[Crudmop]

So for Xmas, one of the gifts I got for Fuzz was a copy of "The Long Way Round" book and dvd, as we've made some trips on the bikes and really enjoyed the television program. The dvd is comprised of all of the episodes from the show, as well as some extra bits. The book basically transcribes many of their daily diaries, with quite a bit more than what was shown on the program. Of course, I immediately took the opportunity to read it as well - I mean, I might as well, right? :wink:

The program, while it does a decent job of describing their trip, really doesn't give an accurate representation of it. These guys did some pretty hard riding - beyond the simple "3 month 19k mile" journey, they dealt with some serious terrain, and had some amazing experiences. I must say - the book really touched me. I'm not sure what aspect of it has really affected me, but, it's an awesome story and I absolutely recommend it to anyone who finds the idea of a long bike trip interesting.

A few things I learned from the book/show - first, the GS is an amazing bike. Those bikes had the crap beaten out of them, and kept coming back for more. Pretty amazing what they are capable of. Second - I would absolutely love to make that trip. Although I have never experienced a trip of that magnitude, or dealt with any riding quite that hard, I find it very easy to relate to their experience - the tough parts of a long trip that can sometimes test you and your ability to continue, that moment when you decide whether you will quit or push or regardless of the difficulty. There's a strange sentimentality that comes along with it, and the unique bonds that can result from them are irreplaceable. You learn what you are made of - what you are capable of, and those moments bind you to the people you share them with in a way that doesn't seem to happen unless you are sharing in the misery of it all.

So, it got me thinking - I'd love to hear any stories any of you might have about trips you might have made, or tough spots you pushed thru on a bike. Iknow a few of you have made some considerable rides, others maybe not so long - but, still probably have some great tales.

For me - the one image that imemdiately comes to mind involves the trip Fuzz, me and our friend Mike made a couple of years ago up through the Northeast. Day 1 we decided to head up thru CT, MA, VT, NH and stay over just into the NH border, then continue on from there to ME the next day (Roughly 350 miles or so). Well, the weather was brisk but not horrible, and when we crossed into NH we decided to continue on and blitz the last 350 miles and get to Maine that night. We crossed the Kangamangus Highway, had dinner, and decided that we would probably be at our destination in Maine from there in about 2-2.5 hours. (This is the point when you can assume things were going to go wrong :wink: ) As soon as we got moving - the skies opened up with a nonstop downpour for the rest of the night. With temps in the low 30s, and pouring rain, we pushed on over the white mountains - narrowly avoided a mooose crossing in the pitch-black, pushed on at a consistent 35-40mph, and a 2.5 hour trip turned into 6.5 hours. Pulling over every half hour to empty the water out of our boots and heat ourselves up, what started as a crappy ride became "us against the weather" - and we refused to lose. It was so absolutely cold and miserable, but we refused to let the weather beat us. The further we went, the worse it got, like the weather saw us pushing on and threw whatever it could at us to keep us from finding the end. Eventually, we made it to my Mom's door - cold, wet and tired. From 6:30a to 1:30a the next day, that 700 miles showed us just about every bit of weather that could be thrown at us - I wouldn't trade it for the world.

It doesn't have to be a journey of such magnitude. Thats the beauty of riding. Each trip away from home can be an amazing and eye opening experience. The aloneness in a group of people is ironically such a bonding experience that can seal or break a freindship for a lifetime. Let's hear your road stories...

 

[novos]

Okay I'll share...

My experience took place in a 5 day trip me and my friend took over mother's day weekend.
The weather had been particularly hot down here in Southern California so we figured the temperatures would be similar during the trip, so we packed light, and both donned airflow gear, and vests we could soak in water once the temperatures picked up. The trip started out great, with my alarm NOT going off, and me waking up right when I had to be at the gas station where I was meeting my buddy by his house, 45 minutes away. In a panic, I called the 7/11 where we would meet, and asked Hajib if there was a motorcycle outside. He said no, so I told him if he saw a motorcycle outside tell him his buddy is on his way.
So already packed, I open up the garage and blast off at 3 AM, since we wanted to be up at Alice's Restaurant in monterey by noon, breakfast and such delays permitting.
So hauling ass as fast as I could risk without fear of being pulled over at that hour, I get to the 7/11, he's not there. I look at my phone on the map pouch of my tank bag and there's a voicemail. It was my buddy. "The 7/11 guy said you were here but left, wtf. I'll see you up at alice's around noon."
God Damn It. I figure he has at least a one hour head start on me so if I ride fast and cover miles, I can catch up to him, assuming I can actually find where Alice's restaurant is, since its exact location was know by him, not me. So I stop at the gas station to fill up, and who comes rolling up but my buddy. Sweet christ. Turns out, he went back home to call my cell phone, and to grab something he forgot, and that delay was just enough time for us to meet right then and there. Disaster nearly averted. :bawling:
We ride off. 4 AM. It's a little chilly, and as we head up the 5 towards the grapevine which will dump us right into the desert, we see solid black clouds looming at very low altitudes over the mountain pass. We brace for rain, but luckily none comes, and we're greeted by a beautiful, yet overcast sunrise as we descend into the high desert of the 5.
We arrive at Alice's as planned, at noon, and it turns out I've actually BEEN to alice's before, just didn't see the name on the roof when I took a trip alone and met JoshH to show me the roads up there. Sweet. We chitchat, eat lunch, debate spending over $20 bucks on a T-shirt from the restaurant and decide it costs too much.
The rest of the day is great, spent riding the local roads from San Jose, up and around, stopping at giant sequoias, taking super technical roads, and feeling my front Diablo Supercorsa beginning to die as the mileage from the new bike and new tire is adding up. The front no longer rolls into a turn but falls in, and I have to catch the bike from falling with the throttle each and every turn. That night we meet a contact we made out of the BMW MOA book, and it turns out to be a MANSION up in the Santa Cruz hills with a "guest house" with full amenities and the woman's husband who has a BMW R90 type bike from every decade since 1930 to present.
The next day we ride off, taking PCH up to the highway that connects to San Francisco downtown, I believe HWY 80 or 180? /wwwthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif and make stops at Coit tower, the wharf, then decide to see an old gf of by buddy's who lives in SF, but his wife doesn't want him to see. She's not home.
So as soon as we hit the city, we hit the lowest point of our ride. Absolutely NONSTOP traffic coming up from the city into the coastal beaches, endless, slow, and incapable drivers and motorists blocking the road letting us go no faster than 30. It doesn't matter how many times we make agressive passes, even passing groups of 5 or 6 cars at a time. The traffic doesn't end. It takes us 3 hours to travel 15 miles.
So we stop at a junction, where a lot of the cars are turning off. There's a barn right at the junction and we consider just sliciing open a bale of hay and sleeping there. We debate for awhile where to go, my buddy suggesting Fort Bragg, maybe 5 hours up the coast, probably just enough time to get there by dark, or heading east into central california to Yosemite or Tahoe. We decide on north, and after finding a rather mediocre meal due to mother's day, we head north, and get not even an hour ahead on PCH before the fattest cop I've ever seen decides to write us up for 50 in a 35, being the only vehicles on the road besides him. :bird: :rolling: :808875-bs:
We keep going north, and spend the night in Fort Bragg, and old sawmill town that is slowly dying due to lack of commerce. We haven't seen the sun in the last 8 hours due to clouds, and the gear we're wearing is grossly inappropriate for the temperatures we're riding in. My buddy scores some free pot from a local, while the sheriff looks on, and then shares a toke with the guy who gave my buddy the dime bag, and we find a cheap motel to spend the night.
The next morning we ride off, heading towards Eureka where my buddy knows a psycho bitch old neighbor who lives up there, and her son and daughter who he's friends with. We stop in a little mountain town for breakfast and there in the Cafe is the most beautiful italian woman I have ever seen. After much flirting with her I offered to marry her and take her on our ride with us :Wow1: :lol: she politely declined but invited us to visit the town anytime we wanted. We arrive in eureka midday, have lunch, go to the bank, and get to the old woman's house. Absolutely stunning property. several acres of redwoods, secluded, beautiful, and the old bitch wants to develop at least 3 homes to rent on her property. :flame: :bird: :808919-icon_police: We do the small talk and I'm realizing how insane this woman really is and why her kids fled to Eureka to get away from her. I meet her son and daughter, both pretty cool people, and Jack, the son is planning on doing a total transplant of a marijuana field in the middle of the night because the cops might be on to where it is. We end up spending the night in the old bag's rusty RV in front of her property, after she informs us we can't store the bikes in the garage because she's not waking up at 5AM to open the garage for us.
At 5 we wake, I get dressed, roll and pedal the bike most of the way down the 1/2 mile unpaved driveway, and let the bike warm up at the junction of the driveway and the highway. I wait 10 minutes, my buddy hasn't come. Something is wrong. I walk back up, and his bike is dead. Battery doesn't have the juice to start up. So we roll the bike to the highway, it's drizzling now, both of us still in our airflow gear, and we debate taking his battery out, me taking it to town to charge and bring it back. We plan on heading back at this point and this will put us 3-4 hours behind schedule. We try kickstarting the bike with a roll, but the high compression merely locks up the rear wheel. With one last ditch we try again, rolling him downhill me pushing as fast as I can in full gear, dumps the clutch and hits the starter, the bike sputters... ignites once... dies... and comes to LIFE!!! I watch him let the bike roll down to the bottom of the hill, and begin to turn it around. If he stalls it he gets to bring it up himself I'm not pushing it that far uphill. He comes back, we ride off to get breakfast, stop for lunch in the little mountain town where I make sure to stop in the cafe with the italian waitress, head to santa cruz for the night again in the mansion, and head home the following morning, where we split up somewhere around santa barbara, leaving the last excruciating miles of the trip to each other, riding alone. total 5 days, 2200 miles. Not THE biggest road trip but it was a blast, and plenty of memories. :waytogo:

 

[TravellinJones]

Crudmop, when I first read the story of your trip to Maine I thought you guys were nuts to keep going. Turns out you're nuts anyway. :wink: Sometimes you've got to adapt to conditions.

I've had an adventure or two but don't have time to write about them now. I might post a couple tonight if I think they'll be interesting to anyone.

 

[F4iHigh]

I've always wanted to plan a nice long trip on my bike, that i could do solo. Like start here in NY and go someplace far. This summer i'm hoping to start off small with a trip up to Canada, like Montreal or something. I generally dont ride my bike mroe than 3 or 4 hours at a time most days. If i want to do a longer trip i need to by a bike better suited to it than an F4i.

You long trip guys have any tips for someone planning on doing that type of thing for the first time?

 

[novos]

the essentials are, in my opinion:

large tankbag - cargo space and doubles as pillow to save your wrists
throttle rocker - it's how I was able to do a 22 hour day on my VFR :smile:
emergency kit - tire repair, the essential tools, advil and maybe first aid kit
rain gear - for rain
cooler gear - for changing temperatures
possibly a sleeping bag - i spent the night sleeping basically right next to the bike in the grass at laguna seca when I went by myself.
old crappy socks, underoos and clothes - don't be afraid to wear the same thing 2 days in a row, and throw it away if need be.

 

[fuzzygalore]

I am a master at tight minimal packing, or so I think anyway :tongue:

One trick i have found is that i will run out to Target or Walmart and buy prepackage tshirts, undies & socks. Leave them new in the packing and stack them vertically in my tankbag. It really has worked out great for me. You can sort of jettison some of the used items as worn and leave yourself more space as your trip winds down and you might accumulate some junk like tshirt souveneirs and whatnot. If you pay < $10 for a 9 pack of ankle socks and throw them all away by the end of your trip - it's like a buck a day. Chalk it up to the cost of the trip.

Good rain gear cannot be stressed enough.
Assume it will rain. Even if you live in the desert. No ponchos, people!! A hefty bag won't work either. (I've seen both)

Since I'm always wearing a leather suit, I usually only pack a pair of jeans and easy to rollup, thin warm up pants for times when not on the bike. I pack a pair of slip flops or sneakers for walking around shoes. Of course this varies by the nature & length of your trip. But face it, if it's a riding trip, it's not a fashion show. You'll have to wear stuff repeatedly, not tshirts, but the bulky things that take up space like fleeces. I am a big fan of bringing the bare minimum in clothes on trips. That being said, always err on the side of extra socks and underwear. Wet socks & feet just SUCK. My Sidis just tunnel water into the zipper. Sucks sucks sucks. Changing into warm dry socks is heavenly.

Dress in layers.
A wicker, a thermal, a heater layer like fleece pullover for colder climates. Don't ever assume it will be only hot or only cold. Invariably, the weather will not cooperate.

See if you can get a pair of Totes to fit over your riding boots if you dont have rain booties with your rain suit.

Hmm, i leave this stuff in my tank bag all the time:
Zip ties, duct tape, fuses, clamps, tire plug kit, Gerber type tool, pain killers, bandaids, safety pin, spare key, bottle of water, a pen, a lighter, ziplock baggies, spare toothbrush, tire pressure guage. there are other things but it isnt coming to me.

Got to the supermarket or drug store and get sample sized toiletries like deoderant/toothpaste/soap/shampoo/shaving creme. Those regular sized items take up too much space. Also, if you stop at hotels - take their free shampoo/lotion ... and grab handfuls of candy off of the lobby desk for your tank bag :wink:

Ziplock freezer bag your map or route sheet to keep it from getting wet.

OH! and of course, make SURE your bike is inspected/reg'd and you have your license and insurance card all on your person with easy access to it. If your out of state some cops can be hardasses.

 

[TravellinJones]

[ QUOTE ]
You long trip guys have any tips for someone planning on doing that type of thing for the first time?

[/ QUOTE ]

Put all your money in one pile, and all your stuff in another.

Then take twice the money and half the stuff.

 

[evander]

[ QUOTE ]
Crudmop said:
So for Xmas, one of the gifts I got for Fuzz was a copy of "The Long Way Round" book and dvd,

[/ QUOTE ]


Where'd you get the DVD?

 

[Crudmop]

Amazon.co.uk - it is only offered in PAL format, so unless you have a dual-format DVD player, it won't work.

 

[Dclxvi]

Bah all this story telling is making me want to take a road trip this summer. It would be a great experiance to be able to travel on the bike. I was thinking I could go down to flordia on my bike this summer and ride around or something.

 

[Hoopty]

3banger, Pastaburner, and I went on a trip up to Montreal, Quebec via Deal's Gap, Toronto etc :wink: a few years back. Lot's of good stories and stuff, including blowing the SV's motor about 1.5 hours outside of Montreal, where nobody speaks english. :crazy: Too long to write about, but it was an awesome trip, something I will never forget. I'm not that big into street riding anymore (get my jollies off on the race track and the dirtbike), but I still dream about road trips. Gotta use the SV for something, right? :grin:

 

[Bozo]

I know it sounds good amidst all that lake-effect snow :shocked:, but Florida is damn hot in the summer! The Adirondacks, Catskills, Appalachians, etc. are all much more pleasant that time of year. :waytogo:

Why is it that the misery of riding in wet, cold gear is so instantly forgotten??? A hot shower, dry clothes and we're raring to go again! :809028-ridin:

 

[Dclxvi]

Slorch have you done many rides up there? I was really thinking of heading up there beacuse my GF goes to a camp ground up in there. It would be great if ya could give me some good routes or roads up in there so I can see what type of trip i can make :smile:

 

[TravellinJones]

Novos, great story. That's the kind of trip that'll warm your heart for the rest of your life. I have some good memories of riding in California, but tonight I'm going to tell the tale of...

The Storm of the Century

It began in February of '93, when I bought my dream bike, a silver CBR like the one I have now. There was just enough time to organize a trip to Florida for the Daytona 200.

I left from work on Friday afternoon, under light snow flurries. I made it to Richmond, Kentucky that night, and the next day put in my longest day yet on a bike, 840 miles to Sanford, Florida by way of Deal's Gap and Thunder Rd.

The next morning I rode to the speedway and met up with Serp in the infield. I had "forgotten" to mention I had a new bike. That was payback for the time he showed up at my place for a trip to the west coast with a new bike I wasn't expecting. The racing was memorable. That was the year Eddie Lawson came out of retirement to beat Scott Russell by a nose.

The ensuing week was epic fun. Sexcapades. Drugs galore. My buddy Don and I got stopped for doing 120 mph in Polk County, and skated. Nighttime cruising over the bridges and causeways, out to the beach, down Nebraska Ave. looking at the hookers, and generally spending every minute possible in the saddle. Fun, fun, and more fun.

Friday night a monster storm rolled in, bringing havoc and freezing weather. Streets were flooded, trees down all over the place, boats were wrecked in the bay. From Florida the storm moved north.

My plan was to return to Ohio on Sunday and Monday. The news on Saturday night was filled with stories of destruction in Florida. There was no discussion of any damage north, except a brief clip of a family making a sh!tty little snowman and the voiceover saying, with an indulgent chuckle, "and a couple inches of snow even fell on Atlanta". Ha, big deal. That would be cleared away by the time I got there Sunday afternoon.

So Sunday morning I hit the road. It was even colder than the day before, but skies were clear. After riding two-lane back roads all day I decided to be prudent and take the interstate through Atlanta and Tennessee. Approaching I-85, I started seeing snow on the road, but just on the centerline. This was worrisome, but I knew I'd be okay once I got on the interstate. Surely it would be cleared, just like it would be at home. They'd had 24 hours to plow and salt.

To my surprise, 85 was no better than the state road had been. Worse was the ramp to I-285 to go around the west side of Atlanta. Snow and ice was piled on the sides, leaving just enough clear pavement for me to continue. I wanted off, but there was no turning back.

By now I realized I had to get off the highway and stop for the night, but the offramps were all iced up. I couldn't get off and I couldn't turn around, so I kept going. Then I hit a sheet of ice under an overpass at 70 mph, and I was down on the left side. Oh, my beautiful bike! Arrgh! Sh!t! I've got to get off this cursed road.

So I picked up the bike and kept going, much more carefully now. But I still couldn't find a clear offramp. And under another bridge, I biffed again, this time on the right side. Fvck! So what did I do? Picked it up again, and continued north, until reaching the I-20 underpass, where I dumped it on the left again.

This time, I cracked the crankcase end cover and I was done. Strike three. It was so slick here I couldn't pick up the bike. A semi driver was looking down at me waiting for me to get my bike out of the way so he could continue. I finally had to tell him to get his ass down and help. I got the bike parked on the shoulder and pondered my next move. It was six in the evening, sun almost down, freezing cold, and I was stranded. As approaching cars hit the ice under the bridge, they were spinning and sliding past me. I had to move.

So I slung my saddlebags over my shoulders, picked up the tank and tail bags, and started walking. After about ten minutes a National Guard humvee came along and picked me up. That's how badly a couple of inches of snow screwed up the city. They called out the Guard. I immediately sensed a weird kind of tension in the hummer. It was crewed by two guys and a woman. I was grateful for the ride, but relieved when they dropped me at a motel.

So now I was at the Crown Motel on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Lovely. Gang graffiti on all the buildings in the area. The first thing was to get my bike off the freeway, so I called a wrecker. A guy named Prince driving a rollback picked me up, and we headed for the interstate. Man I was so happy to see my bike still standing there. We got it loaded and secured without further damage, despite Prince's best efforts otherwise. He wanted to secure it by wrapping bare chains around the wheels, and then tensioning them like a medieval torture rack. I wonder how many forks he bent using that technique.

By 8 PM, my bike and I were at the relative safety of the Crown Motel, and I was able to turn on the TV and see just what a mess I had ridden into. There are no plows or salt trucks in Atlanta. The snow had melted in the sunshine, then turned to ice late in the day. Hundreds of cars were stranded on I-75, which was closed at the Tennessee state line. And I had thought I was going to blithely ride through it all that evening.

The next morning I walked to a store and bought some JB Weld and gasket sealer. The streets were iced solid. I repaired the cracked cover, then called my boss to tell him I'd be a few days late. By afternoon there was some melting going on, but it still looked grim out.

Tuesday morning I put the bike back together, and decided to try to move to a better neighborhood. I ventured out cautiously, and got as far as Calhoun. By then I was seeing snow on the road again, so called it a day after about 75 miles. But at least I was off MLK Jr. Blvd.

That night it warmed into the 40's and began to rain, which washed the remaining snow off the roads. After breakfast on Wednesday I decided to make a run for home, and made it after an all-day ride, stopping just three times. It stopped raining in Tennessee, and got cold again in Kentucky. It was almost dark by the time I got home. Thirteen days on the road, and it seemed like I'd been gone for months.

Epilogue --

I didn't return to Bike Week until three years after that, in '96. The day of the 200 was cold with rain in the forecast. My plan was to ride to the speedway with Serp and his posse, then head for home after the racing was over. But with ice forecast for Georgia, I decided to forego the races and take the long way home through Alabama and Nashville. From my motel room in Cullman, Alabama that night, the weather in Daytona was the lead story on the Weather Channel. The worst weather in the country was centered over the speedway. The 200 was postponed until the next day. The next day was no better so it was put off until the following weekend. I haven't been to Bike Week since, and will probably never go again.

 

[GSRider]

Although I haven't gone on multi-day rides, I have spent an entire day on the bike.

There was one day that I had off, and I woke up at 5 in the morning for some strange reason. I was wide awake, and thought that I may as well make the best of it. I warmed up the bike, and checked all the fluids, knowing that this day would be a big one on the GS.

I left the apartment with nothing more than a couple bottles of water and my first aid kit in the tank bag. I started headin north, notciing that the day was going to be a hot, beautiful one.

It was about 9 in the morning when I started getting pretty hungry. I was also in need of a break off the bike, and enjoy a coffee. I was sitting in Collingwood, so off to the Tim Horton's I go. Little did I know, but it was the annual Ride for Sight event that takes place every year in Collingwood. Hundreds or thousands of riders go up to pay exorbiant amounts of money to support a good cause. There was one guy at the Timmy's that heading to the grounds, and we started chatting. He rode a beautiful sled...totally custom HD. Very sexy looking. He asked what I was doing for the day since I wasn't heading to the meet. I said out for a ride.

Where to?

Dunno. I'll find out when I get there.

So off I went after grabbing a coffee, smoke, and a bite to eat. I landed up in Bracebridge, had a late lunch, and decided that it was time to get home again. I went south, trying to hit different roads that I had never been on before, and of course, got REALLY lost.

Somehow or other, I found myself back in Collingwood, and had dinner there after being lost for close to 4 hours. I had no idea how I got back to Collingwood, but there I was, back at the same Tim Horton's I had been to over 6 hours prior. By this time, I was tired, hungry as the dickens, and my arse felt like it had been on the bike for a lot longer than just 10 hours.

I went inside to get some food, and the person who had served me the first time was still there. The guy pretty fell over when I told him where I had been, and how I got lost so bad. I landed up getting a free coffee (I guess because of how bad I looked coupled with the fact that I must've smelt like a big steaming pile of dog snot because of the heat) and together with my sandwich, and a couple more bottles of water, I was off on my way.

An hour before being home free, the skies opened up, and it was a torrential downpour that followed me the rest of the ride home.

After riding 800km (500 miles) in about 13 hours and soaked to the bone, I got off the bike, got inside the apartment, and had a 40 minute hot shower.

I didn't even look at my bike for 2 days after that trip. :crazy:

 

[Crudmop]

TJ - Wholly crap! Thanks for sharing, but man, that can take the fun out of the day! That's what you get for leaving your ice-racer at home :smile:

GS - LOL that is great :smile:

Keep em comin!

 

[specialsymbol]

I wonder if I should re-post all the trips we did in the last years :grin:

As for tips, TravellinJones and novos said it already.

Take as little clothes as possible with you. Instead take a handwashing liquid so you can wash your clothes on the trip.
Plan on where to spend money and how much. Calculate with twice the money you need at home for food!

Plan what and when to eat. Buy it early. Nothing sucks more than having all shops closed and eat at a restaurant where they rip you off.

Focus on drinking enough water, all the time. Drinking is crucial, you tend to forget it.
When you're thirsty it's too late and your concentration already is very low. This can be too low for bikers (I left the road once due to lack of concentration on our last trip...)

You need:
-Chainspray
-Pressure gauge for the tires (helpful if you want to make the trip a little bit more sportive)
-Duct tape (always helpful)
-Torch (!!!!!!)
-Swiss Knife
-Lighter

I always take some disinfectant-soaked kleenex with me. They're not much and safe you trouble.

Don't carry a backpack. Use a tankbag instead. They're also a little better considering waterproofness.
Take warm clothes with you. Make sure they're kept dry. This is most important! When it's raining really hard you want to change later to dry clothes, otherwise you could get sick.

Make some breaks occasionally.

I'd buy at least a tarp or something similar (that's what I take with me). In the worst case that gives you a little weather protection.

When you take your camera with you: Keep it dry. Really dry. Same for cellphone. Switch it off when you're not riding. Recharge the battery everytime you have the chance to.

Take a day off on longer trips. Not only to recover and relax, you can also check your bike, see what has to be done, rethink your route, visit things, go hiking or do a small(!) trip around the place you currently stay.

That should give you a trip you enjoy most having as little trouble as possible. (Most trouble is caused by too much luggage, followed by too little to eat, ask Kristian :wink: )

 

[TravellinJones]

And don't forget maps and raingear. Right, GS?

 

[GSRider]

:lol:

Yeah, I suppose so. Raingear for sure; I didn't have raingear bought during that ride, and I left my maps at home on purpose...in retrospect, I shoulda brought them :crazy:

:lol:

 

[specialsymbol]

Who needs maps?

If you have a map you tend to take the wrong way.
If you don't have a map- which is the wrong or right way then? :waytogo:




[whisper] plus, you can tell anyone the road you want to take is a shortcut - but don't tell Hans or Kristian[/whisper]