Chances are a majority of people who read this article are researching long-distance riding in anticipation of a long-desired, cross-country trip. Some may have a week-long, coast-to-coast tour in mind. Others may dream of riding up and down one of the coasts or venturing to scenic places or motorcycle rallies afar.
Whatever the case may be, you may want to start with something a little shorter than a week-long or month-long tour. A common piece of advice experienced riders give new riders is, “Your first bike should not be your dream bike.” The same goes with touring. It would be wise to make your first tour something relatively short. You do not want your dream trip to turn into a uncomfortable, expensive, or even dangerous learning experience.
This is not to say one should start too short. The best thing to do is take a weekend or a long weekend and try to stay within a reasonable ride to home (say, 3-4 hours). Also, do not try to push on mileage. Aim for 400-500 miles per day by Interstate, and less by back roads.
Not sure where to go? Use county and state tourism websites to find a few things of interest not too far from home. Museums, some national parks, landmarks, and events make great destinations. For example, if a rider lived in Columbus, Ohio, they could do two loop routes on two consecutive days to get a feel for touring. Day one would take him or her from Columbus to Pittsburgh, Penn. to see Point State Park and visit the park’s museum. Our rider could then head up the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes to Warren, Ohio’s National Packard Museum. After seeing the antique cars and other artifacts, our rider could then head back to Columbus for the night.
The next day our rider would head southwest on I-71 to Louisville to visit the iconic Louisville Slugger Museum. After a couple hours seeing timber artifacts, our rider would ride north to Speedway, Ind. to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s museum. The last leg of the trip would take our rider home to Columbus via I-70. A sample trip map can be found here.
In short, there is no need to make your first tour epic. Your first tour is more of a classroom than a vacation, and you will be surprised just how much you will learn about yourself as a rider, as well as your bike. In looking around for local places to tour, you may also surprise yourself with how much there is to see in your home region.
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