Originally Posted by
irwin7638
One thing that definitely was an issue this year was the location. Either coast would mean planning early, or would exclude riders from the other coast.
One thing that came up during the discussions this year was the geographical center of the country, which by my crude reckoning (drawing a line for corner to corner), is just west of Kansas City. Being from the midwest, I could consider whatever came up as a option since I'm midways away from anyplace.
Marc
Regarding distances to the Annual Ride, what has been our experience in the four previous Annual Rides? I don't know about the First and Fourth Rides, but on #2, seenoweevil drove over 900 miles one way, the Kentons about 250 – 300, the four from Ohio travelling together about 500, and myself about 370 (according to Mapquest). Other riders were mostly local. For the Third Ride, I drove about 800 miles one way, but also as part of a family visit to Michigan. The two Ohioans traveling together drove about 215 miles. The other riders were all from Michigan, though notably Irwin cycled there, about a 2 -3 day ride as I recall.
I don't know if anybody has flown with a bike, and that seems a bit much for a three day weekend at a somewhat arbitrary venue. So I suggest that about 500 miles is one way an approximate maximum distance to travel for an Annual Ride.
I have bookmarked this thread for future reference, since the summer of 2013 is so far away.