Im turning 30 this august. (I know, im either to young or to old.) and trying to plan a good long week ride. Ive never been on a LONG ride. (+8 hrs) so I know I have to do some endurance trainging. and Ive been reading up on long adventures.
Im a avid outdoors man (Eagle scout). and not some pansy GPS carrying hiker (No offense). so I think im ok in the camping/survival part.
I guess my questions are these:
1. Where should I go. I live in Chicago. so anywhere cool is sorta far away. Im really into Deserts (even though I havent seen one) and the wild outdoors. I was thinking South Dakota, Colorado or somewhere out west. Im from Tennessee, and Ive been there a bunch.
2. Im riding a 1995 883. Its not the best thing for this journey, but I think itll be ok. Shes in her prime, and I take really good care of her. Maybe some suggestions as to tips for tuning before my journey?
3. are their certain sites dedicated to these thing? or maybe roads I should take due to alot of Gas stations/other bikers for emergencies? or maybe suggestions on roads I shouldnt take?
A smart phone helps alot. Maps and what not. Are you camping? Plenty of KOA and other campsites around. Take a few tools, maybe voltage reg, coil, battery, tent, fleece blanket, get a sissy bar and tie that shit on and roll. Let the road sort out the details.
you have a limited amount of room so you have to pack wisely.If you have doubts about camping don't pac the gear...it sucks to carry it and not use it! a few tools like a 1/4" socket set with combo wrenches upto 5/8" and a couple of small adjustables,pliers,allen wrenches and some electrical tape.Don't bother with all the spare parts you won't need them and probably the tools either, just my habit! GOOD rain gear and a shield of some sort for your helmet if you need to wear one.
most importantly is to give your bike a good inspection before you leave...don't go with a 1000 miles left on your tires..change them and if your battery is more than 3-4 years old seriously consider changing that also. i could care less about gps or cell phones although handy but maps to me are more important for planning..if you do plan...find out if there are big things going on at places where you may think that you may spend the night...nothing sucks worse than being tired from riding and finding out you have to spend another couple of hours trying to get a room or camp site cause everything is booked!
everybody has different riding styles and habits..i like to eat well and stay hydrated..beer doesn't do it!!hope this helped a bit...be safe and have fun
Bad lands and Black hills are a good option in western south dakota. That would be about 15 hours from chicago.
I also like to ride in Arkansas about 10 hours from you, there are killer roads down there plus its out of the way so less traffic than other popular riding spots. Notably Highway 7 in Arkansas, on par with the tail of the dragon but with no traffic or cops.
I love a good long distance ride, I have taken my FXDX on two 2000+ mile rides this summer
i live in Michigan's U.P. and we have some great roads through the woods and on the lakeshore. plent of camping too. I'd be happy to show you around if you are in the area too. maybe do a lake michigan circle tour? if you did that, i might be interested in joining you across the UP and through the LP.
as far as the bike is concerned, i rode my 883 from michigan to oregon and back last summer, no problems with it, some of the long uphill grades i had to downshift to 4th to maintain speed. just make sure everything is running well, change your fluids that will need it soon.
I went with a fork bag, saddle bags, and sissy bar. basic tools, tent, bag, different layers of clothing, lots of socks.
i mapquested my journey at the start, but then basically just made sure i was going the general direction i wanted to go. i usually stopped for a good stretch and hydration every other fuel up or so.
UP is fucking awesome. Went to Crystal Falls a few years ago. Wish I had more time to explore the UP more. Mongo, Indiana is a nice place to visit and a good ride through the corn fields, (my best friends' nickname is Mongo, so we had to stop there on our last trip to Baltimore). We met a bunch of college girls that were going canoeing. That's all I got for now.
Back in '93 I rode an 883 hugger with a 2.2 gallon tank from San Diego to Sturgis alone. Quite an adventure for a 23 year old kid. Made it in under 40 hours too. Woulda made it there faster if I didn't have to stop for gas every 80-90 miles.
Have fun!
anywhere in michigan while riding next to the water is great. being where youre at you could do the loop and shoot up through the UP then down back around through michigan.
You could go up around the UP and then if your feeling up to it you could follow Lake Superior to Duluth and then down to the Mississippi River heading back south,...
You could go up around the UP and then if your feeling up to it you could follow Lake Superior to Duluth and then down to the Mississippi River heading back south,...
that's a pretty solid plan too... i might have to do that in august.
....then down to the Mississippi River heading back south,...
Totally.
I took a trip a few years back and rode the the county roads in the bluffs of the Mississippi in Iowa/Wisconsin/Minnesota and there is all kinds of cool stuff. The county roads in the bluffs on the Wisconsin side were fucking rad though. Even the main highways along the river were really fun.
Ride to Vegas. We've got PLENTY of desert riding out here. Plus, nobody ever complains about a trip to Vegas. It was 114 degrees today, which makes the post-ride beer slammin' pretty great.
SW Wisconsin and surrounding areas of other states are indeed great riding. Another thing to consider would be Highway 12, from the city as far as you want to go. It goes through SD (which you mentioned) and ends up on the west coast in Washington Sate. It becomes a damned nice ride the minute you cross the WI state line.
I grew up in Phoenix, AZ and have to say if you haven't seen the desert: DO IT! I've been away from the desert for about 14 years now and never knew what I had growing up with a soda in my back pocket climbing boulders the size of a house and collecting pottery shards and arrow heads.
Every blue named link in here will take your fackin breath away. Even the small towns...
-Painted Desert
-Mogollon (Mug-ee-yon) Rim
-Petrified Forest
-Grand effin Canyon!
To top it off you're in Navajo country which is a cultural experience in itself. Lots of tourist trap shit, but you should be able to experience some shit that not too many people even know exist.
Took my wife (she's from south Alabam) through the area on a PCS move and blew her mind.
When my daughters are old enough to appreciate it, I plan on taking them to see some of the most beautiful country on earth...
Just and FYI- if you plan on doing any riding towards SD, you will probably hit Rally traffic. The rally starts the 6th, but it's crazyness the week before and the week after. SD has some amazing places to ride, but you'll also be fighting the crowds if you go around that time. If you aren't leaving super soon, then I would say to do SD for sure. I spent 24 years of my life there, and there are so many great places to see. Either way, if you end up wanting more ideas for SD, let me know.
You originally mentioned Colorado. I live in the Denver area and was thinking there isn't much better place than riding in the rockies. You could stay in Denver and the mountains are right out back. Go from 5280ft to 10,000ft in just 2 hours. There are tons of twistys and plenty of places to get microbrew. Tour the Coors Brewery in Golden then shoot up to boulder and drink some White Rascal at the Avery Brewing Company. Denver and Colorado is the place to be
Just and FYI- if you plan on doing any riding towards SD, you will probably hit Rally traffic. The rally starts the 6th, but it's crazyness the week before and the week after. SD has some amazing places to ride, but you'll also be fighting the crowds if you go around that time. If you aren't leaving super soon, then I would say to do SD for sure. I spent 24 years of my life there, and there are so many great places to see. Either way, if you end up wanting more ideas for SD, let me know.
You'll also get gouged on any hotels and campgrounds for a 500 mile radius of Sturgis at that time of year. A couple years ago, my friend and I passed through Sturgis on our way to UP Michigan. We stopped in Kadoka, about 120 miles east and paid $100 for a shithole room that normally went for $25.
I would recommend any riding though Wisconsin. The route up through michigan, through the UP and back down along the Mississippi would be a trip to remember.
I live in WI, and ride all around. Ive driven west multiple times, though I've never been on a bike. Id say explore your neck of the woods (the midwest) before you head out west.
There is a ton of good riding in Wisconsin. Even if you ride over to Dubuque, IA and then ride up the Mississippi on the Wisconsin side you will not be disappointed.
There are plenty of ways to go you're almost smack dab in the middle of the country, Heading out to Montana, Idaho etc. there's some awesome scenery in Glacier National Park and the roads are pretty twisty and fun. The wife and I drove through there on our way up to Canada last year. Going East there is the Tennesee, and the Blue Ridge Mountains, when I was stationed in Virginia I took a couple days and drove the Blue Ridge Trail, would have been really nice on a bike. Heading south there is the mother road, Rte 66, bits and pieces of it have dissappeared and been absorbed by major highway but there is some amazing stuff to see that route too. I bought an old Jeep out in Colorado a few years back and rather then doing the high speed run(yeah right it was a 1955) I dropped down south and picked it up in New Mexico and followed it all the way across into Barstow before turning north on the 395 and going "home". That was an adventure and a half, the Jeep would only do 65-70 mph tops, no top no doors etc etc, met all sorts of cool people that would come up to talk to me about the old Jeep at rest stops, road side curiosity shops and indian trading depots. I don't know how bad New Orleans is but that would be pretty cool too, did a cross country drive (east coast to west coast) before flying to my new duty station in Japan and all along the south there are some really cool places. I had a blast in New Orleans.
I'm sure that I don't need to tell you how to pack, the scouts have taught you that much, just take what you need no more no less, make sure you have a few tools to take care of any hassles that arise, anything more then that you probably don't want to hassle with on the road side by yourself. Worst case Auto Zone loans tools and I think Home Depot rents them. Weather can change pretty quickly so having a variety of gear quickly available is highly advisable along with water tight containers (bags, boxes etc) for keeping the things you need dry. Make sure that you secure your shit well, nothing sucks more than stopping off somewhere to discover you left a zipper undone or worse your gear shifted and now its got an exhaust burn or rubbed through your paint or wore a hole in your tent.
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