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When i went out with Davshill at the weekend i had an incredible day out, roads were brilliant scenery fantastic.
I did 250 miles that day and at the time it felt great.
With riding down roads that i didnt know i had to concentrate hard, and on occasions watch out sheep and goats stepping into the road.

The problem was when i got back, i felt physically and mentally drained.
I don't know weather to sell one of the bikes and buy a futura, or go down the falcouono route(don't worry andy i would buy a fibreglass fairing).
I will be going to the not a wake meet shortly and stopping over for one night, and i know at the end of each day i am gonig to be shattered with at least three hours riding each way which seems a little daunting.
Any suggestions to make bike riding distances more enjoyable?

i always feel like that after a good ride out.
i think its the fact that im constantly concentrating on the roads.

slickliner6 wrote:i always feel like that after a good ride out.
i think its the fact that im constantly concentrating on the roads.

Me too - and the same on a hard drive in the car. The concentration is draining - and if you're not concentrating that hard, you're not doing it right

Break the riding up into smaller chunks with slightly longer breaks in between the rides. You dont have to wait til the tank empties to stop?
Also watch what you eat. Eat fruit which is slow release energy before you ride and when you stop to keep levels more constant.

i aim to do stints of 80 miles at a go.....

and then break for at least 15 mins

Drink water when ever you stop.

Probably stress that is most wearing. Consentrate sure but try to relax and take it 'easy' and avoid late braking. With a Falco even with that attitude, you'll soon be going quick enough.

It was the back of my neck, shoulders and the top of my arms that were the worst.
I can drive 200 miles a day in my van no problem, and you do have to watch what you are doing with something that weighs 3.5 tonne..
Thanks everyone for your input i will try and see what works.

Have a look at Griffs suspension set up, the bit about bike set up, making sure you can easily reach everything without over reaching with any limb, may make a difference (sorry, too thick to link it )
When I was doing a lot of agency lorry driving I'd get home pooped affter 350 miles or so, concentrating is tiring !

Get a cruiser.............

That sounds to me like you're not relaxing enough on the bike - I know it sounds crazy, but you do need to have a loose grip on the bars and not be tense and hanging on like grim death. Ideally you should be able to waggle your elbows around as you're riding. If you can't, you're too stiff. You only need to have enough grip on the throttle to stop it sliding back on the return spring. Your clutch hand should be just resting on the bars. Unless you're Casey Stoner, of course...

Stay loose as a goose...

The other point is that if it's your upper body that's getting hammered, then either crouch down out of the wind, or get a taller screen to deflect the airflow over your upper body, neck and head.

The Falco riding position is realy very good for clocking up the miles. As Mango says stay relaxed. I find I can rest my body on the tank and take hardly any strain through the arms and shoulders. Feels a bit stupid in a 30mph limit but is fine on the open road.

BikerGran wrote:Get a cruiser.............

And screw your back?

agreed re the physical stuff - I don't find that much of an issue ...... however the mental tiredness that hits when you stop if you've been "making progress" is fairly unavoidable ... other than by "making a bit less progress"

I have talked to pete and he did say before graham posted i may be too tense when riding.
Mental tiredness we did stop on regular occasions , but we was batting on a bit on roads i had never been down before..
Dont get me wrong i was happy with the pace and i did have to back off and let davshill go on occasions due to the uncertainty of what was coming next.
Its what keeps you safe.
My idea about a falcuono was to stop me leaning forward has much and thus not putting so much weight on my arms, and eliminate the upper body tiredness.
I will try and loosen up on the bike and see what happens.
Also graham i do have a taller screen on the bike i was riding

for Jay, and for anyone else

try this

get the bike on a paddock stand and then get on the bike, in your normal gear and assume your normal riding position, and then get someone to take a photo of you from the side

print off the photo and then use a bold coloured feltip, mark out your spine, arms etc - especially the angle of your wrists and feet

now stop and look....

now adjust levers, footrests and controls etc

as Keef said, many people grip their bars - NO - rest on them!

finally, look at your gear - especially at the wrist - is your jacket too tight or rucking up? are the gloves too tight and creating a pressure point? anything here will reffer pressure up the arm and to the neck