Rider prep for long haul events

[junglejim]

I've never gotten sleepy at night while riding.

I've had a few great rides through the night. Once I got off a ferry at midnight (the red eye) and the motels were full. It was a beautiful moon light night. So I just kept riding through the night. Traffic was about zero and the moon was bright. If you need to be refreshed just turn off your electirc and unzip your jacket for a few miles. That cool night air will wake you up. There are those occasional bug mega splats that get your attention too. Then when the sun begins to warm the day next morning is when the sleepiness comes. That's when it quickly becomes time for a picnic table nap for me. I prefer a park in a small quiet town to the busy rest area on the freeway.

I remember a night when sleepiness got to me and I pulled over in a remote area (out west) and slept on the ground. I should have noticed the cow pies on the highway. I woke up at first light looking at the slimy nose of a steer about 10" from my face. He was just curious. Glad I didn't smell like grass.

I always pay the price of a long hard ride later. Going too long on one day detracts from my ability to go the next day. Also riding in the cold or hot on one day takes away from my performance the next day too. Long rides in the summer are easier than in spring or fall when days are shorter and morning and evening temps are too cool.

Camping in some of the small roadside rest areas can be real dangerous. Not from bad guys, but from what people leave behind when they stop to use the bathroom and there isn't one. The presence of "tourist lilies" (dabs of toilet paper in the weeds) is a clue.

 

[charlie b]

My problems with back roads.

Road condition and sand/dirt/leaves/rocks on the roads.
People crossing the center line, especially on blind curves.
Wildlife, both living and dead, on the highway, or jumping in front of you.
Longer distance to get help.

But, if not trying to make distance, I always run the back roads. For all the reasons people have stated above. At night I will choose the back road carefully. Being in the middle of nowhere is ok in daylight, but, at night I don't like it as much.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rural America is the meth capitol of the world. It's one of the most serious problems facing most county sheriff''s departments in the Great Plains (probably everywhere). Population density doesn't favor the wide availability of the imported drugs. Almost anybody can make meth and they do. We've got a motel owner in our church who runs one of the low-dollar motels that typically has at least half of its rooms rented on a weekly basis. Ron has had meth labs in his building three times and that gets expensive to clean up. So far, he's been lucky and nothing's blown up or killed neighbors yet.

 

[elizilla]

Low end motels are getting skeevier and scarcer. It costs money to clean up the aftermath of a meth lab and/or supervise their property better to reduce the incidence. So they either let it all go until something blows up and they close, or they get more and more costly. The cheap motels are disappearing.

 

[RedNigel]

I pay more, but I stick to Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Candlewood Suites or Holiday Inn Express. These all tend to be younger buildings and better maintained. No surprises.
Hotels, like cars, don't age well unless ownership regularly puts money back into them. Privately owned and franchised properties dont get tended to like they should.