Pretty Much My First Big Boy Long Trip Ever

[DRB146_imp]

So, as some of may have seen in the past few days, I am new to the forum. I have a 2013 CB1100 that I got last year, private sale. I dropped it shortly after buying it, it got fixed, and I would argue that in the past two weeks, I have ridden more than I have in the five years I have been riding at all. I've done Waterbury, CT to Cape Cod, MA (~185 miles) on a 400cc engine a few times, and my tush has never forgiven me for that. I actually thought about it today as I was riding, and I am still very much a novice if we're going with the 4 tier system (Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced). Plowing ahead...

The old lady was working like usual, and I was bored and had nothing to do, so I decided to take the bike for a longer ride. I WD40'ed the chain, filled up the tank, and I was off. I knew what route I wanted to take, but didn't really plan all that much beforehand, so I didn't really think just how many miles it would be.

Trip Details:

- South Shore, MA -> Rt. 2 to Shelburne Falls, MA -> Amherst, MA/Quabbin Reservoir -> Back to South Shore, MA (Link: https://www.motorcycleroads.com/motorcyc...loop?s=70)
- Trip Distance: 258.04 miles
- Start Time: Somewhere around 1230 hrs, 8/15/21
- End Time: Somewhere around 2000 hrs, 8/15/21
- Actual Ride Time: Clocked at 5 hours and 49 minutes, via Rever app

I usually find a route on motorcycleroads.com ("MR"), download the GPX file, and then open it up in the Rever app. I really like the Rever app, both sites really, but it has seemed recently like it is more difficult to load routes properly via phone on the Rever app - I mean, if I'm knowingly going to go on a long route, I will actually take the time to plot it out on the computer, but since this was in essence a 'get up and go' type day, it just seemed to be a hassle. It was an established route on MR, but it wound up turning into 5 logged entries for 1 actual trip on the Rever app. Whatever - it was just annoying.

The route itself is gorgeous. Best parts are MA 112 and MA 116 - straight farmland countryside and S curves through forested backroads. Even Rt. 2 was pretty scenic for a state highway. The heat has been unbearable the past two days (I was literally dripping sweat just sitting at my kitchen table), and when I took the dog for a walk this morning, I immediately noticed the heat had broken, and that put me in a great mood. I believe this route has the highest rating on MR for Massachusetts routes, and for good reason.

Achievements:
- Got two compliments on the bike - One guy asked me at a stoplight if I had bought it yesterday from some dealership in Foxboro. I said no, and he said he swore that was the one he sat on yesterday. Said it looked great. The other guy was also riding a bike (a Kawasaki) and I met him at the Quabbin Reservoir overlook. He was probably early 60's, and couldn't stop raving about the look of the CB11. We wound up talking for a while. Cool dude.
- Hit a new PR on speed. Had the whole "eyes tearing up but wind blowing the tears back" feeling. Absolutely incredible.
- I had never tried the "Holy poop, my battery crapped out and I need to get this thing going - go down a hill in neutral and pop it into second gear" method, but figured the heck with it, I'm gonna try when the conditions are good - and I did it!

Improvements Needed:
- Definitely felt myself getting tired, physically and (as a result) mentally. The back leg of the trip I was actually getting fairly chilly, and I was just wanting to get home by that time, and was not focusing as much on the road itself.
- I've really been trying to improve my turns lately. Writing that makes me cringe, but I think it's honestly from still getting used to the bike (I barely rode it last year, and for all intents and purposes the only bike I really rode before this was the CB400). I managed to get way more comfortable with increased speed on the straightaways, and back road turns were a breeze, but as I was getting tired and losing focus, I had a tendency to slow down quite a bit (and p'od a lot of drivers as a result). Hopefully none of you were affected... lol

Nonetheless, a very fun day's ride. I saw somebody else post about the Iron Butt Association, and I remember hearing about it before and wanted to try it. Definitely need to get a few more rides in before I take a swing at that.

Any feedback is welcome - good, bad, or ugly.
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