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[andpopse]

I'm planning a trip to the US next spring (Flying from UK).  Can you please give me some route suggestions.

The requirements I need to work with are;

Good Weather,  Not too many miles per day, say 200 or so (don't want grief from Mrs),  Good quality accommodation,  Good scenery,  Probably going to spent 2 weeks on a hire bike then one week doing something else (keeps the Mrs happy).   I am willing to consider any area of the US.   I did think P C Highway / Rockys .  Maybe someone has a ride organised that we could join ?

I look forward to your ideas.

Thanks
Andy P

[mr_magoo]

Pacific coast hiway is a nice ride and you could do 200 in an easy day.  Lots of hotel along the route, not sure of price.  Rockies are always a nice ride.

[Talon]

Do you have a general route you thinking of taking, places you must see? Here's a link with rides in every state, there are several others to. I live in Colorado, thete's many routes to take, I'll get some info together.

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/

Added another:

http://www.openroadjourney.com/

[Talon]

Do a web search on motorcycle roads us.

[saddlebow]

If you start in LA, you can go north east through Death Valley [early spring is warm but not hot yet] into Nevada to Las Vegas, then over into Utah and north into Colorado, back west across the northern route towards San Francisco, and then south along PCH.  Biggest problem for your planning will be weather; it can get real nasty with late Spring storms in the Rockies. That said, the weather in the southwest is very reliable for bike trip planning; it's just when you start into the mountains that you can get jammed up.   200 miles a day for two weeks=1500 miles more or less, and [for reference] it's about 300 one way straight across from LA to Las Vegas.  Just depends on how hard you want to push.  Many times people don't realize how 'wide open' our roads are out here; I run back and forth between LA and northern California and the sierras pretty regularly, and can do 400 miles in 6 or 7 hours without breaking a sweat and with a couple of stops.  Hope that helps; there's lots of people here with plenty of knowledge.

[twincam]

Arizona, good riding weather most of the year lots to see, good rides in nearby states!!

[andpopse]

Please keep the suggestions coming,  I really could do with any suggestions,  routes you have done and enjoyed etc.

Thanks

Andy P

[Bungy]

Fly into Vegas & get your freak on for a couple of days. Then rent a bike, pick a direction & ride (stay off the superslab). If it gets cold, turn south. If you hit the ocean, turn. Can't go wrong, there's good ridin' wherever you go!

[Talon]

I was thinking about this, if you rent a bike, you'll probably need to get it back to the same location. Two weeks at 200 a day gets you 2,400, I'm such a math genius!! , To get from LA to Myrtle Beach South Carolina, just straight thru is 2,589 miles! I think you should pick a part of the country and do a nice loop. So then it would depend on what part of the country you wanted to see the most. Make another trip in a year or two and see other parts. This loop below would almost be 3,000 miles! If there's a national bike rental where you could rent a bike one way you could probably see more, but not sure there is.

[andpopse]

Thanks for your help so far.  I think i've narrowed it down to a flight into Las Vegas.   What I'd welcome some help with is a route plan.
We're going to fly in on 5th April 08

The Places (in no particular order) I'd like to see are;
Yosemite
Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Lake Havasu
Lake Tahoe
Death Valley
Mammouth
Zion
Utah
Boulder
Palm Springs
Santa fee
Santa Hannah
some of Pacific Coast Highway

I've got 3 weeks, so I know I may need to leave some out, or indeed add some in, if somebody with area knowledge suggests it.

At the moment nothing is booked, so if any hotel suggestions are offered, this would also be most helpful.

Thanks
Andy P

[twincam]

tombstone, bisbee, southern AZ!!!

[Midnight Rider]

If you're coming in early April, MANY of the passes in the Rockies will have LOTS of snow.  Ski season in the Rockies doesn't end until mid to late April, depending on the year's snowfall.  Point is, it's likely to be cold in the morning/late afternoon, and weather is somewhat unpredictable.

Las Vegas into Southern Utah, pick up Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef (could leave that off and head south from Byrce, catching the Mesa Verde/Four Corners area, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then over to Sante Fe/Taos, north to Pagossa Springs/Durango/Telluride (if it's not snowing).  Getting to Bolder that time of year will be really iffy, IMO.  More riding in Arizona would fill the void left by the Rockies, though you can see plenty of big mountains without going over the high passes.

The lodges at Zion and Bryce Canyon are really nice places to stay, as is the one at Mesa Verde.  Mesa Verde needs a day to see it all.  If in Sante Fe, The Governer's Inn is a top rated hotel, withing walking distance of fine dining, all the shopping a person could possibly want, etc.  Taos is an eclectic type of place, and would be a natural path back northward/westward.  If you do Zion and Bryce, you'll want to have at least a day in each of those locations to fully appreciate all there is to see.  Taking full day "rests" between locales could be a way to please the wife, giving her time to shop/sightsee/eat well/do a spa, etc., and still allow both of you to take in as much as is possible.  2-3 hundred mile days in those areas will be a piece of cake.

Vegas is something I guess everyone should see once, depending on what you're into, but I'd much rather spend 2 or 3 days in the Sante Fe area myself, especially if the wife is into artwork, nice Southwestern style jewelry, and great places to eat.  Durango Colorado is also a neat town, as is Telluride, but getting over to Telluride may not be doable that time of year.  Some of those locations will have to be planned on the fly, depending on the weather.

Do you like to take easy/short walks/hikes?  Less than 2 miles?  Several nice, easy walks in both of those locations, with beautiful scenery.

The Lodges in the Park system are not 5 star luxury hotels, but are nice "fit into the environment" type of places, with adequate restaurants.  They don't turn your bed down and put chocolates on the pillow though.  You won't be spending much time in the room at those places anyway, as there is too much to see outside.  The Governor's Inn, on the other hand, IS very nice.  LOT'S of nice art galleries in Sante Fe, if you and the wife are into that.

[BAKRDS]

If you hang around LasVegas for a few days there are some good short trips you could use as a warm up or cool down depending on what end of the trip you're on.Death Valley is full days round trip.If you catch nice weather The Grand Canyon is an easy 2 day ride with a couple hours in Williams Az.A loop I do a lot is across Hover Dam south on Rt.93 to Kingman then old Rt 66 & lunch in Oatman Az.Back up Rt 95 to Vegas. 93 & 95 get a little boring after a few trips,but they're sure different than anything you,ll see in the U.K.The ride on Old Rt.66 makes it worth it.Red Rock Canyon is a only a hour from anyplace in Vegas & a scenic loop ride.Some great hiking trails too if you're into that.Valley of Fire is another loop that's close.
   Don't know how long or where you'll be staying in Vegas but don't miss downtown & Fremont St.That's the original glitter gulch.We think it's a lot friendlier than the huge places on the strip.Of course you'll want to see then too.If you do any gambling downtown's the place.You can split up & find eachother again.That's hard to do in the big new casinos on the strip.
     Have fun,Jim

[twincam]

if you could bump that up to early May you could do the Sedona GTG in AZ!!!! CHECK IT OUT IN EVENTS CHATTER BOARD!!!

[BalDeagle]

Hi Andy - I'll be really interested to hear how you get on with your trip and what the highlights/don't miss bits were.

We are going over at the beginning of August for five weeks and will be taking in much of the area you are planning to ride during our trip.

Cheers,

Nige