Planning Season = Next Year's Motorcycle Tour

It's 9:30 pm in Concord, New Hampshire, in the early days of 2022. The dark, biting cold of midwinter is punctuated only by the warm glow of streetlights, reflecting off feet of freshly fallen snow. The limbs of the tree outside, creaking under their icy burden, cast dark shadows across the window and the back of my computer and desk.

Most motorcyclists find this image conjures frustration and dreams of warmer days and yes, I'll admit, I am no different there. But for me, that instant three seasons ago illuminated a lightbulb moment in the middle of the least-discussed part of the motorcycle calendar: planning season.

You see, I had previously discovered my love for multi-day motorcycle trips. I had done several rides, including trips from Concord first to Washington, DC, then Charleston, SC, then two trips heavily focused on riding the best the Blue Ridge Mountains had to offer. I felt I had seen a decent amount of the scenic, twisty goodness that the east coast had to offer and the thought of riding through that area for a fourth time in short order just didn't really appeal.

As planning season unfolded, I realized the potential for new adventures was vast and exciting.

Planning Season Means Compromise

So I did something crazy "just for fun", I told myself. I pulled up a video featuring some of the "best" motorcycle roads in North America for inspiration, then worked to link them using Butler maps. Slowly, a route materialized, starting with Glacier National Park's "Going to the Sun" road. It then runs across Idaho to Seattle, Washington before dropping down to touch Rainier, the Lewiston Spiral, Lolo Pass, Beartooth, Chief Joseph, the Bighorns and the Black Hills. Soon, the greatest hits of the Northwest stared back at me.

It looked like a blast but surely it wasn't practical. It was just too far, the best I could get off work was thirteen days, I wouldn't have any time to ride once I got out there before I had to turn around again. During planning season, I mapped out every detail, ensuring that each day was filled with thrilling rides.

A quick Google Maps search revealed that Glacier is almost exactly 2500 miles from my doorstep and in that moment, the sick and twisted part of my brain began thinking like a long-distance rider.

"Three Days", It Said

Two Saddlesore rides back to back, with a third day of 500 miles that could expand to soak up any failures in completing my first Iron Butt. The ride back from the Black Hills area was 1800 miles, so I left two days for that. I could get thirteen days off, invest five, leaving eight to do fun riding, which seemed like a reasonable ratio.

The unattainable simply ... wasn't.

People arrive at long-distance riding in a number of different ways. For some, the appeal lies in bending time and space, the pursuit of efficiency and planning excellence. Others enjoy getting to places on their motorcycle.

They like being able to say they've ridden to all four corners, to every state in the lower 48, to a certain number of lighthouses or statues, etc.

Still others feel drawn in by the excitement of knowing that, after 1000 miles invested in the saddle, these next 500 must be done with minimal stops to clinch the 1500 mile in 24-hour Bun Burner Gold (and yes, that is its own unique type of excitement that is hard to explain to someone that hasn't done it).

Planning season is when dreams start to take shape, transforming into tangible routes and destinations. For me, I wanted to ride beautiful, scenic, twisty roads. I didn't have much time to get there. I wanted to spend as much time as possible on the good stuff. Iron Butt riding both shrinks the country and opens up options in a way that is hard to resist.

Get Your Planning Season Started

If you're starting to think about when to sequester the bike in the corner of the garage, stabilize the fuel and plug in the battery tender, I have a challenge for you in the coming months:

Do the "just for fun" exercise. Build your bucket list map. Let the slightly masochistic part of your brain work in concert with the part of you that wants to ride someplace cool but out of reach.

Embrace planning season and let it guide you to new horizons and unforgettable experiences. You might just find out that the dream is closer than you think it is. Full disclosure, this mode of thinking can be highly addictive, resulting in side effects like obsessing over maps, multiple successive cross-country trips, even divorce.

What Motorcycle Routes Are You Considering This Planning Season?

There are tons of great motorcycle tour possibilities worth considering. Which ones are you drawn to and why? Your input is invited. Leave a comment and/or write an article!