On a shorter ride, say a weekend or week, I might just start with a list of places I want to see or roads I want to ride, a paper atlas, basic bike maintenance and go. I leave plenty of room for changing my mind, changing my route, and dealing with the little surprises that come up along the way. But a longer, more technical, ride with challenging goals requires more planning. So here is my plan for the Epic 25th.
The Route: Saddlesore/Bunburner to Key West, FL
Normally I avoid interstate highways like the plague. Now they do have their advantages - they are usually the fastest way to get somewhere, you seldom get stuck unable to pass, they have plenty of gas and rest stops, and help can find you quickly if you get into trouble. On the other hand, they reduce the entire country to four lane roads with green/white signs, there are far too many trucks, and they are just plan monotonous to ride. But sometimes you have to use them. On the Epic 25th I will avoid them when possible, stay away from them entirely for as much as possible, but I need the speed at key points so I'll be riding plenty of miles on them.
My first goal is a combination Saddlesore 1000/Bunburner 1500. I always start my planning using Google Maps. It is SO much easier than the old days with paper atlases. A quick check says that it is only 1354 miles if you take the direct route across on I-10 to Florida. I need it to be 1500+ miles so I'm going to start by heading out of Houston on Hiway 59 to I-20, across to Jackson, MS, angle down to Mobile, AL, to pick up I-10 and then the usual route south through Florida. I'm going to stay on I-75 south and cross Alligator Alley so I'll end up riding about 1590 miles or so.
To get the Saddlesore/Bunburner rides in I'll need to get to Key West in less than 36 hours, two start and finishing witnesses, and I'll keep a fuel/stop log. I keep the paperwork in a 3 ring binder that is easy to get to at gas stations. It is 1047 miles to Gainesville, FL, where I'll stop for about 6 hours, and then I'll finish up into Key West. This requires some riding after dark (not my favorite because I love seeing the sights) so I'll start from Houston at 2:00 AM and, hopefully, early enough through Miami to avoid rush hour.
Once I've decided how I'm going to get there, I create route cards that slip into the top of my tank bag. The entire 25th Epic ride required 7 route cards. Expecting bad weather (and wanting to remember this ride), I laminated the cards. Here is what the first route card looks like that I'll be watching for 36 hours:
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| Route card to Key West, includes miles between stops and total miles |
The next part of the ride is the Four Corners Tour - that I will turn into a Six Corners Tour. This requires pictures of my bike and registration towel at post offices in Key West, FL. Madawaska, ME, Blaine, WA, and San Ysidro, CA. I'm also adding International Falls, MN, and Brownsville, TX.
Along the way, if possible, there are people and places I want to see. I'm in no hurry but I do have a limited time to go everywhere I want so planning is critical. If anything goes wrong, at any point I am free to skip something, change the route, etc., but I need to at least get to those four corner places.
I'll be heading north out of Key West on I-95. It is simply the best and fastest route. Years ago I rode my Goldwing south along the Atlantic Coast from Newport News south to Myrtle Beach. It was pretty, quaint, the ferry rides were fun, but it was slower than molasses and I don't have time for that this year. (I'll do that on the West Coast this time.) So I'll stay on I-95 until Richmond, VA, where I'll head west to I-81 in order to avoid the big city traffic. Then I'll angle back to I-95 north of Boston until I catch US 1 north to Madawaska. I was hoping to do a little side trip to see the Lutheran seminary in Gettysburg but this year is the 150th anniversary of the battle and they expect up to 20,000 Civil War re-enactors about the time I want to do through there so I might end up skipping it. We'll see.
Once I get to Madawaska I'll visit the Four Corners Park because you just have to do that. When the ride is over, I'll send them $100 for a paver marking my visit. You never know, I might be back there again someday.
I'll retrace my steps south from Madawaska before heading west on I-90. On my list of "mights" are seeing Niagara Falls, the Harley Museum in Milwaukee, and Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Once I leave Green Bay, WI, I'll be done with interstates for a long time. I'll take US 29 west to Chippewa Falls and then US 53 north through Duluth, MN, to International Falls, MN. From there I have a friend I want to visit near Grand Rapids, MN, and then I'll pick up US 2 all the way to Washington state.
When I'm up there I'll be close to where I grew up. I have relatives in North Dakota I want to share meals with, a Bible camp I used to work at that I would like to see again, and more friends in Montana. I'm hoping the snow is plowed so I can ride the Going to the Sun Road through Glacier National Park. I love riding across the plains, seeing the farms and farmlands, and eventually seeing the mountains in the distance. I am really excited about that leg of the trip.
Once I hit Washington state I'll pick up Hiway 20 all across the state. It is the slowest way to do it but crossing the North Cascades on 20 is far better than US 2 or I-90. But I will be facing a time crunch here in that I want to get to my sister's house on Saturday so that my sisters and I can spend all day Sunday together. As much as I love Hiway 20 I love my sisters more so we'll see how that goes. Once over to I-5 it is a quick 50 miles north to the Blaine, WA, post office.
When I finish my visiting I'll head south again on I-5 to Albany, OR, then I'll go west to pick up US 101. I'm going to stay on US 101 along the coast, through the redwood forests (I want to see those big trees), across the Golden Gate Bridge (hoping to get a picture), and through downtown San Francisco. I don't have to go that way but I want do. Then I'm going to head northeast to Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, and Stateline, NV. I want a picture of my bike by Folsom Prison, and I want to take an interesting road across the desert in Nevada. I have an uncle who lives in Mesquite, NV, so I'm going to take that little jaunt back east to see him.
From there it is about 430 miles of interstate down to San Ysidro and the last of the four post offices of the Four Corners Tour. I want to get there on Friday so I can have a day off on Saturday to get the bike serviced before the final leg. How will I spend that day? I'm thinking sleeping by the pool with occasional forays into the hot tub.
The Route: Bunburner Gold
The final leg of the Epic 25th will be 1574 miles from San Ysidro to Brownsville, TX, in less than 24 hours. The key on this leg is to make very short gas stops, quick naps in rest areas, and nothing can go wrong. Everyone says that riders lose stamina on long rides, that each day they tend to log fewer miles, etc. So this leg might be a pipe dream. On the other hand, I can't imagine an easier way to do this ride successfully than a straight shot down I-10. We'll see how it goes.
I plan on leaving at 4:00 AM on a Sunday morning to avoid as much southern California traffic as possible while hoping that it is light enough to appreciate that first mountain pass. Beyond that it will just be go go go, speed limit +3 all the way. Finishing a Bunburner Gold takes determination more than anything else. Here's the final route card:
1 comment:
hey, bro! we are looking forward to your visit! love you! ~danelle
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