Help Plan my route- Atlanta to California and back

[JamesM]

Hello everyone.

The time has come for my yearly pilgrimage to visit the Molinaro family and instead of taking a 5 hour plane ride thought I could stretch it out over 3-4 days via K1200. I would be riding from Atlanta to Monterey and have 7 days to make it there and back (not including 3-4 days of actual family time).

For those that have travelled coast to coast (looking at you AntiHero), I need you help picking a route and stops (scenic and grub) along the way that would be good in March.

Of course I will be posting a billion pictures for everyone stuck in their cubicles.

Ps. I plan on camping whenever possible to keep the cost down.

[AntiHero]

You're going to get a bunch of advice about wonderful roads and places to see, but honestly if you're going to do that many miles in that short of time you're not going to care about any of it. 3.5 days there and 3.5 days back is going to be brutal! The very shortest route (ugliest, most boring) will be 36 hours each way, or roughly 10 hours a day riding!

With that said, I am no expert on all the various cities and beautiful roads between the two locations. My trip planning revolved more around cities I wanted to get a good feel, and I chose New Orleans, Austin, Scottsdale, Vegas (and of course, Death Valley). On the way back you take the Northern route through Colorado, but since I went north and you'll be heading south, I'll defer the actual route through Colorado to someone else. Whatever that damn freeway I got stuck on (70?) is definitely to be avoided.

Others might argue, but Austin to Scottsdale and NV through Utah were the most boring stretches of my trip.

Oh yes, get a Radar Detector because like it or not, you're going to really want to haul ass!

Have you considered perhaps taking 5 days to get out there, then riding two back, parking your bike near an airport, flying back to Atlanta, then a week or two later flying back to retrieve your bike and finish the trip? That'd give you extra time to enjoy your ride....

[Sckill]

7 days for a round trip is very ambitious. How many miles per day and hours per day of riding can your body tolerate? You also have to factor in time to take breaks, get gas, eat, and sleep. Do you plan on camping to save some money or hotel it? How much riding do you plan on doing at night? Stopping to enjoy the sights may not be feasible on that kind of a schedule.

I did a cross country trip earlier this year and it took me 6 days to get from Seattle to NYC. That's with 3 days bordering on 800 miles each at the end.

[FotoTEX]

Keep in mind Texas is a BIG state, it will take at least 1 full day to get across it. And you will miss the best part when you take the freeway. Add a couple of days if you can...

[Steez]

A few years ago I did a fly and ride from El Paso to Nashville. Was a beautiful ride, and I hope to do it again sometime, BUT, it took me 2 full days to ride it all off interstate (Think I took us hwy 70). And by full days I mean sun up to sun down...

Really comes down to your riding style. I enjoy constantly riding, often ignoring hunger to keep on moving. For some reason my addiction to riding makes me forget food... haha

[JamesM]

Thanks for all the input guys.

You’re right. In my mind I was thinking 10-12 hours a day isn't a big deal. Compared to the 1199’s and R1’s of the world, my K1200 is like a lazy boy and I spend many a weekend with a few IBA guys touring around the tri-state area. However, if I really want to take my time, camp out in a bunch of national parks, and truly enjoy myself, I cannot go with the mindset of a place I have to be at a certain time. I want it to be about the journey. Not the destination.

I will probably push this off until Fall when I have a full two weeks to devote and maybe even have Kurt aka Kbdakar join on the way back to complete his journey.

[Dan Man]

Originally Posted by JamesM

Thanks for all the input guys.

You’re right. In my mind I was thinking 10-12 hours a day isn't a big deal. Compared to the 1199’s and R1’s of the world, my K1200 is like a lazy boy and I spend many a weekend with a few IBA guys touring around the tri-state area. However, if I really want to take my time, camp out in a bunch of national parks, and truly enjoy myself, I cannot go with the mindset of a place I have to be at a certain time. I want it to be about the journey. Not the destination.

I will probably push this off until Fall when I have a full two weeks to devote and maybe even have Kurt aka Kbdakar join on the way back to complete his journey.

I like your idea of waiting until you have more time.

You could also just stay to the states more local to you. There are plenty of places to feel 'lost' around you.