When Planning a Trip, What Resources Do You Use?

[SIZE=12pt]I've done some rides to places in Washington state and Oregon. Now, it's time to start thinking about planning to see my kine in Oklahoma and Texas.[/SIZE]

What programs do you use to map out your trip and make hotel or camping plans?

I've never thought of camping; I've always done the Motel 6 or Super 8. However, camping has been a growing interest of mine. I assume I can save some money, too.

Finally, routes. There's going through Idaho, Utah, Calorado--the one I'm most familiar with while traveling in a car. However, there's going across Montana and the Dakotas, then droping down through Kansas.

I have zero experience with an extended trip like this but I'm carving out some time this summer. I have a National Geographic conference in Chicago mid July but will take the jet airliner. Riding into Chicago and having never been there before scared me off. Thanks for not giggling too loud.

BTW, I enjoy my FJR more now than when I first picked it up.

Thanks all.

I use Google maps (Google Maps) to plug in my start and finish locations and let Google tell me the optimum route. Then I drag the route till it suits my own requirements. You can also add intermediate stops to help get the routing the way you want it. You probably already know all that, but I'm just saying that's how I start. I don't travel with a GPS (on the bike), so I just memorize my route.

As for routes, I grew up in South Dakota and lived in Montana for 7 years. Personally, I would avoid eastern Montana and most of the Dakotas, with the exception of the Black Hills area of southwest SoDak. I would also probably avoid Nebraska and Kansas, preferring to head south out of central Montana, thru Wyoming, Colorado, then Oklahoma, depending on your specific destination.

I thought I replied to this last night, but computer was almost as slow as I was....

I start with the good old Road Atlas, looking for scenic twisties, elevations, monuments, and other good points of interest. I also use "Roadside America" web site to find some really "out there" road side quirks that you would pass up if you didn't know to look for them, such as the world's largest ball of twine, etc.

I also use Microsoft Street and Trips to measure the route pretty accurately. Anything over about 350 - 400 miles and we know to prepare a little differently, and to watch the frequency and durations of the stops. Also helps to be physced for those days.

And the weather channel can change the plans pretty quick, so always have an alternative idea you can detour to.

And for goodness sake man, stay off the Great Plains! Straight across is the best method, if you have to cross them. They are good for helping you meet the IBA rides, but sure are boring....

*ressurection*

I've been trying to set up a route for an upcoming trip in October. I been trying to use Garmin's Base Camp, but it isn't very intuitive. I just spent 2 1/2 hours with it, putting in 7 days worth of primary routes. It should have taken 30 or 40 minutes tops. I've used Google in the past, and find it much easier, so maybe I'll go back to it. Other than paper maps, are there any route planners that ya'll find to be better options to convert to a GPS file?

LKLD said:

*ressurection*
I've been trying to set up a route for an upcoming trip in October. I been trying to use Garmin's Base Camp, but it isn't very intuitive. I just spent 2 1/2 hours with it, putting in 7 days worth of primary routes. It should have taken 30 or 40 minutes tops. I've used Google in the past, and find it much easier, so maybe I'll go back to it. Other than paper maps, are there any route planners that ya'll find to be better options to convert to a GPS file?

Click to expand...

Base Camp sucks, and Map Source is on its last update. I figured out a few work arounds in Base Camp, but it's still got lots of problems.

If you like using Google Maps to plan routes then the routing program Tyre is a must have. You can import the Google Maps URL into Tyre then save as a GPX file for Garmin. Tyre has full route editing with either the imported Google Maps route or you can make a route from scratch. As a final step you can open the GPX file in Garmin Basecamp to verify that Garmin exactly follows the roads you chose.

Streets and Trips. Make your route, export to GPX, copy to GPS devices.

I have to agree that BaseCamp is not intuitive, but neither was MapSource when I first used it and neither is Streets and Trips. Since I am addicted to Garmin GPS's, I bit the bullet and learned to use BaseCamp. You'll have to learn how to use some routing software, so it my as well be the one designed for your GPS.

3x5 cards

paper map

cell phone

credit card

anything else is not really required and money that can be applied to gas, tires, and travel expenses.

websites containing lists of curvy roads, Gazetteers, MS S&T to make turnsheets and route maps...

...and for the past couple of years, S&T to Mapsource to GPS.

You'll want to head over to motocampers.com. Read some of the entries by "Dusty Boots", a Canadian who has camped extensively in the southwest. He has some excellent reviews of sights to see, sites to camp, and gear he uses.

leedavis said:

If you like using Google Maps to plan routes then the routing program Tyre is a must have. You can import the Google Maps URL into Tyre then save as a GPX file for Garmin. Tyre has full route editing with either the imported Google Maps route or you can make a route from scratch. As a final step you can open the GPX file in Garmin Basecamp to verify that Garmin exactly follows the roads you chose.

Click to expand...

That's funny that you mentioned TYRE, I just watched a YouTube video on it. Seems fairly simple.

Geezer, I agree with you. I'm still going to learn Base Camp, though this could take awhile with my limited synapse firing. I'll just go the easiest way for now to get my trip done, then continue with Base Camp.

It says on the Tyre website that is does not work on a Mac.... is that true or have they updated. It does say if you run a Windows emulator on the mac it will function. Just curious.

I use basecamp primarily.... but have had good results with this https://www.bikeroutetoaster.com as well. It is for Bicycle routing but works well for MC travel too and is compatible with Garmin.

Bootcamp is free and included with all OS X machines. I use VMWare Fusion so I don't have to reboot to launch a Windows 7 Pro 64 bit session (for the 1 or 2 legacy programs that don't have an OS X equivalent). Works great and there is no perceived degredation in performance over the Win7 tower that now sits in the closet gathering dust.

wheatonFJR said:

websites containing lists of curvy roads, Gazetteers, MS S&T to make turnsheets and route maps......and for the past couple of years, S&T to Mapsource to GPS.

Click to expand...

^Good advice from the voice of experience.
Check out several "10 best motorcycle routes",websites like motorcycleroads.us,local forums for areas you're traveling through and drool over those twisty lines following a creek or ridge in a Gazetteer.

Highlight several of those routes and just string them together with connector routes.

You can sometimes find some local favorites by calling or stopping by a local Yamaha shop and asking them about favorite roads in the area.

As for camping...state parks on weekdays usually have some good(and sometimes great) sites.Ask folks at the campground or other locals where to eat and you might just find some great local restuarants,and avoid the chain crap.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out Base Camp... but I'm not the sharpest knife either. And I'm using an older Garmin 550 so...

I've been using the Harley-Davidson Ride Planner : https://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/ride-planner.html It has all the Best Western locations & HD dealers already in there (laugh if you want to but they are great places to stop when you need a rest or something more urgent). Once you establish the route, it exports to your GPS. I won't say it's perfect but it has come in handy many times on many trips.

Nothing I've found so far does 100% of what I want it to do so always carry the analog GPS (paper maps)

As far as inspiration goes, that comes from many sources. I'll see a movie or read a book and plan a trip around something that interests me. My current favorite program is on the Smithsonian Channel : "Aerial America". That program alone has made my bucket list extremely long. I'll look for places on an atlas, see what other points of interest may be nearby and then look for the twistiest way to get there on Google maps. Once I have an idea of a route, I plug it in on the ride planner, name it and save it, then send it to the GPS. I usually write directions down as well, just in case.

Plan on getting lost - it's bound to happen and sometimes can be the best or most memorable part of the trip.