Thanks to all who helped with the shocks/chain questions before my trip.  Put a little over 300 miles on the bike btw friday and saturday going from State College PA to Corning NY.  For people that never check the tire pressure, please do.  It makes a big difference in how the bike rides.  F - 33 R - 36/38 (40 2 up). 

The trip was great.  Route 15 is one of the prettiest roads I've been on and I only wish I had room for the camera in my tank bag.  I got on a stretch were I was riding with 3 harley guys for about 35 miles and it was the first time I've rode in a group.  It was pretty awesome.   

Is it just me or are miles 40-50 the toughest to get through?  That's when my butt started hurting, forehead got numb.  After I pushed past 50, I felt fine.   

GS held up great except the tach broke.  I did a search and found out I need to make sure the cable is connected to the engine as my 1st troubleshoot.  If that doesn't fix it I'll post the annoying new guy broken tachometer thread. 

Thanks everyone (sorry I didn't take the camera).

I love going on moderately long trips on mine. When I use my GS to travel to work its approx a 100 mile round trip. Really saves on the gas for long trips. I have also made several trips that are 130 miles 1 way and 2 trips that were 285 miles 1 way. I usually can go 90-120 miles before I need to stop to stretch a bit. On my first long trip my tach/speedo/odometer 'broke' also. After a quick inspection I found that it had only come unscrewed from under the guages. Its a simple nut thats tightened by hand so its simple to fix in my case.

Congrats on your first long ride! I love impromptu group rides, especially with bikes of all persuasions! We try to take breaks about every hour or so to un-numb our boo-tays.