Motorcycle / Paved Road Atlas

[DesignFlaw06]

I'm in the process of planning a trip out to Colorado. meeting a few other people from another forum, so I'm trying to get a few routes together. They're mostly on Honda Nighthawks, so they don't have the range that I do. But the problem I keep running into is that there are roads that are unpaved, which is exactly what I'd like to avoid. Is there some type of atlas or map that I could get that would make this easier?

 

[Glamisking]

I have Butler's Motorcycle map for Southern California and it's great. Check out their Colorado one.

https://www.butlermaps.com/Motorcycle-Road-Maps/36/Colorado-Map-%2526-Motorcycling-Colorado-Book

 

[TomInPA]

You can plan the routes in MapSource and specify avoid unpaved roads. It can be fun to route to avoid Highways as well to keep off interstates. Many computer map programs share these routing options and features, and waypoints can be uploaded to a GPS. What am I missing about your question?

 

[wheatonFJR]

I'd like to help you but somehow I myself am unable to avoid atleast one "marginally paved" road on my trips.

If I am especially unlucky, there is a hillclimb involved as well.

:yahoo:

 

[SacramentoMike]

Atlases are OK for general planning purposes, IMO, but you want a map with enough detail to differentiate between types of roads--heavy black lines, gray lines, dotted lines, etc. On a trip of this length and this much expense, it's worth it to buy a map for every state you're passing through (though you can sometimes find them free at official visitor centers just inside state borders).

I like to take the map and fold it so the next few hours' route shows through the map holder on my tank bag. Pretty much wrecks the map with all the new folds you make, but that's when I need it--right then while I'm in the state. Don't much care about having nice pristine maps to take home and store when the trip's over. If you or a friend are members of AAA, get them all in advance for free. Great maps, and they have multiple maps for each state. For example, I have their Northern California map, and others for Central and Southern CA too.

 

[phroenips]

for Colorado specifically, check out https://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/

If you'll happen to be here in mid-July, you're welcome to join us for SW-FOG!

In either case, I'd be happy to look over any potential routes and give my feedback.

 

[cofz1]

There's a motorcycle map at some of the dealers here that has roads rated by difficulty. It's a map that was put together with some help from members of the Colorado Sportbike Club. Has a bunch of the roads that the locals ride. I forget the name (yeah I know, real helpful). Try the CSC board or I'll check the next time I'm in a dealership.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I'm in the process of planning a trip out to Colorado. meeting a few other people from another forum, so I'm trying to get a few routes together. They're mostly on Honda Nighthawks, so they don't have the range that I do. But the problem I keep running into is that there are roads that are unpaved, which is exactly what I'd like to avoid. Is there some type of atlas or map that I could get that would make this easier?

The website previously sited above should be helpful.

I assume you've been out there before and have done Poudre Canyon...so make sure you do it during the week/non peak hours...you'll be glad you did...that and Buckhorn Road. Then there's all the good roads in the southwest...then there's the good stuff by Black Canyon/Gunnison.

Just don't P#ss off the cell phone wielding cagers while running though the lines going through Wolf Creek Pass...you might meet Colorado State Trooper Fenwick...or one of his buddies.

 

[RossKean]

When contemplating an unknown route/road, I use Google Maps street view. Many roads have street view available - you just have to drag the character sitting on top of the map zoom bar to the road in question and get a view of the road (or scenery). Not all roads are available in street view but there is a fair chance that anything not there may be of lesser quality. Doesn't do you much good on the fly but is a valuable tool for planning.

Ross

 

[timk]

State govts usually have maps for free. They highlite stuff they consider cool. Ohio has a "motorcycle Ohio" map that they give out at large events.

 

[DesignFlaw06]

Well we're staying in Gunnison, CO at the KOA there. Basically we want to use that as base camp and make loops back to it in probably the 200-250 mile range. And we'd need at least 1 fuel/eat stop in there. It will be over Labor Day weekend. And we'd probably have 3 days of that. I've been using StreetView on Google, and that's where we're running into some issues with unpaved roads. Routes that I had assumed were good are turning out to not be as pavement friendly as I had hoped. But there are some routes that look like they could be paved all the way, and StreetView doesn't go all the way through. We'll have probably 20 bikes or so, so there will be a lot of variance in skill level. I don't want to assume everyone is comfortable on dirt, and frankly I don't enjoy it myself. I'd have to wash my bike after every trip.

So if there is any experience that way, or routes recommended, it would be greatly appreciated.

This is our Nighthawk Rally with Nighthawk-Forums.com, which is what I used to ride. Last year we did Pennsylvania, and the year before that we did North Carolina at The Dragon.