First road trip

[bajaraider]

Well I finally took my first road trip that was longer than 20 min. I went back home for mothers day. Normally a 2 hours drive, but I took things easy, stopped halfway and took a break. Overall stretched it out to about two and a half hours. Everything went flawlessly as far as I am concerned.

Things I learned:
-Birds are scary! I just knew I was going to hit one. They waited till the last minute to fly away, and into the wind so they would come sailing back by my head!
-Baggy jeans make for sore legs. All the drag from my jeans made my legs tired from holding them in place.
-The seat was not near as bad as I had expected from others' reports, but maybe the rear just went numb early on.
-I HATE my helmet. It has to be the noisiest helmet ever. Once I got there I went for a ride with my mom's Bell. Wow it is soooo quite! New helemt in the works for sure.
All in all, I may get a windshield and some lowers for longer rides. Definetly shopping around for another helmet, and I love to ride.

Thanks to everyone for all that I have learned here. Made for a great ride!

[KSU-Danimal]

Earplugs are a HUGE help for longer rides like that. They really cut down on wind noise, but you are perfectly able to hear the traffic noises that you need to hear (horn, squeeling tires, your engine etc). For me, they really seem to cut down on fatigue because I swear the constant drone of wind noise wears me out after an hour or so.

Congrats on your ride!

-Danimal

[BlueMax]

Originally Posted by bajaraider

I HATE my helmet. It has to be the noisiest helmet ever. Once I got there I went for a ride with my mom's Bell. Wow it is soooo quite! New helemt in the works for sure.

Congratulations on your first long ride.

Just curious what helmet do you have and what are you going to replace it with?

Thank you and safe riding.

[bajaraider]

I have a KBC TK-77. I have liked the helmet so far. Thought it seemed a bit loud on short highway rides, but with the higher winds I was riding in this weekend and for such a long time it was just too much. I am looking at the Bell LS-X. It is an older model. I know it is quieter as I used one for a shorter ride at highway speeds also this weekend. And I know I like the way it fits. I will also look around and see what I can find as far as price, fit, and I always try to get a Snell rated helmet.

[Clint]

I wear plugs on almost every ride now. That roar can damage your hearing and it's known to cause mental fatigue. I use the super-soft bell-shaped ones and I can wear them all day without discomfort. I hear traffic and conversation just fine.

I get a kick out of what's considered a "road trip". I have a 9-day, 4200 mile trip planned for next month.

[bajaraider]

That is awesome. I would love something like that. I am going to try to take a 375 mile (one way) at the end of May for my cousin's graduation weekend.