USA East to West
 

I'm relocating from England to Seattle and thought I'd take the opportunity to clock up some miles on my GS, hence the posting.
I believe the better North route will still be blockedin places in April, so have come up with the following:

I've just picked up Road Trip USA-jamie jensen ISBN 1-56691-396-9 Avalon Travel Publishing.

It lays out a network of 2 lane scenic highways, so here's my unrefined first draft version of the route East to West:

Ship in to JFK-escape from NY on 70 toward Philadelphia, aiming towards Columbus.
Down to Indianapolis still on the 70 and through to St Louis. Pick up the 35 for Kansas City.
Topeka, Dodge City, Pueblo, Provo, Ely.
At Ely turn North to Boise, the 84/90 up to Seattle.

Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours at most!

Using this as a base template route I can already see alternatives for breaking north east earlier and whilst it's easier to identify the larger cities, on the map I have, I'd be happier to miss them, so any refinements folks?

What is this two hour bit, will take more than two hours to escape from NY on 70 toward Philadelphia
Norm

I've just crossed the whole of the USA in 15 minutes using Google earth, don't tell me you think two hours is a little optomistic...surely not!

I've set 4-6 weeks aside to dawdle along US-50 branded the loneliest road by some. It shadows the Interstates I mentioned, more or less, but without the tedium and with towns and points of interest to veer off and explore.
Starting will be April/May time.

I have taken US-50 from Nevada to Virginia and it is not bad but I recommend US-36 going West from Indianapolis, Indiana. It goes through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and meets I-70 East of Denver, Colorado. Its a much nicer road with not much traffic.
West from Denver or Pueblo there are mountain passes over 10,000 ft (3,000 M). Cold and possable snow into the first weeks in June, sometimes later.
In Ely in mid April it will be cold, lows in the low 20's F (-10 C). Northern Nevada and Idaho are high desert around 5,000 ft(1,500M)
The later you go the better.
John

50 across Nevada is great. Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Black Hills in South Dakota, eastern Oregon, and the west coast north of San Fransisco are my favorites. Have fun.
Al

[This message has been edited by Paulsen (edited 09 December 2005).]

Proposed East to West route:

New York
Rahway
New Brunswick
Trenton
Norristown
Little Britain (just because it’s the name of a great comedy show in England)
Peach Bottom (photo opportunity!)
Manchester
Creagerstown
Martinsburg
Romney
Gormania (horror movie?)
Belington
Buckhannon
Glenville
Spencer
Ripley
Gallipolis
Patriot
Portsmouth
Vanceburg
Flemingsburg
Headquarters (I’ve always wanted to reach Headquarters)
Paris (irony)
Frankfort (irony 2)
Shelbyville (Heard of it not sure why)
Louisville (Ali)
English (well you’ve jus got to)
Birdseye (comedy name)
Oakland City
Mount Carmel
Fairfield
Mount Vernon
Nashville
Freeburg
Concord
Defiance
Hermann
Columbia
Marshall
Wellington
Kansas City (promised a BBQ)
Tonganoxie
Topeka
Paxico
Manhattan
Oak Hill
Delphos
Blue Hill
Covert (try to sneak through without being noticed)
Zurich (irony 3)
Hill City
Hoxie
Rexford
Achilles (must be a classic)
Ludell
Max (to see what the speed limit is)
Ough
Champion
Amherst
Red Lion (name of the local Pub)
Sidney
Kimball
Cheyenne (wild west)
Laramie (the man from…)
Columbine
Savery
Manila
Mountain View
Evanston
Logan
Burley
Twin Falls
Gooding
Mountain Home
Boise
Payette
Baker City
La Grande
Pendleton
Kennewick
Yakima- -Naches
Tacoma- -South Cle Elum
-North Bend
-Issaquah
-Newcastle
-Mercer Island

Seattle

Thoughts, diversions, add-ons, deletions, must sees, best avoided?

I live near your proposed route. Harpers Ferry, WV. Check the community page
Bob

"Shelbyville (Heard of it not sure why)"

-- you must be a sometime Simpsons fan? Shelbyville is to Springfield as, errr, Ipswich is to Norwich. Reason enough to visit, I'd say.

I hope you mean I should visit Shelbyville and not Ipswich. I had an office there for a while and I'd rather forget about it.

You dont mention how much time you have but here is my suggestion for the Eastern portion of your trip.

Head SW out of NY. Personally I would take the slab just to get away as soon as possible. Pick up the SKYLINE Drive in Front Royal, VA (due W of DC). Continue S on the BLUE RIDGE Parkway. Ride the Dragon (US129) while you are in the neighborhood of W. NC.

Cut W across TN and pick up the NATCHEZ Trace in Nashville, TN. Ride it SW to Natchez, MS. Take your pick of backroads on a general NW route back up to OR.

Have a great time.

Yankee Dog

Highway 50 is about a mile from me, but that's in Sacramento which is on no one's plan for riding through. But if you show up around here, let me know. I'd like to meet you. That's open for anyone coming through this place. Have a couch and a garage for anyone.

In October, I went 50 from Kansas to California. In Utah had snow and freezing rain. Pick-up truck, not bike sadly.

------------------
Random attempts have
been made at RTW on
a '65 Ducati 250cc

definatly take the Blue Ridge Parkway down. Very nice scenic curvy road, and it leads to one of the best (may be biased since i live so close) motorcycle areas in North America along with probably the best single motorcycle road in the world... US 129/ Deals Gap. you can check out info about the BRP and Deals Gap area at www.tailofthedragon.com/ also while your down in that area the Cherohala Skyway is a must.

Here's a rivision of the route posted earlier.
It's based on all of the input I've received from guys like you, plus the AMA Guide and books I picked up in Seattle.
It can still be honed further, so suggestions are still welcomed:
Town/city route

Morton's BMW-Baltimore
frederick
bolivar
front royal
skyland
newton
love
irish creek
Overlook
winston salem
Asheville
Cherokee IR
Indian Gap
Deal's Gap
Madisonville
Spring City
Crossville
Sparta
Smithville
Lebanon
franklin
russellville
hopkinsville
Dawson Spring
Clay
shawneetown
Carbondale
Sand Ridge
Chester
Claryville
St Marys
Thomure
Bloomsdale
Cedar Hill Lakes
St Clair
Union
Rosebud
Jefferson City
Sedalia
Lees
Kansas
Emporia
Elmdale
McPherson
Great Bend
Kinsley
Dodge City
Garden City
Hasty
Pueblo
Canon City
Poncha Springs
sapinero
montrose
ridgway
placerville
Vancorum
La Sal Junction
Moab
Canyon lands NP
moab
Beaver
Baker
Ely
Austin 50
Fallon
Fernley
Sparks
Doyle
Susanville
Old Station
Redding
Weaverville
willow creek
Blue Lake 299
Moonstone 101
Orick 101
Klamath
Crescent City
Harbour
Gold Beach
Port Orford
Bandon
Florence
Tillamook
Seaside
Astoria
South Bend
elma
Shelton
Port Orchard
104-3 juction
Ferry
Edmonds
The End...of the beginning.

Remember the song -
"It rained all night the day I left,
the weather it was dry;
The sun so hot I froze to death,
Susanna don't you cry."

Take the gear you will need to be warm and dry.
When the weather is warm and dry be sure you have enough room to pack your cold weather and rain gear.
If you think that you will need a service call the dealer you want a month ahead of time.
If you can't make the appointment call them and they can re-schedule you.
I have made several cross country trips (US) and I don't bother with a service unless it is a round trip.
Sierra BMW would be good if you do want a service.
John

consider adjusting your route a bit south and take Missouri HWY 160. It runs most of the way across the state just above the border with AR. Great curvy back road. Pick it up in the vicinity of Poplar Bluff.

Take the ferry across the Mississippi at Hickman, KY just for grins. Anybody can cross using a bridge.

Yankee Dog