I have never traveled anywhere on a motorcycle, but I have plans for next summer.

Currently I am rebuilding a 78 Honda cb750 and I would like to take on a solo trip next August. I will be playing in the world police & fire games in NYC and I want to ride there and camp along the way. I live on Vancouver Island in Canada ( 3hrs north of Seattle ) and I have planned the trip out on google maps. I plan on riding average of 9hrs per day and should make it there in 5 days.......Can anyone tell me if this is too much riding & what I should be planning for in seat time to get there and back.

I also plan to do this in 21 days, keeping 5 days in NYC for the games.

Thanks in advance....I love this site, however my wife....not so much as I've got about 5 trips planned now.

I've made the trip across from just south of you (Bellingham) to New York on a bike. 5 days is fast. This means: no time for checking stuff out along the way, talking to people or acting in any way inefficient; no allowances for miserable weather, of which there is likely to be at least a bit; no slack for mechanical issues (of which I had more than my share); riding tired, which is not entirely safe; arriving burnt out, which is not entirely fun.

If all of the above works for you, why not? It can certainly be done this way. But I don't think a 10,000 km trip is the time to find out what your tolerances are, or how the bike handles, or whether you forgot something on your rebuild.

Best bet: try like hell to make more time for yourself. Riding a bike is not like driving a car (in a car, I've done it more than once in three days)--it's far more tiring and the consequences for mistakes are way more severe.

That's one perspective. Hope it helps.

Mark

(starting to mold and mildew in Paramaribo, Suriname)

A quick check of Mapquest tells me that it's around 5000km's from Victoria to NY, NY. That would mean 1000km/day for 5 days straight. Since you're planning on being in the saddle for 9 hours that would mean an average speed of 111 km/h, including all rest breaks, fuel stops and chats with local cops who've pulled you over for speeding. You'd also be taking the most direct route and missing much of the good stuff along the way. Higher speeds also tend to be more tiring, so either way you'll be pretty pooped and putting yourself and others in danger. Driving a car tired is irresponsible, riding a bike tired is insane.


I quite frankly don't think your time frame is realistic. Even though there are Interstates all the way if you go through the USA, you'll have a hard time maintaining that average for a sustained stretch. And as Mark was mentioning, there's nothing built in for any unforseen occurences. Of course, if you're planning on going through Canada, just forget that plan altogether. Especially through BC or northern Ontario where the highway is mostly two lanes and goes through several towns with traffic lights.

Also, being on Vancouver Island you automatically have a delay built in for the ferry and battling your way through Vancouver traffic, or taking the slow road down the Olympic Peninsula via Victoria.

Since you've never done a motorcycle trip before you'd be well advised to take it a lot easier. Even experienced riders would have a lot taken out of them with that kind of pace.

If all you have is 21 days and 5 days are for the games, I'd suggest taking 8 days each way and still be prepared to just ride, ride, ride and then ride some more regardless of the weather. And don't linger too much for sightseeing along the way.


...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

That sounds like a good plan.

That's why I wanted to post this question here.....I didn't know if that would be way too much?? I know 9-10hrs in a car is nothing for me.but not doing it on a bike I wasn't sure....

markharf: How long did you take and what route did you use?? Any great places to stop?

Hi there
doing it the way you planned, I don't think it's feasible. 9X5=45...sorry very unlikely....
that's an extreme 50cc (coast to coast under 50 hrs.) from the Iron Butt Association. You've never ridden a bike ?!? probably won't appreciate biking after....

Ship the bike (train, plane,truck...), THEN, ride home take 10 days, you won't regret it .
Do some Nat'l parks, scenic routes (lots of them)

My 0.02

Enjoy the Games lots of fun

__________________
"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."
RIDE like your LIFE depends on it.
BMW R1150GS '02 crashed
BMW R1150GSA '04

"markharf: How long did you take and what route did you use?? Any great places to stop? "

Sorry, I can't really answer questions that are so overwhelmingly broad. Stop at parks; there are at least a lifetime's worth. Buy a guidebook. Study maps. Talk to people you meet along the way (bearing in mind that your original schedule leaves no time for this sort of idle conversation), and do whatever they suggest or tag along with the ones you bond with.

I can't even tell you how long I took between Bellingham and New York, since that particular trip was punctuated with mechanical failure which, while repaired under warranty, added a month and a half! Hence my suggestion you allow for the possibility of mechanical malfunction.

Basically, you need to spend some time riding your bike to find out how it works---not for me on my bike, but for you on yours. There are people for whom the trip you describe (600 miles/1000 km per day) would be just fine, and others for whom it's an invitation to misery at best, calamity at worst. Neither you nor I knows where along this continuum you'll fall.

FWIW, the suggestion of shipping one direction sounds like a very good one, if that's an option.

enjoy,

Mark

It is about 3000 miles each way. 500-600 miles a day is not a 50cc.
We have done 9 round trips from Reno, NV to the East coast, 2-UP with luggage on a BMW R80 and a R100R not a Goldwing or LT.

On most trips we will do a slower longer ride one way and take the "Slab" the other way.

He has rebuilt the bike so he should know how to fix any problems.
The only thing is the stock seat, 300-400 miles on those can be painfull.
Get a after market seat or airhawk or sheep skin anything but stock.
Take a two day 1000 mile test ride first to be sure.

The first day take I-5 down to seattle then I-90 East. You may not get as many miles as you would like because of the traffic.
The next few days you should be able to do over 600 a day on I-90, I-94.
Try and get the big mileage out west once you get near Chicago on I-39,
I-90, I-80 you will run into more traffic and those are toll highways.

On the Interstate highways I figure 6 days.

Good advice . Also, padded bicycle shorts work wonders. Absolutely do-able. But, know what you getting into and prepare accordingly. Time your leg-departures to avoid rush-hour traffic in and around big cities. Early starts, frequent breaks and all will be well.

__________________
Thomas

"Hey, ...I'm just ridin' shotgun"