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Motorcycle Forum / General / Motorcycles / April 2008trip planning?
please flame easy if the answer to these questions is, as it was with my aftermarket pipes question, as simple as a matter of taste rather than fact ... but... i'm planning a trip for mid june up to buffalo (from manhattan) and i've been tooling around on google to get some ideas with highways, it's 400 miles and 6.5 hours ... without, it's 375 miles and 9 hours ideally, i'd like some kind of compromise, and i've got no problem leaving early in the morning on either leg of the trip to avoid traffic and procedurally, i'll be getting a check-up maybe 2 weeks before heading out, and i won't be buying a gps device but my phone actually is one, so in a worst-case (so long as i retain the phone) i should be able to navigate out ... the question is: how do i make it awesome? how do i pick good roads? i've driven to buffalo by car and it's a snooze fest ... i know i can do rochester in 4 hours, so buffalo in 5 or maybe 5.5 is possible ... but it's all boring! it's all asleep on the highways! i'd like to *experience* the trip rather than put my life on hold for 4 hours to trudge through it ... i KNOW you know what i mean ... i'm asking how atlas? (google maps?) who do i talk to? clubs nearby (i live on 11th st and there's a hell's angels club on 3rd ... and a christian club i know of just north of the city ... and that's all i know)? is there a "walkthrough" or just a list of fun waypoints i can see and string together on my own? or is all of this foolish because the point is to just make it up as you go, maybe bring a compass and take a best-guess? i suppose asking that proves i have no soul ^_^ i don't mind a little highway, but preferably no more than 90 minutes ... so ... 5-6 hrs on lesser roads, assuming they're fun roads (scenic, twisty, or simply not with traffic lights every few feet, like US-9) - that's my goal so....thanks, -c > i'm planning a trip for mid june up to buffalo (from manhattan) and > i've been tooling around on google to get some ideas Maybe somebody will chime in with specifics but my "general" advise is: Look at a paper map. A regional one often works better. Look for U.S. routes that roughly parallel the Interstate(s). That is probably what you would get if you tell a map program or GPS to avoid freeways. It will take longer but be MUCH more enjoyable, even if the roads are fairly straight. Lots of "quaint" things to see on those old "main" roads.......and they are usually in good shape because of the lack of (truck) traffic. And if your situation should change, then you are (usually) only a few minutes from the freeway to make a quick getaway! ;-) >i'm planning a trip for mid june up to buffalo (from manhattan) and >i've been tooling around on google to get some ideas > >the question is: how do i make it awesome? how do i pick good roads? I use AAA maps that show a lot of tourist features - parks, etc, that you may want to visit. County maps are best, they show more detail. I look for the squiggliest roads on the map. Then I look to see if there are other main roads that go the same direction - so the squiggly road doesn't get _all_ the traffic. After a while, you get the hang of it, and find yourself heading south when the eventual destination is north. You pull off to a gas station and ask an attendant, "Are there any really pretty, nasty slow winding roads around here?" and he'll say, "Where are you trying to get to?" and you answer, "It doesn't matter." When you've done all the fun roads in the area and it's getting dark, you can get on the highway and go to your destination.  SignatureTurby the Turbosurfer > with highways, it's 400 miles and 6.5 hours ... without, it's 375 > miles and 9 hours Stay off the NY throughways as much as possible. You don't see anything except roads, other vehicles, and gas stations right on the throughway. I found that the drivers were polite and obeyed the speed limit and they didn't try to hog the left lane. There were very few other cars on the throughway. A retired house painter that I used to ride with has been talking about buying a house in Buffalo, because they are rather cheap. He wants to live there in the summer and live in California during the winter to escape the bitter cold winters. > the question is: how do i make it awesome? how do i pick good roads? > i've driven to buffalo by car and it's a snooze fest ... i know i can > do rochester in 4 hours, so buffalo in 5 or maybe 5.5 is possible ... > but it's all boring! it's all asleep on the highways! The only time I visited NYC and the state, I had a bargain airfare. (1) I wanted to see Niagara falls, so I rented a small car at JFK and pointed it west without planning. Bad move. The throughways are terminally boring. I asked a gas station attendant where the *motorcycle roads* were, and he tried to tell me that the throughway was right there and that it was a "good road". I started telling the guy about California and our awesome canyon and mountain roads, but I might as well have been talking to a dairy cow... Returning to NYC, I cut diagonally down the state through the Finger Lakes and Watkins Glen. That was scenic, and the grape vineyards were unexpected. Then I got stuck on the southern tier throughway, which was more f.cked up than the northern route because it was so bumpy it beat my a.s to death. And that was in a car. Imagine what it would be like on a cruiser. The closer I got to NYC headed east, the deeper I got into the Borscht Belt and the generic fast food joints and the run down motels. (1) $100 round trip, believe it or not and I could have gotten an even deeper discount to $80 if I'd been a senile citizen. The catch was that the trip routed me through the airline's St. Louis hub, coming and going, so the flights took about 8 hours total... > i'm planning a trip for mid june up to buffalo (from manhattan) I know getting there is half the fun, but about the other half... why choose Buffalo, NY as a vacation destination? I have not heard that it's the most happening place on the continent. (This is only a very mild flame). SQ > > i'm planning a trip for mid june up to buffalo (from manhattan) > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > SQ oh, just visiting some friends - annual bbq flying, round trip, is $200 ... i might take that route as i'd be traveling up with some other nyc friends (part of the bbq party up there), but honestly the ride is more appealing than the old friends (also, i am a sociopath) i *am* planning to take some more selfish vacations ... was looking at heading up to maine or down as far south as i can, along the ocean, hopefully to see the gulf of mexico but that will be next month's post ^_^ |
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