Aussie Brothers on Harleys

[Smithy55]

My brother and I (both from Australia) are picking up new Harley Motorcycles in Vancouver and in the first week in May 2007 and have until the 15th August 2007 before we have to return to Australia.
We have been planning this for over a year and think we have some good ideas but there is nothing like the locals to help us out.

We want to see all the usual US major attractions, National Parks, Major cities, Small towns that we can, as well as some offbeat interesting places and sites to make our trip memorable. We expect to travel between 15,000 to 18,000 miles over the 3 and a half months.

Any help would be appreciated. Also Motorcycle friendly, affordable accommodation

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America forum!

You will find a wealth of information on our planning page.

The National Parks are listed here.

You have a wonderful time frame with which to make this trip - you are also sure to make many of us jealous! Your planned mileage suggests a circular loop around the States. Your method of transportation suggests you'd like to stick to the two-lanes as much as possible.

Do you plan on ending up back in Vancouver, or are you leaving from another area?

[PNW Judy]

If you go to more than 3-4 national parks, you'll save lots of money by getting a National Parks Pass.

What kind of hints do you want? It's hard to answer such a broad question.

Just some general hints:
* If you have room on your bikes, you can save a lot by camping. You can buy inexpensive camping gear at places like Wal-Mart that will pay for itself in just a couple of nights of camping. But the cheaper stuff does tend to be bulky so this may not work for you.
* I know this is also harder to do when you don't have a lot of space, but if you have room for a small cooler of some kind, you can save a lot on eating by stopping at grocery stores and eating out of your cooler. Pack some basics like fruit, lunch meats, cheese, crackers, and water. Even if you don't have room for a cooler, if you're sick of restaurant meals, most larger grocery stores have nice delis where you can pick up fresh, healthy meals for inexpensive prices. I'm pretty sure Safeway is a national chain of grocery stores. They have great deli sections and many also have sit-down areas where you can get something to eat and have a place to sit to eat. They also often have gas stations in their parking lots. If you get a Safeway Club Card (free...just sign up at check-out), you can save a few cents on gas, too.
* It's always worth a stop at visitor centers for tips on local things to see/do. Also, they often have coupons to save money on restaurant meals, attractions, and hotels. Especially watch for the bigger visitor centers that are often at state lines. These tend to have the best coupons.
* If you find a hotel chain that you might want to frequent, ask if they have a preferred program where you can earn points by staying there. This could lead to some discounts for you.

Also, check out the International Visitors page here for some other helpful info you might need.

[Smithy55]

Hi Mass Tim & Judy,

Tim, yes we are doing a circular trip starting & finishing in Vancouver. My brother lived there for many years and has family there, but he never got to travel much (young family, work etc ). The trip planned is down the western states, across some of old Route 66 and up to Milwaukee (of course) on to Niagara, and up round the top of Nova Scotia. back down the East coast to Washington down the Blue Ridge parkway and then work our way back across to Montana, Yellowstone Park etc and up to Calgary before returning to Vancouver. We would love to have company on any part of the ride and hope this forum opens up tha opportunity. We will post the full itinery when finalised.

Judy,
You are right it's a pretty broad request but you have nailed a couple of good points for us already. CAmping, we are not too sure about rather like my bed after being in the saddle all day.Your ideas for Safeway club cards is a good one Also like the idea of linking up with a motel chain to keep costs down.

National Parks pass, wow what a saver that will be . Many thanks.

Thanks again both of you> This is only the start so I hope to post often

cheers

[PNW Judy]

I can't wait to see your fill itinerary. I'm sure you'll get more input from folks once we see that.

I bet, after a full day bouncing around on a bike, a bed would be nice! Not being a biker, I forget that's a different type of traveling.

I would think getting off the bike and moving/stretching a bit would be good for you though. All the more reason to find ways to eat your meals that doesn't include sitting in a restaurant doing nothing while your meal is cooking. I still encourage you to go the grocery store route whenever possible. You and your brother might not be familiar with the types of spreads available these days in major grocery stores. When I say deli, I'm not describing them well. You can usually find a wide variety of salads, soups, sandwiches, but also hot foods like chicken, seafood, asian-style meats, rices, sauteed veggies, and other side dishes. For far less than you would pay in a restaurant, you could pick up a nice meal to-go and find a great spot in a park or along the river where you could eat, and then take a nice walk to stretch out and get the kinks out, in the same amount of time you could sit in a restaurant. Anyway, it works for me so I'm just sharing.

Looking forward to seeing your plans unfold!

[Ruthless66]

Hi from New Zealand.
I am planning a trip in August Colorado to Los Angeles, by car not bike, but I do have a little RS1100 waiting for another fine day in my garage.

Any way, while you are doing your rides, do you have any themes you like to choose. Eg Go to X for a coffee then take the long way home? The reason why I am asking as during my planned trip in August, I have been thinking about doing a circular day trip, in with all the driving, just for fun. I am going to try to do 4 States in a day - Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

My circular day trip route starts in Utah, as I expect to have spent time in Arches N.P. the day before, but depending on your travel, you could reverse it.

Starting in Bluff, Utah, travelling to Mexican Water, Arizona. Then through
Mexican Water to Teec Nos Pos via the Navajo Reservation to
Four Corners Monument, New Mexico, then onto Cortez, Colorado . Here you have it, 4 States in a Day, I think it is only something a bikie will do. The next day I will visit Mesa Verde N.P. Four Corners Monument is where you can be in 4 states at once.

Have fun.

[Robert Schaller]

The Sturgis motorcycle rally will be right toward the end of your trip in Sturgis, South Dakota.

If you love zillions of bikes and biker-people in one place, this is a "don't miss." But get lodging reservations now, or you won't find a bed for 100's of miles in any direction.

The rally lasts one week officially, but bikes will be arriving and lingering for two weeks on either side. Bob

[Mark Sedenquist]

Any help would be appreciated

You might find this product review about a tent designed for motorcyclists use helpful.

Mark

[Smithy55]

Wow, so many replies already. I will post the full itinerary shortly, but suffice to say that as bikers (not bikies) we are used to making sure the journey is the main feature, not the destination, so our rides and stops will always take in a lot of extra miles than if one is going from point A to point B.

For example when we cross the border from Vancouver into US we will be coming by ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles WA rather than down the interstate. We will follow the coast road down to below Seattle and cut across country to come in the back of Mt St Helens. Probably take us an extra 150miles than if we went from Vancouver to Mt St Helens by the most direct route.

We will take in ALL the major National parks and base ourselves in or near each of them so we can spend time exploring them by motorbike.. That means then that when we need to get across a couple of States where we perceive there to not be much to see that we put the pedal down (or the throttle up in our case) and just get the miles done. That said here is where I don’t want to miss out on anything important. For example after leaving the Grand Canyon area we will travel to Oklahoma City and expect that we will just get there quickly as possible. This is where I am looking for extra advice.

By the way, both my brother and I (He is 51, I am 57) are very adept at cooking and saving a few dollars along the way.

Cheers all

Smithy

PS added. yes we will be taking a look at Sturgis but a couple of weeks befoe the rally just too many people for me.

[Mass Tim]

From Grand Canyon to Oklahoma City is some of the prime Route 66 territory! There is also plenty to see in that area -
Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo,
Meteor Crater.
Mesa Verde
Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion -
Utah and Colorado each have some spectacular places to visit, and I would definitely work them into your itinerary.

...get across a couple of States where we perceive there to not be much to see ...

There's no such thing as a state with nothing to see.

To your Blue Ridge Parkway leg I would add the Skyline Drive, starting in Front Royal, VA. This road leads right into the Blue Ridge Parkway and is well suited for the type of trip you are looking for.

Once you start getting the sections of your itinerary roughly planned out - West, Mountains, Midwest, East, Canadian sections - we'll be here to help you along your way.