The roads less travelled

Vacation!

Now that the animals are on the mend, it’s time to start thinking about my trip again.  It seems to me after much consideration, the longer you stay cooped up due to your avoidance of the coronavirus, the more you long to go somewhere, anywhere.  My BFG and I went to our favorite used bookstore in Auburn, CA, and it felt like a vacation!

The bookstore that felt like a vacation!  These are exciting times we’re living in.

The general idea

I have been thinking about the general trip, but the specifics haven’t been nailed down yet.  I know the states I need to go to, but what roads?  I only had five things on my list of things to see; my good mate in Arkansas, New Orleans (but nothing specific in New Orleans), the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, Stephen King’s house, and Niagara Falls.  Before you say that I should be SEEING things, keep in mind that I am going to be driving through each state on a motorcycle.  THAT is what I’ll be seeing.  And, if I choose my roads carefully, I’ll see some really good stuff.  However, if you know of any absolutely can’t miss things I should see, let me know.  Now I just had to choose some roads.

The basic idea.

I have started to spend a lot of time with the internet, Google maps in particular.  I also started researching great motorcycle roads in each state, seeing what each state had to offer in the way of scenery, and trying determine how to connect all these roads to get in the direction I wanted to go.  I used Best Biking Roads to figure out roads that a motorcyclist would want to ride.   I finally had an idea of where I was going to go.  Now I had to figure out how long that would take.  I also am trying to hook up with campgrounds near these roads, and to keep the daily mileage reasonable, between 300-500 miles a day.  This is harder than you’d think.

Too many choices?

Even leaving my house was tough to plan.  There are a few ways I could go and I’m torn between them.  How am I going to decide which of a million roads I could take across the country?  Nevada was easy, I planned to take Highway 50, the loneliest road in America.  Now I’ve driven on a lot of stretches of highway 50, and I’ve even taken it all the way across Nevada (a very creepy trip), but this time I planned to take it all the way to Dodge City, Kansas.  Of course, I quickly discovered that through much of Utah, Highway 50 is also Interstate 70.  Only to Utah and my no interstate rule was broken.  Crikey.  Okay, maybe there would be less rules.

                          

Three basic ways Google says to get to Ely.                            An alternative way to Ely.

And still ANOTHER way to Ely.  There are several ways to Ely, which to choose….

How far?

I have ridden my bike for 12 straight hours and almost 500 miles at a time, so I thought this would be reasonable to expect.  That would take about 22 days.  Then I started thinking.  When I’ve ridden that far, I haven’t really gotten off the bike for more than fuel.  Would that be sustainable over the course of nearly a month?  Probably not.  I discovered a YouTuber named Tim from Forty Times Around who has made a life of motorcycle travel and creating YouTube videos about it.  He gave advice in a video that you shouldn’t plan to travel more than 150 miles a day.  This was to allow time for seeing things and photographing things and eating lunch and stuff.  That did not seem right.  I mean, if I sit around too long in a campsite or hotel, my anxiety goes berserk.  I know I didn’t want to blast 500 or 600 miles a day, but what would be the happy medium?

A test

My BFG suggested I take the bike out camping and see how it went.  I mean, if it sucks, I won’t even go, right?  But there are a lot of considerations when planning a trip like this.  Will the gear fit in the saddlebags?  Will I be able to balance it so all the weight isn’t on one side of the bike?  What if I get a flat?  Can I fix it?  I mean, it isn’t like you carry a spare tire on a motorcycle.  I have been a backpacker for years and through that, I’ve acquired the gear I think I’ll need.  Now I just need to check it all out, (I haven’t been backpacking in more than two years since we got the animals) make sure everything is still functional, and make sure I can fit it all in where it needs to go.  Trying it out sounds like a good idea.

The kicker to that though, is the novel coronavirus.  It is so hard to travel right now and places to which you can travel are booked up.  I have decided to take a weekend trip and hope for the best at first-come-first-served campsites.  Initially I thought to go near Bodie State Park, which I love, with my camera gear, but, also symptomatic of the times, there is a fire raging near there and Highway 395 is closed.

Camping near Bodie.

Oregon has some spots that might be available, so I think I will head up there.

All the campgrounds in Southern Oregon.  Where will I go?

Anxiety

If you know me, this will come as no surprise, but I suffer from anxiety.  Panic attacks are regular for me and I seem to be able to panic about anything.  Most times there doesn’t even have to be a reason.  I try to keep it in check, I distract myself, meditate, talk to myself, and practice breathing, all to keep myself from freaking out.  Now, thinking about going on a weekend trip, alone, to a place to which I don’t have a reservation, on a fairly new bike, well, do you see where I’m going with this?  I am starting to panic about doing something fun!  I usually feel this way before I go on a backpacking trip, before I deploy, before I fly anywhere, in other words, it happens a lot.

I just need to focus on this moment, keep breathing, and stay centered.  This weekend trip will be awesome and it will be a good test for what is coming up.  If I can keep the anxiety in check, it will be fun!