An honest question

I find I have to do the opposite; slow things down and enjoy the journey. Not rush to get to where I'm going as fast as I can as if it's some kind of achievement.

That being said, I'd be interested in trying a long distance ride purely to see if I could do it. I once rode 8 hours on a '74 RD350, I think that counts as 16 hours on the ST. I don't think anyone I know would be interested but I don't know that I could avoid the urge to humble brag if they asked.
 
Weaselinsuit said:
I don't think anyone I know would be interested but
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Everyone here that does it.

jodog said:
But to each his own. Sometimes a flower-sniffing ride is what's needed and sometimes a performance challenge is interesting. There's room enough for both on my riding calendar.
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This.
 
Why do people fish? You spend ten’s of thousand of dollars, or more, on equipment to say you caught the most fish, or lie about catching the largest. Then, when you’re done, you put them all back in the water.

Same with hunting. Biggest buck, longest shot, most beer drunk in camp.

Weight lifting, marathon running, base jumping, having poisonous vipers as pets? Who knows why, except that it makes us feel good about about our accomplishments. To each, his own. Me, I feed birds.

John
 
I enjoy getting to do long distance riding because it is a challenge. Four iron butt 1000mi and one 1500mi. Saddle soar. I have been able to combine business trips with all but one non-certified iron butt. I refuse to pay for a certificate or any other merch as it's enough knowing what I accomplished.
 
1175.5 Miles is what I covered from 2 AM Wednesday until 3 AM Thursday morning!

Before getting a hotel room, and I took this picture when I checked out today.


...oh yeah +7 more miles from my house to the first gas station where I topped off the tank and got my first receipt with the time and date stamp.

This was my first and probably my only iron but 1000 mile ride I just want bragging rights to say I've done it!!

I've done a couple thousand mile rides in cars I've done several 700 mile days in an 18 wheeler,

now I can say that I'm a bona fide endurance rider on a motorcycle although I don't know if the IBA will certify my ride because I got off the superslab for much of this ride; I rode through many small towns where there was nothing open that could give me a receipt-- no gas stations, no stores, especially after 7 pm.

IMG_2583.jpeg


PS: just before my 24 hours elapsed I still had over 1000 miles but there were no gas stations open near me at that time,

and one unattended automatic
self-service gas station that took my credit card did not have a working printer to print a receipt!


IMG_2580.jpeg

I do not think any more IBA rides are in my future ---once I've joined that club I don't think I want to deal with the loss of enjoyment by zipping through places where I'd like to stop and be a tourist, read the historical markers, take pics of local points of interest and history.

Being rushed, having to use the interstate highway system rather than surface roads with all their stop signs and red lights,

and the technical hassle of documenting every turn, every line segment of your trip, makes me not want to do another one of these.

...that, and the fact that meth and other amphetamines are getting really expensive,

;)

and all my suppliers are in jail at the moment.

:redface-2x::law1:
 
I love a good long ride; it is the reason that I bought the ST as the riding position allows you just to keep going under circumstances that on other bikes that would have you crippled for the next few days. My biggest day ride (and I have done it twice) is around the East Cape from Auckland return, a total of 1300km and around 16 hours of continuous riding, but almost none of that is on a straight road so it is a proper test of endurance and focus. For me there is personal satisfaction watching the sun come up knowing I have already covered 200km, and seeing sights that I rarely see, yet still getting home to the family at the end of the day.
 
Igofar said:
While these rides could be personal challenges, or simply bragging rights so my question is this:
Would you still do it if you could tell nobody about it?
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Excellent question. Few years ago, I was asking friends the same one.

After that I came to this conclusion - It is obvious that some doing it for bragging rights, others for something to prove. Both are lame reasons.
But... if you do it for fun (yes some may see fun where others see work, etc.) - that's what counts.
 
It's a bit like the question in No Country for Old Men [Ethan Cole] ultimately answered and resolved in that same answer by, can't remember his name, came to prominence in the executioner's song? Mad Magazine used to have the three part back page where the first page proposed a conundrum of sorts, and then by folding the pages together, the image and the caption answered the conundrum. One of the fold togethers resulting in the phrase that, all is vanity
I didn't get it at the time but it stuck with me, and I thought about it, for I dunno, probably fifty years; I used to disagree
 
Igofar said:
I think if they did it for a better purpose, or cause, such as charity runs to raise money for children’s cancer, etc. it would not only attract for people, but help others, and still give folks bragging rights, and feelings of self worth.
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I was thinking about this not long ago and wondered what that looks like. Seemed reasonable to have it benefit someone.
 
Igofar said:
I think if they did it for a better purpose, or cause, such as charity runs to raise money for children’s cancer, etc. it would not only attract for people, but help others, and still give folks bragging rights, and feelings of self worth.
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I don't know about that... Christmas toy runs for instance, how much gas is used in a 5,000 bike parade to a children's hospital to deliver a few toys? Why not just donate that money instead. Then, go for a ride on your own and not impede traffic in a huge way.

I did 1 toy run in Dallas when I started riding, not many bikes had any toys and many were standing around drinking... never did another one again, never will. I'll simply give my money to the charities I support.

Lots of different view on that... bottom line is to get WHATEVER you want out of riding, there's no wrong answer as it's only what YOU want.
 
Some people like long distance riding, some do not. They say of the people who do a Saddlesore 1000 some people will never do another and some are addicted. I like it, it is me vs me. I stopped certifying my rides a few years ago for a couple reasons. I have a file folder full of ride certificates and don't need more. I'm cheap and didn't want to spend the money to have the IBA send me a piece of paper I already have too many of, and lastly I no longer have the need to prove anything to anyone. This year I am splitting time between WI and MA. It's 1122 to 1140 miles one way. Going west I do in straight through in about 19 hours. Going east I do it in 2 days because I like to ride the Berkshires on my way through. All just a matter of choice.

Long Haul Paul has a MS 1000 that you can do through the IBA. It costs extra but the money goes to MS Foundation or some MS charity. Good use of a Saddlesore 1000 if you're doing one anyway.
 
I've been a long distance driver and rider from the beginning and it's not unusual for my wife and I to drive 3 hours away just to try a new ice cream. In a car it's not a big deal but on a motorcycle it's a bit more complicated and risky. But it is something I have been doing for just as long though no where near as frequent.
When I lived in Connecticut I would ride to Michigan every few months for a long weekend - a little over 700 miles each way. I was younger and it was a lot easier to do back then.
I've also done a straight thru ride from central Florida to central Michigan a few times for family issues. That one is around 1200 miles each way. Even though I was able to do it I wouldn't do it as a planned thing in the future. The last time I considered trying to see if I could get it certified but then decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

Other times I have made both of those rides in multiple steps as well as many other long rides and I much prefer to do 400-500 miles and stop for the night as well as stopping along the way to see interesting things.
 
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