Back in the Saddle Again

[C-dub]

I found this thread looking for the other one about my GC.

I made my longest trip so far 2-3 weeks ago. 500 miles one way to visit my parents. I had also installed some driving/fog/drl lights the night before and they worked great. The DRL (daytime running light) feature is also wired into the turn signals and flash orange with the turn signals. Cool!

All my riding on this trip was during the daytime, so I didn't get to see how effective the new lights really were until after I was home and going into work one Saturday morning. Wow!!!

This trip was solo. The trip was great. The bike was great. I planned my gas stops around 110-140 mile intervals. I figured that would be good so I could stretch my legs if needed and that worked okay.

Next we have a 300 mile, one way, trip planned over to Hot Springs for next month. That will be my wife's longest trip on the bike so far. I've planned it for two nights at a B&B, so it won't be back to back 300 mile rides for her. She does want to take a scenic ride through some of the Ouachita National Forest area while we're there. I've planned a 150ish mile route we can do the next day if she's up for it. Otherwise, we'll just chill for a day and maybe see some other local sights before returning the day after that.

[C-dub]

The trip back in March was great except for one issue. I was completely unarmed the entire trip. Well, I did have my Cold Steel Recon.

Anyway, as we plan other trips in and out of Texas I'm contemplating the practicality of carrying a handgun at all. There's also one trip I'd like to do that takes me up into Canada, but without a "planned overnight stay. Evens so, I know carrying it or even having it stowed away is a big no no.

We are also exploring various methods of sleeping. Will we do only hotels, mostly hotels and some camping, mostly camping and some hotels, or only camping? Depending on the trip any of those are possibilities. Due to being on a motorcycle with limited storage and security I don't want to be forced into a situation were I have to remove my firearm and stow it in the bike. There's no discrete way of doing that like inside a vehicle.

Most of my planned trips are to gun "friendly" states with a few to less than friendly (CO), but not completely hostile. I guess my biggest concern would be if we did have to stop somewhere unplanned that restricted me from having it. Other than Canada, most other places would be national and state parks, which I would research, but should all be okay.

Have any of you had similar issues when traveling? Anyone else traveling on a motorcycle? How did you handle any issues that arose? I don't like it, but am considering traveling on the bike unarmed for some or certain trips.

[RPBrown]

If you get really adventurous, do an iron butt ride. 1000 miles in 24 hours. Www.saddlesore.com

[oljames3]

The trip back in March was great except for one issue. I was completely unarmed the entire trip. Well, I did have my Cold Steel Recon.

Anyway, as we plan other trips in and out of Texas I'm contemplating the practicality of carrying a handgun at all. There's also one trip I'd like to do that takes me up into Canada, but without a "planned overnight stay. Evens so, I know carrying it or even having it stowed away is a big no no.

We are also exploring various methods of sleeping. Will we do only hotels, mostly hotels and some camping, mostly camping and some hotels, or only camping? Depending on the trip any of those are possibilities. Due to being on a motorcycle with limited storage and security I don't want to be forced into a situation were I have to remove my firearm and stow it in the bike. There's no discrete way of doing that like inside a vehicle.

Most of my planned trips are to gun "friendly" states with a few to less than friendly (CO), but not completely hostile. I guess my biggest concern would be if we did have to stop somewhere unplanned that restricted me from having it. Other than Canada, most other places would be national and state parks, which I would research, but should all be okay.

Have any of you had similar issues when traveling? Anyone else traveling on a motorcycle? How did you handle any issues that arose? I don't like it, but am considering traveling on the bike unarmed for some or certain trips.

C-dub, I applaud your conscientiousness. However, you may be overthinking this. I haven't ridden since 1984. When I get my next motorcycle, I will carry my S&W M&P M2.0 9mm 5inch openly in a Safariland ALS OWB holster at 3 o'clock while ridding. I have no reason to change my normal carry mode while ridding. That works for me. We must each make our own decisions base on our unique circumstances. For instance my 21 year old son carries his S&W M&P M2.0 Compact in a Bravo Concealment Kydex IWB holster at 4 o'clock, concealed, while riding his Ninja. If his shirt blows up, no problem.

As with most things in life, it comes down to which risks we are willing to manage and which benefits matter most to us.

I have carried openly since getting my CHL in 2013. I've travelled by auto to AZ, CO, KS, MO, NM, and OK. No issues. I don't consider CO to be "less than friendly" to carrying other than the 15 round mag limit for handguns. I've had no problem finding places to sleep or places to eat that did not prohibit carrying.

My point is that planning a motorcycle trip while carrying a self defense handgun is little different from planning a trip without one. Carrying is just another issue to plan around, much like planning gas stops. It is easy to find the laws for each state online. Study the law and plan accordingly. Not unlike knowing the helmet and passenger laws for the states in which you plan to ride.

National parks follow the state laws with the exception that the federal buildings are federal property and thus prohibited locations. My then 19 year old son and I visited the Grand Canyon carrying openly as allowed by AZ law. When we visited Meteor Crater, I carried concealed and he left his .45 in the car, as required by the private property owner. I am planning a trip to Big Bend National Park for next year. Father, my son (olj4), and I will be carrying. I will certainly carry openly, the other may as well.

My wife and I have driven to CO and Kansas City, MO. I carried openly, she carried concealed. I flew to Kansas City, MO, with my pistol in checked luggage, then carried openly while visiting and driving back. The only exception was while at a church for a memorial service. I found it easy to learn the requirements for the states, airlines, TSA, and private property owners.

If I were to visit Canada, it would probably be a day trip. I'd leave my firearms secured in the hotel in the US or another location such as a local gun shop.

The bottom line for me is that I will not willing go to a place where I cannot carry. I find it easy to plan around going unarmed. However, I know that this is not always possible. Until I get my Kel-Tec Sub2000, I only have my pepper gel and my knife when visiting my family members in the hospitals they use. Also, if SWMBO says we are going some place, I just do my best to mitigate the risk if I have to go without my primary self defense tool.

When it comes to securing a firearm on my bike, I will use one of the plethora of options for installing a suitable gun safe in my top case. That is easy for me becuase I ride fully-dressed touring bikes. My son, on the other hand, prefers naked sport bikes. That's his choice and he accepts the limits his choice imposes. Life is like that. You get to choose the risks and benefits.

Be safe and ride on.

[C-dub]

If you get really adventurous, do an iron butt ride. 1000 miles in 24 hours. Www.saddlesore.com

I've read about that before and I won't rule it out.

I was just thinking about a ride I did back in 1985 wen I was 20y old and coming home on leave before going on my first WestPac. I normally did the ride to or from Dallas-NAS Miramar in three days of about 8 ours each day. However, I was a bit anxious and couldn't sleep the night before I was going to come home and decided to load up and take off about 0300. I endd getting all the way to Pecos by about 2300 the same day before I was so cold I couldn't ride any further. It had dropped down to around 25 degrees when I made the switch from I-10 to I-20. According to google maps that about 937 miles. If I had made it to Midland I would have done about 1033 miles. However, I was nearly frozen and it took me over 30 minutes for my hands to thaw out enough to be able to old a pen to be able to sign in at the hotel that night. I also had not even heard of the iron butt thing back then or I might have pushed on to accomplish that feat. Its just as well, though, since I only made it to Midland the next morning before stopping because there was too much snow beginning to stick to the highway.

Anyway, back to the handgun issue when traveling the northwest. Since I've also considered having a larger fixed blade knife I've done a little research into the various state laws on both of those today. Other than Canada, it looks like the only state that would be a problem for me is Washington. Each of the others have reciprocity with Texas and are also fairly lax on their knife laws. All allow OC of just about any knife regardless of length and while CC is illegal for most, including my 4" Cold Steel Recon 1 folding pocket knife, CC is legal of all knives that are legal to possess if one has a concealed handgun license that is also called a concealed weapon license in many other states. So, I may take out the Canada and Washington portions of a trip since I spoke to my wife about this topic and she would rather keep to areas that allow me to carry my handgun.

Actually, the only state that gets a little vague on knife laws is Oklahoma. The knife I've thought about getting is Cold Steel Tai Pan knife that has a 7.5" fixed blade and securing it to my boot/calf. It might be open or concealed depending on the weather. Oklahoma restricts the carrying in any method of offensive weapons, but doesn't really define what an offensive weapon is.