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How do you plan long trips?

glenfiddich

TravelsWithBarley.com
Our Vermont winters are long and harsh. I typically spend my winters tearing down my bikes, cleaning each part meticulously, and reassembling them. The rest of the time I figure out where I want to go when the snow and ice retreats in late April or early May. In this post I'll share how I do it and open it up to how others plan so we can all take home a few good tips.

I start with a map of the US and Canada, identify the end point (in this case the rally at Great Falls MT) as well as places I'd like to see along the way, and highlight a rough route. It looks something like this:

IMG_2492.jpg

From that beginning I divide the route into geographical segments, then drill down into each area using ride reports, magazines, online resources and Butler Maps to identify points of interest. On the map I use US-50 as a baseline to cross from Maryland to Missouri, but as those aforementioned resources yield results I vary from the baseline and the route becomes a meandering adventure. Based on research so far that segment will likely find us in the Hocking Hills of OH, across backroads of northern KY, the national forests of extreme southern IN and IL and the Mark Twain NF in MO before dropping down to northwest AR. I'll do that with each segment of the map.

When all segments are fleshed out, I start a rough draft of a calendar showing about where I'll be at a particular point in time. Working backwards from the end point (since the rally dates are fixed) tells me how much riding time to allow. I enter riding time and miles onto the calendar, adjusting daily endpoints to less than 300 miles to allow plenty of time for Glenlivet and me to take breaks for play or rest. If the calendar shows a stretch of 2-3 longer days I mark at least one down day where we can stay put and he can enjoy being a dog. The calendar draft looks something like this:

IMG_2494.jpg

Lastly, I look for places to stay. Often they are campsites which is why I pass through national forests. Every few days we get a hotel for a soft bed and hot shower. It's often difficult to find accommodations some areas, so we book them early. For example, we already have a place to stay in Monument Valley - two days of early morning and late afternoon sunlight to bring out the colors for my camera! And of course we love staying with other like-minded people so often accept offers from others in the golden retriever and riding communities. I use the Tent Space Map on ADVRider.com a bit but thus far have not used the Anonymous Book as the code for spare room isn't quite as welcoming as the "We love visitors and want to hear your stories" entries on ADVRider.

You may have noticed that our return trip is sadly lacking in the meandering department. From personal experience I know that once the rig is pointed in the general direction of home gravity takes over and I'm pulled back to Vermont. This return leg will include Beartooth Pass and the Bighorns (snow level permitting), the Black Hills and Badlands. Each was among Barley's favorite places and I hope to spread some of his ashes along the way...

Dignity.jpg

So, how do you plan?

Pete and Glenlivet.
 
Wife

So I have another thought! How does your wife deal with long trips? I don't mean this in a bad way.
I do like your miles and time calendar idea. My wife likes your writing about "travels with barley".
 
So I have another thought! How does your wife deal with long trips? I don't mean this in a bad way.
I do like your miles and time calendar idea. My wife likes your writing about "travels with barley".

She has hobbies of her own and actually looks forward to me going away so she can take over the shop and garage for extended periods. If I come home early she scowls. But the dogs are delighted to see me so I suppose it’s a wash
 
Now that’s funny, reminds me of the joke about locking your dog and wife in your trunk then letting them out in a few hours to see who’s happy to see you.
 
When we travel we are pretty loose. We will pick some points of interest, perhaps the cities we plan to stay overnight in, our turn around point, and we roll. We motel it, and we will reserve rooms one day in advance. we don't want to take a chance on finding a room or not. I didn't make reservations once while I was traveling by myself, and spent a few hours sleeping in a booth at a truck stop because I couldn't find a motel with a vacancy. Pretty sure mama wouldn't like that!

We went to Ashville, NC area a few years ago. We set a day we wanted to be there, so many days in the area, and when we wanted to head back, but no reservations were made until the day before. We will sit in the motel and plan the next day, stops and the next nights motel.

Sometimes I will plan a trip start to finish, plan for points of interest, reserve motels in advance and stick to a schedule, but not very often.
 
She has hobbies of her own and actually looks forward to me going away so she can take over the shop and garage for extended periods. If I come home early she scowls. But the dogs are delighted to see me so I suppose it’s a wash

Ha!! Thanks for a good morning chuckle. She sounds like a keeper.:thumb
 
Sometimes I will plan a trip start to finish, plan for points of interest, reserve motels in advance and stick to a schedule, but not very often.

I did that in my early days of long distance trips, but found I rarely (if ever) stuck to the script. I'd run into locals who would share their favorite roads and the next thing you know I'd be two states away from my planned stop! And to tell the truth, I've found some real gems that way.

Now, the only exceptions are places so popular the odds of finding a campsite - or even lodging that doesn't break the bank - are slim to none unless you book it way in advance. Arches NP comes to mind.

Pete
 
We plan in a similar way, but travelling on the bike we prefer reservations. Knowing there's a place waiting just down the road makes the day more relaxing, especially if there's weather to contend with an unexpected event in the town we're headed to, ie. no rooms! We gave up camping in 1998, shipped 38 pounds of gear back home. Our K75s loved us for doing that. Once I have the basic route we start looking for quirky places to stop. Great Falls will include the Oklahoma Salt Flats, Mt Capulin, The Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel NV, a Pony Express crossing, Promontory Point, Idaho's Salmon river, a Red Bus tour in Glacier, Wyoming 14a, Badlands, Kansas Chalk Monuments, and the Wagon Wheel Motel on Route 66 in MO. Plus anything we see interesting along the way. like the Rio Grande Bridge on US64 in NM, and stuff like that.

People often ask how many miles we travel in a day. I tell them that's not the best way to look at it. We do 8 to 10 hours in a day in the saddle. Interstate can be 600+ miles. Back roads might only be 250 to 300. Some say it's the journey, some say it's the destination. We prefer to combine them, much as you are doing. See you all down the road.
 
I don't understand how someone can plan a long trip and plug it all into their GPS before they leave. Most trips I tend to "wander off" and go exploring so a rigid schedule gets broken by day two and then it goes crazy from there.
 
I don't understand how someone can plan a long trip and plug it all into their GPS before they leave. Most trips I tend to "wander off" and go exploring so a rigid schedule gets broken by day two and then it goes crazy from there.
We live in North Carolina. Our first trip to Texas was via Death Valley. Another year we went to Niagara Falls and the north shore of lake Huron. We were on our way to Ohio. We know where we're headed, and usually where we will stop for the night, but we do try to leave enough time in the day to meander a bit. :dance
 
. I'd run into locals who would share their favorite roads and the next thing you know I'd be two states away from my planned stop! And to tell the truth, I've found some real gems that way.

This happens to us a lot.
In the 80s we were in the North West and someone told us we should visit Banff and Jasper. We had never heard of the parks and decided to check out the area. I think that was a 4 day detour from our planned route.
 
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On short trips going through areas we are familiar with, we make reservations.
On long trips we do it several ways.
Some days we make a reservation the day ahead.
Some days we make a reservation late morning or early afternoon for the same day.
Most of the time we'll pick a motel on the spot late afternoon.
If we have the choice of several motels in the same area I'll check 1 or 2 and Debbie will do the same, then we meet back and compare notes.

Fridays and Saturdays in tourist towns we tend to get in early or reserve the day before.
 
I don't understand how someone can plan a long trip and plug it all into their GPS before they leave. .

Most of the time I don't create a route.
Each day I plug in a few towns I think we will pass through. I also carry paper maps.
 
the Wagon Wheel Motel on Route 66 in MO. .

As you know that was a unplanned overnight stop for us a couple years ago due to the heat.
We didn't call ahead to make a reservation since it was early in the week and we wanted to look at it in person.
Sometimes there's a fine line between historic and a old run down dump :)
Turned out to be a neat place and have returned several times.
 
Bear in mind that Voni and I usually leave home in May and return in September. In between may be several different "trips." To plan a trip the first thing I do is plug in my origin and destination to mapping software. I used to use Street Atlas USA but now mostly use Google Maps. That gives me a distance. Then I massage the route to roads and highways I would actually use, avoiding Interstates and major cities as much as possible. Then I plug in any locations I want to go to not on that route. That gives me a new, longer distance. I divide that distance by the number of miles I wish to travel per day, on average.

This distance will vary by locale as well as time of the year. Trips in the early spring and late fall call for shorter days so we don't start well before it warms up for the day. In extreme summer heat, say in the desert southwest miles per day get decreased for early stops to avoid late afternoon heat. If in the congested east days are planned to be shorter than in the west with wide open spaces and 75 mph (or higher) speed limits.

Now I have a number for days for the trip. I always add one or two days to account for bad weather or other delays. Then I start to actually look for destinations. If camping I identify campground possibilities. For potential motel nights I identify towns the approximate right distance.

I do not use Routes in my GPS. I enter waypoints as destinations and via points. I do actual roadway selections from a paper map in the pocket on my tankbag, along with the routing to the next waypoint from my GPS. I pick the roads. The GPS does not.

If planning to stay in a motel we check prices on-line. Sometimes towns 20 or 30 miles apart will have motel prices that differ by $50 or more. I'll ride an extra 30 miles or stop short too, to save $50 or more on the room price. Sometimes we book early. Usually about noon the day of the stay.
We have been known to book a room over the internet while sitting in a restaurant next door to the motel - or even from the lobby of that very same motel after the desk clerk said he couldn't give the internet rate. He did offer the use of the computer in the lobby. :)

Sometimes the plan falls apart. Severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings, localized flooding, freak snow storms, flat tires, bike problems, Montezuma's Revenge, and/or other things pop up from time to time. Remember those extra days built in to the plan? They are there for a reason.
 
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Mostly I have a destination and just go. I tend to run gas to gas and don't stop for sightseeing. On my way to the last MOA in TN i would get in touch with folks on the ADV tent thread the day before and I was always able to come up with something. Pete, when I met you at the Dragon on the way there I was just finishing breakfast with Rick, a local who kindly put me up the night before. I've been hosting inmates at my place for years so it was fun to be on the other side.

I'm booked for Siberia/Mongolia/stans next year and I'm going with a friend who's doing the lion's share of route planning etc. I'm pretty much just along for the ride and will happily follow him wherever he wants to go. I'll have to take care of my own bike shipping etc but no big deal.
 
One fine fall Friday, I met my wife for lunch, I was riding my Harley. She mentioned that I was probably going for a ride, I was, and told her I might be home late. I left Fargo about 1PM and ended up in Sioux Falls SD for the night and called my wife to let her know I was not gonna make it home. She said she would see me when she got off work the next afternoon. I called her early that afternoon when I left Sturgis after buying a T-shirt. She was kinda miffed and said i suppose I will see you sometime Sunday. I was home that night about 10PM.

It was a fun ride, (aren't they all?) No plans, not much for riding gear, rain gear and heated jacket, and my riding jacket. Worst part was heading west on I-90 right out of Sioux Falls I hit rain and it was 45F. I rode in light rain until right before Murdo SD where I stopped for gas. I was so cold I was had uncontrollable shivering. I got a hot cup of coffee, a bowl of hot chili and a short nap in the drivers lounge and I felt good to go. I rode to Rapid City and bought ski bibs which I still wear from time to time riding in cold weather. Went to Sturgis, then headed home. Rode in sleet on I-94 for a couple hours headed into Fargo.

Another time I went for a little shake down ride after servicing my Harley. 400 miles later I found home again. My wife happened to call me when I was buying gas and wondered where I was. She was not very impressed! She has gotten used to it, but I do get in trouble if I wander off and don't take her with!
 
Have changed methods a few times thru the years, most changes from learning from the last or sometimes just trying a different approach.

In the past, have loaded GPS routes for entire trip... those were derived from laying the maps out and choosing general direction non-Interstate roads. A lot of input from the been-there-done-that riders we know often saved us from boring runs or awesome suggestions we would have missed.
After several trips and getting more comfortable with on the fly routing, I rarely load a route anymore... either smart time management or laziness now that I am retired.

The last two together bike trips we pack the maps, pick a general destination and take off. Each night, Lay out the map and make a general plan with a highlighter, then tweak on the road using the visual big picture map on the tank bag and picking waypoint towns along the way. If H is leading, I will suggest a city for her to input to the GPS and off we go. We may pick a " hopeful" destination to a known place and pre-book, more often, we make some dive bys. H would camp every night if possible but will go for a hotel if it's the solution.

I took two three week solo trips this summer, one to the MOA Rally and the next to the RA event. Both had me headed to same general part of country and repeated a few roads...tried to not if possible. I did the "where is the weather not going to be worse" as I saw the daily clouds in the distance while playing in Appalachia making circles and turned that way...no plans means so what? One day I planned on being in WVA and ended up in SC:laugh:laugh:laugh but I missed the flooding!

Picked a State or National Park in the distance and made my way there by day's end. When weather or I needed a real bed chased me from camping, I would do,a drive by, assess the area, and make an online reservation , go fuel up,eat, and roll into hotel.
I now qualify for geezer rates at most parks and can smugly pay low prices with a smile. When a hotel changes the budget, five nights of camping cancel it easily.

Saw a sign for a ferry in MO and detoured to a Mississippi River crossing into KY...random find that I am so glad to have found and a fun story Tom Saywer on a raft I can tell now. Rigid plans and Ms GPS would have bypassed that and other diversions I found.

I know some detail folks that this drives them absolutely bonkers, but, it works and has worked for me/us. Even those folks admit we seem less stressed from not being locked into "the plan"...they will not change, and that's cool too:wave
 
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