Hey everyone! I just got home from my longest (mileage and time) single-day ride yet. I rode for 13 hours (not counting stoppage for eating, fueling, etc) and rode 624 miles.

The route went as follows:

Start in East Lansing, MI, took I-69 East to I-75 North
Got of 75 onto US-23 at Standish, MI
Took US-23 along Lake Huron all the way to Mackinaw City, MI
Since the lil lady had never crossed the Mighty Mac (Mackinaw Bridge), we crossed, paid the fare and did a U-turn, paid the fare again and came back to the Lower Peninsula.
Took US-31 South to Gill Rd. East to Lake Shore Dr.
Took Lake Shore to M-119, better known as The Tunnel of Trees, roughly 30 miles of a very narrow (1-1.5 lane wide) and winding road, almost all of which is enclosed by the canopy of the trees.
Took M-119 back to US-31 through Petoskey, MI
Took US-131 South to M-32 East into *******, MI
Then it was I-75 South all the way to US-127 South to M-21 East.
Took M-21 into Owosso, MI to visit some family, then M-52 South to I-69 West back to East Lansing, MI.

Heck of a long day and it beat my old record by 160 miles. The whole point of this trip was a practice run for a trip I am planning to take the first 2 weeks of August. The plan is to ride from East Lansing, MI to San Francisco, CA in 4 days...hang out with family for 5 days, then ride back in another 4 days. After today, I think I might be able to do it...we'll see!

That is all.

 

Sounds like a great day ride. You should have no
trouble on a trip. We do alot of day rides preparing
us for the weekend and long trips, it definately helps.
You should have some nice riding west of 25.

Jim

 

West of 25? Interstate? US? Sorry, not familiar with that road. Where is it?

 

Nevermind, I found it. Yeah, I'm pretty excited for everything west of Cheyenne. Well, excited for the whole trip, but I like getting up into hills and mountains. I'm sure the plains will be great too, just a bit more flat...and boring? haha

 

Sounds like a great day. Certainly better than my 11+ hours at work, even though I did ride to & from work.

 

Sounds like ya doin the right things by riding more and more and gettin yourself use to some long hours in the saddle. Me and 9 buddies just finished our 2nd Ironbutt 2 Saturdays ago, nice loop around the northeast on a beautiful day, 1180 miles in 20hrs. Some were building up to this same as you're doing if they haven't logged those kinda miles before.

Ride to your own comfort level, 400-600 mile days is fine for traveling around country. If you can do that day after day withouit issue you'll be fine. If you need to cut a day short and rest who cares its your ride...Enjoy the road!!

 

WideBoy and ezlife, thanks for the advice! I plan to take another 400-500 mile trip this saturday followed by a repeat sunday. That should help me get used to jumping right back into the saddle...I think I'll ride rain or shine since I'm sure I'll see some rain at some point between Michigan and California!

 

My girlfriend and I just rode 560 miles this tuesday touring the Hocking Hills area in Ohio, from our home in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has only been riding motorcycles for 2-3 years. I am very proud of how well she did on this ride. The first 400 miles were in daylight taking county roads. The ride home was interstate and dark. She never missed a beat, kept her cool, and powered on like an old pro.