10 Things to Remember When Riding Long Distance

1- Drink Water

Drinking water and staying hydrated on the road is just as important as staying hydrated in your day to day life. When you are on your bike, you are in the sun 24/7 with no shade. Conditions like that can dehydrate you faster than in everyday life. I suggest getting a backpack hydration system for the ride. That way you can sip water along the way which will help keep you alert and focused.

2- Take a Break

After a while your knees, joints, butt, and other parts of your body start to hurt. Pulling off the road and stretching is the best thing your can do at that point. Stretching will keep your muscles awake. Remember to take a break if you start to feel like you are zoning out. When you are not completely focused on the road and what you are doing, accidents happen.

3- Bring a portable battery pack

There have been plenty of times portable battery packs have saved my butt. Crazy to say that something to charge my phone has done that. I might also be addicted to my phone, but who isn’t these days. Or if you want to check out of life and be off the grid for a couple of days, leave the phone and the portable battery pack at home.

4- Protect Your Face and Eyes

Let’s say you're cruising down the road at 80 mph (129 km/h) and bam! A bug comes out of nowhere and hits you in your unprotected face. It feels like a tiny bullet bouncing off your skin. Or worse, what if a stray pebble is kicked up from the tyres of the vehicle in front of you. That would be even worse! And if you were to get either in your eyes, to say it would not be pleasant is an understatement.

5- Long Hair and The Wind

If you have long hair, no amount of hairspray or hair ties are going to keep it in place with winds on the road. Your hair will get loose and it will slap you in the face. At the very least it will be a nuisance and you might contemplate shaving your head after riding with flyaways. Get one of the stretchy headbands or even a bandana and use it to cover your hairline. No more dangerous flyaways.

6- Earplugs

On particularly windy days with it whooshing past your ears, it will be loud. At the end of the day, ear plugs will save your from having to shout, “what did you just say” at your companions. If that doesn’t convince you that ear plugs are a good idea, you don’t want to lose your hearing at a young age.

7- Bring a camera

You will want someway to remember all your memories. You can use your phone, but my inner photographer doesn’t really like the way they turn out. I think it is fun to bring an instant camera on road trips. Photos like those are great keepsakes to hang on your fridge when you get home.

8- Be prepared for any kind of weather

Make sure you check the weather before you leave. For me, living on the plains of North America, weather can be thoroughly unpredictable. One minute it might be sunny and gorgeous, the next lightning is striking everywhere and I swear I’m in the middle of a hurricane. Except I am landlocked in the centre of the continent. Be sure to bring proper rain gear for when the weather turns wet. You definitely don’t want to ride while you are wet. It takes the fun out of it.

9- Pack light

Taking a motorcycle versus a car forces you to leave all the stuff you don’t need at home. At the most you maybe have the space of a small carryon. Use your space wisely and if you are unsure of your packing abilities, practice with a box or look up tutorials on capsule packing.

10- Know your limits

Most important is to know your limits. If you are exhausted and don’t feel like you can or should keep going, then don’t.The road and the trip will always be there the next day. Now pack up and get riding! Fancy riding at your own pace? Our self-guided tours in the Black Hills of South Dakota, such as Black Hills Blast, come with a road book app, booked hotels and roadside assistance.