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Is this normal for a cross country trip?

One thing you can be sure of on a multiple day, accross state lines trip.... it will rain at some point..... don't forget the rainsuit!!! :storm:
 
One thing you can be sure of on a multiple day, accross state lines trip.... it will rain at some point..... don't forget the rainsuit!!! :storm:

Oh, you bet! I'm actually contemplating getting a riding suit so I don't have to stop and put on the rain gear. My Harley rain gear is way too hot to ride in the rain. Yes I stay drive, but jeez, I'm sweating underneath.
 
No matter how water proof riding gear is, you will still get wet. Same goes with actual rain suits, you will eventually get wet or sweat to death. I've started carrying it just for the murphy's law part of it. If I have rain gear with me it won't rain. :trust:
 
Last June, I had to stop in Kansas to put on rain gear. Took all of 5 minutes. Hopped back on the bike and 10 minutes later it stopped ;) argh...
 
That was my entire trip to CO this summer, it stopped everytime I put the rain gear on. :doh:
 
My mother would certainly add to the list ... "Make sure you're wearing clean underwear!"
 
The only issue I see is through Dallas near the end. You need to re-route that portion, unless your doing it to go by Strokers:rider:

The route north from San Antonio is my starting route. I did that route last year, but this time I changed it to run into NW Arkansas.

Right now its 281 to 67 east to I30 into Texarkana.

Which way would you go? I'd like to just ignore Dallas and go around it, but that would add considerable mileage the first day.
 
Which way would you go? I'd like to just ignore Dallas and go around it, but that would add considerable mileage the first day.

Trust me, it's not that bad...... The way you're going, you won't even go through Dallas at all. You'll stay on 20 all the way around, and then before you know it, you're out of Dallas County. Heck, if it's not a clear day, you won't even see the downtown skyline from 20. But I wouldn't worry at all about it.
 
The route north from San Antonio is my starting route. I did that route last year, but this time I changed it to run into NW Arkansas.

Right now its 281 to 67 east to I30 into Texarkana.

Which way would you go? I'd like to just ignore Dallas and go around it, but that would add considerable mileage the first day.

Run up as you planned and then at Waco head over to Tyler, Gladewater, Atlanta and then Texarkana. Much more fun and has a few curves thrown in for good measure and the speed limit on the two lane is 70 :mrgreen: and not too many LOE's to contend with.
 
In response to the original poster, it is always good to have your "Living Will" completed and filed. Recall that Terry Schiavo situation. Her parents filed a lawsuit to assert authority over her care. Under the relevant Florida law Terry Schiavo's husband is her sole guardian and has the right to terminate her life support and that was the judgement of the Florida courts.

A "Living Will" also lets your beneficiaries know where all your assets are and how you wish them to be distributed. It's not a replacement for a Will but a good start. You may wish to consult an attorney regarding how to set up a "Living Will" since the attorney would know any relevant laws that may impact your decisions.
 
In response to the original poster, it is always good to have your "Living Will" completed and filed. Recall that Terry Schiavo situation. Her parents filed a lawsuit to assert authority over her care. Under the relevant Florida law Terry Schiavo's husband is her sole guardian and has the right to terminate her life support and that was the judgement of the Florida courts.

A "Living Will" also lets your beneficiaries know where all your assets are and how you wish them to be distributed. It's not a replacement for a Will but a good start. You may wish to consult an attorney regarding how to set up a "Living Will" since the attorney would know any relevant laws that may impact your decisions.

Welcome to the forum.:mrgreen:
 
ATGATT really doesn't do anything but prevent rash in most crashes, and in the end all the unplanned for details will probably work out. Also he proved my reasoning for wearing a full face helmet, almost every motorcycle wreck I have ever seen the rider ends up face first on the pavement, as did he. (I have even seen low sides with shield damage.

:tab I forget now where I was reading it, but the article in question discussed the nature of motorcycle related injuries and their seriousness. One of the big points they kept making was that short of nasty head injuries, the body can often recover from a single major injury. However, the ability to survive starts to go down dramatically even with one other major injury. Most people may not think of road rash as a major injury, but the article pointed out that it is literally a burn wound and if there is very much of it, the cumulative affect of it can rapidly add up to a major injury in terms of its impact on the body's ability to deal with trauma. Their conclusion was that ATGATT has a very large impact on the body's ability to handle accident related trauma.

:tab Obviously, they were totally also in favor of full face helmets for their ability to reduce head injuries because of the potential for real life threatening damage. I think it was the Hurt Report that showed that in motorcycle accidents the front of the head and face take the impact in something like 50-60% of the cases, while the top and back of the head only impact in about 15-20% of the cases. So a skull cap helmet, while legal, is not much use. Even the 3/4 helmets were not recommended. I have been down twice at speed, once at 70 mph and another at about 35-40mph. In both cases, I was face down for part of the time. In the first case, the entire front of the helmet, chin to forehead was ground up pretty good by the chip sealed pavement. I have no doubt I would not be here but for the full face helmet! Also, in both cases, I suffered absolutely no rash. The worst injury was a minor ankle break in the slower crash.

:tab Getting to the BIG trip route posted above... Is there a reason to head up through Arkansas and Missouri before cutting West? If not, I would highly recommend heading West right from the start into New Mexico, Eastern Arizona, and then heading North up through Colorado. The riding is FAR better! Besides, you can do Ark & Mo in a nice 4 day weekend ;-) Also, once you get over to North Carolina, you are gonna really wish you had a few days to play in that area before moving on :trust: Unless you just want to see the Gulf Coast, I would head West while still up in North Carolina, cutting across Northern Alabama and Mississippi. It is much nice scenery and the roads are better. Then when you reach Jackson, cut South on the Natchez Trace to Natchez, and then cut West through Alexandria, La., and East Texas. It might take a bit more time than just slabbing along I-10, but you also won't go insane... :-P I can recommend many great roads in the NM, Az, Co areas as well as the NC area and the ride back West from there.
 
Scott:
I agree, and don't get wrong, road rash isn't something I ever want to repeat. I wear my gear because I have gone down with it and without it. I prefer to never dig gravel out of my leg again while trying not to pass out. I go into shock pretty easy I found out. :lol2: I did learn from my brother's wreck it isn't a cure all, but it does help.

I normally get irritated by the preachy nature of most ATGATT nazis but none the less, I am big on preaching full face helmets myself, for all the reasons you stated. But the wonderful thing about life is that some people will never learn till it's them laying face down on the road.


BigJnsa:

I'm excited about the ride report on this lil' adventure. Please tell me you plan on updating as you go?
 
I go into shock pretty easy I found out.

:tab Ditto. I am good until I know there is someone to take over for me. Then I tend to go into shock. After hitting the deer in October, I warned the EMT's. They did not believe me. I could feel my hands and feet starting to tingle and asked them to lay me back and elevate my feet. They still did not believe me. Then they finally checked my BP and it was 80 over 40 and they freaked out :roll: They finally elevated the feet and laid me back, and gave me some kind of shot that brought the BP back up again. I can usually just lay back and wait it out. It takes maybe 10-15 minutes to pass completely once it starts. I have an aunt that has the same problem. I've no idea if it is genetic or just psychological.

:tab BigJnsa, if you do plan a report. At a minimum, jot down some notes each day. On a ride that long, you are likely to forget a great deal and/or to start blurring days together. I used to use a digital camera that had a memo feature. When turned on, it would take the picture and then as long as I held down the button, it would record what I said and store that with a thumbnail in mpeg format. That way I had a thumbnail of the image with audio attached. This was great for refreshing my memory when later working on a report! It is also great because I suck at remembering people's names, so I would take a pic of people with their bike and say their name, bike model, and where they were from. Then I would save all those pics in a directory for later reference. Unfortunately, my current cameras do not have that memo feature unless I actually shoot video with them. I also used to have one of those little mini digital audio recorders that I could just dictate notes into for later reference. I used that a lot back when I would go out scouting routes for future organized group rides, but not so much for doing my ride reports. It was nice and small, easy to carry in the tank bag or pocket for quick access.
 
May I suggest this . . .

May I suggest something like this from a company called Road ID? You can get it as a braclet, etc. It has a way for EMS to contact family, doctors, etc. I think it's about $10 a year.

Just a thought. I've used it the last few years and I've been in all the lower 48, Canada and Mexico.


Bruce
 
Wes, when in May, I will be up there with a group May 5-9th

Leaving El Paso on the 8th and back on the 16th. The worst part is that 550 miles on I-10 the first day. I've done it before but it's still an pain.
 
I'll answer that one for him...

Sportster Rally in KC

Thanks Hemibee... that's correct, this all revolves around leaving KC on the 13th to head West. But now, I don't know if I can get all the time off. They are renovating our labs and offices some time this summer, but nobody can give me a clear date when they are starting. If they start my area while I'm gone, I'm the only IT person for the department, servers have to move and set up some place else during the renovations, etc... I doubt anybody would want to be left emailless for a month.

But we'll see.. I'll keep you guys/gals posted.
 
Re: May I suggest this . . .

May I suggest something like this from a company called Road ID? You can get it as a braclet, etc. It has a way for EMS to contact family, doctors, etc. I think it's about $10 a year.

Just a thought. I've used it the last few years and I've been in all the lower 48, Canada and Mexico.


Bruce

Somebody gave me (I forget the name of it) a thing you tape to her helmet. Inside this little bag is a piece of paper with contact info, blood type, allergies, etc...
 
They're probably being paranoid, however I've never seen you ride, they may have just cause for concern :)
 
Have you considered the issues raised by the original poster in this thread? Have you updated your life insurance, written a will, done a power of attorney, thought about who would raise your kids if something were to happen to you and your spouse, etc,...? These aren't always comfortable issues to consider, but they are important.
 
Yup. I waited until my daughter was self sufficient before buying my first bike. Didn't really have a choice being a single dad.

Got my stuff in order. Even have those little cards in my Klim jackets. Got 911 on voice activated speed dial on my Sena units.

Need to get a Spot though. Before I set off on any big solo trips.
 
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