Take more moto trips
Death Valley, CA
yes, it was hot.
You’ve always dreamed of doing that week long (or longer) motorcycle trip. Exploring new roads, new terrain, new places. But what about all the time in between while you’re planning and waiting?
There’s a simple way to get more seat time on two wheels throughout the year. I know we all have friends or family that don’t live in our immediate areas that we will likely visit during the year. Design a trip around visiting them. Pre planned trips just for you, where you want to go. As extravagant or simple as you see fit.
Make a list
You don’t need to wait for them to call you last minute trying to plan a meetup. Make a list of the people you’re likely going to visit. When I was living in CA, to get to certain family and friends it was anywhere from 2-4hr trips. With some preplanning, I turned one of those trips into a 6hr long day ride and explored some mountain roads. With another trip to Montana, I was able to squeeze a fully offroad multi day moto camping trip.
Determine distance
This is all up to your riding ability and/or how long you want the trip to take. If it’s your first time doing a trip, simply add one stop in a random city off the main path to your destination. You don’t need any fancy subscriptions or maps to do this. I normally utilize Google maps day to day, so that’s what i’ll reference.
Simply plug in your destination and route to it. You can use the “add destination” button underneath your intial address inputs to create stops along the way. You can drag and drop your route if there’s areas you think you would like to drive through as well. Great places to add a stop at if you don’t have anything off the top of your head, are:
Gas stations
parks
scenic viewing areas
coffee shops (if your caffinated, or lacking)
new restaurants (brunch, lunch, or anywhere to munch)
Motorcycle shops
Tip: If you open the options menu there is a function to “avoid Highways.” This will route you along more rural roads if available. I’ve found this function to be super usefull when I don’t want to drone out on a trafficked highway.
Go ride
Depending your situation, you can have a variety of trips planned for each destination when the opportunity arises. Take the call, get out there and enjoy your ride.
Note:
For the offroad riders, the same thing can be done, but planning is a little more extensive. I will go thorugh this in a different post.
