what is the best of USA for someone riding it for 6 months
 

So I ve got six months to see all of the USA . What is the best of USA not to miss? Car, motorcycle , war museums , ghost towns. Any place that really doesn't involve the major highways Like the I 5. The only thing I ever saw from it was on old auto wreaking yard in CA USA that was full of old cars. Note : I mean the grand old cars. The ones you long for. Hell this yard had 1 dodge truck in it that is one of 300 of that model left. Made with tail fins. Something you don't see much of anymore. The old other yard like it but much bigger is in peace river Alberta Canada.

What the Best of Canada outside of BC? thanks

You can see a lot in 6 months, I did most of the states but of course I cherry picked.

It all depends on your own interests

Cheers
TS

Well, clearly you don't like wrecking yards....but what do you like? I've been traveling the States for over 40 years and haven't run out of ideas yet.

Hey Richard, you're still at it? I check your blog every now and then, just to see that you're keeping ahead of Graham's pace! Hope you're having fun out there.

Mark

(from The Lap of Luxury, Dakar Motors)

As previous contributors have said, it depends on what you want to see. We did 6 months in 07, 42 states, 27,206 miles, coast to coast three times, it depends what YOU want.

Check out our website, you may find it useful (you may not) and questions feel free, we'll talk to anyone !!

Best?
 

A few ideas out west,

• Moab and area (love that red rock desert) - lots of trails to ride
• Hwy 12 across southern Utah
• pretty much anywhere in western Colorado (HU meeting in Silverton in late August would make a good destination and give you a bunch of HU types that could offer further brilliance);
• maybe of course the Calif Coast,
• Logan's Pass in Glacier Park,
• Lolo Pass area in Montana/Idaho - links to the Magruder trail that goes across the Frank Church Wilderness area
• Colorado River Gorge in northern Oregon (the Hood River Bridge is a unique/scary riding experience when it's windy - wait it's almost always windy there).
• Wyoming's Great Basin will get you way out there - alone;
• Fields, Oregon which has great milkshakes but you really have to wanna get there - nearby Alvord Playa is unique and fun to ride on.
• Off pavement consider the Great Divide Route set up by the American Cycling Association - you'll see parts of the US very few other people ever get to.

Just some thoughts.....

Anywhere West of Kansas City Kansas.

I have only spent 3 weeks in the USA and have really seen virtually nothing of it. If I were to go again and had transport I would try to see
Mount Rushmore and the Geronimo sculpture nearby.
Monument valley
The Grand canyon
The Meteor Crater Northern Arizona near Winslow.
yosemite national park.
I would like to get close to a giant redwood tree.
That just me though.

That's a great list of places to see!
You can cover a lot of ground in Six Months and lots has to do with weather and time of year. Weather should dictate your route.

When are you starting your trip? Keep in mind, much of the desert southwest (S.Utah, parts of S.W. Colorado, S. New Mexico, Arizona, parts of California) may be unridable for Canadians in Summer. Temps can go off the scale in some of the above locations. I've heard Cannucks moan when its 70F. :innocent: So you really need to plan you trip based on Weather patterns.

Also, in six months you have plenty of time to see Alaska, if you have any interest. (I do not ... too expensive, too many tourists). I'd rather explore the Yukon. But that's Canada and near your home, so maybe skip it?

Also, in six months you could easily explore parts of the American South. Go to New Orleans and do a nice loop through the Smokies. It's quite different and will give insight into how and why this country is so extremely twisted :smartass:

You would also have time to go into Baja and ride it tip to tail and do some exploring there. Well worth it and lots of Canadians there to commiserate with. :Beach:

More Northern and high altitude areas should be seen in late Spring, Summer or early Fall. Utah and desert Southwest should be seen in Spring or Fall, Summer can be too hot. The South should be explored in Spring or Fall, Summer too hot and humid.
Baja is good anytime, even in hottest Summer its quite tolerable, but March/April is best or November/December.

The Redwoods of California are best seen in Fall but really almost anytime is OK. Rain in Winter and cold but still mostly doable. It's a big country, you have to narrow down your choices. Have fun! You must have seen the big junk yard on the 405 freeway going through LA, right? :mchappy:

Well stay out of the center of the USA unless you like seeing lots of nothing. There are things out there but few and far between. You live in BC so If it was me south along the Rockies hitting Glacier and Yellowstone and W. Colorado. West threw Utah north then out to cost some place in Oregon the Columbia is a nice ride. Down the cost on 101 and 1 hit the lost coast grate ride see San Francisco then down. Over to Death Valley Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon New Mexico all the Southern Utah parks if that is your thing. Stay going east as plane states are dead boring riding and unless you have some need to see how people live out there, gust not much to see. Big Bend Texas is some place I have want to see but have never been. South Louisiana and New Orleans to get a feel for the place. If you want a more tropical feel there is the Keys in Florida dam boring flat but a must see is the blue water and soft sand there is Cape Canaveral you get the idea. Then there is the East cost up bit many cars for me but most are going to work and back so you can plan for that. There is a nice place to ride called the dragon. North there are many odd things to see war grounds form when the US civil war, New York city, Buildings that made cars once gust about any thing you want to see is there the Smithsonian I will add as must see.

I do not like all the traffic on the East Coast and around LA. So I give them a miss in my rides.

some books and /or web pages you want to look at.
[url=http://www.byways.org/]America's Byways

I m starting next march 2010. Might even get a green card from my sister inlaw and hang around longer. Since I m going to be getting some cash from my mother estate and unlike most people I don't have a wife, kids, own a house I don't see why not. I ve seen Alaska once by sticking my thumb out years ago. I buy different bike then I ride now ,( honda elite 250CC ) set out. It's not so much about place but the stories along the way.

My Google Maps
 

Hey:

I'm planning the exact same thing at the same time! I want to explore as much of the lower 48 as I can until my money runs out. I've started pinning google maps for each of the lower states, not done them all yet. They have places that I want to visit, byways I want to ride and hostels.

I plan on stealth camping as much as possible (in national forests cos its free), couch surfing when I can with the occasional hostel when none of the above are possible. Its essentially a back packer trip on a motorbike!

CouchSurfing - Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time

My state-by-state Google maps are not exhaustive and some places I'll probably skip for whatever reason and there are awesome places that haven't been pinned yet. Feel free to check them out.

Google Maps

There are couple of great websites for roads:

America's Byways�: National Scenic Byways Online - this one is great for your overal planning it has national and state byways including pics, maps and stops.

MotorcycleRoads.US - Your one-stop resource for great motorcycle roads & trips in the US - this one I haven't used as much yet but I reckon it will be great when I'm actually there, when I want to find a byway in the area that I'm currently in. There's just too many options for it to be a good general jumping off point to initial planning.

Just Google 'motrocycle roads USA' and you'll get loads of hits.

Hope this helps?

Steve
xXx

Hi Mark, if I knew how to follow you on the net I would :)

My blog is behind, I have just crossed the Gibson Desert on my way home and am currently relaxing at Uluru, or Ayres Rock

I will probably catch up on the blog soon, stay tuned and rubber side down, I am an expert at rubber side up, so I know the difference :)

Cheers
TS

we did many of the states last year would have to say that Oatman arizona is one of the best kept secrets in USA and well worth the time to visit.

anywhere between the continental divide and pacific ocean.

I would spend all my time in the rockies and the states to the west of them. There's something hauntingly spiritual about those areas, and I'm not even religious! :funmeteryes:

Places to visit in the US
 

I'm doing a USA trip in July/Aug this yr. Starting in LA heading East to Grand Canyon then North to Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, Bonneville salt flats up thru Utah / Wyoming into Grand Teton / Yellowstone then to Red lodge Montana, down to Colarado and the rockies and the Moab then to Sturgis, up to Glacier Nat park across thru Sth West Canada and down the coast back to LA.
About 10k all up in 5 weeks, wish i had longer but i don't, so that'll do.

Can't miss by going down through the Rocky Mountain states. Montana into Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico: Each state has its own character and they are all interesting with great roads. Colorado passes: most paved passes are open by early June. Really high dirt roads may not open up until late June/early July.

................shu

man my post got cut off.
here are some more .
a trip planer made by HD but will work for anyone.
Ride Planner | Harley-Davidson USA

[url=http://www.byways.org/]America's Byways


http://www.byways.org/ the book. Amazon.com: National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, 3d Ed. (9781426200564): National Geographic: Books
want it free? Request a Brochure
The national parks (get the $80 pass if you go to many America the Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass ) The pass works for National parks not monuments or state parks. U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America there are books like this about them Amazon.com: National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 6th Edition (9781426203930): National Geographic: Books
There is a state park book to Amazon.com: National Geographic Guide to the State Parks of the United States, 3rd Edition (National Geographic's Guide to the State Parks of the United States) (9781426202513): National Geographic Society: Books

Not as well known even in the USA is the Bureau of Land Management BLM
DOI: BLM: National Home Page Free camping and riding, it was made to set aside land for the people to use free.

You can do some well know roads like 101 old 66 the 666 (renamed now) Nevada State Highway 375 the Extraterrestrial Highway ride out to area 51 I see nothing out there but people say they do. The Loneliest Road in America Highway 50 did this once about as lonely as any other desert road. But the pony express did go along it.

Depending on what you would like to see - You could ride the Trans American Trail - 4000miles of dirt roads that cross the US from Eastern TN to the Oregon Coast. Ride the Big Bend area of FL or down to the Keys. The South does have a lot of diversity Hwy 61 for a bit of Delta Blues from Memphis TN to NOLA - Beale St in Memphis, Morgan Freemans blues bar in Clarksdale MS, Antebellum Homes in Natchez and Vicksburg MS (Civil War Battle Field too) to the Jazz of Bourbon St in NOLA.

The Painted Desert and Grand Canyon should be on your list. In Midland TX there is the Confederate Air Force Museum with lots of WW2 aircraft and Nose Art Panels. The Alamo is always worth seeing in San Antonio

There is the Tail of the Dragon for a bit of twisties in Eastern TN - Watch out for the Miatas!!

You can cover a lot of ground in 6 mos - Car shows and bike rallys are starting so finding a schedule of events may be a good way to plan your trip

Have a Good Trip

Jeeez, man, don't go to Big Bend, the Mississippi Delta or Florida in August unless you really crave suffering. Think carefully about Texas, too. I'd say the same about Death Valley, but at least you can zip in there and climb rapidly back out again before you get completely fried. For mid-summer, high elevation will save you throughout the western third of the country until you get fairly far north, with more moderate temperatures right along the coast in most areas.

Now that I think of it, we're probably responding to different posters, with different schedules. Hope that helps anyway.

Mark

Yeah - August is how we keep the Damn Yankees from wanting to move South. They see our women, taste our food and enjoy the hospitality. Then we have August and they think they are in Hell and must run away to the cooler climes they are used to - This keeps the South from being over crowded

Lee

If you've learned this then you are already all set! I would reccomend getting a set of state maps from AAA, pick some of the "must see" places already mentioned, and then find roads drawn in black on the AAA maps to link them together to get from one of the "must see" places to the next. Also look for roads designated as scenic routes (highlighted with dots) by AAA - these are usually good bets. Many of the "must see" places are best experienced if you park the bike and explore on foot to get away from the mobs of tourists that refuse to go anywhere further than 20 ft from their car, especially Yosemite. But some of the most memorable experiences are those you just stumble across when you follow the black roads and ride through towns that don't have Mcdonalds or Wal-mart and the like.

I intend to do a bike trip in the US beginning mid Jan 2011 for a period of 3 months. I intend to buy a bike in the US and sell it before returning.

Where should I start the trip from (based on climate)? Also, please share route ideas?

Thanks.

Yes! I rode the western US in 2007 on a Harley and I enjoyed the visit to Oatman.

I also liked to ride the Mojave Desert on the old Route 66 up to the Roy's Motel & Café in Amboy (of course, if you like to ride in the middle of nowhere....).
The road is exactly this YouTube - THE HITCHER (1986) car chase scene (this fantastic movie was filmed in the Mojave in 1986).