Canada Coast to Coast -- Sleeping..?

#22
Picnic Table at a Rest Stop lets you get your feet up. For me I shoot for 4 Hrs like the Navy to rest so I think you got the right idea. Just did the BB 1500 rode for 23 hrs and rested 4 hrs then finished the ride. I could have done better but they shut down I-70 in Wheeling WV, and then shut down the Detour real bear.
 

BMW RT Pilot

Premier Member
#23
Though I don't have a gazllion x-country rides to my name, when I find that I do need to get off the bike and get some rest, I don't have any issue with pulling into a rest area and sleeping on the ground...something about having been a paratrooper in the infantry for 9 years...

When you do take a quickie, either keep it to about 45 minutes or at least 2 hours, since at about the 1-hour mark, you will hit REM sleep and if you don't give yourself enough time while in REM, you'll feel worse than before.

As for showers, well, most truck stops have those available, as well as having a dark room where you can grab a chair and sleep.
 

Stephen!

Flivver Flyer
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#24
When you do take a quickie, either keep it to about 45 minutes or at least 2 hours, since at about the 1-hour mark, you will hit REM sleep and if you don't give yourself enough time while in REM, you'll feel worse than before.
If one is fatigued enough, REM sleep starts immediately. Add a little more fatigue and that is when the hallucinations (actually waking dreams) and micro-sleeps start happening.

If one can enter REM sleep on demand (it takes practice if you are not sufficiently fatigued), then about 15-20 minutes of REM sleep goes a long way.

Hence the origin of the 20-minute 'Power Nap".
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#25
Though I don't have a gazllion x-country rides to my name, when I find that I do need to get off the bike and get some rest, I don't have any issue with pulling into a rest area and sleeping on the ground.
Rest areas differ. Some have a good vibe, others don't. And time of day is a factor too. I once rolled into a rest area off I-80, (Rock Springs, IIRC), came to a stop in a parking stop, got the bike shut off, walked ten feet into the grass and flopped down, helmet and all. I woke up two hours later to the sound of a family picnic going on about 20' away with a small family of 4. Got up and back to the bike, only to discover my key still in the ignition. Not a thing touched. I think it was about 10 am when I laid down.
 

BMW RT Pilot

Premier Member
#26
Rest areas differ. Some have a good vibe, others don't. And time of day is a factor too. I once rolled into a rest area off I-80, (Rock Springs, IIRC), came to a stop in a parking stop, got the bike shut off, walked ten feet into the grass and flopped down, helmet and all. I woke up two hours later to the sound of a family picnic going on about 20' away with a small family of 4. Got up and back to the bike, only to discover my key still in the ignition. Not a thing touched. I think it was about 10 am when I laid down.
Is IIRC in Canada? :) (I know what it means; just joking)

Glad to hear no one tried to run off with your bike. That could've been a little inconvenient.
 

cacomly

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#28
Rest areas differ. Some have a good vibe, others don't. And time of day is a factor too. I once rolled into a rest area off I-80, (Rock Springs, IIRC), came to a stop in a parking stop, got the bike shut off, walked ten feet into the grass and flopped down, helmet and all. I woke up two hours later to the sound of a family picnic going on about 20' away with a small family of 4. Got up and back to the bike, only to discover my key still in the ignition. Not a thing touched. I think it was about 10 am when I laid down.
I pulled into one in South Carolina around 10pm to check weather on my phone and find a hotel as far west as I could without getting wet and was approached by a "lady" offering services to me. Besides the obvious I also got a vibe that there was something else going on and when she came back towards me after 5 minutes I moved down the road to another place to stop