peergum
New Member
So I finally finished a rough planning of my trip around the USA, as a preliminary preparation for my coming RTW trip (in fact, somehow part of it too).
I posted the details on my own blog, here, including google maps for 4 consecutive legs (due to the limitation of how many waypoints you can have on a map) , but I'll summarize here for whoever doesn't want to click on a link away from the forum.
So I'll be leaving Vancouver, BC, Canada around mid-october - no precise date decided yet, depending on some pending paperwork (will and such...) - and heading toward Washington state, then Yellowstone (via Moon Craters park), then Montana - I wanted to say hello to the city that carries my last name, Hilger - then a little jump to Nebraska (just to say I went through it), and then up to Milwaukee and finally Chicago. Then I'll start going south, with the mandatory passage through Nashville, then heading toward North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, where I hope to get still a bit of sweet temperatures - one can dream, might as well be lots of rain...
After going down Florida, I'll go back up to Alabama, then down again to Louisiana - always wanted to see New Orleans - then heading towards the big Texan cities.
I then will visit the colorado states, saying hello to Denver, then down to the Grand Canyon, then close to the mexican border to get a feel of what will come later, then toward San Diego. I'll then go up to Los Angeles, then will drive east to Death Valley and then back west toward San Francisco.
I'll end the trip with the Oregon Coast, Seattle, and back to Vancouver, BC.
The whole thing should not take me less than 45 days, and possibly more around 60. I quit my job, and I'll try to keep the budget as low as possible - camping whenever I can, possibly couchsurfing too (never have, but there's a first to everything) and as a last resort, using cheap motels - so I don't have any time pressure on me, other than having to be back home for the Holiday season. Since my canadian citizenship is pending, I may have to go back earlier, though, but I have absolutely no timeline for that, and if it looks impossible to be back in Vancouver in time, I'll just look for a way to store my bike somewhere and fly to Vancouver and then back to my bike's location - which would incur in unexpected expenses though...
So, I think I'm getting ready with all the trip preparation: tent, sleeping bag and camping gear: CHECK; bike gear for travelling: CHECK; GPS tracker(s): CHECK; TKC-80 tires, handguards: COMING; crashbars: NONE available in the very short term for the NC, so SKIP; GEOS assistance and repatriement: CHECK... I'm pretty sure I WILL forget something, and it will be a pain in the a** when I notice it, but that's life. I guess I'm going to learn a lot with this trip, about myself first, about the bike then, and obviously about all the people I will meet.
Looking forward to start the trip!
I posted the details on my own blog, here, including google maps for 4 consecutive legs (due to the limitation of how many waypoints you can have on a map) , but I'll summarize here for whoever doesn't want to click on a link away from the forum.
So I'll be leaving Vancouver, BC, Canada around mid-october - no precise date decided yet, depending on some pending paperwork (will and such...) - and heading toward Washington state, then Yellowstone (via Moon Craters park), then Montana - I wanted to say hello to the city that carries my last name, Hilger - then a little jump to Nebraska (just to say I went through it), and then up to Milwaukee and finally Chicago. Then I'll start going south, with the mandatory passage through Nashville, then heading toward North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, where I hope to get still a bit of sweet temperatures - one can dream, might as well be lots of rain...
After going down Florida, I'll go back up to Alabama, then down again to Louisiana - always wanted to see New Orleans - then heading towards the big Texan cities.
I then will visit the colorado states, saying hello to Denver, then down to the Grand Canyon, then close to the mexican border to get a feel of what will come later, then toward San Diego. I'll then go up to Los Angeles, then will drive east to Death Valley and then back west toward San Francisco.
I'll end the trip with the Oregon Coast, Seattle, and back to Vancouver, BC.
The whole thing should not take me less than 45 days, and possibly more around 60. I quit my job, and I'll try to keep the budget as low as possible - camping whenever I can, possibly couchsurfing too (never have, but there's a first to everything) and as a last resort, using cheap motels - so I don't have any time pressure on me, other than having to be back home for the Holiday season. Since my canadian citizenship is pending, I may have to go back earlier, though, but I have absolutely no timeline for that, and if it looks impossible to be back in Vancouver in time, I'll just look for a way to store my bike somewhere and fly to Vancouver and then back to my bike's location - which would incur in unexpected expenses though...
So, I think I'm getting ready with all the trip preparation: tent, sleeping bag and camping gear: CHECK; bike gear for travelling: CHECK; GPS tracker(s): CHECK; TKC-80 tires, handguards: COMING; crashbars: NONE available in the very short term for the NC, so SKIP; GEOS assistance and repatriement: CHECK... I'm pretty sure I WILL forget something, and it will be a pain in the a** when I notice it, but that's life. I guess I'm going to learn a lot with this trip, about myself first, about the bike then, and obviously about all the people I will meet.
Looking forward to start the trip!
