Sort Of
My wife says I need to go on my big trip while I still can – the one I've been talking about [to her] for years – my Great Plains trip. I fell in love with the Great Plains during my 2013 bicycle trip. I had more enjoyable times there in 2016 and 2019. Researching places I'd seen out there brought me to the website for the Great Plains Trail Alliance, whose mission is ". . . to establish, develop, preserve and promote a long-distance, public, non-motorized trail running north/south through the Great Plains region of North America for the purposes of recreation, conservation, education, and inspiration."
This video by Steve Myers, founder of the Great Plains Trail Alliance, provides an overview of the trail:
That's a trail I want to ride. And they've already mapped it out!
Now for the 'sort of'. There are parts of the trail that I'd be happy to hike, but look more rugged that I'd like for my bike. So I'm going off-trail from time-to-time. I'm heading south-to-north, so that's from Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas to Northgate, North Dakota. There are several split-this-way/split-that-way options shown on the map, so that gave me some choices. After further consideration, I decided to skip going through the Guadalupe Mountains, and join the trail 10 miles northwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. I have a basic map of my planned route, which shows other diversions I'll be making as well. The official trail with the split options I chose is shown on my map in blue and purple. Purple is where I'll be following the official trail, and blue is where the official trail is when I'm not on it. The red lines are where I'm off-trail, and also my plan for getting there and back to my home in Morton, Illinois. Not finding places to stay within my daily mileage average is the reason for my diversion in Colorado.
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I started work on the routing last fall. I used Google Earth for that, first dropping push pins at places to stay that are about 50 miles apart, then adding more pins at turns for the roads I'll use. My old Magellan MAP330 GPS holds 500 waypoints, and I could see early on that I'd have more than that. To get around this limitation, I ebay-purchased an ASUS Eee PC small laptop computer, with the plan to program the MAP330 from the computer along the way. Later I started questioning the wisdom of that, decided I needed to upgrade, so purchased a refurbished Garmin Edge Explorer. Trying to figure out how to use this Garmin is beyond me. And after the purchase I read it holds only 200 waypoints. What?! So it's back to the original plan. The Garmin can ride along – maybe I'll figure out how to use it along the way. Of course, I'll also have my DeLorme PN-60 (and phone, for that matter), so I shouldn't get too lost.
I completed my Google Earth plan on April 5 - 2184 waypoints in all, with 88 places to stay and 1512 turns. The rest of the waypoints are points of interest, back-up campgrounds, and places to eat. Splitting the plan into five segments would accommodate programming the MAP330. Or, maybe taking along five preprogrammed MAP330s would be better. I have lots of MAP330s, so that'd work. The computer stays home.
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I have two doctor appointments on May 10, so have set Monday, May 15 for my departure day. I'll have to keep moving. The route goes through Sturgis, South Dakota, and I want to be past there before their motorcycle rally. All the states I contacted provided visitor information, which was helpful in planning. Information from North Dakota was the most helpful – they indicate which campgrounds allow tents. I often carry select brochures with me, but this year, just the state highway maps and printouts of a few trails will be enough extra weight.
I'll admit I'm a little apprehensive about starting a trip this long. Yet, I've received overwhelming encouragement from so many. Let's do this! One day at a time will get it done.
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I have never heard of this route. Thanks for journaling about it!
11 months ago
I hope you have a great trip. I'll be following along.
I'm especially curious about your Arkansas route. I plan to do my own tour, starting in early June, and I think I'll ride into Arkansas for the first time.
Jeff
11 months ago
Well, I ain't there yet, but am really looking forward to it myself.
As you know, my friend Kris is a fan of your journals. She said, "Karen Cook has named her bike Trucker. You should name yours." Thus, the discussion about "Good Bike", Bad Bike".
Jeff
11 months ago
Thanks!
Things don't always go as I plan, which makes me think your 'no planning' may be best.
I knew you were thinking Arkansas, and thought I'd beat you there! Also, thanks to you, I planned a stay in Arthur, North Dakota, if I am still on-route by then.
Jeff
11 months ago