Long ride in May?

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Hey Guys,

I'm looking to network with some people who have more than a little time off and who are interested in touring in May. I'm thinking the Southwest as a rough destination (California, Arizona, Nevada, whatever). Maybe we loosely follow what's left of route 66.

It's one idea, but I'm easygoing on destination and planning, as long as we can agree to leave the GPS at home and use good ol' fashioned maps instead. Somewhere warm would be nice, though. New Orleans? Key West?

I'm hoping to ride out with a general idea of route, to avoid the interstates as much as possible, and keep the schedule flexible.

We ride when we want to ride, and we stop when we want to stop, and we have some drinks at the end of the riding day and interacting with people we come across.

For accommodations I'm hoping someone else will want to staying in cheap motels or KOAs in the towns/cities, and moto-camping in national parks/forests in between.

For what it's worth, I'm 29, financially stable, employed, normal, sane, etc. I don't care how old you are or if you're normal, as long as you're sane and financially able to take care of yourself.

If you've seen The Long Way Round or The Long Way Down, I dig that kind of traveling, albeit in the USA it'd be much less hardcore of course.

I ride a Shadow at present. That may change before then.

Cheers,

Adam
 
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Hey Adam, welcome to the forum!
Maybe write a post in the introduction sub forum as well. What size/ year Shadow?

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Out of curiosity, do tourers get extra travel insurance when touring to usa before leaving canada?

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joey12jet1 said:
Out of curiosity, do tourers get extra travel insurance when touring to usa before leaving canada?
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It's incredibly unwise to leave the country without travel medical insurance out the ***. It's cheap, but will easily save you potentially tens or hundreds of thousands of $$$'s if you ever need it.

On the original topic, OP, that's quite a trip to be taking in a 4 week period, particularly given the distances you have in mind and not wanting to stay on the big slabs. We took a trip out west with our RV in 2008, 30+ days on the road, nearly 11,000 Kilometers, and I would love to do it again but wouldn't do it in anything less than 6 weeks next time.
 
Sounds like a fun trip! I can't go - busy season at work for me, but I would say a big yes... that anyone going definitely get the emergency travel/medical insurance. My credit card offers 15 days of coverage and then I pay extra for anything longer - check with your credit card, or CAA etc.

As for leaving the GPS at home - I always take paper maps with me, but the GPS has helped me find amazing destinations or helped me get back on track really fast when I got lost or missed a turn somewhere. The paper maps make nice mementos and they also allow you to see a bigger picture than a tiny little GPS screen - each have their pro's and cons.

As for distances - 4 weeks should be plenty of time to do a trip like that - even 3 weeks would be a reasonable time. Head to the Smoky mountains and then figure it out from there - either head further south, or go west!
 
My advice is to make sure you go on some shorter rides with people you will be potentially spending few weeks with. Riding with no route and with a bunch of strangers may sound very liberating but it's also asking for big time problems.

GPS is an amazing tool when used wisely. I would definitely not want to leave it at home.
 
DemonPig said:
My advice is to make sure you go on some shorter rides with people you will be potentially spending few weeks with. Riding with no route and with a bunch of strangers may sound very liberating but it's also asking for big time problems.

GPS is an amazing tool when used wisely. I would definitely not want to leave it at home.
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what this guy said
 
DemonPig said:
My advice is to make sure you go on some shorter rides with people you will be potentially spending few weeks with. Riding with no route and with a bunch of strangers may sound very liberating but it's also asking for big time problems.

GPS is an amazing tool when used wisely. I would definitely not want to leave it at home.
Click to expand...

what this guy said

GPS is better to have and not need, than to need and not have
 
Joe Bass said:
Hey Adam, welcome to the forum!
Maybe write a post in the introduction sub forum as well...
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Good idea, will do.

shanekingsley said:
As for distances - 4 weeks should be plenty of time to do a trip like that - even 3 weeks would be a reasonable time. Head to the Smoky mountains and then figure it out from there - either head further south, or go west!
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That's another good idea. I've been through there on a car road trip and it's beautiful. Bike would be amazing.

DemonPig said:
My advice is to make sure you go on some shorter rides with people you will be potentially spending few weeks with....
GPS is an amazing tool when used wisely. I would definitely not want to leave it at home.
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Absolutely agree. Like I said I'm just looking to network with people right now in advance, and see if we mesh.

I ride with a few different guys already for shorter trips (weekends, 4/5 day trips etc), but it's just so hard to find people who can/want to take the time off to do longer trips. It seems like everyone is planning to do "when they retire" (which is plausible, though one has to wonder if they'll feel up to it), or "down the road when things settle down a bit" (aka: the day that never comes).

mbroyda said:
GPS is better to have and not need, than to need and not have
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Again, agreed. I just hate following GPS directions and having everything planned out. To be fair, I would have my phone and charger, which in turn has GPS.

I have traveled across the US/Canada in weeks-long road trips in a car. I use my smartphone to book reservations, find directions within cities, or to a specific spot, etc.

On the open road, though, say, while deciding on a route from Nashville to Memphis, I don't want turn by turn directions.

One app I use and recommend is RoadTrippers (the website is roadtripppers.com). You can set a radius from your current location/route and it will show you what is within that range (say, 5km, 25km, 100km, whatever). Everything from restaurants, to attractions, to hotels, etc...essentially anything you might want to see or do on a road trip.
 
Okay OP - I get it - you kinda sound like you know what you're doing. ;)

I'll give you another type of advice then - ditch the cruiser and a get a sport touring bike (which you may be planning already from what you wrote).

You know, the issue with not routing is that if you don't, you simply won't find the best roads to take and miss the best spots to see. What I do, is plan it out but don't religiously stick to it.

You can also encounter unforeseen obstacles like Parents' Day (only in 'Murica) and all hotels in a small town book solid.
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