The Goose wants to go to NA

[catweasel67]

bumping a tad to solicit a sanity check against the planned route, mainly the order and, once again, if you guys spot something I've missed, a great bar or another Grand Canyon/Monument Valley/Bike Fest, please let me know

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Having done many similar loops of Canada and the USA from a startpoint an hour west of Toronto I can concede that you could do it in 18 days - BUT--- you will not have very much time for visiting at any length in all the locations and with the friends you mention. Your estimate of 500mile days on many days is really going to wear on you.(Best stay off the booze at all times if you want to keep that pace.) Your distance estimate is close but seems a little short, I usually have wound up with something more than 14000km each trip, but then I did wander around. The fastest I ever managed from the Toronto area to the California border at Reno NV was 4 days of hard riding on mostly interstates and that was just to see how it was to travel that quickly and to visit the Motorcycle Grand Prix at LAguna Seca back in the '80s.
Are you sure you can't get an extra week or two so you can do it at enjoyable pace?
Another point to ponder is your start date. September can be a real mixed up bag of weather from nice warm sunny late summer -like to miserable cold rain on the high plains and the high passes of the Rockies.Luck of the draw there. If you could move the trip forward a month it might be better all over for riding.

[catweasel67]

I'm using all of September. My estimage of 18 days is max balls out riding every day so I have the extra time built in. Point taken about the weather but i'm commited to September.

Agreed also by my milage estimate, it's been a while since I updated that but have now fixed it (current route..which will change is 12,800km).

What I'm really looking for at this time is suggestions and ideas of things that I might otherwise miss on my jouney around. From reading another RR I've added Monument Valley for example. In another a museum in Birmingham (still trying to work out the best route for that). So it's things like that.

Keep the feedback coming, it's all welcome and it's all helpful :)

[thetourist]

Going by the map, your route from SLC to Boise to Reno is "oh, so boring". I mean really unscenic straight line freeway riding. Everything will be dry with little color.

Ideally I would advise (from SLC) going to Bear Lake, then up to Salmon and back to Boise. Your schedule doesn't allow much deviation.

So, Maybe head straight north on I-15 to Blackfoot.

NW on 26 to Arco. This is a nice ride in the evening. Sagebrush desert past Atomic City. Site of Nuke #1. Who knows what kind of giant ants and spiders are lurking out there. Eat at Pickles and stay at KD's in Arco.

If you have time take hwy 93 to Challis then west on 75 and 21 to Boise. This is one of the best rides in the Northwest.

If time is short, head west, on 93, from Arco, past Crater of the Moon, to hwy 20 to Boise.

If all that is too much, from SLC head west on 50 and north on 93. When 93 divides bear left. That will get you closer to Boise.

After your meet up...From Boise, east on I-84 (you are actually going south quite a bit) to Mt Home, then south on 51 to Elko on I-80.

west a couple miles to Carlin NV and south on 278 to Hwy 50. Now head west to Reno. Eureka has a nice motel. Austin is interesting.

These two lane roads are fast, mostly empty and sagebrush high desert cattle land. 50 is labeled the "Loneliest Road in America", and it is one of the busier roads out here. It follows the Pony Express and Stagecoach routes. Watch your gas out here.

Another option would be...from SLC, west on 50 and north at Eureka to Boise. Then west on I-84 to Baker City, OR and south to John Day then south on 395 to Reno. A very nice ride. Dense forests, cattle lands, and a section of serious desert. Stop at Seneca and visit the bobcat.

[catweasel67]

thanks Thetourise...I'll check out those suggestions and see how they impact the milage. I reckon I have loads of slack at present but my current plan is to spend as much spare time as I have down south...Alabama, Louisiana, Mississsississippiphiippy etc. That said, Atomic City sounds like a must go place :) and is practically on my route..well..it is now :)

I've changed the route now to the 20 (highway?) from Atomic City to Mountain Home and then up the i84 to Boise. At some point I'm gonna have to re-estimate my days :) but for now, if I said 6 days from Toronto to Boise what your reaction be?

I'm not a stop and see places type of guy btw, unless it's the evening. I'd much rather ride than walk :) with a few exceptions.

[catweasel67]

yay :) flights booked for me and the bike. Insurance quote received. Vacation booked, so far....all systems are go.

Am still looking for feedback and advice on the route..

stuff like;

• is 2 days from Toronto to Chicago realistic?
• Can i get up and down Florida in 2 days? ideally I'd like to visit Hemingway's home or failing that, the thongs.
• what's the best way to enter Texas from New Mexico? El Paso? Amarillo? Something else?
• I'm trying to stay well clear of the Mexican border to avoid potential hassles - sensible? I am thinking a single guy on a bike near the border is likely to attract police attention
• Is the ride up the Texas gulf coast nice? or are there more interesting things further inland?

Someone here said that if I had to ask questons like these then I should reconsider going, heh, weird thing to say if you ask me. I want to maximise my value in what's likely to be a once in a lifetime trip for me and I'd hate to pass within 20 miles of some awesome venue/club/canyon and miss it cos I didn't ask.

Overall, my general plan remains the same...zoom east to west, zoom(ish) from west coast to Texas and then dawdle up spending as much time as possible in the deep south. I wanna try me some grits :)

[mark883]

Originally Posted by catweasel67

stuff like;

• is 2 days from Toronto to Chicago realistic?

Its a bunch of miles. If the weather is bad (rain), it may not be any fun at all. May depend on any border hassles as well.

• Can i get up and down Florida in 2 days? ideally I'd like to visit Hemingway's home or failing that, the thongs.

Florida, for some reason, takes way more time to drive than you think it should. If its really hot and muggy, it will be 2 long days.

• I'm trying to stay well clear of the Mexican border to avoid potential hassles - sensible? I am thinking a single guy on a bike near the border is likely to attract police attention

Border towns can be 'interesting'. I don't think the border patrol would really care unless you speak only spanish, and don't have your papers with you. Going down towards the border shouldn't be a problem, but you may / will hit an inspection coming up from the border. Have papers ready, and nothing 'interesting' in your gear. You will likely see a lot of border patrol around Arizona and New Mexico too. Just a fact of life around there.

• Is the ride up the Texas gulf coast nice? or are there more interesting things further inland?

Once again, hot and muggy this time of year. Potential big thunderstorms anywhere in the 'tornado zone' I can't say that south texas to the gulf scenery is anything special (my opinion). spectacular stuff is New Mexico, Arizona (and some of west texas to be fair) Texas is a biiiiiggggg state. I just rode it going south a couple days ago.

And, good luck, have fun and enjoy the states.

[LE Trainer]

Devil's Advocate time... Unless you *really* like riding on the Interstate, one month to do all you plan to do is pretty aggressive. Charles Kuralt, an American journalist, once said, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything." He was 100% right.

My suggestion, scale back your mileage goals. Plan to focus on a given area. The area can be pretty large and still give you plenty of time to get to/from Toronto via major highways. Doing the loop you have mapped would be an Iron Butt adventure. Doing back to back 500+ mile days will leave you tired and missing much of what makes a motorcycle trip fun, meeting folks and seeing daily life in a place I will probably never be again. I learned this the hard way.

I'm right across the lake from Toronto in Rochester. PM me if you want any Western NY suggetions.

Safe Joruneys...

[catweasel67]

thanks LE TRainer for your feedback :) I really do appreciate it and I agree with you. It's a heck of a long way but that's partly the reason to do it :) I'll be riding solo and, with luck, avoiding interstates. Can I do it? heh, no idea, I'll tell you in October :). BTW, if I were riding with someone else no way I'd even attempt this.

Originally Posted by LE Trainer

Devil's Advocate time... Unless you *really* like riding on the Interstate, one month to do all you plan to do is pretty aggressive. Charles Kuralt, an American journalist, once said, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything." He was 100% right.

***snippage***

I'm right across the lake from Toronto in Rochester. PM me if you want any Western NY suggetions.

Safe Joruneys...

[alzyck]

I didn't see this mentioned, so I'll toss it out there. Apologies if it's off topic.

At least on the Western part of your route, the weather can vary a lot over the same day.

In September, don't be surprised up in the mountains to see morning temps of 25F/-4C and possibly a snow squall or two if a weather front moves through. Later in the same afternoon the temps riding down on the plains or in the desert could still be getting up to 95F/35C (maybe higher across parts of Arizona and Nevada).

In the mountains (out West anyway), rain showers seem to pop up out of nowhere after 2 p.m. and the there are some days when the wind on the plains can be pretty wicked.

It's good to have some pretty flexible gear you can mix and match to handle the changes.

[LE Trainer]

Originally Posted by alzyck

At least on the Western part of your route, the weather can vary a lot over the same day.

In September, don't be surprised up in the mountains to see morning temps of 25F/-4C and possibly a snow squall or two if a weather front moves through. Later in the same afternoon the temps riding down on the plains or in the desert could still be getting up to 95F/35C (maybe higher across parts of Arizona and Nevada).

In the mountains (out West anyway), rain showers seem to pop up out of nowhere after 2 p.m. and the there are some days when the wind on the plains can be pretty wicked.

alzyck makes a good point...

I didn't even get into that in my post but here's an experience I had last year: Mid September 2009 I took a ride out to New Mexico planning to go South to North on the Continental Divide Trail. I knew weather might become an issue so I planned to bail out to lower altitudes if it got nasty. Never made it out of Southern Colorado. Spent 2 nights in 14 deg F temps in a 25 deg bag. BBBRRRRR. After the second night I spent an entire day at Pagosa Springs thawing out. Lots of snow at higher elevations so I bailed on that plan and saw some more New Mexico.

The northern part of your route might be perfect weather in the first week of September. It might also be really awe inspiring crappy. Have flexible plans and don't beat yourself up if you don't hit every place on that map.

[catweasel67]

heya all :) just doing a monthly bump :)

I've added some more detail to my route (see first post) and have also added invidual maps for each of the 26 legs.

By my reckoning I have abou 10 days of contingency so I'm pretty comfortable about the milage. What I'm after right now is feedback on the leg routes and some suggestions as to where to eat/drink and sleep (prefer to camp, but hotels no issue) at each of the stopping points.

Thanks in advance,

Cat

[Mr.Goose]

You're going to be seeing lots of Florida coastline already and South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia coastlines not very exciting trust me.

Maybe cut up North through Georgia and Western North Carolina/Eastern Tennessee and run up the Appalachians?

[catweasel67]

Originally Posted by Mr.Goose

You're going to be seeing lots of Florida coastline already and South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia coastlines not very exciting trust me.

Maybe cut up North through Georgia and Western North Carolina/Eastern Tennessee and run up the Appalachians?

Interesting :) my existing route certainly isn't set in stone and, tbh, I chose the coastal route out of ignorance.

How would you route from Miami to NY if using the Appalachians?
Jacksonville, Augustak, Knoxville and then NE to NYC or is there a sweeter way?

[Mr.Goose]

Originally Posted by catweasel67

How would you route from Miami to NY if using the Appalachians?
Jacksonville, Augustak, Knoxville and then NE to NYC or is there a sweeter way?

Jacksonville, Greenville SC (not NC there's two of them), Asheville, NC, Damascus VA, Roanoke, VA, Front Royal VA, then 81 up to Harrisburg PA before cutting east on the Turnpike to NYC.

DEFINATELY AVOID I-95 NORTH going through NC VA MD NJ NY - its a rat race once you hit DC. Look west and head up I-81 if you have to use the slab. Don't speed anywhere in VA, they're dicks.

Otherwise the Blue Ridge parkway is very nice and hard to get lost on, it'll take you all the way from Georgia to Front Royal VA, but not very quickly. You can always jump off and grab 81 if you're behind and trying to make up time.