After I graduated college, I took a 6 week road trip around the U.S.
Started in Detroit, went to the UP, down to Chicago, out to Omaha, over to Denver, went to Devil’s Tower and Yellowstone, up to Vancouver, down the coast to L.A., to Death Valley, to Las Vegas to Grand Canyon, then to the Ozarks and then back to Detroit.
The Ozarks to Detroit was one shot, 16 hours, however it wasn’t my longest single driving stint. I once drove up from Jupiter Florida to Detroit, 21 1/2 hours.
You got to drive through the chunnel? Cool!
[sub]Sorry, I couldn’t resist.[/sub]
When I was a kid, our family made a trip each summer, eventually hitting every state except Alaska, Hawaii, and Arkansas. (We waved at Arkansas from the Mississippi side of the river.) The longest trip would have been either Rochester, MI to San Francisco, by way of Wyoming and Salt Lake City and Yosemite Park, then down to metro LA, with an additional trip to Ensenada, Baja Mexico, then home by way of Las Vegas or else the trip out to Glacier Park, up to Athabasca Glacier, out to Vancouver, then down the coast through the Olympic Peninsula, over to Seattle, then down through Oregon to Crater Lake and back home by way of Yellowstone.
Since I have been on my own, I’ve made trips (alone or dragging my family), from Cleveland to Seattle (with various excursions) twice, down the St. Lawrence and out around Nova Scotia then back through New England a couple of times, and numerous trips through the Great Lakes states or over to Eastern Pennsylvania or down into Kentucky. (I also made it to Hawaii, but I didn’t drive until I got there–OTOH, I did drive the road around Haleakala, finishing the southern stretch long after dark.)
My longest trip was from Seattle to Washington DC.
My dad biked it.
Was your/your brother’s trip a charity bike ride, too?
Har har. No, I don’t think it was open at that time - can’t remember! We went on the ferry to Holland.
Longest continual was 12 hours from St.Paul,MN to Kansas City,MO. My friends and I just did:
St.Paul - Rapid City - Yellowstone - Billings - and back. Something like 3200 miles over 2 days.
L.A. to Louisiana to Las Vegas (to Area 51) to L.A. 1,400+ miles solo, 40 rolls of 36-exposure film shot. 
Ok, maybe I can win the longest continual drive. I made it barely because I drove from Biloxi, MS west to Paris, TX and the North to Manhattan, KS straight. Well we did stop to stretch a few times, and eat a bit. Took about 30 hours. I don’t know why I didn’t switch off but it never occured to us. Thankfully I didn’t kill anyone. I think because driving kept the adrenelin flowing. I was dead on my feet when I got out of the car though.
I took a cross-country road trip in 1996 to research a book about famous UFO sites across the USA. Basically did a big circle around the Lower 48, from Pennsylvania to Florida to California to Washington and back to PA, with many odd twists and turns on the way. 9,000-12,000 miles in 35ish days.
Family trips every other summer from the time I was a few months old until age 18, from South Carolina to San Bernardino, California to visit family. 3,000 miles–it took us 3 days. My dad drove like a bat out of hell, obviously. We’d leave at 2 AM and drive through the rest of the night and into the next day, stopping just for lunch and bathroom breaks and a motel that night. Then it was up at 6 AM for another two days of non-stop driving. I never did figure out why my dad was always in such a big hurry to get there, but it was always like some sort of cross-country race.
Pensacola, FL to Homestead, FL.
Via CA and MN.
I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some trips described that I have never attempted and I beat you twice in two weeks. (Biloxi-Paris-Manhattan appears to be about 1,100 miles.)
First I left Euclid, OH one Friday evening after a full day of work and didn’t stop (except for gas, food, etc.) until I hit Jamestown, ND a bit over 1,200 miles and 28 hours later. (I had two weeks to get to Seattle and back and I wanted to get the mundane driving out of the way so I could enjoy the rest of the trip.)
On the return, I had to stop at Kalispel, MT to replace an alternator. On the morning it was fixed, I drove up to Logan’s Pass in Glacier Park, hiked up over the ridge and down to Hidden Lake, then back to my car, and drove on to Havre to stop in and visit some friends. After some pizza, I headed back out with the intention of crossing Montana and stopping at a rest park I had spotted on the way out. When I got to the rest stop (outside Williston, ND), I discovered that the few trees were wholly inadequate as shade and that the flies would not let me sleep, so I pushed on to Minot, Jamestown, and into Minnesota where I made camp after 1,200 miles, (110 of it mountainous), a half day of hiking, and a couple of hours of conversation in 35 hours.
(And that trip was made in the era of 55 mph limits.)
And, as I noted, I have seen a couple of trips described, in other threads, that beat those runs.
That’s some good figuring. Even with all them little twists and turns that’s about what it was. I can’t imagine how fatigued people were after longer drives. I do think some of us are kept awake by driving. The second I turned off that car the fatugue hit me big time but before then I felt fully awake and didn’t notice any sloppiness in my driving.
I would not want to try to get first place though.
Nothing to beat the others here. My best was going to LA for Christmas break with my roommate. Huntington, IN to LA, about 2200 miles in 38 hours. Would have made it back in 36 but we dropped the driveshaft in St. Louis. :eek:
On my own, I seem to have problems with my sense of direction. From NW Ohio to Chicago, took me 5 days by way of Mt. Rushmore. Round trip was about 2300 miles.
Then there was my trip from here to Toronto. 5 days by way of Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Sudbury. About 2100 miles when I got back home.
From NW Ohio to Baltimore, MD by way of Montreal, Quebec, Portland, OR, Hartford, VT, Wilmington, DE. About 2400 miles by the end of the trip.
Was going to drive to LA this year, then come back by way of the PNW, but I lost some vacation time due to sick time last year. 
So I am flying out again.
So nothing really outstanding, but I still have hopes. 
Just about 4000 miles, this past summer. My sister graduated, and we celebrated by taking a road trip home, Colorado to New Jersey, with slight detours to Yellowstone, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks, visiting some friends of mine in Santa Fe, various touristy things along the way, plus a stop to visit family in northern Ohio (because once you’ve done the first 3500 miles, a few hundred more don’t really matter).
Took us about two weeks, but we spent a few days in some of the parks.
September, 1974. We drove the 2,100 miles from Atlanta to Twin Falls, Idaho to watch Evel Knievel jump the Snake River Canyon in his “Sky-Cycle”. It was the first time I’d ever been east of the Mississippi. The jump itself was a spectacular failure, but the party at the campground the night before was a blast! I visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in the course of the trip. Today, 32 years later, I still look back on that trip as the best road trip ever!
Not in mileage, but the hours…oh dear god…the hours.
We were up in Northern Michigan somewhere on I-75 and Mr. Ujest ( then BF) heard there was an accident on SB traffic. Jamming up everything for miles.
He promptly gets off at the next exit and we took side roads all the way back to Northern Oakland county. No map. Just using the sun as our compass.
A drive that should have taken 3.5-4 hours took 12. 12 hours.
He still talks about that trip. I was so exhausted just looking at Mid-Michigan and the Barn-Cow-Crop-Barn-Cow-Crop-bait/tackle shop views.
Now, I could do this kinda thing standing on my head. I am enured to the side trips in life and enjoy them.( Cause I travel with an Mp3 player, knitting, books and magazines.)
I’m more prepared than batman, baby!
But, back to the OP: Detroit to Florida countless times. ( a Hajj to Disney, dontcha know.) 24 hours of driving more or less. Detroit to Gettysburg area which is about 9-13 hours, depending on the evil Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Evil Ohio Highways.
Another road trip lover checking in.
I’ve a couple of coast-to-coast rides on my bike, about 7,500 - 8,000 with side trips and what not.
In May three of us are leaving Carson City for a 30 day run. It’s looking like 8,000 plus.
Dallas, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska in May, scenic route through Natl. Parks, 4500 miles in 8 days.
Anchorage to Dallas in January, stopping for skiing, 4900 miles in 11 days in January.
Austin, TX to Syracuse, NY. Drove up in a Honda, drove back in a U-Haul full of furniture with the Honda on a towbar behind it.
Please believe me when I say I will NEVER do something like that again!!