2 months, 10k+ miles, across USA and back

[nwdub]

I've been planning an on road route for quite a while now. With my fibromyalgia, I can't ride as long or hard as I used to. I'm also going out of my comfort zone and will be buying a full dress touring bike in the next few weeks. (1985-1988 yamaha venture royale).

This may be my last big trip, so my schedule is completely open and if I wanted to stay 5 months or 10 years, I could do it, but my budget is only around 3k for the actual trip.

People may say "omg, there's gonna be no way you can travel the USA on a touring bike on 3k"

one of the more interesting things about the trip is how little money I will be spending and how much I'll be taking with me at the beginning vs the end.

So far, for meals, I have 48 MREs getting shipped to me from a buddy in the US Army and they will be in a very large drysack, strapped where the passenger would be. I don't need fancy meals, and these cover most all my needs. I haven't had money to eat anything but basic staples for a few years so I'm used to bland food (i'm really thin though! lol)

Camping will be the biggest thing. I'm not scared of camping, especially in the wet or in places where I may be caught. I spent years learning wilderness prep and survival. I'm hoping some of the things I learned I can use to keep me hidden. As well I will be buying a nice mossy oak tarp to cover tent and bike at night. I will not be paying for hotels or camp grounds.

starting in portland, oregon. Taking the 101 south to the 1 in cali, then south to LA, then vegas, pheonix, tucson, las cruces, through texas to dallas/ft worth, then off to shreveport then south through alexandria and batton rouge to new orleans, then east again through biloxi and mobile to montgomery, then east to columbus, then through macon to savannah, then i'll head north and go through hilton head and get to charleston. from there I'll go through SC but how and when and such i haven't figured out, I have friends there who I will be hanging out with/staying with for a week or so, then heading north and back around, through WV, kentucky, ohio, indiana, illinois, etc back through SD/ND, montana, idaho and back to the rainy PNW.

Talk to me about my route, this is just a basic idea, but it will be south heading there and north on the way back. I will most likely depart at the end of may/beginning of june

Happy Trails,
Matt

[Flashmo]

The route itself is a little to vague for me to make any direct comments on, but looks like it should shape into a nice trip.

Have you ever eaten MRE's? I think they are decent and usually carry one when hunting. The drawback is that they are god-awefull bulky and quite heavy. If that is what you plan to take, strip all the outer packaging and cardboard away, ditch the 47 extra spoons, TP, coffee, mints, and Tobasco and you will lighten your load quite a bit.

Go through this thread:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315322

Out west, we have an easy time camping for free between State Land, BLM and NFS. East of the Mississippi I hear it is more work to camp for free, but there are many good ideas in this thread to circumvent the smaller amount of public land available.

[nwdub]

Originally Posted by Flashmo

The route itself is a little to vague for me to make any direct comments on, but looks like it should shape into a nice trip.

Have you ever eaten MRE's? I think they are decent and usually carry one when hunting. The drawback is that they are god-awefull bulky and quite heavy. If that is what you plan to take, strip all the outer packaging and cardboard away, ditch the 47 extra spoons, TP, coffee, mints, and Tobasco and you will lighten your load quite a bit.

Go through this thread:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315322

Out west, we have an easy time camping for free between State Land, BLM and NFS. East of the Mississippi I hear it is more work to camp for free, but there are many good ideas in this thread to circumvent the smaller amount of public land available.

yes I do plan to strip them down, hence the dry bag :) I've eaten MREs quite a bit over the years and I really don't mind them. I get all my food groups including desert, powered drinks for the day, etc and at the price I'm getting them... it's the best route

I have seen that PDF and it's one of my main sources for the trip actually. I know camping is gonna get harder as I approach the east coast, but I will tend to stay to the rural parts as much as possible. Youth hostels will be my option when i'm in a major city.

I'm leaving the route open as I want the freedom to go wherever the day takes me. I will route plan as I go, usually a day or two beforehand.

[eakins]

don't miss the matole rd/lost coast in cali!

if you're trying to save $ why all the big cities?
the most interesting roads are away from the big cities too.

[nwdub]

Originally Posted by eakins

don't miss the matole rd/lost coast in cali!

if you're trying to save $ why all the big cities?
the most interesting roads are away from the big cities too.

it's not that I particularly want to go into the cities, but just an approx direction. I can skip many of the larger cities, but It'd be nice to ride through at least and see them in person. When I used to work in business, I had a lot of customers from all over the USA, but I have never gotten to opportunity to travel. I've worked without a vacation since I was 16 so I haven't gotten to discover anything and i've never been to any one of those cities.

Maybe I keep thinking if I fall in love with a city, I have no problem either modifying or stopping my trip and living there. I will be leaving nothing in my old home town but some memories