Triumphrat

DUCKMAN · 10-06-2011, 11:34 PM

This worked exceptionally well on my 5 day round trip Journey from Long Island NY to Halifax, Canada.
(1) I have Mapquest calculate the route NON stop.
(2) I calculate "my day" based on SIX hours of riding (360 miles)...you need to adjust this based on your ability. Keep in mind you will want have to stop for gas, lunch, site seeing, shopping and peeing. Your SIX hour riding day will become 9 hours easy.
(3) Mark it out the map. Figure out where you are sleeping. Try to keep it within 30 MINUTES of how it sorts out. Remap the journey in segments. As I speak from experience, travelling without knowing where you are sleeping may sound adventurous, but is both stupid and dangerous. I have been "stuck" in the saddle twice for Twenty Hour days when using the I will find a place to sleep when I am tired plan. Both trips should have been fun...but became hell without the ability to rest properly. If travelling alone make sure a friend or family member know where your staying.
(4) Print out the map in mapquest. Punch your route into the GPS. If your phone has mapping capabilites put that in there too. Carry a map...there are rural places with no signal.
A few more tips that will make your adventures more fun:
(1) Invest in a tank bag. In that tank bank be sure there is the following:
A.) Gloves
B.) Rain gear
C.) Wire Ties
D.) Knife
E.)First Aid Kit
F.) ViseGrips
G.) A laminated copy of your driver's liscence, passport and insurance and registration cards
H.) $100 Bill and a Credit Card
I. Put the cell phone in a ziplock bag.
All of the above will usually get you out of any nightmare you encounter.
(2) Invest in a windscreen. I usually hate them...but if the rain is hard enough or the bugs big enough...you will learn to love it.
(3) When packing saddlebags...pack everything into plastic bags or jumbo ziplock bags. Having your "dry clothes" wet sucks.
My apologies for the novella. I have wandered quite a bit in the last 35 years and will wander some more in the next 35 years. A few hours of planning will make a good trip...a great trip. A few precautions can make a bad trip into a good trip.

chris r · 10-06-2011, 11:38 PM

Google Harley Ride Planner. It's powerful and free.

HarlanBarr · 10-07-2011, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris r

Google Harley Ride Planner. It's powerful and free.

That's pretty handy. We need a RAT version.

BigAl8295 · 10-09-2011, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris r

Google Harley Ride Planner. It's powerful and free.

I hate to admit it, but it's really good.

Thue Olsen · 12-08-2012, 09:52 AM

An alternative to Harley Davidsons route planning tool is www.tourstart.org.
After planning a trip you can download the route to your GPS. Once you have finished your trip, you can share pictures from the trip and the route with friends.

Trophy4 · 12-08-2012, 12:25 PM

I use DeLorme Street Atlas. You can set your estimated mph for different types of roads, the types of roads you want to avoid or prefer, how long you want to ride each day, how big is your gas tank, your mpg, and let it calculate your route for you. Stops for sleeping and for gas will be estimated, based on your data you've entered. You can fine-tune your route by entering vias and planned stops. It will produce a triptick (like you'd get from AAA), a route map, strip maps, and a GPS file you can download to your your Garmin. If you stay on the route, it works great! But you'll miss seeing LoVel and Bonnie-Girl in that parade you didn't know about.

Best suggestion -- allow enough time to get there. Cut the pages out of Rand McNally for the states you'll be travelling through. Get a general idea of the routes you're planning on travelling, and go!

Canuck_T100 · 12-08-2012, 11:38 PM

Checked out the Harley ride planner. Really slick. Also checked out the 'discount' for the Best Westerns for a few spots and at $135 or so a night I wouldn't want my trip to be too long!