dm_johnson@xanadu.DEC (11/04/85)
At 400 miles per day you will spend all day on the bike. And based on my travels you can probably get to the Rockies in 5 days at that rate. I've never been further west than that except for on an airplane. For a more leisurely stop and take a look at a couple of things try 300 miles per day. As for route what is the time of year. As an ex Minnesotan I highly recommend New England to Minneapolis via Canada and the top of Lake Superior. Or cutting through Sault Ste. Marie and upper Wisconsin to Minneapolis. Driving Chicago is the pits! And on a bike is double pits when much more attractive routes for only marginal added distance are available. There is a state park (Gooseberry Falls I believe) half way down the Lake Superior shore that you can camp in right on the shore of Lake Superior. Well worth it. And I've also camped on the shore of Lake Huron outside of Sault STe. marie. South Dakota has the Badlands. If you only do the trip once then pass that way. Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and western Colorado you should plan on a maximum mileage day and hustle through it somewhat quickly. Oops, make that eastern Colorado. But 10, 10, and 10 days sounds doable. Denny Johnson
grw@encore.UUCP (Gary Wasserman) (11/08/85)
As far as driving across South Dakota is concerned... I have never been so bored in my life. If the endless corn doesn't kill you the Wall Drug signs will. The Badlands are great. But it's a tossup whether they're worth the agony of an east-west crossing of SD. My next trip across SD will be on my K bike at about 135mph. At that rate the trip is borderline bearable (maybe).