Hi, I'm just starting to plan a North America Tour in 2010 taking in as many of the mainland states as possible and Canada too. I've allowed myself a year on tour as I don't want to rush anything. I'll be combining camping with staying with friends/contacts and the occasional cheap motel. My principal interest is meeting people and photography so again, I'll be taking an easy pace.

I'll be shipping my Pan European over for the duration and expect to cover 20-25,000 miles. I will be plotting a loose itinerary that will let me follow the weather so that I can do Canada in the warmer months. I also have some family history in Delaware so I want to take that in.

The reason for my post is twofold;

1) If there are any UK souls who would want to tag along for all or part of the journey, I'd be happy to talk it through.

2) If the good people of the US/Canada (or others!) would care to offer up suggested places to visit, or even offer a place to stay for a night or two that would be grand.

This is a 'chance in a lifetime' opportunity for me and following the HUBB advice, I'm taking my time with the planning. FYI I'm in Chelmsford, Essex.

Regards to all

If your travels bring you close to Worthington MN I can hook you up with a free place to stay for a few days. Have a great shop to fix any problem known to man. (well as long as it does not involve women)

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Larry Davis

Many thanks for that Larry. I've added you to my list of contacts. Could you PM me with an email address please?

If you need a place to hang out or change oil near Spokane Washington give me a call. There’s not much to see in the immediate area but we a close to a lot of sights. On my website, I’ve got a GPS list going that has some points that may be nice to visit. Check out the Adventture POI menu. At this time, most of items are for my trip to South America but I’ll be adding places in the North West in time.

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Moto Treks

Hi Crustycrutch or may I call you Crusty ?

We did something similar to what you intend in '07, but only the USA and only for six months and it wasn't long enough. We had it all planned, or at least the bits we wanted to see, but not the exact route and after 6 weeks realised that we didn't have enough time to see all 48 states and started cutting bits out. It's a BIG country and we didn't even try to do Canada. Check out our Blog at Graham & Elaine Butler for the story of the '07 trip and some photos, we've since been up to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland (excellent) and Labrador, taking in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick en route. We also went to Key West in September (check out the 'Fantasy Fest' pictures !!) and have now done 45 of the lower 48, so this year we're going to do the rest and th rest of Canada and Alaska.

I see you're in Chelmsford, we're in Ramsden Heath ! If you like, give us a ring on 01268-710125 for more info.

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Graham & Elaine

GL1800 Motor Trike 2+2, one here, one there.

http://www.mayflowermcc.co.uk/butlers/

Hope you got the handle Crusty for spendin' a long time in the saddle
Unfortunatley my life time trip won't start till 2012 when I'm due my bus pass
I hope to do a simler trip to yours, perhaps on not such a big scale, but as long as funds last. Will follow your trip with envy.
Can't make up my mind whether to ship or by out there and then sell at the end of the journey. Wish you well and enjoy. Safe ridin' an be lucky.
Piet from sunny Soufend as we say.

I thought there was a three month limit on you and the bike in the states. I guess you need a proper one year visa from the embassy, does this cover the bike as well?

I'm planning a very similar trip and was wondering whether to ship out or buy in the UK. I want to take my bike out of the US and go down to Panama (then possibly sell). I was wondering if this was possible. perhaps if I'm thinking of selling or even shipping on from central America I'm better off taking a bike from the UK.

Any views??

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A full USA Visa will cost you some money and time (about a day) at the US Embassy (wherever that is now as I think they moved). Do your homework, get your paperwork in order and be nice, no trouble. When you get your Visa it's good for 10 years but only in 6 month chunks, not a year, you can get it extended if you ask nicely, but I believe that is at the end of the initial 6 months, you can't get a year as you enter.

We shipped our UK bike to the USA via WW, no trouble apart from Baltimore Docks which are a P in the A, otherwise usual delays with paperwork etc. Cost, one way, was about £1000 including Marine Insurance but it was for an expensive Goldwing Trike, Insurance via Motorcycle Express (Gail Goodman, excellent service) was about £1200 (ditto the Trike), much cheaper for something more basic.

Flying a bike over, depending on the bike and where you're going to, MAY be cheaper and certainly quicker but you'll still get delays with paperwork etc.

If you're flying I believe you can send all your gear with it, with shipping via WW it has to be empty.

It's also VERY advisable to get some sort of Travel Insurance which includes repatriation, YOU DO NOT want your loved ones having to fork out to get you back if something nasty happens. We use American Express which are not cheap but they do cover you whilst riding your own bike, unlike a lot of others.

Hope this helps !

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Graham & Elaine

GL1800 Motor Trike 2+2, one here, one there.

http://www.mayflowermcc.co.uk/butlers/

especially if you ride a beemer...haha, just kidding about that part. I have a place in rural Nova Scotia, Canada. On the ocean, close to Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, etc. I will put up just about anybody for a day or two passing through. Give me a bit of notice though. I am in El Salvador right on the way to Colombia at least. My email is larrynunavut at hotmail dot com
Cheers
Larry Simpson

My girlfriend and myself (UK residents) are planning a long trip starting in Canada and the USofA to commence Aug/Sept 2010. We are currently getting to grips with the USofA visa system so thanks for the advice. You are right about cost, currently $131 each for the vetting process. According to the USofA visa web site there is a 2 week delay to get an interview at the embassy in London and then a 60 to 90 day processing period before we will know if we have been successful. Fingers crossed.

Guzzi-Tony - are you sure it's that long? I phoned the US Embassy today to make an appointment but I don't want one until Easter and they don't go that far ahead. I'm planning on flying to Alaska in july and think I will just buy my ticket now and hope I get the Visa (surely it can't be that hard??)

Might see you on the road as we seem to be heading in the same direction (How big can Canada be

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If you make it to the Santa Cruz California area let me know. I have a spare room and garage. Would be great to show you the area and perhaps ride down the famous HWY 1 through Big Sur. Its only just down the road. Send me a PM for my contact info.

Anyone else traveling in this area can also contact me if you need a place to stay or just want to have a .

I will be leaving in August 2010 for South America and will be gone for about 12 months, but anytime before then your welcome to stay.