Matthew asked, in part:
...Would appreciate
hearing thoughts and recommendations on the following topics as
well as any I have missed:
Which route to take.
-At this point I guess I will just take the directions that mapquest
is giving.
Haven't gone to Topeka. But I did do Tulsa a couple of years ago.
Interestingly my mapping software (didn't try Mapquest) says that if you're
going to Topeka you should take 80, even starting as far south as San Jose;
but if you go through Bakersfield it'll cost you little extra in mileage. I
had it set for "quickest" route which selected 80. The southern leg, you'll
end up taking 15 and 70. 80 is perhaps a "bigger" road along much of its
length. One thing, this is road construction season, you may not be able to
maintain mega-mileage speeds if there is anywhere near as much road work as I
saw. Literally hundreds of miles of orange drums (cones I could have related
to!) and four lanes divided merged into two shared, with backups galore.
....
Is it insane to try to do the drive in two days?
Depends on your degree of Iron Butt. I can't do that any more. My mapper, a
three year old version of Rand McNally, says even at 75 AVERAGE that it's
slightly more than two, 12 hour days. I took the better part of four, closer
to eight hours saddle time/day though doing 75-80 in desolate stretches, to
get to Tulsa which is a little closer.
....
Anybody planning a non-trailer caravan?
-I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that I will be moving faster than
trailer folk.
Eh, I just commented on this on the Yahoo Street Touring list....I really
don't respect the choices of most car / boat haulers who keep the thing on the
ragged edge of oscillation at 70-80 MPH, or more. If you're hauling something
tiny behind a BFT, maybe it'll stay in line when you have to nail the brakes
or dodge a deer even at these speeds (assuming your trailer bearings are up to
it). But if the haulee is something closer to the size of the tow vehicle,
it's going to have a really big say in matters. And if you travel enough
miles, you will end up having to dodge/stop, it's just the law of averages. I
just hope they won't have their stupid wreck where I'll either be affected, or
have to watch, or worst case where I might feel like I could save their
worthless lives by helping. Good thing that nobody here tows too fast,
right?
If you do travel with some folks, the FRS radios are great! Usually range is
at least 1-2 miles, which is as far as you can see anyone on the road anyway.
And they're getting really cheap. The rechargeables I got had impressive
battery saving capability, were good for maybe two days ifyou forgot to charge
them. Could leave them on all day.
PaulT No Mad Max anymore.
|