"Things to Keep in Mind before your first Motorcycle Road Trip"
It’s exciting to see more & more people starting to ride motorcycles and going on roadtrips either on their own or with buddies. Mostly when people start riding, they may know very little about how to start riding comfortably on slightly longer roadtrips apart from just the city riding. As they continue riding, they make more & more like minded riders & learn a lot from them & their riding style. This little compilation is aimed to help those who are just starting out & is from a personal learning & perspective of a relatively new long distance motorcyclist so should be helpful.
Choose your beast:
Whatever kind of bike you choose, you must always be comfortable on it. In case you zero in on a bike that needs certain modifications to ensure it’s comfortable for you to handle, get it done immediately. Some common changes that riders make is getting a different handlebar, a more comfortable seat, guards, better headlights if they are going to do lots of evening riding, a new exhaust, etc. Remember, it’s not just about looking cool on the bike, but also riding it well.
Your Physical Fitness :
The preparation for this ride is mostly mental as those conditions cannot be experienced in Hyderabad or other plain areas. The key is to study what you are going to face and be mentally prepared for it. (Read about Thailand story on Endurance here) Also i would recommend taking up stamina building activities before your trip. The trip requires a lot of effort if you are going on a bike and my advice is to try and build stamina as the conditions on the trip demand a lot of energy. Doe to the high altitude, there are chances of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). AMS affects our body due to low oxygen levels and makes our body difficult to adjust and adapt to the weather and height. Headache, vomiting, nose bleeding, nausea, breathlessness are common side effects.
Dress to Ride :
For long distance riding, always try & wear riding pants, ankle boots (safety shoes can be a substitute), riding jacket & of course a full face helmet. Or there is the option of knee & elbow guards or body armor. Motorcycling gear can easily be bought online or in moto stores. Try to get as close a size as possible, lose & baggy gear or clothing will only be a disturbance & cause discomfort. When completely geared up, you might feel heavy & awkward at first, but once you get on the bike, knowing that you are riding safer will make your riding more fun & give you greater confidence. Plus you get more of the biker feel on a lighter note.
Helmets :
Gear can even help when it’s hot, by better allowing your body’s natural evaporative cooling effect to take place. Under constant wind blast, the sweat is blown off your skin too quickly for it to have a cooling effect. Put on a (summer) jacket, helmet, boots, gloves and pants, however, and your body is free to cool itself as designed.
Luckily, mankind has achieved through science what evolution has failed to provide: clothing that protects you from accidents and the elements, and makes riding an easier, more comfortable experience.
Helmets typically have a five-year life. After that, the glue and whatnot used to bond layers of the EPS impact absorption material (precisely tailored densities of Styrofoam) may begin to degrade, impacting safety.
The shape and size of every person’s head is unique. You need to find a helmet that fits you perfectly; sizes and shapes vary heavily between manufacturers and models. To determine your shape and size, visit a large brick-and-mortar retailer and try on every helmet you can. You’ll know one fits when it evenly holds your head all the way around, with no pressure points. Put it on, grasp the chin and try to rotate the helmet while resisting the movement with your head. The helmet shouldn’t be able to rotate independently of your scalp. It should fit snugly, but not be too tight.
Jackets :
You want the jacket to fit snugly but leave your arms free to articulate fully. Consider the style of bike you ride and choose a jacket cut to work in its riding position. For example, Sportbikes require you to hunch over, requiring some extra articulation for a jacket to be comfortable on them.
Then, think about what kind of weather you’ll most frequently be riding in. Jackets made from mesh, perforated leather, or with lots of zip-open vents are good for warm weather but not the cold or wet, and vice versa.
Some jackets feature zippers around the bottom, enabling them to connect to a pair of riding pants – forming a suit. Doing so better seals out the elements and helps the whole thing stay on in a crash, but those zippers often require matching tops and bottoms from the same company – sized correctly – to work.
Pants :
Regular denim jeans will not protect you in a motorcycle accident.
Jeans that are either made from or include Kevlar panels offer slightly more abrasion resistance, but are still a compromise, offering nothing like the protection of a true pair of riding pants.
Like jackets, pants are available in leather or textile materials and should be equipped with CE-rated armor in the hips, shins and knees. They should fit snugly, but be comfortable and allow full leg articulation. Try them on a bike, or stand in a riding position close to that of your own to determine if they’ll work.
Boots :
Most street bikes weigh more than 350 pounds. Frequently, they’re much heavier. You’ll need to support that weight and your own through your legs, ankles, and feet on slippery, uneven, unpredictable surfaces. For that reason alone, a sturdy pair of boots with oil-resistant, non-slip soles and good ankle support should be considered a minimum.
Your feet and ankles are also vulnerable in a crash, so you’ll want to protect them. To see what will happen to your feet in a crash in a given pair of footwear, grasp them by the toe and heel, then twist. If the result doesn’t look like your foot would survive intact, then it probably won’t.
Gloves :
Your hands are an awesome combination of extreme fragility combined with utter necessity. You need them to do stuff and they’re also the first thing to touch down in any crash. So you need to protect them.
Motorcycle gloves should fully cover your fingers, palm, the back of your hands and your wrists. There should be significant overlap between glove and jacket so that you never see any skin exposed between the two.
Pack your luggage:
Medical Kit :
A medical kit with tablets for headache, cold, fever, muscle and joint pains etc. I will recommend to carry glucose packets as well.
- ORS or ORS-L Tetra Packs at least 5 in number
- Pain Relief Spray
- Pain Relief Cream or Gel
- Betadine – Antiseptic cream
- Savlon or Dettol – Antiseptic solution
- Combiflaim or Flexon – Pain Killers
- Crocin or Paracetamol – Mild Fever
- Avomine – Relief from Dizziness, Motion Sickness and Vomiting
- Digene – Relief from Flatulence, Indigestion, acidity (mild)
- Zinetac 150mg – Acidity or gastric problems (only if severe)
- Eno Sachets – Quick Gastric Relief
- Entroquinol – Relief from Loose motion (mild)
- Metrogyl – Relief from Loose motion (high)
- D-Cold Total or Vicks Action 500 for cold
- Pudin Hara for stomachache
- Crepe Bandage – 2 (for fractures)
- J&J Band-Aid Fast Heal Wash proof – Long, Square and circle patches
- Cotton and Dressing Bandage
- Becosules for vitamin B-complex and sometimes energy
- Eye Tone for soothing eyes
Knowledge of Route:
Not all of us are genius with directions & remembering roads, but having a fair sense of which direction you are headed in & what route you are taking helps to avoid wasting time getting lost. Try & carry a screenshot of the map on your mobile or a printout of the same in case you want to. Don’t feel shy of asking locals on the way for directions & incase you see other riders on the way, you can also consult them, for all you know, you might just get to know of a more interesting route. Enjoy the ride and try & view other motorcyclists’ itineraries before you start.
Weather forecast:
A lesson I have learnt on long motorcycle trips is that you should be prepared for rain at any point of time. Carrying rain coats & pants that will fit over your riding gear & raincovers for luggage are must. Try & test your gear on a rainy day at home.
Documents:
During the trip, you are expected to be in possession of the following documents: valid driving license, registration documents of bike, insurance papers of bike, class 10th certificate for date of birth, and identity proof document. Take a set of photocopy of all these documents.
It is advisable to keep laminated maps of all the places and highways you will encounter during your trip. .
OFF Road Ride:
- Judge yourself as per the nature/complexity of the ride and then prepare, no.. no.. I don’t intend to discourage anyone out there, but to make them aware what exactly it takes to ride in winter.
- Dress in layers with a wind and rain proof jacket on the top. Are you asking why rain proofing in winter? Well, because when it snows at higher reaches most likely it will rains in lower regions.
- Cover your ears with a thin but warm cap or double balaclava.
- Cover your neck with a muffler.
- Wear warm gloves to protect your paws. If forgot to carry along and cannot buy one on the way, use the spare shocks which you are carrying in your luggage.
- Cover your feet with woolen socks with the cotton socks inside.
- Keep something to eat with you, because a happening place where you would have planned a break could be deserted in winter. Surprising, isn’t it?
- Don’t exaggerate yourself which may result in sweating. Sweating in sub-zero conditions could be lethal and may lead to hypothermia.
- Keep yourself alert, because an inactive mind may also cause hypothermia. You might like to sing your favorite song or shout loudly while riding, whatever.
- Include a buffer time in your journey not less than 1-2 hours. Because riding on black ice could be as fast as 5-10 kmph.
ON Road Ride:
- There could be an instance when you were cruising on the smooth black tarmac and in fraction of a second, you are flat on the road. You even don’t know what under
- the sun had thrown you away from your beloved one. Well there could be two victims, the transparent frost or the black ice. Which provide you 0 friction to ride on.
- The frozen vapor on the track is known as frost which could be anywhere in a region with sub-zero temperature, not necessarily on higher reaches. While black ice is the solidified snow which may or may not be transparent. Both the victims are usually camouflaged and cannot be identified very easily. So what could be the trick here, to be true there is no trick but your cautiousness and experience will count here. All I can do is share my experience only.
- Most likely you may encounter frost early in the morning and in the evening when temperature starts dipping; black ice can be found anywhere anytime. The chill in the air and your sense of the road could be the key to anticipate it.
- In case of medium heights(approx 2000 – 2500 mts ASL), usually the sun facing areas of the road are clear as they get required sunlight during daytime while the other side could have thick layer of ice. So you have to be alert at each single turn.
- Keep your feet down to maintain balance and keep your bike upright in case of rear wheel swinging.
- Be mentally prepared for a fall or two but falling at the speed of 10kmph is different than falling at 50kmph. Avoid riding at the edge/cliff side because when you skid you don’t know will you stop.
- Check your shoes’ grip before leaving for such a ride. You will badly need them on black ice. If the grip is not good, you will have a hard time even walking on that hard ice, leave alone using your feet for balancing the bike. (tried and tested J). In worst case, you can manage also by wearing socks over your shoes: courtesy “Men Vs Wild”.
- Always put on riding gears which will protect you from minor scratches when you fail to negotiate the balance even at the speed of 10kmph.
- Ankle length shoes with hardened toe are added advantage for better protection.
- Always ride in first gear. Release the clutch lever and let the engine do its job. This is when you have established some momentum and are able to ride on the ice.
- Don’t use front brake at all. Use rear brake gently.
- Follow tire marks in the hard ice and try to keep rolling at a very slow and constant pace.
- While ascending, remain seated and use an easy gear(e.g. 2nd gear ) to prevent the rear wheel spin.
- Beware of frost bite, take frequent breaks and walk a while.
- Dry black ice can be negotiated comparatively easily, real problem is when it starts melting and as a result it is covered with a thin layer of water. The hardest condition to ride on.
- Last but not the least is about tire pressure: optimum pressure is a necessity on those patches, even the low pressure can do the trick to avail better traction as it will increase the contact area. Remember to refill when you are done with the bad patch.
Keep Riding ✌
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