Tim’s Epic Bike Trip 2023
My starting point will be from Emerald Isle, NC (Emerald Isle Bogue Pier) ending in CA (Santa Monica Pier and then up to Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco). In between, I will traverse approximately 5000 miles across the mid-US connecting to several cities but mainly the most "rad" rides on a bike! These include two "dragon" rides (Back of the Dragon in VA and Tail of the Dragon in NC and TN), Blue Ridge Parkway (NC), Cherohala Skyway (NC and TN), several mountain passes twisty rides in Colorado Rockies, portions of the classic Route 66 in NM, AZ, and CA, and finishing with the US 1 Pacific Coast Highway.
My general route will be NC coast to VA/NC Appalachian mountains, Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville, St. Louis, across the Great plains of MO and KS to Colorado. That will take about 9 days.
Colorado will include several classic rides across the state for 5 days. Rocky Mountain National Park via Peak to Peak epic ride, a climb up Mt. Evans, more mountain passes near Aspen and Glenwood Springs finishing with the San Juan Skyway ride aka Million Dollar Hwy Telluride/Ouray to Durango. Check out some of the rides below:
Going south from CO to NM and AZ and then over to C). Stops include Gallup, NM, Winslow, AZ ("I'm waiting on a corner in Winslow, AZ, such a fine sight to see..."), Flagstaff, epic ride to Sedona over to Parker, AZ, Joshua Tree NP, then onto Big Bear, CA in the eastern CA mountains. That will be about another 5 days including a two-night stay in Big Bear for local rides.
The final push to the West Coast to Santa Monica Pier.
The last leg will be up the CA coast via PCH, Big Sur/Carmel, and finally to San Francisco (3 days). The plan is to drop off the bike at San Fran Harley for service on August 5th. It will then be shipped back to NC, my local Harley dealer in Jacksonville, NC about a week later. My route home is a first-class seat on American Airlines on August 6th.
While I hope to stick to this itinerary, including the 19 hotel reservations, weather or other unforeseen events may alter things a bit. I've built in some two-night stays that could be converted to single. Bottom line, I have a plan but will remain flexible as needed to enjoy the ride and arrive in San Francisco safely! My riding rule is no nighttime travel and limits rain travel as much as possible.
My general routine will be an early start; up by 5 am and on the road by 6 am. With stops, I will be out on the road for about 8-9 hours arriving at hotels around 2-3 in the afternoon. Miles per day will vary with long highway stretches being long "cruise" days (up to 450 miles) and shorter rides for the "radical twisty-type rides" (typically 200-225). Overall averaging about 250 miles/day.