... and survivng! And lets add a twist, lets pretty much****ume we're getting there on a "touring bike" and not a car. So aside from bonneville tips, lets also hear from semi-extreme motorcycle roadtrippers. I'll start with what I already know: * The sun reflects UP, so apply sunblock accordingly. * No loud engines at 3am! * Doing do-nuts is kinda disrespectful. Thanks, J
3rd week in august, calendar is at work... Something else to bring... 6" sq piece of 3/16" steel plate
It rains, and can get windy, or it can be hot and still or some combination of them all. I'd take a small tent and groundcover. You can buy food, water & beer out there (but no beer for sale on the salt if I remember correctly), so a cooking kit is optional. There's a laundromat at the campground next to one of the casinos. Can't remember the name, but the "campground" (parking lot) is on the Utah side, on your left as you're coming back from the salt. It's attached casino is obviously in Nevada. No tents, and reservations are hard to get. If you want to go minimal, I think you could get by with a small tent, clothes for a few days and a wallet. What else do yopu need? Tackett
I found this out the hard way....make sure your shades are the wrap-around kind and fit tight to your face. If not, the glare WILL enter through the gap and reflect off the inside of your sunglasses and into your eyes. It will give you such a violent headache, you'll be physically sick and have to lie down in your tent until you feel better. Oh yeah, bring some bug spray to ward off those little black biting flies that gather at the end of the pavement.
damn, I gotta wear perscription, and the physics of such dictate NO wrappage... hmm, goggles... welding helmet...****y.
They make a safety related sunglasses that go over your specs and wrap around. A little duct tape to fill the gap will make Red Green jealous. It looks tacky but works
Related to the sunglass trick. A friend wore those big legged "getto" shorts a few years ago, sun reflecting off the salt burned his balls pretty good!........OLDBEET
if you're gonna camp, the choices are koa (mentioned already) and the bend in the road. i've stayed in casinos, stayed in regular motels, camped at the bend, and had friends camp at koa. my preference is the bend. it's hard to beat the good times around the bonfire that you can't get elsewhere. there also are showers at the truck stop. they aren't in the best of shape, but they are wet. take your soap, towel, etc. and be prepared to wait a few minutes in case they are all in use. it would be helpful for you if you have friends out on the salt in cars/trucks who have a construction gang sized water cooler. i love pepsi, but there comes a time when water is the drink of choice and bonneville is one of those times/places. regardless, it's hard to carry enough drinking liquid on a scoot. unless you use a flexible cooler stuffed down in a saddle bag. or you can just take lots of green and buy whatever you want out on the salt. there will be folks out there selling the $2 bottled water. if you've done long distance bike rides before you already know most everything else there is to know. tent, sleeping bag, minimum of clothes, etc. you should take a pair of "walking" shoes if you don't want to wear your boots all day walking around the pits and starting line. and you will be on your feet most of the day, especially if you don't have a folding chair with you out on the salt. the advantage you will have is that there will be hambers out there who will share the above items with you. might not be a bad idea to slip one a tenner or two and ask him/her to take some water and a lawn chair with them for you. part of the allure of biking is that you just jump on and go, without the kitchen sink. trust me, you'll adapt as necessary. if you can't then you probably wouldn't own a bike anyway. go for it.
[ QUOTE ] if you've done long distance bike rides before [/ QUOTE ] Does 98 miles in a day count? I'll be doing a few shakedown trips before the real thing...
Take a tent and sleeping bag and stay at the bend. If you stick to the right of the ditch you can set up quite a ways from the bonfire and noise of partys. Note, this is not your typical campground. No running water, no*****ters, no*****cans, no shade. Just down the road tho is the truckstop where you can get munchies, water, ice and showers. Only a few miles to town and places to eat. Live light and take your garbage out with you.
burned, actually i was talkin' a week or longer, doing 400 - 600 miles each day, and taking all your gear with you on one bike. if you've never done that then it's time you did. i can't think of a better way to break yourself in doing long distance bike trips than to bonneville or sturgis. 400 - 600 miles doesn't sound very far since realistically you can probably make a thousand in a car in one long hard day; more if you've got two drivers and switch off. maybe i'm a wuss, but i don't remember ever making more than 650 or so in one day. and that would have been a LONG, HARD day for me. maybe you're tougher than me. you might want to choose a saturday between now and august; load all the gear on your bike that you'll be taking to b'ville; and ride 500 miles in a big circle around where you live. never getting more than a hundred miles or so from home so that you can cut short and head home at any time if you feel a need to. that will help you get the feel for what you're in for. whatever you do, though, don't let anyone talk you out of it. just do it. you'll never have the memories if you don't make it happen.
[ QUOTE ] Does 98 miles in a day count? [/ QUOTE ] That's all?? Dude, you live in CALIFORNIA! I'd kill to take my Ducati up Mullholland Drive, up the PCH, etc, etc, etc. You have no idea how good you have it there. I ride 25 miles to a little stretch of road we call the Ravine, and it takes all of 30 seconds to get through it. So I usually go back and forth 5 or 6 times. Commuting on a Duc is not so much fun, but it sure beats sitting in a car. Did you just get your first bike? Riding through the desert is going to be rough. One of my good friends rode Route 66 on a BMW and by the time he got to LA, his hands hurt so bad he couldn't even move the bike anymore. Not from the miles traveled or cramps... from the desert. WEAR GLOVES!
Go here, lots of good info: http://www.scta-bni.org/ Also, I think there's a booklet published for first-timers. I'll see if I can find it.
Heya Smokin Joe the Bonfire and party is some fun times!!! Lukejizzdrinker is a hell of a host......and he has the only sites at KOA where you can throw your tents. I like the bend in the road.....Im cheap.....and it's free. I'll share whatever the hell I have withya. Mike
My last bike was weak, I've put 90 on the current one since Sunday alone! I haven't had time to do a trip yet... That, and my forks have no dampening left at all... The bike, my riding gear, and my camping gear are in for major upgrades.
You guys are complaining about less than 500 miles.. Damn, ill be driving 1600miles to the HAMB drags this year..
See I'm a******, I can't do 90 MPH for hours on a bike. So 550 would be the max in one day for me unless I keep on it through the nite. So how is the salt to RIDE on, is it like sand or is it relativly packed hard? Hell I'd like to ride a bike out there but me and my pops may drive. I sure want to go this year. -Jesse
[ QUOTE ] So how is the salt to RIDE on, is it like sand or is it relativly packed hard? -Jesse [/ QUOTE ] Depends on where you ride. The pit area is like concrete, and smooth. The access road to the pits from "end of the road" (the paved entrance road from I80) can get "mushy" by the end of the week. Even though the department of (?) drags (smooths) the access road every night "pot holes" can and will show up with salt water in them. Something else to consider, (it comes up every year) DON'T go to the local car wash and PRESSURE WASH the salt off your bike (or car) every day. The pressure washing drives the salt into the threads of EVERY fastener; which speeds up corrosion. There are a number of ways to get rid of the salt. (and slow down the penetration) Just knock the "lumps" off, (on the salt please, not in the parking lot of the hotels/motels) and wait till your at home again before doing a complete cleaning. I won't go into all the different ways of "protection" and "cleaning" salt off here, but the subject WILL come up a bit closer to Speed Week. Rocky's mentioning about BUG SPRAY reminds me about another caution. LEAVE BRIGHT YELLOW CLOTHING AT HOME!! The bugs LOVE yellow!! (this I know from taking my Bright YELLOW truck to the salt, they covered the thing!!)
rat rodder, i'm not bein' pissy here, but 1600 in a car and 600 on a bike are about the same when it comes to tired*****/sore joints/achey muscles, etc. both are or can be fun. both can wear you down. i enjoy the 1350 miles to bonneville in clarence. i also enjoy long bike trips. anyway, the point here is not about me. it's that for a relatively new biker this could be quite an adventure. i don't know how far it is to bonneville from where burndup lives. i do know that 500 miles is a good long hard day on 2 wheels.
Ha! I did a whopping 94 miles on Saturday. learned some stuff. * I NEED a little fairing/windsheild that I can duck down under when going 75+. * I need to get my seat refoamed and reupholstered! * I needa get a set of those cheap aluminum footpeg things kids put on the axles of their bikes, and put 'em on my case guards to make hi-way pegs... * Whitelining thru LA traffic is mentally exhausting. (but being able to easily pass 300+ cars RAWWWWKS!!!) * riding in the rain on the raingrooved freeway*****s! * riding in the rain period kinda*****s. * even with holes drilled into the baffles, my mufflers arent loud enough...
The Jalopy Journal
