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Riding Coast to Coast - Which Bike Would You Choose? Which Route?

Stopped at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK

Pretty cool spot. Lots of neat historical memorabilia and souvenirs. I made sure to sign the guestbook…
 

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Been adding stickers to my hard cases along the way. Found a cool one for my helmet…
👍🏼👀

By the way, this new HJC RPHA 91 is by far the quietest helmet I’ve ever owned…
 

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Been spending the last few days visiting with family, walking the property, and petting the horses. My dad has a nice little 23 acre spread outside of Savannah. We had a nice seafood dinner at the local joint and then I picked handful of blueberries off his bushes for dessert…

My next ride will be Tues when I head up to Savannah to visit mom n sis. The roads out here are so beautiful and smooth. Hardly any trash anywhere to be seen…
 

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Grissom said:
Don't like the 106F
Click to expand...
Yeah, twas a bit hot in Dad's garage...

I did notice the external temp gauge does read a bit high. It was actually only in the upper 90's and humid AF!!!

Camelbak FTMF win! I'd put it in the hotel freezer a few hours before departure and it was a life saver. Probably literally! And having the modular helmet was awesome. I'd flip it up and grab a drink at will without having to stop...
 
Chiming in late. I did a ride from Walnut Creek to South Carolina and back a little over 10 years ago. A few notes:
  • I did the ride because I needed time to deal with my father passing away. I couldn’t stand the thought of flying out there and jumping immediately into family drama. I’m really glad I did the ride. It gave me time to process things before dealing with the funeral and stuff.
  • It wasn’t the best time of year to ride…late February.
  • I took the southern route…I-5 south to I-10 east and cutover to I-20 east in Texas before picking up local freeways in Augusta (or was it Atlanta?), GA. Rode through the Savannah River Nuclear facility to get to the part of South Carolina I grew up. That was the scariest part of the ride. I hit the plant in the dead of night and there were no lights, not even moonlight. I was on high alert for deer and other road hazards. I should have stopped on the Georgia side and gotten a room but I pushed it since I was so close to home.
  • I rode a Concours14 and wore a 2-piece suit with electric gloves. Only when I left Texas after stopping there for the night did I hit temps in the teens. Again, February wasn’t the best time of year to make the ride.
  • On the return trip I hit a rain storm that was moving north but it stretched from Alabama to Texas so I spent an entire day riding through bits of rain. Although my 2-piece suit was water resistant, it wasn’t water proof.
  • Only on the return trip did my Concours14 start to feel small and I understood why people ride bikes like Goldwings long distances.
  • I always stopped at hotels when I was done riding for the day. I didn’t make reservations and didn’t have any issues finding available hotels. I averaged 10 hour days in the saddle with the last riding day each way being about 14 hours. Total time was 4 days each way.
  • If I were to do it again, it would be a more leisurely trip. I would allow a week each way so I could do shorter riding days. I would definitely use a large touring bike or trike since you don’t have to get as creative when packing for the trip. My Victory Cross Country Tour had the most storage of any bike I ever owned and if I were still on 2-wheels it would likely be the bike I make a trip like that on.
 
bigpoppa said:
Chiming in late. I did a ride from Walnut Creek to South Carolina and back a little over 10 years ago. A few notes:
  • I did the ride because I needed time to deal with my father passing away. I couldn’t stand the thought of flying out there and jumping immediately into family drama. I’m really glad I did the ride. It gave me time to process things before dealing with the funeral and stuff.
  • It wasn’t the best time of year to ride…late February.
  • I took the southern route…I-5 south to I-10 east and cutover to I-20 east in Texas before picking up local freeways in Augusta (or was it Atlanta?), GA. Rode through the Savannah River Nuclear facility to get to the part of South Carolina I grew up. That was the scariest part of the ride. I hit the plant in the dead of night and there were no lights, not even moonlight. I was on high alert for deer and other road hazards. I should have stopped on the Georgia side and gotten a room but I pushed it since I was so close to home.
  • I rode a Concours14 and wore a 2-piece suit with electric gloves. Only when I left Texas after stopping there for the night did I hit temps in the teens. Again, February wasn’t the best time of year to make the ride.
  • On the return trip I hit a rain storm that was moving north but it stretched from Alabama to Texas so I spent an entire day riding through bits of rain. Although my 2-piece suit was water resistant, it wasn’t water proof.
  • Only on the return trip did my Concours14 start to feel small and I understood why people ride bikes like Goldwings long distances.
  • I always stopped at hotels when I was done riding for the day. I didn’t make reservations and didn’t have any issues finding available hotels. I averaged 10 hour days in the saddle with the last riding day each way being about 14 hours. Total time was 4 days each way.
  • If I were to do it again, it would be a more leisurely trip. I would allow a week each way so I could do shorter riding days. I would definitely use a large touring bike or trike since you don’t have to get as creative when packing for the trip. My Victory Cross Country Tour had the most storage of any bike I ever owned and if I were still on 2-wheels it would likely be the bike I make a trip like that on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your experience. I can relate to almost every point. I was in my head the entire trip. I sang, prayed, contemplated life, philosophy, nature, zoned out...etc. I thought I would use my Airpods and listen to music and podcasts along the way, but that didn't work out with this new helmet. They wouldn't stay put and the sound was horrendous. I guess I'll have to drop the coin and get the proprietary system that is designed for this helmet. I stayed the night at a friends house in Aiken, SC and it was very nice there. Then we went to Beaufort, SC and rented a sweet little Air BnB on the Whale Branch River. I had a blast reminiscing, drinking, fishing, and just hanging out with friends...

I figured I'd hit a little rain and heat on the way, and I was accurate on both counts. I didn't expect golf ball sized hail and extreme lightning and wind gusts! I tried to make it to Amarillo before the big one hit and I almost made it. I rode right into the storm front and it was so windy I couldn't keep the bike upright. I had to turn around and backtrack 20 miles and get a room in Tucumcari, NM. Then I hit a nice thunderstorm outside of Memphis that got me good and soaked. But my Aerostich Darien kept and Hein Geriche pants kept me "mostly" dry. And it was actually refreshing when I hit the heat in Mississippi and slowly dried off. I seriously considered a Connie14 for my trip and planned to look at one for sale in Livermore after the Super Tenere, but the ST called out to me at first sight...

I wasn't going to share some of the personal details of my trip, but your post inspired me. The last time I was out here 2 1/2 years ago visiting my family, my uncle (Dad's brother) was not doing so well. He told me that it would be the last time I'd see him. I told him no it wouldn't, and I promised I'd see him again. When I got to my dad's we went to visit my uncle in the hospital the next day. Coincidentally it was the exact same hospital I was born in 50 something years ago and I had never been inside of it until then. When I entered his room, his eyes lit up and he pointed at me and said, "Is that who I think it is?" We had a great visit and we shared many fond memories. He even asked everyone if I could stay the night in the room. I kinda wish I had now, he passed away 2 days after my visit and my dad informed me when I was on the way to mom's. I'm so glad I kept my promise to see him again...:cry:

I've got so many pics and hours of GoPro video to sort through. I've been uploading pics to Imgur along the way, so here are a few random shots to keep the post going for now...

https://imgur.com/yTenueg

https://imgur.com/4luaj2m

https://imgur.com/AvD71ck

https://imgur.com/qOfi2jF

https://imgur.com/93jCsOf
 
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So glad you got to see your Uncle and keep your promise. I was fortunate that I listened to my inner voice and flew back east to see my Dad the October before he passed away. I had a strong gut feeling that said I needed to get home and tell my Dad everything that I ever wanted to say to him (mainly a lot of thank you’s and acknowledgement that he wasn’t the a**hole family made him out to be). I’m so, so thankful I made that trip.

I love your pics…it reminds me how beautiful the south east is…now you have me thinking I should make a trip back soon just to visit the site my parents are interred at. ;)
 
How about running some version of the TAT on a dualsport? That is my idea of the perfect trip across country. As someone who has done multiple VERY long trips, I would say that if you are going a street route, you want something reliable and comfortable with decent wind protection. I did a 5800 mile trip on a Cagiva Elefant 650 back in the day and it was torture at times. :laughing
 
Lunch Box said:
How about running some version of the TAT on a dualsport? That is my idea of the perfect trip across country. As someone who has done multiple VERY long trips, I would say that if you are going a street route, you want something reliable and comfortable with decent wind protection. I did a 5800 mile trip on a Cagiva Elefant 650 back in the day and it was torture at times. :laughing
Click to expand...
I thought about it, but this bike was sooo heavy with all the added gear I was afraid to take it off-road. I did ride a few dirt roads in GA/SC…
 
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