2026 is a big year for CMC. We have gained some traction on holding ourselves accountable to making this club a place where like-minded enthusiast can connect and mingle. We’ve been hard(erish?) at work to ensure we have more club rides and overall a larger calendar of events and content consistently coming your way. There will be additional news, rides and event announcements so keep your eyes peeled on the socials.
I won’t give away much, but 2026 is also a big year as our CMC founder Jake and OG member Lukas are hitting milestones that call for modular helmets, boom mics and high viz vests to be added to their everyday riding gear while they cling to their sporty machines and continue to publicly deny dreaming about a touring bike. To celebrate properly (and to keep them away from shopping for white new balances and jorts) their significant others worked the responsibilities and schedules at home so that they can dip out of adult responsibilities for 2 weeks and join this year’s Euro moto trip in September as well as the usual CMC extravaganza in the ADX (follow here for the trip content).
As we were making plans for the upcoming trips, the coordination of a larger group sparked the idea of quickly jotting down some tips that may be useful if you find it daunting to start planning a trip with your riding buddies. It’s very romantic to think that you can just hop on the bike and find a place to sleep when you get tired, in reality, for most of us with work and personal responsibilities to get back to there is planning required. Here’s the guide we generally go by in no specific order of importance:
- Have a mission in mind that the trip is anchored to so you can plan and expand around the idea. For example, ride to an event, city, famous road, point of interest etc. Once we know that then, let’s see what’s the most fun way to get there and where can we expand for additional side quests and adventures. Agree an all the things you want to experience in your trip and work it into an itinerary.
- Agree on the dates and times. When do we leave and when are we plan to be back are important details to ensure no one is frustrated with delays or is in a rush. Try to respect the schedule and communicate any foreseeable deviation so your riding group stays chill and your loved ones at home aren’t worried.
- Agree on the route and itinerary. On multi day trips agreeing on daily mileage and the rough outline of the route helps figuring out daily mileage and then securing accommodation accordingly. We can freestyle and do side quests during the day between the predetermined accommodations.
- Agree on budget. Things come up, but estimating the cost of the trip and trying to stick to it helps ensuring that no one is overstretched or uncomfortable and folks can determine if they’re able to commit. Plan accommodations, food, length of trip, etc. accordingly. Money problems can ruin the vibes so get ahead of it!
- Agree on accommodations. This would be done as part of the budget transparency conversations, but don’t assume people are okay to share rooms or sleep in tents, etc. One bad night can put a damper on the following days riding, or worse.
- Keep multi-day trips to people you already know. You could get under pressure to include your friend’s uncle’s cousin’s nephew on a trip whom you never rode with before or see riding at all, don’t! Introducing someone unknown could not just risk the vibes but also put you and your group in harm’s way if the person’s riding ability and mentality doesn’t align with the rest of the group’s. At the very least, other members of the group should have ridden before with the new person added to the trip and provide their assessment and assurance on fit.
- Agree on riding standards. Agree on the basics. Whose tank is the smallest and how many miles to reserve, pace, passing cars, lane splitting, stops, signals, etc. should be clear to everyone in your group.
- Ride your own ride. Common cliché, but it’s true. If the group is pushing speeds and/ or making moves you aren’t comfortable with do not follow, wait until you catch up at the next stop and speak up. If it continues, then this group is not for you.
- Make sure you like the people in your group off the bike too. Riding is only part of the trip, you will spend a good amount of time off the bike, make sure you like the company. A good trip is just as much fun off the bike as it is on the bike because of the company you’re with.
- Plan for contingencies. Chances are things will not go exactly how you planned, being prepared can alleviate the stress that may come from the unexpected. Think syphoning tubes for your Ducati friends always low on fuel, rain gear, basic tools, med kit, zip ties, Rok straps, etc. that can turn a trip ending issue into a minor inconvenience and a laugh later that night while throwing back some beers with your friends. Agree on who brings what, you don’t need 7 10mm wrenches.
- Keep the group to a manageable size. Our CMC members generally prefer a group size 10 riders or less, with the sweet spot at 5-6 riders max. This makes passing cars and navigating the traffic more seamless. Anything over 10, consider breaking the group up into two and agree on meeting at the rest stops. Be mindful, the more in the group the harder it is to find common denominators for the planning points above and below.
- Food. I’m lucky to ride with friends where this is a nonissue, but special dietary needs could add a layer of difficulty to planning.
- Emergency contact info. This is still motorcycle riding and unfortunate things happen. Make sure you share your emergency contact and also have your friends’. Hopefully you are never in a position to have to make that call, but you need to be able to do so.
- Familiarity with gear an equipment. If you bought new shoes, installed new accessories, rocking new luggage, or anything else, make sure you at least tried it and broke it in before the trip. It sucks big time finding out your new rain gear is the wrong size when you are trying to get into it in the pouring rain. Using true and tried gear you are familiar with will let you focus on the experience.
With a small amount of planning, foresight and common sense, you can set your trip up to be an awesome experience. Send us any tips or comments you have that we missed that could help making someone’s moto trip planning and trip a better experience.
Ride on!
