How far do you travel in one day?

[Utah Motorcyclist]

This question is really for those who have traveled multi-day trips on their bikes.

How far do you travel in one day? I will be spending several days on the road and I'm trying to plan my routes and days. I have done an iron butt and honestly felt just fine the next day, but that was only one day, this will be multiple days.

Thanks in advance!

[RichLockyer]

Red Lodge trip last year:
Day 1 - 554 miles, 13:18hrs, 5 riders for a little over half the trip, 3 for the rest
Day 2 - 529 miles, 16:25hrs, 3 riders
Day 3 - 342 miles, 7:45hrs, 3 riders half the trip, then hooked up with the crew from Washington and Lolo

Day 6 - 428 miles, 17hrs, 2 riders last 120 miles, 6 riders first 300, includes Yellowstone and Tetons
Day 7 - 792 miles, 15:53hrs, 2 riders.

Each day other than the last was a mix of slab and mountain riding, which reduces average speed. The last day was all slab, but we were slowed down until with got to SLC by sunblock that kept getting into my eyes... I was able to get some eyewash in SLC and we got on with the ride. Several major thunderstorms north of St. George and in California, plus the high winds in California were really messing with Sergio.

In general, calculate an average speed of 50-55mph for 1-6 riders for an all-slab ride.


With my club, we've done LA to Mt Carmel Junction in one day, and the return trip in one day, with two 300+ mile loops on the days between arrival and departure, so 4 days of 300+ miles.
We've done LA to Williams AZ in a day with another 300 mile loop before leaving.

Solo or with one riding partner, I think you can comfortably plan 500 mile days indefinitely, unless you have some sight-seeing to do at some of the stops. Even with some mountain twisties thrown in, you can still complete 500 including meal and fuel stops in 15 hours or less, still leaving 9 hours for sleep.
With women in the group, maybe figure 400 or so for extended rides with a 500 mile day thrown in once or twice on a 5 day trip... "pee breaks" tend to be more frequent and they can't just pull over and grab a bush, women's restrooms tend to have a line.

[Jake '53]

I go by time in the saddle vs miles and try to keep it under 12 hours. If I push it over 14 I get tired enough that it's not really safe.

[cmptrmn.1]

Figure 250 - 300 is a leisurely trip with plenty of stops for scenery. 500 is faster paced, but, still have time to stop. When you get over that amount, it is usually to get from point A to point B.

[Utah Motorcyclist]

This trip will be just myself and my wife. No other bikes.

We have several days in the 300-450 range with two or so days around 550-600 range. Those days are basically get from point A to point B.

[RichLockyer]

With your wife on the back, the 300-400 is probably good. Mine was pretty tired when we got through Zion, but she had no trouble riding the next 3 days in a row.

[idmtchris]

I took a long trip and the first day I did 580 in 11 hours. That was too much. I recalculated everything and broke the rest of the trip in to about 300 (6-7 hours) rides which was much more bearable. In ideal weather conditions you could do 10 hours a day in the saddlefor multiple days, but add some cross wind, cold air and rain it will take a lot out of you. I really like the 300 daily goal, because you can get on the road at 7 AM and take 10 hours to cover it and really spend time enjoying the sites along the way without time pressure. You will finish the ride in late afternoon and have time to enjoy where ever it is you stopped for the night.

[keith_stepp]

Originally Posted by RichLockyer

With your wife on the back, the 300-400 is probably good. Mine was pretty tired when we got through Zion, but she had no trouble riding the next 3 days in a row.

lol

I was reading your first post and thinking, "man, I am a wuss." Then, I read this and felt better.

The most I do in a day, usually, is 350 miles, but I always ride with my wife riding pillion. We stop a lot, take long lunches, and do a lot of sight seeing. I plan my trips in 1 hour segments where I ride for 45 minutes and stop for 15. Give or take, which works out to about 45 miles an hour and about 8 hours of riding.

When I am by myself, I can ride non-stop between tanks, which is about 150 miles. I do take long breaks at gas-ups though to recover. Still, it would be pretty reasonable to expect to get in a 500 mile day without trying too hard and 600 if you had fast roads.

[trikebubble]

Well, in two months we will be heading out on our 4th 2+week trip in 6 years. With the exception of a couple "must get there" 500+mile days, we try to limit our riding to no more than 300 miles a day. I have no interest in riding until I'm exhausted, or with real specific goals and/or destinations in mind. We take this time to relax, re-charge, enjoy life and everything we encounter along the way. To us it really is about the journey so much more than a specific destination. We'll put down serious daily mileage in order to get somewhere if we know that we then get to spend the next week just taking our time (ie: getting to Red Lodge in July), but aisde from that we find that forcing ourselves into shorter mileage days leaves not only so much more time to relax afterwards, but makes the whole riding experiance much more enjoyable as a whole.

[NCDave]

It really depends on the type of roads that you are going to ride. I've had days of not doing more than about 200 miles of twisties and been worn out. I've done an iron butt in 18 hours and still felt good.

On my trip to WV, we rode nothing but 2 lanes. We did 290, 320, 330, and 325. We generally left by 9:30 and arrived by 6:00.

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by keith_stepp

lol

I was reading your first post and thinking, "man, I am a wuss." Then, I read this and felt better.

The most I do in a day, usually, is 350 miles, but I always ride with my wife riding pillion. We stop a lot, take long lunches, and do a lot of sight seeing. I plan my trips in 1 hour segments where I ride for 45 minutes and stop for 15. Give or take, which works out to about 45 miles an hour and about 8 hours of riding.

When I am by myself, I can ride non-stop between tanks, which is about 150 miles. I do take long breaks at gas-ups though to recover. Still, it would be pretty reasonable to expect to get in a 500 mile day without trying too hard and 600 if you had fast roads.

The last day back from Red Lodge was more of a "ya wanna stop? Nahh" kind of thing.
When we were having lunch in SLC, we were discussing that we could easily make Mesquite.
Rolled into Mesquite around 3 or 4 and stopped for dinner. Not feeling tired at all and still had plenty of daylight, we figured we'd head for Vegas.
Rolled through Vegas and got to State Line around 8 or so... sun wasn't even down, and we looked at each other and were like "Do we want to blow $75 on a hotel for a 4-hour ride home in the morning? Nahh... let's go home"
Got home at 11pm.


Typical local day rides will be a max of 300-350, but occasionally we'll do 400 or so. Honestly, unless I've gone 250, I don't feel like I've been riding.
I'll do 100, half twisties half slab, just warming up the engine for an oil change


Of course, keep in mind my conditioning. I'm NOT a morning person, whether I get 4, 6, 8, or 12 hours of sleep, but once I'm up, I'm a machine. Breakfast, dinner, and other than that, maybe 6 bottles of water and a sports drink on hot days. My normal work day could mean a 200 mile drive, 6-8 hours of work, and a 200 mile drive home. If it's an out of town multi-day job, I'll get as much done as I can 8-4 with the contractor, cut them loose, then continue with what work I can do without them as long as I have daylight as long as I don't need to close a lane... so a 14-16 hour day is done without a 2nd thought (what else am I gonna do, sit in the hotel room and stare at HBO?)... then back to the room to log in and file my daily paperwork, catch up on the forums, and in bed around 1am.... up at 5 to repeat the next day.
I can roll on 4 hours sleep a night for about a week before I need to take a "down" day to recover.

[keith_stepp]

Originally Posted by RichLockyer

I'm NOT a morning person...

Yea. I have a hard time waking up too, but once I've had my shower, I'm good to go. I like to get up early and get out on the road right away. The first stop I plan is for breakfast. My wife on the other hand... getting her ready and out the door is a legitimate challenge.

[NCDave]

I'm old...I like an afternoon nap!

[Utah Motorcyclist]

Originally Posted by keith_stepp

Yea. I have a hard time waking up too, but once I've had my shower, I'm good to go. I like to get up early and get out on the road right away. The first stop I plan is for breakfast. My wife on the other hand... getting her ready and out the door is a legitimate challenge.

Same here. Why do they need to "get ready" if there gonna be on a bike all day? lol!

[Elmer]

I guess I fit into the average here.

Rarely less than 300 or more than 500.

If I am at my destination and plan to spend a couple days there I may only ride 150 miles or so on each of those days as local attractions and entertainment come into play.

[2WheelFun]

My one day ride last summer to Silver Springs Nevada was 1060 miles done in 16 hours. I won't be doing that again!

Multi day rides vary but are similar to others...some 400-500 mile days.

[coxy313]

Did 500 miles Sat.
Left Shelbyville,IN @7:30a with a Weestrom,2 Wingers and me on C-14 all stock.
We went to Niehaus cycle(Lietchfield, Ill) open house with wingers, my first long haul in a day.
Got back in around 9:30p and decided she needs a few long range farkles. Throttle lock, seat, grip puppies and a comm system so we can hear Wingers make fun of us.

[idmtchris]

I am really thinking of doing an Saddle sore this summer. Seattle to just past Missoula MT and back right at 1k miles, all open freeway most of it with loose speedlimits. Any NW riders want to do it as a group lets start planning for late July or August.

[phoenixfire]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

This question is really for those who have traveled multi-day trips on their bikes.

How far do you travel in one day? I will be spending several days on the road and I'm trying to plan my routes and days. I have done an iron butt and honestly felt just fine the next day, but that was only one day, this will be multiple days.

Thanks in advance!

Depends on how many breaks can be taken.

I'm good for about two hours before I need a 5 min break but then again I tour on a sport bike. (that sentence just screams I need a sport touring bike!) I'm sure if I had a Vulcan or a goldwing I could go all day.

[RMC_SS_LDO]

I just came back from my first road trip on the C14. Went from SE Georgia (just north of Jacksonville FL) to Philadelphia, each way is about 850 miles. I just traded my Electraglide Ultra for the Connie, so this was a good test with the new riding position.

On the way up, rode straight thru and made it in a little over 13 hours. The weather was crappy but the trip was bearable, but I was ready to hit the bed when I got there! The stops were limited to gas and grub since I was going point A to B.

On the way back, I detoured to my sister's place in SC but it was still a good 700 mile day; not bad either but definitely ready to stop. On a leisurely ride, I would limit it to about 600 miles per day. YMMV

As a side note, I was surprised that I was more sore but less tired when I got off the bike compared to the EGlide.