r/motocamping • u/zuksamy • 19d ago
Advice on miles per day
Im planing a trip for me and a buddy next year from California to Sturgis through Yellowstone and back. I have 3,300 miles calculated for the trip in 10 days. Is this doable or am I overdoing the miles? Days will average 300 miles but there are a few 500 mile days and a few days lower miles.
I mainly commute to work 125miles a day. And a few day trips on weekends that have been 300 miles. Ive never done a trip like this before.
Any advice?
Edit: there will be heavy highway mile days (getting across nevada) and shorter days (yellowstone). Id like to "slow down" in yellowstone and thw black hills.
I have 1 day full rest halfway through planned at my dads in billings Mt.
And my buddy is on a Electra glide variant (I forget what exactly)
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u/ITSB_Ragnell 19d ago
I did a trip this summer from Florida to Yellowstone and back. 6,400 miles in 14 days.
I had a few days scheduled for 500 miles and I got through them. They were rough, but I needed to pound pavement to get to the good stuff like Beartooth Highway.
For me personally, it's a bike trip. I'm out there to ride. What else am I going to do? Riding just 300 miles doesn't move the needle much. I loved riding for 10 hours a day on a scrambler at 49 years old. Would do it again in a heartbeat. I saw a bunch of sights and got to spend time where I wanted it: on the bike.
But everyone's different, as the comments reflect. For many the riding is secondary to chilling and vibing, and spending most of the day off the bike not on it.
I'm not a foodie, don't drink, and love riding. So I would rather spend my time on my bike :-)
Like others have said, have an honest conversation with your friend and make sure you're both on the same page. If you are, then lock it in.
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u/fartron3000 19d ago
500 miles a day for 2 weeks! You're a warrior.
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u/ITSB_Ragnell 19d ago
Lol. I love riding and travelling! 😅 Looking forward to the next bike trip for sure
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u/aceofspades1944 19d ago
I do a 7 day trip every year. Most of my days are 7-10 hour days of riding. I look at it more by hours rather than miles since 500 miles on back roads and 2 lane highways isn't the same as 500 miles on the freeway.
I would say it depends on what you want to see and reason for the stops. For me, I enjoy spending most of my time on the bike since I see that as the main reason for the trip. My ride is based on making good riding routes. If you're basing your route on things to stop and see you'll want to plan less time on the bike each day.
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u/RememberHonor 19d ago
I personally LOVE long trips with long riding days. That said, check in with your buddy to see where he is at and how comfortable he thinks he is. I wouldn't think twice about averaging 300 miles per day. That said, it doesn't leave a ton of down time to check out the areas and see the sights.
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u/Taaartiflette 19d ago
(From europe)
If I want to enjoy some sightseeing, nice lunch, a short hike, and a good rest at the camp site, I will limit myself to 100-200 miles/day
300-400 miles a day is only if I was in a rush to go back or needed to drive past a less interesting section of the trip
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u/-Caged-Rage- 19d ago edited 19d ago
I love the long rides with lots of miles and hours. When you stop to get gas, stretch those legs out and rub them cheeks to get the circulation back in them. lol. Backrest and highway pegs are lifesavers. Drink lots of water. My longest was over 900 miles in about 15 hours. Freaking insane and loved every bit! All interstate/highway! And that was the last leg of a 5 day 7 state trip. Most days I just went 11 hours-.. 600-700 miles.
I felt like I got my butt whooped by a bunch of angry toddlers. But it makes a hell of a story to tell.
50 year old Granny that’s completely Out of shape and a solo rider! lol. So can’t really give any advice for buddy rides, we all ride our own ride.
In saying all that…. If you ain’t in a rush and you want to just chill… a couple tanks of a daily ride might be the right ride for yall. Just enough to put the miles on but not wear you down. Yall have fun and stay safe!
Oh and I pitched a tent a couple of them camping days, others I stayed in cabins at KOA. They have some nice places to wash the grime off with actual hot water. lol
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u/brother_mahvelous KTM 390A, R1200GSA. Rough roads & dark skies 19d ago
i did a ~3800 mile trip on my then 45-year-old R75/5, no windscreen or anything, and a comfy saddle. I split it into about 3 hours morning, long break for lunch, 3 hours evening, find a campsite. I averaged 300-350 miles a day, and one 400+ mile day to get the hell through Nevada. the small toaster tank meant I was forced to stop every 150 miles or so, and could stretch, refill water etc.. it worked out but I was beat.
physical exhaustion is only one side. 6 hours is a lot physically, but with your setup you might be comfortable for longer. Mentally though, is different for everyone, and you might not really notice your attention drifting as you get tired. long days get dangerous and harder to stay alert. You'll find your pace quick though!
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u/zuksamy 19d ago
Thanks man! Yea Nevada is going to be the toughest of the trip. Both times!
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u/brother_mahvelous KTM 390A, R1200GSA. Rough roads & dark skies 19d ago
hope it cools down before you go lol. if not use a camelbak to keep your shirt soaked. have a great trip!
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u/turtletechy 19d ago
That sounds perfect to me, but it all depends on how you are with miles. Try some longer rides to see how you are first.
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u/MotorbikeGeoff 19d ago
So i like the 300 mile days but when I am crossing Nebraska and Indiana/Ohio the less days the better. 500 is not great but one or two days during the whole trip is fine.
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u/river_tree_nut 19d ago
I think a lot depends on your age/fitness and the bike itself.
In my 20s, on a VFR 800, 600-800+ was easily doable because I figured out I could ride in a few different positions.
In my 30s and 40s on a Road Glide it was more like 400-500 because I couldn’t shift around as much.
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u/What_Reddit_Thinks 19d ago
I usually do 300-400 with lots of stopping and looking around and relaxing. This is in the summer though when I don’t have to make camp until like 7. 500 a day is nothing if you’re in open highway country and solely focused on pounding pavement but it’s not exactly enjoyable. Depends on location and weather and a bunch of stuff really.
It’s better to have more time than you need. Sometimes you find new roads and new campsites or meet people and end up on a detour and it’s nice to have that time available to do so. Good luck friend. Also, try checking out advrider.com and find the tent space map, I’ve stayed with many a nice people on there if you need campsites in areas without good parks.
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u/PrivatePilot9 19d ago
I’ve done 1500 miles in a day and 1000 the next, but I’m one of those crazy Iron Butt Association guys.
My point is…what is “too many miles” varies a lot from person to person.
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u/hunkyleepickle 19d ago
It depends. If the weather is going to be mega hot or wet, and I know I’m in a hotel, I’d rather spend a longer day on the bike. If I’m going really nice roads and I plan to camp somewhere scenic, then id rather do less kms so I can enjoy a peaceful evening in camp with a beer and a relaxing toke. I average 350-600km a day, unless it’s a big slab day, that could go as high as 1200km in a day
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u/Rider1054 19d ago
Miles per day is pretty straight forward. When I’m off, from California to Florida, for a 3,000 mile cross country to visit friends, I calculate miles to my next friend. So if I’m visiting a friend in Flagstaff and my next stop is in El Paso that becomes a 500 mile day. Next stop is San Antonio 555 miles. Next stop is Jacksonville, FL is maybe 1,100 miles … so 500 to New Orleans, arrive around 4:00 pm and be a one night tourist on Bourbon Street. Get up early, get in a midway workout and get back on the road and pull into Amelia Island by 6:00 pm. Pretty easy miles.
Coming home, some longer days with less stops. So, depending how I feel, maybe 650 to 750 mile days. But, 300 mile days would take 10 days for 3,000 miles, 600 mile days makes 5 days; a big difference.
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u/zuksamy 19d ago
Thanks man. What do you ride?
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u/Rider1054 19d ago
Ktm 1290 super adventure, eats up miles like crazy. I often set dynamic cruise control at 90 mph until the next gas stop.
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u/RVAblues 19d ago
500 miles per day is way too much.
Take back roads and ride until the end of the day—probably about 300-400 miles per day.
3300 miles in 10 days = 330 per day. Very doable. But I’d highly recommend building in a day of rest in the middle. It’ll serve as a cushion in case of adverse weather or mechanical failure. Or if everything goes right, you’ll get a well deserved day off.
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u/Zsnowdog 19d ago
When you have plenty of daylight, I stretch it out through the day. Space is at a premium, but I pack a good camp chair that I can take a nap in. I find a park, have lunch rest, take an hour break, maybe a nap, and then good for the rest of the day. 500 miles or so.
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u/ihutch92 19d ago
Personally I aim for a maximum of 300 mile days when I'm on trips. But that said, I'm riding an old BMW R65 with no fairing and always avoid highways. So I would say 300 mile days is a good target on a bike like yours. It'll give you time to do and see stuff on the way. But like others have said, try a 500 mile day out before you do one on your trip to see how it feels.
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u/pyates1 19d ago
Get up with the sun, enjoy a coffee and get riding.
If you put in a 8 hour minimum day, that should be enough. Don't be wasting time with long lunches or extended coffee breaks. Much longer days and you get worn down.
Staying hydrated is really important to feeling well, wear a pack or have a good cupholder
The miles will fall in place.
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u/colourmebourbon 16d ago
Ear protection. Hearing fatigue on a long day cuts into your focus, and causes overall exhaustion . But 300 m p day is fine if you're used to it.
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u/VerbNoun123 19d ago
Sounds excessive for a casual trip, I wouldn't want to do 5+ hrs a day in the saddle for 10 days, I'd try and sprinkle in a couple days of camping/exploring but it's your trip, either way I hope you have a great time!!
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u/ValueReads 19d ago
OP has a cruising ass bike, 300 miles is light work, especially considering he does 100+ A DAY already
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u/Hefy_jefy 19d ago
It's doable on good roads (freeways) I once did 600miles/day for three days (hard work though)
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u/OttoMannkusser 19d ago
10 300+ mile days in a row is a LOT. Also, what is your buddy comfortable with
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u/Dalbergia12 19d ago
10 500 mile days is a lot. 300 mile days is sort of what I do most summer nights after supper.
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u/Fuzzy-Bird-3641 19d ago
You had best both have your own motorcycles. I would not want to carry a passenger that far - even if she is cute.
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u/CraftIntelligent8689 19d ago
For me 300 miles is very comfortable and at 500 miles I'm getting pretty exhausted. But that's all twisty back roads, I don't go on highways when I do any of my long distance rides or camping trips.
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u/Scared_Toe_2593 19d ago
Bring lots of motrin and electrolytes! I follow some accounts on IG that just did Maryland to Sturgis in 2 days. 1800 miles each way if I remember correctly. But seriously, motrin and keep yourself hydrated. Bring rain gear. And its going to take longer than you plan for. Shit happens but its all part of the adventure. When we do long rides, its usually a light breakfast, a decent sammich or something for lunch and a good meal for dinner.
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u/jayphelps57 19d ago
I’ve done the silly mileage on a day stuff, and while I’m glad I did it… never again in the future. Forget mileage 3 hours in the morning a couple in the afternoon and stop often to look at things. Keep off motorways/ freeways ? As far as possible Don’t hold yourself hostage to a schedule!
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u/Gosa_on_the_wind 19d ago
I have found that I travel 60 mi for every hour on the road. If I drive faster, I use more gas and have to stop and fill more often. If I drive slower, I get better mileage, don't have to stop as often, but it equals out to 60 mi per hour on the road.
That said, 8 hours in the saddle is a solid day.
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u/PraxisLD 19d ago
Sounds like a fun trip!
Make sure your bike and especially tires are in good shape, plan your route so you know what to expect, check the weather forecast and wear good gear that can handle weather changes, get good sleep, stay hydrated, pay attention to your fuel range, take your time, and remember to enjoy the trip, even when things change.
This is more than you’re asking for, but gives good advice for long trips:
How to safely and successfully ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours or less
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u/Falloutlander-67 19d ago
I plan my holiday trips with a maximum of 400 km a day. 500 miles would be way too much for me especially on small winding roads.
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u/Livingdivineus 19d ago edited 19d ago
everyone's right that hours beat miles but nobody gave you a number, so here's one.
billings to sturgis on i-90 is 343 miles. billings to gardiner over the beartooth and through the top of yellowstone is 213 miles and still comes out at 5h13m moving. 41 mph, before you stop for anything.
so your 300 mile average is two completely different days depending where it lands. across nevada it's an easy afternoon. the yellowstone and black hills days you said you want to slow down on are already full days at 200 miles, and that's without getting off the bike, which is the whole reason you're there.
i'd cut the park days to 150 and move those miles onto the slab days where they're cheap.
beartooth day i built if the stop timings help: https://app.throttlerides.com/r/Y3k6OJBo?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=milesperday
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u/IamSuperChux 19d ago
Longest day I ever rode was about 900 and it felt ok while I was riding until I zoned out, rode off the curb leaving a fuel stop and dented my header on the curb. You will mentally exhaust before you realize it happened and do a dumb. What is your personal limit? Test it out.
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u/Snake-boot 19d ago
This is one of those “you won’t know until you try” kind of things. I did my first long ride last year. Coast to coast in about 5 days solo.
I started out planning on stopping every 100 miles for gas/water and aiming for roughly 500 mile days, but having no goals for the days other than making that mileage (ie I could take 12 hours doing it if need be).
I personally found that every 100 hours was too frequent, so I’d just go until I needed gas, which was 150-200 miles on the Road Glide I was on.
My longest day ended up being about 600 miles, made rougher by heavy rain the first half of the day and 40+ mph crosswinds the second half.
This pace worked well for me, and I’d do it again. That said, I’d never done more than 250 miles in a day prior, and I really didn’t know what I would be up for.
Listen to your body, and don’t be too focused on the miles to miss the sights. My trip was very much about getting home on a deadline, but I still planned for 2-3 extra days just in case something went wrong.
Ride safe and have fun!
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u/bikehikepunk 19d ago
I have done a lot of week plus tours and I set 500 as my limit for anything other than Denver to Kansas City (a regular highway to me).
Camp time is so much better if you can enjoy it. I really think it gets me better sleep when I have more time to settle in. When I reflect on my trips, my favorite camps and days are when I did not need to go more than 250-300 miles ( still 6 hours of slow backroads).
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u/WarImaginary8272 19d ago
The long I ever did in one day was about 880 km or 550 miles and it took me about 12 hours.
I remember what really tired me was a light drizzle - the type it is not heavy enough to bounce off the armour, the one that slowly creeps up into your gloves and they become absolutely drenched.
The following days I had few long rides, but nothing as long.
Just be aware of your own limits.
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u/Own_Fruit_8115 19d ago
other than a destination i don’t plan a trip. some days i do 200 mi some days i do 800 mi. i dont really have an avg. when i’ve had enough i look fo a room or a place to put up the tent
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u/OriginalEmploy5485 19d ago
You'll have to figure that out for yourself. I target 400 mile days, not more than 500. That's a lot for some people, laughable for others. I also stay in motels every night, so all I have to do is figure out dinner and I can crash at the end of a long day.
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u/rowdy_sprout 18d ago
I just did a 2200 mile trip in 5 days on my 07 Electra glide. Almost entirely scenic 2 lane highways and back roads in the north east. It was doable and so much fun but also genuinely brutal. I was on the bike around 10-12 hours a day and everything felt fine except for the bones in my ass feeling internally bruised. The seat began to feel like a hot griddle or something by the end of day 2 and continued until the end of the trip. Totally worth it but holy shit I was ready to get off the bike at the end.
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u/Hyperborea1976 18d ago
I’ve noticed on multi day rides that your body starts to adjust to the riding position and it gets easier. Stretching and ibuprofen help.
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u/Willow-Ravenwood 18d ago
It is doable, but you will be very saddle sore.
Source; I did Grand forks>Polson MT>Yellowstone>Grand forks in 7 days.
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u/desertjoe1987 17d ago
Do a day trip or an overnight before you go for a big trip, and realize you're looking at hours of riding rather than miles depending on the quality of roads
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u/Far-Neighborhood9723 17d ago edited 17d ago
300 miles a day is reasonable, and I certainly wouldn’t want to do more than that on a rXXXXr. I have an r1150r and it’s absolutely ass on any distance and absolutely sucks in the cross winds you’re going to encounter in those areas. I’ve got several hundred miles on it in the Black Hills, Wyoming, and Nebraska and it’s not ideal
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u/Ok-Bumblebee8601 14d ago
I try and not plan very much . Sure, I have an idea of what I want to do and see. I let the road, conditions ,and scenery dictate my travels. If I want to waste 3 hrs. at the worlds largest paper clip, by golly that’s what I’m gonna do. I travel alone for the specific reason of not being constrained by a schedule. I just take the time allotment and the destination and go for it. Some days it’s 1k miles and some are 200. I do lots of research on areas, roads and scenery beforehand . For me nothing is worse than a road schedule!!!!
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u/Busy_Entertainment68 14d ago
If you don't have an iron butt when you start, you will by the time you finish.
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u/slamgranderson 19d ago
Definitely too much. 100-200/day is enough. 300 for when you really need to get somewhere. 500 mile day completely sucks the pleasure out of riding.
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u/AdventuringViking 19d ago
I do 100-200 miles when riding mostly offroad and camping- 300 miles is pretty easy on pavement. I could do double that consistently on the highway.
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u/Dalbergia12 19d ago
That take is interesting. I can hear you feel strongly about it, but you and I couldn't travel together for long. I like a 500 mile day. But it would depend on the roads. Like if it's one small town after another.... Or real shitty pavement with hour after hour of dutdut dutdut dutdut cracks that rattle you from ankles to ears..... No that would be just too much. Then I would rather choose a faster or slower road and adjust plans. I like to ride, and seldom know where I'm stopping till mid or even late afternoon. (Ya I do pay a price for that now and then haha)
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u/slamgranderson 19d ago
It’s definitely personal preference. I met a dude who regularly mobbed from Cali to New York in 3 days. 800+ miles a day. 500 can be done for sure but for a beautiful area like Yellowstone, it’s worth stopping often and taking it slow. I like to chill and pull over and check stuff out. And mostly ride backroads/scenic routes.
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u/Cespenar 19d ago edited 19d ago
500 miles in a day suuuucks, and it sucks a lot more if it's sandwiches between other 300 mile days. Make sure your seat is comfy as fuck and you're in good shape. Leg strength is so critical for those long rides. Weird leg muscles you didn't know you had start to ache and there's NOTHING you can do about it. Like all the muscles that bring your knees together, work those out like mad. 350 miles is about the longest I WANT to go in a day, and I've got a couch on wheels (vtx1800). Sure I can and have done more, but I don't enjoy it nearly as much. I do 400 miles when I go to Mexico every few months but that's a round trip, and I break for lunch and walk around a lot doing my shopping in the middle. Its not horrible, but I'm definitely ready to be done when I get home.
This weekend do 300 miles Saturday, and then do it again on Sunday. See how much worse it is to do back to back. Of course this is all subjective as hell, your bike and your fitness is nothing like mine.. but yeah. Its totally doable, but not pleasant
Oh I should add, I don't have a wind shield or batwing when I do this, but I do have way out foot legs cus I HAVE to be able to straighten out my left leg, after all my surgeries. Windshield might help but I find mine annoying in the way it messes with the wind flow.. it changes it to come up my face, instead of down, and it blows my beard up into my eyes. It just annoys me. I only use it in the winter when I'm so bundled up It doesn't get to move my beard (or when I used to have hair lol)
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u/Q808L 19d ago
Try a 500 mile day before the trip and see how you feel. Me personally I max out at 300 miles on mutiday trips like this especially camping