Road trip of a lifetime Ft Bragg - Chicago - Santa Monica - Portland OR

[Midwest Michael]

Am I correct in reading that you don't have any off-days? Even in a car, I think its always important to have a day here and there where you aren't obligated to do anything or be anywhere. It helps make up for the unexpected delays that always seem to happen, and keeps you from being under the constant pressure of staying on schedule.

I'll also say the end of your trip looks pretty brutal. You've got a lot of consecutive days of pretty long drives. They're drives that would be easy in a car, but it would be rather tough on a bike

Do you guys fumigate with anti-troll spray or what?

In a matter of speaking. You should see our list of banned users and blocked IPs! :)

[PvtBastard]

Hi Wife! My wife is actually a large factor in my plans. If she goes, we stay in hotels the whole time. If she doesn't, then I'm taking a hammock with me and staying outside every other night or so, weather permitting. I'm sure you've weeded out a few trolls along the way. In response to your question, I'm taking 30 days leave, and I've scheduled 25 days of travel. This way I've got a couple days for breaks. Originally, I was going up to Portland OR as well. That was too much to schedule. In addition to that, there's some really easy days on 66 that I might double up. If we get tired of looking at the world's biggest ball of wax, we can cut our sightseeing short and make some time. At this point, I'm seriously debating about making reservations at hotels. This would allow me a lot more flexibility for travelling. In addition, does anyone have any favorite B&B's or places they like to stay on 66? One of them I have my serious doubts about is the Big Texan Motel. It is very stereotypical of route 66, but after looking at pictures of the inside, it looks sketchy as hell. Any thoughts?

[glc]

I've stayed at the Big Texan, and the room I was in was no worse than a typical Super 8.

I don't see the need for making any reservations at all, except for special interest places (such as the Wigwam in Holbrook) and near busy attractions such as the Grand Canyon. Otherwise, go with the flow, you won't be shut out, you will always be able to find something. Even for the Grand Canyon, you can always find a room in Flagstaff.

[PvtBastard]

Is the wigwam pretty cool? It looks neat on the outside, which makes me nervous about the inside. A lot of times when things are too cool to be true, they are. I'm actually intending to stay with family in Flagstaff, although it is nice to have a hotel to go to when you're tired and cranky. I guess it would depend on which relatives I visit ;) As far as reservations, if I make them, it's one less thing to worry about. A couple times in Amsterdam, We didn't make reservations and almost had to sleep in the van. I do love being able to go see a place first hand and look at the room before I commit though. Not that I'm overly picky about the place I sleep, but I've slept in enough crappy spots. Vacations are for enjoying. Whether my wife goes also plays a role on what bike I buy. If I'm solo, there's more variations of bikes. If I'm tandem, then I'm definitely getting an HD Ultra. Dunno what year yet. Depends on finances when I actually start shopping. That's not to say I haven't been drooling all over the internet looking at them!

[PvtBastard]

Hi everyone! Just got some great news! All three of my kids need braces! YAY! Needless to say, this is going to hit the vacation/mid life crisis Motorcycle pretty hard. It's still too early in the development of things to work numbers though. I have to wait until my wife (cabin fever) gets the estimates from the Orthodontist. Any suggestions on how I could save money on a Road King / vacation plans?? Any thoughts would be great. For reference, please look at the excel spreadsheet that is attached in the thread. Thank you for all your help and advice!