How far can you motorcycle in a day?

[Liverpool Brick]

Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping this summer to bike from the damp of Northern Ireland to the hot sun of southern Spain. Its approximately 1800 miles and I reckon I can cover that in 4 days with the longest stretch being 550 miles. I intend to take it easier coming back with shorter rides over non-motorway roads but on the way down I want to get there quick.
What are your thoughts on a sensible amount of daily miles bearing in mind it will be only over 4 days with a weeks rest in Spain before I take a more leisurely trip back.
Regards,
Andy :clap:

[F14CRAZY]

Well here there's the Iron Butt association which you get awarded by for riding 1k miles in 24 hours

[Laitch]

What are your thoughts on a sensible amount of daily miles bearing in mind it will be only over 4 days with a weeks rest in Spain before I take a more leisurely trip back.

Part of my plan would be physical conditioning, sufficient sleep and reduction of alcohol intake a couple of weeks before the trip. Following that—if I weren't stark staring mad by then—I'd put as many miles as possible the first two days then taper off the second two so I could get right into whatever was awaiting me in Spain. If could do ±600 miles those first two days, I'd do them. Whenever traffic and weather permitted that's when I'd stack on the miles regardless, the earlier the better though.

Nothing dampens the festive arrival at your destination like riding your bike into a wall of the garage at your hotel while you were catching up on sleep.

[Liverpool Brick]

If could do ±600 miles those first two days, I'd do them.

I agree and the 2 longest rides are day 1 and day 2. I could have possibly made them longer except for physical barriers like The Irish Sea and The English Channel! As for conditioning, I agree again. Not wishing to sound like a boring, holier than thou, health freak (which I'm not (honest)), I go to the gym at least twice a week and drink very little and don't smoke so I'm doing alright for a mid 50's plus bloke. (OK I know that sounded holier than thou, sorry). Anyway, once in Spain the red biddy and dry sherry will flow and to hell with the gym.
Andy :beer:
 

[Laitch]

No, Jehr, really, I think I'm holier but my explanation is constrained by humility. :hehehe

[The Mighty Gryphon]

First of all, I'm 67 and don't do anything special to stay healthy.  I don't worry about hydration(more hydration = more piss stops).  I eat a big breakfast at 7am and maybe have lunch around 2pm.  Supper is after I stop for the day, usually around 8-9pm.

Fact of life is that the length of time you can travel decreases from the beginning of the trip.  Second fact of life is that often times the ergonomics of the bike are the limiting factor of your daily saddle time.

For me, max comfortable time is around 12-13 hours.  With gas, meal, and restroom stops, I can comfortably do 750 miles for the first two days.  After that, usable travel time drops to about 10 hours per day.  This is when I want to get somewhere and am using the interstate, cruising at an overall average of 70-75 mph.   

If I am somewhere scenic I'll take the slower roads with better scenery and riding(twisties).  This will drop my daily average speed to 25-30 mph or less for daily totals of 250-300 miles.

My suggestion for preparation is to make sure you can sit on your bike for hours on end without setting fire to your butt.  If you can't sit on your bike for 12 hours, all the rest of your preparation is meaningless.

My understanding is that you have a lot of ferry time the first day or two which will necessarily reduce the mileage you can cover by reducing saddle time.  The plus side is that the ferry will reduce saddle time for the first days, making you fresher for the following days. 

If you plan 12 hours of travel time for the first two days and then 9-10 hours for the last two I would think you will have no problem.  I don't know the speed limits you'll be riding in, but a 60-65 mph average should be doable once you get past the ferries.  300-350 miles per day the first two and 600 per day for the last two shouldn't be too hard to do. Of course, the more miles you can cover the first two days will make tha last two that much easier.

Don't make hotel reservations ahead of time.  The most dangerous thing you can do is to have to push to get to a hotel where you have a reservation.  Look for a place to stay when you are tired and are getting close to where you can't go on.  Start early with the first light.  I find that it is very easy to cover a lot of miles before noon.  After that, it seems the traffic gets a lot harder and more tiring to deal with.

[Laitch]

Thanks for trying, Gryph, but I can only accept facts of life from people who are older than I am. :hehehe

[The Mighty Gryphon]

OK, I'll get off your lawn now.

[F14CRAZY]

It depends on whether or not you have a Russell Daylong

[Gio]

It's a tough question to answer Andy as it depends not only on your tolerance for seat-time on any particular bike, but the kind of riding you wish to do. I haven't done as much long-distance on the K, but on my '92 Kawi 750 I did Vancouver to Palm Springs in 3 days (~750km /day) which I found tiring (possibly because I forgot my ear-plugs and was a little deaf by the time I arrived). On a longer trans-Canada trip with the same bike the daily average was more like 500km - this with stops of interest and less time pressure - so very much less tiring. +1 on advice from MG in this regard ... riding until you feel like stopping takes any time pressure off.

As they say - it's also about the journey as well as the destination ... sounds like a nice route you have planned.

Gio

[Laitch]

OK, I'll get off your lawn now.

And take your dam skateboard with you, please.

[Snowman]

Back in the day (80's) I rode from Manchester UK to St-Tropez on a CB900F2 in 2 days. Yep, young and stupid, took 2 days to recover, the view on the beaches helped. You need to plan some 'practice' runs to see what your comfortable limits are. I know if I have to make up time I can knock off 800 mile days but my comfort zone is around 450-500. My bike has a custom seat, lower pegs, higher windshield, throttle-lock etc so I am very comfortable on it. Making a few 200 mile trips will highlight the improvements to your bike and gear that will make the trip across Europe more enjoyable.

[TimTyler]

My longest days have been the "escape from RI" days when I head home to WA from the east coast. They're all slab, all work and no fun, and I won't ride it unless the weather is mostly clear. I like to coordinate so that I'm passing through Chicago around midnight when traffic is at a minimum. Usually I make it as far as the Super-8 motel in Hampshire IL. That's roughly 1000 miles. After that it's just two and a half more days to get home and the worst is over.

[WayneDW]

In my experience, 4-500 mile days are very do-able and still is fun.  Longer than that are certainly possible but start to hurt and loses it's fun factor.  I only do those when I have to.

[F14CRAZY]

My longest days have been the "escape from RI" days when I head home to WA from the east coast. They're all slab, all work and no fun, and I won't ride it unless the weather is mostly clear. I like to coordinate so that I'm passing through Chicago around midnight when traffic is at a minimum. Usually I make it as far as the Super-8 motel in Hampshire IL. That's roughly 1000 miles. After that it's just two and a half more days to get home and the worst is over.

Midnight? Maybe that's the time to pass through Chicago. I passed through once around 3 am and traffic was still stop and go.

[TimTyler]

I passed through once around 3 am and traffic was still stop and go.

Well, duh! That's the beginning of the AM rush :)  :hehehe

[Elipten]

The key of Chicago is to go fast enough to avoid the random bullets flying around.

[Liverpool Brick]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the advice. It seems my longest day of 550 miles is ok, so I'm happy with that. I thought about trying to reduce it from 4 to 3 days but what's the point? Its only me I've got to please so no point pushing it. I shall do some practice runs before hand although I've done 350+ in a day with no sweat so I'm not expecting too much drama.
So, plenty of time to brush up on my flamenco and bullfighting techniques and Spain here I come.

(more hydration = more piss stops)

Not just me then? Age, tuh!
A

[Laitch]

All right! Ready! Count—one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand. Repeat!
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/mens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises-for-men/art-20045074

[Martin]

Johnny is there something you haven't told us, why are you sniffing motorcycle seats or is it all seats??:nono :nono

[Laitch]

Sometimes, Martin, a person just needs to clear the nose of the constant smell of cheese.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Sometimes, Martin, a person just needs to clear the nose of the constant smell of cheese.

I'm not  sure that sniffing motobrick seats is the way to do that.  Unless one wants a sniff of a different type of cheez.

[Laitch]

You can never tell until you try.

[darthbane71]

On my last road trip my ridding buddy and I rode just shy of 900 miles in about 24 hours. It was long but a ton of fun.

[Scud]

I've done close to 600 miles of mostly twisties and some slab to connect the fun parts. When I know I'm going to spend a long time in the saddle I wear gel-padded bicycle shorts under my other gear.

I think the advice about not making advance hotel reservations is excellent. I recently pushed myself to get to Paso Robles from San Jose after getting a later start than expected (I had a pre-paid reservation). That was too much night riding to be fun - the last couple hours were just survival riding. On the other hand. I had an excellent route planned from Paso Robles home, so my next day started off exactly how I wanted it. Maybe if you make a reservation, just be sure it can be cancelled without penalty - then you can adjust if needed.