You ever get so tired of riding you just HAD to stop and sleep?

[cowpuc]

Tip, that brave wife of mine - think about it - would YOU climb on the back of a bike with me at the helm, and I do a fair amount of long hour riding.. Admittingly, we usually only ride sun up till sun down and find that a 12 to 14 hour day in the saddle is enough..

When Tip started her tour of duty in the saddle of our bike, Tweeks, three years ago she was really excited about it.. She took to Tweeks ol saddle like a duck to water.. She found out within her first couple thousand miles years ago that the kids weren't joking that they never got soreness from those prior to Tweeks 1st Gens they straddled many years ago.. Tip found the same comfort in these big ol seats the Yamaha Company had chosen to use on the bikes we have come to love so much..

As many of you know,, saddle soreness,, monkey butt and cramps arent the only issues that long distance riders have to contend with.. There is also the issue of just plain getting sleepy..

When I was younger,, much younger, I could easily spend 24 hours straight up in the saddle, sleep for a few and go right back at it.. In Harescrambling (its a brutal form of racing - kinda like motocross mixed with enduro racing mixed with hill climbing) most race venues offer your choice of 1, 2 or 3 hour races to the riders.. I always chose the 3 hour scrambles cause I just couldnt get enough of the wonderful stuff.. I did really really well in the 3 hour 250cc class back then cause I spent the time when I wasnt racing out playing on my dirtbike.. A 3 hour Harescrambles was actually a picnic for me back than.. Today,, not so much..

I LOVE the last two hours of daylight riding when out on our bike,, I call em Magic Hours.. My daughter used to say that riding cross country on the back of that big ol Yamaha was like being the Movie that people were watching and we were just looking at em watching them watch us.. I gotta say that I have always loved her comment and totally get it.. That being said, the last two hours of the ride day have always been like the end of a good movie,, the part that makes ya cry or laugh or finally get the answer of that notorious question of "wonder how its gonna end"..

Now adays, after the show is over I am TIRED.. An additional couple hours of riding makes me even more tired and if I stretch it to far I can literally fall asleep about anywhere once I get horizonal,,, like a cat who just ate a big mouse,, completely satisfied at the day I just ate..

The kids used to nod out on the back of the bike,, lay there head down on whatever we had on the trunk and out they would go.. This is fairly common with lots of passengers.. I once saw a guy riding a Wing down a four lane highway out in California with his wife nodded out on the back of his bike.. Dont know how she could do it but there she was,, sawing logs right in bumper to bumper high speed traffic..

Tip doesnt do that.. She likes to stay awake and watch the action.. Its not like she doesnt get tired but her need for sleep seems to be an almost perfect match for that of my own.. She will climb on the bike at sun up, climb off at gas stops,, wonder around the station a little but usually by the time I get Tweeks fed she is right there waiting to climb back on and continue the movie,,, gosh I love that woman...

Whats really cool is that both of our batterys seem to run out at about the same time.. If we get into a situation where we cant find a place to drop our tent its usually her now that will say something like,, hey - theres a bale of hay we could sleep behind or, there's an old campground right there while pointing at a local cemetery,, she's a keeper that Tippy..

For those of you movie goers,, you ever tie into a longggg movie that just keeps going and going,, like Lord of Rings or War and Peace or something along that line? Well,, sometimes riding long distance is like that for us.. There are times that the show is just soooooo good ya simply cant stop watching it!! We did an all dayer last year and found ourselves entering into Death Valley at 1 in the morning on a moon lit night.. Werent no way weren't no how we were gonna miss that gorgeous opportunity!! We rode till about 5 a.m. before we HAD to camp next to a gas pump cause we were bone dry!! It does happen from time to time!!

This year while we had a little issue with sleep deprevation on the way to the VentureWest Rally at The Dalles Oregon.. When we finally found the place we were tired and really needed that much missed sleep.. Tweeks found her own place to park away from the cars and other bikes and we didnt even bother hauling out our traveling motel,, or tent if you prefer.. Just another nights rest for a couple of tired bikers and one tired ol bike..

Puc

[bongobobny]

Are ya trying to say you two are getting old???

[Sailor]

Years ago i had a girlfriend who loved the bike. That was the Madura. No back seat armchair. At one point I was riding along and reaching back with my left hand to hold her on the bike as she was sound asleep.

[Pegasus1300]

I was riding late at night about 6 years ago coming back from Idaho Falls I got so tired I couldn't make another mile. I found a motel but it was closed, They had a couch on the front porch so I slept there for a couple hours then went on.

I used to get real low energy around 2 or 3 in the afternoon so I would find a shady tree and sleep for a 1/2 hour or so then go on and be fine.

[VentureFar]

Puc, if it is the end of the day then pack it in, but if it is the middle of the "movie" then ....shhhh don't tell anyone - 5 hour energy.

You guys "organize" your trips a little different than I do. I plan every mile. I call the gas stations ahead of time to make sure they are open at the time I will be there and I book the motel I will be staying at since I know my limits - sometimes my limits are stretched with shhhh... don't tell anyone.....5 hour energy and other times I am high on the "movie" and thinking about what great new friends I made ( at The Dalles). But even with my 17 and 21 hours in the saddle for the Iron Butt's, I wouldn't ride though the night and into the morning, my personal body clock just won't run from about 2-5 am. at all.

Hi to that special gal!

VentureFar...

[Peder_y2k]

Tweeks found her own place to park away from the cars and other bikes and we didnt even bother hauling out our traveling motel,, or tent if you prefer.. Just another nights rest for a couple of tired bikers and one tired ol bike..

Puc

 

Oh come on Puc......that's a staged pic and you know it. A seasoned biker like you and Tip would sleep on the soft grass in the background in front of the motel for some real shut eye.

 

-Pete, in Tacoma WA USA

[cowpuc]

Tweeks found her own place to park away from the cars and other bikes and we didnt even bother hauling out our traveling motel,, or tent if you prefer.. Just another nights rest for a couple of tired bikers and one tired ol bike..

Puc

 

Oh come on Puc......that's a staged pic and you know it. A seasoned biker like you and Tip would sleep on the soft grass in the background in front of the motel for some real shut eye.

 

-Pete, in Tacoma WA USA:rotf::rotf::rotf:

 

Heyyyyyy,, wait a minute,, you were there,,, kinda like the producer of a good movie given up those hidden little secrets Pete.. Bad form bad bad form:rotf::rotf:

 

Besides,, seasoned OLDER bikers like me and Tip would have walked up to one of those doors with bikers sleeping behind em, beat on em until we woke someone up and said move over, we're tired and walked right over that lawn!!! But that wouldnt have made near a good a picture for the end of perfectly true story and you know it Pete..

Edited July 14, 2014 by cowpuc

[XV1100SE]

Few years ago someone that was a long distance rider mentioned sleeping in the sheds they put in Home Depot/Lowes parking lots. As long as they aren't locked, gets you out of the weather (but takes you out from under the stars).

[MikeWa]

OH Ok ... So you are supposed to stop then sleep. I got it.

 

Mike