Starting August 5th, I’m planning to a road trip. I do these on occasion - just get in the car or on the bike and hit the road with no particular destination in mind.
This time, I thought I’d try something new. I have at least a general idea of the parts of the country I’d like to see. Road trips past have taken me through the great plains, the desert southwest, etc. The longest-to-date road trip I’ve taken so far was back in 2001 and is laid out starting on this page of my website.
This summer, I’m planning to load up the motorcycle and head to Maine from Oregon with a general route in mind that would be something like Portland to Las Vegas to Albuquerque to San Antonio up to Nashville to Washington, NY, Boston and on to Maine. The return trip would go something like Maine to Albany to Chicago to Denver to Salt Lake and back up into Oregon.
The overall route covers roughly 8000 miles altogether. I’ve got three weeks to do the trip. I’m not married to the idea of going south then east. I hate to travel long distances on interstates.
So here’s where you, the faithful Doper road trippers out there, come in. Give me some ideas on the perfect 8000 mile 'round the nation road trip! In your opinion, what are the best cities and little towns? What are the best roadside attractions? What places server the best burger and beer? Which town has the most comfortable cheap motel? Where can you see the longest unbroken string of Muffler Men?
You, the “Dopers of the Road” can make or break my vacation. I plan to write up the trip and include lots of pictures on my website. If you give me great suggestions, it will make for more colorful copy!
Have at it. Tell me where to go! (You know you’ve wanted to…)
The nice thing about Mammoth Cave is you can go in the worst part of the summer and get a break from the heat. It’s chilly underground, you may even need a jacket.
If you’re a Civil War buff, or if you like to bond with nature:
Columbus-Belmont State Park would be nice. Some Civil War battle was fought there at one point. There’s not a whole lot to do there but sitting and relaxing with a view of the Mississippi River might be up your alley. Plus there’s these neato trails left over from the war that you can go tromping around in.
If you’re really into rivers you could always hit western Kentucky and hit the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio.
Ok, so you plan on taking the motorcycle, I was planning on smacking you but see I don’t need to do that.
That said tell me how long you can stay on the bike for. I know right where you’re coming from being able to stay on the bike 15-20 hours a day easy. I would suggest getting a Golden Eagle pass for National parks and visiting some of them. Getting a pass really helps as you just show the pass and if you see enough, especially the high priced ones, it pays for itself quickly.
I admit that I know very little about the west, but since you are planning on heading south you need to take US 395 if you haven’t. Great motorcycle road and it’s close to where you want to be, at least a little. I also think you will need to be taking interstates across the plains. The roads will be quicker and you will see the same thing.
I will also suggest taking I-40 if you happen to be in North Carolina west of Ashville, long sweepers up and down the mountains. I-64 in eastern West Virginia is the same as well if you like those kinds of roads, I know I do. If you are going to make it into DC look me up and either you can stay with me or I can show you some good roads in the area.
I see you have done 2 in Vermont and New Hampshire, for something different there is 7 in the south part of the state that runs from Albany NY into Vermont and probably NH. I will have to look at a map to see more roads as I know the area a bit.
I am leaving to see Glacier National Park next week so I will report some good roads in the area. I understand that Road to the Sun in Glaicer is very good.
Glacier Park is now absolutely on the agenda. Hadn’t even thought of that one - thanks!
Odinoneeye, good suggestion about Niagra - I haven’t been through there since I was six years old.
Edward The Head, I don’t plan on spending quite THAT much time each day on the bike, but I can eaily do 10 to 15 hours without much complaint from my back and backside. And you’re right - interstates in the “empty & flat” places are definately a good thing and no more boring than the flat and straight US higways. US395 and I are old friends - headed home from Las Vegas in April partly via that road. Great suggestion about the Eagle Pass. I’m looking at the whole Carolinas / Virginia / W. Virginia area now to start picking out routes in that area. I had in the back of my head that it would be nice to see the Smokeys, just no details yet.
SnoopyFan, Cool things in Kentucky! Gonna have to try for a couple of detours through there.
One thing I should add to this - I’m not married to the overall route any more than I am to any particular place along the route. I’ve thought about heading east first and then coming home via the south, I’ve thought about doing things like following US50 all the way across the country, etc.
If you can stay on for 10-15, its a good thing, but can you do that for three weeks? Things are different on a bike then they are in a car. You might want to check out http://www.ironbutt.com/aow/25tips.html for distance travel on a motorcycle.
I almost forgot though, isn’t Sturgis on around that time as well? I’ve never been during the rally and that might be pretty interesting. I’m not sure about the dates though, but it might come around on your way back.
If you’re interested in the Civil War Gettysburg is not that far from me and you can take some nice roads to get there. Plus it’s on the way from DC to NYC, the long way that is without any tolls. I’m still thinking of other things to see and do in the Mid-Atlantic region. You could always see the Atlantic ocean, make it a true coast to coast trip.
Give me a bit of time and I can think of some more good stuff too.
How about taking the old National Road for as much as possible? Most of that route is old US40. It’s got a lot of built-up multi-generation coolness along its route that the Interstate hasn’t managed to completely kill.
Edward The Head - I pretty much got my fill of the various PA/MD/VA/WV civil war battlefields during the time my family lived in Linthicum, MD while I was in High School. My swing through DC and Balto will really only be to see the old neighborhood and hopefully hook up with a couple of friends there. Of course, I can’t be in DC without stopping at the Air & Space museum, so that’s one stop that’s already planned.
As for the time and distance, I’ve ridden some pretty long distances for days on end a few times. The Jeep trip just happens to be the only one I’ve laid on my website so far, that’s all. I don’t make a habit of doing multiple consecutive 800 mile days. I like to break things up, so I’ll typically do a couple of 600 to 800 milers and then hang around an area for half a day and see the sights and maybe only get 200 or 300 miles down the road that day. If I’m really in sightseeing mode, I may overnight in one place for a couple of days. And, I didn’t mention that I’ll be visiting family in Maine for a few days, so it’s not three straight weeks on the road, but the Maine time is variable and flexible.
The one inadvertant Iron Butt day I did was in 1999. I rode from Portland, OR to Glendive, Montana in 18 hours and 45 minutes. That’s a distance of just under 1000 miles (989 or something, IIRC) on a Honda GB500 … I won’t be doing that again any time soon!
And finally, as for the M/C rallies - I can’t stand them. I’m making it a point to avoid Sturgis, the HD 100th Anniversary Party in Milwaukee, etc. I like to travel pretty much alone and if there’s one single thing I simply can’t stomach, it’s huge crowds of so-called “bikers” who trailered their bikes in from The Hamptons, posing and trying to look all “outlaw” and everything. Yuck.
Dogface - I’ll tell ya, I’m gravitating more and more to that kind of idea for this trip. The only thing that may make me head back on to the interstates for some portions of the trip is my perpensity to get bored and frustrated poking along behind grampa and the 40’ RV at 40 MPH all day, which, unfortunately, is one of the byproducts of travelling the US highways. I’m always balancing my desire to see the country with my desire to CROSS it.
My brother used to do this on a Honda Goldwing but not for such long distances. I know he once rode US 1 from here all the way down to Key West until he ran out of road.
I was going to suggest the same thing Dogface did. I-68/US 40 is some nice country. US 219 should be a good way to get up there, I’ve only been on WV 7 and US 250 but 219 can’t be all that different. Those WV backroads can be confusing though so be sure you keep an eye on that double-yellow.
Southern Utah! Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and the Escalante National Monument are incredible. From there it’s just a short trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Puts you on the road to Albuquerque, too.
The trip’s delayed by a couple of weeks now, but that’s actually better because I’ll now be able to leave on a Saturday morning (previously, I was going to be leaving on a Tuesday, essentially wasting three perfect road days) which will allow a little more breathing room overall.
I now have a full and complete 23 days available. That means I now have to average less than 400 miles a day overall to make the trip - MUCH more relaxing.
And, I finally picked out my new digital camera (I’ve been shopping for what seems like years now …) that will be arriving in the next few days, so I’ll have a good instrument for taking lots of snaps along the way.
Since you will be passing through Oklahoma, I highly recommend the Bombing site. It is a very peaceful, beautiful place to relax for a while (it is right off I-40) and if you go during the day there is a museum to visit as well. My favorite time to go is at night. There is always a patrolling police officer (so safety isn’t really an issue). At night, it is lit up in the most spectacular way.
You’ll want to avoid I-81 in VA. Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. Too many big trucks going way too fast. I’d recommend taking 460 across VA to Richmond, then 301 North crossing the Potomac at Dahlgren and getting into MD at LaPlata/Waldorf. In that way you’ll avoid the interstates and get to see some of the more rural areas of the Commonwealth. Or, you could cross VA completely and go up the Eastern Shore. How would you feel about driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It is only about 20 miles across.
Blue Ridge Parkway and a lot of the other roads in the Smokies are absolutely on the agenda - if I get to visit NOTHING else, I’m going through there!!
