Long stretches in the Speedster on the interstate really are just not it. Doable, but as the man said: wears you out. Counterpoint: when we go out a-hoonin' on the back roads (Carlisle, TdS), we're in the cars all day, and hardly notice. Frankly, how Lane managed those three day trips I'm not sure, Then there would be Jack Crosby (Ol' Ironpants) and that hoser from Canada. I think they are actually robots . . .
I must have a screw loose. My two favorite motorcycle trips bookended Canada. I circumnavigated Nova Scotia in 1998, and it rained some portion of every day. In 2000, I left Spokane and did 3500 miles around Alberta and BC, then drive down the coast o San Jose. Once again, rain some part of nearly every day, including a torrential downpour when I crossed Vancouver Island to Tofino for a couple of days R&R. I loved every minute if it.
I bought my Spyder outside of Chicago, drove it down to Bremen so Carey could install my speedster windshield , build me a tonneau, and give it the once over. Then I drove it straight home to NY. In April. Luckily, no April showers but it was chilly.
I don’t know if I’m smarter now, or just lazier. 
”An adventure is simply physical and emotional discomfort recollected in tranquility.” Tim Cahill
Just a couple of shots to show what Greg did to ensure nice fresh air for the oil cooler. Very cool.
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Are you planning on installing a 3rd Eye? ….
Not that you have to but this company https://kahtec.com/ has all kinds of flashing set ups, like 3rd eye or it can flash both tail lights when you apply the brakes. I find the safety of our cars improves with their technology… just saying .
I've done a bit of driving, so I know what I'm in for when I jump into whatever car I going to drive. Just about everything I own has lots of miles, or will have by the time I'm gone. My cars have been really reliable, well built and well maintained. When I ordered my speedster, I ordered it to meet my driving demands. I don't have a problem with fitting in many cars. I'm 5'7 and a bit chubby, but I fit comfortably. I ordered it with a stroked Subaru engine that would be low maintenance and have enough power to get out of its way. A few of you may remember, I was on a drive from California to join the group doing TdS in Virginia. I got sidelined in New Mexico with some engine problems. These things happen ......... It all started with some bad gas which took out the fuel pump and clogged my injectors. I found the inside of the gas tank had metal shavings in it and the wiring for the fuel pump grounded out and cooked the wiring. After a few days of work at the local Subaru performance shop I was ready to go again. Well, my luck ran out when the hurricane hit the South East. So I ended my trip east even though the car was running great again. At the time the temperature was over 100 all the was back to California. I'm diabetic, so I didn't want to take any chances getting stuck in the middle of nowhere without any help. I choose to ship the car and take a plane home. As it turns out, it was a good move. I had shipped the car back to Vintage so Greg could redo some wiring and fix a few other little things. It also went to Outfront Motors for a dyno tune and the latest computer upgrade. When I went down to drive it home, the speedster was running great for about 70 miles and then it stumbled and shuttered just like it did in New Mexico. So I turned around and drove it back to Outfront Motors to find out what was causing the stumble. By the way, on the return trip the car ran great. The guys at Outfront have had the cars and have been driving it to locate the glitch. They have made a few adjustments and I will know more next week when I go down to drive it for 200 miles. Only one time while the Outfront guys were driving it, it had one hiccup. It has been running great for them. They just haven't taken it on any long drives. I think the longest was 60 miles. So I will drive it to San Diego and back to their shop. If it checks out, I will bring it home. If not, I will have them start replacing sensors and get to the bottom of it. The long and the short of it is the speedster is a car. Cars are mechanical and will breakdown at some point, that's a fact. Knowing that can happen, one needs to plan ahead and be ready for when that happens. I carry a good set of tools, an extra computer, tire kit and pump plus a credit card and AAA premium towing good for 200 miles and my fully charged cell phone. Towing your car has its own set of problems, but I have no problem with someone towing their car. As I get older, I'm 74 now, I might change my ways. But for now, I'm still going to drive. I really don't care what kind of road I'm on be it interstate or 2 lane, it's all fun to me. I don't get board driving and if I'm comfortable I can go a long ways. I plan to join the fellas for the TdS this year, but it will be in a rental car. Not that the speedster won't make it, but it will be more timely as I'll be returning from Europe around that time. I got a good look at Phill's IM when I was at Greg's. It is a beauty !! I didn't get to hear it run, can't wait to hear it.
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Fabulous. Will I ever see it?
I think Mitch summed up the two different experiences of Speedsters versus a modern Interstate cruiser:
"In the open car, you're still in touch with the valley and the life being lived there. On the interstate, you're in this surreal space, uniform and featureless from coast to coast. You roll up the windows, switch on the air and the tunes (and set the Cruise). You might as well be in a window seat at 30,000 feet. All you care about is how many hours until you get there."
Exactly. They are distinctly different experiences.
I used to live two hours farther south from Lane on I-95 and traveled from there to Carlisle several times. Always had the Speedster on a trailer behind a diesel pickup truck. We would leave the house by 7am, A/C on and Cruise enabled, drive up, drop off the dogs at a Puppy Spa in Mechanicsburg, PA and still made it to the SOC Hotel by 5pm to check in and unload. We made the trip in an easy single day, stopping just for lunch and pit breaks and felt relaxed on arrival. All you watched was the "ETA" number on the GPS while listening to endless episodes of "Car Talk" or some smooth Jazz.
I've also done a single day of Speedster interstate driving around New England on the "Seven States in a Day" cruise. Got home after ten hours of driving with a bunch of stops and felt like I had been run over 23 times. I've done Interstate Speedster drives with the top up and windows in and it's lots better, but it's like driving with a bag over your head - You can't see $#!+ and you just want to get there. Give me some nice back roads at a leisurely pace in a top-down Speedster on a warm day, any day.
I usually started each day of the two-day Charleston-Carlisle run actually enjoying the drive. By the end of the day, however short it may have been in hours/miles, I was more than ready to be out of it. Still, some of it was fun.
Even the top-down twisty backroad drives in a line of similar cars could get old after a while. Sometimes the adventure has to include a little discomfort (note "a little") to make it memorable. The Tim Cahill quote from up above comes to mind.
"... an adventure." Also known as a bonding experience, provided of course if you survive. I am well bonded to me Speedy by this time. And of course, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Right?