Speed vs Comfort

Motorcycling often seems to be a study in paradoxes. Riders must constantly be evaluating conditions, measuring and assessing risks and rewards, and making decisions that will affect them both immediately and long term.

One of these paradoxes is fashioned when trying to cover long miles in one day. The evaluation centers on the decision of which type of road to ride. The Interstate highway system, or the regular back highways and county surface roads that dice up our countryside. One must consider the pros and cons of this choice and decide which works best for the circumstance presented.

Beginning with the Interstate system, this was initially created by the Federal Highway Act in 1956.  The idea was to create a national system linking the entire United States fostering better travel conditions and easing troop deployment should a crisis arise.  The speed limits on the Interstate typically are considerably higher than local roads and often take the most direct line from one place to another. This higher speed and straight-line methodology fosters the most efficient method of moving from one city to another.  If you really need to make quick time of covering miles, the Interstate is the best choice to do so. 

However, the things that make it a good choice also make it a bad choice for some motorcyclists and travelers. The higher speeds and increased traffic can cause a lot of wind buffeting which can cause fatigue as the rider fights the bike through the airstreams of many passing trucks and cars. The higher speed can also make a normally comfortable bike at lower RPMs vibrate considerably at the sustained higher speeds of the Interstate system. This vibration can also cause fatigue and excess wear on the machinery as it is working near the top of the design limit range.

Local highways and county roads offer benefits to the rider however, there is a cost that must be reconciled. Often times these roads cut through rural areas and pass directly through small towns and communities along the way. Some feel this is the best way to actually experience America as compared to zipping past at high speed on the Interstate. By rolling slowly through the neighborhood, the rider can see the local flavor, feel the breeze coming off the water, and smell the cut grass and flowers as well as the factory nearby. Hearing the noontime whistle while rolling through a small town harkens one back to a simpler time, when information was passed person to person rather than instantly via social media.

The lower speeds, decreased traffic and buffeting combined with a more tolerable RPM range on the riders bike also pays dividends in the form of creature comfort. The ride becomes easier and more pleasurable and the experience seems to count more. Most of my best motorcycle riding memories is of this type of travel, not the mindless miles pounding down the interstate.  

This leisure comes at a cost as well… By slowing down along these back roads; one also assumes the longer hours spent in the saddle to get to the same place. The Interstate rider will pound along at a higher speed on a more direct line and arrive well before the back road rider. This is the conundrum presented when trying to cover long miles per day. How best to do it…?