How far before a break?

[ryantcb]

I haven't clocked up many distance miles on my bike its all been London commutes around 8 miles. Then yesterday I set off for Southampton so 100 miles. Not a major distance but I did it at 4am and it was freezing. My hands froze around the handle bars and the seat (Bandit) which I thought was comfortable became very uncomfortable. I did the whole thing in one go straight through taking around 1hr 40.

When you go on long rides what sort of intervals do you have for rests ? Or do you go straight through and 100 miles is nothing?

 

[Mikesmotorbike]

Well I've travelled between the UK and France a few times (about 700Miles)

On the way up to the UK I'd take 2 days to do it (stay the night in Calais because of the Eurotunnel). On the way down to France I did it in one stretch, 14 hours. Only stopped for fuel and even then I didn't get off the bike I had one of those camel back pack things with water, and I'd nom on a cereal bar whilst waiting for cars to finish at the pumps. Probably not the best idea, but it worked for me at the time.

I think out of my 4 trips between the 2 places I must have taken 5 breaks excluding petrol, and that was only for a quick sandwhich and the extra stop was when I found somewhere that looked nice and seemed worth a stop (but allso because I'd forgotten to put my ear plugs in after lunch)

As for the rest of the trips (up to Nottingham or Wales for meets) if I'm travelling alone I won't stop unless I need fuel, I don't really get hungry on a bike, the only reason I stopped for lunch on the 700mi trips was because I looked at the bike clock which was saying about 1pm and thought "meh, might as well eat a sandwich"

that's one of many reasons that travelling with others is nice too, give you a reason to stop, otherwhise I keep going non stop

 

[Neilisin]

Hi ryantcb, great question and lots of conflicting opinions will come of it.

Personally, I've ridden various long trips spending many days/weeks/months in the saddle (read my blog for details). That said, given the road conditions being ashalt the weather being fair, and the motor you're riding being punchy enough to maintain 50mph without too much strain; I'd say limit yourself to 200-300 miles ... A DAY... anything over that you'll be really not enjoying yourself. If you stop to think that on a bike like a bandit, you've got quite a bit of upper body weight on your wrists, head tilted upward to see where you're going, your legs are clenched inward to grip the bike and your body position stays like that for more than an hour, you're going to end up quite sore. I know I've owned a bandit, I've ridden places on one too!

Ideally you should give yourself a break hourly if not less, walk it off... also if you decide to gun it and stick at 90mph... you're also going to get sore shoulders/neck/hands from holding your body forward from wind resistance.

Now saying all this great advice means nothing until you have done the opposite and tried being "hardcore"... then you realize, you value your body, safety, sanity.

I rode from Spain (south of Andorra) to London, in 36 hours once, including 5 hours sleep on the floor at a service station and 4 hours faffing with P&O at calais... and maybe a couple of hours eating on the road. I don't recommend that sort of journey ever... I was shattered, disorientated and sore for days.

 

[Nerb]

Its all about conditioning IMO. I love riding miles. When I was riding a lot (before I ceased commuting and grew a family) I would ride Melbourne to Brisbane (1800km / 1120miles) to see family twice a year. I would only stop for fuel (300km/180mi) and stay in a tent over night. Furthest i went in on trip was to Cairns (3600km) in 3 days. However, If I tried that now it would kill me.
If you build up slowly, doing 600 miles a day can still be comfortable. If you usually just buzz around down and then decide to travel across the continent... allow plenty of time.

Which bandit? A bandit GSF1200 will do 100mph all day. They are a very comfortable bike in my experience. If we're talking about a 250, it might be a different story!

Edit: I just saw you have a Bandit 600 in your sig. I dont know how different they are.

 

[NastyEvilNinja]

You get used to it.

I used to ride for 9 hours per day sometimes on my ZXR400 doing courier work. Now I'd probably start to feel it on a more comfortable bike after an hour or 2...

It'll always hurt if you're used to tiny journeys then decide to tour Europe!

 

[Trinith]

There's a lot of factors involved for me when it comes to deciding how often to stop.

Time: If I have all day to go 200 miles, and nothing else to do that day, I'll probably use most of it and take my time getting there.

Weather: Crappy weather means more stops. Once you realize you're too cold, you're already hypothermic.

Knees: I've got fucked up knees, and being 6'3 doesn't help. Even a proper sport-touring bike is still a bit cramped for me. Some days it's fine and I can make a 500 mile ride only stopping for gas, and some days I feel like I'm going to die after just an hour of riding.

The route: Most people don't think about this one. Riding the big, wide, straight freeways is more draining than riding a gently winding back road. On the freeway you don't move much. As Neil said you're sitting in the same odd position for hours on end. On a back road that has corners you'll move around a bit and your body will thank you. I can ride the mountain twisties for 8-12hrs and feel just fine when I get home, but 2hrs on the freeway leaves me reaching for the tylenol.

Mood: Sometimes as the end of a trip nears you either don't want it to end, or you just want to be there already. If you're tired of being away then stopping more often will make it feel dragged out and miserable. If you don't want it to end then stopping more often can be better as it prolongs things a bit more.

Case in point: In late November I took a ride up to Kentucky to visit an old friend of mine. The town we were meeting at is only about 250 miles away, which really isn't very far for me. Took the back roads, and the moving portion of the trip should have been about 6hrs. Going up there I only stopped twice. They were somewhat lengthy stops, but it still only took 7hrs. Coming back home the weather was not on my side and I had a couple small problems with gear. I ended up stopping 5 times just to get off and walk around a little. The return trip was the exact same route and it took a little over 8hrs.

 

[Friz]

Time: If I have all day to go 200 miles, and nothing else to do that day, I'll probably use most of it and take my time getting there.

Same here.

If I have a day to get somewhere, I'll take a day getting there and do it comfortably.

I often get really hungry on the bike though so I might stop often for that. To be honest though I never feel in pain or tired on the bike (probably simply due to ignoring it and focusing on where I want to get) so I just carry on.

You get more used to it too. I used to only be able to go 60 miles before having to rest for a day, now I can do (and have done) 600 miles+ in a day.

 

[CurlyBlakey]

There's a lot of factors involved for me when it comes to deciding how often to stop.

Time: If I have all day to go 200 miles, and nothing else to do that day, I'll probably use most of it and take my time getting there.

Weather: Crappy weather means more stops. Once you realize you're too cold, you're already hypothermic.

Knees: I've got fucked up knees, and being 6'3 doesn't help. Even a proper sport-touring bike is still a bit cramped for me. Some days it's fine and I can make a 500 mile ride only stopping for gas, and some days I feel like I'm going to die after just an hour of riding.

The route: Most people don't think about this one. Riding the big, wide, straight freeways is more draining than riding a gently winding back road. On the freeway you don't move much. As Neil said you're sitting in the same odd position for hours on end. On a back road that has corners you'll move around a bit and your body will thank you. I can ride the mountain twisties for 8-12hrs and feel just fine when I get home, but 2hrs on the freeway leaves me reaching for the tylenol.

Mood: Sometimes as the end of a trip nears you either don't want it to end, or you just want to be there already. If you're tired of being away then stopping more often will make it feel dragged out and miserable. If you don't want it to end then stopping more often can be better as it prolongs things a bit more.

Case in point: In late November I took a ride up to Kentucky to visit an old friend of mine. The town we were meeting at is only about 250 miles away, which really isn't very far for me. Took the back roads, and the moving portion of the trip should have been about 6hrs. Going up there I only stopped twice. They were somewhat lengthy stops, but it still only took 7hrs. Coming back home the weather was not on my side and I had a couple small problems with gear. I ended up stopping 5 times just to get off and walk around a little. The return trip was the exact same route and it took a little over 8hrs.

This is what I would say, even down to the pain of being 6' 3"!

 

[Trinith]

You get more used to it too. I used to only be able to go 60 miles before having to rest for a day, now I can do (and have done) 600 miles+ in a day.

This is mostly true. You can condition yourself to an extent, but there's always going to be an upper limit. Busasaurusrex can do 1500 mile days. I think a lot of that is because he's riding a HUGE BMW touring bike, and he's kinda short, so he's not cramped at all.

My next bike will be something that I'm capable of riding all damn day, not because that's what I want to do all the time but rather because I want to be able to do it and not feel like there's sandpaper in my knees afterwards.

If only I could find a high quality Concours for $4000... :lol:

 

[senthx]

I haven't clocked up many distance miles on my bike its all been London commutes around 8 miles. Then yesterday I set off for Southampton so 100 miles. Not a major distance but I did it at 4am and it was freezing. My hands froze around the handle bars and the seat (Bandit) which I thought was comfortable became very uncomfortable. I did the whole thing in one go straight through taking around 1hr 40.

When you go on long rides what sort of intervals do you have for rests ? Or do you go straight through and 100 miles is nothing?

Regularly ride Bedford to Fareham non-stop.

 

[ryantcb]

Sounds like distances is something I build up to. I have to assume that the time I was riding (4am)and it being winter had to factor in the pain I was having. For me the that rush of going from doing 90mph to 30 mph as I came off the motorway was just freaky. I get the slow speed rush in a car but on a bike was just another level. Nothing on my body wanted to move couldn't even bring my toes to change down gears. Lucky I had few green lights else I would have stopped stalled and toppled over sidewards, like a cartoon character!

 

[Bikermole]

I spent about 5 weeks with only doing a dozen miles a week, commuting. No longer than 20 minutes on a bike. I then decided to go on a 250 mile ride out, and it hurt! I do a lot of miles, but after spending a short while not riding, my body had stopped being used to the stresses and strains of long distance riding.

I tend to stop every 100 miles or so, for petrol. This usually works out as once every two hours. I rode to Friz's house last weekend, and stopped once on each of the 177 mile trip. I always plan stops, and use them to make myself comfortable, get petrol and text people to tell them I'm safe

 

[senthx]

Then yesterday I set off for Southampton so 100 miles. Not a major distance but I did it at 4am and it was freezing.

IT's not always very glamourous though mate...
me a year ago, similar journey.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCaioIg4-6M[/youtube]

 

[Nerb]

Haha... I liked that. Your Iron Maiden track made it!

 

[Dr Kongo]

I don't usually ride more than 150km at a time because after 100km the vibrations start numbing up my ass (what you get for riding a single :twisted: )

 

[Romans5.8]

Well, I've got a bike that I've nicknamed "Couchasaki". I have a big wide mustang touring seat with a backrest, highway pegs, nice comfy grips, I generally wear gel-lined gloves. I've got a stereo, mounted to the handlebars, and a tall windshield. I can go about 250-300 miles on a tank of fuel. By then I'm pretty sore, so about then (250 miles or so) I'll stop, get gas, drink lots of water, and rest for 5-10 minutes. After that, I may be stopping ever 75-100 miles or so to drink some water to stay hydrated and get the blood flowing to the rear-end.

I do a lot of long distance riding though and I've found that when you do a lot, you start to firm up the right muscles and you can do it longer. On a nice day, it's not at all unusual for me to just hop on the bike and ride 100-150 miles or so, just riding around the countryside (I live in a rural area), ride through a couple unique small towns and watch the people as I cruise slowly through town, and then get back home without ever getting off the bike. When I first started riding, maybe 50-60 miles and I was sore and wanted to get off. Now, I'm about as sore after 250-300 miles as I used to be after 30-40 miles. Part of that is the aftermarket seat and my highway pegs, but a lot of it is building it up (I can ride farther now than I could a year ago with the same accessories).

So moral of the story, get out there and ride! Take those long trips every now and then!