Hi there, i'm gonna jump right in and give details of my trip... but basically, i'm just asking for people's opinions of the 'idea' and any further useful info that they can pass on
here goes:
Summary
I am hoping to drive (flying solo) around USA following the MX season. There are 13 events (12 rounds + world cup) dotted about the whole country. It starts in 19th May and finishes on the 23rd September. I'm flying over on 25th April and leaving on the 17th October (both LAX). So the trip will last just under 6 months.
Route
From -> To (amount of time) [approx. mileage]
1. Sacramento, CA -> Mt Morris, PA (6 days) [2500]
2. Mt Morris, PA -> Southwick, MA (13 days) [532]
3. Soutwick, MA -> Newport, MD (6 days) [400]
4. Newport, MD -> Buchanan, MI (13 days) [666]
5. Buchanan, MI -> New Berlin, NY (13 days) [666]
6. New Berlin, NY -> Lakewood, CO (6 days) [1733]
7. Lakewood, CO -> Washougal, WA (6 days) [1250]
8. Washougal, WA -> Millville, MN (13 days) [1800]
9. Millville, MN -> Delmont, PA (13 days) [840]
10. Delmont, PA -> Wortham, TX (6 days) [1330]
11. Wortham, TX -> San Bernadino, CA (6 days) [1550]
12. San Bernadino, CA -> Newport, MD (13 days) [2660]
Route Points
As you can see, there is a fair amount of driving involved, especially on parts 1,6,7,10,11,12. However i do believe i can do it, and my current job as a delivery driver is getting me prepared for spending large quantities of time behind the wheel.
I also think there is plenty of room for me to visit sites, national parks etc during the trip.
I also have approx 4 weeks before the trip, and 4 weeks after the trip in order to do any extra sightseeing, although this will mainly be concentrated around the west coast, california.
My Preparation
I have got both Streets & Maps, and Delorme for navigation, as well as a couple of USA road atlas's.
I will be buying an RV for the trip so I don't need to spend any money on motels etc... but I am looking into cheap/free places to park (i'm thinking probably walmarts etc). I'm also thinking about sleeping during daytime so as to avoid problems with overnight stays.
I'm also gonna try and change my sleep pattern to have lots of little sleeps rather than one big one to make driving a little easier, and avoid peak-times for travelling.
I have friends dotted around USA that i will be meeting up with at different stages so that will get some creature comforts
Budget
Food: $40 per week
Drink: $60 per week *ahem* i like to drink
Petrol/Gas: $5000, using delorme's calculator
Tickets for the races: $1400
got other bits and bobs budgeted for as well.
Total predicted spending: $20,000 (inc 2nd hand RV)
Total saved: $26,000
Things to see
I've been to America twice before, and did a 3 week tour of California (LA, SF, SD, LV), and also a 6 week tour of New York, Boston, Niagara, Chicago, Washington DC.
That was using the Greyhound buses and Amtrak rail, and hostelling. So i've seen a number of the major cities.
This time around I wanna see outdoors things. National parks, more out-of-the-way things, not stuff in the cities. Scenic routes are definitely something I wanna use as i'm gonna spending A LOT of time driving, at least it should be nice to look at.
Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Mt Rushmore are my definites as i've heard a lot about them. But i've seen a lot of other names mentioned, so i need to add places.
Not too bothered about cities as I don't wanna be driving around them much, and i don't want hassle finding places to park.
Recommendations
1. I need things to do in the NE/ East coast of USA
2. Places to go, central USA
3. Places in the NW, and also SW canada is a possibility
4. Scenic routes near my intended routes
5. Free places to park, that aren't car parks (links to maps maybe?)
don't worry... i'm not being lazy, i will look around as well, its just you got the experience, and probably a wealth of extra links
one last thing, i've setup a website to document, blog, video diary the whole trip including the MX races. feel free to have a look around, although its currently not finished, it will be by the time april kicks in.
thanks in advance, i've probably missed off some information so just ask about anything.
like i said at the beginning, anything that you can think of would be brilliant
