-
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ABLE TO POST? REGISTER FOR COG MEMBERSHIP
All registration must be done through the club's main webpage: To register / join COG, click here
For instructions to convert to full membership, click here
-
Can't post after logging to the forum for the first time... Try Again - If you can't post in the forum, sign out of both the membership site and the forum and log in again. Make sure your COG membership is active and your browser allow cookies. If you still can't post, contact the COG IT guy at IT@Concours.org.
Best place to research great rides
- Thread starter Oilman
- Start date
Just do a search on the interweb for "motorcycle roads". There's several good websites out there with the best roads for each state.
How many days do you have available? That'll make a difference. What time of year are you going? That makes a difference. I'm planning a couple trips to the SouthWest. The temperatures are soaring at some times of the year. Maybe that's the only time I have free. So then it is a balance between seeing what I want to see, and how uncomfortable do I want to be?
I'm thinking strongly about going to the Sierra Sidewinder this September. I know there'll be great riding and great company when I get there. But how do I get there, and how do I get back home? I-5 is the shortest in time and miles. Boooorrrriiiinnnggg.
Hmmm...looks like there's three routes Google Maps suggests that stay off the freeway. Two go down the east side of the mountains. One goes down the west side. If it's hot, I'll try to stay in the mountains as much as possible. Crater Lake is somewhere along the way. I'll stop in there and spend a couple hours. What else can I add along the way?
Painted Hills?
This is a loop though. In a couple days, I'll be heading home. How about heading west and going up Hwy 101? But really, if I do that, the smart thing to do is to take Hwy 101 south, since most of the pullouts are to the right side of the road.
A lot of motorcyclists think of the destination as the ride. A lot of cage drivers think of the destination being where they are driving to. There's no reason not to combine both. The entire trip can be the destination.
So that's a glimpse into how this rider goes about planning a ride.
Chris
How many days do you have available? That'll make a difference. What time of year are you going? That makes a difference. I'm planning a couple trips to the SouthWest. The temperatures are soaring at some times of the year. Maybe that's the only time I have free. So then it is a balance between seeing what I want to see, and how uncomfortable do I want to be?
I'm thinking strongly about going to the Sierra Sidewinder this September. I know there'll be great riding and great company when I get there. But how do I get there, and how do I get back home? I-5 is the shortest in time and miles. Boooorrrriiiinnnggg.
Hmmm...looks like there's three routes Google Maps suggests that stay off the freeway. Two go down the east side of the mountains. One goes down the west side. If it's hot, I'll try to stay in the mountains as much as possible. Crater Lake is somewhere along the way. I'll stop in there and spend a couple hours. What else can I add along the way?
Painted Hills?
This is a loop though. In a couple days, I'll be heading home. How about heading west and going up Hwy 101? But really, if I do that, the smart thing to do is to take Hwy 101 south, since most of the pullouts are to the right side of the road.
A lot of motorcyclists think of the destination as the ride. A lot of cage drivers think of the destination being where they are driving to. There's no reason not to combine both. The entire trip can be the destination.
So that's a glimpse into how this rider goes about planning a ride.
Chris
A good fit for what your looking for would be the RWTW in north Georgia the first weekend after labor day. Then the Spider ride in Missouri the weekend after. One or both. Both are an easy day ride fron Louisville. Hotels within 20 minutes to both venues, camping would be difficult for you first time out. You can read all about them on the calendar list located at the top of each page under
"Events". You have found the website your looking for.
Plus, Kentucky ain't too bad. Especially east of I-75 from Lexington to Virginia state line, over to and into WV. I'm heading that way in about an hour.
Last edited:
I've planned several 5-11 day trips, and here's what I've learned - keep your expectations realistic and choose a destination that is not too far away so you aren't focused on just putting down a large number of miles.
It depends on your personal pace, but I've found that if I'm riding on rural highways and secondary roads, 50MPH is my average pace including fuel/water/pee breaks. If you're doing interstate, you can bump that by 5-10MPH. So if you are up for 8-10 hours of riding a day with typical stops, then you can plan on 400-500 miles per day. If you like to stop and take lots of pictures and visit tourist stops, target 300-400 miles a day. If you're taking a week, figure your total mileage will be 1500-2500 miles. Loops are more enjoyable for me than an out and back on the same roads...
Now pick a destination that is 800-1300 miles away and plan from there. What about Pike's Peak in CO? You'd have to do some relatively straight roads to get there but if you like curvy mountain roads, it's hard to beat the passes in the Rockies (happy to provide specific suggestions if you want)? Or head NE and ride thru upstate New York, it's absolutely beautiful in the fall. You could ride around the N side of Lake Erie then thru northern PA on the way back.
I agree with @Daboo, the actual destination / turnaround point is often not as important as the journey you take to get there and back! Every time I've picked a destination, I feel like I've found cooler things and had more memorable experiences en route than at the actual place I was trying to get to.
Hope that's helpful.
It depends on your personal pace, but I've found that if I'm riding on rural highways and secondary roads, 50MPH is my average pace including fuel/water/pee breaks. If you're doing interstate, you can bump that by 5-10MPH. So if you are up for 8-10 hours of riding a day with typical stops, then you can plan on 400-500 miles per day. If you like to stop and take lots of pictures and visit tourist stops, target 300-400 miles a day. If you're taking a week, figure your total mileage will be 1500-2500 miles. Loops are more enjoyable for me than an out and back on the same roads...
Now pick a destination that is 800-1300 miles away and plan from there. What about Pike's Peak in CO? You'd have to do some relatively straight roads to get there but if you like curvy mountain roads, it's hard to beat the passes in the Rockies (happy to provide specific suggestions if you want)? Or head NE and ride thru upstate New York, it's absolutely beautiful in the fall. You could ride around the N side of Lake Erie then thru northern PA on the way back.
I agree with @Daboo, the actual destination / turnaround point is often not as important as the journey you take to get there and back! Every time I've picked a destination, I feel like I've found cooler things and had more memorable experiences en route than at the actual place I was trying to get to.
Hope that's helpful.
Sounds great; hope you post up some photos so we can ride along.
1) When I'm group riding on 2 lane twisty roads we average 45 mph when restaurant and fuel stops are added in. If I'm also stopping for close by the road sight seeing I'm averaging 40 mph. 2) As I travel I like to meet/talk local people; if you're like me - a suggestion. I encourage people to approach by taking a mid-sized spiral bound road map book (spiral bound so it lays open flat - $20 ish) and carrying this in restaurants. The map prompts questions, suggestions, all lead to good experiences. 3) If you are are envisioning an out-of-area tour experience you could fly to Denver or Salt Lake or Portland and rent bike. A day for air travel each way ... week of prime riding ... and you're far from home.
I think first you need to define "great ride".
Easy....from Louisville go over to Frankfort. Catch 127 South to Crossville then to Spring City TN. Head east to Tellico Plains and go over Cherhola to Robbinsville. From there you can head to the Dragon or make a loop to Suches and back up to Tellico and back up to home through Pall Mall and across the dam and back home. Nice ride, test your skills, find places to stay. Great roads, great sights.
MotorcycleRoads.com has a very useful website with contributions from many many riders. Site links to google maps for pre- riding inspection.
I have planned MANY fun trips using this as the base for great rides.
The site is a little less stable on your phone than a laptop so whenever I can we use the laptop and build the routes in route planner on the Garmin ZUMO XT.
I like this site better than some of thr algorithmic apps out there, they look for twisty roads and you end up on a lot of crap quality roads.
Lastly, I use google maps to ‘drive’ routes and I take samples of the roads that are suggested and get a peek at them. This again helps to avoid any surprises, I know this sounds like a lot of work but our trips are worry free very well planned out and not fraught with disappointments.
Wayne, Carol & Blue
I have planned MANY fun trips using this as the base for great rides.
The site is a little less stable on your phone than a laptop so whenever I can we use the laptop and build the routes in route planner on the Garmin ZUMO XT.
I like this site better than some of thr algorithmic apps out there, they look for twisty roads and you end up on a lot of crap quality roads.
Lastly, I use google maps to ‘drive’ routes and I take samples of the roads that are suggested and get a peek at them. This again helps to avoid any surprises, I know this sounds like a lot of work but our trips are worry free very well planned out and not fraught with disappointments.
Wayne, Carol & Blue
But at the same it would be a good learning opportunity with plenty of experienced moto campers at both. You can check out others camping equipment & ask questions, what works, what doesn't.
Not to mention the company of other cogger's.
