Long rides.

[Bubba]

A friend just took off for Seattle Wash., from New Jersey, last Wednesday morning at 4 AM. First day ended up in Tennessee, Yea I know. The long way to Seattle Wash.
Second day found him in Arizona and the third day in San Diego, Calif. after enduring 135 degrees in the desert where his hand grips melted.
Now he's heading up the coast via the Pacific highway.
My question?
What do you think of a marathon ride like this and do you think it's even worth the trip?
Personally, I feel this isn't what I would call a "fun ride".

[Relsek]

A friend just took off for Seattle Wash., from New Jersey, last Wednesday morning at 4 AM. First day ended up in Tennessee, Yea I know. The long way to Seattle Wash.
Second day found him in Arizona and the third day in San Diego, Calif. after enduring 135 degrees in the desert where his hand grips melted.
Now he's heading up the coast via the Pacific highway.
My question?
What do you think of a marathon ride like this and do you think it's even worth the trip?
Personally, I feel this isn't what I would call a "fun ride".

I guess it all depends on what you like as a rider. If you like being alone and seeing the countryside, it's probably for you. If you like riding to the bar for a beer and that's about it, the long ride is probably too much for you.

I just completed a somewhat long ride with my brother, it was fun because he was there and we spent some time exploring some of the southern states, but with different people or a different route it would not have been as much fun.

[Bubba]

I guess it all depends on what you like as a rider. If you like being alone and seeing the countryside, it's probably for you. If you like riding to the bar for a beer and that's about it, the long ride is probably too much for you.
I just completed a somewhat long ride with my brother, it was fun because he was there and we spent some time exploring some of the southern states, but with different people or a different route it would not have been as much fun.

Not talking about the distance but the time to get there. Three days to Southern California via the southern states seems more like work than a bike trip.
I'd love to take the trip but I'd take my time and enjoy it. Kind of hard to enjoy this country at 80 MPH for 18 hours a day.

[CTLawyer]

What do you think of a marathon ride like this and do you think it's even worth the trip?
Personally, I feel this isn't what I would call a "fun ride".

You can't push for time or it is just a commute and not a trip. With the wife on the back I just rode from CT to Dallas, TX and back via the no helmet law states (CT, PA, OH, KY, AR, TX), about 4,500 miles. We learned a lot. We settled into doing around 300 miles a day. We took as many non-interstate highways as possible as we had time to take it easy. We learned that finding a motel after 8 pm is hard and after 10 pm it's impossible. So we usuallly started out at about 10 am and stopped each afternoon before 6 pm to nail down a cheap room. We took lots of stops, rests and "refreshments" at the day's end.

The heat in the South was awesome, and we were saved by being on a watercooled bike in the few traffic jams we encountered. The trip lasted just over two and a half weeks, with about 5 days of that spent in Dallas resting up in a pool getting rid of our farmer tans.

In KY they have hundres of miles of beatiful parkways where the cops apparently don't give a hoot so we let her really run. That was fun as traffic was non-existent and the road was really nice and weather perfect. Ohio's scenic Route 7 along the Ohio River was also awesome. I am so sad to not still be out there riding.

Worth it? Hell, I'd give my left *** to live that road trip life everyday. I love the road, the biker folks and others you meet, the barbeque joints, and the feeling of being on a bike that was made just for you. Do it right and it's great. If you can;t take your time I say no, it it is not worth it to ride real far so take the car or fly instead.

[ZooTech]

First day ended up in Tennessee....Second day found him in Arizona

Uhhh.....nice haul! Does the guy eat, sleep, or poop? Is his bike powered by monkey butt?

[NorthernPete]

First day ended up in Tennessee....Second day found him in Arizona

Uhhh.....nice haul! Does the guy 1 eat, 2 sleep, or 3 poop? Is his bike powered by monkey butt?

1- Interveinous hookups?

2- zzzzzz

3- colostomy bag? (ewwww?)