Well, I have been back in VA for about a week now. This from my solo ride to Missouri and back. Put a little more than 2600 miles on Saphire (Road King). Bless her heart, she ran like the wind, with the wind. After thinking about it and reflection on what went right and wrong, I thought I'd share a few with you. In no particular order.

First and foremost you got to have tunes riding that far. I almost fell asleep a time or two when I didn't have some sort of music on. If you don't (and I didn't) have a radio on your bike. Plug something in your ear. Works great and time passes by more pleasurable as you're passing all those big trucks. Or getting passed!

Put your map, sunglasses, sunblock, gloves, or anything else you are going to need on TOP of everything else. That way you don't have to dig to the bottom everytime you need something.

Big bugs HURT when they hit you in the face and you're going 70 miles an hour down the Interstate.

When its 95 degrees and you're out in the open on the road, you really need to stop often to drink and cool off. (no not beer, silly)

I get about 200 miles on a tank of gas. I finally figured out to fill up about every 130 or so. That way I took care of everything in one stop. Gas, bathroom, drink, a little air conditioning. A few times though I had to stop sooner to drink something. Coming back it was hot, hot, hot.

Don't make a schedule. Of how far you'll get or what you'll do after you get there. Hardly ever works out and when it doesn't it just gets aggravating.

I must say, and I know this is not always the case, but most all other vehicles on the road were courtious drivers as far as me on a motorcycle goes. No one tried to run me over and cut me off. I was very surprised by this, but I'm giving credit where its due.

When you travel 1200 miles to a smaller town that is having a Bike Night, they think that is remarkable (if not a little strange) They treat you right and buy you stuff.....like dinner, booze, take your picture for the paper, buy you more booze, introduce you to the town officials, buy you booze.. (you get the idea)

When you get stopped in traffic on the Interstate and its 95 or so degrees...shut'er down. Way to hot to keep it running going a foot or two at a time.

I'll wrap this up by saying if anyone tells me they have a seat that you can ride forever and it doesn't hurt your butt, I'll be very doubtful. I road over 600 miles a day while traveling and my butt was tired, sore, and then more sore. When I started wiggling around I would stop so I could rest my poor posterior. When I first bought my Road King, lots of people told me that the Sundowner seat was a seat you could ride forever. UH...I don't think so. Not on my skinny butt, anyway. After careful thought, I can only come to the conclusion that all the folks I talked to about seats....they all have more cushion on their rears than I do. hah!

Oh and one more thing...Harleybrat I am so sorry I didn't make it to Burlington to say Hi. That goes back to the scheduling thing I talked about earlier.

Ride Safe

Longrider