What is the appeal of long distance trips?

Ah what the hell....so it's an oldie but Goldie thread....seasons/reasons of riding...
1.Adventure
2. Freedom
3. The smell of a Diary, Chicken or Pig Farm, a freshly plowed field, rain, the ocean, or breathe the crisp morning in the Rocky Mountains.

oude geit said:

Ah what the hell....so it's an oldie but Goldie thread....seasons/reasons of riding...
1.Adventure
2. Freedom
3. The smell of a Diary, Chicken or Pig Farm, a freshly plowed field, rain, the ocean, or breathe the crisp morning in the Rocky Mountains.

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This... and cleaning your head...

I think the best thing about long distance trips is what happens to your riding style. After 3 or 4 days the effort to ride disappears you no longer have to do anything other than look down the road. It is almost like you are at rest and the road is rolling under you. Always in the right gear always at the right speed it becomes very simple.
Brian

oude geit said:

Ah what the hell....so it's an oldie but Goldie thread....seasons/reasons of riding...
1.Adventure
2. Freedom
3. The smell of a Diary, Chicken or Pig Farm, a freshly plowed field, rain, the ocean, or breathe the crisp morning in the Rocky Mountains.

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Dont forget the hay fields!

The other thing that happens frequently is being asked where you are from and where you are going which tends to start conversations easily.

And if you really want to meet new folks take out your Road Atlas and start looking for the next stop. Recently took a 5861 mile trip to Maine and had six different people comment on how long it had been since they saw anyone using a Road Atlas. They would not have stopped to comment if I had been in a car.

I enjoy planning my trips away.... planning to do an IBA ride.... doing all the bookings for accommodation and where to eat!

Touring trips are great, limiting to 250-350 miles a day depending on where I am going....

IBA ride planning can be more involved with routes, fuel stops, hotel/B&B, weather, sunrise/sunset times can also come into effect for some rides!

Then riding.......

Recently I rode to Spain to attend the Catalunya MotoGP, then rude to Gibraltar for a few days as I hadn't been there for 41 years.... fitted in a BBG1500 on the way home, followed by a channel ferry ride and a 500 mile ride home from Dover.... total for the 13 days over 4000 miles..... just under a quarter of my miles for the year.....

Why?

Because I enjoy riding my motorcycle, the challenge of an IBA ride.... the people I meet and talk to.... the modern term for the feeling I believe is "decompressing"....

I view motorcycle riding as a form of therapy......and I need a lllllllllooooooottttttt of therapy!! Russ.

ardykay54 said:

I view motorcycle riding as a form of therapy......and I need a lllllllllooooooottttttt of therapy!! Russ.

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yep!!

maddog13 said:

I think the best thing about long distance trips is what happens to your riding style. After 3 or 4 days the effort to ride disappears you no longer have to do anything other than look down the road. It is almost like you are at rest and the road is rolling under you. Always in the right gear always at the right speed it becomes very simple.

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Returning from a LD tour (where you've again totally grown one with the ST) is always interesting as I've to cross the local "playgrounds" in the woods west of the city...
So the ST is fully packed, dirty & crusted, covered like 4~5000 miles in the past two weeks... and this weekend-warrior in screaming leathers want's a challenge... yeah... right...

Long distance riding can be great or it can be hell. Either you will like it or you won't. I alway's liked it but now at 69 yo I try to limit it to 1 day 500 mile rides. I ride with some that love tavern riding and some that don't mind 900 mile days. Me i'm in the middle.

There are people that think travel is a waste of money and you won’t convince them that experiencing different places and cultures has more value than buying a new garden gnome.

It's not the destination, it's the journey... says a lot about riding, and life...

One cannot travel without, and remain the same within.

I always enjoyed traveling. But there is a big difference for me to travel solo or to travel with a family. The more people are going, the more preparations we have. I had to go on a business trip several months ago. I addressed van galder bus customer service and bought tickets. I don't know why but I really enjoyed the trip. I had time just to sit and relax, to nap, read, or listen to music. Maybe I just was tired.

Sadlsor said:

One cannot travel without, and remain the same within.

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Yea, and its fun too!

Pop-Pop said:

Yea, and its fun too!

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What he said!

Riders get why your Dog sticks it's head out of the Cars window!