Routing question

Jaya

New Member
#1
What is the best way to route a trip that is mostly non interstate? Using spotwalla they will take the shortest distance which will be interstate. I prefer to take the more scenic routes if I have the time. They are just much more enjoyable to me.
 

Ignacio

IBR Finisher
#2
Use a mapping program and set the preferences to avoid interstates. I'm not up on the latest and greatest, but know that MS Streets and Trips 2013 had this specific option. Pretty sure Garmin BaseCamp has an equivalent. In Google Maps they sometimes offer routing options that area slower and typically more scenic....or you can strategically add some waypoints in or around extra-squiggly areas. In my experience this steers it towards more scene routes.
 

Jaya

New Member
#4
Will IBA take into consideration that someone traveled a longer, possibly slower route between 2 points rather than the shorter and possibly faster interstate route? I do not want to have to stop every 30 miles to get a receipt to show that I travel a more scenic route. I am planning on my first ss1000 soon but want to do it mostly on backroads. Possibly considering most of the blue ridge parkway and back with some other roads thrown in to get above the 1000 mile mark.
 

Ira

Staff member
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
IBR Staff
#6
Will IBA take into consideration that someone traveled a longer, possibly slower route between 2 points rather than the shorter and possibly faster interstate route? I do not want to have to stop every 30 miles to get a receipt to show that I travel a more scenic route. I am planning on my first ss1000 soon but want to do it mostly on backroads. Possibly considering most of the blue ridge parkway and back with some other roads thrown in to get above the 1000 mile mark.
The basic rule is that it's up to you to demonstrate you rode the ride you claim by submitting sufficient documentation to do so. Just because you are taking a more scenic route doesn't necessarily mean you need to obtain a receipt every 30 miles unless needed to meet the above criteria. In fact, riding secondary roads, depending upon the route, may provide fewer, and not more, opportunities to take a shortcut. As mentioned, a GPS or satellite track can be valuable additional documentation, stopping more frequently to document the ride is the price you pay for a more circuitous route.

As an aside, unless you've completed some undocumented Saddlesore 1000s and have a good idea of what it will take, I would recommend against routing on roads like the Blue Ridge Parkway for your first certificate ride. You need to average about 42 mph, including stops, to successfully complete the ride. Spending a lot of miles on slow, traffic-filled roads may be fun and scenic but may not get the job done.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#7
<...>Possibly considering most of the blue ridge parkway and back with some other roads thrown in to get above the 1000 mile mark.
As Ira astutely notes, averaging 42 MPH means actually riding about 6 to 10 MPH faster which is needed to bank time when you're moving at zero MPH (fuel, bio-breaks, etc.)

If the majority of the speed limit of Blue Ridge Parkway is 45 MPH (with occasional areas of 35 mph, and 25 mph in some congested pedestrian areas), don't you have to get off the Parkway for some distance in order to obtain fuel?

https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/gas-availability/

Beautiful countryside, but slow route for an endurance ride.

A daunting challenge it would seem to a casual observer.

EDIT: To help some of the neophytes with what I wrote above. Some portion of a theoretical ride needs 195 miles to be covered in three hours as a moving average. Simple math for my simple brain does this:

65mph * 3h:00m = 195 miles (all three hours must be at 65mph rate to make this work)

I need a fuel stop to cover that distance in that time:

70mph * 2h:47m = 195 miles (13 minutes NOT at 70mph rate)

75mph * 2h:36m = 195 miles (24 minutes NOT at 75mph rate)
 
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