How long have you stretched a ride?

[Freebird]

I think that this might be an interesting topic. I will start but I know that some of you have probably done better.

 

I was joined on the ride to the New York rally by member @Motiv If you ride the interstates, that would be about a 4 hour ride for us. We made the decision to pretty much stay off the interstates though. Going up we road them east for a while before heading north through Pennsylvania and manage to turn the 4 hour ride into a 6 hour ride. No big deal.

 

Coming home though, we made the decision to stay off of the Interstates completely. We left New York at 8:00 in the morning. We had our GPSs set to avoid highways but many times we even ignored the directions that they gave us. We just sort of headed south and west out of New York again riding mostly south through Pennsylvania. We made two or three short stops for a bit to eat but most of the time we were riding.

 

We managed to stretch what could have been a 4 hour ride home into an almost 12 hour ride. I pulled into my driveway about 7:45 that evening.

 

So how far or long have YOU stretched a ride? I know that somebody will have us beat.

[SilvrT]

Heading home from Venture West in Yreka I left around 7AM on Saturday morning. My plan was to take 3 days to get back home, going by route 101 on the coast. I stopped for the first night in Florence, OR. Left there next morning and headed inland with intentions of ending up in Astoria for the second night. Got screwed up with my route and wound up in Portland. Turned around and made my way to Astoria but it was still early so kept on going with plan to stop somewhere overnight ... ended up in Olympia on I-5 so said "to heck with it", had a bite to eat and hit the freeway. That day ended up 17 hours by the time I walked in my door that evening.

Edited August 31, 2016 by SilvrT

[Wizard765]

I was at a men's retreat at the end of September. It was in North Central Ontario near Algonquin Park. I had offered to give a young guy a ride so after breakfast on Sunday we headed out being followed by his ride home.. It was an absolutely perfect day.. the fall colours were in full swing and it was sunny and warm etc. So I took him down 35 to 118 and west to HWY 11. At this point he got off and joined his friends.. I was sitting on the side of the road looking at the hwy and called home.. "Hey honey are you expecting me any time soon?" Her reply... "Nope enjoy your ride" So started off by circling Lake Muskoka and then all back roads etc. From that intersection it is about 3 hrs home for me and I was there about 10:00. Got home and it was almost midnight.. One of the best days I've ever had and will never forget it.. Could not wipe the smile off my face..

[Flyinfool]

My longest was coming home from Dons MD a few years back. It is 425 miles one way by mostly interstate, that trip normally takes my marshmallow butt 9-10 hours. I still have to stop at no more than 100 mile legs. But this one time coming home, it took me 14 hours. This was mainly due to an electrical gremlin that hitched a ride with me. Twice on the way home I had the fairing off in a rest area parking lot chasing that dang gremlin around the bike. That was an incredibly exhausting ride knowing that the bike can and will just shut off at any moment. It finally died completely and I had to push it the last 250 feet home.

Time wise that was my longest stretched out ride. the trip to MD is also the longest miles ride I have ever done.

[Dragonslayer]

I think that this might be an interesting topic. I will start but I know that some of you have probably done better.

 

I was joined on the ride to the New York rally by member @Motiv If you ride the interstates, that would be about a 4 hour ride for us. We made the decision to pretty much stay off the interstates though. Going up we road them east for a while before heading north through Pennsylvania and manage to turn the 4 hour ride into a 6 hour ride. No big deal.

 

Coming home though, we made the decision to stay off of the Interstates completely. We left New York at 8:00 in the morning. We had our GPSs set to avoid highways but many times we even ignored the directions that they gave us. We just sort of headed south and west out of New York again riding mostly south through Pennsylvania. We made two or three short stops for a bit to eat but most of the time we were riding.

 

We managed to stretch what could have been a 4 hour ride home into an almost 12 hour ride. I pulled into my driveway about 7:45 that evening.

 

So how far or long have YOU stretched a ride? I know that somebody will have us beat.

Atlanta to Nashville and back took a month and a half and 6505 miles via twenty states.

[utadventure]

Last year I was invited by a friend to go ride Beartooth Pass. First stop was 275 miles from Salt Lake in Ashton, ID.

 

It only took us 410 miles to get there. We saw some great country as we passed back and forth over the mountains.

 

Day two was similar. Through Yellowstone, out the NE entrance of the park, partway across Hwy 212 and down Chief Joseph Hwy into Cody, WY.

 

Day three was up to Red Lodge and across Beartooth to Cooke City for lunch, then back over Beartooth to Red Lodge and into Cody again.

 

Final day was a straight shot back to Salt Lake via Yellowstone, Gran Teton and Jackson, WY only to find the sewer at home was backed up.

 

I should have kept riding!!

[Yammer Dan]

Ride back from Daytona early 70's took 4 days!! I had two wks off from work and hated Interstates!!!

[Oldodge]

My longest distance one day ride was home to Chapel Hill, NC avoiding interstates and crossing the Skyline Drive. About 430 miles, took I think about 11.5 hours including getting lost looking for the hotel when we arrived. 38 degrees f when we left and almost 80 deg f when we arrived. Pretty much the same distance coming home on a different day, different route, hot weather. No interstate but some 4 lane took about 10.5 hours. Great memory.

[jeff1]

Earlier this month my girlfriend and I left Rochester MN about 6:30 AM and did got back about 12-13 hours later. We rode to LaCrescent MN, had breakfast there the proceeded to cross the Mississippi to LaCrosse WI. From there we rode along the river to Dubuque IA the rode back up the river on the Iowa/MN side. We stayed on state and county highways and put on around 475 miles. It was a fun ride. There are few things better than enjoying a ride with someone whose company you enjoy.

[gaj1917]

My longest was many years ago - 8100 miles over the course of a month, back in 1975. A friend and I jumped on our old Yamaha 650s (me on a 70, he on a 73) and drove across Canada from the east coast to the west and back. Our longest day was 520 miles. More typically we did 300-400.

 

Last year we decided to do a reprise, 40 years after the original - this time on 84 Ventures. (Although we still have and ride the 650s, we thought better of making the trip with them this time around.) We made it to Calgary, but decided to not go to the west coast as forest fires were raging at the time. Instead we headed south into Montana and Wyoming, then east through South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and back into Canada through Sioux St Marie and then home to New Brunswick via Ontario, Quebec, Vermont and Maine. All told we covered just over 11,000 km in two weeks. Second gear stared to go on my Venture during the trip.

[Guest HdHtr]

Every time I get on the bike I stretch the ride ... whether going to the store close by or just heading off in some direction. By a mile, by 5 minutes, by a day or a 1000 miles.

 

Always stretch the ride. Why go the short route?

[Dragonslayer]

Every time I get on the bike I stretch the ride ... whether going to the store close by or just heading off in some direction. By a mile, by 5 minutes, by a day or a 1000 miles.

 

Always stretch the ride. Why go the short route?

I like to play the left, left right,right left game.

[videoarizona]

Last year: Left Payson at 8am...via Heber, Show Low, Eager, Alpine, Clifton, Safford, Willcox, Benson, Greeen Valley. 14 hours. Included Rt 191, Devils Highway.

 

Prior to that: In early summer of 1969, took off on the YDS6C from New Hampshire...rode to Boston, Providence, New York, Columbus, Little Rock and ended up in Brookhaven Mississippi. Spent a chunk of the summer in Brookhaven, helping a friend build a house for his wife's parents. First time the parents had indoor plumbing! Left them after house was done and flew back to NH, as I was delayed enlistment in the USAF and it was time to go. After basic, flew from Texas to Mississippi, and picked up my bike where I proceeded west on I-20/I-10. Lost a rear tire near Mineola, Tx...flagged down a Cop and he got his brother in law to pick up my bike and I and take us to Mineola where they owned a gas station. Spent the night in a hotel, courtesy of the town, something about a serviceman in trouble and Red Cross or someone paid for the room (don't remember). Next day, to Tyler where "Tiny" at a Honda shop repaired my tire and I was back on the road. Got hit with torential rains in Ft. Worth, and spend the night at the apartment of a girl who worked at the donut shop where I hid out during the rain. Left there the next day and continued on I-20 to I-10 ending up at Luke AFB outside of Phoenix in November, 1969.

Footnote: On another cross country trip in the Austin Healey Bugeye, I lost the generator at Mineola! Drove to the same gas station where a picture of me and the Yamaha was still on the wall....and they took me back down to Tyler where, next door to the Honda shop was a little shop that worked on British cars...got a set of points for $.50 and was back in business heading west to my last station in Denver. I do like that area of Texas....they were very good to me.

The End.

 

P.S. If I can ever find some pictures, I'll update...

Edited September 1, 2016 by videoarizona
Forgot - my first cross country ride!

[stroker ace]

My longest one day ride right at 22 hours and 1400 some odd miles, Albuquerque NM to home ( family Emergency ). I left Albuquerque at 4am my time and got home 2am my time, all I-40 except for the roads home. I only stopped for gas mostly did snack and drink some, finally stopped to eat in Nashville,TN around 11pm and finally in the drive right at 2am. This was in April 2008

 

My longest ride was in May 2012, myself and 3 friends road the 10-10ths ( 10,000 miles in 10 days ). We had a blast, staged it out of Nashville rode 500 miles out to a restaurant we wanted to eat at then back. We just had to do it 10 days straight, it would take a book for all the details.

[rbig1]

I like to see if I can get lost. Was up in northern iowa riding roads. What the I have been here already. And this is my home state.

[pope3567]

Graduated high school in Seattle, 1969. Bought a new Honda 450 to replace the Honda 90 I had been riding since I was 14. The twin, in line 450 was a HUGE bike back then, and I thought I could ride around the world. Left Seattle in late June on a surprise visit to my brother at college in Pullman Washington. Turned out he wasn't there, gone fishin' or something as I recall.

 

Decided to head south from Pullman, down through central Oregon and California via back roads with some highway driving over the Grapevine. Slept when I got tired, usually after 10-12 hours, and I would just pull off the side of the road and sleep next to the bike. Pulled into Imperial Beach California a few days later and spent a few days at a friends house.

 

Left Imperial Beach and headed north to Las Vegas. Spent the night at a truck stop in Las Vegas, and headed north toward Salt Lake City the next day. Ended up that night in Pocatello, Idaho. Left Pocatello the next morning, early. About an hour out of Pocatello, headed to Boise, a pickup truck passed me, he must have been going 75 mph. Hanging out the passenger window was a kid about my age holding a Rainier beer. I gave her full throttle, caught up to him, and the guy reached out the window and handed me the beer doing 70-75 down the road at 7 in the morning. I slowed down, they sped off, and I popped the top on the best beer I ever had doing 60 down a two-lane back road on my way to Boise. Drove all the way back to Seattle that day...best trip of my life.

 

Joined the Navy and rode that bike to Millington, Tennessee after boot camp. Rode it around Millington while I attended school and sold it when I graduated and was transferred to fighter squadron VA-94, Lemoore, California. I think I got almost as much as I paid for it new. Hell of a time to be alive...fun times.

[sleepy2]

My stretched ride was not intentional!!! Can't remember if it was last year or the year before but when I left New York rally I stopped in Buffalo NY to see where Harbor Freight was(found it but was closed). So I had supper and started out again for Fort Erie crossing. When I got to off-ramp to border traffic was backed up onto freeway which indicated a very long wait. SO I decided to make my way to the Niagara Falls border crossing. Seemed like a good idea at the time BUT when I started to pass the signs telling wait times it got very discouraging as they were saying 2-3 hour wait. Just found out week before this years rally that I could have gone a bit farther north to another crossing I didn't know about but that was then! So I was committed to the one I knew about and 7 1/2 hours (normally 3 1/2) I finally pulled into lane way. Didn't mind the time or ride as I took it as a enjoyment ride instead of frustrating occurrence.

[steamer]

Lets see... left home this morning at 9am to meet friends for lunch about 45 miles away and just got home at 6:30pm. Not the first time or the last time. Once it took us all day to go to the store 8 miles away. Guess we get lost a lot.

[saddlebum]

Can't say for sure what my longest ride is but I have set out a few times at 7:00 ish in the AM and arrived home 1or 2 AM the following day. One such ride was a color ride Carl, Abdul and I did some years back. I believe I left the house about 6:am that trip and met up with Carl in Rockwood and the we hooked up with Abdul i think near Caledon. Abdul only rode with us for part of that trip but broke away near Collingwood to visit some friends of his.

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

Gone to Starbucks for coffee a few times and taken a day or two.... last week it took two ferries to get me to Starbucks and back. Victoria ride to Nanaimo then to Squamish to Victoria. I have had a couple trips that my wife sent text messages.... are you coming home soon.

When I have free time I ride and ride.

Ps. don't try Olympia Washington to Seattle with the GPS set to avoid highways if you are on a schedule.... it is a very long detour.

[AKRefugee]

Wife and I left our home in south of Charlottte NC headed for a 3 hour round trip for ice cream in South Carolina about half way to Myrtle Beach SC. . . got home 3 days later. Had to stop and buy sweatshirts the first evening because we somehow ended up in the mountains of North Carolina