The longest tour

[jackronner]

Let the pissing contest begin!  10,000 miles this summer (all right, 9.680) from S.F. Bay Area to N. Carolina, to Quebec then back.  Bike ran like a champ, sipping about 1 1/2 pints of oil.  Took a month and a day, but would have been longer except I had to give up going to Vancouver, B.C. due to the whole region being on fire.

[T6pilot]

Congrats
Great way to spend a month


Jim

[jackronner]

Hey Jim,


Hope you're well.  Yeah, a great month.  Tho' I'd planned to do the Bllue Ridge Pkwy all the way up, but that's when that lightning apocalypse hit the whole east coast (late July).  Decided to forego the pkwy, since there'd be no sights to be seen and 500 miles of slick hairpins.  Somehow found a north/south avenue between storms and made it all the way to Pennsylvania before I got rained on (or hit by lightning!).  Quebec was an incredible eye-opener of a city.  As I said, had to come back down to the US after B.C. caught fire.  But took the wrong road into Yellowstone from the north, Rte. 212, which was mountains, twisties, herds of buffalo and glaciers.  Gorgeous.  After hitting W. Virginia, Maine and N. Dakota, I've now hit all the lower 48 on the bike.  I guess the theme song for the tour would be Fire and Rain (reversed).  Take care, Jim.

[Levisp]

Let the pissing contest begin!  10,000 miles this summer (all right, 9.680) from S.F. Bay Area to N. Carolina, to Quebec then back.  Bike ran like a champ, sipping about 1 1/2 pints of oil.  Took a month and a day, but would have been longer except I had to give up going to Vancouver, B.C. due to the whole region being on fire.

Wow ! Thats some tour. Thought I did some miles but 10K in month. I could only manage 9K since May but thats just local riding plus one short trip to Germany. How many miles has the bike got on the clock ? Any major issues ? My bike is 4 years old with 37K on the clock. All my mates think I should trade it in for a new one, they think its going to blow up ! Me I say bollocks this one is going to stay until I get 100K on her. Am I mad ?


Anyway congrats on your tour.

[jackronner]

Are you mad?  Could be starkers for all I know, but not because of your faith in the bike!  I bought the 2005 last October with this trip in mind.  Had the 36k major servicing done before I left and had nary a problem with the bike.  That includes freeway driving in the desert at over 40 Celsius.  Didn't push it, rarely going over 85 mph (137 kph) and only a few days over 600 miles or 1000 kms.  Did about 8k miles in 2000 for my 50th birthday present, and surprised myself by holding up almost as well as the bike did this time around (I didn't burn any oil at all).  As for selling the bike, I've bought bikes in the past that have cost less than the major servicing, so you have to factor that into whether keeping the bike 'til it's old an gray is a false economy or not.  That's my plan, tho' and they're renowned for their durability.  Enjoy your trips, mate;  I know I did.

[T6pilot]

Jack
Will be in Salinas 26-30 this month for airshow, we’re doing flyby’s at Laguna Seca for Porsche races in addition to airshow, stop in
Featured act this year is the SNOWBIRDS


Jim

[Tones]

Maybe, we Brits could compete if we calculated Sq miles of USA against UK. Then, we could say that for every 1k the USA toured, we did, what? 250 miles. otherwise, we'd just be going around the M25 just to keep up with you guys. Plus, our petrol price is now around $6 a gallon, (guesstimate) which makes the longer journeys difficult. (Saving for Brexit !!)

[jackronner]

I know the feeling.  When I rented a bike in Paris in 2011, I had to remind myself there was no need to speed:  France was only about the size of Texas!  On my longest day ever (1000 miles) I could've traveled it from top to bottom and back again.  On my first bike and tour (bought a Triumph Bonneville in '71) I remember my sense of shock and incredulity that gas in London was A DOLLAR A GALLON (and probably an Imperial gallon)!!!!!!!  It was 25 cents in the US.  Traveling with some Frenchmen to Sweden, we unanimously decided to leave the country the next day when we learned the price of gas and bread (60 cents a loaf!!!!!!).  Amazing the perspective time gives you.  We're catching up to you:  gas in California is well over $4/gallon!

[wethead]

Diego to TX, to NY, back to TX, to WA back to CA, then I rode all the way to HI, well, that last part was in a plane, but doesn't it count?

[jackronner]

Hell of a ride, Wethead!  The route seems a bit unusual, though.  Just couldn't get enough of Texas?  I've still got Hawaii and Alaska on my bucket list on the bike.  The former would take a hell of a long take-off ramp;  even Evel Knievel might find it daunting.  How many miles, total?

[wethead]

have not idea how many miles. I went to three different places in TX, in NY I went to Brooklyn and then up to Lake George for Americade, then TX here and there, then Seattle. I usually spend about 3 months on the road during the Summers. Though these Summer touring trips have been getting shorter and shorter.

[Judgeged]

What an awesome way to spend a month, nice one

[gogs01]

I can't compete with 10,000 miles in a month, but I did over 4,200 miles in 15 days this year, from Scotland to Varna in Bulgaria and back !  8)


We took in 11 countries and the only bike issue was a rear puncture, fortunately in Holland and quickly dealt with in time to catch the ferry home.  A very interesting trip. 

[wethead]

I noticed there are a lot of folks, not to exclude the IBA gang, who seem to get, give, and gloat accolated on how many miles their bikes rolls over. I suppose that could be interpreted as the way 'a boat floats' for them.


For me, I think there are other essences in riding long distance that make up something more worthwhile: the experience itself.
And I must admit, for me, not all experiences have been glamorous. I have gained great friends and experience peaceful and content times; but there is been other times when I have been exhausted, tired, lonely and scared shitless of weather and weird places I landed at accidentally.


I had a long talk about this with a GL guy once and we concluded: Long distance biking is like the dude that jumps out of a perfectly running airplane. Probably not the sensible way to get to the ground, nor to travel; Probably not a wise thing to do, but we keep doing it anyway for some unbeknown reason to us. I have an inkling that there is personal growth as the resulting effect of long-riding. Solitude teaches things one cannot learn in school.