This is an article I wrote a year ago for a local magazine. I had to wait until now to publish it on my personal blog.
The trip out of the state was not really planned, in fact none of this was planned but it all seemed to fall into place rapidly. I have been casually looking at getting a new motorcycle for some time now. I loved riding a custom classic from the 80’s but the amount of work you need to give classic motorcycles to keep them running perfectly continues to increase each year. My Yamaha Venture is a one of a kind, custom paint job with a lot of repairs and upgrades to try and make it reliable enough to bring me home each time, but each year parts became harder and harder to find. So I started to look at alternatives, and started a chain of events that created an unplanned trip of 850 miles across 2 states through wind, rain, sun and a whole lot of fun for a single very long day.
I had a deal of a lifetime fall in my lap on July 1st, an almost brand new BMW motorcycle that was only 10 years old and maintained perfectly but barely ridden. It was owned by an older gentleman that did not fit the bike well who really needed it gone. I was in the right place at the right time, the only time he was available was July 5th and his home was 425 miles from mine. I had one day to get to his home and get back with my “new” motorcycle, so we packed up the car with all my riding gear and a huge thermos of coffee and left Muskegon, MI at 4:30 am bound for Hubbard, OH that was only 2 miles away from the Pennsylvania border. Our drive out was uneventful, but it rained a lot and I was getting worried that the weatherman lied to us. Although, you just can not predict the weather for a long distance like this, you need to plan for everything that is possible, always pack your rain gear just in case.
We arrived in Hubbard, OH at 11:30 am and I claimed my new motorcycle. I was honestly very nervous as I really have not ridden this type of bike before and I have close to a 7 hour ride home with it, riding an unfamiliar bike brings a lot of new risks to your ride. You do not know the control layout instinctively, you don’t know the sounds and feel of the bike as if it was an extension of yourself and this will increase your stress levels as well as be quite a distraction. My wife and I decided to take a small short side trip, we came all this way it would be a shame to turn around and head home without exploring. So we decided to hit the town of Warren, OH and see the exhibit the Warren Library has about the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately we were there too early and had to leave before the guided tours started, besides it was time to head back to Michigan, and I-80 was the route home at 1:00 pm.
Riding on one of the largest interstates in the country is not a relaxing thing to do. The sheer number of Semi trucks as well as traffic that seems to be on a mission to drive far over the speed limit will push your stress levels skyward as you ride. Being alert, awake, and comfortable is what you need on such a ride. My new motorcycle can easily outride me, it has a 350 mile range but I can barely make 100 miles before I need to get the helmet off and walk around a bit. It was cloudy when I left Warren, OH and as soon as I hit the first bout of construction the skies opened up. Riding in the rain can be tricky, riding in the rain in heavy traffic through construction is not something I recommend to anyone. You need all your wits about you, and you can not get too upset at the car drivers that are riding a few feet from your rear tire because you refuse to do 80 in a 45 mph construction zone. All I can say is breathe slowly and stay in control, They are not in charge, you are. Don’t ride faster just to make someone else happy, ride at the speed you are comfortable at and get out of their way when you safely can. If it is a single lane, then the car drivers can simply just deal with it, do NOT pull over on the highway to let them pass. You are at a greater risk of getting hurt if you do that then if you obey the law while you are in the construction zone, Simply stick to the slow lane and let them zoom by at the end of the construction zone when all the lanes open up.
This Long ride also taught me that taking a break every 2 hours is a very good idea. We stopped at several of the I-80 Oasis stops to just get something very small to eat and something to drink. I topped off with cheap Ohio gasoline just before we left the turnpike to head north at Toledo to get back into michigan. Each stop helped me feel more comfortable for the next leg, walking around a bit and drinking water with my helmet and gear off really helped, at one point I was gladly doing this in the rain much to the amusement of the group of harley riders that were waiting out the storm under the gas station awning. You would be surprised at how dehydrated you can get riding even with all your gear on and a full face helmet, even in the rain I was incredibly thirsty at each stop. I tried to eat something small at each stop and only at the end resorted to energy drinks to keep riding and make it home. They can be effective, but understand that when the energy drink wears off you will become really tired if you were feeling tired to begin with. I have not tried the “5 hour” types, but I doubt that they can overcome real fatigue. If you have time, it is not a bad idea to pull over and get an hour nap. A lot of riders will do this at their lunch stop, have lunch and take a short nap to digest and overcome the afternoon tired feeling.
Once we hit Michigan, we had only two stops. One in Ann Arbor, MI for a walk around and a soda, and then in Grand Rapids,MI for fuel to make it all the way home. At this point I was just powering through the discomfort as I could tell I was starting to feel more tired and I knew that was the single most dangerous thing to a motorcyclist. This is where I drank the energy drink and powered through the helmet pain and stinging butt from sitting for 3 hours to make it home. Grand rapids I double dosed another energy drink to make sure I was wide awake for the ride in the dark to the lakeshore. I arrived home awake but ready to get off the bike. Total time to home was about 10 hours with all the stops for taking a break and fuel. Would I do it again? you bet! a “boring” ride down I-80 and back home was quite an adventure. Every stop I had strangers asking about my bike, I had a panoramic view of the world as I rode past it, and I learned a lot about long distance riding.
First, do not try to make distance each day. If you can not ride more than 2 hours at a time, add at least a 30 minute stop every 2 hours to your trip, your body will thank you. And if you are getting tired, stop for the night or at least for a couple hours to take a long rest or to get some sleep. It is better to arrive late than in an ambulance. If you are riding on a major interstate with a lot of Semi-Trucks, wear ear plugs under your helmet. I was trapped next to a semi truck for 1 hour at one point, its tires were so loud that my ears were ringing and I had to stop and find a quiet place to sit for 45 minutes for my ears to calm down. Plus long distance highway riding at 70 mph is generally loud and for as long as you are riding you will suffer hearing damage, please protect your hearing and wear ear plugs, I noticed that the more my ears started ringing the harder it was to concentrate on the road. Drink a lot of water, and I mean a LOT of water, you feel better and have a better attention span if you are well hydrated. I was suprised as to how much I drank on the ride home, your lips feeling dry are a sign that you went too long without stopping for a drink. Take your time, enjoy the ride, and make it home safe.