So end of April I will be doing a bunch of the Motorcycle Tour of Texas stops, kind of a loop on the southern, western and northern parts of Texas.
My rough plan so far will put it at 5 days. Start and end will be in Katy. Will be on my GL1500 Goldwing, all pre-trip stuff done.
2 main questions.
- What do most do for hotels, book before hand, or wait till you get there to find something?
I can see a cost savings and not having to worry about a room booking beforehand, but what if you are not able to make it to where you plan on, and then have to cancel (and incur a fee) and still have to find someplace to stay where you are at?
- Am I being over optimistic in my times and distances (see below)?
I have done several 10-11 hour days in the past without issue, but not several in a row.
I have had a 4 day trip (350 miles, 560 miles, 340 miles, 260 miles) once, and was fine.
I know that the first 2 days tend to be the best mileage/time days, and it drops after that.
Am I over-estimating my riding ability (I know, you can't answer that). Am I being realistic with my times?
I know you can't go by the Google map times since those are straight riding hours.
You have to factor in gas stops, food, restroom (usually those 3 can be combined) and the photo stops for the Tour.
I tend to find I have to add about a hour and a half for every 5 hours of Google time.
Tentative schedule:
Day 1: Katy to Cuero, Kingsville, South Padre, Hidalgo and stop in Alice for the night. Almost 600 miles, so I figure around 11-12 hours from start to finish that day.
Day 2: Alice to Crystal City, Big Bend National Park (just need an entrance sign) and Alpine for the night. 525 miles, I am guessing 10-11 hours.
Day 3: Alpine to Hobbs, NM, Seminole, Seagraves, Post, Ransom Canyon, and Shallow Water, staying in Lubbock area that night. ~ 400 miles, estimated 8 hours.
Day 4: Lubbock to Borger, Old Glory and Abilene for the night. ~500 miles, 9-10 hours.
Day 5: Abilene to Coleman, Blanket, Eastland, Dublin, Hearn, Navasota, and home to Katy. ~450 miles, another 9 hours.
I have almost 3 weeks total off, so adding a day will not be a huge deal, but when I did a quick routing of 6 days, seemed that some of the days were too short (and the drive from the Valley to Alpine will be long no matter what).
The week before I do this trip, I plan on doing an overnight to Paris and back.
Day 1 will be Katy to Navasota, Hearn, Donie, Terrell, Adison, Lewisville, Paris (x 3 stops). 450 miles, estimating 9 hours (maybe more if any traffic).
Trip home will be from Paris to Gladewater (x 3 stops) Kilgore, and Lufkin. 350 miles, maybe 7 hours?
I guess this will give me a better feel for how I may do. I also plan on setting up a hotel in Paris before I go.
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Was a decent steak place off the main drag also. Might have been Ranchers???
How true is this!
en.m.wikipedia.org
