Which Stretch of Road between Harrisburg, PA and Seattle, WA to use for the Saddlesore 1000, Bun Burner 1500 or Bun Burner 1500 GOLD

[BcOneSeven]

Okay... Newbie here, and I need a little help... The boys have decided that we are gonna ride the Pacific Coast Highway this year for our annual ride (we generally do about 4K over 10 days each year, taking it pretty easy). Current plan is to fly to Seattle, rent bikes, ride the PCH down to LA, turn the bikes in and then fly home (Harrisburg, PA area for me). I would like to ride my bike and not a rental. Also, riding from PA to Seattle would round out my resume and I will have hit every state in the union except Alaska. Soooo.... enter the fact that I have been toying with earning my first IBA Certification. This seems like an "opportunity" (aka, an excuse to ride my own bike to Seattle and ship it home from LA).

Looking for general thoughts on this, and well as a recommendation for which stretch of road between Harrisburg, PA and Seattle, WA would be best for this endeavor. School me, please! Thanks!

 

[kwthom]

Highest chance of success? Interstate - does it matter which one? We may not know - local investigation is the best bet; dependent on what road construction is going on at the time you leave. Winter season, then road construction season - can't avoid either one of them.

PA to WA means a lot of opportunities - 2800 miles worth, I see. Now, not knowing what routes you have already done (if any...) and how much personal sightseeing you might *also* want to try to wedge into a ride like this, hard to give any insight on a specific route.

 

[BcOneSeven]

Kwthom, thanks for reaching out. Guess I should have included the dates to begin with. My objective is to leave the Harrisburg area on/about 6/7 June and arrive in Seattle on June 12. June 12 is firm, as the plan is to start the PCH ride on Saturday morning (June 13). As much as I don't like to ride this way, this part of the trip is all about making time (hence going for the IBA). The only diversion I would like to make is to ensure that I at least touch both Dakotas, Montana and Idaho. Based on my rough calculations, the fastest route does all of that except South Dakota so I will need to plan that in. I have beat the road pretty hard on the northern route to Wisconsin--through MI. Totally beautiful, but does not appear to be the fastest option in this case. That leaves the southern route, through Chicago. Anyway, yes, I guess I am looking for the best chance of success on the fastest route from Harrisburg, PA to Seattle, WA. Thanks!

 

[LeMaitre]

One possibility, I80 to I29 to I94. I29 would get both Dakotas. I29 and I94 have lots of opportunities for SS1K or a BB1500.

-Mark

 

[Stephen!]

Note that a BBG (1500/24) cannot be your first certified ride. In my opinion, the BB15 (1500/36) is the easiest of the three.

 

[Gerry Arel]

Oops ... I replied on your other post.

Is this your 1st Cert ride attempt? If so, as Stephen said above, you'll need a SS. That can be continued on to a BB1500 as well. I'd still stick towards the I90 corridor to get west and get some miles under you, then start the Certified ride attempt from around Sioux Falls. From there, as shared above, you can tag both Dakotas and stick to fairly straightforward interstate to Seattle with appx 1600 miles or so to ride.

And then you can rest up a day or 2 in Seattle, or wait out weather if it hits you in the high country.

 

[Stephen!]

Is this your 1st Cert ride attempt? If so, as Stephen said above, you'll need a SS. That can be continued on to a BB1500 as well.

One point of clarification... The BB1500 does not need to start off as an SS1k. It can be broken into two sub-1000 mile segments. When we did our first BB15 we rode almost 900 miles from Hyder to Edmonton, stayed at Steve B's home for an eight hour break, then continued another ~650 miles to Butte. Because you can break it into two sub-1000 mile segments with a huge break in the middle and still be successful is why I think it is even easier than an SS1k. About the hardest part for the inexperienced is getting back on the bike the next day.

 

[keithu]

Based on a quick check of Google maps, I think your best route is I-90 from Chicago through Madison, I-94 through Minneapolis, and then at Alexandria, MN detour west on MN-27 through Wheaton and into South Dakota at Rosholt. Then hit I-29 up to Fargo, and I-94 west. You just barely get the corner of SD, but it counts.

Traffic through Chicago and Minneapolis sucks, Chicago has tolls, and Wisconsin is one huge speed trap. For these reasons I recommend you start your BB1500 cert ride at Alexandria. You'll be on two-lanes at first, but the Interstate speed limits through ND, MT, ID, and WA are 75-80mph most of the way so you can make good time. Between Alexandria and Seattle the worst traffic will be in Spokane.

If you're just going for a SS, the best stretch would be Fargo, ND to Kellogg, ID.

Check for road construction projects along the route a week or two before you depart. Those can cause unpleasant surprises.

 

[DrNeo]

I'd take MSP/St.Paul traffic over Chicago any day! MSP is all about timing, rush hour is bad, but nothing compared to many other cities. The rest of the time is generally smooth sailing (minus the pot holes). Wisconsin is better now that they went to 70 mph on the interstate, but someone has to pay for the Driftless region's nice roads.

Couple other thoughts:
-MN-27 and MN-127 will be 60 mph roads, so you're not loosing too much time if you follow Keith's advice.
-You'll be traveling through oil country in ND and MT, so be prepared for expensive hotels if you go that route for accommodations.
- I90 is more entertaining across SD
-You'll burn a lot of fuel at 75/80mph, especially with a strong headwind (which you'll probably face no matter which Planes state you cross)

 

[Stephen!]

-You'll be traveling through oil country in ND and MT, so be prepared for expensive hotels if you go that route for accommodations.

This may be true if you stop at a tiny little town somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but major chains in bigger towns (Williston notwithstanding) can be had for a very competitive price. Especially when using a "Find me a bed NOW" app...

 

[RickRussell]

If you ride to Seattle, down the coast , and then home you would be looking at about 100 hours in the seat. Over 10 days you would be able to do it, if that is what could work for you. After riding to Seattle and south to LA , the interstate blast back home will be easy. Crossing the SW side of the US is very scenic to ride through, very different from the PCH, but with a little planning offers unforgettable views. Personally, I wouldn't want to miss the SW.

 

[keithu]

BTW, I'm sure your riding friends won't be up for this, but the best ride down the coast I've ever done had me crossing the Golden Gate Bridge at about 1:00am. San Francisco is kind of cool to see in the middle of the night, and there's no traffic.

I continued south through Monterey, and stopped for about two hours at the Iron Butt Motel behind a seaside rock a little ways south of Carmel. I then rode PCH at sunrise, and I had the road all to myself from Big Sur to SLO. Truly an incredible ride; unfortunately it's hard to convince most people to get up early enough for something like this when they're on vacation.