Long distance riding over Labor Day Weekend

[fruitblender]

So, I just got the ok from my work to take the Friday on Labor Day Weekend off, I've been tentatively planning an "ironbutt" trip for that weekend. Denver to LA in 24 hours. I am pretty damn excited! After LA I'll go up State Highway 1 to San Francisco before heading back east to make it to Denver by Monday.

I know this really isn't common on a sportsbike, but I actually really enjoy long distance traveling on my Ninja (as long as I have a healthy supply of ibuprofen that is..). I did Atlanta to Denver in 5 days (one day detour to visit a buddy) and my longest trip in a single day was 531 miles from Denver to SLC, going the "long way" through western Colorado. That trip took 12 hours but I did have a detour there aswell as someone helped me stitch together my fairing that I cracked a few weeks before.. who knew a busted fairing wouldn't stay put at 90mph+ speeds on the highway?

Anyone do an "ironbutt" on their sport? How'd you fare? Where'd you go? Where did you stay (camping, motels, couchsurfing)?

[mdub]

good for you. i would love to do such a ride in the future.. when i go on rides with friends here we usually do 250-300 mi for the day. no pills for me. just luckee of good genes for a strong back. i would never ride any other bike but a crotch rocket. it is more fun and quicker to get to destination.

[NUTZ]

I've never done the paperwork for an Iron Butt though I have ridden from Denver to Reno in a day twice now. It's 1000 miles each way.

[JKOL]

I just drove from Fresno-Denver a couple weeks ago. That was a long trip, no way I could do it in 1 day on a sportbike. I have done 1000 miles in 2 days, but I have no interest in even trying to cover that same distance in 1 day.

What route are you taking? If you are going to be on I-70, be very careful in Utah. There is a stretch along I-70 where there is no place to get gas for over 100 miles, between Green River and Salina. Make sure you don't pass one of those towns without topping off.

[fruitblender]

i would never ride any other bike but a crotch rocket.

Yep, same here. I thought some time ago, maybe I should look at touring or sport touring, then I told myself "who am I kidding. I'm sticking with sports!"

I've never done the paperwork for an Iron Butt though I have ridden from Denver to Reno in a day twice now. It's 1000 miles each way.

How was it? How long did it take you? I've looked at doing the actual paperwork, but there's a lot of nonsense you have to do... I think I just want to focus on the ride for now.

If you are going to be on I-70, be very careful in Utah.

When I went to the salt flats a few months ago, I got really close to running out right before I arrived. I got a little heavy on the throttle and didn't think about that when I calculated how far my tank would get me. I'm definitely keeping that in mind. And yea, I'm just going down I-70. I know it will be a boring ride, but I just wanna squeeze those 1k miles in one day. The fun stuff comes the day after

[#1Townie]

Denver to LA is about 1100 miles. Figure fuel stops at every 200 miles for safety. So that's five fuel stops. Average speed of 65 mph. So just drive time would be about 17 hours. Plus fuel stops 19.5 hours. That time is very mild and gives a ton of room for traffic and other stops. I would advise staying out of the bay area on a weekend..... unless you like traffic. Lol. Enjoy the trip.

[fruitblender]

I would advise staying out of the bay area on a weekend..... unless you like traffic.

Well, lane splitting is legal in CA...

[Generic]

Check out Ride Apart for some great roads from LA north, they are generally mentioned in the various article

http://rideapart.com/2013/07/rideapa...da-cb500f-abs/

[#1Townie]

True.. but risky as hell. People get PISSED about it. Had more then a few cars try to take me out the last time I did it.

[Half LLive]

What bike are you planing on doing this on?

[fruitblender]

True.. but risky as hell. People get PISSED about it. Had more then a few cars try to take me out the last time I did it.

Well, the prospect of lane splitting just went from exciting to terrifying

What bike are you planing on doing this on?

My Ninja 650.

[Half LLive]

Go Ninja 650's. I love mine. If I had the gear and you wouldn't mind, I would join you. It's no fun riding long distances by yourself.

[Generic]

Stats on Lane Splitting in Cali (they've been doing an education campaign)
http://rideapart.com/2013/07/more-ri...a-more-safely/

How to Lane Split
http://rideapart.com/2013/01/flashba...to-lane-split/

And a short video about it
http://hellforleathermagazine.com/20...ng-is-awesome/

[mdub]

True.. but risky as hell. People get PISSED about it. Had more then a few cars try to take me out the last time I did it.

i can give a shit if someone is lane splitting/shariing what eva....People who get upset are just lowlifes....Go figure

[kawasakirob]

Sweet man sounds like a good trip. Enjoy

[#1Townie]

i can give a shit if someone is lane splitting/shariing what eva....People who get upset are just lowlifes....Go figure

I dont care either as long as they don't rev a loud ass pipe in my ear but some people hate it.

[mdub]

I dont care either as long as they don't rev a loud ass pipe in my ear but some people hate it.

oh those type o bikes....yes, same here.

[Tiutis]

What route are you taking? If you are going to be on I-70, be very careful in Utah. There is a stretch along I-70 where there is no place to get gas for over 100 miles, between Green River and Salina. Make sure you don't pass one of those towns without topping off.

Yeah, actually you have two stretches where you have 50-100miles without gas. As long as you gas up in Fruita, CO and Green River you will be fine!
I-70, I-15 are surprisingly scenic all the way to NV border. From my experience, cops will pull you over for 5mph+.

[Matty]

after you get past the Utah border and a few miles into the NE tip of Arizona I-15 actually gets kinda fun for a lil bit and twisty... actually really twisty!!!

Make sure to fill up, eat, and stretch in St. George. not a lot of stops between there and the Nevada border.

I've made the drive to Los Angeles and back a few times. Utah sucks!!!

There's no way my ass, wrists, and/or back could endure that on a tiny sportbike. Then again you're on the 650r. So I guess you're seating a lil more upright.

Anyways, on that note, have a fun and safe trip. Let me know if you want any tips on roads out in SoCal.

Also, i lane split/shared in LA for 8 years. it's not that scary, just keep your eyes open. remember, it's only legal in the left lane on the freeway. The streets are lil scarier. again, keep your eyes open. people in California drive a lot more aggressively than they do out here.

[fruitblender]

From my experience, cops will pull you over for 5mph+.

Ugh, thanks for the warning, I'll have to keep my eyes peeled then!

I've made the drive to Los Angeles and back a few times. Utah sucks!!!

I've done Atl to Denver twice now (once on my ninja, and once by car) and I'm pretty damn sick of Kansas honestly. I did like parts of Utah in direction SLC though.

Then again you're on the 650r. So I guess you're seating a lil more upright.

Yea, and I've already broken my body into it this spring Actually, I almost made the Atl-Denver drive on my 2010 Ninja 250... I don't know if I would have made it/have had any feeling left in my body had I actually done that. I managed to make a good situation out of a shitty one right before I moved when I wrecked the baby ninja and upgraded to the 650.

[fruitblender]

So, my trip totally happened. I made it, didn't die from heat exhaustion or get eaten by vultures (I may or may not actually have been worried about this). Since reading (and writing) big blocks of paragraph texts is boring, here's a table with some numbers to make it interesting.

4	number of days planned for trip
80	number of hours spent away from home
60	apprx. hours actually on the road
2800	miles driven
1032	miles from Denver to LA
19	how many hours Denver to LA took
1	how many times I got pulled over
0	how many tickets I got (just a warning for doing 90 in a 75..)
180	apprx. amount of $ I spent on gas
5	number of red bulls I drank on Friday
5	number of opportunities I took to lane split in CA
3	number of people that tried to merge into me, incidentally also in CA but not while I was lane splitting.
17	number of times I called my mom to let her know I was still alive
1	number of wheelies accidentally popped
0	number of times I'd like to ride through the desert again

Interested in a more visual representation? Here's some of the pics I took: Facebook Album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PNGq7tDWMQ

[FZRguy]

Okay, I'm impressed. Glad to hear you had a good ride.

[One-ops]

Wow don't think I could do that right now for sure I'm sore from 257 miles. Props!

[usmcab35]

First things first, good job!!!!!
I did Denver to Idaho, cant remember the little town I stopped in but it was 1008 miles. did it in 16hrs and some change, did it on a hayabusa so it was a little better but I was beat that night. got a new bike and some long haul goodies, cant wait to do some more. my sister lives in NYC...hmmmm