Timelines and trip planning

[pecunium]

I don't plan to rush the trip, though I can't (if I am to get the visiting done which I would like to do) dawdle much. I figure with about ten hours of riding/resting a day I can move about 600 miles per day.

Pushing, on a motorcycle, isn't really something one ought to do. If the traffic is moving, and the conditions good I might make 750, but not much more. The itinerary (as it is now) misses Chicago (I'd meant to go to Ottawa by way of Chicago, but things changed, and now I want to go to New York), and the upper west; in exchange I get to cross all of southern Canada.

As I hammer out the details, I'll post them. Right now it's 40 to Tennesee; and a week budgeted. I'll probably need not more than 5 days, but better to plan long, and arrive early, then feel rushed, and try to push. From Tennessee it's up to New York, and I will probably want to lay over in DC.

A few days, perhaps as much as a week, in New York, and then to Ottawa. New York to Ottawa looks to be one days worth of riding (about 500 miles). The TransCandada is a longer route then taking I-90, but not much longer. Google gives me 57 hours driving time, which is about four days, so (as with the trip to Tenn), I'll be budgeting a week.

Then some time in Seattle, and down to Portland then to home.

It all feels both very concrete, and a trifle nebulous.

Comments

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Have fun! I miss riding, it's something I'll be away from until the kids are older.

The rule of thumb on a sailboat is that deadlines kill. Pretty much the same thing on a motorcycle. Don't forget (not that I imagine you would) to add in time to do maintenance on the bike!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Looks like a good plan. If you'd like my recommendations for good places to stop along that I-40/I-81 leg, let me know. I've driven that a time or six.

Something I've learned in 30+ years of driving across North America is to keep an eye on the developing weather. Plan to be flexible enough that you can either outrun bad weather or hole up while it passes over you. The big commercial truck stops like Flying J and Pilot all have weather displays now, so you can stop for a cup of coffee and see if things are getting ominous. (Or you can carry a smart phone and check whenever you want, but that costs more.)

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

I've I-40 three times; between Oak Ridge and LA. I've done lots of long/medium hauls. One of the things I'm looking at is finding some waterproof gloves; neither of my present sets are.

GPS is on the packing list, and I think the bike has a 12 volt outlet, so I can keep spare batteries charged (and the phone).

It's a lot like planning a convoy route march; except that I have to do my own recovery if something goes wrong; and no one is likely to be shooting at me.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Looks like you've got a good handle on this.

[onyxlynx (from livejournal.com)]

I second your suggestion on weather. Thunderstorms can come up suddenly. (The other t-word we don't mention.)

[songblaze.livejournal.com]

I mentioned in your other post, but I'll put it here as well - from the sound of things, you may be passing not far from me, and I'd love to actually meet you in person.

We've a spare room you're welcome to, if fatigue or weather drive you to needing to hole up for the night. Naturally, warning is appreciated.

[geekchick]

If you need crash space in the greater DC area, you're welcome to the spare room.

Man, I envy you. I wish I could figure out a way to manage a nice long road trip this summer.

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Both concrete (in general) and nebulous (in the particulars) is (to my taste) Good for something like this -- as I discovered in a partial Trans-Canadada Highway trip after a Vancouver WesterCon some decades ago. Great scenery, a fine, unostentatious -- this _is_ Canada, after all -- highway (with the speed-limit postings established (at that time) by the engineers who designed it, rather than by whim of the RCMP, so To Be Observed Strictly), and the phenomenon -- to me, strange -- of all the restaurants being operated by (genetic) Chinese people, but serving only /A/m/e/r/i/c/a/n/ Canadian-style food. All went fine and according to (approximate) schedule.

Then I got to Stand Off, in Alberta, where I was to swing down into the US and head back home to Southern California. (Mind you, this wasn't on a bike, though -- senility strikes -- I disremember whether it was a VW Bug or a small Toyota station-wagon.) On a range of green hills were dozens of Painted Lodges, looking much like a picture from the 1840s. As you know, my primary Other Fandom is North American Indian Cultures. -"When the Visitation of Prince Charles was confirmed, The Government suddenly discovered that they had a whole lot of canvas, so we ate canned food while the women busted their asses sewing their tipi-covers and the few old men who knew the traditional family-owned designs painted them. And a few of the younger people made up their own... I tell you, I don't know what the world is coming to, nowadays... I'm pretty sure they didn't have the proper Visions or Battle Qualifications for them."- Actually, the Blackfeet Sun Dance -- traditionally held on or close to the Summer Equinox -- was delayed a few days because there had been a death on the Reserve and it couldn't be held until after the funeral, but I hung around for the better part of an extra week, just soaking in the atmosphere (and, later, zipped though Salt Lake City, seeing only what could be observed at freeway speeds). Things like that happen ... and enrich one's life unexpectedly.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

If you're in Tennessee long enough and have some free time, I'd enjoy having a meal with you again, if you'd like.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

600 miles/day sounds like a reasonable amount to plan for doing. On my trip to San Francsisco and back, that was my planned amount -- and I was able to keep it up for the 5 days each way, without undue issue. Obviously, bad weather or good roads can slow this down a bit.

I've done a couple 1000-mile days, but those are LONG days, and are not the thing you would generally want to repeat, or aim to do as an ongoing thing. They tend to be a one-shot day, sort of thing.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

This would be good as in, "roads which wind and twist in interesting ways,"?

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Yep. The nice, interesting, tight winding/twisting GOOD roads... they slow you down, but they're SO worth it. :)

[slave2tehtink.livejournal.com]

If you've got spare time in the DC area, do let me know, I'd love to grab dinner. I'll be around all summer except for the first full week in July.

[mycroftw.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you care or not, but I'm in Calgary on the Trans-Canada, and if I'm not away, would love to meet.

Also, I took the Trans-Can over Lake Superior on my way to Waterloo, ON, and will never do that again. Would be better on a bike, of course - but still, 9 hours of "climb hill, turn right, descend hill, look at the lake, turn left, repeat" and Canadian Shield Forest. If you don't have a "must take CA HWY 1/11/17", you might want to go Ottawa-Detroit-Chicago-(Winnipeg/Regina) instead. Another option, from Ottawa, is the north highway to Thunder Bay - according to Google, it's 100 miles longer than via Chicago, but 5 hours extra, so give you some idea.

Just a warning (which I'm sure you already know): Northern Ontario is deserted in a way totally unlike Kansas. If you break down there, there isn't a farmhouse an hour or 3 down the road. If you're lucky, there's a logging camp that a truck can take you to.

And you know this, as well, but 60mph on the I-40 and 60mph on Hwy 11 in the north/Hwy 17 around the lakes are two totally different things - until you hit Thunder Bay, assume more like 45, 50. It took me 48 hours driving to do Calgary-Waterloo; the Ontario-Manitoba border was almost exactly halfway.

[mycroftw.livejournal.com]

addenda (sorry):
1) If you want good (i.e. motorcycle fun) roads, sure, the trip over the lakes will probably be lots of fun. The scenery doesn't change, but it's not straight (and you'll be getting a lot of straight the rest of the E/W trips). You just won't be averaging 60mph unless you have a speed bike and a better head for peg-dragging than I have...
2) I took my bike (years ago) up the Alaska Highway - I did 6 driving hours/day, about 300 miles. Took lots of time to relax for meals, look at the scenery, basically kicked back. I wouldn't really have wanted to do much more, on a daily basis, for a long time riding (even though I've done several 10-12 hour days in a car no problem). If you're planning on repeated 10s, start practising *now* (by the way, you do realize I hate you for being able to do that? It's 50F high, today, and snowed last weekend).

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Today I did about four hours in the saddle; totaled about 200 miles; the first hour was in rain, on a winding road I know tolerably well (though this was the first time from this direction).

The worst of it was actually once I got clear of the rain. A fairly steady wind, from almost 90°. I spent thirty miles leaning the bike into it to keep the line straight.

I'll ponder the route; there are reasons to want to go to Chicago.

[cavyherd.livejournal.com]

"40 to Tennesee" <sulk> :)

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

The planned points of the trip are:

Tenn
New York
Ottawa
Seattle

All the rest is, sadly (because there are lots of people I'd love to be able to see) subordinate to those places.