Is this too ambitious?

[tdw]

I'm a new rider. I started last spring, took the local MSF course and put 10,000 km's (6,000 mi) on the clock commuting daily and pleasure riding on the weekend.

I'm now considering a solo ride from home to Washington DC in April to attend a conference. The distance is about 750 km (450 mi) one way if taking the freeway. I figured I'd primarily take the back roads to keep it fun & interesting. I also planned on taking two days each way for the ride. Google maps shows the most direct route as about a 9 hour drive or closer to 14 or 15 hours on the back roads.

Based on your experience, do you think this is too ambitious a ride? This would be my first long distance ride like this. I have spent afternoons riding around with a friend. The longest I've been out is a full day but even then, we weren't in the saddle the whole day.

What do you think? Should I reconsider this ride?

[Dan K]

This is nothing.  You have a cell phone? The RT is well maintained?  Go for it.

- Dan

[Justin]

Gotta start somewhere - go for it  

[Mrs. DantesDame]

This is nothing.  You have a cell phone? The RT is well maintained?  Go for it.

- Dan

+1

The RT is a mile-eater; you should have no problems with those miles/times   Also, there are plenty of us "along the way" if you find that you need help or even a place to stay. My husband is from Whitby; maybe you can bring us some Canadian goodies on your way through  

[ConPilot1]

Do it.

What you're thinking about is not unreasonable. 450 miles one way over two days is a nice first step to LD riding.
And I'm not an LD rider by any means, but I've done 475 in a single day.

You'll learn a lot about your own limits and the bike during this time.

Take breaks, stay alert, keep hydrated. Get yourself a small Camelback and use it. Sip steadily all day. Don't gorge on water. Eat small, munch frequently on energy bars,
trail mix, etc. Leave the Snickers bars at home or other high sugar foods along with the Coca-Cola.

Vitamin Water brand REVIVE is great for a pickup, got lots of potassium to replenish the muscles.

HUGE burgers/fries/Cheesesteak lunches followed with pie and ice cream will have you looking for a nap in a half hour afterwards.

Don't push yourself. If you're tired after 200-250, stop. You'll have the 2nd day to finish the 2nd leg. 250 should be easy-peasy days.

Make sure your gear is well sorted and comfortable for the riding conditions you expect to encounter.

Take a test ride when you've got all your bags strapped on to make sure your rigging is secure.

Don't trust bungee cords from Wal-mart or K-mart. Get light-duty camlock straps or ROK straps.

Make sure your bike is in good order and enjoy the trip.  

you've definitely got the bike for it. That RT will make short work out of a trip like that.

[RangerG]

Forget the RT!  Take the CB450!

[Mr.Black]

Stay in touch with ST.N along the way if you have the capability. I know that most of the members here would be willing to help out if the need should arise.

[ConPilot1]

Stay in touch with ST.N along the way if you have the capability. I know that most of the members here would be willing to help out if the need should arise. whack you over the head and steal your RT.

FXT.

[Mr.Black]

FXT.

Opinion - Lived up to.

tdw, try to ignore this idiot.

[ConPilot1]

Opinion - Lived up to.

tdw, try to ignore this idiot.

Hey I put my sensible .02 in.

[X1Glider]

Do it.  The RT is a sofa and loves steady cruising. Are you around the Hamilton area or something?  Going across Niagra Falls or bypassing it via the QEW?

TBH, for a first ride, a straight shot south to DC wouldn't be such a bad thing.  The problem with taking "the backroads" in a lot of places throughout PA is the fact that towns and homes popped up such a long time ago that any paved road is right on the doorstep of a bunch of people's houses.  The houses were already there, any horse path between the houses got a dose of asphalt.  Because of the tightness of the road system and proximity to people's homes, there are a lot of lights, stop signs and slow speed limits.  The roads can be mostly 2 lanes and no way to get around the slow moving traffic.

While it can be nostalgiac to meander through the scenery afforded by different eras of development, it can be more frustrating when you realize it took 30 minutes to go 10 miles.  Far too many towns like this to go through to be enjoyable.

My advice is take the direct route down and take notice of what's to the east and west.  Then when going back home, if you're inclined to have an adventure, you can pick your battles.

No matter what, it should be a good first L.D. ride.

[RedCBRRider]

450 miles is a Sunday afternoon ride.  Especially on the RT.  Go for it and don't look back.

[UFO]

If my crappy body can do 1000 mile days, you can easily knock out 450 miles in two days and not even feel like a stretch.  That's 225 miles a day.  Assuming you travel for 8 hours during the day that's a 28 mph moving average.  That's super leisurely, especially on an RT.

Do it.  Have fun.  

[three west]

no problem, go for it.  When I decided to sell my old standard and bought my GT I rented a car (had a free one from their mess up) and rode the bike home.

About 400 miles home my first time on the bike, it was great!

[dan88z]

My wife and I rode to Niagara Falls from DE for our 25th anniversary, she on her Vulcan 1500 and me on the Suzuki C50 I had at the time. We split it into 2 days, about 250miles each day, it was easy. We didn't take all back roads, but a lot of secondary highways like Rt 15, which was a real nice ride with sweeping turns, 2 lanes of good road surface.  We could have done it in 1 day, but it was nicer to leave when we felt like it in the morning, ride for 6 hours or so, get to a hotel in late afternoon, park the bikes and go have dinner and relax. We spent a week in Niagara, and then took 2 days to get home, with a different route home on more back roads.

Check out something like google maps. Plug in your start and end point, and then start looking at the secondary roads and drag your route around and see what you come up with.

[jstark47]

Besides all the good advice offered, make sure you have rain riding experience.  Because it WILL rain.  Just because it can.

If you haven't ridden in the rain, get good rain gear, go find some rain and ride in it.  Before your trip.  You'll find it ends up not being such a big deal, but your first time shouldn't be on your trip.  

[falconati]

Take that advice.  I went for my first long-distance ride (2000+miles in a few days) and didn't have rain gear.  16 hours of rain later, I learned my lesson.

[Kat-Rider]

go for it.  It will be fun.
Also bring a camera.  There is always something to see and having pictures makes a trip even more cool

[Orson]

You either have motorcycle wanderlust or you don't  

When I wuz about 12 years old, I watched two identical Kawasaki Z1s, with sleeping bags tied onto their grab rails, disembark off the BC ferry from Vancouver Island.

Immediately, I knew that's whut I wanted to be when I grew up  

[ConPilot1]

If my crappy body can do 1000 mile days, you can easily knock out 450 miles in two days and not even feel like a stretch.  That's 225 miles a day.  Assuming you travel for 8 hours during the day that's a 28 mph moving average.  That's super leisurely, especially on an RT.

Do it.  Have fun.  

Just like a Boss.

He's right.  Bottom line though, when you get to your destination, have your head on a swivel. DC traffic blows, it's heavy. If you can make it through DC, you can ride anywhere, through anything.
Stay away from the fucking Beltway if you can.

That's all I got to offer. Big cities on the East Coast, you gotta time it. Get in at 10:30 AM. Out at (NYC? 8: PM)

DC is weird. They roll the sidewalks up at 6:00 PM and the central city is deserted.l