Mapping a route, how to get miles between stops

[bluestratos]

Good morning,

I am planning a trip to Las Vegas this spring with my RT and I need to plan my stops based on a max of 150 miles between fill ups. How is the easiest way to do this? I think it can be done in Map quest and I have the Garmin software mapping but not a clue how to use it, lol.

Thanks for any help

[Dudley]

Good morning,

I am planning a trip to Las Vegas this spring with my RT and I need to plan my stops based on a max of 150 miles between fill ups. How is the easiest way to do this? I think it can be done in Map quest and I have the Garmin software mapping but not a clue how to use it, lol.

Thanks for any help

Why are stops so important. Get on the road, ride and enjoy. Stop and fuel up when you are about 3/4 gone. Enjoy the scenery. Life is too short to be so scheduled on a Spyder adventure!

[bluestratos]

Lol...There are some long stretchs between fuel stations and, I have to plan for room at the end of each day along the way.

[ARtraveler]

Most towns in the lower 48 are less than 100 miles apart. Unless of course, you are going to take some deserted desert roads. I agree with Dudly that you just gas up when you see something at about 100 miles. I need to get off the bike and stretch and maybe take a refreshment or potty break at the 100 mile mark or sometimes less.

[Bob Denman]

Well I'm about the most anal-retentative worrier here!
But with that having been said; I've been trying to train myself to just stop when the opportunity presents itself and not just ryde by the fuel gauge...
Try to NOT let things get quite that structured... and it's a tall order but I know that you can do it...

[Dragonrider]

I have a copy of MS streets & trips under parallels on my Mac - only PC program that I use. This is the best program to do what you want - and reasonably priced.

My Garmin will "alarm" at the set milage, and I take a gas can on trips, such as you are suggesting - but still like to set appropriate routes.

[Pennyrick]

Good morning,

I am planning a trip to Las Vegas this spring with my RT and I need to plan my stops based on a max of 150 miles between fill ups. How is the easiest way to do this? I think it can be done in Map quest and I have the Garmin software mapping but not a clue how to use it, lol.

Thanks for any help

Don't worry about being so tied to a schedule. Take a one gallon Resaca can with you and then you will know you always have at least 28-30 miles available in case of trouble. Your Garmin GPS will always give you the distance to the nearest gasoline source.

[bluestratos]

Lol.. well that must have been a stupid question, lol... I carry a 1 gallon back up but I ride by the clock and fuel miles; worring is a bad habit I have. Just in case some does know the answer to my question I will stand by.

Thanks again,

Randy

[NancysToy]

I have a copy of MS streets & trips under parallels on my Mac - only PC program that I use. This is the best program to do what you want - and reasonably priced.

My Garmin will "alarm" at the set milage, and I take a gas can on trips, such as you are suggesting - but still like to set appropriate routes.

I use MS Streets & Trips for fuel stop planning, too. It has a fuel warning calculator in the route options. By checking each "Refuel Before Here" point, you can spot potential problem stretches, and fuel up early so you can get over that mountain pass or long stretch of deserted highway. Once I get on the road, I just hit the gas stops as needed, and find the stations with my GPS, but it eases my mind to have an idea ahead of time of where I am probably going to be needing gas. For trouble spots, I have even programmed the gas stop into my GPS.

[Dudley]

In 2009 Jennifer and I took a journey (on our 2008 SE5) around the US and some parts of Canada...300 miles shy of 14,000...no plans, no route mapped, just started East, went North when needed, East again, etc., and repeated as needed. Never run out of gas, never had a night without a motel room. San Diego to Florida, to Cape Cod, to Nova Scotia, to Ontario, to Seattle and back to San Diego. Fear or doubt will take a lot of fun out of a trip. Ride in faith, be careful, use common sense and enjoy the roses. Someone will probably have a good answer for you, but most of us have never done what you are planning...with nearly 500,000 or so, I have never run out of gas or broken down on any trips I have taken. But, on a ride to Yuma, AZ (in all too familiar territory) I ran out about 3 miles from a station, 2 miles passed a station...I knew I was pushing it, but my luck ran out.

[Bob Denman]

... and it didn't kill you! In fact I'd bet that your family and friends still remind you of it whenever the mood hits them...
That's part of the adventure!

[bluestratos]

Ok, Not looking for advice or philosphy on life, lol.. just how to use a readily avaible program to manage fuel stops. I do this on all the long trips I take but I do a manual process. Just want to take advantage of technology.......... sort of like buying a RT. Unfortunately I get very few vactation days in a year so I like to make evey mile count. I will check out the Microsoft Progame but not interested in purchasing it as I have little use for it other wise. Hope I do not offend you but, lets keep it to the topic .

Regards,

Randy

[NancysToy]

Ok, Not looking for advice or philosphy on life, lol.. just how to use a readily avaible program to manage fuel stops. I do this on all the long trips I take but I do a manual process. Just want to take advantage of technology.......... sort of like buying a RT. Unfortunately I get very few vactation days in a year so I like to make evey mile count. I will check out the Microsoft Progame but not interested in purchasing it as I have little use for it other wise. Hope I do not offend you but, lets keep it to the topic .

Regards,

Randy

Randy, you can do this online with Google Maps or the equivalent. It is just a little harder without the fuel calculator. Follow down the mileage column to find the section that contains your desired fuel interval. Plug "gas station" into teh search box, and it will show the stations on the map. In your selected section, you can pick a station, and set that as an additional destination. It is more labor intensive, but it is just as accurate. It will not differentiate between city and highway fuel mileage, though. Another option is to use Harly's trip planner. If I remember right, it does fuel stops, but it was a pain to use that function in their program. I used it to target the spots to search for stations with Google Maps or my Garmin.

[Pennyrick]

Randy:

Scotty's idea of using the Google map program as a planner is a good one. There are factors like terrain, headwinds, tailwinds, traffic, etc. that will mess up even the best planned trip program.

If your goal is 150 miles between stops and you want to retain at least a half a gallon for safety (I'm not even sure we can access that last half gallon out of an RT), you are going to have to average 25 mpg with 6 gallons of available fuel.

I'm guessing that is doable even when fully loaded. Even if it isn't, (uphill into a strong wind, for example) you still have that emergency supply on hand.

Google maps gives you the mileage from point to point and the map scale is 20 miles to an inch, so you can get a pretty good idea from that of where to plan the stops.

[murphybrown]

rideplanner.harley-davidson.com/rideplanner/ridePlanner.jsp

Yep HD's are classified as trikes also ... So I am grateful for there thinking of this tool for those of us that like to PLAN!!!!!! Hope this helps. Ryde like you own that RT...guess I travel back roads ALOT cause many times I am glad that I can get 185-188 miles from a tank of gas before the dreaded low fuel lite comes on....several times I have been looking for the farm house that will always have fuel....never had to use that resource, but trust me as a retired farmer...farmers are very willing to help and they have gas, diesel and usually free animal fuel if you want/need fertilizer!!!
So when you are loving and experiencing your ryde keep that resource "handy"....

[captblack]

Good morning,

I am planning a trip to Las Vegas this spring with my RT and I need to plan my stops based on a max of 150 miles between fill ups.

Wow, did you get a lot of grief for a simple question. I grew up in that part of the county and it never hurts to have a good idea of lodging and fuel options. I recommend using Google maps and get your mileage window. Most any exit has a gas station or two but they are not always open. Hotels might be a little harder. People that know what is there may book up all the limited rooms in the out of the way spots.

For my money, you will enjoy the trip much more if you are not worrying about logistics.

Have fun!

[GeoffCee]

Well I'm about the most anal-retentative worrier here!
But with that having been said; I've been trying to train myself to just stop when the opportunity presents itself and not just ryde by the fuel gauge...
Try to NOT let things get quite that structured... and it's a tall order but I know that you can do it...

That rates as some of the best advice I've ever seen on this Forum and I swear I'll try to follow it. Comes down to worrying less about fuel and relaxing a whole lot more on a ryde.









Thinks: Bob Denham knows what he's talkin about...










Thinks: I might run outa gas, though. Better watch that fuel gauge real close...

[Desert Spyder]

In 2009 Jennifer and I took a journey (on our 2008 SE5) around the US and some parts of Canada...300 miles shy of 14,000...no plans, no route mapped, just started East, went North when needed, East again, etc., and repeated as needed. Never run out of gas, never had a night without a motel room. San Diego to Florida, to Cape Cod, to Nova Scotia, to Ontario, to Seattle and back to San Diego. Fear or doubt will take a lot of fun out of a trip. Ride in faith, be careful, use common sense and enjoy the roses. Someone will probably have a good answer for you, but most of us have never done what you are planning...with nearly 500,000 or so, I have never run out of gas or broken down on any trips I have taken. But, on a ride to Yuma, AZ (in all too familiar territory) I ran out about 3 miles from a station, 2 miles passed a station...I knew I was pushing it, but my luck ran out.

[Bob Denman]

That rates as some of the best advice I've ever seen on this Forum and I swear I'll try to follow it. Comes down to worrying less about fuel and relaxing a whole lot more on a ryde.









Thinks: Bob Denham knows what he's talkin about...

Don't let my secret out or folks will start taking me seriously!!

[bluestratos]

Thanks, I will try Google maps, never thought of that :-)

Have a great one,

Randy

[Yazz]

Here's an old school way of finding the distance between towns...

Get a map, follow your route on it. There will be a little red number along the highway between towns. That is the miles between towns.

[Yol Bolsun]

I use MS Streets & Trips for fuel stop planning, too. It has a fuel warning calculator in the route options. By checking each "Refuel Before Here" point, you can spot potential problem stretches, and fuel up early so you can get over that mountain pass or long stretch of deserted highway. Once I get on the road, I just hit the gas stops as needed, and find the stations with my GPS, but it eases my mind to have an idea ahead of time of where I am probably going to be needing gas. For trouble spots, I have even programmed the gas stop into my GPS.

Totally agree with Scotty on this one. I have been using S&T since the Automap days. S&T allows for route preference selection by segment (ie: shortest/fastest, avoid/prefer highways (freeways), toll roads, etal), and the fuel warning calculator makes for easy segment planning.

[bikeguy]

For the most part I agree with Dudley about keeping planning to a minimum and enjoying the ride. HOWEVER - riding secondary roads, as I do most of the time, and in sparsely populated areas where I often ride, a little planning is sometimes in order. Many small towns in our area have NO fuel available. Others have fuel but not on a 24 hour basis. So, depending on the roads you ride, I appreciate the need to sometimes do a little fuel stop planning. There are times when I'd rather stop at 80 miles than take a chance on running out at 150. Motels, however, I usually just take a chance on. Haven't had to sleep out yet, but I've stayed in a few places that weren't five star rated.

What planning I've done has been manually in Delorme Maps or Google Maps. If there is a map program that will tell me if and what hours fuel is available in a location, I'd be interested.

Cotton

[STUNMUN]

Good morning,

I am planning a trip to Las Vegas this spring with my RT and I need to plan my stops based on a max of 150 miles between fill ups. How is the easiest way to do this? I think it can be done in Map quest and I have the Garmin software mapping but not a clue how to use it, lol.

Thanks for any help

I travel by motorhome as well as motorcycle and have become a fan of Love's truck stops and Flying J's. Well lit if traveling at night, fast food and buffett in most places and if you get their directory, you will know how far apart they are. If you are grungy and tell them you are a trucker, they may let you shower for a small fee. They all have wireless and lounge to stretch out and I generally feel safe at them for a long break. If you want cheap motel accomidations, try a directory of KOA cabins. You get a small room with double bed and bunks with writing table plus a lot of privacy. The fee is half than that for most area motels and are very secure for your bike. No motel parking lots. They usually have clean showers, washer-dryer, and swimming pool. You do have to bring a bed roll and any other linens necessary. Two summers ago I used KOA cabins for my four corners trip and loved them. All info can be downloaded. Planning is not necessarly a bad thing. The first casuality of war however; is the plan.

[TicketBait]

Good morning,

I am planning a trip to Las Vegas this spring with my RT and I need to plan my stops based on a max of 150 miles between fill ups. How is the easiest way to do this? I think it can be done in Map quest and I have the Garmin software mapping but not a clue how to use it, lol.

Thanks for any help

Great question. When I planned my trip to Cuba Missouri from California I went on map quest and looked at the various routes I might want to take and figured in how far I might be able to ride each day. I wrote down the various towns and then eyeballed how far it was for going approx 100- 125 miles between stops. I then used the gas icon on mapquest to show the various stations along the route in that area. when I found the proper distance I wrote down the address of that gas station. Then after I had all the stops planned out I manually put them into my Garmin 660 and named the stops. This way I always new the distance and time between stops. As the day went on I had the stops become more frequent so as to stretch my legs and enjoy the ride more.
I also used the Bestwestern icons also to figure out where I could stay on mapquest. I think there is a way to download your trip to the garmin but I have not figured it out. I called garmin once about something else and they were very helpful. He started to explain it, but I was not able to complete our conversation on how to do it.

Some here say this is not the way to do it, Thank god there not my parents. If they just wanna jump on the bike and go with no planning, well it works for them but not me. I am no Lewis and Clark and don't ever wanna become a Gypsy.


On a motorcycle even three wheels you don't ever want to be distracted so as to not make it to your final destination. Heck Vegas is gonna be awesome from Washington. Hope this helps, enjoy!!