Road trips!

[Will Wood]

Arn't they a blast?
My freinds and I are in the process of planing one. First I've been on that lasted more than a two days. I've said "Screw it!" and just started driving west before, but never more than one night out.
Maine to California. One of my freinds will be riding on her newly acquired Yamaha YZF R6, and the rest of us will follow in a Van. Plans to stop in New York, hopefully Chicago and then Colorado to pick up someone, then finish out way to Cali.

So.. this would be a good place for ya'll to share stories
And good places we should stop at that I don't know about near a Maine to Cali route?

We've broken up the finacial sitation.. think we're spending too much?
California Trip Late June/Early July
Funds:
Gas: Bike-35mpg = $200 (All on Crystal)
Van-23mpg = $300 (Roughly $80 a person)
Food: About $450 a person should be sufficient.
-Also bring Munchies for the ride.
Hotels: Usually a room is $60/night. 4+ of us = $15 a person.
12 days x $15 = $180/person + taxes = $200/person.

6 days of driving.
5 days in Cali (3 in LA and 2 in SanFransisco)
1 day in Vegas (Woo!) = 12 day trip.

Drive 32 straight hours to Denver. Portland to Denver - 2091mi.
Sleep 12 hours.
Drive 14 hours to Cali. Denver to Cali - 1018mi.

There you have it..

[temps]

32 straight hours 4 guys (?) 1 van.. have fun

[nippinout]

I drove from Minneapolis to Las Vegas and back last week. I learned that I prefer the flat boring state of Nebraska to the mountainous deathtraps that they call Colorado.

Snowy conditions on an unlit winding mountainside highway with warning signs of icy conditions, falling rocks, and deer are not conditions I like to drive in. The entire state of Colorado east of Denver smelled like zoo. I'm serious, it smelled like zoo, on almost a third of the state.

There's a 110mile stretch on 15 in Utah that has no facilities. No bathrooms, no gas stations, no rest areas. Just trucks, more rocks, more deer, but less scary terrain.

The drive to Vegas and back was around 3500 miles, 2005 Jeep Liberty at 24mpg highway, the gas ended up at around $315. New York to California is going to cost more than that for gas. Remember that the faster you drive, gas efficiency drops.

I kind of wish that we didn't have the Jeep, because we had a more gas efficient car to use, but the 4-wheel drive was pretty handy in the death canyons of America.

Have fun, and most importantly, drive safe. Bring noseplugs for Colorado.

[Will Wood]

32 straight hours 4 guys (?) 1 van.. have fun

Woah, woah, who ever said it was four guys?
Mind in the gutter there..

Yea, I realized our gas calculation was way off. More like double that.

[chairman_mao]

Think about camping rather than hotels it's a lot cheaper.

[Will Wood]

Yea, but my freind on the bike doesn't dare to camp in random spots, thinks we'll all get murdered. I would do it, but then I'd feel like an *** cheaping out and not paying for a room with everyone else.

[bornl33t]

Arn't they a blast?
My freinds and I are in the process of planing one. First I've been on that lasted more than a two days. I've said "Screw it!" and just started driving west before, but never more than one night out.
Maine to California. One of my freinds will be riding on her newly acquired Yamaha YZF R6, and the rest of us will follow in a Van. Plans to stop in New York, hopefully Chicago and then Colorado to pick up someone, then finish out way to Cali.

So.. this would be a good place for ya'll to share stories
And good places we should stop at that I don't know about near a Maine to Cali route?

We've broken up the finacial sitation.. think we're spending too much?
California Trip Late June/Early July
Funds:
Gas: Bike-35mpg = $200 (All on Crystal)
Van-23mpg = $300 (Roughly $80 a person)
Food: About $450 a person should be sufficient.
-Also bring Munchies for the ride.
Hotels: Usually a room is $60/night. 4+ of us = $15 a person.
12 days x $15 = $180/person + taxes = $200/person.

6 days of driving.
5 days in Cali (3 in LA and 2 in SanFransisco)
1 day in Vegas (Woo!) = 12 day trip.

Drive 32 straight hours to Denver. Portland to Denver - 2091mi.
Sleep 12 hours.
Drive 14 hours to Cali. Denver to Cali - 1018mi.

There you have it..

I'm gonna say gas for the van will cost you a minimum for 600$ for maine to california. The bike will pry do better then you expect though. I work for a country Inn in Iowa and the cheapest room we have 78$ then you still gotta slap on 12% lodging tax.

I'd save a couple hundred more, if for no other reason just incase murphy's law strikes.

[SlartyBartFast]

Best road trip I've done: 4000km (2485.485miles) in 16 days.

Paris > south of France > Switzerland (Lucern) > Austria (Innsbruck, Zell um See) > Germany (Munich) > Paris

Low point near sea level, high point somewhere around 2500 m at the top of the road for Grosglockner. http://www.grossglockner.at/

[bornl33t]

hahah that's in Tyrol! I used to live there! Stubai Valley. We drove through Zell am See regularly I didn't know that the Gross Glockner had a tourist draw like that!

I used to live a 5 min walk from the lift to this skilift, literally http://www.schlick2000.at/

[SlartyBartFast]

I didn't know that the Gross Glockner had a tourist draw like that!

Wel, we didn't head there specifically. The only planning that was done for that trip was when we had to leave and the fact I wanted to see my cousin in Munich.

But got to say driving up Gross Glockner was worth it. Absolutely beautiful.

There was also something surreal about eating outside at the top of the mountain at Zell um See looking over the valley and the beautiful mountains with a stein of good beer and a good meal .