First Road Trip

I had a short 2 day conference in Chelan starting this last Tuesday, looked at the weather report and decided to ride the VFR over. This is east of Seattle over 2 mountain passes. I've never done any longer distance riding so this was a totally new experience. I'm now amazed at guys that can rack up several hundred miles a day. I did about 190 each way and got home physically tired and mentally worn out. But, it was a blast. The weather was fantastic and the roads were great. Blewett pass is newly repaved and was the highlight. Nice twisty sections with enough areas to pass the big trucks and work the speedo into 3 digit territory.

The bike ran fantastic. Nice combination of speed, handling and relative comfort. A bit more wind protection would be ideal but it was tolerable.

I bought a fieldsheer duffle for the tail which work nicely and a magnetic tank bag that also was helpful. The nice surprise with the tank bag was that it gave me a good place to lean into a crouch and take pressure off my back. Overall the fit on the bike was good although I could probably raise the seat or lower the pegs a little and be perfect.

Some things I learned:

• Full face helmets are not only safer, they keep bugs off your face. Good thing I had plexus and a rag in my bag. Cleaning the visor was a necessity. Not sure how you ride in other more buggy areas of the country?
• The throttle rocker I bought for 8 bucks was a great investment.
• It's colder at 4,000 feet than the 80 degrees in Chelan when I left at 4:30.
• I can take my sunglasses off at freeways speeds.
• I can't zip up my back vents on my jacket however while riding.
• Be wary of the pimped out Mercedes. I was passing a car and trying to merge right. He hit the gas after I was clear of him and blew by me. Pr(*&%.
• 80% of guys on other bikes will wave.
• People like to talk to you about your motorcycle.
• My ass gets sore after 190 miles.
• Clif bars work on motorcycles and bicycles.
• When you have to pee on a motorcycle at 80 mph you really feel it.

 

I make sure I wizz before I get on my bike. Its not a car...

 

Sounds like you had a great time. I am wary of all cars not just pimped out Benz's

 

You're young, Scudrunr. At some point in your life it won't matter when you last took a wizz, shortly after you start your ride you'll be thinking about it again.

 

Congratulations on the trip. Trips like that are great little adventures.

 

I did have a great time. I'd love to plan a longer trip sometime. I'm going to get my seat redone locally and have them make it a bit taller and hopefully cushier.

I'm wary of all cars too. This one was particularly troubling though because he/she was being very aggressive and purposeful. I was making a pass to exit the freeway and clearly by the car ready to move to the right. They hit the gas hard and were in my space in a second and passed me. I could have easily been taken out at 80 mph.

 

I was afraid of the longer trips before I took the first one. Now I know I can stay on the bike all day. There is a lot to see out there, go see it on the VFR.

Glad you had a good time.