Passes & Canyons Blog

Touring season is upon us. Are you ready?

The Boy Scouts have it pretty well nailed with their motto, “Be Prepared.” And if you’re getting ready to take off on an extended trip on your bike, following those words of wisdom can help ensure that you get to really enjoy that trip.

The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) polled their highly experienced staff and came up with “33 Secrets For Smart Touring,” and there are some good ideas here. Some are common sense but some are just good ideas you might never think of on your own. Let’s look at a few of them.

Eat at weird times. Everyone and their dog eats around 8 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. To get in and out of restaurants in a hurry, don’t be hungry then.
OK, you can’t always do this. Especially at breakfast, unless you’re getting a very early start or a very late start, you’re going to be eating at the same time as a lot of other people. But if you can do it, it makes a lot of sense. Last summer we spent a night in Lake City, CO, and went out for breakfast along with the crowds. We picked a place where you order at one window and pick up at another. It looked like a pleasant, homey, non-chain kind of place and there were a lot of people there.

Well, a crowd can mean something good or it can mean something bad. In this case, there was a crowd because of the incredibly slow service. If you put in an order for a cup of coffee and a roll, they put your ticket at the end of the list. They worked on one order at a time, and even if they were waiting for some eggs to fry for that order they wouldn’t jump ahead and rush out something simple like coffee and a roll. Stopping there at a different time of day probably guarantees you much faster service.

On high-mileage days, you’ll feel a lot better if you carry eyedrops and use them every time you stop for gas.
Interesting. Never thought of that. Might be worth a try.

If you’re nearing the end of your riding day and want to set yourself up for a quick getaway in the morning, consider riding to the far side of the next city you reach before you stop for the night, eliminating urban traffic the next morning.
Good idea. Makes a lot of sense. But did that thought ever occur to you?

Before you take off from the hotel or campground in the morning, double check every strap on tankbags or soft saddlebags, and every latch on hard luggage.
Good idea.

Take a look back at where you were parked every time you leave someplace. You’d be amazed at what you find.
Really good idea.

On a long tour, plan for at least one day every week of doing nothing. Time is the ultimate luxury, and can mean the difference between a vacation and an endurance run.
We totally go along with this idea. We try to organize our summer trips so that we spend two nights in one place each year, and we generally play golf on our day off. Everyone likes not having to pack and load up at least one day of the trip.

If you’re traveling east or west, schedule your breakfast or dinner times near sunrise or sunset so you don’t have to stare into the sun when it’s low on the horizon.
Once again, just good common sense.

So that’s a few of the 33 tips. You can go here to see them all. (No you can’t. When this was published on Examiner.com there was a link there that led to that list, but the list appears to be gone now.)

Biker Quote for Today

Respect the proud Tar Snake.