Distilled road wisdom - long

Vic and I have been discussing trip planning and tips
for long rides. I've cc'd the list because others may
find this useful.


> I don't know if I am biting off more than I can
> chew or not trying 8,000 miles in 30 days.
I'm not second guessing or questioning your judgement,
as I said it's easily doable with plenty of time for
stops/visits along way (not week long visits mind
you). I think the first time I did it, with mostly
slab routes across the country (I was young and dumb),
I rode about 20 days, with more meandering routes,
that would increase.
If you haven't checked it out yet, the Iron Butt
Association's web site has lots of tips on long
distance riding. A lot of it is applicable to extended
trips. My last month+ trips were when I was 43, 44,
and 47. I pretty consistently averaged 350 miles/day
on the travel days. Certainly there were much higer
days when it was all road, but many half days when a
park or museum was visited.

> if I pay attention ... and "listen to my body"
> you just can't let
> negative "if... then" thoughts to set your limits.
A very wise approach, you should be fine.

> How do you
> pre-arrange for tires and how do you do so in a
> manner that minimizes your cost?
Depending on whether or not you're visiting
well-equipped friends there are a couple of options.
Once, I ordered tires in advance and had them shipped
to a friend's place in Anchorage and when I got there,
borrowed his truck I took them and the wheels to a m/c
dealer to be changed. I had called the dealer in
advance to make sure they would do that and at what
cost (cheaper than NY prices as it turned out). Some
places will only mount tires that they sell. Mail
order places may not ship to a different address than
the billing address (credit card theft proctection),
but If you've dealt with them before a talk with
customer service should get the approval that the
normal sales person can't grant.
I also planned a change in Vegas on a trip where I
knew no one, so I searched online for m/c dealers and
then called to get prices, ordered the tires from
them, paid in advance so they would have what I wanted
on hand, and called a couple days in advance of my
arrival so that they would schedule it on the day.
Easy - except that the moron changing the tires had no
clue - the old weights were left on and more added
when they balanced them. So it took longer than it
should've, but hey - if that's the only calamity, it's
a great trip.
Be conservative - the fact that you have some history
with the types of tires you're running is good. I had
a Dunlop 220 with about 4.5k on it, looking like it
had 3k left to go. The tread evaporated in 500 miles
(they weren't hard miles either). Turns out, 5 to 6 k
for that tire is normal, the appearance as the miles
go by can be deceiving. I found a place in Jackson
Miss. that was reasonable, but the selection was
limited. I tried a stickier Continetal (z-force I
think) that I wore out getting to Vegas for the
scheduled change. (It was a crappy tire as far a
performance went.)

> In addition to changing tires, what do you do
> about an oil service mid-trip?
Your oil situation is not crucial.
8,000 miles on synthetic won't hurt anything,
(especially since you won't be flogging the bike with
track day demands) and a change w/o a filter swap is
fine. Staying with your normal routine is always nice
too.
I've changed oil in the back lot of a m/c dealer's
place (after buying the oil from them)
In the service bay of a gas station (again after
buying the oil from them)
And In a friend's home garage.

If the Tourmaster is vented, consider leaving the mesh
jacket at home. On hot days, wet down your shirt and
keep the full suit on but with the vents open, you
should get an evaporative cooling effect that can be
quite effective. Depending on the vent location and
makeup, you could try airconditioning!
It works like this on my Aerostich 2-piece
Roadcrafter: The back vent opens to a deep mesh pouch
- capable of holding a six-pack and couple bags of
chips ;-) - I carry a one gallon ziploc type plastic
bag, fill it with ice from those soda fountain
dispensers in minimarts around country (if they
charge, so be it, but tell them that you'd like a cups
worth to turn on your m/c a/c, explain how, and
they'll laugh and most likely let you take what you
need) and put the bag in the back of the suit.
Granted, if I get in an accident, it would be better
not to land on a bunch of soft rocks, but heat stroke,
or a fatigue induced accident are more likly if I
don't do this. I'll also stuff ice in the suits' pants
pockets. A pinhole or two in the bag will let water
leak out and aid the evaporative cooling. Wet a
bandana and wear it as a do rag under the helmet. (I
have a lightweight synthetic baclava/buff head sleeve
that I use all of the time to prevent helmethair burn
that I just wet and lighty wring out for this effect).

One other tip - keep a journal, jot down the daily
observations while they're still fresh. If the routes
have already been planned, it's not needed as a road
record, but the memories that would otherwise quickly
fade are sharpened and more easily jogged with
something concrete to refer to.
The stories I write up post trip would be greatly
lacking if I hadn't noted the odd sites, funny
comments, good/bad meals, and people encountered as I
went along. (breakfast is when I usually do this, but
it varies).


Greg





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