From: noemi@maui.cs.ucla.edu (Noemi Berry)
Subject: Re: Riding SF -> LA & back, alone
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Distribution: ca
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 92 05:31:28 GMT

>> Note: This will be my first ride > ~75 miles, and (unless
>> someone wants to join me) I will be doing it alone. I'd like to know about 
>> how long it takes, spending maybe half the time on the main freeways. Is it
>> unwise to do this having never ridden long distance before?
>
>yes, it is unwise.

don't listen to him, he's an experienced skeptic.  i, on the other
hand, am an ignorant beginner, and can share your perspective much
better. :-)

of course you can do it!  after all, what does wisdom have to do
with motorcycling??!!!!!

but -- PLAN on an all-day ride.  give yourself MAX time and daylight for
everything possible to go wrong.  be pleasantly happy when everything
goes well and you arrive early.  be glad you gave yourself lots of
extra time if some snafu occurs.

when i was going to do this same ride alone (except in the other direction)
i *planned* on stopping every 50 miles.  as it turns out, i found two
riding companions, and we rode 90-100 mile stretches.   but we still left
very early (sorry 'bout that, Scott) to allow time for everything to go
wrong.  don't be in a hurry for a ride like that.

also, don't be fooled by TV ads about sun'n'fun in So. Cal, it can
get dern cold here at night, especially over the Grapevine.  don't
think "oh, i'll bring a neckwarmer then".  think: "oh, i'll bring
a snowsuit then".  the right gear can make all the difference on
a long ride.

>to make time, take 101 -> 152 -> 5.  it's 355 miles from cupertino
>to santa monica.  it'll take under 6 hours unless you're pokin'.

more experience, glowing tailpipes, a Corbin seat, and lizardlike
concentration talking here.  poke!  poke!  it takes under 6 hours
in a car if you don't care too much about speed limits (no one does
on I5) and under 6 hours on a motorcycle if you're very experienced,
know your bike well and have solved most of the little things that
will drive you crazy on a long ride.

if you insist on the drudgery of I5, plan on a *lot* more than 6
hours to give yourself breaks for sanity checks, wind, aggravation
from those annoying bumps, that sort of thing.  maybe it really
will take you 6 hours, but leave a lot more time than that.

besides, I5 is about the most miserable road in the USA -- if you plan
on taking a whole day anyway, make it a nicer route.

>if you want to see lots of scenery, take 101 to hollister via 25,
>south on 25 to 198, then east to coalinga, and south on 33, then
>jog over to 5 via 166 when you reach maricopa.

this is a muuuuch better way to go.  you can still make speed, er, time,
on 33, and it is a lot less dull than I5 (won't say it's interesting
though).  supposedly 33 is freer of police (except when you pass the
state prison).

(Jerry Wills brought his radar detector anyway.  i think he just likes to
show off his toys -- nasty trick about the Widder while Scott and I were
still frozen solid from the Grapevine.  OH YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE ELECTRICS
DO YA BUMMER LOOKEE HERE!!!)  (there are some benefits to travelling
alone :-) :-) :-) ))

>i'd recommend you take a 150 mile or so trip in the very near
>future, like, this weekend.  know how far you can go on a tank of gas.
>know how long your butt can hold out.  know what to do when you get a
>flat.  do you have a chain?  ever lube it?  you will have to when you
>get down there.  when's the last time you checked your spark
>plugs?  your valves?

yank and put that last paragraph a few times.  words of solid wisdom.
(ok, so wisdom *does* have its own funny little niche in riding.)
nothing like stress about mechanical integrity to ruin your ride.

i'll add too, ahem, how does your bike do on oil for long distances?
good thing i knew beforehand that mine consumes oil the way i consume
cookies.  two quarts in 4 days and 1500 miles would have meant certain
engine seizure without constant feeding.  a sock works nicely to cover
a dripping oil bottle (and as a spare oil cap when you leave your
brain roadside!!!!!!!!!).

speaking as someone also new to long-distance riding, if you can, give
yourself a day to recover -- try not to get there the night before
you have to get up at 6am.  you will feel steamrollered; body, brain,
heart and soul.  warn people you'll see about the "on the road" brain
disconnection (term courtesy of Lisa Sieverts), it's hard to rejoin
the real world sometimes.

a final word of advice: give some thought to what time you'll be arriving
in LA.  5-6pm on a weekday?  bad news.  there is *nothing* worse than LA
rush-hour freeway traffic, even when you haven't just come off your first
long ride and are accustomed to the insanity here.  LA on a motorcycle
takes some getting used to, and after 350 miles is not the time to learn
new dodging and lane-splitting techniques.  the Bay Area is a breeze
compared to here for riding.

you'll be amazed how much you learn from 2 weeks on a motorcycle,
ans especially long rides.  it's a great experience.

noemi
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noemi@cs.ucla.edu             KotSBL            '82 kawasaki kz305csr  dod #443
          5630 miles to ride until NM (Next Motorcycle)
		  "squid" : anyone who rides faster than me :-)
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Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles