How....?!

[Geanmage13]

I have been reading -in jealousy- about all those people taking long trips. I have always wanted to do that and travel in the northern states like oregon, wyoming and nebraska. I really like being in the nature compared to what i have here in LA. My question is how do you guys plan it? I don't think i can take so many days off work or even afford it... And what's your final destination? just a motel -for the experience- or you 're actually visiting someone?!

Unfortunately it looks like a dream that will never come true.

 

[JSP]

I'm taking just a short one with a buddy and my wife this weekend on the bikes. About 5 1/2 hours each way... Going down to Crescent City and play around in the Redwoods. Camping in a campground for the night and coming back.

I would love to do a multi day trip.

How?... Well. I would request the time well in advance. Even better if you have vacation time. Mark out your must see destinations, food stops, gas stops, etc. Decided if you want to camp or stay at hotels.

Money is a big deciding factor and my wife likes to go with me as well, so we BOTH need to be able to take off work, etc. I get 30 days of vacation/pto time a year so I have plenty to use, it's my wifes schedule and having a 8 year old daughter and a dog that limits how long I can go for. My parents are watching the kiddo and dog for us this weekend.

 

[krillz]

Here in NC I usually camp. I have small camping gear. I load the bike up. I found sleeping 2 feet from my bike(with out being in the garage) AWESOME. 30-40 litters of storage space is all I use if that. There are great MC campgrounds around this great country. Sit by the fire at night sipping whiskey and telling tales from the days ride. Cant beat it.

 

[Geanmage13]

Thanks for the input gentlemen.. It looks like i have to settle for now, just cruising on PCH with my gf and thinking of the better days to come. For sure though when it happens, i'll be asking for some more advice from you guys...

 

[mikefz8]

Thanks for the input gentlemen.. It looks like i have to settle for now, just cruising on PCH with my gf and thinking of the better days to come. For sure though when it happens, i'll be asking for some more advice from you guys...

Dude--like the PCH is no big deal at all! Are you kidding PCH is an amazing ride. I'd love to ride the PCH at my leisure. Or go north on I5 till you hit the Redwoods. I think I'd count my blessings where I was if I was you and eventually you'll get time and $ for a fun trip. Start planning and saving.

 

[Geanmage13]

LOL... maybe i'll give it a try and head north one day.. But where is redwoods? I have no idea, sorry.

 

[Bajaedition]

middle and north ca

put 50 bucks a week away till you have 2 weeks salary, then take a week of and spend the seconds week salary while off on vacation

and about PCH, there are some amazing rides off of it around Malibu, such as Mulholand drive and go to the rock store etc.

 

[JSP]

LOL... maybe i'll give it a try and head north one day.. But where is redwoods? I have no idea, sorry.

Redwoods (as in trees/forest). Some of the largest.

This is one of the roads we will be playing on while in Crescent.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmvZc--KZxc]Howland Hill Road, Jedediah Smith Redwoods, CA - YouTube[/ame]


Lots of areas to see the Redwoods. Some very old, big, beautiful trees. We will have 2 GoPros and taking lots of pics and vid.

Definitely a MUST experience IMO. This will be my first time going down there. Wish I had more time, but very happy to go what I can.

 

[Geanmage13]

You guys are right. It is beautiful. And it makes it a lot easier to save up when you have a goal set.. Now i know what i'm saving for..

 

[mikefz8]

3 years ago I took my family from San Diego along the PCH all the way up to San Francisco. THE PCH is amazing I loved every minute of it even in a cage. I can only imagine riding up the coast on my 8!!!! I am going to do this trip w/ my wife. Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[JSP]

3 years ago I took my family from San Diego along the PCH all the way up to San Francisco. THE PCH is amazing I loved every minute of it even in a cage. I can only imagine riding up the coast on my 8!!!! I am going to do this trip w/ my wife. Thanks for starting this thread.

We are already planning for next year maybe doing a ride from where we are, (Bend, OR) straight across to the coast to Florence, OR. Then ride the coast and 101/1 all the way down probably to the Mexican border and back up.

 

[Rotaryknight]

I was going to do a 9 state tour in one week, Riding in the northeast. But money soon factor and I couldn't go with that plan so I will just ride to Niagara falls stay in buffalo for 2 days or so and come back home. I will do my 9 state tour some other time. I really want to do a cost to coast ride.

 

[fz8kansas]

Flat and straight

I understand the fustration about not being able to take time off. I can squeak in a day here and there. This weekend I plan to take my first long ride since I got my bike in April of this year. I took my daughter back to college and she has a small list of items that she left at home. Though it will only be 100 miles each way. And it will be a down and back trip in one day. It will be the longest trip I have taken in 25 years. I want to see how my body takes to the ride. I will take about a one hour break before returning home.

As far as great roads I would have to ride an hour or more to get to a road that has more than one turn per mile. 3 plus hours southeast of here are the Ozarks and I look forward to taking a trip back down there like I did when I was much younger. Two lane highways with 35mph corners for miles and miles. Lakes, forests and little mountains. Just waiting for someone to come along on the ride. I hate to take rides like that by myself.

Save up and go when you can. It's better than not going at all.

 

[Rotaryknight]

If you work a steady job that gives time off or vacation time, you can plan ahead and save up for any riding adventure you want to go on. Even on just the weekend you can travel pretty far depending on your tolerance for doing long distance.
With 6 hours of riding time you can do about 400-600 miles of traveling. Traveling to Portland, or Boise is pushing the weekend riding a little bit since you wont have time to sightsee much since its about 14 hours from LA, but as the saying goes, Its not the destination, Its the journey there.

 

[TheDogsWeed]

I keep up with the forum ADV Rider and I completely understand "How do they do that" question.

I used to think that only multi-day, multi-state trips were the only way motorcycle adventures happen and I still do to some degree. LoL.

I have found that exploring your locality can be just as adventurous. Set aside a day per week, Saturday for me, and look at Bing, Google maps, then go. Some days I will ride 300, 400 miles others not even 100, but it is still rewarding. Throw in an overnight trip from time to time and you can see a whole lot of country. You will always be surprised what is in your "backyard".

Or just do like some, quit "life" and go live some.

 

[Speedy2]

Riding the PCH is one of my life dreams as we are from the east coast. Our best MC vacations (they are always mc vacations) are traveling from destination to destination with no reservations. We stay in motels and ride from one place to another. My husband and I have traveled West Virginia (fantastic riding), Virginia, Tennessee, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. My friend, son and his gf and I are traveling to Lake George NY this weekend for 3 days of riding, dining and relaxation and good company. Relaxation? Don't know if it'll get a lot of that but it's all good.

 

[decooney]

My best friend and I finally rode PCH on a real bike trip with a 3 night stayover in Monterey for MotoGP last month. It was a dream realized on our two FZ8s spending a full 10 solid hours on PCH north the first day. We only made a stop in Bodega Bay and Point Reyes for food and rest. If we had not bought our FZ8s, we were previously planning to rent a few cruisers and make it a week long trip with stops. Both of us agreed it would be fun to do it again on larger FJ1300s starting in Oregon all the way down to Mexico and back up north. The FZ8s did okay but a larger bike would be better for the long stretches on hwy 1.

If you are on the east coast and want to try it, I'd recommend flying out and renting bikes out here and making the trip that way.