New York to LA

So many good route ideas, and that's what you asked for. I'll risk going slightly off-topic to point out that there's lots of information available about riding in hot weather. It may seem counterintuitive but mesh gear when it's over 95 is NOT your friend, regardless of humidity, particularly when your cool vest/wet tee shirt/whatever dries out. Basically what happens is you're sitting in a blast of air that's hotter than your skin temperature, so heat from the outside is moving to the cooler area - you. That way lies heat exhaustion or even heat stroke. Lots of good information in this article http://www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/IronButt_1002_62-66_Hot.pdf I've heard good things about the underwear from Long Distance Comfort and it works for me. I wasn't properly prepared for a short (couple of hours) ride in Virginia a couple weeks ago (90 degrees) and started to get overheated - my first symptom is headache. Stopped, wet my LDC do-rag and it cooled my head which cooled me. Headache went away and I was more alert.

AKSuited's advice on earplugs is good too. Amazing how more rested I feel when I don't have to deal with helmet noise for hours on end.

I hope you have a memorable ride. I wish I could take a really long ride like that, but the day job thing interferes. As soon as I'm eligible for Medicare, though, I'm outta there

Awesome Advice

Gents,

Have been in Europe the last month crashing at a friends place - recuperating from being a lawyer. Just getting around to reading the last bits of advice on the forum. The hot weather article was extraordinarily helpful - and has had me adjust some of my plans slightly. The other route ideas are fantastic. Right now I am looking to finalize my plans - pick up a dirt cheap laptop to continue my blog while driving (tolawithoutchains.blogspot.com).

Right now I am focused on making sure I avoid the interstates at all costs - and check out a lot of the old US roads. Also - obviously checking out the national parks.

Was also looking into bringing a camping hammock instead of a tent to save weight as I will only be camping for 5 or ten nights and in hotels/sofas the rest of the time - anyone have any experience with this?

You are going to get your first degree in long distance riding doing this. Also, no amount of pre reading will really prep you for what it feels like when you do it.

For riding in the heat you need to understand the principle- go to the IBA site and read the tech article on hot weather riding- best summary ever written.

There is a lot of "aloneness" in distance riding which is an issue for some though not me. You may already know your personal tolerance for this.

For long days you need to very much learn enough self awareness to recognize the onset of fatigue and/or dehydration. Their effects increase your risk of a crash a lot and if you blunder into them unaware can be a real problem.

Rests are good and pressing re speed or time is just plain dumb when long miles are in front of you.

You will find out everything you don't like about your current bike or wish you could improve. But the reality is folks have been riding cross country for about 100 years and your ST is a whole lot better than anything from 25 years ago..

Your bike may or may not prove reliable. Be prepared for getting help when/if you need it. If you're t all capable with tools/repairs, carry a reasonable set.

Can't have too many lights or bright enough gear.

I always carry external GoreTex rain gear in case I need to do full days in the wet. The real danger there is cages not seeing you.

Good synthetic under layers beat heck out of cotton and can be washed/dried overnight in any motel.

I also hate chains which have about destroyed the formerly unique look of various towns and states- I avoid them as much as possible.

Hammocks

They ain't what they used to be! I've been looking at hammocks, wanting one to take to out of town gigs, too far to drive back and forth on my split shift job...

Gone are the days when you can get a lightweight, bare bones hammock for under 50.00. Then again, you can drop a decent dime or three- and get a slammin hammock with a "roof" and insect netting, slings with snake "skins" and carabiners, and all kinds of neat stuff. Excellent idea. Sorry I don't have any links to point the way forward, but as always, a few moments in Google will no doubt reveal all.

Best of luck, and safe travels, Dave!

Awesome information

Gents,

Been taking a lot of the advice handed out on this thread - and am finalizing my preparations for the trip.

I did some research and found what looks to be a good toolkit for a good price (http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/cruztools-rtb1-bmw-tool-kit).

Purchased a cooling vest that zips into my jacket (http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/revit-challenger-cooling-vest-insert) and a rain suit - as I decided that the gor-tex liner was a stupid solution that still leaves me with a drenched leather jacket.

Picked up an LED tailight replacement (http://f800depot.com/led-tail-light-replacment-s-st.html) - I wanted the Wonderlich full conversion which was cheaper but this was a nice simple alternative on short notice. Unexpectedly - while trying to order the part I wanted the extremely helpful guy at SF BMW/Wonderlich suggested some higher end headlamp replacements as a good solution to the front lighting problem (and directed me to my local parts store - not any website).

Purchased all my camping supplies from Tent and Trails - my "local" adventure outfitter - who I cannot say enough great things about. These guys are fantastic - so if you are in the NYC area and in need of camping gear - please check them out. http://www.tenttrails.com.

Taking a two day trip this weekend to test out a lot of the gear and get out of NYC - and then plan to leave next Thursday or Friday depending on the weather.

Launch time...

Final word- remember the advice about starting early and finisihing early every day. Best practice by far, especially when its hot.

You may not know that some distance riders will avoid riding at night unless their survival requires it. There is a lot of wildlife on the roads at night in some parts of this country. Even if you live in the area, you can get surprised and as an outsider who doesn't know what to look for- that goes more than double. Out west it can be jack rabbits, on your way out there through eastern states its often bambi. I think rural WV at night may be the most critter-dangerous place in the country- you can fill a zoo with what strolls their roads at night with everything from little rodents up to bears. Hitting anything bigger than a squirrel isn't good and in some places you might not get found until morning.

Successful trip - Thank you!

I wanted to thank everyone who provided advice to me on this trip. It was all extremely valuable. I finished up my trip in LA last week, no worse for wear but with a new fuel pump, new ish tires, and almost 6000 miles ridden in 29 days (with a few multi day stops). The advice regarding riding in hot weather was very useful - and I stuck to the last piece of advice and never rode at night.

If anyone is interested - there are a lot of photos and what I would like to think is a good trip log on my blog at tolawithoutchains.blogspot.com.

David

David,

Began reading your blogspot stuff, and will read it through -probably in bits. What a great opportunity, to do this trip.
No idea what you're doing now, or have planned, but I wish you all the best in your choices long the way to finding your path forward.
Cheers!

Tom

David - thank you very much for taking the time to share your trip. Well done!

Where are you and the bike going after California?

Did you take the slab across Iowa?

Ride safe,
Dave

Tom,

Thank you for the nice words.

bmwrider88 said:

David,

Began reading your blogspot stuff, and will read it through -probably in bits. What a great opportunity, to do this trip.
No idea what you're doing now, or have planned, but I wish you all the best in your choices long the way to finding your path forward.
Cheers!

Tom

Click to expand...

Dave,

First - thank you, and the other MOA members for their nice thoughts and helpful suggestions.

To answer your questions:

I took mostly US roads across Iowa - which were pretty much slab - but not multi lane divided highways - so not too bad.

My bike is currently living in a friends garage in Torrance (just outside of LA), along with most of my gear - I have returned to NYC to try to find an odd job or two that will teach me about the motorcycle industry and how to run a bar (I will be writing a more in depth blog post about this after I finish an article for the MOA mag I am writing now - and hope they will publish). Depending on how the job search goes - I will most likely ride my bike back in November or ship it. I hope I get to ride it.

David

rx35285 said:

David - thank you very much for taking the time to share your trip. Well done!

Where are you and the bike going after California?

Did you take the slab across Iowa?

Ride safe,
Dave

Click to expand...

Next trip

I wanted to thank the people who posted on this thread again for all their help. I am planning the trip back to New York, with a four day stop in Austin for the Formula 1 US Grand Prix.

Unfortunately I have to stick to highways for much of the first half of the trip (I have four days to get to Austin), but after that I will be heading east through the deep south. Any suggestions other than the Grand Canyon for places I just need to see or roads better than Interstates for a southern crossing?

Gotta stop in New Orleans! (ESPECIALLY if you've never been)- DO NOT pass The Big Easy without a stop of at least a couple days.

Generally speaking, I am not too familiar with most southern states' US highways or back roads...
BUT
The Natchez Trace is a really nice ride thru quite rural sections of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee- with all sorts of Indian mounds and interesting stuff along the way- but it's no way to "see" any parts of those states- as it is totally separated from towns etc along the way. you can ride along the NT and never even know there ARE any towns.

Later on, when you get up into Northern GA/TN/Western NC/VA, the riding is vastly more interesting, with roads less heralded (and traveled) than The Dragon. There is The "Snake" US 421- in, and around Shady Valley, TN- for example. I'm certain that others may be along shortly to reinforce this, and provide their own fave roads.

IF you happen to find yourself anywhere near Tuscaloosa, you almost have to stop at the original Dreamland BBQ. Being a foodie, you could definitely lose yourself exploring back country BBQ joints in Texas, and across the rural south. Not to mention massive foodie overload in NOLA.