minutes on your feet every couple of hours does wonders.

But hell, I'm no long haul expert. This was my second trip this long, the first being back in '99 when I first had my Katana. At least back then I had a tank bag... this time I only had a small backpack and packed *very* lightly. I can't find a decent tank bag that will fit my GSX-R's weird tank shape.

I just made sure to get off the bike at every fuel stop and walk around a bit. On more than a couple occassions I'd down a Red Bull and have half a snickers bar or something.

I checked weather reports and it was supposed to be hot and sunny every day, and I ended up being *drenched* on the way there, then soaked again on the way back while being pelted with hail. I had zero rain gear on me. My Joe Rocket kevlar jacket was decent, but my jeans, boots, and gloves were soaked.

Actually on the way back I pulled over under a bridge with a few other riders and a cyclist. One couple on a C50 were wearing friggin' shorts and t-shirts. They were FREEZING. It cleared up so I rolled out of there, only to have it open up with rain and hail again within a few minutes. I came over a hill and down, towards Calaway Park in Calgary, and there's a huge semi with a trailer on its side blocking one of the lanes coming in the opposite direction. Lots of bikes were pulled over as it hailed, but I didn't want to get stranded there if it kept up and covered the road... luckily it didn't last too long and I made it through.

It poured the entire time through Calgary. Literally. I was drenched like I had just sat in a bathtub. But 20 minutes after leaving the city it warmed right up and it was like riding in a hairdryer. By the time I got home 2 hours later I was bone dry and wishing I had somewhere to stick the jacket, it was so hot. So goes Alberta weather, I guess.

But overall I don't think I'm in any position to be giving out long trip advice!