Brit planning Coast to Coast on a Harley

[EccentricDyslexic]

Hi chaps,

i have for some years wanted to ship over my old HarleyDee and do a coast to coast trip across the US over a period of a month or two to see the what the gud'ol US of A is all about! I'd also like to visit some good beer emporiums on the trip and maybe vist a few homebrewers too?!

I can take an organised trip, but I'd rather plan something myself, and although I'd like to ship my Harley over i recon its probably more practical to hire a bike to do the trip.

I am open to sugestions for routes ect!

Cheers chaps!

Steve from Uttoxeter, England UK

 

[gratus fermentatio]

A few things that are not to be missed in the USA are: Redwood Nat. Park in California, Grand Canyon Nat. Park in Arizona (ride the mule train to the bottom!) Arches Nat Park in Arizona, Monument valley in Utah, Olympic Nat. Forest in Washington state, Yellowstone Nat. Park in Wyoming, Glacier Nat. Park in Montana. You might enjoy fly fishing for trout almost anywhere in MT, WY, ID, or WA, but you'll have to fork over the fees for a non-resident lic. There are fishing shops that will rent you the proper equipment.

You might like to be a part of the audience for the radio show A Prairie Home Companion in MN, There's the Wiconsin Dells in WI, the Museum of Science & Industry in IL, Try the lobster in ME, the clams/chowder in MA, all of the New England area is chock full of historic sites & Revolutionary War battlefields. Of course all the monuments in Washington DC, and the Smithsonian.

Absolutely do not miss Mammoth Cave National Park in KY, you'll never forget it! Carlsbad Caverns in NM is pretty cool too. Great Smoky Mountains Nat. Park in TN/NC is nice. Whitewater rafting in ID, MT, WY is quite a thrill. ou might sit in for a taping of The late show with David Letterman or catch a broadway show in New York City, NY; or maybe tour the statue of liberty. Take a ride through Brown County, Indiana (look out for the deer!).

There's the Amish country of Ohio, Deep sea fishing off the Florida Keys, The Kennedy Space Center, air boat tours of the Okefenokee, suckin on an OG squeeter at Gatorland. BBQ & blues music in Kansas City (or Chicago), Big Bend Nat. Park in TX. If you like Harleys, don't miss the Sturgis rally in SD: http://www.sturgis.com/

There really is sooooo MUCH to see & do in the USA, I can't possibly come close to listing it all here, so I'll let others post their lists. Wherever you go & whatever you do here in the US, I hope you have the trip of a lifetime! Regards, GF.

 

[Ragutis]

If your route takes you through Northwest Arkansas, let me know. I have plenty of room and usually have four English ales on tap. There is a pretty big rally here in September called Bikes, Blues & BBQ.
Cheers.

 

[JetSmooth]

If you can swing it, make a point to come to Washington, D.C.

While the politicians in our capitol are all a disgrace, the architecture shouldn't be missed. There are a few good brewpubs. I haven't discovered them all, but am going to start looking.

Also, if you're an Arsenal fan, I can point you to the local Gooner pub. If you're not, I'll still drink with you. But if you're a Tottenham supporter, you're on your own.

 

[GVH_Dan]

Wow...How long do you expect to be here? And do you understand how big the U.S. is?

I hit google maps, and plotted out a trip around the circumference of the U.S...NY to Seattle to San Diego to the Florida Keys and back to NY. Without going anywhere near the interior that is over 8,300 miles (13,500 KM). That's like going from London to Edinburgh and back over 10 times.

I only say this because I have European grad students that take 2 weeks in the summer to "drive the entire U.S." They find they are lucky if they make it from the midwest to the west coast and back.

If I were you I would rent a bike here. No sense putting the miles on your own. And then I would focus in on a couple of regions. If craft brew is what you are looking for, start in San Diego, work your way up the west coast touring the breweries. Then come across and try to hit Sturgis, SD for the big rally. Once you get into the midwest, start your brewery tours again and finish up in Milwaukee, the home of Harley Davidson. You can fly out of Chicago. True, you've only covered 1/4 of the U.S. but that will take a good month at least.

 

[david_42]

I'd say you have three options: West Coast for the ocean and the die-hard uber-hop breweries, upper mid-West as g-f suggests, or East Coast for historical sites. Plenty of craft beer. If you are into "super-slab" cruising, the American mid-West has more of it than anywhere else in the world.

 

[Bobby_M]

I agree with the above. If you try to hit all the hot spots by road, you'll give up a a full day sometimes just getting from one sight to the next.

A little West Coast stint that is pretty well clustered would be San Francisco (hit the Napa area, Russian River brewing in Santa Rosa, and Muir Woods, then downtown San Francisco over 2 days, jump on the bike and ride the coastal highway 1 all the way down to LA stopping in Monterey and any other places that catch your fancy. You might want to spend a day in LA or just keep riding down to the San Diego area. The San Diego Zoo is pretty amazing as far as that goes.

From there, head up to Vegas if you haven't been (5 hours of riding to get there).

You can make Grand Canyon Village from there in another 5 hours.

That's already a 1200 mile trip and you'd probably want a day or two in each major spot so figure a week there.

 

[eriktlupus]

if you hit wisconsin go north and see painted rock national lakeshore in the up of michigan(yoopers area) come down thru the mackinaw bridge, it's a trip on a bike trust me, 300+ft over the water looking thru a grate all the way down. then take your pick and run the east or west coast of the lower pen. west side has traverse bay and city and the cherry festival in june and there is wineries all up and down tat side of the state. the east is pretty bare till you hit the saginaw/detroit area in the southeast corner. both side are chock full of microbreweries of every type and style production. everything from english pubs to full blown hopheads with stop in between for german and belgian styles.

you just have to realize that michigan alone is the size of the united germanies.

 

[EccentricDyslexic]

Its gonna cost me $4300 to hire a HD for 30 days, maybe it would be cheaper to buy one second hand then sell it the other end! I am at the early stage of planning, i want to experience being in the US and meeting the people more than being a tourist realy...i want to do it for the experience really. But if i can pick up a few sights on the way...the mores the better!

I dont want to be spending to much time in one place, i want to keep moving spending only a day or two when we stop.

Keep the sugestions coming and if your on my route, get me beers out of the fridge!lol!

steve

 

[bosdave]

I would suggest a more reliable bike than a Harley.