My vote is for Denver because we may add to the group. There's nobody in in the black hills.

How is this for an idea that is good for 3 bikers.  (Not me btw, I will be recovering from prostate surgery and won't be up for a huge huge ride like this)

Two bikers (Dave and one other) arrive at MM's on their bikes.  They load up bikes on MM's truck and and either pull MM's trailer with the extra bike or else get a bit clever loading the bikes two forwards and one backwards in the bed of the full sized pickup truck.    Lancer and Verslagen know the ins and outs of this trick as they do it fairly often.

3 people can ride the seat of a full sized pickup truck OK, not wonderful but OK.    Split the gas and the driving on the truck, it becomes more do-able.

Next advantage, 24 hour driving in 4 hour shifts keeps an alert fresh driver behind the wheel and gets you there in 2 days, easy.

It is a ball buster of a trip you are talking about and I won't be going since I will have just gotten my balls professionally busted ......

Well, I'll learn more after the surgery on Oct 17th.

Denver or Black Hills suits me fine... Unless I am in Europe at that time!

 Wild HOGS !    Yeee-Hhaaa


I'm sure SpringMan is bring a Savage , I'm bringing a Savage  ,

My Van only gets about 15 mpg when pulling the two bike trailer  ,  truck might get 18 mpg (20mpg , if I play Feather-Foot) .

I'm good for 500 miles (super-slab) or 400 miles (state-roads).  on my Savage.   My house to Lancer's was one-day and my house to SpringMan's was one day --- but those were long days .

We bring a Bike to Trailer week ?

Dave, instead of a SUPER MEGATRIP (leave those things to MM who jest loves them) how about a trip all the way up the Blue Ridge Parkway to that steam tech park you found just past the end of it?

Or to some other focal point trip of similar (relatively fewer) days?

The trip all the way up the Blue Ridge is 2-3 leisurely days, likely with a hotel stay near the steam museum.

If you were going to take your wife, this trip would be less stressful.

I would like to take the gang to Suches, GA next year - it could be a "guys" or "couples" trip.  I will be towing my bike there - so the car would be available if the wives wanted to go shopping/hiking and avoid climbing on the bikes a time or two.  The Two Wheels of Suches has nice cabins, or you can camp.  If I take the wife it will be the Honda, if I go alone and the weather is good the Savage Cafe' bike will go.  It could also be designed as a trip that begins at the Kick Stand Lodge, and we could travel down to Suches and ride around the area, take minimal supplies and stay in a cabin, then ride back to the Kick Stand the next day.

Riding with the wives will change the character of our riding, as none of us own a bike with the "Big Old Comfy Couch" back seat like the Harley's and Goldwings have.  The back seats on our bikes are far less comfortable than the front seat - the padding is very thin and the footpegs are high......the passenger is not treated nearly as well as the operator.  When my wife goes for the ride - the motorcycle serves as the transportation vehicle between sight seeing, shopping and hiking venues - the motorcycle is not the extended 12 hours of twisties that I find satisfying!

Oldfeller:

Unfortunately......Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.  Every one of us have to face the fact that we will not be able to ride a motorcycle forever.  Some folks have to quite very early in life - others can ride well into their senior years.  We will hopefully recognize when it is no longer safe to ride quickly......safe to ride for extended periods......or safe to ride at all!  Downsizing may help extend the riding period for some - for others it will be a trike!  

I started coming to the group rides in 2012, and we have lost 4 regular members on the group ride in that time (I don't think it is my fault).  They had health problems, lost interest in the Savage, etc.  That first year we had BigZuk, Serenity, Oldfeller, MMRanch, Lancer, AlfromNH, me....and I think I am missing somebody(s).  BigZuk, Serenity and Al don't come anymore, and we recently lost old_rider.  We have a lot of folks that would love to come and chase us around the mountains - but at this point in their lives they have family and work commitments that just don't allow them to travel away from home for an extended period.

Thankfully I am still healthy and I really like burning up the curves on the Savage - I don't go fast on the straights and do intense braking as much as I used to - but I sure do enjoy riding tight curves in a manner that guarantees short tire life!  I am ready for an all day ride whenever I get the chance.  I don't know how many years of riding (or living) I have in my future - I intend to get a lot of it done in the coming years.

This year I was not able to ride nearly as much as I wanted to and I was seldom able to take more than an occasional ride around home.  My workload "pre-retirement" has been intense, and we have had one of the wettest summers I can remember. Next year I plan on riding at least 1 weekend a month - and now and then I will bring the wife so that we can spend time together in our retirement years.  The NT700 rides great double - but I do limit the hours I make my wife spend in the saddle as the back seat is not as comfortable as the front one.  I just can't find a medium size sport touring bike that has a cushy passenger seat - the BMW K1200 & K1600 have great looking back seat - but the bikes just appear to darn big for me to ride.

The only thing that is likely to keep me from riding.....is rain!  I hate riding in the rain!