In the planning stages of my next cross country venture which will likely happen in mid June. I'll give myself a couple of weeks to complete the trip and I'll be traveling solo on my Ultra Limited. In terms of riding conditions preference, I'm not a huge fan of twisties/switchbacks or high elevations. Desolate is okay...to a degree. I did an east to west cross country trip this past May and one of my favorite states was Iowa...flat and farms as far as the I could see...loved it. I'm looking for opinions/tips/advice on the route, weather concerns, so on and so forth. Thank you.
Dave

(Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to paste just my 2014 route. Go to to top right of Ride Planner and click "4 saved roads", then "cross country 2014").

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.c...idePlanner.jsp

 

My apologies. Link not working. End user error!

 

I, too, really enjoy riding most places west of the Mississippi.

I've taken Rt 6 across the northern part of Penn. Central Ohio and Indiana are states I just try to get across without getting hit.

Normally I stop in Springfield, Il and visit Lincoln's tomb.


then on across Iowa via the Lincoln Highway


From there northern Nebraska along the Outlaw Trail is a nice ride


and Western Nebraska getting into the Badlands


Central Nebraska has the Sand Hills and South Dakota has, well, a lot of wide open spaces.

I try to ride out there every year - the east is just an assault on the senses that I don't need anymore.

Good luck and ride safe!

 

All right. I think I've figured how to attach my route here. If not, I'm not sure what to do. Anyway, I'm looking for input on the route...thanks.

http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.c...2&locale=en_US

 

I'll take a closer look at it later tonight, but just a heads up that the link works great!

 

Looks pretty good. Looks like you're taking 2 across. I'll just say having ridden across from Idaho to Duluth on 2 and 200, I prefer 200. It seems to have even less traffic.

 

Most of the trip you're taking I've not ridden, but I do have a couple of comments.

• When you get to West Glacier, MT, ride some of Going to the Sun Road - at least the stretch along Lake McDonald. It doesn't sound like mountain riding is your thing, but you could also take that road through the mountains all the way to East Glacier, then take 89/49 south and hook back up to highway 2. Going to the Sun Road is one of the most spectacular pieces of mountain road I've ever seen. Definitely NOT for the faint of heart. And in mid-June, there will likely still be snow near the summit.
• Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are beautiful - you'll love that.
• The stretch of highway 2 along the lake to St. Ignace, MI is gorgeous. I've taken that trip several times.

Looks like a fabulous route - can't wait to hear the report!

 

Picking up RT 200 is a distinct possibility. Less traffic is always nice. Thanks for the tip.

 

I've heard of Going to the Sun Road and I'll bet it's beautiful, but given that it isn't for the faint of heart, it's probably not a good road for me.

 

That beginning stretch along Lake McDonald is no problem. It's very flat and runs right along the lake, with woods on the other side. Very pretty.