Route choice input wanted

like i said on the guzzi board, iowa.

al collins
(dadbeem, on the west coast of illinois)

Thanks Al.
Iowa it is.
I posted my request to all the sources I was willing to 'listen' to at once.
Yours was the only response BTW.
Does this mean if I suffer some sort of ill effect I can blame you?? 😉
Hacksaw

I was gunna say to go one route and come back the other but seeing Al has come to the plate and I have not journeyed either of these routes and really do not want to take the blame (credit?) anyhow it sounds like you are in as good a shape as it gets...keep us posted

Just to confuse the issue, I have traveled 136 from Rockport to Bethany. It is a good riding road but never been on Hwy 2. Which probaby doesn't tell you anything at all but have a good trip anyway.

That Joyce- what a card.
By the way, I eat musical rumors, too.

Thanks to all who contributed.
The go one way-return the other is a possibility.
This is the first trip over 200 miles my Son has traveled so alot will depend on his comfort level.
He is 5 1/2 years old and has cerebral palsy which has affected him such that he is not self-ambulating nor can he speak at his age level.
This will be also be the longest (number of days) trip we've taken and Mom is just a bit leary.
I plan to take LOTS of pictures and will post to my webpage. Which is http://geocities.com/hacksaw_neb/

Thanks again,
Hacksaw

I hope you and your son have a safe trip and enjoy yourselves! I myself am leaving out to Ky from here in Fl via Tn with my 13 yr old daughter. It looks as though there's rain all the way up there! She saw pictures of your hack and gasped LOL. That's a nice rig! We'll be useing plastic bags and a tarp he he he. She is a trooper for sure though. She rode up with me last year before we had the sidecar... 860 miles non-stop.

Later
Jaytree

Jaytree,
860 miles non stop ? WoW!!! You must get a lot better gas mileage that I get with my Harleys.

Just Yankin' ya. That's a good hardbut day.

I couldn't keep myself from posting something about those trips and the kids. I hope I'm as tough as they are! We're leaving Virginia July 8 (I-64 all the way) heading to Evansville, Indiana. We'll meet friends there and head to Colorado for two weeks. They want to take Rt. 36 (they said it's the Pony Express Highway). I'm not sure where they want to pick it up, but my husband thinks that it will take too long to get through Kansas taking that route. Sorry to all of you folks who live in or love Kansas, but I hate going through Kansas (ugh - nothing to see, hot - yuck!). I was hoping that Rt. 36 would be more interesting and less brutual than the interstate. I won't be taking my rig, but will be riding two up with my husband on his 1800 Goldwing. I haven't ridden behind him on a trip for about 10 years. Well, like I said before, I hope I'm as tough as those kids!!!!! Hope you all have great trips!!!!!
Connie

Connie,
Unless Missouri has made some MAJOR improvements to US 36 in their state I wouldn't ride it again. I took that route last July for the same trip as this year and IT WAS TERRIBLE!!! It is indeed mostly four lane divided with lots of rolling hill, country type atmosphere but what wasn't under construction needed to be. LOTS of seamed concrete slab type roadway. You know the kind that gives you that thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump because of the seams. Lots of cold patched areas to be aware of if riding at night or in the rain too.
It is possible that the construction has finished and all is well but from what I had last year I'm taking another route.
If this road has gotten better in the last twelve months somebody please chime in.
Hacksaw

So our secret is out. There are no GOOD roads in Missouri. The folks at MoDOT spend our tax dollars on airplanes so they don't have to be on the roads. If you think 36 is a bad highway then don't even think about I-70.

Could you tell us how you really feel Joyce. Holding back is never a good thing. C'mon, you're among friends, open up and let it out. HeHeHe 😉
Yeah I-70 should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS in my book.

Joyce & Hacksaw,
Thanks for the info about Rt.36, I'll be sure to pass it along to my friends. I rarely have any clout when it comes to making route decisions, but maybe your info will help. We've already done the I-70 thing several times. I, personally, I hate interstates, period!!! But, sometimes they're pretty much a necessity if you want to get somewhere in your own lifetime. Actually, from the time you leave the mountains of West Virginia until you get to Colorado, it's just an endurance test, as far as I'm concerned. I'd really rather stay at home and ride the Blue Ridge, The Parkway is still my favorite place to ride, bar none (well, I guess that I can't "really" stay at home and ride the Parkway, but I can see part of it from the porch). I do like to see things that you just can't see here, so I'll try to endure. But, how I dread passing through St. Louis - - that has to be one of the most insane places in this country!!!! Again, I apologize if you live in or love it, but if you live there, you have to know St. Louis and Atlanta, GA are horrendous places to drive through - - insanity rules the roads in both places.
Again, thanks for the info and if you have any more to offer about good routes between Indiana and Colorado, please, pass it along!
Connie

Just got back last night from the trip. Hack'n, funny you mentioned gas mileage...HOLY $%#^@!! I almost doubled my fuel useage with the chair.

Quite a ride though, met some new hack pilots, broke down a few times, and found a great new shop in Hazel Ky.

Jaytree