How Far In a Day?
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 64
Likes: 1
From: Middle of Massachusetts
Long Ride
Question about long distance touring...
How many miles do you tend to ride in a day while on long trips. My wife will be with me and most miles on this particular trip will be interstate. I guess what I'm asking is, what is a reasonable number of miles to ride per day without getting into Iron Butt territory?
How many miles do you tend to ride in a day while on long trips. My wife will be with me and most miles on this particular trip will be interstate. I guess what I'm asking is, what is a reasonable number of miles to ride per day without getting into Iron Butt territory?
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 883
Likes: 2
From: Clearwater, FL
Two up with the wife I plan 300 to 350 which makes a nice day. She will do the 500 miles one way to go see her family up north as long as there are a couple of days between. By myself I normally plan between 600 and 700 in a day. I've done back to back 1,100 mile days but that's my max. That is pushing it and doesn't allow for much smelling of the roses along the way.
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 378
Likes: 1
From: Phenix City, Al
this past summer we did alabama to colorado springs in three days. about 500 a day with stops at about 170 miles to gas up and stretch. that was all interestate, looking back now wish we would have done it in 4-5 days as we went through some nice country that we didnt reallly get to see.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
From: N.E. Ohio
I think most everyone here is pretty much on the same page 300 to 500 depending on the conditions. Ya definitely want to keep the little woman happy or it won't make for a fun trip. Just make the ride fun, whatever makes you guys happy.
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 32
From: Long Island, NY
This was a good question. The farthest I've gone in a day is 350 miles, and that's just because I had reached my destination. I am planning my first long, multi-day trip and was wondering what the average range was to shot for.
All I know is that I will be investing in some anti-monkey butt powder. That stuff is no hype, and works great.
All I know is that I will be investing in some anti-monkey butt powder. That stuff is no hype, and works great.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,132
Likes: 25
From: NorCal
I have no desire to ride more than that in a day. At least not on any bike I own...
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 186
Likes: 7
From: Beamsville Ont
General planning for us is 400 to 600 miles a day over the entire trip, then we plan the individual daily legs to match the sights we want to see. A 300 mile day would be a half day ride really, not a whole day, but if you add in stops, pics, etc, then you can stretch it out. We have had some days where we just go for it based on the weather and need to be somewhere, and those can be 800 miles but that starts to stretch both of us into attention deficity territory.
If we are planning a longer trip, 2 or 3 weeks, we always tend to add in a couple flex days in the schedule to allow for things like really bad weather, road construction tie ups, etc. And we very rarely ever book a motel ahead as we find that pushes us to ride longer than we want to sometimes or alternatively stop sooner than we want to at others. Never been burned yet by looking for a hotel/motel at the last minute, and almost always get good discount rates at the door.
She rides the 04 Softail Classic and finds the distances not a problem, but we talk a lot about how we are doing at the stops - always try to stop about every 80-100 miles for a stretch etc., fuel at every second stop. The key to me is to never push each other to go longer than the other wants to go in a day - riding together means respecting each others limits and those can change day by day.
If we are planning a longer trip, 2 or 3 weeks, we always tend to add in a couple flex days in the schedule to allow for things like really bad weather, road construction tie ups, etc. And we very rarely ever book a motel ahead as we find that pushes us to ride longer than we want to sometimes or alternatively stop sooner than we want to at others. Never been burned yet by looking for a hotel/motel at the last minute, and almost always get good discount rates at the door.
She rides the 04 Softail Classic and finds the distances not a problem, but we talk a lot about how we are doing at the stops - always try to stop about every 80-100 miles for a stretch etc., fuel at every second stop. The key to me is to never push each other to go longer than the other wants to go in a day - riding together means respecting each others limits and those can change day by day.