Cross country Summer 2021 ?

[SteveM]

I've alluded to this in other threads, but wanted to give the planning for this a home here.

I went San Diego to Crater Lake, OR, to Minnesota, to Deals Gap, to Home in 2012 (5,700 miles / 14 days) on a VFR 800. I'm prepping a 2004 ST1300 for more relaxed duty this time.

Among family and friend, I've nicknamed this the "America's unwanted houseguest tour" As I'm going to attempt to see some old friends and sofa surf. Also, I want to get through states I haven't been to before (see the little map thing in my sig).

Here's a map of where I know some of my potential victims live, sort of a starting point.

[loudbeard]

I have regular travel to Chicago, Dallas, and Las Vegas. The first two have little interest to me for street riding, but if you happen to be riding out through the Las Vegas area, I’d be happy to rent a bike for a weekend and link up with you. They have some fantastic canyon roads outside the city. I’m pretty much free to schedule a trip to any of those sites whenever I want, give me a bit of heads up and I’ll make it happen.

[ducatirdr]

The southwest is a great motorcycling destination but the roads are designed for Harley's and Goldwings. LOT'S of empty space that should be swallowed at interstate speeds. Then there are these gems like Rt66 from Kingman AZ to Oatman AZ. The original section of Rt66 that is hard to believe was the path to California prior to Rt40. I think your ST would love take a break from the interstate and taste the goodness of the old 66 heading into Oatman. Oatman is a true slice of old west. A mining town spec on the map that pretty much hasn't changed in years.

https://www.route66roadtrip.com/rout...an-arizona.htm

I visited the Grand Canyon and Sedona in one day. The GC was worth the 15 minutes of fame for me but that's about as long as I stayed there. A look around and down and then back to the long road out. Sedona is worth a visit. A tourist town yes but the drive through is worth it. A remarkable spot for a look around. Just check out this section of road and when you hit that section heading into Sedona from the GC you will understand.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//34....9,15.71z?hl=en


Another must ride is the bottom of the PCH to Ortega Highway to Lake Elsinore. Of course Mulholland Dr, Los Angeles, CA, Joshua Tree, Big Bear all have great riding spots. It looks like you hit the Black Hills already. So Custer, Needles Highway, Rushmore and Spearfish Canyon road are done?

[e30addict]

The southwest is a great motorcycling destination but the roads are designed for Harley's and Goldwings. LOT'S of empty space that should be swallowed at interstate speeds.

Spend more time in the mountainous areas. If you rode 89A on the other side of Sedona that's a pretty good taste of what's really out there when you start looking off the beaten path.

Sport touring/ADV bikes are the best bet for pounding mileage and having fun in the southwest, assuming you don't just don't want to play with dirty bikes straight up. That's a whole 'nother ball game though!

[e30addict]

Looks like you have friends in CO and AZ. US 50 and 550 in Colorado to travel between the two. Or head more west and clip the 4 corners as you head towards AZ instead of going down towards Farmington. Or stay more north and head towards the canyons in Utah etc... before heading south.

Honestly, could just spend months just roaming the 4 corners states. Screw the rest.

[ducatirdr]

I own a KTM 790 ADVR. If I could take any of my bikes out west it may have to be that 790 and not my Goldwing DCT. I don't want to ride it from here to the southwest but once there I'd explore the hell out of all those dirt roads that go into the mountains. So many Jeep trails exist on public accessible land! I think the perfect bike for that area is a BMW GS or big KTM ADV. Plenty of poke for those 80+mph highways (speed limit 75) while being dirt road friendly for the occasional, "Let's see where that dirt goes?"

Yes its a whole other ball game on an ADV bike.

[LuvDog]

If you're in southeast ohio, ride the triple nickel

[sveesix]

I would also like to do some sort of cross country trip this year. I’m kind of done with the motorcycle camping thing though.

[capitalcrew]

I've got a spare bed in Miami, but there's not much nice riding here. I could be convinced to ride my gsxr to key west though.

[OneCheekRider]

Man I hate to be that guy... I tried to do this in 2019 (there's a thread here somewhere). I ended up getting hospitalized 1,000 miles into my journey due to a throat infection so bad I almost stopped breathing...one of the weirdest things to ever happen to me and terrible timing. With COVID going on, I would be a little leery to do a journey like that right now as being hospitalized in the middle of nowhere sucks.

BUT if you do make it to southern Californee, I'd be happy to show you around.

[nt650hawk]

Oh Man. you need company?

Steve R U going to the dark side?

[DucDave]

If possible, dont miss Moab...

[RandyO]

I am planning an Ironbutt ride aout to SanDiego, then leisurely returning, one of the roads I want to hit, is Route 191, from Alpine, AZ to 3 way AZ, supose to be Deals Gap x 10, also wanna spend more time in the Ozarks

[Kenn157]

Looks like you have friends in CO and AZ. US 50 and 550 in Colorado to travel between the two. Or head more west and clip the 4 corners as you head towards AZ instead of going down towards Farmington. Or stay more north and head towards the canyons in Utah etc... before heading south.

Honestly, could just spend months just roaming the 4 corners states. Screw the rest.

I would also like to do some sort of cross country trip this year. I’m kind of done with the motorcycle camping thing though.

Anytime you guys are ready! you know where I am..

[oVTo]

My wife and I just decided to ride out to see my brother and family in Cheyenne. We'll be taking a northern route, and mixing camping with hoteling but haven't decided anything beyond that. Stretching the trip to the west coast (OR/WA) is possible but probably won't happen.

Suggestions for roads to ride, places to go, things to see or skip between here and there?

[DucDave]

My wife and I just decided to ride out to see my brother and family in Cheyenne. We'll be taking a northern route, and mixing camping with hoteling but haven't decided anything beyond that. Stretching the trip to the west coast (OR/WA) is possible but probably won't happen.

Suggestions for roads to ride, places to go, things to see or skip between here and there?

Yellowstone...obviously! Great Glamping there... https://www.expedia.com/West-Yellows...=false&x_pwa=1

And if possible, Glacier and Ice Fields Parkway - Banff to Jasper....

[oVTo]

Yellowstone...obviously! Great Glamping there...

And if possible, Ice Fields Parkway - Banff to Jasper....

Great recommendations! We've been to both places and they're beautiful. Yellowstone will probably be packed with RVs and trailers this summer, so we might avoid it this time. Our route is likely to change based on whether we can cross the border or not. But either US or CA, it should be a fun ride.

[nt650hawk]

RECAP!!!!!!!!!

[SRTie4k]

Great recommendations! We've been to both places and they're beautiful. Yellowstone will probably be packed with RVs and trailers this summer, so we might avoid it this time. Our route is likely to change based on whether we can cross the border or not. But either US or CA, it should be a fun ride.

I found most of Yellowstone to be way too busy, but the one redeeming part was hitting Beartooth Pass. It was surprisingly empty (including the long stretch of road coming down into Red Lodge), absolutely stunning and super fun.





Also worth exploring out in that area is Bighorn National Forest, it's also got tons of exploration opportunities with little traffic, and it's very beautiful.



Lastly, Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier is not to be missed. It is quite busy typically, but you will kick yourself if you never experience a sight as awesome (in the literal sense). It's one of the few places where I've felt very small and insignificant.

[obsolete]

Yellowstone...obviously! Great Glamping there... https://www.expedia.com/West-Yellows...=false&x_pwa=1

Stayed at the one near Acadia when I got married this summer. It was pretty damn cool.