400 miles for a cheeseburger.

[Captain Roadsmith]

This weekend, we're riding 400 miles round trip to get a cheesebirger. Some look at us as being nuts but hey, it's all about the ride.

[RoadRat]

Well if you're nuts I must be absolutely insane. Riding to LaPine OR on 9/5 (600 mi. one way) just to attend the 3rd Annual Reuben Sandwich RTE. That damn sandwich better be pretty tasty.

[Hoosier Daddy]

This weekend, we're riding 400 miles round trip to get a cheesebirger. Some look at us as being nuts but hey, it's all about the ride.

What/where is this burger joint?

[530ktm]

It is great stuff to ride like this. I rode 420 miles for a burger just recently and the line was so long I turned and came home. Burger place was on Jalama Beach out here and the ride is worth it burger or not.

[Cruiseman]

This weekend, we're riding 400 miles round trip to get a cheesebirger. Some look at us as being nuts but hey, it's all about the ride.

I see nothing nuts about that. What I think is nuts is when people travel to Europe or Asia, then go to KFC or McDonalds!

[kwthom]

This weekend, we're riding 400 miles round trip to get a cheeseburger. Some look at us as being nuts but hey, it's all about the ride.

I've done over 500 miles -- one way -- for a $6 hot dog...and want to do it again this year, if the schedule permits me to do so.

No, we're not nuts at all, we're the sane ones. :D

[kniterider]

I did the MOONSHINE burger ride 1000 mile run last year the burger was OK but the folks made the trip..

[kniterider]

I did the moonshine 1000 burger ride last year,,, Burger was ok,, It rained non stop most of the way there 50 degrees,, Damn it was fun though

[hparsons]

That's nothing - over Labor Day weekend, I plan on riding 700 miles (round trip) so I can use my substantial investment in trailer and equipment so the wife and I can live like homeless people for a few days.

But then I love camping

[530ktm]

That's nothing - over Labor Day weekend, I plan on riding 700 miles (round trip) so I can use my substantial investment in trailer and equipment so the wife and I can live like homeless people for a few days.

But then I love camping

That sounds like fun. I can not get the wife too interested in the camping part but I would like to do it again sometime. We got spoiled in our motor home when it comes to camping but trying it on the Wing with some of the simple things would be a fun experience again.

[Captain Roadsmith]

What/where is this burger joint?

It's called Poopy's in Savanna, IL

[Hoosier Daddy]

It's called Poopy's in Savanna, IL

Thanks. Was just curious. I rode about the same distance a while back to meet some fellow wingers at a place in Michigan called Redamak's. Great burgers.

[hparsons]

That sounds like fun. I can not get the wife too interested in the camping part but I would like to do it again sometime. We got spoiled in our motor home when it comes to camping but trying it on the Wing with some of the simple things would be a fun experience again.

Well, I guess California would be too far to have you join us (though you're more than welcome to, if you'd like).

I'm not a "minimalist camper"! I like gadgets, and camping on a bike is a chance to try out being "creative" with gadgets. On top of that, neither my wife nor I like sleeping on the ground, and prefer to make things as comfortable as we can. So, we have a Timeout Camper, a fold up kitchen that is transported on the front of the trailer, a Campmate chuck box to carry stuff in, and a couple Coleman stoves (we usually only bring one of them), a few fold up chairs and a fold up table, a Kelty shelter for shade, a fold up picnic table (usually used for the kids, but we still bring it if it's just us), a changing room (will double as a privy/shower if we ever camp where there's no bathrooms), the rigid ice chest on the camper for drinks, and a fold up cooler we use for food. Oh yeah, the air conditioner. Camping anytime but the winter is too hot in Texas without an AC. There's a few other things I'm sure I've forgotten, but that covers most of them. Last time we went to Goose Island, the folks across from us came to check things out, and said that every time we pulled something else out to set up, the swore it had to be the last piece. The girl said she was going to make her husband take packing lessons.

Last weekend, we did a family reunion at a local RV Park. It wasn't far, but we loaded up the bike and the Timeout camper just like we were doing a motorcycle trip. One of my kids asked why we didn't just take the Envoy, since it was so close and we could carry more. I told her this was a "practice run" for the real thing over labor day.

It was interesting - my step-father brought a very nice full size camper that had two slide out areas to make very large rooms, complete with two ACs, granite counter-tops, a microwave, propane stove and oven, and two LCD TVs (my sister begged him to come and bring it so she'd have a place to stay); but we all ended up using our setup for the cooking (there were over 40 of us all together), because we all enjoyed doing it outdoors. We had the fold out kitchen that I load on the front of the camper, plus I brought an extra stove (and one of my kids brought a portable grill that's too big for the bike) so we had a pretty nice kitchen layout.

My suggestion - Have your wife check out some of the motorcycle camper rigs. They're actually pretty comfortable; and you don't have to "rough it" to enjoy the outdoors.

[530ktm]

It sounds like you have everything you need for a comfortable adventure. I must agree with the girl that you are an impressive packer and I hope you take pictures on your trip so we can all see your set up.

[kniterider]

My wife camped with me while dating,,, Now her idea of camping is a cheap room at the Hilton

[RoadRat]

It sounds like you have everything you need for a comfortable adventure. I must agree with the girl that you are an impressive packer and I hope you take pictures on your trip so we can all see your set up.

+1 Would like to see also.

[hparsons]

It sounds like you have everything you need for a comfortable adventure. I must agree with the girl that you are an impressive packer and I hope you take pictures on your trip so we can all see your set up.

Well, I almost overplayed my hand this time around. I decided a few weeks back that I wanted a Dosko Campmate box to keep "stuff" in. This is the Campmate:

Basically a nice box where you can keep all your "camp stuff" together so you don't have to run around finding pots and pans, dishes, silverware, etc when you get ready for a trip. I'd read about them, but since they're not made anymore and are hard to find, I hadn't seen one "up close". When I finally found one and bought it, I was a little surprised at how big it is. I had originally planned on putting it either on the tongue or inside the Timeout. When I got it, I saw that putting it inside wasn't going to happen (way too big), and putting it on the tongue gave me too much tongue weight with what I already had there. So, I set about figuring out where I was going to put it.

I finally decided that I'd use the brackets I devised for the Timeout that hold that Air Conditioner when we're camped. It took a bit of "fiddling" (I had deliberately designed the brackets to tilt backwards to drain water, so I had to add spacers to change the angle), but I got them to work. The AC is mounted on the side of the camper when it's set up; but on the Timeout, that's the back of the camper when it's all folded up. So, basically the Campmate was going to sit partially on the back of the camper, and partially on the brackets. It all looked good to me.

We were about 5 miles from the house headed down to the RV park when a guy suddenly sped up on the highway, and as he passed us I could see him mouthing "your strap is loose". I looked in the rearview and saw one of the ropes holding the folding kitchen (not the Campmate, but a the rig we put on the tongue) in place was a little loose, so I pulled over and asked my wife to tie it down a little better (I'm not that lazy, but it's easier to let her off while I hold up the bike). She almost immediately came back and said "the Campmate is gone".

Now, keep in mind I had about $100 invested in the Campmate itself, plus all the traveling to get it (I picked it up from a friend) and the buying/selling of the extra one I bought (long story, but basically I bought a virtually new one for $160 in Rockport, sold it for $200 when I found a preferred blue one cheaper, and ended up with a net price of $100 for mine after I paid shipping for it from Wisconson.) This was my first trip actually using it, and now I had gone and lost it! In addition to the price of the Campmate itself, I had my Coleman stove in it, the high-end nested cooking gear (I think we paid $80 for it last year), probably $30 worth of spices and stuff, and miscellaneous dishes and assorted utensils. I was ticked! I had my wife grab the straps that were still hanging from the back of the camper, and hurried home hoping I could find it before someone else did, and fully expecting that if I did, there'd be pieces of it spread all over the road.

My wife is a bit smarter than me though. While I was racing us back, backtracking (we had a pretty good idea where it might have come off), she was calling our daughter (who was closer to the suspected spot) and asking her to go look for it. Right before we got to the railroad tracks where we figured it came off (my wife said she thought she "heard something" there, but wasn't sure), our daughter called and said she had it in her car. It had popped off about 5 blocks from our house as we crossed the railroad tracks. Our daughter said she saw a guy looking it over who said as she pulled up "I take it this is yours?". She'd laughed, and said "my Dad's, he's worried sick about it", and the guy helped her put it in her car (my daughters are all much better looking than me; I'm sure had it been me, he would have said "finder's keepers old man").

We were close to the house, so I took it home to figure out where I had gone wrong strapping it down. I realized that although I had run a strap over the top of the box to hold it to the camper, I should have wrapped the straps around the bottom of the brackets. Instead, I just ran them to the base of the trailer. When we went across the railroad tracks, the part resting on the brackets apparently lifted enough to slip out from the strap holding it down, and just slid off. I was shocked to find that the top only had a few scuffs, and one slightly dinged corner on the top (not even cracked all the way through - it held water when we used it). We were in a hurry, so I didn't take the time to check the contents until we got to the campsite. I restrapped it, this time strapping it down to the brackets, and putting straps around the top and the base so they couldn't slip off. Bounced and jerked on it, and it wouldn't budge. When we got to the campsite, nothing inside of it was damaged.

Definitely got lucky all over this one. Lucky that my wife called my daughter (a few more minutes, and it probably would have been gone), lucky it didn't do this running down the highway with a Corvette or Mercedes tailgating me, lucky that it was strong enough that it stayed closed and protected the stuff inside.

So, now that my long story is done, I'll take some photos of the setup during the Labor Day trip. Truth be told, it's all probably more hassle than it's worth, but we've done this about a dozen times now (though this was the first time with the Campmate) and still enjoy it.

[Tiny Tim]

I've done over 500 miles -- one way -- for a $6 hot dog...and want to do it again this year, if the schedule permits me to do so. No, we're not nuts at all, we're the sane ones. :D

Ya you AZ boys like that bite the weeny ride....LOL Pinks does make good dogs.

[kwthom]

Tim, that's really a fun ride. Of course, last year, I was hanging out at that shade-tree mechanics place, watching him dealing with my two-wheeled steed at that very same time. Was it worth it? Oh, shoot, yes!

I'm hopeful that I can talk Lanny, Tim and who knows who else to do that little jaunt with me. Besides, you're getting to be a bit of a regular there yourself, now... Hehehehe!

[V65_sabre]

I rode from Redding to Horseshoe Bend Idaho the year after the last "Chile Bburger Ride" for a chile burger. It was over 500mileforthat. Pretty tasty isI do say so myself. Joe in Redding

[530ktm]

I rode from Redding to Horseshoe Bend Idaho the year after the last "Chile Bburger Ride" for a chile burger. It was over 500mileforthat. Pretty tasty isI do say so myself. Joe in Redding

We just rode through Redding a couple weeks ago for our nice loop ride. It was fricken hot at the time and we came right through Platina Road which I understand is now burning like crazy. That was a 1,910 mile loop in 6 days, first of it's kind on the Wing. No burgers on that ride though.