Thinking of riding from California to the Barber vintage event in Alabama

[fret not]

Kind of a bucket list idea of riding to the Barber Vintage Festival, and back, maybe by a different route.  Such a trip would require some planning and preparing, so probably would be next year. 

[Walt_M.]

That would be quite the adventure. I have considered it from my location in Florida which is less than a third of your distance and it is daunting.

[injuhneer]

Maybe you could include some legs of the journey to be accompanied by ROV members?

I have an acquaintance who rode from NC to CA on a Honda CT-90. Along the way he stopped to visit/ride with forum members.

And another who rode from San Diego to Houston. He stopped here in AZ for dinner and an oil change.

[fret not]

At age of 74 I am thinking more like what Ron McCoy did, and drive there towing a trailer with  bikes securely lashed down.  After our ride yesterday I find a couple hours on the seat of my KLR becomes "uncomfortble", so a long trip would be a lot of agony unless it were to be broken up into shorter sections.  I think that might require a couple weeks to get there, and then again home.

[Walt_M.]

Yes, at 70 I am not looking at riding more than an hour.

[fret not]

A more comfortable seat could be an answer.  Two points that stick in my mind regarding seat comfort: 1. the foam padding density/texture, and 2. the shape of the seat.  I find that a seat that cradles my posterior like sitting in a hammock is a killer because there is only one lowest place in the seat, and that is where gravity puts your butt (Gravity is relentless).  So the center part of the seat needs to be flatter or slightly convex so a body can move around a bit.  A wider seat should also be a benefit as it would support more posterior region, lessening the load per square inch.  This seems to me to be a valid project, to make a better seat for longer rides.  Another project! :police:

[Walt_M.]

I have never had a problem with the Vision seat. When I got the bike new, I rode it from southern Ohio to north Florida, about 820 miles in 2 days. 3 years later I reversed the trip to attend my brother's wedding, also 2 days. But I did the return trip in a long day. I was anxious to get back as there had been a hurricane while I was away, took me 14 hours then a day to recover. But that was 34 years ago.

[fret not]

The ability to tolerate discomfort seems to lessen as I age.  Maybe it's because I know more now, so I am a bit wiser.  I recall riding the 130 miles from the Bay Area to home in the foothills during a December freeze, arriving about an hour before midnight, stiff from the cold.  Chin and lips not responding to conscious control, barely able to remove gloves and helmet.  But I was 20 then as I sat through the freezing dark while the miles passed.  I would not begin such a journey now because I know what it is like to be so cold.  Someone said,"there's not much education in the second kick of the mule".  Now I have much better equipment too.  Much better jacket and pants to keep the cold out, better helmet, gloves, and boots.  So I am smarter now but still less tolerant of discomfort.