Am I a wuss because I'd rather not...

[Mnementh]

ride 400 odd miles to Bristol tomorrow, I'm going on the plane instead?

Bearing in mind I'm going down for the Bank Holiday to see the folks and I don't have any panniers, just a fairly small rucksack which I would have to cram everything into... The last time I did something similar I rode the 200 miles to Birmingham (I'd only passed my test two days before), with the same rucksack and my back was killing me at the end of the ride.

So am I a wuss or should I suck it up and enter the ironbutt as penance?

[TheShaggyDA]

Wuss. Throwover panniers are £25, tankbag is £25 - tad cheaper than a flight, methinks.
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[i:6e3bfc7581]But still I fear and still I dare not laugh at the madman...[/i:6e3bfc7581]

[Mnementh]

[map]

[Mnementh]

Heh I meant the flight itself

As I'm not going on the bike I don't have to limit what I can take with me as I can use a proper suitcase instead of the rucksack...

[Laura]

Meh wimp I rode over 300 miles to cornwall with a 95 litre rucksac full with hairdryer shoes and suits etc.

Hurts but wimp all the same.

And I am a girl.
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[california_rookie]

I don't think you're a sissy at all. 800 miles round trip sounds a bit daunting to me. Does that make me a sissy too? Probably...
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[mr.z]

It not too bad if you make sure to have as many stops as you feel like haveing.

get yourself a kit bag from the army surplus store and ratchet ties, you can get ALLOT of stuff in there! orust bungie your bag to your bike somehow, allot easyer.. (though a bag will keep you a bit warmer)

Depends what bike your on, rideing 400miles on an xlr125 is a bit different from the same 400 on a goldwing!

Go at your own pace, when your feeling achey stop, even if just to check your map and have a drink and stretch your legs it makes allot of difference, i find rideing alone less of a stress then with a group, everyone feels like they need to keep up

Another thing is ride at night, no traffic! which is why at 4 i'm going to leeds
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[Gti]

[california_rookie]

[WildGoose]

get a big bag (50 litres +) and fill it correctly, when you get on the bike, loosen the straps off enough, so the bottom of the bag sits on the pillion seat, but keep enough tension in the straps to stop it flopping around otherwise the buffeting will be horrible, obviously this doesnt work on every bike

my cbr400 is hopeless, and with all my navy crap in a bag, i'm well and truly ready for hospital after 90 miles
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[Robby]

Fly.

800 mile round trip. At 40mpg and fuel costing about 3.60/gallon you'll spend about £72 on petrol alone. Factor in tyre wear, servicing - that trip is a quarter of an oil change interval - cost of luggage, and its an expensive trip.

And a 45 minute flight is far preferable to about 6 or 7 hours of motorway with constant noise, concentration, rain, cold, hot, traffic, and all those things bank holiday traffic can throw at you.

[Bendy]

I'm with Robby on that one.

There's a faster, cheaper, more comfortable way to get there. Take it.

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

Hehe riding 400 miles each way is hassle!
I'd only do it if i had to. Plane for £48, sounds much better. You wound be tired or aching when you ge there if you ride. You will feel much better when you get there if you use the plane.

Plus think about how you will feel whe the time comes where you have to go home. You know you have one hell of a journey ahead of you. You will not like that, trust me.

[G]

If you have to do a total of 800 miles it may well be cheaper to take the plane as well.

Comfort is good, I'm quite happy to be a wuss that isn't in pain .

[John]

I'd take the plane.


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[Ant]

Last sunday i done my longest ever trip, 150 miles and my elbow was still aching monday night! So i think i'd pass on a 400 mile trip too
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[Andy99]

Long journeys on m/ways are just a pain on most bikes.If you need the bike when you get there take it but if you don't need it fly.

[bizzie lizzie]

With that many miles, especially if you don't regularly do a lot (eg. 200 miles to a rally, a trip to a party or whatever - and back) you should sort yourself out with a stopover somewhere if you want to ride it. The fun/achievement factor is high. Due to family circumstance I had to do several trips to Cornwall and back from Rugby this year. I tried to book a flight to Plymouth from Birmingham - too expensive. I travelled by train - between delays and overcrowding, it wasn't worth the aggro. I did the trip on the CBR4 several times and it was worth the work - even the death-trap that was the M4/M5 interchange was useful experience. You'll never know if you can/want to do it until you've tried and, if you need a stopover, surely someone who posts on here may be willing to help?

[yambabe]

Quick slightly OT point here, when I was training not so long ago my instructor told me NEVER to ride with a rucksack or bag of any type on (he even frowned at my tiny little two-strap rucksack-style handbag just big enough for AA card & phone).

Not only can you strain your back whilst riding (especially distance), apparently the damage it can do if you come off is something truly awful.
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[G]

I believe they said goose's backpack may have actually saved his back!

I have one with a built in back protector for motorbike use. The trick is to not carry sharp/pointing/solid things.
At least make sure clothes or similar are next to your back, so that on impact you don't end up with a camera embedded into your spine.

[bizzie lizzie]

And invest in some waterproof panniers

[stinkwheel]

Dinnae wear rucksacks on your bike, I did for years and it is just not worth the strain. You can buy an army issue, canvas, cylindrical kit bag for about a fiver and a couple of bungees for a quid. I can carry a 4-man tent, 4 season sleeping bag, thermarest, dry clothes, stove, water bottle and brew-kit in one. Sit it across your pillion seat/rack and fix it on with two bungees crossed over it.

Doesn't muck up the handling so much, saves your neck and shoulders from the wind blast and avoids you sliding down the road on your face if you come off. I sometimes wear a small, empty rucksack just so the straps hold my waterproof jacket down and stop it inflating. If I put anything in it, it gets strapped to the back.

For a bit more you can buy an ortleib dry-sack which is the same shape and size but immersion proof.



I'd take the plane for that price if I knew I could easily get where I want to go from the airport.
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[1cyl]

Wuss, i went to wales and back in the same day. .
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[Mnementh]

Thanks for all the replies everybody. Wide range of opinions there, I took the wimps way out and flew it was just so much less hassle. I'm going down again in a few weeks though and I might try on the bike this time as there is a bikers meet every Sunday in Weston apparently, might be a good day out...

I need to get some more gear for the bike as I currently only have a fairly small rucksack that's just not feasible to put lots of stuff in, thanks for all the suggestions in that regard.