I'm Back! Road Trip 2011...Need help!

[nsherman2006]

Hey guys...I'm curious to see how many of the same guys are here since I last logged on.

For those of you who might remember me...a little update:

I kinda forgot about golf for a while...went from near scratch up to around a 10 cap, and gave up my club ho'ing ways (for the most part, just bought a set of Callaway X-Forged with some old gift certificates I found). I bought a membership for this year at the local muni and the goal is to get back down to/below a 5 by the end of the year. Practice, practice, practice.

I graduated college, I have a Bachelor's in Math with a teaching certificate, and I'm hoping to go to grad school in the fall.

I got into engines, and have a turbocharged Miata that will be capable of 300hp, a supercharged one that will be around 180-200hp, a couple other cars, and 2 bikes (ninja 650 and 250)

I bought a house, rented it out, bought another house, then sold my first house to my parents and paid off the second one, which brings me to where I am now.

I'm 22, have a pretty serious girlfriend, and have taken care of most of the responsible things in life. I'm debt-free, and pretty much obligation-free, and I want to make the most of it.

So I decided I'm going to take a little bit of time for myself and get out and see the world. I'm going to do a 48 state road trip on the bike, and I'm shooting for late May/early June. So here's what I have for a tentative plan, and I'm wondering if there's anyone on here who lives somewhere on my route (unfortunately, I can't stray too too much and stick to any sort of schedule), who might want to play some golf (I'm not bringing my clubs on the bike though), catch some dinner, or possibly put me up for a night. I'm not opposed to paying for a hotel room, I'm just hoping to meet some people

So here's the itinerary:

Day 1: Starts in NE CT, through RI, MA, ME, NH, VT, ends around Troy, NY
Day 2: Starts around Troy, NY, through PA, ends around Cleveland, OH
Day 3: Starts around Cleveland, OH, through MI, IN, ends around Chicago, IL
Day 4: Starts around Chicago, IL, through IA, WI, ends around Minneapolis, MN
Day 5: Starts around Minneapolis, MN, through ND, ends around Redfield, SD (Middle of Nowhere???)
Day 6: Starts around Redfield, SD, through NE, ends around Douglas, WY
Day 7: Starts around Douglas, WY, ends at Yellowstone in MT
Day 8: Starts in Yellowstone, ends around Lewiston, ID
Day 9: Starts around Lewiston, ID, through WA, ends around Lakeview, OR
Day 10: Starts around Lakeview, OR, through CA, NV, ends in Salt Lake City, UT (I have a friend here, going to stay for a while)
Day 11: Starts in SLC, UT, through CO, AZ, NM, ends around Albuquerque, NM (LONG day...)
Day 12: Starts around Albuquerque, NM, through TX, ends around Oklahoma City, OK
Day 13: Starts around Oklahoma City, OK, through KS, MO, ends around Little Rock, AR
Day 14: Starts around Little Rock, AR, through MS, ends around New Orleans, LA
Day 15: Starts around New Orleans, LA, through AL, FL, ends around Atlanta, GA
Day 16: Starts around Atlanta, GA, through SC, NC, ending around Knoxville, TN (Going through heaven...Deal's Gap, Cherohala Skyway, etc)
Day 17: Starts around Knoxville, TN, through VA, KY, ending around Elkins, WV
Day 18: Starts around Elkins, WV, through MD, DC, DE, ending in Perth Amvoy, NJ (visiting girlfriend's family there)
Day 19: Starts in Perth Amvoy, NJ, ending at home in Brooklyn, CT!

So let me know if you know of anything anywhere on this route that is a must see, things to do, anything you know of, any advice, any suggestions would be wonderful. Thanks guys, I hope to be checking in more this year as I get back into the game. Hope all is well!

-Neal

 

[eclark53520]

That's one helluva undertaking for only having 6 months of riding experience.

I assume you're going to take the Ninja? You're going to need some saddle bags, a top bag, a tank bag, and possibly some sort of backpack to carry everything you're going to need on a trip like that. Remember maintenance....during a long trip like this you may be oiling the chain every two days.

There are lots of guys on here that live on/around your day 4 leg. I assume you will be runing I90 from chicago, through madison, and on up into MN. I live about 30 mins off of I90 and work about 5 minutes from it.

I would suggest heading over to ADVrider.com and looking around, post about your trip over there and they have lots of people volunteered to take riders in for a night. With some planning and a good reputation over at ADVR you may not have to pay for a hotel at all.

 

[nsherman2006]

Thanks e!

Planning on taking the 650 (both the bikes are Ninjas). Have a tank bag, will be getting some sort of saddle bag set up. Planning on packing very light and thinking disposable for most necessities. I have a 3 in 1 jacket and riding overpants with a zip-out liner, should take care of most temperature fluctuations.

Planning on avoiding a backpack, I feel like even the best pac will be a major discomfort with the long riding times.

Maintenance will be a thorough overhaul before I go, planning on an oil change in SLC, as well as bringing a skimpy tool/lube kit with me for basics like oiling the chain. Also new rubber right before the trip.

Will be heading over to ADVrider soon, thanks for the tip!

 

[eclark53520]

Yeah, completely forgot both bikes were ninja's....duh, dumb question on my part...lol

Definitely do not weara backpack. I was thinking more along the lines of strapping it to the back seat and the rear box for extra storage space although some of the saddle bag options have this bag included.

Gloves would be my biggest concern. I ride down into the 20's without much more than thermals, but my gloves have to change up around 35ºF. Definitely get a pair of winter/windproof gloves for the cold. Cold hands not only is uncomfortable, but it makes your reaction time much slower which in an emergency situation could be a problem

You probably already have this figured out, but i just want to bring up anything just in case. Better safe than sorry.

Hope you take lots of pictures to post up! Are you taking some sort of laptop/smart phone that you could post during the trip?

 

[thekid65]

Somewhere around day 10/11...make a swing through Boise, Id on the way to SLC....let me know, I'll give you the skinny on some killer courses.