Experience speaks volumes when planning a motorcycle trip

Let’s face it: If you have a credit card and unlimited time, you don’t need to plan your ride any time before that morning’s coffee. Just pick a direction and go. There will be plenty of things to see and do, and almost always, a motel is available at day’s end. For the rest of us, however, it pays to do a little pre-trip legwork. 

But how? Until you have some experience in planning a longer motorcycle trip, the process can seem a little mystifying. And sadly, some would-be adventurers never take the trip simply because the logistics seem so daunting: Where do you even begin? That’s a shame because, like most things in life, once you gain a little know-how, it turns out not to be so hard. Many, in fact, excitedly consider the adventure’s beginning to be the moment they start perusing a map, gathering info, and calculating distances. You see it in the way our eyes get a faraway look, dreaming of the open road, stunning scenery, and endless possibilities. 

For our purposes, we’ll assume that a novice traveller is considering Canada or the U.S., as things are slightly more complicated when venturing abroad. A good resource for anywhere farther south is Michelle Lamphere’s Tips for Travelling Overland in Latin America: Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Rode My Motorcycle Through Mexico, Central America and South America. Similar books, blogs, and podcasts are available for overseas. We’ll focus here on the home front.

Where To Start

The first question is: What kind of a trip do you want? Is it all-day riding — Iron Butt style — or are you more into seeing the sights? Is it a combination? Having travelled a good bit on four wheels, my first long rides followed a lot of interstates — I wanted to get there. And you can do that: simply decide how many hours per day you want to ride, divide the holiday time you have, and see how far you can go. That works. 

It wasn’t until I realized there was so much more to see on the back roads that I began to slow down — and even do a little more pre-planning. Start with a weekend trip or two. That will begin to tell you the kind of riding you want to do — as well as the gear you really need (or don’t need). For an example of my packing list, see my “Bucket Lists and Travel Plans,” in the September/October 2022 issue of Mojo. Search ‘Bucket List’ at motorcyclemojo.com

Let the Planning Begin

Typically, I begin with a paper map for the big picture. Which general direction will I go? Once I know the provinces or states on my route, I turn to the internet. Each location will have a tourism website filled with information,
or I simply Google “Top places to see
in [name a state/province/city].”
Another site I have found useful over the years is Atlas Obscura, which highlights quirky, less commercial, lesser-known locations. And, of course, I check out Parks Canada and the U.S. National Park Service along with provincial and state parks.

Once I have a list of interesting places, I go to Google Maps to start locating them and dropping pins. You can save these in Favourites or set up your own list named for your trip. This gives me a general idea of the times and distances between stops as well as a sense of whether a specific stop is on my general route, whether my route should be altered to include it, or if it’s too far out of my way to be worth it. Sometimes having to eliminate a stop is painful — I want to see it all! Now, with a more doable list, I get more specific.

Map Versus App

For over a decade I used Garmin BaseCamp for plotting on my computer, and once the route was finalized, I would upload the .gpx files to the Garmin Zumo 660 unit on my bike. This worked really well until last autumn, when I was halfway across Oregon and Zumo zoomed its last zoom. Fortunately, I was also testing the new Quad Lock system that held my phone (see the November/December 2023 issue for my review), and defaulting to Google Maps worked pretty well.

This brings up the incontrovertible argument for paper maps: they won’t die on you, possibly leaving you stranded. Newfangled isn’t always better. That said, a mapping app can give you reasonably accurate times and distances without you having to do all the calculating. And when it comes to navigating through a strange city, GPS is a godsend.

Using Google or Garmin, I map out how far I can go in a day — usually a maximum of eight hours riding time. When I add time for rest stops and meals, that’s a pretty full day, especially because I aim to avoid riding after dark. Of course, time must also be allotted for sightseeing and stops at museums, monuments, and attractions. On those days, times and distances are naturally reduced.

Accommodation and Reservations

All of this gets factored in as I consider nightly lodging. And because I like to wild camp whenever possible, I make good use of iOverlander, an app in which travellers share places they have found to camp for free. Along with detailed information (even photos) about sites, contributors include exact GPS coordinates. The app also includes filters to find established campgrounds, food, and fuel. Sites I plan to use get pinned to the map and included in my itinerary. Another similar resource is the older freecampsites.net.

If established campgrounds or motels are more to your liking, reservations may become a consideration. I prefer to just show up, rather than to be committed weeks ahead to a booked schedule, especially in most of the U.S. where lodging is plentiful. If I have any reason to be concerned, I may call ahead the day before. Where a reservation becomes a must, however, is in major national and provincial parks, glamping sites, or some ferries — such as those taking you to Newfoundland — all of which are almost always full.

Next Level Details

Where my OCD shines (or perhaps glares) is in the “road book” I create, with columns for the date, total seat time, en route destinations and details (with drive time to each), and finally — in a bid to win Pedantic Planner of the Year — GPS coordinates for said destinations. The coordinates are particularly useful when the mapping software can’t find an address, which happens occasionally, especially in remote locations.

And here is where the paper-map proponents make another good point: you can always ask locals for directions — and in the process, make new friends. Almost everyone is proud to share knowledge of their home region. Having coordinates, however, came in handy when my Garmin died, because I could simply enter each into Google Maps and be reasonably confident I would be led on the same route I had originally planned. When friends join me, they also appreciate the detail. But this is admittedly next level — call it Pro-CD. A simple calendar would be adequate for mapping a day-to-day itinerary.

GPS or Phone App?

When I got home, I began searching for a replacement for my Zumo 660. It was dated and, of course, is no longer available. Garmin’s latest version is the Zumo XT2 ($659.99 at Fortnine), but I had also heard good things about the phone app by REVER. The Pro subscription costs US$39.99 (CA$54.75) annually, but only if the Zumo lasted more than 12 years would it be more cost-effective. And since I already had the Quad Lock phone mount, I opted to give REVER a try.

Using my phone for navigation was in line with the moto-camping mantra that every piece of kit should have at least two uses. No dedicated GPS unit needed. Plus, REVER lets me upload old .gpx files that I’d already created in Basecamp, so nothing is lost in switching to REVER. (Again, Google Maps won’t do this.) But perhaps the best feature is that REVER has teamed up with moto-travel legend Butler Maps to show the very best twisty, scenic roads. I’ve already been using this feature in planning my next adventure, and so far it is working well. I can plot routes on the app or on my home computer and save them to the web. Those routes can be downloaded to my phone so that they are available even in remote locations with no cell service.

Two other sources I have to mention are BestBikingRoads.com and motorcycleroads.com, which are repositories of riders’ favourite roads, complete with descriptions, ratings, and .gpx files to download.

Newer bikes eliminate even the need for a phone mount because they offer a Bluetooth interface between your phone and the bike’s TFT screen. Your phone can be safely tucked in your pocket or charging in the tank bag and still be guiding your trip.

Don’t Miss That Special Place

I’ll be the first to admit:, this kind of detailed itinerary would be the polar opposite of wind-in-your-hair freedom — if I felt unwaveringly chained to it. But that’s not the point. If you still just want to hit the road and get your Easy Rider on, that can be fun. But when I began riding almost two decades ago, my first road trip to the West Coast led me right past the incomparable Beartooth Highway — and I didn’t even know it. I was disappointed to later discover my missed opportunity.

And so I plan. It’s a great way to spend some long winter nights. In practise on the road, however, I am more than happy to alter my route as needed. Things happen and new discoveries are made that call for a change. But at least I know what my options are. Knowledge, as they say, is freedom.

There is no right way, of course, only what’s right for you. And the range is wide between Peter Fonda and Sheldon Cooper. You will find your place on the continuum only through doing.

As winter approaches (read Planning Season), I hope that sharing some of my own trials –and many errors helps you get started. I’d love to think that your adventure now
seems a little more doable. As Grant Johnson of Horizons Unlimited says, “The only impossible journey is the one you never start.” And please, if you, our more seasoned riders, have additional tools, ideas, or advice from your own adventures, be sure to drop us an email at editor@motorcyclemojo.com. MM