Post Inzane trip

[..]

This will be the first long trip I have made motel reservations in advance.

I'm making a WAG that people will be out and about this summer. My decision was made in part due to the National Parks service asking for timed entry passes into some of the parks.

Reservations made in Riverton, WY, Green River UT  and the eastern end of Zion.

I have my entry pass into Arches.  

[Serk]

I REALLY hope I don't regret NOT doing that, but I've been planning on running reservations no more than 48 hours ahead of my arrival to account for cases of squirreling, bad weather, etc...

I probably should pin the route down more though, but trying to avoid that.

...but I see your point about more folks out and about now too...

[f6john]

I bet rates will be in flux as the year progresses.

[Jess from VA]

I do not have a lot of experience riding on long (multiday) trips.  I've done many LONG days.

I do always map out my route and create a turns and miles chart.

I also will usually put in pretty long days getting to destination, and when I need to stop, I really do.

Having reservations in advance obviously takes work, but also removes the stress of finding rooms on the fly.  Either no room, or a terrible room, or a terribly expensive room.  

My first real trip (like 19yo) up north in MI I made no plans.  It was high tourist season or maybe a holiday weekend and when I needed to stop, I could not find a single room, for hours.  Finally, long after dark (and thinking I might have to sleep on some picnic table) I found an old decrepit set of (real) rustic cabins well off the road.  The guy said he had one left but it had some (unspecified) repairs it needed, but I could have it anyway if I needed it.  It was OK, until it commenced to rain hard, and the rain came right through the roof and just poured right into the middle of my bed.  I quickly drug the mattress off the bed and turned it over and moved it away from the waterfall, and went back to sleep.  I made no attempt to catch the rain water, and it just kept pouring into the room (but not my corner).  When I raised the issue with the Mgr, he said I stayed all night and had to pay full price.  (Like I was going to ride off in a rainstorm at night.)  Later, it was pretty funny.  

Ever since, I'm not real picky about rooms.  I want clean, and hot water.  And I want to park right by my door on the ground floor (around back, or away from any pool).  I also never stop in cities or big towns,  I stop 5-7 miles out before or after the town.  Motels in towns are often targeted by local thugery.  

But I try to avoid places like this.

[fudgie]

I REALLY hope I don't regret NOT doing that, but I've been planning on running reservations no more than 48 hours ahead of my arrival to account for cases of squirreling, bad weather, etc...

I probably should pin the route down more though, but trying to avoid that.

...but I see your point about more folks out and about now too...

I did that once in Idaho. Picked a small town and decided to wing it. Pull into town and find a room just to find out they and the town are sold out. Little league tournament.  Closest town with a room was 100 miles away in Montana. Had to ride all 100 miles in the dark, mountains and curves. Saw alot of deer and a helicopter fighting wildfires. Never again do I wing it.

[Oss]

I like to plan stuff so I pick a place or 2 to stay and check availability a day ride away
Heck I will have written down options a few weeks before I even pack the bike for Inzane
for instance I would like to stop in Elkhart Indiana day 1 and sioux city day 2 before taking 20 across Nebraska  love the rolling hills and farmland there then a night in Rapid city SD so I can enjoy the black hills region

Once past the Mississippi no more interstates except maybe short stretch of 90 where need to reach the Big Horns
about 400 miles into the day ride sometime around 12-1 pm I again calculate where I would like to stop for the day,   That said I have on occasion totally winged it but always stop before beginning of twilight as I do not see that well at night the potholes in the road or critters

[Avanti]

Winging it on a Valkyrie is most appropriate.

[msb]

I have most always "winged" it on my longer rides  in terms of accommodations, even when the Mrs is along. Other than when going to a specific function like Inzane, Valhalla, etc, pretty much all overnight stops have been "winging" it accommodations, as our rides have just been a collection of departure dates, general direction, and return dates rather than must see destinations. This allows for the unexpected as well...either not so good (like weather for instance) or good (interesting places or sights we want to spend more time at)We overnight almost exclusively in BnB's (just stop at the town information centers and ask or look for brochures) and smaller Mom & Pop motels that look halfways inviting, and also have mostly avoided more populous areas, so that helps when being successful in finding last minute accommodation. Now that doesn't mean we haven't had "adventures" through the years...the Mrs sleeping in full riding gear including boots as we got stuck settling for a VERY less than desirable room just outside West Gate, arriving for our first visit to Yellowstone; or a kind couple taking us in to their spare room up in Wells Grey Park in NE BC when we naively figured we'd have no issues getting a room in one of the several small motels just outside the section of the park we spent the day in; or on my solo ride back from Morgantown Inzane where I rode 16 hours and 900 miles from Grand Forks ND to Cutbank MT only to arrive at 9:30 PM with no rooms available...I was hanging out at the 711 prepared to stay the night when the clerk suggested I call a local resort that was actually closed for a few weeks to see if by chance they'd open up for a desperate fool in need. Sure enough they did, and I got a fantastic free breakfast the next morning to boot! So...all part of the adventure, I say. Been fairly lucky over the years, although in more recent years I've gotten a lot smarter by not trying to always push on to the next town down the road...instead shutting down a bit early when a nice town or place pops up. Easy to do this riding solo (it's been 40 years riding 2 up with the Mrs so I count those rides as solo as well)...not so easy when riding with others.

[Jess from VA]

Years ago, I was somewhere down in NC or TN just riding around and only began looking for a room in late afternoon (not in any big town).  Found out there was a NASCAR race 30 miles away, and no one thought I could find a room within 60 or 70 miles from the race, in any direction.  (And they were right)

I had to leave the area (in a straight line away from the race) to find any room.

A local would know about this...... but not fat dum and happy on his motorcycle.  

So, if you're riding winging it though nowhere with only a couple small towns nearby, it pays to know if it's the annual rodeo or some other extravaganza going on where all you can find is a picnic table.

[Serk]

And sometimes.....

This was in my MR2, not a bike, but many years ago went to the spousal unit's (At the time girlfriend) dad's wedding in Martinsburg, WV.

Spent all day doing wedding stuff, the wedding itself, the reception, and around 10-11PM that night figured we'd head out and get a few hundred miles headed back to Dallas before calling it a night.

This was before smart phones and all that, we had no idea there was a massive hurricane about to hit the East Coast.

There were no hotel rooms available. Anywhere. For 1000+ miles.

We ended up driving through the night, through the next day and into the early evening of the next night (1300 miles) and just one-shotted it straight home...

It was exhausting, but we managed...

Of course, we were still in our 20's at the time...... Gun to my head I COULD do that again now, but definitely wouldn't want to, especially on a bike, and doubly so on a bike with one of my kids on the back.....

[msb]

and doubly so on a bike with one of my kids on the back.....

And right there, is the qualifier. It's one thing if he/she was older and up for adventure...or if its the Mrs and she willingly comes along despite knowing full well the lack of sensibilities the man she decided to spend the rest of her life with shows in these instances. But when it's a younger kid along for the ride who's well being (and probably your wife's trust in & tolerance of you going forward  ) depends on you defaulting mostly to your mature responsible side, it's entirely another

[..]

Driving with ex to the Okefenokee Swamp and thought we'd get a room in Waycross, GA.

Soft ball tournament and I don't remember how far we drove until we could find a motel to accommodate us.

[Valkorado]

It's one thing if he/she was older and up for adventure...or if its the Mrs and she willingly comes along despite knowing full well the lack of sensibilities the man she decided to spend the rest of her life with shows in these instances.

[Willow]

I'm with msb.  Other than organized events such as InZane I don't reserve rooms when I'm on the road.  I don't like to be constrained in my choices.  Yes, we've been caught on the road by unexpected activities taking up all the rooms in town but they've been rare.

It occurs to me that those references to when one had to ride extra miles to find a room seem to be the adventures people remember.

I'm a motorcyclist.

[Wizzard]

When I went to Fairbanks in 2015 I only made room reservations about 8 hours in advance with the exception of Denali. Worked out great and was part of the experience.

[0leman]

I just got back from a 3800 mile adventure, not on a bike.  Stayed 6 nights on the road.  No reservations.  Only one night there was only couple of rooms left.   Never have gotten reservations on any of our adventures.  Though do try to get off the road by 4:30 or so. 

Only have made 4 or so bike trips, no reservations.

[Serk]

Yowza have hotel rates gone up! Oowie!

Finally sat down and set up reservations for the trip to IZ, including a gate pass to be able to BUY a pass to enter Rocky Mountain National Park on the way...

I'll wait a bit longer to start working on post IZ hotels, still working out my route...

[..]

Yowza have hotel rates gone up! Oowie!

Yep. Even the 1 star I look for have. The INZANE rate by comparison is a deal.

[valkmc]

 I never make reservations. Being a school teacher I have taken many multiple state trips. Road from Ocala Florida to Alaska and back, 12k miles and always found a place to stay. I did cheat on the Alaska trip a couple of times, my wife was at home and somedays I would call her and tell her where I planned on ending up. She would search rooms and tell me where the cheap ones were. I also carried a one man tent and an air mattress and sometimes stayed in a camp ground.  I like stopping when I feel like it instead of having to stop before I want or go longer than I want. I have hit every state except Hawaii & Idaho. I am not sure how I missed Idaho, I may have to fix that one summer. I won't be going to Hawaii so I guess I'll miss that. I have also rode in most of Canada except the far eastern providences. I am at the point in life where my trips have started to get shorter, the 10-12 hours a day in the saddle are not the fun they were when I was a young man.

[..]

Yowza have hotel rates gone up! Oowie!

Finally sat down and set up reservations for the trip to IZ, including a gate pass to be able to BUY a pass to enter Rocky Mountain National Park on the way...

I'll wait a bit longer to start working on post IZ hotels, still working out my route...

Have you ridden up Mt. Evans, CO?  303-567-4660. Opens June 4 weather permitting BUT they too have introduced a frickin timed entry pass.

[Serk]

Yowza have hotel rates gone up! Oowie!

Finally sat down and set up reservations for the trip to IZ, including a gate pass to be able to BUY a pass to enter Rocky Mountain National Park on the way...

I'll wait a bit longer to start working on post IZ hotels, still working out my route...

Have you ridden up Mt. Evans, CO?  303-567-4660. Opens June 4 weather permitting BUT they too have introduced a frickin timed entry pass.

Ah crap! I've summited Mt. Evans twice on my Valk, first I knew about THEM doing the timed crap too, guess I gotta look into that now, thanks for the heads up!

[Serk]

It's like the *$()@$#@ POS $*()#@$@#$@# people running that #*)@#$@! stuff are reading a manual on how to make a libertarian hate government incompetence even more.... Sheesh!

Found the site to make reservations, but can't make reservations more than a month out, so I'll hafta play games to try to get tickets early in the morning coming up... Ugh.....

[The emperor has no clothes]

It's like the *$()@$#@ POS $*()#@$@#$@# people running that #*)@#$@! stuff are reading a manual on how to make a libertarian hate government incompetence even more.... Sheesh!

Found the site to make reservations, but can't make reservations more than a month out, so I'll hafta play games to try to get tickets early in the morning coming up... Ugh.....

I tried for weeks to get a pass into Yosemite last summer. It’s a f’d up system. I finally gave up. 

[Avanti]

Yowza have hotel rates gone up! Oowie!

Finally sat down and set up reservations for the trip to IZ, including a gate pass to be able to BUY a pass to enter Rocky Mountain National Park on the way...

I'll wait a bit longer to start working on post IZ hotels, still working out my route...

I don't want to visit the park, I want to drive Trail Ridge Road. Do I need a Timed Entry Permit?
You can also enter the park before 9 am or after 3 pm MT daily. Give yourself plenty of time to reach an entrance station prior to 9 am, as long lines at entrance stations may delay your arrival time.

Timed Entry Permit Reservations are not required to visit the rest of the park (excluding access to the Bear Lake Road corridor) before 9 am or after 3 pm daily. Park entrance fees still apply.


I would use the RMNP Fall River Entrance   

[Serk]

Whew.... I'm BEAT!

Plotted and planned and made hotel reservations for all but the last few days...

I've got us from Billings to Monterey, CA,  covered...

Out of brain fuel to cover the last few but plotted it out to make sure we've got enough time to get home, with one recovery day (Or UHOH! day) buffer, and all reservations are cancelable...

The route is guidance, ACTUAL roads ridden will change based on weather, mood, how sore our butts are, things that catch our attention, etc....

I SO envy our retired friends that can just point a direction and wander, without having to plan everything down to the day, almost hour, to get as much highly scheduled coddiwomple in as possible before having to return to real life...

[carolinarider09]

I hope you find joy in your trip.  I have been that way a couple of times.  Some parts I'd do again and some parts not. 

Route planning is, I believe, a personal thing.   I like to know where I will end up.  The challenge is getting there.  I program the GPS with "waypoints".  It takes me to the "waypoints".  Sometimes it takes me some strange ways.   

And that is what is cool about doing it that way.  I know where I will end up and I know sort of how I will get there but, beyond that, there are no guarantees, except I will hit each "waypoint". 

One example of a road that I would not have taken without having the GSP "route" me there. 

https://rumble.com/v13fgq9-rural-ga-roads.html

[John Schmidt]

Not sure what I'm going to do post-Inzane. Don't really want to head back home, as long as I'm out yonder I'd like to wander a bit, just thought it might be more interesting riding with some fellow member(s). I've been to a lot of the parks out west except for the SW area...Arches, G. Canyon, etc.

I, too, have never reserved ahead when on the bike although when traveling with Rita, she always made our travel plans. Did a great job since I was still working. Our little trick was first decide the area we wanted to visit, then she'd go to AAA and get bus tour catalogs and find tours that went in the same general area. Those tours always listed the hotels/bed 'n breakfast, etc., where they would stop for the night and maybe even stay more than one night if there was plenty to do and see in a particular area. It also would list things to do and see in a particular area, the cost of entry if applicable...stuff like that. We never traveled on a bus tour, but used their information to plan our trips. Worked out great and saved a lot of searching. We would fly to a central location and rent a car, then tour the area of interest. Visiting New England in the fall was really great. We'd fly into Albany, NY and back then there was a hotel right across the street from the terminal. You could turn in your car the night before, leave a wake-up call at the desk and let them know your departure time. They would come to your room and pick up your bags and escort you 75' across the walkway to the terminal. Doesn't look like there's anything but parking there now but it was convenient to Vermont which was about 27 miles away. I miss those days we traveled together.  

[Oss]

was invited to stay with some folks overnite in Elk City Idaho

It is off Lolo Pass 12 to 13 at Kooskia to 14 into the middle of nowhere

What the heck?  It is probably some of the most beautiful area I will ride thru

Anyone ever been down that way?

[Avanti]

Been over Lolo Pass and had light snow. I also can back through the Sawtooth Mountain area Idaho City to Challis. 21 east to 75

[..]

was invited to stay with some folks overnite in Elk City Idaho

It is off Lolo Pass 12 to 13 at Kooskia to 14 into the middle of nowhere

What the heck?  It is probably some of the most beautiful area I will ride thru

Anyone ever been down that way?

If paved the road north out of Elk City looks good.

Looking at the street view of Main St on Google Maps I would say DO IT. Rough and rugged and then IT SNOWS!!!

[0leman]

Whew.... I'm BEAT!

Plotted and planned and made hotel reservations for all but the last few days...

I've got us from Billings to Monterey, CA,  covered...

Out of brain fuel to cover the last few but plotted it out to make sure we've got enough time to get home, with one recovery day (Or UHOH! day) buffer, and all reservations are cancelable...

The route is guidance, ACTUAL roads ridden will change based on weather, mood, how sore our butts are, things that catch our attention, etc....

I SO envy our retired friends that can just point a direction and wander, without having to plan everything down to the day, almost hour, to get as much highly scheduled coddiwomple in as possible before having to return to real life...

Serk,  If this is your path going thru OR, you will be coming thru my town in southern OR.  Where are your night stopping point in this area?

[Serk]

Serk,  If this is your path going thru OR, you will be coming thru my town in southern OR.  Where are your night stopping point in this area?

I've got a room in Bend on Sunday the 12th, next night scheduled for just north of San Francisco (I.E. That'll be a "Get on the superslab" day)

Looks like we might be going through Klamath Falls late morning on that day if you'd like to meet for a quick late breakfast or early lunch, I'd love to if we can make it happen, just don't take it personally if it's a quick visit...

I know this is not the optimal way to see the country, but it's in my blood to do crazy miles in short time, I get it legit.... I'm hoping I'll have the luxury of leisurely exploring all the places I'll zoom by later, but at least I'll have zoomed by 'em if all else fails...

[carolinarider09]

Had to look back at my records cause I am old and I have forgotten stuff.  But when I read the thing about LoLo Pass it rang a bell.  So I looked back at our/my trips (there were four of us that did several thousand mile trips a year (as best as we could do since there of four of us were still working).

Anyway here is our 2013 route (well day 8 ).  



Takes a while to find the image, but here is one or two.





Memories are cool.   It was nine years ago.   It was fun.   Still is.

[..]

Serk,  If this is your path going thru OR, you will be coming thru my town in southern OR.  Where are your night stopping point in this area?

I've got a room in Bend on Sunday the 12th, next night scheduled for just north of San Francisco (I.E. That'll be a "Get on the superslab" day)

Looks like we might be going through Klamath Falls late morning on that day if you'd like to meet for a quick late breakfast or early lunch, I'd love to if we can make it happen, just don't take it personally if it's a quick visit...

I know this is not the optimal way to see the country, but it's in my blood to do crazy miles in short time, I get it legit.... I'm hoping I'll have the luxury of leisurely exploring all the places I'll zoom by later, but at least I'll have zoomed by 'em if all else fails...

Sometimes you get a fever and the only cure is MORE MILES!

[Serk]

Serk,  If this is your path going thru OR, you will be coming thru my town in southern OR.  Where are your night stopping point in this area?

I've got a room in Bend on Sunday the 12th, next night scheduled for just north of San Francisco (I.E. That'll be a "Get on the superslab" day)

Looks like we might be going through Klamath Falls late morning on that day if you'd like to meet for a quick late breakfast or early lunch, I'd love to if we can make it happen, just don't take it personally if it's a quick visit...

I know this is not the optimal way to see the country, but it's in my blood to do crazy miles in short time, I get it legit.... I'm hoping I'll have the luxury of leisurely exploring all the places I'll zoom by later, but at least I'll have zoomed by 'em if all else fails...

Sometimes you get a fever and the only cure is MORE MILES!

Indeed! Part of the impetus for this trip is partially recreating a trip my dad and I did when I was 15... in his 1984 Toyota pickup.

We did it in I THINK 10 days total, 7 days from Red River NM back to Red River NM (We left my mom and sister there to have a relaxing vacation in the mountains while we satisfied our wanderlust)

[scooperhsd]

Wife and me are going to her family reunion on the Chesapeake Bay last week of June. Going out there - we can probably just wing it on when / where to stop / stay for the night. However , coming home will be over the 4th of July Holiday weekend - we may very well want to put some planning in for the return trip.

FYI - we are taking a car - between my back and her current decided lack of energy, it's the only real choice.