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An informative article on riding and the effect of fatigue! International Travel Tips and Help
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2009 Thursday, January 8 More for LAdams who was wondering about longer trips on a Hyosung GV250: I also have a GV250 Hyosung. I have taken it on many trips with my husband ... usually 150 to 200 miles round trip in a day. We ride with friends and usually have a group of 4 to 8 bikes. I have no difficulty keeping up with the bigger bikes (most of them Harleys); however we usually keep to the secondary roads as my bike is light and trucks push me around. I have also had some cross winds move me over a couple of inches. It is a great beginner bike but I am starting to look at something a little heavier like a V Star 650 of Boulevard S50. Not just sure what I want yet but will continue to ride my 250 and enjoy my time on the road with hubby and friends until some strikes my fancy and pocketbook. By the way I will be 62 this February and I have had my license for 3 years. It was a little scary at first but now I jump on and take off and think nothing of the longer trips we take. I would not hesitate to take my bike on a longer trip if I had the time off of work but I have to be content right now with day trips. – Anonymous (note from Mama: we hear from a great number of women who begin their adventure in riding in their 50s and I offer you an early Happy Birthday greeting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Hyosung GV250 ... there are lots of people who make these less powerful and lighter weight bikes work for them in all sorts of riding situations.) Friday, January 16 Hi VTwin Mama, Irish
Motorcycle Adventures: Motorcycle rental in Ireland.
Best regards, – Stephen Tate Dear Stephen, Monday, June 29 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Susan, A trip of this type requires vigilance for both the bike and you. Always keep an eye on your bike's fluids (oil, clutch, brake, cooling system if there is one) and the chain (if it has one). If possible, know where dealers and other shops are along the route and carry those phone numbers with you, especially if you do not have a road service assistance plan through your insurance. Consider calling your insurance company to see what the cost would be to add this. Carry basic tools (and duct tape). If you're traveling in various states, make sure you know the helmet laws. Wearing a helmet in areas you don't know is a good idea ... and really helps when weather turns bad. Have clothes for hot and cold weather (layers) and a good rain suit and rain boots. Getting soggy when you still have hundreds of miles to go is miserable. Your own personal safety is helped by having a cell phone with you (although in mountains they sometimes lose coverage). Keep basic track of the distance between towns so if something happens you know the shortest distance to get help. If something doesn't seem right (with another motorist situation), get the nearest place with other people (gas station, store, restaurant, etc.). Do not stop for another car or bike unless you truly believe you can help ... if a rider is flagging you down but you don't feel comfortable stopping, note where they are and call on their behalf when you get to the next area with people. Always have water with you and small energy snacks (nuts, granola, etc.). Keep alcohol to a minimum (ie. no riding after you've been drinking as it dulls your ability to handle situations and a hangover hurts really bad when riding the next day!). Have a good trip! More tips from the readers of VTM can be found on the Trip Tips pages. Lots of good stuff there! – Mama Dear VTwin Mama, 1) What type of sunscreen and lip balm do you recommend? 2) Just how hot will it be in mid day sun? 3) Is there any suggestions to keep cool? 4) How cold will it be in the mountains? Will there be snow on the roads? Icy conditions? 5) Are the animals dangerous in Yellow Stone? 6) Most important, I am not a small woman and with our luggage on the back of the bike will we have a hard time pulling the mountains. We have a 1993 HD Softail. I feel so stupid asking these questions but I am getting nervous. Thanks for any help you can give me. – Jan S. Dear Jan, 1) Each of us has different skin types but I wouldn't be out with anything less than a 30 SPF and lean toward something more in the 50 range. I dislike squirting the stuff on my hands to rub in (sticky hands) so I found a sunscreen in a stick that I can apply and go. Lip balm should have sunscreen as well. Don't forget to coat ears and the back of the neck depending on the helmet style. 2) Temps in that area you are headed for range, but I'd be ready for the high 90s and heat indexes into the low 100s. If the heat is slapping off the pavement take more frequent breaks or consider starting earlier in the day to avoid the dreaded 3pm time frame, as that's when it tends to reach it's full power. I usually like to be off the round around 2 or 3 pm if possible during summer trips. 3) Keeping cool is a matter of hydration, so always carry water and something that will replace electrolytes, as well as small snacks such as nuts, dried fruit, or energy bars. A nice neck cooler does wonders ... the kind that you soak in water and the interior beads expand and then you can wrap around your neck and redo as needed. While a long sleeve T and long pants seem contrary to keeping cool, they wick away the sweat and keep the direct sun off of you. Wind is the real culprit and of course riders get plenty of that. A bike with a windshield helps as does a helmet with a face shield. 4) Mountain passes can definitely be much cooler. Pack T-shirts, a sweatshirt, a light jacket (can be your rain jacket) and a full leather jacket with zip in lining. Don't forget gloves and if you don't want to bring chaps, then have tights ready to pull on under your jeans. Waterproof your boots. At this time of year the passes should be clear of snow and ice ... mostly it's about foggy conditions in the earlier part of the day. 5) One always has to consider that animals roam through the national parks but it's my understanding that they are looking for handouts so pull over well before you see a group around stopped cars and determine if you need to wait or can move around them. Animals like parked cars where they can smell food inside so don't leave your snacks onboard overnight! 6) You may experience a lag in acceleration ability as the mountain pass climbs, so then one just gears down one notch to get the power needed. It'll slow down the overall speed range, but it's very doable. Keep your packing lighter by doing laundry one day during the trip. Most campgrounds and motels have a small laundry room or there will be a service in town somewhere. More packing and trip tips can be found on the VTM Trip Tips pages ... sage advice from those who have been there! – Mama Wednesday, July 8 One thing about animals in the national parks in SD. I was there last summer. You can avoid most of them UNLESS you go through the Wildlife Loop in Custer Park. My advice is to avoid this area on a bike (you can skip it easily and see the rest of the park). When we were there, it was about 95 degrees and there were HUNDREDS of bison on the road. No kidding, hundreds! Their babies were crossing in between our bikes, with mama bringing up the rear. The cages were all stopped in front of us, taking pictures, so we couldn't get around. I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt the breath of bison on my bare arms and could've easily reached out to pet one of their heads. Not that I wanted to! Our bikes were overheating but we were afraid to shut them down for two reasons: 1) we needed to be able to move quickly if they started stampeding and 2) what if starting them up again spooked the animals? When we finally got out of there, I could've wrung my clothes out. We were sweating from the top of our heads to the tips of our toes - from the heat and from fear! Other than that, stay off the roads after dark and just generally be alert to animals crossing the roads. You'll be fine if you follow that advice. The area you are going to has some of the nicest roads for riding in the world. Don't miss Spearfish Canyon! Have a great time and be safe! – Rose. (note from Mama: thanks for sharing more specific notes about animals in the national parks ... very useful info!) Dear VTwin Mama, I did the east-to-west and back ride on my 2005 Harley Springer and will probably do the north-to-south and back ride on my 1993 Nostalgia (or "Moo Glide," as Harley affectionately nicknamed her when she was produced). The Moo Glide was Harley's only special edition 90th anniversary model produced, so she's somewhat rare to see on the road. She's beautiful: black and white paint with a black and white cowhide one-up seat, black-and-white cowhide inserts on her black leather saddlebags and various other black-and-white cowhide trim. She's a cross between a Fat Boy and a Heritage and is a cinch to ride. The Springer is a bit heavy on the front end (I'm relatively tall (5'8") but weigh only 125), so she seemed to get heavier with each day of my coast-to-coast ride. I'm sure my stilettos, extra jeans, jewelry and additional unnecessary Barbie items in my T-bag didn't help matters). Actually, the only time she felt overwhelmingly heavy was when I had to get her up off her kickstand when she was parked on a slightly declining surface. Once she's up and level, she's a great cruising bike. By the way, I ended up sending three boxes of the Barbie stuff home over the three-week trip. I found no need for five pairs of jeans, countless tops and one long, dressy skirt (in case I wanted to dress for dinner). I did keep my stilettos, however. A Barbie-type can never be without her stilettos! A black T-shirt and dark jeans with stilettos will take you anywhere. As I put 350-500 miles on the bike each day, I quickly realized at the end of the day that I didn't want to dress for dinner--all I wanted was a hot bubble bath and a comfortable bed. I wouldn't part with my rain gear, however, as I had three on-and-off days of rain on the trip out and three similar days on the trip back. I LOVE my Harley rain gear. It keeps me totally dry in driving rain. It takes up a whole saddlebag, but it stays put in my saddlebags. The jacket is good to layer over my other jacket when it gets cold and the same with the pants--they layer over jeans for added warmth. Both bikes were beautifully chromed and accessorized by my late husband, Jay, who bought me my first Harley (a 2000 Night Train) for my 50th birthday nine years ago. He died suddenly and too young of a heart attack four years ago. The Springer (which I've named "My Beloved") had been my anniversary present to him for what was to be our last anniversary. He had always wanted to do a coast-to-coast ride, so, when I took the ride, I knew it would be on that bike so that he'd get his coast-to-coast ride in spirit. I believe he was with me all the way. What a great ride! I took the northern states and they were truly beautiful. The highways and byways of South Dakota (the Badlands are phenomenally gorgeous), Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Oregon were outstanding. I never knew we had an autobahn in the US! The speed limit was 75 but no one went that "slow." The gently curving apexes around mountains and across the landscape made high speed seem as if I was tooling through the countryside at 45. I met nothing but nice, friendly, helpful people and only had one close call: a flying, killer kayak that flew off the roof of a van in an oncoming lane. I was doing 65 MPH, keeping up with the cars on the road with me, and the van was probably doing 40, which meant the kayak came at me at 100 MPH! No time to react and nowhere to go (had I had the time to react), as it happened along a twisting road through forest with no shoulders on the road, just a raging, white water river on one side filled with huge boulders, rafters and kayakers and more boulders on the other side of the road. Angels were with me as the kayak missed me and the bike by mere inches, bouncing on the street next to my left foot and skittering across the road. That was a close call. I took pepper spray along because all my friends were certain that I would run into serial killers. I can report that the only one to be pepper sprayed was me, by me. I pulled in to a motel one night, very road weary, and unpacked my T-bag and pulled out my keys to lock the bike. I pushed the key fob to set the alarm on the bike and heard a "psst" sound. I knew instantly that instead of pushing the alarm button, I had accidentally pushed the pepper spray attached to the key ring. Fortunately, it was pointed away from my face and the wind was blow away from me or I would have incapacitated myself. Girlfriends, if any of you have a desire to take a long distance solo trip and are being met with nothing but naysayers among your friends when you mention it, my advice is to let your heart lead you. A woman on a bike is never alone. She's surrounded by curious women, admiring men and women, excited little girls to see a woman on a motorcycle, and many helpful, nice people. The same people who live around you are living in other parts of this world. The chances of running into a serial killer, ax murderer or maniac are slim. Stay away from rough areas and use your intuition and you'll be fine. Anything that can happen to you "out there" can also happen to you right here at home on a quick ride to the store, so, if you have an adventuresome spirit and want to do it alone--go for it! You won't regret it! This will be a memorable trip until I die. If anyone would like to discuss how to plan for a long distance solo ride, please feel free to write! Now... off I go to begin the plans for my north-to-south ride in September! – Jan Dear Jan, Thursday, July 30 What a great story. How in the world did you get 3+ boxes of stuff on one motorcycle? I would love THAT secret! How did you know there were ax murderers? I thought only I knew about them LOL. I carry pepper spray too ... just in case. I have noticed for myself, the more I ride, the less "home" stuff I "need." Your story was both touching and funny and you're a good writer. Keep us posted. TTFN, – Trish (note from Mama: I too "learned" about ax murderers from well meaning friends when I prepared for my first solo trip ... I let their fears cloud my natural instincts ... the only thing I encountered was a really big deer and I gave him plenty of space and enjoyed the beauty of the 15 minutes before he meandered off the lonely highway stretch we were on. As to max gear load ... it's all about your bungee strap-in tactics!) Friday, November 27 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Gena , I read online that in winter there is generally less humidity in the air and so more likely that you would generate a static charge. But on your motorcycle? The only thing I can think of is that if you have some kind of seat covers (other than the standard leather ... maybe sheepskin?), your movement would generate a charge. Readers ... any ideas?! Dear VTwin Mama, Dear S., No matter what one's riding experience level is, ferry loading/unloading ramps is one of those times that you must pay extra attention. Approach the ramp straight on and at a constant speed (I like second gear). Park with your bike in 1st gear so that the side stand isn't the only stabilizing support. Extra attention needs to paid to bikes that don't have much of a lean angle when parked on the side stand. I tend to stick with my bike while the ferry pulls out and enters the main channel just to make sure all is well before heading to an upper observation deck (if there is one). – Mama
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