Route to Deals Gap via BC and Cali | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Route to Deals Gap via BC and Cali

shanekingsley said:
Thanks for those pics PP - will look into those areas as well.

Just keep the suggestions coming - the art of trip planning is making it all work based on my interests and limitations.

Thanks!
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I could keep going, just looking back through my photos to find those 2 turned up endless others of all the cool roads and experiences in just that neck of the woods alone. And then once you get past Calgary and into the mountains it's the same again. And then once you get to Vancouver, again. And then a little Southeast in Yellowstone, again.

Take Devils Tower for example. Cool to see and there's a neat interpretive centre and such at the base of the mountain. But it's some distance off the interstate and unless you're literally going to just park at the sign like in my photo and snap a picture and then turn and burn, you're not going to get to experience cool stuff like this once you DO get past the boring stuff and into the cool territory.

devilstower.jpg

I haven't yet done the PCH but it's on my list. Been chatting on and off with a fellow IBA high miler friend about getting back out west next year and doing the "next batch" of roads out there including Beartooth etc. Key word being "batch"- trying to do everything all at once is going to be a disappointing experience IMHO as you're going to see a little of a tiny bit of some things, and none of a lot.

Lastly, remember that the Dragon is only a 1 day trip to get down there from the GTA considering you're clearly not scared of big mile days. I'd suggest doing that as a different trip at a later date and use the time instead on this big trip to do the stuff way further away instead that you're far less likely to get back to anytime soon.

Anyhow, I'm sure you get my point, and like I said...I "get" the "just go go go go go" big miles thing, but I've also learned that sometimes when those big mile days through the boring stuff has got you to cool stuff many thousands of KM away from home, it's time to slow down a little and smell the roses while you're there...and you may never be back again.
 
Hey Shane
I did quite a bit of this trip back in 2014
You can see it here (even though Photobucket pretty much ruined it)
A trip of a lifetime Ontario to Washington - California and back July - Aug 2014
I blazed to Billings MT then cruised to the ocean
Beartooth
Yellowstone
Then shot up to Glacier
After this I headed to #12
#12 from Lolo to Lewiston is a real treat…I took it most of the way to Olympia WA
I then did #101 down to San Fran
Google Maps
as others have said I think your trip plans are quite ambitious.

Take lots of pics man.
 
Thanks Kiley.
Appreciate the ride report and you spending the time to put it together. That makes trip planning that much easier and I will read it closely.

PP - there are a few things that cannot be changed on this trip. I must go see my sis, must ride along some or all of the Pacific Coast Highway and must be in Deals Gap for a meetup between oct 9-11(unless the weather is not cooperating).

How I spend my time between here and BC, then between the west coast and Deals Gap is entirely up for debate. I was just told I could take off work for the 4 weeks, so as long as nothing changes there, I now have about 30 days to play with.
 
Back in 2009 I did a coast to coast roadtrip, 13,500km in two weeks, and had a blast. San Francisco, PCH, Death Valley, Vegas, Deals Gap, Virginia Beach and many other places in between left me with some of the most memorable moments of my life.

Would I do it again? Not a second time, as my current preference is to spend more time at a slower pace in areas I like. Do I regret going on that trip? Absolutely not, it was the first time I've seen many iconic places, fulfilled a long dream of mine of driving coast to coast and opened my long list of trips back to the places I drove by. I realized that great outdoors are just a day or two of driving from Toronto, and there is no need for large budgets or three week vacations to get there.

So my advise, if you want to do this trip and have what it takes to collect countless miles, then go for it. Might leave you with lasting impressions.
 
Shane we know you can do the distance but you do need the smell the roses and you certainly cannot do long distance on 101 down the west coast tho October is very nice.

Going across you want to hit Chief Joseph, Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone. ...maybe the Badlands. I'd not do that Michigan ferry. Just get by Chicago off hours or do the MicMac bridge and blitz the National Forest west.

Screen Shot 2020-05-12 at May, 12 2020 1.13.50 AM.jpg

goo.gl

5369 Snowbird Ct to Richmond

goo.gl goo.gl

On the way south you can pick up Mount St. Helens and then cut to the coast along 101 .. ( you could loop around Mt Ranier if you have time. )

goo.gl

Richmond to Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument

goo.gl goo.gl
Then cut across to 101 ...but check the weather ....Astoria and south could be fogged in big time and it's no fun.

But put this in the route map. Pelican Brewing: Born at the Beach | Pelican Brewing Co
Fantastic place - good food....nice break not far off 101. Incredible setting.
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more here Pacific Coast

Then Aim for Fort Bragg north of San Fran and stay on the coast on Hwy 1 instead of 101.

this is a worthwhile stop in San Fran
www.calacademy.org

California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is a science museum—and scientific and educational institution—located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
www.calacademy.org www.calacademy.org

Whet your appetite

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Have your wife fly back from San Fran instead of LAX.
Monterey, Big Sur and Pebble Beach are worth the ride along the coast.
Screen Shot 2020-05-04 at May, 4 2020 7.59.04 PM.jpg
I see no point in going further south than San Luis Obispo.
Cut over to Yosemite, try and pick up Sequoia National Park. The road down going east is wild.
You want to buy a season pass for the parks. US Park Pass | National Park Entrance Pass It's $80 - most parks are $25 so pays for itself quickly and good for a whole year.

Head over to Utah Bryce, Arches, etc in Utah....this is a must see Shane

Utah National Parks | National Park Reservations.

Southern Utah is a cumulation of beautiful and unique national park destinations, national monuments and state parks which each provide a unique and unforgettable experience.
www.nationalparkreservations.com www.nationalparkreservations.com

Colorado I don't know but worth it. Maybe the Ozarks and Smokies and home.
My 2C
 
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Thanks Tiborgh - nice to see someone else has done this faster than I planned to.

Thanks Mac - lots of good suggestions there and will give me lots to think about - appreciate it!
 
If you tell the US customs people that your travel plan is to visit California via Utah, they might get all bent out of shape over it and say you can't get to California from Utah :LOL:
 
Chicago really isn't as terrible as many envision so long as you time your pass carefully, preferably on a weekend. Went through it on the way to Sturgis last year and it really only cost us an hour in the greater scheme of the trip - certainly less time than going way out of your way solely to avoid it, and certainly less than taking the ferry across MI, again, unless you're a ship buff and that's something you really want to do anyways. I'm actually in that category and a trip on the Badger is on my bucket list (It's really a pretty cool ship if you're into ships) but when I did the math doing it solely to save time (when we were going through Chicago early on a Saturday anyways) didn't make sense at all. On a weekday during Chicago rush hour the math makes more sense, or if you're not on a tight timeline anyways.

Using Waze to ensure you get routed around anything major is also an essential tool as well, IMHO.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Chicago really isn't as terrible as many envision so long as you time your pass carefully, preferably on a weekend. Went through it on the way to Sturgis last year and it really only cost us an hour in the greater scheme of the trip - certainly less time than going way out of your way solely to avoid it, and certainly less than taking the ferry across MI, again, unless you're a ship buff and that's something you really want to do anyways. I'm actually in that category and a trip on the Badger is on my bucket list (It's really a pretty cool ship if you're into ships) but when I did the math doing it solely to save time (when we were going through Chicago early on a Saturday anyways) didn't make sense at all. On a weekday during Chicago rush hour the math makes more sense, or if you're not on a tight timeline anyways.

Using Waze to ensure you get routed around anything major is also an essential tool as well, IMHO.
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Yup
When i did my Iron Butt I went through Chicago early (6am) on a Saturday morning and headed west...very very little traffic.
I spent the night in Portage IN and headed out from there.
Only time I had to stop was for tolls.
I've also done the Lake Express Ferry a few times (5 I think) and really enjoyed it.
It takes roughly 5 hours to get to the ferry and the nice relaxing break you get crossing the lake was much needed.
I haven't done the ferry to the north...maybe one day I'll give it a try
If i had to do it again i would ride through Chicago but it would definitely be early on a weekend morning.
 
Yeah we did Chicago coming back and hung out at a McD's on the west side and waited out rain and traffic. Kid managed to toss my credit card out with the meal debris. :rolleyes: Next time I came back the northern TransCanada.
 
matthew said:
My only suggestion is to think of some alternative routes in case of early season snow.
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Good thought. Anyone know what the likelihood of snow at elevation between here and Vancouver is in mid-September?

Right now I'm just connecting the dots of things suggested to get a feel for it. Very rough plan so far for the first leg is something like:
Part 1: Mississauga to Richmond
Black Hills (Iron Mountain, Needles) to Devils Tower to Bighorn 14A to Beartooth Pass to Chief Joseph to Yellowstone National Park to Glacier National Park, then head north back in Canada and up to Banff to Jasper to Prince George via the Icefields Parkway, down BC 97 through Whistler to Vancouver.
 
I see 99 is in that mix - perhaps the finest ride of all. More worry about heat in Sept than snow.
You could cut west at Little Fork over to 100 Mile House and avoid Kamloops. ( don't miss the turn off 97 to 99 if you do that. )
 
Nice surfing pic Mac! Pebble Beach and Cypress Point sure is a beautiful area, never been thru on de bike yet! I see they have a 2 wheeler that can carry your golf clubs now, cool!!!
 
Here's what I've got so far.
If the borders, services and my ability to get travel insurance are still very much affected by the virus, then hopefully I can do a Canada only west coast trip instead and spend a lot more time riding around the Canadian Rockies.

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Looks much improved. That westward portion of the trip looks right up my alley now.

I'd plan to maximize your days on the road as there will be a lot of places on that westward leg especially when you will be compelled to stop and take photos and explore. Add in Needles highway as well when you're in the black hills - it's a very, very unique experience. Reality is it's very easy to spend 2-3 days in the Black hills alone to experience all there is to experience. Other things like Devils Tower are an hour or so to take in (unless you really want to get into the interpretive centre and dig deep) on the flipside and move on.
 
PP: I got Needles in my route - thanks for that suggestion. All the places are just markers - once I get to an area, I will ride around and explore.

Mac: the only reason is because my wife is going to fly home from LA. San Fran is too far north andwe want to head further south together than that, but felt that San Diego was a bit too far south for my timing. I don't think I would ever visit LA by flying because my flying trips are to other types of places, so it's just one of those 'might as well' type of things. We don't plan to spend any significant time there - I do really want to check out the Angeles Forest that BrianP suggested - this set of roads: 4459 St Francis Pl to Azusa
 
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