So i have a rough idea of the places i want to go on my trip to Europe (see link) http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...mer-08-a-33783

but unsure of best way to go about planning a route. So far done a little reading of lonely planet, looked at maps, checked out google earth. Been on BestBikingRoads.com Motorcycle Travel, Motorcycle Touring, Motorcycle Routes, Motorcycle Roads, Motorcycle GPS, GPS Motorcycle Rides, Motorbike Roads and read a few threads here.

Anyone got a good methodical approach to route planning?

Cheers

The fallacy in your current approach is that you possibly believe you have at hand the best information to make your routing decisions.

In reality, better information will be acquired en route as locals in the vicinity more often than not will offer some quality info...make sure you ask a few and take the consensus POV.

Bottom line, before leaving for the trip...you only need to know enough to hit the road...the rest you will figure out en route. Your dillema is knowing how much you need to know before you hit the road...and that is based on your comfort quotient.

HTH

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edde
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Wasn't expecting such a philosophical answer there MotoEdde but point taken. I agree there is no substitute for local knowledge. Im only in the early stages of planning so was really wanting to get an over all approach to route planning. This is what i'm thinking so far:

1) Choose rough countries/regions.
2) Figure out things i really want to see/do.
3) Join the dots on the map.
4) Work out distances are feasable for time/cost constraints
5) Finalise route, things to take etc.
6) Get on bike!
7) Ammend route along the way.

Any thoughts here anyone?

Don't get fixed on routes and time schedules. You have a long time and there is much to see/do.

Have a few fixed dates/places on your way for the dicipline of not staying put for too long, but leave the interim periods relatively free so you can pick up on what you find and interests you when you are actually there.

I find guide books generally uninteresting and not highly helpful as they really only tell you of the 'must do's'. And we all know to stay out of dodgy looking areas at night.

An exception is the Michelin Green Guides which I have found to be very good for Europe. They are factual with good detail of local history, natural history, places, traditions and events and have a rating system of 'Interesting' 'Worth a look' 'Worth a journey' that I have seldom disagreed with.

For other guide books, I look at their edition of a city I know well (London) and read what they say - does it stack up against what I know of the place and really makes me want to go see it? If so, follow that publishers series for places you are going to. If not you are in the right place with HUBB.

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It's quite hard to disagree with that; as the other posts have indicated, a lot of this comes down to your personal attitudes and what you want to do, see etc.
I don't think that there is a single, correct way to "plan" - as one case, I took a flight to Vancouver a few years ago, hired a car and drove East for a week; then I turned around and went West for another week - made it up on a day by day basis, and I bought a guide book at the end of this as a souvenir, to remind me where I had been.
No photographs, no blogs, just memories.

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Dave

I do fully agree with the idea of leaving an open schedule. All my travel plans are quite loose, but I still like putting things together to get a better idea of roughly what to expect.

For my next trip (Madrid to Helsinki starting in a few weeks) I obviously know my start and end point, but there are hundreds of routes to take. So I have a copy of Microsoft Autoroute 2007 on my pc (I take it with me so it's a great offline database for day to day route planning) and I add waypoints across the area of the places I want to see. It gives me the general path I plan on taking.

For example, my trip takes me south to Malaga and then up the coast into France towards Nice. I was originally just going to go north across the Alps into Switzerland, but from another thread on here I found some good routes inside that area (Le Luc to St. Tropez and Grasse to Grenoble) I input these into my map and now I have a visual reminder of things I wanted to see. And with the map it gives a basic idea of time and distances for each leg. And as a bonus it hooks up to my datalogging GPS for when I get into a jam.

All of the little yellow squares below are places I want to go to. Whether it be a city or the beginning or end of a good travel route. But remember, this map gets updated and changed on a daily basis during my travels as I find new and better things along the way.

Good luck!

The very fact you're asking makes me thinks you're "a planner" like me and like Matt. We'll happily spend hours and days and weeks with maps and guidebooks poring over them, drawing routes, making notes, and having fun doing so. Other people on here simply hate that idea, for them it's all about the freedom of the open road, making it up as they go along.

So it's really up to you what you do. Either way though you'll probably want a good map, Michelin are excellent for Europe, and not too expensive, it's up to you whether you have it in book form or made up of huge sheets of paper, one's better for staring at on your floor one's better for reading en route.

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Wile e,

I like the sound of getting a rough route/distance plan figured on computer. Think i have a copy of Autoroute 07 somewhere will check it out.

Found this site that has a good list of roads and routes in the Alps if you are interested.

"www.AlpineRoads.com - The Best Biking Roads In The Alps"

Looking at your route, looks like you`ll miss the Alps, heading north from the South of France??
If so, do the N58 from Cannes to Grenoble - a blinding road.
Then I`d go Aosta - Chur - Innsbruck.

You`d be mad to miss it.

The more planning, JCB1981, the more your hands are tied. Just make a list of "must visit places" and adjust your route to suit circumstances, local knowledge, weather and timing.

Bon Voyage.

Sounds like me too. Just bought myself a big wallmap of Europe from Waterstones this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to getting away next month and making a few plans is probably keeping me sane.

BTW, has anyone actually stuck to the plans they've made? I seem to get to one place then just make it up as I go along.

If you're using GoogleEarth for the planning, have a look at this lil baby – Awesome device & fantastic value for money:

Amazon.co.uk: 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator Personal Edition USB: Electronics & Photo

I use it every time I connect to GoogleEarth, and after only 2-3 minutes it feels really natural & more organic than a mouse could ever be.

Bjorn

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If you are referring to my route, those are just the places I want to visit. I actually plan on spending almost all of my time in the Alps. I just will be bouncing out from time to time to hit those other cities/areas.