Going InZane

[Icelander]

Well, worked it out with the wife and we'll celebrate our 23rd anniversary either before or after the trip to Inzane. (I recognize that gleam of "He can't very well say no" in her eye.) 

I've put in the request for 12 days off from work and hope to hear back on the approval soon.

Lord willin' and the crick don't rise, I'll be attending both Inzane and Valhalla!

So, now I need to figure out when and where I'm meeting the rest of you to ride out to Spearfish.

Who else is going?

Kendall

[gordonv]

I'm trying to make both also. But coming from Vancouver BC we'll most likely be leaving at the same time, but you guys are about 100 miles closer. I want to take that Hwy 20 over the Cascades since I'm been riding distance on my MC (5 years).

I don't know till next year if I can get the week off work. Should make the Valhalla Rally, with one day minimum, should not conflict with others vacations.

I'm planning on Missuola MT as the halfway point, and will be meeting my sister and brother-in-law there on the Sat the 6th (?) coming down from Edmonton AB. After that? Who knows. Figure 2 or 3 nights in Spearfish, then start a long slow ride home.

[flcjr]

I am planning on going. Not sure what day I am leaving for sure just yet. I bet both your of routes will bring you thru my area. Maybe we can meet up for the rest of the trip out to SD

[Icelander]

I will probably update the original post with my schedule as things progress. Would be rather cool to start off in Western Washington with a small group and be able to collect people as we move East.

My idea so far is to make it a three-day drive to Spearfish. (All data from Google Maps)
Day 1: Seattle to Kellog, ID (360 miles - 5:20 hours)
Day 2: Kellog to Billings, MT (470 miles - 6:45 hours)
Day 3: Billings to Spearfish, SD (274 miles - 4:30 hours)

Looking at it... Wow... That's a bunch of time in the saddle. I'm assuming an 8 - 10 hour driving day to accomodate bathroom breaks, fueling, food, etc. At this latitude, we should have 12+ hours of daylight.

Day 2 is a long haul so that Day 3 doesn't have to be a panic run to make it to the BBQ.

I'd love to have feed back from those of you that have made similar trips. This is my first long road trip on Brunhilde so I'm completely spit-balling this plan. Am I forgetting anything?

I'm really looking forward to this adventure and looking forward to meeting all of you.

[John Lane]

Hi Kendall
I rode from Marysville to Drummond Mt. and back for my Ironbutt ride. At no more then 10 over all posted speed I rolled through Kellogg Id. in 7 hours. Gina and I made CDA over highway 2 in 9
Hours. Once we get in Montana we can roll up to 85-90 without LEO worries. We can leave thursday.

[John Lane]

Now, Marysville to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory....not so fast!!

[Icelander]

Thanks for the feedback! Not sure if I'll be able to start a day earlier. I'll have to see how things transpire.

So you and Gina will be joining us? Thought you were well on your way to a cruise.

[gordonv]

I have found, in general, that the time posted on google maps, you times by 1.5 and that is how long it takes with stops.

8 hour driving time, then works out to a 12 hour day. This is also sticking to the posted speed limits.

[Icelander]

So, I'm getting the feeling that planning three days to drive 1100 miles is not enough? I figured that if it said 6 hours to get from point A to point B, then planning 10 hours was sufficient.

Is this not the case?

Kendall

[Valker]

So, I'm getting the feeling that planning three days to drive 1100 miles is not enough? I figured that if it said 6 hours to get from point A to point B, then planning 10 hours was sufficient.

Is this not the case?

Kendall

I have always figured my riding time at 50 mph average for most roads and 40 mph for mountainous areas. If it is a large metropolitan area, 30 mph. Across the roads mentioned, for 1100 miles, I would figure 22 hours on the road. That includes all stops for everything except traffic snarls or closed roads. That would make for about three 7 1/2 hour days. I would think that is totally doable. I prefer 500-600 mile days unless I'm going to make 'touristy' stops. YMMV.

[gordonv]

Maps for me shows 18.5 hrs driving time from Richmond BC to Spearfish SD, 1221 miles.

I've driven from the Valhalla Rally from New Denver BC to home. Maps show 9.25 hrs, 449 miles. First time, slow with lots of smoke breaks (other rider), and took me 12 hrs. Next year a little faster, less breaks, figure 10.5 hrs.

I'm going to break my ride to 2 days to get to Spearfish, 2x 9 (riding) hr + days, so I figure it will only be 2x 12 hrs days, 70 MPH speeds. Leave at 7am in the morning, and get to my end of day destination around 7pm. Should be after dawn when I leave, and before dusk when I stop riding.

After that, there is no time limits. It is all about the ride.

From Snohomish, it's 100 miles/1 hr less.

[Hox]

Wow... most of you travel a lot further in the day then we do...  we are last out of the hotel, first off the road and maybe put in 4 - 5 hours in the saddle... Once off the rock and at Port Angles (as one possible starting point) and ticking off "avoid highways" on Map Quest it predicts 1512 miles one way to Spearfish and 27+ hours road time....   so for us, that's 4-5 days one way... damn... but as we get one big ride a year, and work all but everyday of the year in between, we sleep in, enjoy our meals, and really never look to go further than feels good that day... anyone else into our "slow roll" approach????  Post us, we can leave from Anacortes, Vancouver, Port Angles or places in between... Hox

[Icelander]

This is both my first long distance drive on my Valk (purchased Aug 2014) as well as my first major event. I put up this post primarily to get feedback from other more experienced riders and find out who's willing to make the trip with me.

I know that a couple of people can and do put in 400+ miles in a day so based my calculations off of that.
Not really sure I can take enough time off to allow me an entire week to get to SD, nor am I against freeways. I'm also the type of person that prefers to arrive early to meetings, do what I went there to do, and then take my time returning.

My hope is to find other riders that want to keep a similar pace and support each other on the trip.

My schedule is not set in stone, but I'm not sure it's flexible enough to add the extra days and miles to get to the destination.

I ask you all, am I completely out on a limb here? If so, I need to re-negotiate my vacation plans with my boss asap so that I can make this trip happen for me.

Thanks!
Icelander

[John Lane]

Gina and I have made a lot of long rides and I am an Ironbutt 1000/24 member. It is not too bad and I am usually pretty good at around 10 hours in the saddle. Get up at 7 coffee, hand food b-fast, gas up and go. Stop for lunch at the 2nd fuel stop @ 250 miles. Fourth fuel stop hotel and dinner. Bed by 10. This is superslab travel at freeway speed. Spearfish in 3 days. If you can manage a 10 hour day ride without issues it should be no problem, however if you can make a few 3 pass dash rides or whatever before we go you will know if you can do it and get comfy on your bike and really assess how you feel the next day. The last thing you want to happen is get way out and have problems, also if you are taking a passenger make sure  that they go with you on a long day ride and assess their level of comfort. Load your bike with all your stuff so you really get the feel of what it will be like handling a loaded machine on a long day. Put a cup holder on your machine and Hydrate it is easy to dehydrate in the wind between stops. Icelander we can go on a couple of these rides if you want before we go. Hope to see you all at Inzane!

[Icelander]

Thanks John! I do plan to get some long-day driving as soon as the weather warms a bit. I may chat with you offline to get a sense of what to pack and what I might be missing on the pack-list.

I'll be running solo on this first big trip tho my daughter will probably ride along on some of the practice runs.

Counting the days till the trip!

Icelander