East Coast to West Coast Advise

[Flying Kiwis]

Hi everyone, its been a while since we first posted regarding this trip. We are now about 10 weeks away from starting and are looking for advise on places to stay along the way and any other advise you may wish to offer. We are not wealthy people so are looking for CLEAN and ECONOMICAL accomodation preferably with secure parking for the bike if possible.

We are buying a 2008AE from speedtoyz in Atlanta, which he has kindly been adding farkles to for us, which we will be collecting on the 18th / 19th Sept. Due to the oil situation in the Gulf our proposed route has changed from what we originally planned. However we'd appreciate any advise re the oil thing as we may change back to the original route if its not too badly affected.

The main stops on our route at this stage is as follows:

Atlanta

Savannah NC

Ashville NC

Nashville

Memphis

Oklahoma

Santa fe

Flagstaff

Las Vegas

San Francisco

Las Angeles

Obviously there wil be other stops along the way ie: a couple of places on the Pacific Coast, so any recommendations on places to stop at would be greatly appreciated.

Of course along the way we'd love a chance to meet as many of you guys as possible and maybe enjoy a meal and a beer or what ever with you if you have time.

Looking forward to the responses.

Allan & Jen

 

[ctfjr]

Greetings Kiwi's

I have found great places to stay at B&B's (bed & breakfast) in my travels cross country. There are several B&B guides and as I recall I think the AAA Tourguides even list some. If you really know what areas you want to stay in before you start it becomes a lot easier - the internet can be your friend. Of course if you have interent access on your journey you can find them as you go.

In general I have found:

They are competitively priced with lower cost motels.

It is a really great way to meet some locals & learn about the area you are in.

Since I am into photography, you can really get some great suggestions on photo-ops.

Breakfast is almost always far more than I could ever want (or eat) and is usually superb.

Some of them now even have internet access for guests.

The B&B's I have stayed at have had very secure parking (I remember in Thunder Bay, Ont the owner took his car out of the garage & let me keep the bike there.

Sounds like a great trip - there are some really great National Parks along your route if you are so inclined

Enjoy the hell out of it!

 

[Silver Penguin]

We're a few miles to the south of Los Angeles. If you end up in this area, come on over. I'm sure we can fix up something nice to eat and drink while we listen to your road stories.

 

[Flying Kiwis]

Greetings Kiwi's
I have found great places to stay at B&B's (bed & breakfast) in my travels cross country. There are several B&B guides and as I recall I think the AAA Tourguides even list some. If you really know what areas you want to stay in before you start it becomes a lot easier - the internet can be your friend. Of course if you have interent access on your journey you can find them as you go.

In general I have found:

They are competitively priced with lower cost motels.

It is a really great way to meet some locals & learn about the area you are in.

Since I am into photography, you can really get some great suggestions on photo-ops.

Breakfast is almost always far more than I could ever want (or eat) and is usually superb.

Some of them now even have internet access for guests.

The B&B's I have stayed at have had very secure parking (I remember in Thunder Bay, Ont the owner took his car out of the garage & let me keep the bike there.

Sounds like a great trip - there are some really great National Parks along your route if you are so inclined

Enjoy the hell out of it!

Thanks, we are looking into B&B places for sure, we've stayed at a few in NZ and are keen to do so in the states. If you have any in particular you can recommend on our route we'd appreciate it. Always nice to get a personal opinion rather than one from a publication.

 

[Flying Kiwis]

We're a few miles to the south of Los Angeles. If you end up in this area, come on over. I'm sure we can fix up something nice to eat and drink while we listen to your road stories.

Thanks for the invite, we'll be spending a few days in LA at the end of the journey and would love to catch up with you. We'll keep in touch.

 

[madmike2]

Due to the oil situation in the Gulf our proposed route has changed from what we originally planned. However we'd appreciate any advise re the oil thing as we may change back to the original route if its not too badly affected.
Allan & Jen

Re: Oil Spill

Patriot (from New Orleans) has a thread going about that very issue: Linked Here

Within his first post he has his email address. You might contact him directly for better and more up-to-date information. And he seems fairly knowledgeable about the gulf area and might be able to assist you finding lodgings.

 

[ctfjr]

Sorry Kiwi but I really don't have any specific ones that would help you. Most of my LD riding is in the northern part of the US & Canada

I found the B&B in Thunder Bay where the owner let me put the bike in his garage - but it doesn't help you

If you get to Connecticut (I'm 1-1/2 hours from NYC) give us a shout . I'd be happy to swap lies with you.

 

[UHOH]

'twixt Flagstaff and L Vegas; suggest going around Grand Canyon north side to include Zion Nat'l Park in SW Utah (Springdale, UT).

fully beautiful and different than what you have in NZ.

On your concern about safe overnight parking - consider getting what we call 'comprehensive coverage' on your insurance, if you get such.

It protects your bike for any damage when it's just sitting and turned off (like overnight). Probably ~$75/yr.

[SIZE=8pt]I've never had a problem with M/C damage while on trip.[/SIZE]

You'll want a cell phone. Any of the big chain stores (Best Buy, Target, Shopko, Office Depot) sell 'pre-paid' cell phones for $30-50.

Virgin, TracPhone and other brands. Buy minutes for ~$50 and you're good for the month. Should be about $.10/minute talk and $.04/text message.

Needed to coordinate with other riders and make motel reservations. Can buy more minutes if you run out.

was in Las Vegas 2 months ago, or any more questions for the western part of your trip?, PM me.

Since limited time, between Kentucky and Santa Fe I'd use the interstate freeways/major roads to cover it in 2 long days.

enjoy

 

[Silver Penguin]

'twixt Flagstaff and L Vegas; suggest going around Grand Canyon north side to include Zion Nat'l Park in SW Utah (Springdale, UT). fully beautiful and different than what you have in NZ.

+1 on that suggestion. If your itinerary can possibly include Zion National Park, you'll enjoy it. There is a road through the park that allows most of the scenery to be enjoyed from a moving bike. There are also places to pull over and really soak in the beauty of the red rocks.

We've been to other parks where the best bits were a short hike from the road. Not cool in full gear, plus it meant letting the bikes out of our sight.

The road at the southern end of the park is torn up but OK if you take it steady.

If you're going to vist more than a couple of National parks, consider buying a parks pass. Details are available on the National Parks website. Make sure that both riders are 'related' to each other and you can share one pass.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Make sure you have a current copy of the FJR Assistance list with you. Here is a link to the thread: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...Assistance+list

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

I am about 2 hours from Nashville near Paducah, ky. If you need a place to stay or if you have any trouble call me. Also I might ride to Memphis with you if I am free.

 

[Fairlaner]

When are you planning on hitting the LA area?

R

 

[FJRay]

Doesn't look like you are hitting the north west but if you do I have extra rooms and a large shop to park the bike in. I am right in the middle of Oregon. Phone 541-536-8556

 

[Flying Kiwis]

When are you planning on hitting the LA area?
R

That would be the week of October 11th to 15th, I think we fly out on the 15th or it might be the 16th, not sure, the wife has been dealing with that stuff. I'm all about the bike and gear.

 

[Flying Kiwis]

Doesn't look like you are hitting the north west but if you do I have extra rooms and a large shop to park the bike in. I am right in the middle of Oregon. Phone 541-536-8556

Really appreciate the kind offer but I don't think we'll be getting that far north this trip.

 

[Flying Kiwis]

Well now, from what we're reading it seems that maybe we shouldn't be writing off the Gulf area just yet. From what Patriot is saying it's not that bad after all and it seems they've just plugged the well so hopefully things will improve from here on. Any other comments on the situation?

 

[Flying Kiwis]

Here's a link to our Google map showing our proposed route at this stage. We'll be updating it with more detail from time to time.

https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?hl=en&amp...448e75d&z=4