What's a LONG ride to you?

[CLAY]

This is inspired by my sister-in-law.  Her and my BIL are classic pirate Harley riders- fit every negative stereotype.  She mentioned that she did her longest ride ever- around 40 miles I would guess.  Impressive, by her standards.  I gave her a little crap, but I did seriously congratulate her on it- hopefully the more she rides, the more she *wants* to ride far.  And the more she wants to ride far, the more she realizes the comfort and safety of something like a full face helmet and gear rather than a t-shirt, jeans, and a novelty helmet (her husband, my BIL is a cop, so they get a free pass wearing the novelty helmets).

I always figured a long ride included multiple states, maybe a passport (in Michigan).  A short ride (now I'm saying ride, not commute) would be 40-60 miles.  A nice ride would be 100 or so.  A long ride would be a couple tanks of gas- 500 or so miles.

Thoughts?  Just curious.

[thatguy]

If I have to pay someone to take care of the Dog it's a long one.

[Mr.Black]

One tank full minimum.

[black hills]

A long ride to me would be 500+ a day. I occasionally buzz back to my hometown for a day or so, leave after work and make the 275mi. in 3 1/2 hours. I consider that a pretty good ride for after work. When my wife worked in Cody, WY I would ride over (400mi.) after work on fridays. Leave at 4:00 and get there about 10:00, about a perfect ride IMO. Long would have to be more than that. Of course I have had some long rides in rain/sleet/snow that didn't cover that many miles

[paddy_crow]

I would consider a ride from Detroit to Ironwood, which involves staying within the state of Michigan, to be pretty long (about 600 miles). Further, in the four corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, it's possible to pass through four states without even covering a mile.

I guess for me, if it involves being on the road for most of the day, it's a pretty long ride. Less than an hour I would consider short, more than an hour medium.

Multi-day rides are a category unto themselves.

[dm_gsxr]

I think it depends on what you're doing during the ride. When touring a long ride may be 500 or so miles. When running around here with the local sport bike group, 300 miles can be pretty long since there's usually a lot of twisties and even some high speed runs (got to 140 in one place trying to keep up ). Heck sometimes riding with someone else is a long ride at 1 mile

Carl

[Jes_VFR]

This is inspired by my sister-in-law.  Her and my BIL are classic pirate Harley riders- fit every negative stereotype.  She mentioned that she did her longest ride ever- around 40 miles I would guess.  Impressive, by her standards.  I gave her a little crap, but I did seriously congratulate her on it- hopefully the more she rides, the more she *wants* to ride far.  And the more she wants to ride far, the more she realizes the comfort and safety of something like a full face helmet and gear rather than a t-shirt, jeans, and a novelty helmet (her husband, my BIL is a cop, so they get a free pass wearing the novelty helmets).

I always figured a long ride included multiple states, maybe a passport (in Michigan).  A short ride (now I'm saying ride, not commute) would be 40-60 miles.  A nice ride would be 100 or so.  A long ride would be a couple tanks of gas- 500 or so miles.

Thoughts?  Just curious.

A long ride to me is rolling out of the driveway at 0700, buying a couple of tanks of gas and arriving at a destination at say 16-1700. That could be 350 miles or 700 miles depending on the route, but either way its a days ride.
ex. Pennsauken, NJ to Grand Isle VT is long days ride.
or Deals Gap, NC to Orlando, FL via 95 near Charleston.
then again so is Pennsauken, NJ to the PA Ren Faire in manheim by all back roads.

[brockep]

For me it is the total time it takes, and the conditions it is done in, that makes it long not the miles traveled.  Des Moines, Ia to Denver, Co could be an easy day with nice weather and no wind.  Des Moines, to Denver with a south wind at 20mph gusting to 35mph and a temp of 95 with high humidity would be grueling.

A long ride could be 200 miles with a lot of stops to take pictures and eat at small town diners.  But a slab ride from Billings, Mt to Des Moines, Ia where you are just chewing up miles might not be all that bad.  Long days are all relative. IMO

[Ramming Speed]

When it's not fun anymore.

[Tejasbusa]

I have been known to ride to California for a tire replacement from East Texas. I also have ridden from Texas to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and then to Keywest, Florida. Those are LONG rides. A long day ride is at least two gas stops.

[county]

More than 40 miles...

[M.Brane]

When it's not fun anymore.

 Winner.

[freecatSV]

In a day, I'm like everyone else -- 500 miles. 600 feels quite long (I did too many of those on my trip last year). I've done 800 before, when I was much younger. I honestly don't know how these Iron Butt guys do it.

But to me a long ride is several days on the road. You get that feeling when you're far from home on a bike. It's a long ride when you have to do laundry.

[jaykup]

Yeah it depends on the type of riding.  If I'm going along the freeway (which I hate doing) 600-700 miles is about my limit (though I have done 1,000 miles to prove I'm cool ), and I'd only do that if I really wanted to make time getting somewhere far away in hopes of good roads there.

350-450 miles is a long day of twisty riding, lots of body language, throttle on, brake, higher concentration, just wears you out...

[Andrew]

  A long ride ???

More than 3 days, anything else is just a weekend ride

When it's not fun anymore.

I have had great rides that lasted all summer and loved every minute,
I have had rides that lasted 30 minutes that were too long.  

[Orpheus]

A long day ride for me is about 550 miles and three states.  Around 300 is blazing the twisties with 125 miles each way from the house.

[fotomoto]

When it's not fun anymore.

+1

Sometimes a long ride is only 50 miles after it was too damn hot to go on a ride anyway and then you run out of gas in the middle of BFE.  Other times, it's 6-700 miles when you're on a schedule and behind.

[bluepoof]

My long rides lately....let's see, I rode 17 miles two weekends ago!  Iron Butt'ers, watch out!  :

[skater69]

200 miles.....longish afternoon ride is long to me.  I've ridden 500 miles in a day too.  These days I do far less.  After a few hours of riding, it starts to feel like a job and no longer is fun to me.  

[Galo]

To me, anything beyond 300 miles is a long ride. My fave days/memories are always of rides between 200 and 300 miles....seems just right.

Returning from the BBBBQ a few weeks ago, I did 700+ in one day, and that was a LOOOOOOOONG ride...

[Orson]

I don't go by mileage but, by hours  

about 8 to 10 hours a day is my norm. At 10 hours, I'm well and truly done and ready for a nice hotel.

The longest multi-day I've done was 5 weeks but, I hafta admit in that 5th week, my enthusiasm was waning and my butt was beginning to drag. Checking in and out of hotels was getting old and I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed  

[OrangeSVS]

Long is when I start thinking about things like safety, physical well-being, security, etc.

I remember one trip, going from home to a mid-point destination to meet with a friend that seemed quite short, even though I spent a good 6 or 8 hours in the saddle. I also had a trip home from the dealer on my brand new first bike that seemed incredibly long, despite only covering 15 miles... it started to rain when I got close to home; it seemed long because I was completely out of my element and every little thing was a stressor. Getting home from a mere couple-hundred mile multi-day round trip with twenty bucks in my pocket and 250 miles to cover, all spent in the middle of a rainstorm (the damn storm was travelling at ~50mph and seemed from the weather radar to be precisely following the expressway... it was long enough I would've had to hit 200mph for a sustained period or sit around for 2-3 hours to get out of it... so I just road underneath it the entire time), also seemed very long.

I'd say a "long" ride is any ride in which you're out of your element, pushing physical, financial, or mechanical limits. I'm sure the first time I decide to make a trip that requires maintenance at a midway point is going to seem very long whether it's 600 miles or 6,000. It's the fear of the unknown that really shapes your perception of a ride. As long as you're "at home" and your contingency plans are convenient and well thought-out, the ride will seem short.

[antvq]

Strange that this topic came up.  I just finished an epic ride.   The store I originally went to didn't have the kind of bread I wanted so I had to go clear across town to get it.

That reminds me....I need to finish up the ride report on that and organize the pictures....

[BrookR1]

I have to agree with time thing....anything over 7-8 hours (slab...about 500 miles, twisties 300-400 miles) and I'm ready to go home. I've done iron butts, but I can't count those since I only do 1 per year because riding only one long day per year would make me a wuss.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I don't go by mileage but, by hours  

about 8 to 10 hours a day is my norm. At 10 hours, I'm well and truly done and ready for a nice hotel.

That's about where a "good day" stands for me as well. Although depending on the area, 10 hours may not be quite enough  

[karlfitt]

Long to me has to be somewhere I can't get back from in one day.

I plan day rides that will go 350 miles. I also plan shorter. But those are not long rides, just good day rides.

Long means I have pack some clothes and other things I need for an overnight or two.

Some have mentioned wether in defining a long day.
Textile gear has made hot weather much more rideable. Two weeks ago when I picked up the Duck I imediatly headed down to Tucson to visit a friend. That was a long ride because of the overnight aspect, not because it was 100 in Tucson.

I saw a lot of rain over my three weeks on the road this vacation (two weeks on the BMW, one on the Duck) My whole first day out on the BMW was rain and road construction. I have goos rain gear. I traveled some roads here in Colorado I hadn't been on before. I thourghly enjoyed those roads. Scenery was great, roads were great (but speeds down due to the rain). The rain did not make it a long day or diminish my enjoyment of my surroundings.

[FJRmgm]

when it's 95+ degrees and I have to get home and its all interstate riding.

OTOH last Saturday evening, because it has been so hot, I went for a late evening ride.  Left the house at 7:00 pm and 185 miles and four hours later I was home after a good ride.

Even stopped for ice cream about 60 miles from home.

[xbud]

 If you have to slab it more than 50 miles it "feels" like a much longer ride. If you can ride door to door all twisty backroads than 300-400 miles seems to be enough for me.

[Windblown]

LONG ride: When I'm still an hour or more out from my destination and really wishing the ride was over.

Perfect ride: One that consumes the day and I'm wanting to jump on the bike again the next morning.

[PVS]

That's about where a "good day" stands for me as well. Although depending on the area, 10 hours may not be quite enough  

This for me too although in mid-summer I don't mind riding a little more as the day is longer.  I'm usually finished when the sun goes down.  In terms of mileage, my butt tells me to plan for 400 to 500 miles that's what he thinks is a long day.  I have done 600 but my butt bitched constantly for the last 150 miles.

[Dan K]

For some it's determined by opportunity.  I haven't had an opportunity for more than a day ride in about 6 months.  So a 3-4 hour ride is unfortunately a long ride to me....lately.

 -Dan

[chornbe]

This is inspired by my sister-in-law.  Her and my BIL are classic pirate Harley riders- fit every negative stereotype.  She mentioned that she did her longest ride ever- around 40 miles I would guess.  Impressive, by her standards.  I gave her a little crap, but I did seriously congratulate her on it- hopefully the more she rides, the more she *wants* to ride far.  And the more she wants to ride far, the more she realizes the comfort and safety of something like a full face helmet and gear rather than a t-shirt, jeans, and a novelty helmet (her husband, my BIL is a cop, so they get a free pass wearing the novelty helmets).

I always figured a long ride included multiple states, maybe a passport (in Michigan).  A short ride (now I'm saying ride, not commute) would be 40-60 miles.  A nice ride would be 100 or so.  A long ride would be a couple tanks of gas- 500 or so miles.

Thoughts?  Just curious.

I've taken all day to go 200 miles, and I've gone 1000 miles in a day (Orlando to Philly). It really depends. If I had to say, I'd say 10 hours is a long ride, regardless of how far you. Beyond that you're just beating yourself up (which I've done plenty of times).

I would much rather spend all day doing 200 miles of twisties than spending 3 hours doing 200 miles of Interstate. Every time.

[Geoff]

I always figured a long ride included multiple states, maybe a passport (in Michigan).  A short ride (now I'm saying ride, not commute) would be 40-60 miles.  A nice ride would be 100 or so.  A long ride would be a couple tanks of gas- 500 or so miles.

A ride is something I might do in the evening after work, let's say 75 miles. Riding 500 miles is a trip.

[Bravo12]

My 29-day, 10k mile trip around the USA is coming up in a few weeks. We're going to have to average over 300 miles a day, which isn't that bad at all until you consider we're spending 4 or 5 days in Denver, 2 days in L.A., 2 days in New Orleans, and that's mileage we need to make up on other days.

The first day is about 800 miles from home to Chicago, and will probably be the longest day: 786 miles, ~13 hours with stops, all highway.

[Dan K]

My 29-day, 10k mile trip around the USA is coming up in a few weeks. We're going to have to average over 300 miles a day, which isn't that bad at all until you consider we're spending 4 or 5 days in Denver, 2 days in L.A., 2 days in New Orleans, and that's mileage we need to make up on other days.

The first day is about 800 miles from home to Chicago, and will probably be the longest day: 786 miles, ~13 hours with stops, all highway.

Let me know when you'll be in Chicago.  Schedule permitting I'll try to show you some hospitality.  Good stuff around here, and this is the best time of year to enjoy it.

- Dan

[TuffguyF4i]

It is typical for me to do 100-150 miles w/o even putting my feet down once or stopping.  I'd say that over 350 miles is a stretch under normal conditions.

[DogBoy]

1 Kilometer Per Day

[Bravo12]

Let me know when you'll be in Chicago.  Schedule permitting I'll try to show you some hospitality.  Good stuff around here, and this is the best time of year to enjoy it.

- Dan

September 18th.  We should be arriving around 4 or 5pm, storing the bikes with another STN member, then dinner at Morton's around 8 or 9.  We'll sleep-in a little the next morning, and probably check out Chicago until after lunch, since our next stop is only a few hours away in Anamosa, Iowa.  PM me for details!  Our overall itinerary is on our website:  http://mototour2010.com

[tomek]

Going back to the subject,,,,,,,

,,,you pull up to the self registration station at the campground and have a huge problem trying to figure what date is today,,,,,,,

That is what I call long ride.

[APCZX11]

For me, it is the time, not the miles. Eight hours of actual seat time is a long ride for me.

As others have said, this could 300 miles, or 600 miles depeding on the route and conditions.

40 miles is not a long ride on a bicycle, never mind a motorcycyle.

[jfusaro]

170 miles which is a full tank while just cruising around is a fairly good ride.  250 is a nice long one

[nferr]

If I have to slog along the interstate I'd rather take my BMW Z3.  Then just throw the top down when I get there. So when I take a long ride with one of my Bonnies it's back roads or at worst two lane highways. So a long ride is probably about 250-300 miles in a day since you're only averaging maybe 45 miles in a hour. The number of days isn't the issue - it's how many miles/hours a day for me. Going from Shelton CT. up to just outside Boston tomorrow and coming back Sunday. Probably about 150 miles each way going almost all backroads. But I'm going to visit my daughter/grandkids so it's not about riding all day. Still should be two nice rides. I'm figuring about 4 hours each way. Takes about 2 1/2 in my car on the interstates, but it's a real crappy drive.

[KKop]

A long ride is one that takes me all day (dusk-dawn).  That's about 400-500 miles of twisties in the summer, less in winter.  Did 760 miles on the Interstate a few weeks ago, just to get home that day: never again.  A waste of good motorcycling time.

Anyway, what I am really interested in: why do your sister and BIL ride?  I can't come up with any reason other than posing, since a long ride for them is 40 miles.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!

[sleazy rider]

My idea of long rides involve more than one day, several states and/or are greater than 1000 miles in length.  A long day ride involves multiple gas stops, starts about dawn and ends as the sun sets with food stops as needed.  Pictures may or may not be involved.  The next long ride starts this Wednesday after work and includes a ferry ride across Lake Michigan.  

[schmii]

anything with a wheelbase over 5 feet is a long ride.

For time?  6 hours takes enough of the day to consider it long.

[Grnarrowe]

This http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,28756.0.html is a long ride.

[CLAY]

Anyway, what I am really interested in: why do your sister and BIL ride?  I can't come up with any reason other than posing, since a long ride for them is 40 miles.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Posers.  He has a HD Nighttrain with a wide tire kit on the back (I think that's it) and a retired police bike that he can actually ride.  He has made the comment that his 25K+ "chopper" is a bar hopper- he bought the ex-police bike to really ride.  She rides either of them.  They are classic posers- Harley t-shirt, jeans, Harley boots, novelty helmet.  The thing that bugs me is that she is going to go down if she keeps riding (no MSF class, just "quick" passed the state test on a Honda CB200).  She has no experience and no one that teaches her- she just rides.  When she goes down (if she keeps riding) it is going to be bad.  Thankfully no kids there, and probably none coming.  My other brother-in-law ride far and long and nearly every day we can, which is awesome.  

As for me- many of you got me thinking.  I guess I think of a big day as time and effort too.  When in western South Dakota we rode maybe 300-400 miles a day, all twisties, and that was a big ride.  On the way out there I did 1165 in one day (a fundraiser SS1000 ride), and that was a big ride.  Different days, different situations, both long rides.  

Good stuff.  

[cdwilliams05]

A long ride for me, is anything over 150 miles. My commutes were ~60 miles one way.  

[JonS]

I don't go by mileage but, by hours  

about 8 to 10 hours a day is my norm. At 10 hours, I'm well and truly done and ready for a nice hotel.

  

Thats about it for me too. Usually means 350-450 miles. On a slab, 2 hours is a long time.

[Hardware]

700-800 kms in a day is a good ride.

[Papa Lazarou]

When it starts to hurt.

[motorcyclemac]

When the mattress slides off the box spring and the bedroom is smelling like burnt latex  

No...seriously......when you have numb spots from your hip bones .....     When you can't see thru your visor / windshield from the bug guts....  When you have worn your leathers long enough that they show signs of sweat...on the outside.  When you ride so long that you nearly fall over due to forgetting to put your foot down at the first stop sign after the freeway.  When you finally stop riding and you can still hear wind noise for 6 hours later.   When you get into a car afterward...and try to "toe up" under the brake pedal to shift gears.  When you put your helmet on the next day...and it is still cold clammy and icky from yesterday's hot sweaty ride.

Cheers
Mac.

[johnnyquest]

My longest ride to date was almost 1800 miles. Three days straight between 550 and 650 miles a day, from Seattle to Tucson this past July 4th weekend to bring home my new bike.

Made my 100 mile trip to breakfast a few weekends ago seem like a trip to the corner store...

JQ

[motrhead]

 It depends on the bike and the road. After 100 miles on my Ascot, it was a long trip...on my RZ after 200, on my CX650E it was more like at least 300-400 miles, depending on the day and the road. Many days on the CX, even 500 miles was just a start, and the day just wasn't long enough to ride as far as I wanted...

[rgbeard]

I will do 500 mile days on occasion - I sometimes find them tiresome and always wishing I'd have planned it as a 300-400 mile day instead.

A round trip for me to Yuma and back is about 500 miles.

I do that on a somewhat frequent occasion.

[Papa Lazarou]

My longest ride to date was almost 1800 miles. Three days straight between 550 and 650 miles a day, from Seattle to Tucson this past July 4th weekend to bring home my new bike.

Made my 100 mile trip to breakfast a few weekends ago seem like a trip to the corner store...

JQ

Pah! I did 180miles in one day on a Velosolex. Once. But never again. Those things hurt after 40 minutes, let alone 40 miles.  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I did 733 miles on Sunday in 12 hours. That included a bit of time off the bike for lunch and going to an overlook or two. Other than the day being lackluster, I was comfortable with the mileage and time. It was an interesting mix of interstate, two lane twisties and dirt roads. Oh, and more traffic than I'd care to ride with for a "pleasure" ride...  

[Busy Little Whiner]

500 miles or 2 tickets...

[cruisin]

a long ride is when you realize you are getting physically fatigued enough that it is time to stop and having the wisdom to do so.  Beyond that, is just just foolish.

[Gar]

Long ride is over 200 miles, thus requiring me to re-fuel (I can go 200-230 on a tank, depending on conditions). The daily commute (when I get to ride to work) is just under 100mi. total. Longest day on the bike so far is just over 700mi. I rode a little over 600mi the following Monday for work. Unfortunately, I mostly do short rides of 100 miles or less.

[Scubadvr]

My longest single-day ride was 750 miles, and made me realize I'm not Iron Butt material.  I can do 400-500 mile days for as long as the vacation time lasts.  Those don't seem like long days unless it's all superslab, which I try to avoid.  I generally try not to ride more than 10 hours per day; mileage varies with road type.

[bikerider]

Anything over 500 miles or 10 hours on the road in a day is a long ride for me.

I have had days Dual Sporting that took 10 or 12 hours to go 100-150 miles, and other days Sport Touring that took 10 to 12 hours to ride 600 or 700 miles.

[twotrackhero]

A long ride for me is the last stretch when you know your on your way home  

[Explorer]

When I'm more than two states away from home

[sammyseaman]

On the slab a long day is anything over 8 hours. I find it nearly impossible to stay awake after that. Booooring.
On some nice twisties it can be 12-14 hrs.

This is if it's in the summer and my back, shoulders, neck and knees are used to riding. In the spring my joints are not very tolerable to long days in the saddle.

[Oddball]

Every week during this time of year I'm good for at least one day a week that uses a few tanks of gas.  Don't think much about it, but when I go on trips I can usually ride all day without any thought.  The problem and what makes a long trip for me tends to be on the way home.  I can spend weeks riding, but turn toward home and hit the slab the life just seems sucked out of me.

[forester]

All day all night in excess of 1200 miles in 24 hours at least partially in the cold rain.  That's long enough to warrant a hotel for a few hours.  

Anybody thinks I'm full of shit is welcome to test me on this - but you pay the fuel if it's just a test.  I'll gladly pay you back if I fail - mechanical difficulties non inclusive.  

[ZZR Rob]

500 + miles a day, mostly twisties and sweepers with no more than 10-20% being slab just to get to the good stuff.

[Jason F.]

Anything more than 400 miles in a day.
Anything more than 1000 miles in a three day weekend.
Anything longer than 5 days if the mileage average is over 250 miles a day.

[Stray Cat]

When it's not fun anymore.

Word.
I've done 500 miles days and felt fine. I've done 250 mile days and wanted it end just about every mile of the way. Those days are long in effect, but not miles.

[Espada]

More than 3 hours on a straight and boring highway starts to feel long to me.  

[Snowbird]

A long ride is over fifty miles on an Interstate highway or over three hundred miles on twisty back roads.

Or ten miles with the wrong person.

I just returned from a four day ride of about 300 miles each way. The bike never moved on days two and three. It didn't seem long at all.

[SVTNate]

I did this route yesterday....

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Westminster,+CA&daddr=33.67849,-117.84791+to:Ortega+Highway,+San+Juan+Capistrano,+CA+to:Lake+Elsinore,+CA+to:Palomar+Mountain,+CA+to:Julian,+CA+to:Los+Terrenitos,+CA+to:32.80532,-117.21449+to:Westminster,+CA&hl=en&geocode=Fc8fAwIdOVz3-CkJ6WPoIibdgDHxk7iXFq0sHg%3BFZrkAQIdmsj5-ClrEpO1jd7cgDHA0ZqUOACX_Q%3BFbp3_wEdZIr9-Ck9_ZVXZfLcgDGDlrxwf53uPQ%3BFe27AQIdYroB-SkzOpkxJprcgDHZVAiqqExdcQ%3BFT13_AEd1JII-SlfHE0E5JbbgDFpAo9ku6FyoA%3BFX-9-AEdlMsM-SnBFCiKyizagDFAMfiaZbl8RA%3BFaAE9QEdyoAM-SlDzdwNpmTZgDEVCNWxsHW7dA%3BFciR9AEd5nID-Snld0p7NgDcgDHFGVI7uxEOTw%3BFc8fAwIdOVz3-CkJ6WPoIibdgDHxk7iXFq0sHg&mra=dpe&mrcr=5&mrsp=7&sz=11&via=1,7&sll=32.862286,-117.234421&sspn=0.415847,0.601501&ie=UTF8&ll=33.329381,-117.117004&spn=0.413643,0.601501&z=11

305 miles, and a good amount of twisty roads along with some nice desert scenery and fresh baked pies  That's about as long as I have time for usually, and I try to get at least 1-2 rides like this done each month.

[Snowbird]

some nice desert scenery and fresh baked pies

That is dessert scenery.  

[holliebibi]

I have ride within 100 to 150 mile long a one day..because this my last capacity for the ride the bike..

[darkstarmoto]

600+ miles in 12 hours with LONG air conditioned lunch break in the middle...makes a really long ride for me. Just did it coming home from IndyGP.

[rabbott5]

It would be rare that I ever ride less than 100 miles.  Most of my rides are 100-220 miles.  I can do about 250 miles on a tank of gas.  I would say that anything over a two tank ride in a single day would be long.  Yes, I have done many Long rides.  So in a single day ride over 400 miles I would consider a long ride.

[black hills]

I'll do some testing and report back, vacation the 11-19th so I'm heading west!!!

[Elseanno]

I judge most of my rides by time & fun.

When I ride a lot 8-10 hours is my sweet spot. Average that out at say 60mph and you got 480-600 miles. I've done over 1k but only when doing a rally or trying to get home.

I don't ride so much now so 4-6 hours works for me. Same multiplier gives 240-360 miles. Nice easy day.

I feel sorry for your BIL & SIL. I hope they ride a long poker run or a nice 3 day weekend on the bike... say 150 miles a day.

Elseanno

[243Win]

DR650SE with Suzuki gel-seat.  Two hundred to two hundred and fifty miles is about right for the day.  Beyond that, it gets mighty uncomfortable.  Haven't pushed any other bike in the stable that far as of yet, keep coming back to the DR when I want to travel.

[Rabidsnipe]

I did this route yesterday....


305 miles, and a good amount of twisty roads along with some nice desert scenery and fresh baked pies  That's about as long as I have time for usually, and I try to get at least 1-2 rides like this done each month.

Gosh I hate you.  I'm thinking of doing this tomorrow.  It won't even compare to your ride and has about 3x as much interstate.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=16005+Katie+Ridge+Dr,+Edmond,+OK+73013&daddr=OK-31+E+to:OK-1+E%2FOK-2+S%2FOK-63+E+to:34.7409162,-94.75287+to:US-259+S+to:34.75878,-94.845748+to:34.67963,-95.57967+to:35.20598,-96.62342+to:N+Pennsylvania+Ave&hl=en&geocode=FTy8HwId3HQv-im_2BvITByyhzFNw1zqadAwbA%3BFbD-FwId7khR-g%3BFWz5EQIdkiZS-g%3BFbQaEgIdmi9a-innPze-Sb7KhzHfFCIh8HUcoQ%3BFWvuDgIdKi9b-g%3BFXxgEgIdzMRY-ilvYnP3hb3KhzF4YMuvhzWJPw%3BFU4rEQId6pFN-il9g0JRPCO1hzEwOwqREj-WOQ%3BFVwzGQIdxKQ9-imLt3wTfpqzhzEyTxvBBss3OA%3BFa2_HwIdV4Mv-g&mra=dpe&mrcr=3&mrsp=7&sz=9&via=3,5,6,7&sll=34.937734,-95.800781&sspn=1.634618,3.312378&ie=UTF8&ll=35.04349,-96.193542&spn=1.632508,3.312378&z=9

[SVTNate]

I avoid Palomar on the weekends due to squids/cops, but here's a video that gives you a good idea of what that stretch of road is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-r_3M-fGBM

Of course, to get there, I've gotta ride Ortega Highway.  Here's the road, but it's in reverse... from east (Lake Elsinore CA) to west.  I ride it the other way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUSFxOSJEw

A lot of people have died on this road.  Another one to avoid on weekends, and not a place to really push it hard due to instant death on either side of the road and lots of traffic (commuters).

So I ride Ortega, then Palomar.  I didn't post the back side of Palomar, not as twisty but a great view from the top and a great view of Lake Henshaw coming down.

Then an easy ride up to Julian to get fresh made pie from Mom's and a coffee.  

Now I ride through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, which is a nice road with some twisty bits and some awesome scenery.



Then you can slab it 40 miles west to San Diego, where I like to get a steak/shrimp/avocado/cheese/chipotle sauce/french fries burrito from Lucha Libre, which was featured on the first episode of Man Versus Food this season.

Lots to do in San Diego, you could spend the night/weekend, but I hit the slab and headed home.  Two nice things about the 5 Freeway from SD to OC... it's by the ocean, so temps are cool, and you run past/through Camp Pendleton.  This past time I had two fighter jets pass overhead, so of course I had to look up and pump my fist like Maverick in Top Gun

[veefer800canuck]

When you run out of land and can see ships in the distance, it's a long ride.

[VFRSaratoga]

About 4 hours actual saddle time is long.  Not the longest but I feel it qualifies.

[wbrisett]

When it's not fun anymore.

 

Yep, that just about sums it up. On those 800+ mile days I've done, usually after about 650, I really want to just pull over, it just stops being fun.

Wayne

[omnivore]

En route to Indy for the MotoGP.

2008- Home, an hr from Toronto, thru Buffalo, Springville, Ellicotville, Clarion, down to Pittsburg, across Ohio's Hwy 22, up to Hwy 39, then down to Columbus to slab it to Indy.
It was 15 hrs, all rain thru Hurricane Ike.That sucked but I made the most of it. Had a guy north of Pittsburg tell me he felt sorry for me riding in torrential rain. I reminded him that he needn't feel sorry for me-he was at work while I was out riding! LOL

2009, I did a longer ride that went east as far as Harrisburg, before crossing southern PA and acorss  hwy 50 in WV, then thru Dayton to Indy. about 50% of that trip was slabbed. Every yr the trip to Indy gets longer and less slabbing.

This yr, 2010, last week.

Left home an hr from Toronto , 2 pm Tues afternoon, solo.
Got searched for no apparent reason, and held up at the border in Buffalo, for almost 2 hrs. At least their building has AC,LOL
Made the Mason Dixon line by 10 pm. Setup primitive camp in a churchyard. Watched a movie  (Salt) on laptop in my tent.
Rode across the Mason Dixon Hwy (lots of history and really great roads), then down hwy 16  (great ride) all the way to southern end of West Virginia. Turned northwest  on 52 (nice road and sections of switchbacks with new asphalt are awesome)and made Gilbert just before dark. Setup primitive camp in a soccer field. Watched another movie ( Hotub Time Machine) in my tent. Town Sherrif even stopped by to see how I was doing around 10 pm and brought me some hot coffee!
Continued northwest to Louisa then west across 32 and northwest on 10 Alexandria area. Used 4 lane ring road to get around Lexington. Actually found it kinda weird on an interstate after riding tight technical twisties for 8-10 hrs a day for a couple days in  a row.
Made Big Bonelick State Park southwest of Lexington KY  well before dark, and decided to actually camp at a campground. I needed a shower and couldn't stand my own stink anymore,LOL. Also wanted to charge up laptop , cellphone, and Scala Rider as well.  Setup camp then went out to explore. Local roads there are fantastic and so is the small town home cooking. Stayed up late visiting with other campers, and enjoying their invitations to warm fireside chit chat and food and drinks. No movie this time,LOL
Left Bog Bonelick later than I had hoped, but staying up late had me sleeping in. Oh well it's a holiday after all,LOL. Stopped in Rabbit Hash for an Old Fashioned Cream Soda and some pics and small talk- the store there is frequented by tons of bikers, even on a weekday morning.  It's been operating in the same building in that location since 1831 continuously.  Very nice spot, surrounded by great roads and nice backdrop on Ohio river complete with paddlewheelers.

Kept heading northwest towards Indy, and hwy 55 is a short but fantastic piece of road.  
Maade Indy and stayed the weekend. Watched MotoGP practise, qualifying, and races. Attended one night of Motorcycles on Meridian, and watched the UFC fights at a stranger's place in Indy, having been invited  by the host on another message board like this. I took him up on it and met 12 strangers that made me feel at home and fed me and gave me their beer-nice gang. Was nice to stay in a hotel for 3 days with hydro, wifi, and a pool.
Monday saw me Interstating it home in 9 hrs.

All told, over 3200 kms ( 2000 miles) in 6 days. And 3 of those days were spent almost stationary except for some around the city riding in Indy.
That's the most I think I have ridden in multiple consecutive days.  The first day is always easy-it's the repetetive days in the saddle of a GSXR that'll get ya.
I have ridden 1100 kms  ( 700 miles) in a day before, but not again the next day and the next etc.

[Nodaclu]

When it starts to hurt.

Yeah...that.

When the NPI (Nodaclu Pain Index) hits 8 or so, it ceases to be fun.

My best friend has been off a bike for 20 years. He just got his permit again and bought a brand new '09 Versys in Sacramento on Saturday. He asked me to ride it home for him.

I was honored, but I've been off a bike myself for the past 9 months, and I'm out of "riding shape". The 190 miles from the dealership in South Sac to Redding, CA was one of the strangest rides of my life - exhilarating to be back on two wheels after a long layoff, stressful because of the fear of dropping/wrecking my buddies brand new bike, and pain from everywhere (shoulders, back, hips, butt, knees, ankles) from doing a 200 mile (mostly slab) ride after being off a bike for so long.

The NPI was definitely at 8 by the time I arrived. Gotta get the Nighthawk road-worthy soon and get back into riding shape - which previously was about 250 miles a day in reasonable comfort - 350 if I'm pushing it. Sure wish my aching body were more cooperative.