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I am planning a trip from indianapolis to california sometime this spring/summer. I have never been to the west coast and I am trying to find the best route to california and back. I want to get the full experience of the west coast and am curious as to what places are "must see" locations, as well as taking a scenic route. Any advice and suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Larry Walther on January 12, 2010 at 12:21pm: Tough call, Aaron. Part of the answer depends on the bike you are riding, how much storage you have aboard, how much money you can afford to spend - and more.

A friend and riding buddy of mine took his "HD Ultra" from the Mississippi River (on the Iowa side) out to Seattle, then down the coast highway to San Diego, and finally, back cross-country to his home in Iowa. The trip was a 7,000 mile journey and he did it in 13 days ... not a trip for the "faint-of-heart". He is an experienced adult rider, who lives on his Ultra, with tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands, probably) of miles of seat-time, and he is quite unafraid of hardship or any form of "iron-butt". He is a healthy 40'ish male who owns his own business and I'm sure has an American Express no-limit card in his wallet (he's not rich, but not living paycheck-to-paycheck, either).

So be in good physical shape, or at least limit your daily ride-time to your own capabilities, and don't use the trip to get to know your bike (I see you ride a Goldwing which is a good road bike, but spend the bucks to have her checked out completely and prepped by your dealer) ... it (the bike) should already be your best friend, with a seat and seat-back that are customized for you, and it should be a proven "ride all day" bike with a good record of holding up to the abuse of high temp and low temp continuous riding (mountains and desert are both on your way there and back).

As far as what to see, you can't go wrong. No matter what roads you take, you are going to see flat lands, mountains, rivers, lakes and streams, deserts where you will need to know exactly how much gas you need to cross them, and every imaginable combination of great riding and miserable rainy days. The United States is a huge land mass, and you will see it all if you choose to cross her. Best of everything to you ... ride safe and take pictures. :D

I hope I don't sound "preachy", Aaron. I have no way of knowing if you are a beginning rider or an old hand, and much of what I included here is redundant to the long-time biker, but critical information for a new rider, or one who has ridden a lot of "around town" miles but has less "road" experience. Good luck! Larry; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steve Rolland on January 20, 2010 at 8:32pm: This is a link to a ride I did from Milwaukee to the southwestern most point that you can ride to in the US.
Some info on the southwest.

http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19930; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Victor on January 21, 2010 at 6:35am: running down I-65 and head to the south go through St Louis head down I -40 out though northern AZ beautiful out there and the petrified forest and the bulffs and the grand cayon or a site to see all the way down to San Diego to the boardwalk or the gas lamp area and the up the coast the I-5 to PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) tons of places to see hope you have a great trip.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Aaron on January 26, 2010 at 11:14am: thanks so much guys. ill definitely refer to these when planning my trip.; ▶ Reply to This