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I rode from Las Vegas NV to Madison WI in the middle of January
Bike is a 2005 Yamaha Roadstar 1700, my first bike as I just got my license in October. As you can see in the picture I had removed the windshield because of helmet buffeting (I don’t know if buffeting for 1900 miles or getting blasted by wind was worse, obviously I chose the wind). I needed to transport the bike to Madison by the end of the month and I was choosing between shipping and riding it. I had too much time on my hands and a propensity to do stupid things so I thought f*ck it I’ll just ride it. I knew it was gonna suck, but I wasn’t prepared for what a journey it would be. I’m not a great writer so I’m just gonna bullet some highlights from the trip:
-Did the whole thing over the course of four days, starting on Friday 1/17 and arriving Monday 1/20. I stayed at motels along the way. I stopped every 100 miles (1.5 hours or so) for gas and to thaw. These warm up breaks were generally between thirty minutes to an hour.
-For gear I wore three layers on my legs (long underwear, sweatpants, windproof snowpants) and five layers on my torso (t-shirt, base layer, sweatshirt, two jackets). Helmet was a Bell Bullitt, had Gerbing heated gloves but the battery on those died almost instantly from the cold.
-Weather wise I chose the worst weekend to do this, encountering the polar chill system as it hit north Texas with 30+ mph winds and snow flurries. Once I got to the midwest I encountered single digit temperatures and continued brisk winds. I have mild frostbite in 7 fingers.
-I did some research before doing this trip to see if anyone had done something similar. What I can corroborate from other accounts is the amount of support I received along the way. There were people coming to chat and wish me well on my stops to warm myself up. People waving to me from their cars. I love the motorcycle community man.
Overall I’m very happy I did this and I have no regrets, the bike is moved and a weight off my chest. I will never do something like this again, and if anybody is considering doing something similar just know that it will suck. Every time I pulled my gloves off I expected my hand to be black and fingers falling off. However this was an unforgettable experience, and I learned a lot about myself.
#motorcycles
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Bike is a 2005 Yamaha Roadstar 1700, my first bike as I just got my license in October. As you can see in the picture I had removed the windshield because of helmet buffeting (I don’t know if buffeting for 1900 miles or getting blasted by wind was worse, obviously I chose the wind). I needed to transport the bike to Madison by the end of the month and I was choosing between shipping and riding it. I had too much time on my hands and a propensity to do stupid things so I thought f*ck it I’ll just ride it. I knew it was gonna suck, but I wasn’t prepared for what a journey it would be. I’m not a great writer so I’m just gonna bullet some highlights from the trip:
-Did the whole thing over the course of four days, starting on Friday 1/17 and arriving Monday 1/20. I stayed at motels along the way. I stopped every 100 miles (1.5 hours or so) for gas and to thaw. These warm up breaks were generally between thirty minutes to an hour.
-For gear I wore three layers on my legs (long underwear, sweatpants, windproof snowpants) and five layers on my torso (t-shirt, base layer, sweatshirt, two jackets). Helmet was a Bell Bullitt, had Gerbing heated gloves but the battery on those died almost instantly from the cold.
-Weather wise I chose the worst weekend to do this, encountering the polar chill system as it hit north Texas with 30+ mph winds and snow flurries. Once I got to the midwest I encountered single digit temperatures and continued brisk winds. I have mild frostbite in 7 fingers.
-I did some research before doing this trip to see if anyone had done something similar. What I can corroborate from other accounts is the amount of support I received along the way. There were people coming to chat and wish me well on my stops to warm myself up. People waving to me from their cars. I love the motorcycle community man.
Overall I’m very happy I did this and I have no regrets, the bike is moved and a weight off my chest. I will never do something like this again, and if anybody is considering doing something similar just know that it will suck. Every time I pulled my gloves off I expected my hand to be black and fingers falling off. However this was an unforgettable experience, and I learned a lot about myself.
#motorcycles
source
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