Planning a cross-country trip on my XS. Any suggestions?

[snakedriver]

I love the spare key idea, I'm going to take you up on that. Rush, I like the bite valve idea too. I was going to get a tankbag, but I have an old USMC-issue Camelbak with a bite valve and a large mouth opening for ice. I may just strap that bad boy to the tank instead of getting a tankbag. I'm going to use a Garmin 205 GPS, so I won't need a map pocket. I plan on carrying paper maps too, but the Garmin will be the primary nav.

I have a poor sense of direction, so I've found that GPS is my friend.

[MaximPhil]

I love the spare key idea, I'm going to take you up on that. Rush, I like the bite valve idea too. I was going to get a tankbag, but I have an old USMC-issue Camelbak with a bite valve and a large mouth opening for ice. I may just strap that bad boy to the tank instead of getting a tankbag. I'm going to use a Garmin 205 GPS, so I won't need a map pocket. I plan on carrying paper maps too, but the Garmin will be the primary nav.

I have a poor sense of direction, so I've found that GPS is my friend.

Hi Snakedriver,
If you have the Nuvi 205 i would recommend the RAM mounting system. While not exactly inexpensive even I (founding member of Cheap Bastards) have not seen another system that works as well.
If you have a Forerunner 205 I think it is too small for the purpose.
The sandwich bag over the GPS keeps it dry but does make it more difficult to read and not all baggies are the same.

Phil

[Bonz]

I'll still throw my vote for the plexifairing 3. The ability to easily remove it when you aren't touring is nice, and it is no less protection with a lot less bulk.

[dpotter58]

Do you have a route yet? Members on here are pretty sociable. You may find a night or two lodging, hot shower and meals from some of us...

[snakedriver]

I'll start in Lansing, MI. I'll take Michigan's west coast up to the bridge, and then across the UP along the Lake Superior shoreline. From there I have no plans until Eastern South Dakota, a friend of mine is a corn farmer out there. I want to see Bozeman MT, Coer D'Alene ID, and end up in Portland OR. Other than that, I'm open to ideas and cool things to see.

Depending on time, I may hit Monterrey, CA to visit another friend. From there?? Who knows.

[trbig]

If you skip Washington State, you'll miss a treat. From Idaho, I suggest the long trudge across eastern Washington (West of Spokane, keep an eye out for fuel stops. They can get spread out there.) and ride up Mt Rainier, tallest mountain in the lower 48, then out to catch Hwy 101 in Olympia and follow it down the coast into Oregon. 101 meets 26 north of Cannon Beach and will take you right into Spokane. The problem will be catching western Washington when it isn't raining.

I always wanted to ride down the California Coast on 101 through the Redwoods, but the Oregon Coast is pretty awesome.

Yellowstone is on my bucket list, and I can't more highly recommend the Utah route I took a few weeks ago and posted about in the ride reports section.

Nice roads in Colorado. South Texas' Big Bend National Park is also on my bucket list, as well as the hill country outside of San Antonio. The Alamo and River Walk are worth making a pit stop for as well while you're there. My biggest problem with Texas is the camping. They want to charge you to get into the parks, then charge you for your tent. Very little difference to just get a cheap hotel with a bed and shower.

If you stay south, the panhandle of Florida at Pensacola and Destin have some of my favorite beaches in the states. We stay at Destin more often, but I prefer Pensacola's beaches better. Nice white sand and pretty Gulf Water. I've also been down to Key West a few times and love it there, but I've never ridden down to there. Another bucket list item.

A northern route from there will take you up into the Smokey mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, and lots of other places that I'm sure the guys from the east could better inform you about. It's all about how much time you've got and how far you want to go... not to mention funds.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Tod,
You make it all sound so exciting....I want to GO
Phil

[trbig]

101 meets 26 north of Cannon Beach and will take you right into Spokane.

Sorry... Meant to say 26 north of Cannon Beach will take you to PORTLAND, where you said you wanted to go..

[Erik the Red]

trips

Sounds like an epic trip that you'll remember forever. Here's what I'd add to what others have said... Bring a journal & make time to jot down a few thoughts every single day. When you go back and read it, you'll see how your mindset changed throughout the trip, and you'll be reminded of little things along the way. I still go back and re-read hiking journals. It's the details that bring back the memories best.

Other things: Good rain gear is well worth the investment!! Duct tape rolled over itself (i.e. no cardboard tube), electrical tape, zip ties, JB weld, mini mag-lite or headlamp. Tire puncture fixers (the plug kind). There's a tire air filler that fits the Schraeder valve, and it uses CO2 cartridges. Bring a bunch extra CO2 cartridges. Can find those at a bicycle shop I'm pretty sure. If you don't want to spring for the camping dry bags, the big zip-loc bags will keep your clothes dry in your luggage in case it's not waterproof luggage.

Also, since you're from MI, I'll assume you know to head up to Copper Harbor in the Keweenaw peninsula, but I'll say it anyway. US-41 up, and M-26 back down (or vice versa). Also, M-119 over by Petoskey is a must ride in MI. Depending on when you come up, let me know, and maybe I'll be able to join you for a portion of it -I'm in Gaylord.

Should you run into trouble, or need anything in general, you'll probably be able to find a public library (or similar) nearby and post up to this site, and members will be able to help you out.

As an aside, a minimal point of correction... Mt. Whitney in CA is the tallest peak in the lower 48. That trip (High Sierra Trail) was actually the latest hiking journal I referred to earlier.

Good luck, & ride safe.

-Erik

[crazy steve]

As an aside, a minimal point of correction... Mt. Whitney in CA is the tallest peak in the lower 48...

I have to defend my 'native' mountain....

If you figure height above sea level, Mt. Rainier is fairly far down the rankings. But in terms of actual height above the surrounding area (prominence), it is the tallest mountain at 13,210 feet, beating Whitney by over 3000 feet. Only McKinley (Denali) in Alaska is more 'prominent'...

[Erik the Red]

I have to defend my 'native' mountain....

If you figure height above sea level, Mt. Rainier is fairly far down the rankings. But in terms of actual height above the surrounding area (prominence), it is the tallest mountain at 13,210 feet, beating Whitney by over 3000 feet. Only McKinley (Denali) in Alaska is more 'prominent'...

Okay, okay. Fine. Ranier is more prominent than Whitney (btw, thanks for sending me down that google/wiki rabbit hole ), but I'm still going to call Whitney taller. With that being said, it's a much more impressive feat to summit Ranier than Whitney. Whitney is under the belt, and Ranier is on the to-do list.

[Bonz]

Quit riding circles around things, and come through Colorado. I'll take you up, around and down some mountains and passes that'll keep you coming back for more. Pikes Peak is 14,110 ft above sea level, perfect paved all the way to the top, among others.

[trbig]

While Colorado does have good riding, the thing I liked about Mt Rainier is that it's surrounded by National Forest with virgin growth forest and trees that are hundreds and hundreds of years old. MASSIVE.

BUT.. if you can catch Colorado at the right time when the Aspens change, that's a sight to behold as well.

Another thing if you happen to be riding from west to east.. A ride across Cloudcroft, NM will cool you off on a summer day at over 10k feet, and before I went, Carlsbad Caverns, also in New Mexico was not real high on my list of things to see, but afterwards, I was absolutely in awe. Seems like it was like $6 to see the main cavern, which was over a mile trail.

[Poprock]

If you go a little farther down the Oregon coast, you have a place to stay, shower, work on the bike, etc. in Tillamook. PM me with your ETA. Highway 6 into Portland is awesome! 70 miles.

[Erik the Red]

Trip planning

Here are a few websites I've bookmarked in the past looking toward planning future trips. Could be worth your time to check out in case you haven't already.

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/road-trips