Hwy 1 Trip (56K Beware)

[sanjay]

So I got back on Sunday night from a week-long trip down Hwy 1.  Started in Palo Alto on Tuesday and took 280 to 85 to 17 to 1, continued down all the way to Santa Monica by Friday, spent the weekend with friends in LA, and then spent a painful several hours on the 5.  Here's the route:



My girlfriend and I planned the trip, riding two-up on my '01 and using saddlebags, a tankbag, and a backpack, along with a Deflector windscreen.  I'm amazingly lucky that my gf was cool with packing so light.  Also, my gf bought me a HJC-50 Tandem set, so we could chat through the helmets while on the road.  It worked remarkably well.  Here's the bike setup:



It was spectacular!! Amazing views, twisty roads, and tons of fun. 

Big Sur...







Sand from one of the beaches...



Southern California...







Glad I was getting 50mpg...




And as a final treat, this guy in North LA at Cycle Gear had an imported Yamaha XJR1300SP.    I just had to take a picture, b/c I knew you guys would appreciate it.

<Drool>



So yeah, now I'm kinda in love with touring. 

[ducati_nolan]

Wow, that's quite a trip! I've wanted to ride the full length of hwy 1 for a long time on a bike. I've considered doing it on the GS, but I'm amazed that you did it 2 up. You guys must be tiny. 

Hmm, summer is coming, I think I better keep my eye out for a smaller girlfriend. I'm gettin kind of tired of the big one anyways 

[WREX]

nice trip and kudo's for the 2 up thing!  thanks for posting pics - the coast is great.

[Turd Ferguson]

Wow, Sanjay, I wish I was there.  I took a 1,200 mile trip a few weeks ago and I'm totaly hooked on touring as well.

Thanks so much for the pictures, and great job!  How many miles was the total trip?

-Dan.

[pandy]

Great pics! Looks like a great time!!!!!! 

[groff22]

It looks so warm there ... 

[RVertigo]

Wow...  I'm envious!  I totally want to do a few day moto tour somewhere...  Probably not to LA from here though...  That would take FOREVER!!!

Any confort issues?  Back pain, ass pain, pilon's feet going numb?

How long was your average day?  Lots of breaks?

[foobar]

looks like a great trip. this is exactly the kind of stuff I want to do when I get my GS 

[linuxman2003]

awesome pics! sounds like yall had a great time

And the xjr.... gawd...  that is one of my alll time dream bikes!!! closest thing to it in the states is the kawasaki ZRX12... which is now discontinued  thanks a lot kawi!

[sanjay]

It was a bit tight riding two-up, and the backpack needed some adjustment now and then, but it was surprisingly comfortable.  On the way down (twisty roads), we did ~120 miles per day.  Plenty of brakes, no fatigue from wind or constant vibration, and lots of stops to relax and lounge around on the beach, in parks, at cafes, etc.  Also, plenty of sleep was key - 8-9 hours per night.

On the ride back, doing 70mph on I-5 for 400 miles, got old pretty quickly.  Ass pain, some right shoulder stiffness from keeping the throttle open, and some numbness from the constant vibration.  So we stopped every hour or two and refreshed ourselves.  The total when we got back was a bit over 1000 miles, including my bouncing around LA visiting friends. 

Overall, I had a blast.  I'd love to come up the coast on Hwy 1, perhaps over the summer.  I would have gone with Wildblue and another guy last summer, but I was out of town.  I have to scratch this touring itch again...

[FearedGS500]

yup once your hooked your hooked ... my parents use to go places and try to get lost just to see what they would run in to ..... but i dont think they where ever really good at getting lost ( they use to both be truck drivers )  .... dad had a 1500 goldwing 1989 i belive ... was mad heavy . wish we would have kept it   ... but yea ... its fun .i love to ride ..but now that i'm back in college and  working .. it dont leave me much time to do any thing ...... at all :|

[whitewolf]

I was going to ask if any one has made long trips on their bike or not. Love the write up.