The single most important thing I've found about not letting the wind ruin my day is having a helmet that fits properly (see the current helmet thread). For a while I was wearing a Shoei; I didn't realize it, but it was too long for my head, even though the width was fine. I rode through a lot of west Texas windstorms with that helmet, but it yawed back & forth. One day, it tried to corkscrew on my head. Man, that was scary. Also, on that trip, I had a magnetic tank bag that got ripped off the tank. I threw my chest over it & saved the bag (and possibly a camera inside).
The good news is my current VStrom handles the wind much better than my '05 did. Couldn't possibly tell you why. Would a different windscreen make that much difference - who knows. In any case, I've done it a bunch of times. And I will definitely take note of your suggestions.
The only time I've ever been borderline scared in the wind was about 4 years ago out in the great hinterland between Dalhart and Raton. I don't know the windspeed that day, but I held the bike over in a heel to the right to keep from being blown off to the left. Whenever I came up on a truck I
very quickly learned I had to be prepared for the bike to suddenly veer right. You know, like toward the truck and those big freakin' wheels. I got good real quickly at timing it. Once I hit Raton Pass, the world was calm again. A couple of hours later I was in a gas station. Two guys on Harley tour bikes saw me pull in. One asked, "Did you come through that wind back toward Clayton?" I acknowledged. The other one said "I've never been so scared in my life on a bike."
Anyhows, Day 1 to beautiful Clovis will probably be a beating - can't be helped. Looks like Day 2 to Farmington will be better. And from Arlington all the way to Williams AZ, the only interstate will be be I-20 to Sweetwater. Interstates are where I most dislike wind riding, partly because it's not as safe to slow down when necessary. Also because there's more traffic, and particularly lots of trucks. You know, with big freakin' wheels.