Triple's last hurrah.
 

I left work two years ago this month to finish college. With degree number two on the verge of completion, I will go back to work this summer. The wife has been our sole bread winner since I quit, so when I go back, she intends to take a similar hiatus; not for school (she already has her EdS), but to stay home with our 6-month old son.

THEREFORE... time left available for one last epic ride is quickly running out. My wife is a teacher and will be off for the summer the last week of May. My goal is to leave that same week and spend 14-21 days completing the following route, starting from my current home in north Georgia:

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l...pscoynesrd.png

This is a very rough draft of the trip I would like to take, with absolutely no confirmed particulars, but it includes the general regions of the country I would like to visit. I'm very familiar with everything between my Georgian point of origin and the Michigan/Wisconsin border, having logged thousands of miles crisscrossing the Appalachians and my home state of Michigan, but the trip west of Wisconsin is uncharted territory.

I want to see both northern and southern portions of the Rockies. I'd like to see some stretches of western desert. And pretty much anything else of interest anywhere on (or near) the line on my map.

Suggestions?

14-21 days you have a lot of time to do a lot more, I did my trip all the way out to Cali in about 15-16 days if I remember right.

If I were to do something close to that with going the Northern route first.

I don't know anything about Minnesota/Wisconsin/Meeechigan, so I will start in South Dakota.

Badlands is worth a ride through, cool place. Skip Wall Drug Store no matter how awesome the billboards are...

Skip Mount Rushmore, do Devil's Tower instead...

Bighorn National Forest on highway 14 is pretty freakin cool ride. If you are going to go into Yellowstone, take highway 212 from Red Lodge into it. Beartooth Highway, one of the top ranked rides in America. I didn't get to ride it in early June, it was snowed over. Check the snow on your roads even in the late May. I went through that area in early June.

I'd try to swing a little further west in Colorado as you go south from the Rockies and hit the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, 550 Million Dollar Highway. Pretty cool towns through there. You could hit up Mesa Verde National Park if you like cool old human structures on cliffs.

What are your must sees on that route?

Also, try and hit more highways than interstates out west, you will be amazed how much time you can make on them out there. A lot cooler stuff off the interstate.

I dunno. Cool stuff? I'm more about the ride than the destinations; I'd definitely take the scenic road to nowhere over the boring straight line to some famous landmark.

Oh, most definitely. My finalized route will include as few expressway miles as possible. The map displays a lot of Interstate just because that's how MapQuest connected the cities I included. I just wanted to whip up a quick loop, get a general idea of the total distance, etc.

I will definitely look into your suggestions. Very possible that I'll have to circle around snow and/or closed roads, which sucks. This would probably be a much more satisfying ride in July or August, but the timing is what it is.

Any reason you're going through the Canton/Akron area of Ohio instead of Columbus? Pro Football Hall of Fame? The roads are more fun in eastern Ohio but there is not much out that way.

I'm sure you already know but, the ride from GA up into TN on 129 is a nice ride! Obviously, there's the Gap along the way for better or worse. You could come on up my way and come through 421 and head up towards Damascus and keep going on to Grayson Highlands at Massey Gap. It's much like Colorado up there. Then you could head towards The Back of the Dragon on VA16 which is a really nice ride then work your way on up through VA into WV and swing into Pickerington, OH. to the AMA Museum.

Out in CO, you should hit some of the back roads around Red Cliff, CO! Wonderful mountain roads with old dead mining towns and beautiful scenery! The bridge at Red Cliff is used in a lot of car ads.

Once you hit NM, TX, OK, you could hit Route 66 for a bit and of course, you have to visit Cadillac Ranch! There's a little shop just before you get to it that sells spray paint so you can make your mark (however temporary it may be!).

One thing I wanted to do so badly on my cross-country journey was camp in the median clendestinely but, the opportunity never really ocurred except once and it would have been epic but, the timing was wrong:( The next time I take a big trip I plan on it!

Will you be posting a blog or anything of your journey?

I don't know if I will post anything during the trip, but I will share photos/stories upon my return.

I'm worrying more and more about snow and closed roads in what may be the best parts of the route. I really don't want to be 2500 miles into my trip and then have to bypass the most scenic sections.

I'm toying with the idea of cutting out the Appalachian portion as well as Michigan and the other northern states on my way west. There's a bike I really want to see in Orange County (click HERE)... I could create a different loop that runs all the way to the west coast and back, all through southern states, that would probably cover the same distance.

OR, I could run my current loop backwards, which might buy myself another week or so before heading north into the Rockies.

I'll be debating these things in my head until the morning I hit the road. That's how I (unintentionally) approach all my rides.

I can tell you right now, based on my personal experience. If you don't at the very least write things down each and every day as you go you will not do it when you get home. Life gets in the way at home and filling out the info for that blog will keep getting pushed back and back further in favor of more pressing items.
My trip was from June to July of last year and I started a blog on the road but, we were running so late every evening I couldn't keep it going. He took notes of highlights on his phone which I copied. once I got home I was able to make a couple of entries but, I still haven't finished. Not sure when I will truthfully.

Henry Ford Measuem in Dearborn, MI

Big Spring Lake in the UP is not too far off 2 or south of your plot from E to F

Make sure you go to Lake in the clouds just east of G. That is a must stop.

That line through Michigan isn't the route I would actually take. I would hug the Lake Michigan coast north through the lower peninsula and the Lake Superior Coast west through the upper peninsula.

BUT... we've now decided to bring the in-laws to Drummond Island later in the summer, so I have cut Michigan from my motorcycle trip. Appalachia, too. I'll use the entire 2-3 weeks to explore out west.

Read through my trip report and see if you like any of that, I saw a lot of really neat shit.

It's all about finding the places of interest you really want to see and adjusting your route to fit those. Some I didn't see that I still want to see are the salt flats, the Rockies, and Tetons.

I could give you more info if you want any, but half the fun of this trip is learning this stuff out for yourself. I still hold my trip as one of the defining moments of my life. I am really glad I did it alone. Met a lot of random strangers I wouldnt of met had I went with friends.