work from home? why not... ride from home!? across US

[hoflix]

I need some help planning some of my daily routes, for a trip I am taking across US from Los Angeles.
Problem is... I am leaving tomorrow !! I have some ideas, some points on the map, but I'm not sure how to connect them (the nice way, not the easy way)

So, I'm gonna take some of YOU guys with me!
Well... sort of.

Give me some route tips. Each day, I will follow your directions, and at the end of that day, I will do a "day report" dedicated to you, with pics, and impressions. So basically, you'll be part of it. Might even be able to track me on gps! (still working on getting that up and running though)

All it takes is a few minutes of your time, to look at the area you are familiar with, and give me some pointers.

So far, I have the route from Los Angeles to Crater Lake, Oregon, and it looks something like this:
day1: from LA to hwy 395N to Yosemite, from there cut across the park on route 120, to the other side (Sonora, Murphy) from there take route 4 to Lake Tahoe
day2: go around lake once , then follow hwy 89 to Lassen Volcanic natl park, then head west via 44 and then 289, trying to make is to Redwoods Natl Park
day3: go around Redwood natl park (is Bald Hills rd open??), then get on 96, then on Seiad Creed road (forest route 48N20, is that even open, or possible?), Applegate rd, then hwy 69, then hwy 62 to Crater Lake
day4 : ???????????????? this is all I have so far, I'll have to plan the rest as I go

The BIG picture looks like this:

Westside:


Eastside:



The "checkpoints" are not all mandatory, it's the ride that matters most.

What do you guys think? (besides "you are lazy, should have started planning this a long time ago" )


WHO'S COMING?

[Buckster]

Sounds like fun....sounds like you have a lot of time to do this. There is the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC-VA that is very scenic but you will get nowhere fast as the speed limit is like 35 MPH.
Unless you want to stop in D.C.; you are better off taking rt.301 to 95N to Philly.
Ride safe and have fun! Keep us posted...you may want to put this in "Great rides" since you have started already. More people would probably see it!

[hoflix]

I got delayed one day. UPS. I was waiting for a camera lens.

Leaving tomorrow. That's a good tip, Blue Ridge pkwy. I didn't have it on the list. How the hell did I miss it?

OK, so I'll have to make you a nice day report when I get there, since you are the first one with a good tip
Thank you.


But yes, I am going to DC too. Coming from the North though.
East coast is completely unplanned right now. I just know I wanna stop in all the big cities... Boston, NYC, Philly, Washignton.

[angellr]

Not sure how much time you plan above the 48th parallel ... but you have about 3-4 weeks of potentially good weather. Here in Salt Lake City, I have seen snow on 2 September. Advice would be to navigate all your NORTHERN cities in the next couple of weeks and save the southern route back to LA for October-ish. At least this way you stay out of the white stuff.

BTW, you are going to miss all of the wonderful Autumn foliage around here. If you can get to New Hampshire in the next couple of weeks, the "Kangk" (route 112 from Conrad) is a nice scenic drive.

[R4R&R]

But yes, I am going to DC too. Coming from the North though.
East coast is completely unplanned right now. I just know I wanna stop in all the big cities... Boston, NYC, Philly, Washignton.

You may regret that!

The BRP is worthwhile, but try to avoid it on weekends, and stay away from Skyline drive (the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway - you have to pay to get on and the speed limit is 35mph.

You may also want to swing by Gettysburg for some key civil war history. The New York finger lakes area is nice too.

[Boxer]

Nice plan. I have a suggestion..Only a suggestion because the route you have up there in north California/south Oregon looks good too. This past June I went through that area, going on up 101 from Eureka then taking 199 at Cresecent City up to Grants Pass, Oregon and Medford. That 199 is one beautiful road and north of Medford then down to Klamath Falls was probably the most pleasnt part of my whole ride across the country. But Klamath Falls is more southerly and your direction up 62 will take you into some gorgeous areas as well.

Ride safe and enjoy it. When you get over here to western VA and NC its a totally different story, but just as nice.

[hoflix]

well... the ride is on. So far i am having a blast!

I am in Smith River, just north of Crescent City, trying to decide which way to go

Ran into calsci (from this forum) on Tioga pass the other day. Hi!


Here's some pics, just a preview:

[rockbottom]

I'd recommend the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive through Virginia, 11 to pick up 522, north to 26 through State College and Belefonte, pick up PA 144 at Snowshoe, take it all the way to 6, then head east.

[Ric]

by Buckster » Wed Sep 01, 2010 5:42 pm

Sounds like fun....sounds like you have a lot of time to do this. There is the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC-VA that is very scenic but you will get nowhere fast as the speed limit is like 35 MPH.

The Blue Ridge Pkwy (BRP) is long and beautiful....it's speed limit is 45 mph (there may be some other speed limits but i've driven across N.C on it and i believe it was all 45 to 50 mph). If you're flying low to the ground it can certainly accommodate the limits of your speedometer.

The key to the BRP is understanding the traffic on it. Limit your travel to the weekdays, although some weekends are great as well. At all cost avoid the fall leafers. The colors are changing right now and next month the place will be packed with leafers. I still think the middle week days would work though (T, W, TH). Avoid Summer weekends.

I'm usually on the BRP on Mondays thru Thursdays and I've never had any real traffic problems. There are tons of overlooks and the slow going sight-seeing folks frequently pull over any way.

Another point to know....the BRP can have closed sections from time to time. You might check their web site before a ride, although I never do and have never had a problem. You'll also get above 5,000 feet so it could be cool this time of year.

Finally, there are no businesses on the BRP; no gas, no food, no lodging, etc.....but that is no matter as almost all the exits, generally less than 50 miles apart, all have such things.

The BRP is worth the trip no matter how far you have to go to get there......

Oh....one other thing...the old tunnels are a blast, especially if your wearing sunglasses ! I don't think any of them have lighting. Entering a curved dark tunnel is unnerving but a real thrill ! Don't worry, you'll know when you're out of your lane when you slam into the wall !

[hoflix]

Yep... did that!
The parkway was grrrreat. I think I spend 3 days on it... got rained a lot though.

look, same spot, from a different angle!





My trip is still on... I keep taking wrong turns, and getting lost ... the initial plan was for a month.... I've been out for 5 weeks already, did some awesome riding, met some cool people, and I'm still going, but backwards (!), instead of heading to LA after Deals Gap, I went through Memphis, and St Louis and now I'm in... Detroit!

Since I left Los Angeles (on September 2nd), I went through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, etc, on to Chicago, then to NYC, Boston, and DC, then a little to the west, rode the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah, and the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Smokyies, then had fun for 2 days on the Dragon at Deals Gap, and Cherohala. I was supposed to head back west after that, towards Colorado and Utah (both important stops) but somehow I ended up in Detroit.

What am I missing so far?

I'm thinking about writing a trip report when I get back.... Here's some pics, just a preview:











































OK, my fingers hurt.
I'll get back to this

[Buckster]

Awesome pics...keep us posted.
You should probably pick up a kickstand along the way so you don't have to use a log...