Author Topic: First time Road Trip - Tips/Advice/Plannin (Read 5138 times)

Sven · « **Reply #15 on:** August 03, 2007, 03:27:44 PM »

Quote from: "p_gauthi"

Do you find it easy to find places to stay [outdoors, camping, backyards?]...do you just give yourself a general area of interest and then find a place to set up once there??

I suspect that most people will not be very receptive when they wake to find you camped out in their back yard.

But seriously...camping doesn't appeal to me very much. It's inconvenient, and I'm just "over that". Having to carry that much more crap on the bike (at a minimum, a sleeping bag and a bottle of bug spray...much less a light source, etc.) is a barrier should I get an urge to camp.

However, I have never made motel reservations in advance...if I don't see something I like, I can move on.

Red01 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 03, 2007, 11:04:29 PM »

It's not that I don't like camping, I do, but when I'm on a m/c trip, camping isn't part of it for me. Like Sven says, too much extra stuff to pack. Cheap fleabag motels in podunck little towns work fine for me.

speedytriple · « **Reply #17 on:** August 06, 2007, 12:14:08 AM »

if you cant find a tank bag you like also consider a ruck sack, or sling bag. i used one for commuting for years. i got it from taking a test ride on a buell. it is a back pack with only one sling that goes around your torso. very comfy to wear. holds lots of stuff inside. has lots of pockets and holders on it. as far as the camping thing goes. it is ok but adds lots of stuff to carry. i have done it before. but much prefer doing the cheap motel, bunk house thing. we tend to ride to a point so it is easier for us. we made reservations and ride to that place. we stayat a lot of motorcycle resorts also. so they always have cheap lodging of some sort. heck me and kent split a bunk house at high valley cost 20 bucks per person. clean, had a fan, heater two single beds. and nice modern shower, restroom areas. you might want to do a search for something like that where you will be riding.

speedytriple · « **Reply #18 on:** August 06, 2007, 12:24:13 AM »

next year i plan on doing my first road trip solo wth no preset place to ride to. i am going to ride ohio to w.v panhandle into pa. then hit maryland into vir. to the top of the blueridge. stay the night somewhere? then ride the blueridge the next day to the gap area stay somewhere in robbinsville n.c. then do a day of riding in the tenn, ga, alabama area. most likely stay in or near north ga. then head up into tenn. spend a night with family then back to ky, and ohio. plan to hit 10 states in 4-5 days of riding, looking to do 400-500 miles aday. packing real light, wear my leathers, pack rain gear and road needs. and one tail pack for everything else. plan on doing it late summer early fall. when the weather cools a bit.

p_gauthi · « **Reply #19 on:** August 06, 2007, 01:51:47 PM »

sounds like a great trip.
Since i'll be going from MTL to Chicago area, and heading through some of these places on the way, I'm interested to see if anyone has some good suggestions for routes to hit.

Would like to take about 5 days to do MTL-Chi, so I'd assume i'm passing through PA, OH, WV, VA, IA, IN, MO, ...

roads/routes/Points of Interest along the way??

Barbarian · « **Reply #20 on:** August 06, 2007, 09:59:45 PM »

Which dealer are you thinking of? There are loads in town that have everything under the sun -- I bought my tail bag at Moto Internationale just because it's closer to my home.

Keep an eye on Canadian Tire too -- they carry quite a bit of motorcycle stuff, and if you check them out online you can get the inventory for each store.

If you're not ready to plunge into sidebags though, you may want to consider just getting a mesh net with hooks to hold a backpack in place on your pillion.

You're right about wanting to avoid online cross-border shopping. If your vendor ships UPS, you're looking at $45 in hidden 'brokerage fees' when that truck shows up at your door.

GooseMan · « **Reply #21 on:** August 07, 2007, 09:31:52 PM »

Lets all take a trip down to Plattsburgh and buy some gear!! heheh...actually...thats not a bad idea, since we can come home with all the bags loaded on the bikes...customs wont know we didnt go there without them ;)

Seriously though, I bought a whole bunch of stuff from newenough.com and couldnt be happier. They use USPS, and I only got charged the taxes at the door...no crazy brokerage fees etc. With the dollar the way it is now, I'd highly recommend you take advantage of it!