HOW TO PLAN THE BEST MOTORCYCLE ROUTE

Hi everyone, I'm Tim and this is my channel FTA Adventures. Today we're talking about the ultimate guide to planning the best motorcycle route in the United States, though some of these tips do work anywhere in the world. This is going to be especially important if you have a limited amount of time to take your trip. You want to make sure you get the best experience possible for your effort. These are the strategies I have used in planning my motorcycle routes and I think you're going to find this helpful in planning your next moto journey. If you have unlimited time to meander and roam, then you probably don't need to plan every last detail of your route. But if that's not the case, then these tips can help you get the most fun and enjoyable ride available in the area that you're traveling in. Planning your route means selecting sites and attractions ahead of time, which can help you avoid missing out on anything because you didn't know it was there ahead of time. I have been on trips only to come home and realize I was close to something really cool that I would have wanted to see, but I didn't know about ahead of time and it was a real bummer to miss out on that, especially when you're far from home. Don't get me wrong, you should definitely allow for some time spent at places you learned about from locals or other travelers while on the road, but selecting the best places you really want to see will help you not miss out. The first part of planning the best motorcycle route is to determine your goals and theme. What do you hope to get out of this journey? Do you want to see as many national parks as possible or are you riding a BDR and exploring the backcountry? Is there someplace special you've always wanted to camp? There are endless possibilities, but it helps to have some kind of goal in mind, whatever that may be. You can define your travel objective and this will help in the next steps of planning. This could be adventure, nature, historical, culinary, or likely a combination of some of these. Aligning your route with a specific theme helps to enhance the overall experience. The next step is to research and gather information. There is a world of information on the internet, so this is a great place to start. You can also talk to friends that have been to the places you're traveling to, and I have found that Instagram can be a great source of inspiration for travel. You can also check out forums and travel guides. I have found a google search for the 10 best waterfalls in Idaho or top five camping destinations in the southwest can bring a wealth of information and inspiration. I also like to keep an ongoing list of places to go that I've heard about from you guys, or read about online, or saw a cool post on Instagram about it. That way when I decide to go somewhere, if I wanted to say ride to Utah, I already have some ideas to base my route off of. There are tons of roads that seem to be made for motorcycles. Dragonstail, Beartooth Pass, the PCH, and many more, just to name a few. These can all be found online or in forums. Facebook groups are good for this too. You can also check out motorcycle specific websites and apps for valuable route suggestions. When doing your research, you want to also be sure to do some research on the weather at the time of year that you're going to be traveling somewhere. This is especially critical if you're pushing the shoulder seasons of riding. Some mountain passes stay closed well into spring, so make sure to look into that so you don't travel far to ride a road that ends up being closed. If you are traveling backcountry and exploring off-road and dirt trails, you may want to do some research on what to expect from the terrain. And this can also help avoid getting in over your head in an off-road backcountry situation. That could be river crossings, rough roads, and pitfalls to avoid. At this stage of planning, you can define your must-see destinations and points of interest. Start by identifying key landmarks, attractions, and scenic routes that you can take. This can be a lot of fun and allows you to kind of start your trip before you ever actually leave. I love looking at pictures and planning places I want to see when I can't travel. I can live vicariously through myself in the future. Everyone has different preferences on what they like to see. For me, it's nature. Any type of water like lakes, rivers, streams, and especially waterfalls. I also like to try out local cuisine. So these are the themes that I focus on. This gives me a general direction of how to plan my trips. Once you have all of this information, you can start planning a loose itinerary. I have found it is best to not over plan this, but have a general guideline of what you want to accomplish. This helps with determining mileage, which can help with putting together a budget for your trip, and plan for a timeline. By the way, if you want to learn more about how to determine the cost of a motorcycle trip before you leave, you can check out this video right here. You should outline a general timeline based on the total duration of the trip. This helps keep you on target for meeting all your travel goals. Again, avoid overdoing it. Less is more in this situation. I wouldn't recommend booking hotels too far advanced, like weeks ahead. I usually have a route in mind, a guess at about how many miles I want to do each day, and I wait until mid-afternoon to start looking for a place to sleep. In some situations, a little pre-planning can go a long way. If you are visiting a touristy area at peak season, you might want to consider your lodging ahead of time. Use your best judgment here. Just try not to put yourself in a situation where you have to ride beyond your limits to get to a hotel or campsite that you've booked ahead of time. I've definitely made this mistake, and it can be dangerous having to push on and ride into the dark, and especially in deer country, just to get to a pre-booked hotel. You will want to leave some cushion in your itinerary for downtime, and staying longer in places than you might have originally thought you would. I think finding a hidden gem of a mountain town, and being able to stay an extra couple of days to enjoy it and soak it all in, can be incredibly rewarding, and has been the highlight of many of my trips. I also like to leave time for visiting with some of you guys, and it's nice to have a little extra time in the trip to spend a day or two riding with a new friend, or just talking and hanging out. Balance is key. You want a general guideline of a route, without it being so jam-packed that it just feels like work. If you're traveling in the western states and plan to camp, winging it can be a pretty feasible option. There are tons of camping available in National Forest and BLM land, and reservations are not needed. This can be a little tricky on the east coast though, but it is still possible, and I have done it. You just have to be a little more creative. Again, if you plan to stay in hotels, and you are traveling in a popular area, you may want to have some ideas of what hotels are available in that area, and maybe make some advanced reservations. It all depends on your trip, your timeline, and your budget. If you're traveling somewhere like Baja in Mexico, there are some pretty remote areas where you can't get gas or lodging, but a little pre-planning and making sure that you don't pass a gas station with less than half a tank of fuel, can really help with this. But knowing ahead of time that gas might be an issue, allows you to plan ahead and avoid any unnecessary hardship. Depending on the length of your trip, you may also need to consider mechanic shops. Next, let's touch on route optimization. Once you have your sites and waypoints established, now you can start to string those locations together. I like to avoid highways, and I typically navigate with Google Maps, and you can just turn on highway avoidance. It's super easy. Secondary roads are better in my opinion. They tend to be more scenic in general, and they are just better for riding. Routes that take you through national forests, or national parks, or just wilderness areas can be a great addition to your route. I like to look for roads that follow rivers. For one, they are super scenic, and there's usually cool spots to get off the bike and chill by the river. But the other thing about roads adjacent to rivers is that they tend to be twisty, and who doesn't want more twisty roads on their motorcycle? When I get somewhere really cool, like Utah or Colorado, just plotting out whatever route Google takes me on to get to my destinations is usually spot on, and ends up being really cool. I have discovered a lot of neat spots that I might not have otherwise found if I took the obvious routes like Million Dollar Highway, which is a great road by the way, and you should definitely ride that road if you ever get the chance. But there are other really cool less obvious routes in that area. Next, let's talk about contingency. You should be prepared for things to go wrong just in case. There are a lot of ways to go with this, but like I said earlier, knowing where the medical facilities are, knowing where a mechanic shop is, or where you can get a new tire can come in real handy. But it's also important to pack smart, like bringing all the essentials without over packing. There are a few videos on my channel about what I pack for motorcycle trips, so you can check those out if you're curious. And you also want to do all your proper maintenance before leaving on your motorcycle journey, like leaving home with fresh fluids, properly inflated tires, and a clean and lubricated chain. All these things help steer clear of avoidable situations, but be prepared just in case something does go wrong. Have a credit card available, or a little extra cash in your budget for the trip. Anyways, if you follow these tips, you should be able to plan a really great route for yourself or you and a group. Let me know your tips down in the comments below. I'll be reading and replying to comments all weekend. Before you go, if you're still here, my new channel is officially live. I'll link down below to it. It's all about hiking and camping and off the bike type content. I'm really excited about it, and I think you'll love it. So go check that out if you haven't already. Anyways, thanks for watching, and I'll see you soon.