has anyone tried a really long trip, like across america? is that possible?
i know someone aked something like this before. maybe somebody's heard of someone?
just wondering...
dylan
has anyone tried a really long trip, like across america? is that possible?
i know someone aked something like this before. maybe somebody's heard of someone?
just wondering...
dylan
I can't imagine it being possible. Maybe back in the day but now with all the highways..you'd be hardpressed to find enough back roads to make it across the US. I imagine driving across a small state like RI or something would be possible tho.
peugeot did it back in the seventies to promote their bikes. had trouble in the western desert areas from heat and trouble coming down the rockies from not enough lubrication at speed.
I disagree w/ Nick. All things are possible. But it would take a LONG time. That's for sure. I think you could make it across from small town to small town using small roads. You could also avoid the dessert by crossing farther north. Such as the Dakotas, perhaps. Or you could try to go farther south and stick towards the coasts. That would also help crossing the mountains.
So, say, start on the East Coast and head either north towards Chicago and then up towards the Dakotas to then go to Seattle. Or ... head south to go west through Texas along the coast and then avoid the mountains and then head towards Southern California. Those are my suggestions (or coming from West Coast in reverse order).
But I think it's TOTALLY possible. But it would require lots of proper planning, especially to plan for small roads.
How ironic, me and my roomie had a conversation about exactly this yesterday.
Hell if I'd try to do it on this pieceOcrap Suzuki, but if I get my hands on a Stock Tomos Golden Bullet TT LX, and figure routing and supplies, well....hmm.
Here's a question for y'all.
How bad do you want to see it done ?
Ree
have you heard of the RAAM. the race across america. bicycles racing across the use. takes eleven to fifteen days.
we could beat that! we have engines!
we had a member head out a couple days ago to ride to chicago, but his frame broke after about 20 some miles. chicago is about 200 miles from here. personally i would like to ride to alaska. that would be a trip.
dan
moped army
swarm and destroy
Check Harald Karlsen out at
There are more roads now than there ever was before... so finding roads wouldn.t be a problem.
The biggest problem would be arranging all the luggage or packing capacity... cause I figure you would have to have almost 100 pounds of gear..... tent, sleeping bag, 4 changes of clothes, cool weather gear, rain gear, some tools, few spare parts, some food, some "cooking" stuff.
My longest motorcycle trip was about 3600 miles.... I only moteled it twice.
I figure on a moped you could probably only average 200 miles a day max..... it's the stops that kill your average..... my M/C trip averaged bout 350 miles a day.... the more fun and socializing and sightseeing you do the less distance you cover.
Those bicycle racers are some bad ass MoFo's and they are followed by a caravan of people and equipment... so that's way diff.
Trips like this are not so much about fun as they are about survival and resourcefulness....it takes a tough person.
Now if you had moped friendly people to stop at every night the fun factor would go up a lot.
Here in Europe I know some people that go on vacation every year with their moped. Of course you'll need a reliable moped with a large action-radius like the Honda SS50, CD50 or C50. These bikes also have (originally they do) a luggage-rack where you can tie the tent and sleepingbag to. It would also be easier to do if you went with a small group of mopeds so you can divide some luggage over several bikes.
Those Honda bikes have a huge advantage over most other mopeds. They are fast, comfortable, they've got large feultanks (7 liters or so) and they have fourstroke engines wich are much more reliable, more feul efficient and they run on ordinary leaded high-octane feul so you don't have to mix in any oil.
The hondas sound like nice 'peds, but I still favor the Golden Bullet.
Reason for that, is that I had one, and put 100+ miles a week on it, imagine the salesman at the cycle shops face when I brought it back for the free servicing 30 days later and the odometer read 3665 !
I ran that 'ped in 101 degree heat, and 30 degrees below before, the cold didn't bother it at all, and if you jumped the oil mix a little, it did just fine in the heat.
It also pulled hills like nobody's business, although the Bullet trike I had was a little better at it, even tho it was heavier (different trans, probably).
Point of all that, is that it never, ever, not even once, in all that time - stalled out, broke down, or refused to start, and that damn sure impressed the hell out of me.
Even when the bike was destroyed by the accident that near killed me, the engine lived on to power two more 'peds, even damaged as it was, and was still functional when I had to leave it behind in moving....gods help the auto industry if Tomos ever builds a car.
A properly tuned Golden Bullet, on good roads, can slam down a 38-41Mph average, with the 50cc A3 Engine and a good carb, and if the riders endurance holds (for some reason a 'ped beats the crap out of you physically more than a motorcycle) it would be very possible to hammer out 220-250 miles per day on average.
As far as supplies go, it would be best to have a pre-arranged route, with stops marked in advance, and several emergency stops listed just in case, as well as have people on the route with cars and emergency kits, in case of breakdown or injury, a cell phone for the rider would be highly reccommended, along with a good rand mcnally road atlas and if you wanna go high-tech, one of those GPS gadgets.
I think 12-15 days is a bit optimistic, perhaps, unless you are using a very upgraded, or very fast 'ped, and would put it at closer to 27-31 days, allowing for weather, stops, maintainence, and physical tolerance.
(trust me, ever taken a 6 hour trip on a 'ped, you know what I mean by that)
It's do-able, but definately not for the faint of heart.
As for the idea someone else mentioned, the carvan method, like the bicyclists use, that'd be a damn neat idea for the moped army to try, and if they ever decide to, and I can get a 'ped worth a damn to replace this Suzuki, I wanna go, hehehe.
Ree.
I don't think you'd need a tent or fancy gear. I think it can be done on the simple low-tech format and minimalism. I think all you'd need is a reliable moped w/ a good top speed and acceleration and high mpg. Then, carry a small one-gallon gas tank w/ premixed gas (stop when that is empty and mix gas at a gas station). Also, one set of clothes (you can go w/ that for a few days) w/ maybe a change of underwear and socks. You can stop at cheap motels or friends houses. Wash the underwear/socks in the bathroom sink at night and they should be (semi-) dry by the next day.
Take a few tools as necessary for repairs in a small backpack. Also a cell phone would be recommended and a good map (as per Ree's suggestion). After that, maybe a large jug of bottled water in the backback (by a new one as needed when you get gas). That shoul be about it. Stop to eat or pick up something at the gas stations and then move on quickly.
If youre moped averages 100 mpg, you should be able to move at 35mph and cover 100+ miles in three hours. Stop for gas, a bite to eat ... move on again. That should give you (counting generous a 25 min stop at gas station) 400 miles a day (riding 12 hrs plus 1 hr stops). That still leaves plenty of time to sleep at night. That would mean covering about 1200 miles in three days, or 2400 miles in six. So about 2500+ miles in a week. I don't know the distance of the US (and it would depend on the route taken). But I think that's a good distance movement ratio, eh?
Try to avoid big cities (e.g. Chicago) but stay always w/thin 20 miles of a town of some sort w/ gas. Never ride w/ the gas can empty. So that would be leaving the gas station w/ a full tank of gas AND one gallon in the gas can.
I think this is totally doable and a great summer project (when wheater problems would be minimal). A single all-purpose coat and an extra sweater should be enough. If it's too hot, you can always put that in the backpack and keep riding. Think survivalist!
To leave without a tent or sleeping bag and warm clothing would be VERY foolish... the gear need not be fancy...... but it had better be functional.
Have you ever ridden 12 hours a day?... MOST people have never ridden more than 2 or 3 hours a day... and all the comforts of home are GONE... and you are stuck on that seat for HOUR after HOUR after HOUR... DAY after DAY after DAY......it is not a movie at the theater !!.... and you can't call your mommy to come and get you !.... 200 miles a day would be a good pace to try and maintain...and not as easy as you think.
You WILL get caught in the rain... you WILL get cold... even in summer..... you WILL get a very SORE REAR END..... you WILL get very TIRED.
Say you made it easy on yourself and went in the South from Ocean to Ocean.... Jacksonville Florida to San Diego Californicate.... that's 2500 miles... or you might as well figure 14 days...(map miles are based on taking Freeways... which you can't do)..... how many friends do you have in FL, AL, MS, LU, TX, NM, AZ, NV, and CA...???... that's a hell of a lot of friends bud !!..... NY to San Fran is bout 3200 miles....
And you can forget about PLANNING every restaurant, gas station, laundromat, food store, and hardware store stop ...... it can't be done... there are too many variables.
That is why you have to plan ahead and be as self sufficient as possible.
A survivalist plans ahead and prepares carefully........ or he DOESN"T SURVIVE !!
I've got a challenge for you if you think it is so easy.... pick a destination 100 miles from your house and ride there and back on one day NEXT WEEKEND !!
I haven't looked for it yet... but there is a motorcycle event every couple of years called the.... Iron Butt...where they ride to the 4 corners of the US in about 10 days or something.... look it up on the web and see what they do.
You are going to ride 2500 miles on one change of clothes?....... I'm gonna call you..... Stinky Miggy.
Sore Butt Fred
Hey man, I didn't say that my approach to peding the country would be nice ... only that it was theoretically possible. I totally understand that a true trip would require more. But I will try the 100 mile trip, no problem. I'll get back to you. ;-)
All I meant to say was that it could be done. I'm not much of a "planner" myself. I'd just get on my ped and start riding and keep going. You do have to be smart about it, of course, and stop for gas every so often. Also, I have a constitution that can endure quite a bit. I have travelled before for several days w/ no change of clothes. So taking an extra pair of underwear and maybe a sweater would be a cinch.
Also, I did mention that my travel suggestions was for summer. The odds of weather (if you take a nice route) varrying tremendously would be rather slim. Maybe a low of 60s someplaces and highs of 100s in others. A sweater and extra jacket should do fine for the cold. I can tell you this from experience. Put them in the backpack in the heat areas. Pants year around is my thing ... so no worries there.
I don't have friends all over the US. But my credit can go ca-ching like nobody's business. And ... since I ride a moped and don't own a car ... I can afford to travel like this any time! ;-)
I wrote for about 8 hours one day on my garelli, which at the time had a very shitty seat with no padding. My ass didn't hurt very much but it was numb as hell. I couldn't even feel my own ass. Kinda sucked.
john
i lived by myself for 2+ months out of single back pack while in alaska (read: rain, cold, hot (yet parts can be very hot), empty, full, high alt, low alt, etc ,etc). i hitchhiked from ketchikan (on the pan handle) to the arctic ocean, through denali, the Yokon, BC, and Alberta, and traveled across the rest of CA in a train/bus/more hitchhiking, etc.
my pack was 70lb, which was WAY overkill. i had a tent, tarp, sleeping bag, amtrak blanket, down vest, rain gear, logger pants, misc clothing (fannnels, tshirts, 2pair of pants, boxers, etc), an oldschool camp stove (like a wisperlite in a metal box). fuel, cook kit, about 5 days of food, plus Cds, camera, book, etc.
i had a lot of gear that obviously did not need, you could easily slim that down to 350 lb. just take a tarp, bivy sack, 1 extra set of cloths, rain gear, a hat, sleeping bag, a SMALL camp stove (wisper lite), mess kit, then moped stuff, tools, extra parts (axels, innertubes, rings, litebulbs, pedals/arms, misc bolts. etc).
it is surpisingly easy how light you can travel when you get used to it. through my whole trip i was giving stuff away or sending back boxes...when i go out again, i will take even less.
and in regards to the group thing....it would seem like a good idea, but my experences with groups of mopeds, is any time you add one moped to the group you increase the potential for problems by atleast 30%. more mopeds, more breakdowns. more hassle....but then again i am a big fan of solo travel.
oh yeah, take a ulock.
swarm and destroy the entire freaking country.
My cousin Beno
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