Information Sheet on Long Distance Riding

Few of us get much chance to do serious long-distance riding. In the USA where petrol is cheap and the roads are straight and long there is the Iron Butt Association, an elite group of real long distance riders. Their rally involves a mere 10,000 miles in 11 days. The advice which follows is based on the Iron Butt Association’s guidance notes and is useful for shorter trips also.

Use a map to plan your trip. If you own a computer, consider using a mapping program. Know your limits and plan your trip around them. If the longest ride you have ever taken is 300 miles in a day, don't plan a trip with a string of endless five-hundred mile days. Include large easy-to-take loops into your trip plan so that, if you do get behind schedule, you can cut out a loop to catch up.

Obey all road signs and speed limits. Employ MAG’s Ten Tactics for Survival: watch the big picture, keep your distance, be seen, be predictable, predict actions of other road users, read the road, pace yourself, ride sober, trust your machine, trust yourself.

High speeds and long-distance riding have little in common. A steady rider can book more miles, enjoy more mountain vistas and ride more twisty miles than someone bent on making the best times across a mountain pass.

They do not work! If you need stimulants or other drugs to stay alert - includes coffee and colas - it's time to stop for the day and get some serious rest.

Why would you waste time during a trip to have your tires replaced? It is often cheaper to replace tyres and chains at home rather than squeezing the few remaining miles from them to only find that they are not available when needed. Additionally, quality motorcycle oils can go the distance. A motorcycle ridden around town will need more frequent changes than one used on a long trip.

If it can be avoided, don't use a trip as a test bed for that new rainsuit, helmet or packing technique. Try and avoid picking up your motorcycle and heading out directly on a 10,000 mile trip, as even the best mechanic can make a mistake.

Even on the warmest summer nights, after a few days of 30+ temperatures, a 10 degree evening ride can send a chill through your body. Add in a cool, wet day and the benefits of an electric vest mean that no serious rider would leave home without it. Note: In practice this point is more applicable to Americans than Europeans.

Keep personal supplies handy. Sun screen, skin lotions, eye cleaner, eye lubricant, a flash light, a tire gauge, maps and other essentials should all be kept in a handy location. Things like registration and insurance papers should be kept in a secure, water-tight, area of the motorcycle.

Don't waste time shopping on the road. The same rules that apply to your motorcycle should apply to your riding gear and essentials. Maintain a check-list of items to carry and then check it before you leave.

Long rides usually mean riding across areas you might not consider prime riding spots. . For times like this, carrying a tape player with your favourite music can prove invaluable. Stock up your tank bag with a supply of sweets that you can munch on while riding.

Breakdowns happen. This is not a matter of just money (the cost of the plan versus the risk of the cost of a later tow). Skip the insurance and you can spend hours on the phone searching for a breakdown service.

The successful long distance rider uses this strategy to their advantage. Know what speed your internal riding clock runs by. When your speed falls below that average, take time out and get some serious rest.

As soon as you are tempted to close an eye, even "for just a second", find the nearest safe place to pull over and take nap! Watch out for other signs of fatigue: slowing down and constantly having to speed back up, forgetting to turn high beams down for oncoming traffic, indecision.

If you really hate rain, take a time-out and stay put for a day. The same goes for excessive heat (if possible, try riding at night) or a host of other conditions that make riding no longer fun. If you are concentrating on being miserable, you are not concentrating on the road.

Fast foods and a big road trip are a bad combination. In the mornings stick to oatmeal, cereals or one egg with toast. Lunch should be skipped in favour of a light, healthy snack. Dinner should include a salad with a light pasta dish (quickly and readily available at fast food places). If all else fails, the motto is, "If you can't eat right at least try and eat light!"

After getting fuel (a mini rest-stop in itself), it takes just as long to suit-up to ride across the street to eat as it does to ride twenty miles down the road and then eat. The result is two mini rest-stops for the price of one.

You only have to run out of petrol one time, or take a five mile detour in search of gas to blow the time you saved by not stopping. When petrol is handy, stop and get it!

If you have less than a half tank of petrol, why not stop, fill-up and put on your suit all in one, quick, safe stop?

Practice at home on an old tire or tube so you are not trying to figure the process out on the side of the road! While tube-type tires are more of a hassle, once your learn how to patch a tube, it can be done a lot faster than trying to arrange a tow.

A phone combined with towing insurance, can make what was once a trip-ruining event a tolerable experience.

The toolkits in most motorcycles are at best junk. Use the toolkit as a guide and purchase quality replacement tools. Also add a compact digital voltmeter and a ratchet and socket set.

Pushing a broken motorcycle a short distance up a hill to get it to a safe parking place on a cool night can generate a hefty thirst. Your water supply should be kept in two sources, one for casual drinking, the other for true emergencies such as breakdowns.

A headache, or toothache, or pain resulting from slight mishaps can be relieved. Consult your doctor for side-effects related to the brand you choose.

In general the recommendation is to take a supply of one-a-day vitamins. Seek the advice of your doctor as to what vitamins are best for the type of conditions you are riding through. For long distance riding, look for vitamins that will prevent muscle cramps.

In many parts of the world, road maintenance is the responsibility of the local authority. Take notice of subtle signs of how the local road authority operates. Has the road surface gone from tar to concrete? Are the turns well marked? Do they use decreasing radius turns? Are road repairs done with rubber sealer (the kind that flexes slightly when hot), gravel or other hazardous methods? Is vegetation trimmed back from the side of the road? Do fences exist to keep animals on the sidelines ?

This information sheet is provided free of charge as a service to motorcycling. MAG Ireland cannot accept any responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. Last updated 2001-02 Approved by NEC: 2001-03