Taking long distance trips

Hello Everyone,

I am getting ready for a long trip to the ( VFR West Coast Meet up- August 21st-26th, Susanville, CA ) as some of you are also, and as i per pair my self and bike, i have a deep concern about my wrist both going numb.
I have bought a tank bag i hoped maybe i could rest on it a bit ? i also am going to look into the device that lets you rest your wrist on, thats mounted on the grip ? all throw i know nothing about it yet. I am a fared i might to have to stop a bit more than others ? it seams in the last five years both of my wrists go numb, to where i cant feel any thing. so i wanted to know if any one else had experienced this also ? and what have you done to combat this problem ? it really sucks getting older in some ways.
thank you speed

 

Well take it from a old fart that has hip, knee, back problems as well as Arthritis in my hands & wrists, that does 400 mile to Iron butt 1000 mile plus day rides.


"IT's ALL IN YOUR LEGS" !

When riding, whether racing @ the track, running up theCanyons/Mountains, or Super slabbing your hands should be gripping your gripes like there empty egg shells you don't want to brake.

I streatch & use my most powerful muscles ( Legs) to hold my upper body up by riding on the balls of my feet on my pegs.

Yea that may get a little sore , so you change your foot position slighty to give a pressure point a break.

But don't stop using your legs :wink:

I've used this teaching people @ the track & street riders with much improvement in there riding abilities & stamina.

They see me struggling to walk yet I can ride a bike 24 hrs if I didn't get sleepy.

I also use ankle weights @ work & home to strengthen my leg muscles since I can't run (Knees) or do sit ups (Back) with no strain on my knee's or back (Ha, I'm wearing them now ), plus I lost 20Lbs in 4 weeks just by doing this & my back loves me now :tongue:.

When riding, remember to stretch a little @ each fuel stop & drink some fluids if not using a camel back or type of system while riding.

The Cramp-Buster & like devices are ok for super slabbing but not a good idea where more variations in throttle control are involved.
Reason is, when slabbing & maintaining constant speed there fine, but for city traffic, the Canyons, & emergancy situations, I've seen time & time again where the throttle was accidently acceled when should be decelerating.

So you have to be careful & be aware of this when coming off an exit after drowning for a hour or 2.


Good luck & might meet up with you guy's on the West Coast meet up, My friend/neighbor & I have decided to stay in Tahoe :bootyshake2: vs the other choices & already have rooms.

 

That's the best advice a rider can get.

Believe it or not, I just practiced the technique again last night while out for short but spirited ride in the twisties. Let go with the death grip and everything else falls into place. Even after tens of thousands of miles and countless track days, remembering and practicing this will help your riding trememdously as it did yet again for me last nigh.

On a side note, I see someone recommened a Throttle Rocker but do you have cruise control? If not, you might want to consider it for those long extended slabbing portions. The ability to take both your hands off the bars for periods of time really helps out.

Good luck, you'll enjoy it trememdously. Your first tour is exciting in a nervous kinda' way.

 

Hi speed! I was having trouble with my right wrist going numb after about 15 minutes riding. Since I have started focusing on keeping my arms loose and gripping very loosely, and not resting any of my upper body weight on my arms, I have not had that issue. If I forget and start to grip too hard, have my arms tense, or rest my weight on my hands, wrists start to go numb again. Also keeping wrists in a neutral position i.e. not flexed too far up or down seems to help them at least not to cramp up.

Another suggestion I've seen on here are larger diameter grips or wrap some tennis tape around the grips.

 

I always carry a few "Aleve" and "Advil" pain relievers, just in case. I avoid using them, but there are times that discomfort starts becoming a distraction. Age, injury, and gravity...

It might be helpful to find some gloves with gel pads in the palms. I notice my wrists will start to numb up a bit when I change from cold weather gloves to all weather gloves, especially on long freeway stretches. I suspect that it is a combination of unconsciously putting too much weight on my arms and/or gripping too tight, and the other part is the lack of padding on my current gloves.

 

Hey Guys, i am going to take your advice to hart, i made a doctors appointment and i have a cruse control, and i am really going to give this leg thing a try ? so thanks for your help, i was hoping to find someone with the same condition ? i do know that i tend to rest my weight on my wrist ?

 

Numb Wrists

Having just ridden 430 miles a couple of days ago I can relate to Speed and his numb wrists. I don't think you will be able to completley cure it, because it's your body telling you it wants a rest, but what I have found does help, is sellecting the right gloves, some gloves make you hold the bars too tight because they are slippy. I have spent a fortune on gloves and have found the best ones for me are competion type gloves, which having shaped fingers almost grip the bars on their own, and having gel pads in the palms helps. Other than that just stopping now and then to relax your fingers.

Plasma

 

You sound like your wrist is like mine. The advise above pretty much covers it. The Throttle Rocker was a big help but mostly using your body and legs to hold yourself up and a light grip with the wrists. I can manage 600K days OK with that combination.

Really glad to hear your daughter is doing well, that's great news.

 

The leg technique is great! Helps out a lot. Another thing I did on my 04 was added the NEP throttle lock ($12). Works great for those long freeway stretches. Also have some heated grips from Enduro Engineering ($25)., they help keep the hands comfortable and take the edge off in cool weather. Good luck.