Is it too early to start talking about the 2015 ride across the US yet? Tough shit, ’cause I’m going to do it anyway. As usual, posting early so that anyone that wants to come along can start to make plans, save up the cash, etc.

I did this same trip several years ago and really enjoyed it. Only took a week off for it back then but would like to stretch it a little longer this time. Here ‘s the very loose plan;

Indy to Sturgis, SD, Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, etc. Then up to Glacier National Park in northwest Montana before heading south to the Salt Flats and into the Ricky Mountains of Colorado before heading back east. Total mileage is around 5,500 miles.

An easy way to scrape off some mileage is to fly into Denver, hire bikes there and meet up with us. This will save ya 2,200 miles of riding across the Midwest. It’s fun to ride the Midwest once if you want a feeling of accomplishment, but no real reason to do it unless ya wanna. So then you’d have this as a plan;

I’ll make an amendment to my route to meet up with people in Denver to get them sorted on their bikes, etc. Won’t leave anyone hanging along in a foreign country without a clue how to get around.

Costs are always a concern; but here are some ball park figures;
Hotel: $50 per person per night
Bike: $125 per day
Fuel: $450 for the long trip, $300 for the shorter version
Food: as little as much as ya like – I’d budget $20 per day. Breakfast is usually free at the hotels, lunch in gas station will run $5.00 and dinner can be a cheap $10 pizza or $25 steaks – depends on what ya want.

Date:
Early to mid July. Glacier National Park doesn’t thaw out much before the end of June,leaving a few roads impassable. SO it’s best to go mid-summer.

No set in stone route yet either – always room to add in an attraction ya wanna see if it’s close enough by – such as Yellowstone National Park, etc.

So, any takers? Bueller?