Post by BuzzCap7 on Apr 14, 2012 5:21:25 GMT -8
Ignorance typically abounds soon after a rider recieves the coveted motorcycle license. Where do you go? What do you carry with you on the bike? What do you carry on you? Do you need this or that? My it is cool, shouldn't I be warmer. My it is warm, shouldn't I be cooler?
The following will cover a myriad of questions newly licensee's may come across. The following is not all inclusive but will at least start the new rider off in the right diirection.
Experienced? We gut stuff for you too.
Got Questions? We Got Answers. Go to the "Chat" board on the main page and ask away.
2) Tweleve Myths
3) Solo Riding Skills
4) Tandem Riding Skills
5) Group Riding
6) Long Distant Riding (LDR)
7) Riding In The Rain
8) Comfort
9) Packing List
10) How To Pack & Accessibility
11) SPOT
12) The Ride (Local)
13) The Ride (Long Distant)
14) The Bike
15) The Passenger
16) The Rider
Motorcycle Safety Foundation here you will find some pretty good basic information about riding.
a) Always scan the road 12 seconds ahead of you.
b) Always leave yourself an "escape" route.
c) Always ride like you are "invisible".
d) Always when you are stoped at a light or stop sign, look beind you until two (2) cars are stopped behind you. Until then, you should be in the READY position with your left foot down on the ground, right foot UP on the floorboard or peg, clutch in, in 1st gear, and your right hand on the throttle.
e) NEVER TALK TALK ON YOUR CELL & RIDE!!!! Blue tooth or not. It is IMPOSSIBLE to pay attention to your conversation and your ride at the same time.
f) I STRONGLY with great URGENCY request that you purchase the following video for $29.90 called Ride Like A Pro. I do not get kick backs or anything like that.
You will learn how to literally ride like professional police officers, have absolute MASTERY over your bike, make sharp, tight and extreme U-turns (not wide ones when you are on a divided road and make a U-turn that takes up the entire otherside of the road as well as maneuver around both moving and non-moving obstacles, will handle parking lots like you were riding a little kids toy.
Your safety and confidence will skyrocket (don't get cocky), and as a bonus, you will look cool as well as be admired when riding with others. <-- guaranteed!
If that is not enough, you will Ride Like A Pro and be a MUCH BETTER rider all within...........get this..........3-4 hours. When you get the video, do not watch it. Study it. You will have done yourself the biggest favor of your entire riding career.
Now, please watch these videos:
Video #1
Video #2
Video #3
After watching the Ride Like A Pro video, you will or wtihin a few hours more of practice you will be able to ride like that.
Now, please watch these videos:
Slow Race #1
Slow Race #2
But you will not be able to ride like that so much.
When youwatch study the Ride Like A Pro DVD, then practice the 3 techniques shown, you will (not may) you will ride like what you saw in the 1st 3 videos. After several days of practice you will be doing the "snowman" and "iron cross" (also called the intersection) with expertise.
As of this writing Ride Like A Pro #5 is available. That is all you need. You do not need any of the prior Ride Like A Pro series.
When I was on a Drill Team, 1 person rides the path and watches for "front" spacing and your partner adjusts for maintaining your being pararell and side spacing. Click below.
Tandem #1
Tandem #2
And this video below I just tossed in for the fun of it. It is called the Slow Cone Weave but I guess it is the music that makes it so funny. Enjoy! Slow Cone Weave
MSF Group riding & Hand Signals
Hand Signals
Hand signals are not as "universal" as they could be. So do not assume, always review hand signals esepcaiily if there are new riders in the group.
An example is, sometimes debree in the roadway is pointed out by using the arm and hand extened and finger pointed downward on the side of the bike (left or right side) where the debree is and sometimes it is taught that debree is pointed out using the right or left leg and foot as indicated.
A group is considered 2 or more bikes. But no more than 8-10 bikes in a group. Anything more than 8-10 bikes increases accident rates. (It is too long to explain why here. If you would like to know why, please request it in a separate post.)
Ten should be the maximum number of bikes in a group unless you are in a police escorted ride.
Even if you have "Road Captains", the maximum bikes in a group is still 8-10 bikes. Anything more than that for safety reasons must be broken down into smaller groups. After the 1st group departs, each following group waits 15 minnutes before departing so there is adequate spacing.
No "2-up" riding in a group unless everyone is forewarned and you are typically in a low speed processional.
Of course, if there are only 2 of you in the "group", know how the other person rides and you are both aware it is going to happen before riding 2 up. Some states may not allow 2 up riding.
The last thing to share is to "Ride your own ride.". If the ride is too fast, conditions too poor for your comfort, a bike or bikes go down, a truck tire blows and a huge amount of debree is blown all over the place littering the road or whatever, "Ride your own ride." which basically means, maneuver your bike out of the group or in the group in a manner to keep you and all of the other riders safe. DO NOT OVERRIDE YOUR ABILITIES. THAT IS INSANE AND DEADLY TO YOU AND OTHERS! There is no shame but an increase amount of respect for you to know when to say "...not for me...". There is no place for mach B.S. when it comes to riding in a group or close enough to others where they can get hurt.
Thanks to SCMA, my BEST ride ever is SCMA's USA Four Corner Tour.
Although I am an IBA Member, I have yet not participated in a coveted "Rally" which I think is one of the most coveted and ultimate in LDRing. I get lost even with a GPS going from my bedroom to the bathroom let alone locating the 1st bonus point location in an IBA rally. LOL!
Having said the above, if any of you IBA "Endurance - Rally Riders" would like to add, subtratct and/or modify anything I am sharing with others below, please let me know. I humbly bow to your accomplishments and expereince and make the adjustment(s).
LDR (Long Distant Riding) is different for everyone. Two weeks ago I met a rider where 200 miles is a long distance. One hundred miles each way he said.
Personally, on ocassion I will ride 1,100 - 1,200 miles but generally ride 550 - 700 miles per day that is "normal" and comfortable for me. Less if I am riding in the mountains. Many people put me to shame. Yet it appears most riders view 350 - 450 the upper limit on the open road as "long distance". It is what it is, whatever it is for you. There is no right or wrong.
To ride long distances, (see "Comfort" as well as "Packing & Accessibility" below.) you need to be comfortable, have certain items accessible, stay hydrated, stay hydrated, stay hydrated, [Did I say stay hydrated?] and know the following 3 tricks of the trade. Believe me, there are a lot more than 3 tricks of the trade. See the IBA's "Archive Of Wisdom" [AOW] below and more. We are talking about LDRing here not Endurance. That is a whole other ball of wax.
Trick #1: Build up to a long ride. If you are a weekend warrior as most riders are where you normally ride up to 50 miles a day maybe.......just ride longer. A good goal is to ride your tank. Fill up your tank, slide into the saddle and build up LDRing until you run your tank down to 1/8.
My Harley-Davidson '09 Ultra Classic on the open highway (no mountain riding or speeding) with a 6 gallon tank will comfortable get me 170 miles to 210 miles (about 2 1/2 hrs) before I need to stop and refuel.
Non-cruisers will have scaled down riding intervals due to smaller fuel tanks and less tushie comfort.
I am getting too exited about LDRing and starting to get off the point. Be sure to check out the "Archive Of Wisdon" below for competitive long distant riding. Even non-competitive. Check the IBA site about farkles, IBA tank limits if you chose to do endurance rides with the IBA.
It is NOT speed, LDRing is about endurance when competing.
Trick #2: A proverbial pain LDRers get is in the lower back. There is a very easy and surprising quick fix for that. Either stengthening the back by doing the "plank" exercise (see the internet for how to do it) or do the following exercise. You will not need to do many of these simple exercises to strengthen your back suffciceintly. Get down on the floor on all fours, and lift and extend the opposite arm and leg. Hold it for as long as you can. Then alternate with the other arm and leg.
Trick #3: Shoulder pain on the back of each shoulder. The easy fix for that is this.....lets say the muscles in the back of your left shoulder starts to hurt. While riding, simply hold your left elbow into your side, while looking FORWARD, tilt ur head (keep looking forward) as far as you can to the right.
The pain will be eleveated immediately like magic. The same goes obviosuly for the other side but just the other way.
DISCLAIMER: Do not do anything on the bike that may be considered unsafe. Always pull off the road to a safe location. Neither this author, SCMA, staff, employees, or affiliates are resposnibile for any content of this entire forum. Everything is for general information or "entertainment" purposes.
Iron Butt Assoication’s “Archive Of Wisdom” IBA's Archive Of Wisdom"
Another good informational source is Long distance Rider
There are a huge number of others things to cover about Endurance and Competitive LDRing but it is outside of the above subject matter.
If three is enough interest in this subject matter and upon SCMA's approval, we can open a category just about endurance riding. At which time maybe we can call in Ron Ayeres and some others.
A few basics would be to relax, slow down, stay off the front brake totally or go easy with it and easy on the rear brake. Take turns slower.
The first 15-20 minutes of rain will bring up and start to wash off the oily fluids on the road so be especially careful then.
Use "spit" (it is a scuba diving product not the spit you personally generate although it would work) on the inside part of your glasses for decreased lens fogging, it is better to wear a full face helmet for increase visibility (less fogging), and lower any banff, bandanna, kerchief, baklava or whatever you may be wearing that would direct your exhale up to your glasses fogging them. Your warm moist breath on your glasses in the rain will typically fog your lenses and decrease your visibility.
Yes, put on rain gear if you like. I do not when riding in South East USA since rainfall is usually brief (usually 10 - 20 minutes or less) and you will dry right out. Unless it is cold. Riding wet is fine. Riding cold is fine. Riding wet and cold is not so fine. Actually unbearable.
Be exceedingly careful with white road marking, iron construction plates, metal bridges and other "black ice" hazards.
Riding In The Rain Tips #1
Riding In The Rain Tips #2
Riding In The Rain tips #3.
Keep in mind, riding in the rain smells good, feels good on your body, washes the bike, is exhillerating, and keeps you on your way. But always remember to "Ride your own ride.".
There are two kinds of comfort:
a) Bike
b) You
Ok, there is really only 1 type of comfort because you be come a part of the bike. The bike and you are literally 1. You will see why in a moment why I am dividing it into 2 for now.
Bike: Adjust the bike so it "fits" you. I know, it sounds stupid but it is true. Do your handle bars need to come back another 2 inches? Or raised or lowered? Do you need highway pegs? A saddle that is more or less cushiony, moved forward a little bit? There are many things you can do to adjust your bike.
You: Are your riding pants comfortable? Are you wearing gloves for road rash protection but also for sunrays UVA/B protection, warmth, cold, and flying debree protection? Do you have a proper fitting helmet so it is not moving around on you while at highway speeds or pop off when you need it most? Don't even think about flip flops. Comfortable boots. Face and or neck protection from the elements. Are you 100% comfortable at all speeds, standing still and in all conditions? Rain, heat, cold, and wind?
If so, you better fill the tank all the way to the top. You are going to enjoy the ride.
Aerostich is a great web site for quality LDR gear.
American Specialties USA is excellent for sheepskin, gel pad, and memory foam cushions.
Bead Rider has not only an excellent selection of beaded saddle covers but their customer service is second to none. I can vouch (living in South Florida) that not only their beaded seats work but it keeps your butt cooler so you will not get "monkey butt", prickly heat and such. Remember....comfort.
The beaded seats are the same thing New York cabbies use. Like they say, tens of thousands of cabbies can't be wrong.
Another GREAT Butt Cover is [url=http://www.alaskaleatheronline.com/servlet/StoreFront
Highway Pegs]Alaska Leather[/url]
In no speical order:
Head Wrap (Doo Rag)
Camera & Charger
Extra set of keys
Leather Jacket
Winter Gloves
Latex Gloves For The Inside Of The Winter Gloves
Leather Neck Protection Thingie.
Long Underwear (2)
Helmet (Gazoo & Seer)
Tools
Underwear (And Extra.)
Socks (And extra.)
Dungarees (Blue Jeans) (I actually weat 511's.)
T-Shirts (Short and Long)
Slippers To Walk Around The Hotel
Plastic Bags For Feet (To Keep Feet Dry If Raining)
Gators (Now Since I Have Gators, The Plastic Bags Above Are Not Needed.)
Blousing Rubbers (Never brought it but it is on the list.)
Bathing Suit
Extra Set Of Boots
Sun Tan Spray/Lotion
Zip Locks (1 or 2 gal) For Side Laundry Pockets
Trash Bag (2) To Line Inside Of Flight Bag
Aleve
Vitamins/Meds
1st Aid Kit
Coins in right windshield pocket.
Cell Charger
Dental Floss
Bottle Opener
Spare Gun Magazine
Tri-Pod
Bike Cover
Dog Tags
Tire Guage
Lounging Shorts
Toiletries
TAPII
Mole Skin
Advil PM
Maps
Blk Marker and Cardboard for directions.
Yellos Sticky Note Pad
Dry Milk
Cereal
Plastic spoons
Kashi / Cliff Fd Bars
AMEX Credit Card et. al. (Call Credit Card Companies Before Leaving.)
BeadRider
Snack Insulated Tote Bag
CPAP
Distilled Water
Pillow (If I have the room.)
Imodium AD (On the list but never broguht it yet.)
Depending upon how long the trip and how often I want to or not want to do laundry, I will take more or less clothes.
The Gear[/u]:
On this matter, there are a variety of opinions so here is mine.
My T-Bag (the bag that goes behind the rider on the pillion seat) is packed where on the bottom is an extra pair of pants. (Lowest need.)
On top of that are my shirts (next lowest need) then on that under wear and socks.
ALL CLOTHES ARE ROLLED. Rolling takes up the least amount of space and does not wrinkle the clothes.
Next I may put in my pillow rolled and I use self sticking velcroe to keep it in a tight roll. If I take a pillow.
Then shorts and sandals. <-- Easily accessible for then I get to the hotel, motel, campground, whatever.
On top of that I have a black plastic tash bag like the kind u use for your outside trash barrel at home as a liner. I put dirtly laundry in there.
Depending upon how long a trip and how often I want to or not want to do laundry, I will take more or less clothes.
The Bike[/u]:
My left saddle bag has aleather jacket 2 different size cargo nets, DUCT TAPE (LOL) and tools. Duct Tape is a tool isn't it? LOL
My right saddle bag has a Harley netted light jacket, a hoody, underneath that heavy rain gear underneath that. Sometimes water.
Trunk (inside) and attached to the lid an internal netted orgainzer holding toilet paper (hey, I am often in the mountains and u need to go, u need to go) extra ear plugs my sun pass (like an e-pass) and yes the sun pass easily picks up the signal and works while being stored in the trunk, spare riding glasses, night riding glasses, sun tan lotion (I do not use anymore since no skin is exposed on long rides), a flashlight and other odd things.
In the trunk is my CPAP, water, food bars, 1-2 bananas, an air gauge, extra gloves, maps (back up to the GPS radio), a banana, toiletries, umm, that is all I recall off the top of my head. Oh, a SPOT tracker if I take it with me although that is really supposed to be on your personally and not on the bike.
Outside on top of my trunk on the "pizza rack", nothing. It is a back up spot of I need the extra space.
Left side, Side Guard Saddle Bag has extra oil and a plastic disk for the kickstand when parking on soft top.
Right side, Side Guard Saddle Bag has upper and lower light rain gear.
Three Windshield Pouches:
Left pouch has my garage door clicker.
Center has hidden $$ for tolls and keys to my warehouse.
Right has plastic zip lock bags to go over my Garmin Zumo 550 GPS if I choose to cover it.
Left lower fairing is empty.
Right lower fairing is empty.
Money for tolls expected and unexpected is very accessible as well as light and heavy rain gear. Since the temperture changes can and does happen easily and without notice, my light and heavy rain gear is easily accessible. Same as water and foodbars.
It is ATGATT. <-- Thanks to "ldr", he taught me that acronym. All The Gear All The Time. Nothing more to say on this matter.
Yup, ATGATT again. All The Gear All The Time. My normal LDR day is up around 6am, on the road about 7:30am to 8:30am (early morning rides are phenomenal so earlier the better....same as wee hours of the morning like 1AM & 2AM.....FANTASTIC times to ride!!) if I did not already fill the tank, I fill it and ride until it is around 1/8 of a tank. If I am in remote areas whre fuel is scarce then I will refuel around 1/4 tank.
I have a routine of fill one tank, empty another tank (i.e. fill the fuel tank and empty your bladder) and stay hydrated. Although many LDRers use camel backs or have water handy while riding, I just hydrate (almost always water, possibly gatorade, never coffee or any stimulant), snack on a banana or "Cliff Bar" or the like durring the day and ALWAYS walking/strecthing your leggs while refueling. Then I slide into the saddle and am offa again.
Rarely would I eat lunch (a local BBQ place may entice me to stop) and then it is the same routine until late afternoon or so.
Most re-fuellings take 20 minutes which includes the following in this order:
a) Refuel
b) Bathroom Break
c) Drink & Snack
Before I loose the sun or late afternoon, I will pull up a Hampton Inn that I located on my GPS, park under their portico, bring my gear in, leave for dinner in a local out of the way place, then back to the hotel for the night.
99.999999% of the time, I park the bike under the hotels portico (or infront of my door) and drop a bike cover over it when the pipes cool down.
When I am looking for distance like 1,000+ miles, then my routine changes a little. There are MANY tricks of the trade if u want to make time. sometimes I will just re-fuel (maybe take a quick drink) then gooooo. The downtime from the time I get off the highway I try to keep under 5 minutes.
Hey, I see it like this........I practice emergency "brake and escape" monthly. I have not found another biker that practiced emergency maneuvering. So now, you put another 110 lbs to 170 lbs or more on the back of your bike. How will the average rider do with a passenger in an emergency situation?
If I were to make an exception and take a passenger, we would ride early on a Sunday morning.
If I did take a passenger, they would be geared up properly and I would review with them:
1) Relax and enjoy the ride.
2) Do NOT lean the bike. Relax and dip with the bike. (We would take 4 practive turns, each successive one a steeper turn until we are scraping the floorboards/pegs.)
3) Wave to people all you like but NEVER reach out with your hand or foot to touch anything. ALWAYS keep your feet on the floorboards.
4) If I tap your leg, we are going to be in for a bounce. Hold onto me and there is no extra charge for a roller coaster thrill ride.
5) Before getting on or off, make sure I know and I REPLY acknowldeging your getting on and off. Getting on or off when I do not expect it is an error that only usually happens once.
6) When geting on or off, try to keep your shoulders over the center of the bike.
For me, it is kickstand up, engine running, in neutral and standing up with both of my feet on the ground.
Dog tags on long trips only so if the unfortunate happens, it is another way to see my blood type and next of kin. With my dog tags that hang from my neck is an extra set of bike keys.
I always have a banff (like a doorag but you can pull it down around your head and it goes around your neck. You can pull it up to cover your face for sun and othr protection and yes, it makes you look like bandito. Big deal.
I do "carry" with 1 chambered and no safety with a spare magazine in my left outside pocket.
Left outside pocket (like I said, I have lots of pockets in the 511 pants) at the very bottom of the pocket is my GPS removal key and on top of that my cell phone.
Front right pocket has dollars and coins (plenty of quarters) and an easy access credit card for gasing for refueling. Back right pocket (which is large and deep) ear plug holder, palstic tooth picks, dental floss, right outside pocket, hand santizer, AAA card with the motorcycle add on (HOG CARD is in the trucnk with my registration...), left outside pocket is extra $$$, key fob, and mace. Front left pocket are tissues (back ups are in the trunk lid organizer) back left deep large pocket holds only my gloves when dismounted.
I may carry a boot knife but typically do not. I always carry on my belt left side a buck knife and sunscreen hanging from my left belt loop for when if I am not wearing my banff (face mask type thingy. I could not locate it anymore on the internet or I would have linked you to it.).
I have the following memorized.......when I don rain gear, I take my credit card, gas tank key, and cell phone out of my pockets and put it into my rain gear for easy access.
The following will cover a myriad of questions newly licensee's may come across. The following is not all inclusive but will at least start the new rider off in the right diirection.
Experienced? We gut stuff for you too.
Got Questions? We Got Answers. Go to the "Chat" board on the main page and ask away.
Contents
1) Getting Licensed2) Tweleve Myths
3) Solo Riding Skills
4) Tandem Riding Skills
5) Group Riding
6) Long Distant Riding (LDR)
7) Riding In The Rain
8) Comfort
9) Packing List
10) How To Pack & Accessibility
11) SPOT
12) The Ride (Local)
13) The Ride (Long Distant)
14) The Bike
15) The Passenger
16) The Rider
Getting Licensed
Do it. Enough said. Click here to find where to get licensed anywhere in the USA. When you graduate, take the advance courses. It can save your life.Motorcycle Safety Foundation here you will find some pretty good basic information about riding.
Myths: The Deadly Dozen
Okay, let's straighten this out. The Deadly DozenSolo Riding Skills
a) Always, always, always, play the "What If....?" game. What if this driver did this or that? Be prepared on what to do. You are now forewarned and much safer.a) Always scan the road 12 seconds ahead of you.
b) Always leave yourself an "escape" route.
c) Always ride like you are "invisible".
d) Always when you are stoped at a light or stop sign, look beind you until two (2) cars are stopped behind you. Until then, you should be in the READY position with your left foot down on the ground, right foot UP on the floorboard or peg, clutch in, in 1st gear, and your right hand on the throttle.
e) NEVER TALK TALK ON YOUR CELL & RIDE!!!! Blue tooth or not. It is IMPOSSIBLE to pay attention to your conversation and your ride at the same time.
f) I STRONGLY with great URGENCY request that you purchase the following video for $29.90 called Ride Like A Pro. I do not get kick backs or anything like that.
You will learn how to literally ride like professional police officers, have absolute MASTERY over your bike, make sharp, tight and extreme U-turns (not wide ones when you are on a divided road and make a U-turn that takes up the entire otherside of the road as well as maneuver around both moving and non-moving obstacles, will handle parking lots like you were riding a little kids toy.
Your safety and confidence will skyrocket (don't get cocky), and as a bonus, you will look cool as well as be admired when riding with others. <-- guaranteed!
If that is not enough, you will Ride Like A Pro and be a MUCH BETTER rider all within...........get this..........3-4 hours. When you get the video, do not watch it. Study it. You will have done yourself the biggest favor of your entire riding career.
Now, please watch these videos:
Video #1
Video #2
Video #3
After watching the Ride Like A Pro video, you will or wtihin a few hours more of practice you will be able to ride like that.
Now, please watch these videos:
Slow Race #1
Slow Race #2
But you will not be able to ride like that so much.
When you
As of this writing Ride Like A Pro #5 is available. That is all you need. You do not need any of the prior Ride Like A Pro series.
Tandem Riding Skills
Tandem riding is strictly for fun and competition. You will notice in the videos below where the riders head is looking. You would think the "inside" guy would be setting the path but the inside guy often looks back at closeness and spacing.When I was on a Drill Team, 1 person rides the path and watches for "front" spacing and your partner adjusts for maintaining your being pararell and side spacing. Click below.
Tandem #1
Tandem #2
And this video below I just tossed in for the fun of it. It is called the Slow Cone Weave but I guess it is the music that makes it so funny. Enjoy! Slow Cone Weave
Group Riding
When group riding, it is always a good idea to review how to ride in a group and their hand signals.MSF Group riding & Hand Signals
Hand Signals
Hand signals are not as "universal" as they could be. So do not assume, always review hand signals esepcaiily if there are new riders in the group.
An example is, sometimes debree in the roadway is pointed out by using the arm and hand extened and finger pointed downward on the side of the bike (left or right side) where the debree is and sometimes it is taught that debree is pointed out using the right or left leg and foot as indicated.
A group is considered 2 or more bikes. But no more than 8-10 bikes in a group. Anything more than 8-10 bikes increases accident rates. (It is too long to explain why here. If you would like to know why, please request it in a separate post.)
Ten should be the maximum number of bikes in a group unless you are in a police escorted ride.
Even if you have "Road Captains", the maximum bikes in a group is still 8-10 bikes. Anything more than that for safety reasons must be broken down into smaller groups. After the 1st group departs, each following group waits 15 minnutes before departing so there is adequate spacing.
No "2-up" riding in a group unless everyone is forewarned and you are typically in a low speed processional.
Of course, if there are only 2 of you in the "group", know how the other person rides and you are both aware it is going to happen before riding 2 up. Some states may not allow 2 up riding.
The last thing to share is to "Ride your own ride.". If the ride is too fast, conditions too poor for your comfort, a bike or bikes go down, a truck tire blows and a huge amount of debree is blown all over the place littering the road or whatever, "Ride your own ride." which basically means, maneuver your bike out of the group or in the group in a manner to keep you and all of the other riders safe. DO NOT OVERRIDE YOUR ABILITIES. THAT IS INSANE AND DEADLY TO YOU AND OTHERS! There is no shame but an increase amount of respect for you to know when to say "...not for me...". There is no place for mach B.S. when it comes to riding in a group or close enough to others where they can get hurt.
Long Distant Riding
Personal Note: SCMA is fortunate to have so many Iron Butt Association members who belong to SCMA. These endurance IBA "Rally Riders" and SCMA have a unique and cherished Quid Pro Quo relationship that I think the world of and humbly am honored to be a part of.Thanks to SCMA, my BEST ride ever is SCMA's USA Four Corner Tour.
Although I am an IBA Member, I have yet not participated in a coveted "Rally" which I think is one of the most coveted and ultimate in LDRing. I get lost even with a GPS going from my bedroom to the bathroom let alone locating the 1st bonus point location in an IBA rally. LOL!
Having said the above, if any of you IBA "Endurance - Rally Riders" would like to add, subtratct and/or modify anything I am sharing with others below, please let me know. I humbly bow to your accomplishments and expereince and make the adjustment(s).
LDR (Long Distant Riding) is different for everyone. Two weeks ago I met a rider where 200 miles is a long distance. One hundred miles each way he said.
Personally, on ocassion I will ride 1,100 - 1,200 miles but generally ride 550 - 700 miles per day that is "normal" and comfortable for me. Less if I am riding in the mountains. Many people put me to shame. Yet it appears most riders view 350 - 450 the upper limit on the open road as "long distance". It is what it is, whatever it is for you. There is no right or wrong.
To ride long distances, (see "Comfort" as well as "Packing & Accessibility" below.) you need to be comfortable, have certain items accessible, stay hydrated, stay hydrated, stay hydrated, [Did I say stay hydrated?] and know the following 3 tricks of the trade. Believe me, there are a lot more than 3 tricks of the trade. See the IBA's "Archive Of Wisdom" [AOW] below and more. We are talking about LDRing here not Endurance. That is a whole other ball of wax.
Trick #1: Build up to a long ride. If you are a weekend warrior as most riders are where you normally ride up to 50 miles a day maybe.......just ride longer. A good goal is to ride your tank. Fill up your tank, slide into the saddle and build up LDRing until you run your tank down to 1/8.
My Harley-Davidson '09 Ultra Classic on the open highway (no mountain riding or speeding) with a 6 gallon tank will comfortable get me 170 miles to 210 miles (about 2 1/2 hrs) before I need to stop and refuel.
Non-cruisers will have scaled down riding intervals due to smaller fuel tanks and less tushie comfort.
I am getting too exited about LDRing and starting to get off the point. Be sure to check out the "Archive Of Wisdon" below for competitive long distant riding. Even non-competitive. Check the IBA site about farkles, IBA tank limits if you chose to do endurance rides with the IBA.
It is NOT speed, LDRing is about endurance when competing.
Trick #2: A proverbial pain LDRers get is in the lower back. There is a very easy and surprising quick fix for that. Either stengthening the back by doing the "plank" exercise (see the internet for how to do it) or do the following exercise. You will not need to do many of these simple exercises to strengthen your back suffciceintly. Get down on the floor on all fours, and lift and extend the opposite arm and leg. Hold it for as long as you can. Then alternate with the other arm and leg.
Trick #3: Shoulder pain on the back of each shoulder. The easy fix for that is this.....lets say the muscles in the back of your left shoulder starts to hurt. While riding, simply hold your left elbow into your side, while looking FORWARD, tilt ur head (keep looking forward) as far as you can to the right.
The pain will be eleveated immediately like magic. The same goes obviosuly for the other side but just the other way.
DISCLAIMER: Do not do anything on the bike that may be considered unsafe. Always pull off the road to a safe location. Neither this author, SCMA, staff, employees, or affiliates are resposnibile for any content of this entire forum. Everything is for general information or "entertainment" purposes.
Iron Butt Assoication’s “Archive Of Wisdom” IBA's Archive Of Wisdom"
Another good informational source is Long distance Rider
There are a huge number of others things to cover about Endurance and Competitive LDRing but it is outside of the above subject matter.
If three is enough interest in this subject matter and upon SCMA's approval, we can open a category just about endurance riding. At which time maybe we can call in Ron Ayeres and some others.
Riding In The Rain
It is FUN and a LOT easier than you think. I pleade the 5th on how fast I have ridden in the rain but I can assure you of this.....any motorcycle tire made for on road (not off road, I am ignorant about those tires) is engineered to handle displacing water and increasing your rubber to road ratio and decreasing hydroplanning dramatically.A few basics would be to relax, slow down, stay off the front brake totally or go easy with it and easy on the rear brake. Take turns slower.
The first 15-20 minutes of rain will bring up and start to wash off the oily fluids on the road so be especially careful then.
Use "spit" (it is a scuba diving product not the spit you personally generate although it would work) on the inside part of your glasses for decreased lens fogging, it is better to wear a full face helmet for increase visibility (less fogging), and lower any banff, bandanna, kerchief, baklava or whatever you may be wearing that would direct your exhale up to your glasses fogging them. Your warm moist breath on your glasses in the rain will typically fog your lenses and decrease your visibility.
Yes, put on rain gear if you like. I do not when riding in South East USA since rainfall is usually brief (usually 10 - 20 minutes or less) and you will dry right out. Unless it is cold. Riding wet is fine. Riding cold is fine. Riding wet and cold is not so fine. Actually unbearable.
Be exceedingly careful with white road marking, iron construction plates, metal bridges and other "black ice" hazards.
Riding In The Rain Tips #1
Riding In The Rain Tips #2
Riding In The Rain tips #3.
Keep in mind, riding in the rain smells good, feels good on your body, washes the bike, is exhillerating, and keeps you on your way. But always remember to "Ride your own ride.".
Comfort
The #1 thing in riding is comfort. If you are comfortable, then you will ride forever. If you are not comfortable, the bike will collect dust in the garage.There are two kinds of comfort:
a) Bike
b) You
Ok, there is really only 1 type of comfort because you be come a part of the bike. The bike and you are literally 1. You will see why in a moment why I am dividing it into 2 for now.
Bike: Adjust the bike so it "fits" you. I know, it sounds stupid but it is true. Do your handle bars need to come back another 2 inches? Or raised or lowered? Do you need highway pegs? A saddle that is more or less cushiony, moved forward a little bit? There are many things you can do to adjust your bike.
You: Are your riding pants comfortable? Are you wearing gloves for road rash protection but also for sunrays UVA/B protection, warmth, cold, and flying debree protection? Do you have a proper fitting helmet so it is not moving around on you while at highway speeds or pop off when you need it most? Don't even think about flip flops. Comfortable boots. Face and or neck protection from the elements. Are you 100% comfortable at all speeds, standing still and in all conditions? Rain, heat, cold, and wind?
If so, you better fill the tank all the way to the top. You are going to enjoy the ride.
Aerostich is a great web site for quality LDR gear.
American Specialties USA is excellent for sheepskin, gel pad, and memory foam cushions.
Bead Rider has not only an excellent selection of beaded saddle covers but their customer service is second to none. I can vouch (living in South Florida) that not only their beaded seats work but it keeps your butt cooler so you will not get "monkey butt", prickly heat and such. Remember....comfort.
The beaded seats are the same thing New York cabbies use. Like they say, tens of thousands of cabbies can't be wrong.
Another GREAT Butt Cover is [url=http://www.alaskaleatheronline.com/servlet/StoreFront
Highway Pegs]Alaska Leather[/url]
Packing List
The following is my personal packing list or "checklist" for LDRing.In no speical order:
Head Wrap (Doo Rag)
Camera & Charger
Extra set of keys
Leather Jacket
Winter Gloves
Latex Gloves For The Inside Of The Winter Gloves
Leather Neck Protection Thingie.
Long Underwear (2)
Helmet (Gazoo & Seer)
Tools
Underwear (And Extra.)
Socks (And extra.)
Dungarees (Blue Jeans) (I actually weat 511's.)
T-Shirts (Short and Long)
Slippers To Walk Around The Hotel
Plastic Bags For Feet (To Keep Feet Dry If Raining)
Gators (Now Since I Have Gators, The Plastic Bags Above Are Not Needed.)
Blousing Rubbers (Never brought it but it is on the list.)
Bathing Suit
Extra Set Of Boots
Sun Tan Spray/Lotion
Zip Locks (1 or 2 gal) For Side Laundry Pockets
Trash Bag (2) To Line Inside Of Flight Bag
Aleve
Vitamins/Meds
1st Aid Kit
Coins in right windshield pocket.
Cell Charger
Dental Floss
Bottle Opener
Spare Gun Magazine
Tri-Pod
Bike Cover
Dog Tags
Tire Guage
Lounging Shorts
Toiletries
TAPII
Mole Skin
Advil PM
Maps
Blk Marker and Cardboard for directions.
Yellos Sticky Note Pad
Dry Milk
Cereal
Plastic spoons
Kashi / Cliff Fd Bars
AMEX Credit Card et. al. (Call Credit Card Companies Before Leaving.)
BeadRider
Snack Insulated Tote Bag
CPAP
Distilled Water
Pillow (If I have the room.)
Imodium AD (On the list but never broguht it yet.)
Depending upon how long the trip and how often I want to or not want to do laundry, I will take more or less clothes.
How To Pack & Accessibility
The Gear[/u]:
On this matter, there are a variety of opinions so here is mine.
My T-Bag (the bag that goes behind the rider on the pillion seat) is packed where on the bottom is an extra pair of pants. (Lowest need.)
On top of that are my shirts (next lowest need) then on that under wear and socks.
ALL CLOTHES ARE ROLLED. Rolling takes up the least amount of space and does not wrinkle the clothes.
Next I may put in my pillow rolled and I use self sticking velcroe to keep it in a tight roll. If I take a pillow.
Then shorts and sandals. <-- Easily accessible for then I get to the hotel, motel, campground, whatever.
On top of that I have a black plastic tash bag like the kind u use for your outside trash barrel at home as a liner. I put dirtly laundry in there.
Depending upon how long a trip and how often I want to or not want to do laundry, I will take more or less clothes.
The Bike[/u]:
My left saddle bag has aleather jacket 2 different size cargo nets, DUCT TAPE (LOL) and tools. Duct Tape is a tool isn't it? LOL
My right saddle bag has a Harley netted light jacket, a hoody, underneath that heavy rain gear underneath that. Sometimes water.
Trunk (inside) and attached to the lid an internal netted orgainzer holding toilet paper (hey, I am often in the mountains and u need to go, u need to go) extra ear plugs my sun pass (like an e-pass) and yes the sun pass easily picks up the signal and works while being stored in the trunk, spare riding glasses, night riding glasses, sun tan lotion (I do not use anymore since no skin is exposed on long rides), a flashlight and other odd things.
In the trunk is my CPAP, water, food bars, 1-2 bananas, an air gauge, extra gloves, maps (back up to the GPS radio), a banana, toiletries, umm, that is all I recall off the top of my head. Oh, a SPOT tracker if I take it with me although that is really supposed to be on your personally and not on the bike.
Outside on top of my trunk on the "pizza rack", nothing. It is a back up spot of I need the extra space.
Left side, Side Guard Saddle Bag has extra oil and a plastic disk for the kickstand when parking on soft top.
Right side, Side Guard Saddle Bag has upper and lower light rain gear.
Three Windshield Pouches:
Left pouch has my garage door clicker.
Center has hidden $$ for tolls and keys to my warehouse.
Right has plastic zip lock bags to go over my Garmin Zumo 550 GPS if I choose to cover it.
Left lower fairing is empty.
Right lower fairing is empty.
Money for tolls expected and unexpected is very accessible as well as light and heavy rain gear. Since the temperture changes can and does happen easily and without notice, my light and heavy rain gear is easily accessible. Same as water and foodbars.
SPOT
SPOT (Tracker):The SPOT (Tracker) is a great device sending messages every 10 minutes to a satelite logging you on google maps (other can watch your progress), it has an emergency button and a whole lot more.The Ride: Local
It is ATGATT. <-- Thanks to "ldr", he taught me that acronym. All The Gear All The Time. Nothing more to say on this matter.
The Ride Itself: Long Distant
Figure for "long distance" we are talking about several overnights.Yup, ATGATT again. All The Gear All The Time. My normal LDR day is up around 6am, on the road about 7:30am to 8:30am (early morning rides are phenomenal so earlier the better....same as wee hours of the morning like 1AM & 2AM.....FANTASTIC times to ride!!) if I did not already fill the tank, I fill it and ride until it is around 1/8 of a tank. If I am in remote areas whre fuel is scarce then I will refuel around 1/4 tank.
I have a routine of fill one tank, empty another tank (i.e. fill the fuel tank and empty your bladder) and stay hydrated. Although many LDRers use camel backs or have water handy while riding, I just hydrate (almost always water, possibly gatorade, never coffee or any stimulant), snack on a banana or "Cliff Bar" or the like durring the day and ALWAYS walking/strecthing your leggs while refueling. Then I slide into the saddle and am offa again.
Rarely would I eat lunch (a local BBQ place may entice me to stop) and then it is the same routine until late afternoon or so.
Most re-fuellings take 20 minutes which includes the following in this order:
a) Refuel
b) Bathroom Break
c) Drink & Snack
Before I loose the sun or late afternoon, I will pull up a Hampton Inn that I located on my GPS, park under their portico, bring my gear in, leave for dinner in a local out of the way place, then back to the hotel for the night.
99.999999% of the time, I park the bike under the hotels portico (or infront of my door) and drop a bike cover over it when the pipes cool down.
When I am looking for distance like 1,000+ miles, then my routine changes a little. There are MANY tricks of the trade if u want to make time. sometimes I will just re-fuel (maybe take a quick drink) then gooooo. The downtime from the time I get off the highway I try to keep under 5 minutes.
The Bike
Oil is up, topped off, tires have nitro (I swear by nitro), I use my auto lock feature so I am not using the key to lock the bike. I almost never wash it on a trip....heck the rain sooner or later will do that for me. I do use a bike cover and always park where I can see the bike like at a restaurant or motel/hotel and park under the portico as mentioned above.Passengers
I do take passengers anymore. Ever since I had to perform 4 emergency maneuvers in 3 days, I stopped carrying passengers.Hey, I see it like this........I practice emergency "brake and escape" monthly. I have not found another biker that practiced emergency maneuvering. So now, you put another 110 lbs to 170 lbs or more on the back of your bike. How will the average rider do with a passenger in an emergency situation?
If I were to make an exception and take a passenger, we would ride early on a Sunday morning.
If I did take a passenger, they would be geared up properly and I would review with them:
1) Relax and enjoy the ride.
2) Do NOT lean the bike. Relax and dip with the bike. (We would take 4 practive turns, each successive one a steeper turn until we are scraping the floorboards/pegs.)
3) Wave to people all you like but NEVER reach out with your hand or foot to touch anything. ALWAYS keep your feet on the floorboards.
4) If I tap your leg, we are going to be in for a bounce. Hold onto me and there is no extra charge for a roller coaster thrill ride.
5) Before getting on or off, make sure I know and I REPLY acknowldeging your getting on and off. Getting on or off when I do not expect it is an error that only usually happens once.
6) When geting on or off, try to keep your shoulders over the center of the bike.
For me, it is kickstand up, engine running, in neutral and standing up with both of my feet on the ground.
The Rider Himself
Helmet is a Seer half helmet (full helmet is for a passenger). May wear a doorag to keep my helmet from moving around in the wind, long sleeves, 511 pants with a lots of pockets, custom made cowboy boots.Dog tags on long trips only so if the unfortunate happens, it is another way to see my blood type and next of kin. With my dog tags that hang from my neck is an extra set of bike keys.
I always have a banff (like a doorag but you can pull it down around your head and it goes around your neck. You can pull it up to cover your face for sun and othr protection and yes, it makes you look like bandito. Big deal.
I do "carry" with 1 chambered and no safety with a spare magazine in my left outside pocket.
Left outside pocket (like I said, I have lots of pockets in the 511 pants) at the very bottom of the pocket is my GPS removal key and on top of that my cell phone.
Front right pocket has dollars and coins (plenty of quarters) and an easy access credit card for gasing for refueling. Back right pocket (which is large and deep) ear plug holder, palstic tooth picks, dental floss, right outside pocket, hand santizer, AAA card with the motorcycle add on (HOG CARD is in the trucnk with my registration...), left outside pocket is extra $$$, key fob, and mace. Front left pocket are tissues (back ups are in the trunk lid organizer) back left deep large pocket holds only my gloves when dismounted.
I may carry a boot knife but typically do not. I always carry on my belt left side a buck knife and sunscreen hanging from my left belt loop for when if I am not wearing my banff (face mask type thingy. I could not locate it anymore on the internet or I would have linked you to it.).
I have the following memorized.......when I don rain gear, I take my credit card, gas tank key, and cell phone out of my pockets and put it into my rain gear for easy access.
ALL OF THE ABOVE IS ONE PERSONS OPINION. SCMA HAS A HUGE NUMBER OF EXCELLENT RIDERS WTIH VARYING OPINIONS. SO IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, ASK AWAY IN THE CHAT SECTION.
RIDE SAFE
[/B][/center]RIDE SAFE
