If for some foolish reason, there is no convincing you and you are set on getting on the road on a Motorcycle, then please understand that decision has a lot of consequences and can be extremely dangerous and difficult. So to be very honest with you, if there is not a single argument that can sway you and you are determined to get onto the bike and ride into the wind then congrats, you just entered level 2 of your life- choosing to live life versus choosing to live in fear. Use fear/doubt as a motivational tool instead of allowing it to deter you from moving forward with your life. Compliment it with adrenaline and drive and you’ll be on the way to Level 3. Congratulations on making a life changing move! YOUR ON THE ROAD BABY!

Let’s Go on a Cross Country Road Trip!

Once I was on the road for a few weeks the first thing I realized is that there is absolutely no price tag to traveling the states on a motorcycle. This was 10000% the best decision I made. Even though the trip is much more difficult, dangerous and expensive with a bike, It is in a world of mundane living, an actual journey full of adrenaline. Surviving every day is a concept we take for granted and being on the road puts that to perspective.Once you get into the habit of being on the road for long time frames, you seem to be able to hone into the ride and completely engulf yourself in the experience. I went from living at home my entire life and living in a bubble to proclaiming myself a world explorer.

While riding you do a lot of self reflection. A lot of the roadblocks you thought you had (especially regarding finding happiness, careers, love, etc) are all mental. There is almost nothing you cannot accomplish. Living my life at home and pushing for small goals was not providing any returns for me. Every month I would walk away unsatisfied with my efforts and further dissuaded from my goals. Now my goal of survival is a challenge in itself. Being able to ride hundreds of miles a day while working full time remotely is not easy work on a motorcycle. Plus with all the baggage I carry, I’m basically always riding with a really fat person. Every day, I am unloading and loading my luggage, finding the time to fill up gas every 100 miles, feed myself a few times a day, find a place to crash for the night, catching up with work at odd hours, and all of life’s crazy daily challenges. In the first 2 months of my Motorcycle Cross Country Road Trip I have stayed in 12 states and 18+ cities all while working remotely as a Product Manager.

 

The mind is yelling, “here stop contemplating all the same problems you’ve been pondering, here is the reality in PLAIN English”…and all of a sudden all the things you didn’t want to admit, and all your obstacles you didn’t want to confront are clear in front of you.

The mind tries to paint the clearest picture it knows how- the best scenario to fix your issues becomes present. The mind can stop procrastinating this for once because there is another problem it is facing. Surviving past the adrenaline. You are basically going 80 miles an hour on average on two wheels with slightly more protection than a bicyclist. If the mind can help you gather ideas towards solutions on your issues it can get you back to focusing on staying alive.
Now “GODDAM IT FOCUS ON THE ROAD so we don’t DIE” the mind yells at you as you zoom by. These insights don’t last long, you only seem to have them when you are in sync with the road totally tuned in with your awareness. Somehow after the first hour or riding, your mind falls in a zen like and dream like state where you can almost imagine your solutions through vivid daydreaming. Then poof you jump back in reality and glance down on your gps and see 135 miles until the next exit. Then you get back into the rhythm and try to gather your thoughts to do it again.

Be an Experienced and Prepared Rider

Road tripping on a motorcycle is not an easy task. If you are not an experienced rider please do not go and foolishly attempt the feat. Trips with 500 miles plus require expensive maintenance on the bike and a decent amount of planning/preparation. If you don’t maintain the bike in a timely manner I am afraid the bike and you won’t last very long. In my first two months of traveling I had maintenance expenses on the bike ranging almost 2k (that includes new tires, new chain, chain cleaner, back lights, oil change, filter replacement and whatever else I missed. ). That does not even include all the expenses I incurred in getting my bike ready for travel. I had to fully service the bike and pay for upgrades like all season protective gear (super important), new bigger windshield, saddle bags, tank bag, 80 liter water proof tank, battery bank with solar panel, sleeping bag, tent, sleeping mat, and other items for surviving on a motorcycle. . I have a complete motorcycle road trip packing checklist if you’d like to check it out.

This brings me to another point. If you really want to travel on a bike, you’ll need to plan it. I don’t mean plan every hour of every hour but you should be able to create a rough idea of your trip. Things to focus are daily expenses/budgets, riding time (I would not recommend taking highways  at night in some cities), final destinations, living arrangement and costs, longevity of the trip, major stops, and weather.

Ohh- let me tell you the weather on a bike is a serious issue for road trips. I will obviously tell you to plan around riding in the rain. Alas no matter how much you plan around the rain, you will get stuck in it. If you are super lucky like me, you can get stuck in hail in the middle of the summer too. Waterproof your luggage! If you can’t afford to pay for lavish waterproof gear, at least get some garbage bags over your luggage (you can even use your bike cover if you don’t mind the risk of it ripping). 

Beware of Covid

Covid has definitely altered the roadtrip for me but it was also a large part of how I left NYC so I can’t complain. Make sure you check the new hours of operations for anything you wanted to visit. One thing I have been able to take advantage of is a lot of state parks have been open. I must have visited over 20 state parks in the first two months and they are always stunning, tranquil displays of nature. If you aren’t one for hiking, kayaking , wildlife, and nature then don’t expect yourself to suddenly like it now. 

If you don’t already have a motorcycle, you might want to do yourself a favor and get yourself a vehicle that can handle the open road of traveling- think adventure sports like the infamous Versysy! I talk more about this in my other post HERE!

Ride Safely

This is probably the most dangerous situation you can put yourself in so don’t make matters worse by riding like an ass hat. No matter how careful you are, how much gear you wear, how slow you go, how much distance between cars you keep, there is always a chance someone will hit you. If a car gets hit by another car at 15 miles an hour the passengers might leave with nothing but a few scratches. Hitting a bike at 15 miles per hour will send you flying 15 feet into the air. I have done about 5 thousand miles in two months of traveling. I must have almost crashed at least 8 times already. With skill, natural reactions, experience, a lot of luck I have numerously found myself losing control of the bike at 80-100 mph (sometimes from carelessness, sometimes from strange turns and exits, and sometimes to dodge drivers who are dangerously close to hitting you) and manage to regain control and survive. Driving a car every day on unknown roads in unknown places is not recommended, but on a bike it is even more true. 

If you read this and thought that this is somehow a good idea to roadtrip on a bike you must be goddam crazy. If that’s the case, it’s okay I am too! Welcome to the club! Traveling the states on my Suzuki SV6550 is by far the most exhilarating trip I ever took part of. All my life I’ve read about epic journeys of lavish heroes traveling the lands of the unknown. For the first time, I feel like a modern cowboy/knight, riding the open road on my bike, meeting people, making memories and taking part in writing the chapters of my journeys!