How many miles per day?

[marku8a]

I am planning my first multi day trip. I know it's a pretty arbitrary question but about how many miles per day do you plan to ride?

Mark

[Son of Pappy]

Is the purpose of the trip getting there, or the trip itself?  If you are looking at plenty of pics along the way 400 would be a good day, if getting there is the priority anything over 600 would be a good day.  It is always worth mentioning, stay hydrated regardless of miles travelled and never ride past your comfort zone.  As always, YMMV

[DannyL]

I am planning my first multi day trip. I know it's a pretty arbitrary question but about how many miles per day do you plan to ride?

Mark

If I'm in a hurry to get to destination I'll bang out 700-800 or more miles a day.
If I'm screwing around while getting there I'll do 699-799 miles a day.
If I'm really lazy and want to enjoy the scenery I'll do 698-798 a day.

Lol!

[SteveJ.]

I am planning my first multi day trip. I know it's a pretty arbitrary question but about how many miles per day do you plan to ride?

Mark

Cool.

Care to enlighten us with some details?

My miles per day varies from 0 to 1304. Kinda depends on a lot of factors.

[George R. Young]

I aim for 250 miles per day, after that it ceases to be fun.

[marku8a]

Cool.

Care to enlighten us with some details?

My miles per day varies from 0 to 1304. Kinda depends on a lot of factors.

I am in San Diego (not so sunny at the moment!). I am going to replicate a trip my father made years ago. Up north through middle of the state going over to the coast at about Sacramento and returning south via the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH or highway 101). I am not in a hurry but need to fit this in a week long vacation. I have yet to plan stops. The only must see so far is the Hurst Castle. If you have other suggestions, I would be glad to hear about them!

Mark

[ZG]

I aim for 250 miles per day, after that it ceases to be fun.

+1...
 
250 to 300 max is still fun, anything more than that is just chewing slab and not as fun IMO...

[wally_games]

+1...
 
250 to 300 max is still fun, anything more than that is just chewing slab and not as fun IMO...

+1

Average about this amount. May do a longer day if there's nothing to see in between, but 50 might be too far if you've got sites you're interested in visitin. I did 3,050 in 9 days, but there was a 500 mile day the last day (across west Texas, the end of July, HOT!!!).

[Pro Recreator]

I did a 1600+ mile 4 day trip around Lake Superior.  For the trip the primary purpose was to see scenery as we rode.  The days shorter than 500 left us a little too much time sitting around afterwards but the days over 500 we got a little more sore.  500 seems to be my sweet spot.  If I were planning on stopping to see more than one major site per day I'd probably trim the saddle miles back.
You may want to try some long distance day rides to see where your sweet spot is.  Remember to never press your luck, taking more time to get there is better than not getting there at all.  And I'd much rather be in the situation of burning time when I get to the destination early rather than trying to find your destination in the dark when you're tired and weary.
Good luck and enjoy your trip!

[lt1]

In general, plan for less miles than you think you can do.  It takes some of the fun out of a vacation to be tired and behind schedule.  An easy first day and a longer second day, followed by a gradual tapering off of mileage works for some of us.

[SteveJ.]

In general, plan for less miles than you think you can do.  It takes some of the fun out of a vacation to be tired and behind schedule.  An easy first day and a longer second day, followed by a gradual tapering off of mileage works for some of us.

Kinda weird how different things work for different folks. I tend to have the longest days on the first day out and on the last day out.

[SteveJ.]

Mark, You may want to spend a day or two around Kernville. Decent hotels, or plenty of NF campgrounds, a couple with showers. The private campgrounds really do suck around Kville, rip-off jerks want to charge a full night's site charge($30-40) just to get a shower. The showers at the NF campgrounds south of town just require a few quarters, don't even have to be a guest(apparently).

Oh, and the riding is quite nice around those parts.

Try the Lake Isabella Blonde Ale from the Kernville Brewery, available at the main market in town, near the brewery. Yummy.

[MizzouMike]

I seem to manage about 50 miles per hour in an average day (that is including stops , eating, fuel, etc...)   

So I think about how many hours I want to spend on the bike,  So if I want to ride 8-10 I usually try not to go more than 500 miles per day.  But when I travel on a mult-day, I am usually going somewhere I havn't been before, so I will most likely be sight seing....  I have done 700 miles days before, but that took way too much fun out of the whole thing....

Also if going somewhere I havn't been there before, I often try to take the road less traveled, and that adds to the lenght of time, but rarely makes better time.   I will say that I seem to run out of daylight on those days more than 90% of the time......

[Ddfee]

500-750 miles is my preferred  range per day.. Loadup first couple days when feeling fresh and taper mileage  off gradually depending on total miles and days. Did 12500 kms last summer in 2.5 weeks.  Now of course that was on my wing but my wife was riding her St 1300. Yes I realize that was less than 500 per day but we rode Vancouver, bc., to Chicago in 4 days, then rte 66 to Santa Monica (10 days) which brought down the average as loads to see. Then Tijuana to BC Canada in 4 days.

Lots of water is a must I carry a camelback water bladder, and if required I use energy gel bars etc that you can get from sport stores.

Enjoy

Dave

[DannyL]

Kinda weird how different things work for different folks. I tend to have the longest days on the first day out and on the last day out.

Same here, if it's a multi 1000 mile I'll bang out the big parts in the beginning and end!

[stevewfl]

I usually bang out 1000-1200 miles first day.....to get away FL and the states I ride all the time.

Then depending on the mission at hand

[Pfloydgad]

If you believe those Touring books and articles, your first days ride should be the longest. It will usually be the day that is met with the most anticipation and energy. As the ride progresses, your miles should drop by anywhere from 15 to 25% per day, to a simple minimum. Stay on that minimum for the rest of the ride.
Judging by some of the responses here, that theory is out the window.
When I'm solo, my miles just don't count, I'm always stopping and taking pics, seeing the sites, or just takin a break and stretching out. HOPE to do miles never seem to add up to DID miles when it is all said and done.
Ride safe all, regardless of your miles.
Greg

[Deadeye321]

Why not straight line it the first day up to either Kings Canyon or one of the other great mountains first day.  then when you get up to Sacramento then go over to the Redwoods and work down from there.  I would definately do the coast road all the way back..  Have you ridden Sunrise highway or up by Ramona.  I used to love riding those areas.

[MizzouMike]

If you believe those Touring books and articles, your first days ride should be the longest. It will usually be the day that is met with the most anticipation and energy. As the ride progresses, your miles should drop by anywhere from 15 to 25% per day, to a simple minimum. Stay on that minimum for the rest of the ride.

I always seem to have my longest day on the last day.....   Usually that is due to poor planning on my part.   I also seem to have some 'gethomeitis' by that time too....

[martin_14]

I aim for 250 miles per day, after that it ceases to be fun.

...and it starts being plain transportation.
250 miles is a good point. I'm planning a 4 k miles in May to Ireland and Scotland. I allocated 650 miles in one day to get from Munich to Calais at the beginning (getting out of cozy Germany asap), and back at the end of the trip (just like taking off a plaster). These are the only 2 days of the trip in which I'll see highway. The other 2700 miles are secondary roads distributed in 13 days in which I have from 0 miles (I'll spend 2 nights in Dublin, exactly in the middle of the trip) up to 300 miles a day. Since I'm not taking direct routes between one hotel and the next, I can always cut the mileage (or increase it) if I feel so. Camera is in the tank bag and I don't think I'll be below 100 pics a day.

My reason for this daily mileage are the following:
- when I wake up at around 7 am, I like having a walk, breathing fresh air and listening to locals starting their day. It's a better way to get to know the folk than a museum later in the day. Afterwards I'll have a good breakfast. I don't usually leave the hotel before 10 am.
- now the driving. I usually have a morning drive until my stomach asks for food. 3 or 4 hours. By the time I found the right place and ate, I'm looking at 3 pm.
- another couple of hours driving and taking pictures, maybe taking a tour or visiting a national park or some other touristic attraction, to arrive to the next hotel anywhere between 7 and 11 pm. I always call the hotels to let them know my ETA.
- if I arrive on the earlier side of that window, I leave my stuff and hit the city/town/sunset pic opportunity and enjoy a nice meal, and finally hit the bed.

Munching miles is good for statistics, but does nothing for pleasure. My highest priority is keeping well rested and the average speed realistic.