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Are you a motorcycle traveler or a motorcycle traveler?

I guess Im in the "other" category, or maybe both. I use any excuse to take trips of hundreds or thousands of miles, all too often these trips are way to short; all just to see new sites, meet new friends, hear strangers "motorcycle stories", and find new places to eat. Some times at warp speed, others times just poking along. I cannot imagine a life where a bike isnt part of my existance, it puts me into the world in a way other forms of transportation do not, we all know what it smells like just after a rain storm pass as we ride along, it provkes strangers to walk up to me and strike up a conversation, you dont get that in a car. I dont know what type that makes me, goofy I guess.

Sorry, around here it just makes you "normal". :D
 
I guess Im in the "other" category, or maybe both. I use any excuse to take trips of hundreds or thousands of miles, all too often these trips are way to short; all just to see new sites, meet new friends, hear strangers "motorcycle stories", and find new places to eat. Some times at warp speed, others times just poking along. I cannot imagine a life where a bike isnt part of my existance, it puts me into the world in a way other forms of transportation do not, we all know what it smells like just after a rain storm pass as we ride along, it provkes strangers to walk up to me and strike up a conversation, you dont get that in a car. I dont know what type that makes me, goofy I guess.

He sounds like a potential third category - "Bike-Bonded."

Relates to a two- (or three) wheeled motorized vehicle on a highly personal level - sometimes difficult to explain to the uninitiated, impossible to explain to the fearful and no need to explain to many on this forum.
 
In terms of how the actual riding shakes out think the categories need to be motorcycle -

- Rider

- Traveler

- Commuter

From there, it would seem a rider can also be a traveler, but a traveler may not necessarily be a regular rider.

The daily commuter is really the hard-core motorcyclist, IMO.
 
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Why is everyone so interested in food? :dunno

Food is the socialization part of meeting friends, lets face it , on a bike it is a pretty solo experience. Lunch, lets you talk, banter, enjoy others company, and as we all need to eat is an easy excuse to meet up.

Some how posting up lets all meet at the 4 corners and talk, would not get the same attendance as lets meet at this great/unique place, and eat.
 
Why is everyone so interested in food? :dunno


Food is the socialization part of meeting friends, lets face it , on a bike it is a pretty solo experience. Lunch, lets you talk, banter, enjoy others company, and as we all need to eat is an easy excuse to meet up.

Some how posting up lets all meet at the 4 corners and talk, would not get the same attendance as lets meet at this great/unique place, and eat.

Don't worry, I've spent some time on the road with Paul, and plan to ride with him to the Salty Fog Rally next year, and he doesn't mind stopping for a bite to eat. The last time was at a fancy, schmantzy lodge near Asheville, NC where some of the guests gave us the evil eye for wearing our riding gear into the restaurant. Good memories of road food! :wave
 
Don't worry, I've spent some time on the road with Paul, and plan to ride with him to the Salty Fog Rally next year, and he doesn't mind stopping for a bite to eat. The last time was at a fancy, schmantzy lodge near Asheville, NC where some of the guests gave us the evil eye for wearing our riding gear into the restaurant. Good memories of road food! :wave

That was soooo funny last June when the elderly (someone older than me ;) ) gentleman , two tables away, just glared at us as we stripped off the riding gear. His look said " :gerg Who let those riffraff in here?". :laugh:laugh:laugh:laugh

It was an excellent breakfast :eat, but then again, I would have very disappointed if it had not been in such a luxurious setting. :rofl
 
Each day is different. I can get in a groove where a thousand miles is easy with a few quick breaks. Very little food on those trips but lots of water. I have done that 3 times and loved each one.

Other days I just want to get somewhere to hike and relax. If my wife is pillion I will make it less than two hours. I do not ride to food since your not exactly burning a lot of calories on the bike. I just bring some basic fruit, veggies, and some type of protein with me since I am basically vegetarian. We will find a place to hike around or hang out at. Maybe antique shopping for my wife.

When in Hong Kong I sometimes ride the bike all day exploring new areas. This sometimes involves downtown traffic but can also involve beautiful open areas too. More variety in Hong Kong than most people realize.
 
I think the question can be refined a bit more:

1 - Given a nice highway going where you want to go - do you get on it.. (GPS mode - "Fastest Route")

or

2 - Do you set your GPS for "Shortest Route" in the hope that you'll discover some new neat back roads


I'm for sure a type-2. Did 3,200 mile trip to Nova Scotia (second time by bike) this fall doing almost all type-2 riding. If I saw a "scenic route" I took it..
 
I think the question can be refined a bit more:

1 - Given a nice highway going where you want to go - do you get on it.. (GPS mode - "Fastest Route")

or

2 - Do you set your GPS for "Shortest Route" in the hope that you'll discover some new neat back roads


I'm for sure a type-2. Did 3,200 mile trip to Nova Scotia (second time by bike) this fall doing almost all type-2 riding. If I saw a "scenic route" I took it..

Ugh. Now you have ruined it for me when you threw in a GPS. I do not use them, hate them, do not trust them, would rather stick my arm in a meat grinder than have one on the bike. I say again, ugh! I was really enjoying this thread until this item plopped on the table.
 
Ugh. Now you have ruined it for me when you threw in a GPS. I do not use them, hate them, do not trust them, would rather stick my arm in a meat grinder than have one on the bike. I say again, ugh! I was really enjoying this thread until this item plopped on the table.

Then you are using it wrong, a GPS is just a HIGHLY detailed map that tells you where you are at any time. Think of it as 60 DeLorme Gazetteer's squashed into 1/100th of the weight and size of the paper ones. And on top of that it knows where you are, and if you want it to will tell you where to go.

I have found more great roads in far less time than I could have any other way. I will be riding along and see a small squiggly line on the screen heading in the general direction I want to go and the turn signal goes on. Road turns to dirt, the GPS will tell me how many miles back to pavement, although for me it does not matter, unless I am trying to make time.

Just like any other tool if used right it is a must have. but just like a screwdriver that shatters its handle when you attempt to use it as a chisel, and hit it with a hammer, that is operator error, not tool failure.

Set it on shortest route, and avoid main roads, and u-turns and you can discover a whole new world.
 
Ugh. Now you have ruined it for me when you threw in a GPS. I do not use them, hate them, do not trust them, would rather stick my arm in a meat grinder than have one on the bike. I say again, ugh! I was really enjoying this thread until this item plopped on the table.

Don't hold back Royce... :) :clap

I find a GPS rather liberating. It lets me wander wherever I want to go (if you get to a fork in the road - take it..) with some assurance I can find my way back to civilization. It's only a problem if you let the GPS make you go places. If you use it to expand horizons it's a wonderful tool. I have a friend who had similar feelings to yours - but he ran out of expensive things to add to his bike so he finally got a GPS. He wrote an article for our club newsletter telling how he enjoyed using it since he was able to explore roads he normally wouldn't have taken and the GPS would happily "recalcuate" and plot his route back home.

Sorry if it spoiled it for you. I guess you might start a thread where GPS's aren't allowed.. but since they're about as common on a BMW that's ridden a lot as the wheels and tires are, I think it might be a lonely thread.

To each his own.
 
Ugh. Now you have ruined it for me when you threw in a GPS. I do not use them, hate them, do not trust them, would rather stick my arm in a meat grinder than have one on the bike. I say again, ugh! I was really enjoying this thread until this item plopped on the table.

Tell us how you really feel Royce. :wave

Different strokes for different folks.

But I've found that sometimes, my prejudices keep me from expanding my horizons. Not to say that you would enjoy a GPS, but to let it ruin this thread may be carrying things to the extreme.

Having said that, I've enjoyed all of the different responses to my original question.

Reasons for riding are as many and varied as there are riders. There is no correct answer.

I ride because of the smile on my face when on the bike.

And, as my friend Paul F knows, I like to eat.

On which Kansas coast are you located?:wave
 
Wow! GPS is a fantastic tool!

1) Discover new routes
2) Lists hotels nearby so you can call, book a room, and be taken there at the end of the day. Lists restaurants.
3) Allows you to get lost, wandering as you might, then back to where you need to be
4) Allows you to meet up at places you don't know how to get to
5) Tells you approximately the time you'll be there so that you can be on time to meet people.

It's just a tool. It's not to be hated. Use it in a way that fits your life.
 
OK I can see why Royce hates GPS, If I lived in Kansas and every time I turned on my GPS it looked like a piece of graph paper with no turns in sight for 500 miles, just dead straight roads, I would hate it, along with the bike and wonder what I was doing there!!! :D

For us corner hounds in places like the Smokey's we have the opposite reaction when we turn it on and up pops hundreds of possibility's for today's ride.
 
When traveling unfamiliar curvy roads, I benefit by being able to see what kind of turns lay ahead of me...how tight...how far apart, etc. As others have said, it is a tool that can enhance a ride. I run the GPS. It does not run me.
 
When traveling unfamiliar curvy roads, I benefit by being able to see what kind of turns lay ahead of me...how tight...how far apart, etc. As others have said, it is a tool that can enhance a ride. I run the GPS. It does not run me.

I'd forgotten about that - but it works amazingly well if the GPS is in your line of sight, and the maps are accurate. So far the maps Garmin uses are quite accurate in the southeast US (WV, VA, TN, NC, SC) and make for safer riding on some of the extreme switchback roads in West Virginia.
 
For what it is worth, Iwould NEVER rely on the gps to tell me how sharp a corner is. First it would distract from reading the dozens of other clues and signs that go into the correct approach and exit of any turn. 2nd it can't show traffic, gravel, pot holes, whether a corner is blind, or even indicate a reducing radius very well.

The GPS is great for finding corners, but not good at negotiating them, leave that to me.
 
For what it is worth, Iwould NEVER rely on the gps to tell me how sharp a corner is. First it would distract from reading the dozens of other clues and signs that go into the correct approach and exit of any turn. 2nd it can't show traffic, gravel, pot holes, whether a corner is blind, or even indicate a reducing radius very well.

The GPS is great for finding corners, but not good at negotiating them, leave that to me.

Have you ever tried it? I'd guess not. Zoomed way in - it's quite a useful tool (and that's ALL it is - a TOOL).. while it can't show all the things you're looking for - mine doesn't require me moving my eyes from scanning the road for clues (it is right below my sightline, about at the top of my windshield) - and it can show repeating hairpins (interesting corkscrew sort of roads not uncommon in WV) vs a quick clockwise/counterclockwise pair of hairpins. The additional info is useful input to decide where I want my lane position to be going into the switchbacks or coming out of the most recent curve.

It doesn't change my speed or any other aspect of my taking the curves - but it does provide useful info on what's ahead. Do I "rely" on it? nope. Is the info useful? - yup.

Try it sometime IF you have a GPS where it isn't necessary to really look at it to know what it's showing (GPS position and the display complexity are the important factors..)
 
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