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Learn your limitations - Page 2

© Brian Salisbury

He told me, "It was an interesting ride and I feel I am much more experienced now than I was last week. Next year, I'll try again and give myself more time to cover the miles."

When I first started riding motorcycles, none of my bikes had a windshield. Back then, for the most part, only police motorcycles came with such protection. And what the heck, I was 17 years old. I wasn't afraid to ride head on into the wind, cold or rain, even though they made travel extremely painful. I could crank out 500 miles a day in pleasant weather and not too much less in the cold and damp. It's amazing what a person can accomplish when they aren't aware when they're miserable and have no feeling in their hands.

Since my early riding days, advanced technology in motorcycles and riding clothes has enabled me to incrementally extend my riding limits well beyond what I could accomplish when I was a teenager. I can't say that about many other things.

The Iron Butt Association at http://www.ironbutt.com provides some of the best and most succinct information and advice when it comes to long distance motorcycle travel. In its archive of wisdom, the association points out that "whether you are capable of riding 300 or 1,000 miles per day, the ability to make miles tends to decrease as the length of your trip increases."

It goes on to say, "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."

Association surveys reveal an important trend in long distance trip travel. Discounting inclement weather or other problems, after an initial mileage peak on days one and two of a long road trip, daily average mileage will steadily drop during trip days three to seven. On day seven, the typical long distance rider will comfortably ride about 65 percent of the average daily mileage they would rack-up on a two-day trip.

The association advises riders to include large easy-to-cut loops in their trip plan. So, if a person gets behind schedule, they can skip part of their trip without ruining the entire outing.

So, when traveling by motorcycle, know your limitations and try to keep your long distance plans flexible.

I bet that's what Harry Callahan would do.

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