Motorcycle Cannonball 2012 Route

This is the route for the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball. In working on this route,we have tried to fulfill several criteria:

A coast-to-coast route across the United States. We start the run in Newburgh, New York, home of the newly opened Motorcyclepedia museum. We finish the run after 3956 miles, on the Pacific Coast Highway, which leads us across the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco.

Approximately a two-week schedule.  We start on a friday in Newburgh, and finish in San Francisco two weeks later on a Sunday. The route is 17 days total, 16 days on the road, and one rest day in Sturgis, South Dakota. The day off is on a friday, a week after the start, a weekday when shops are open. The two days before the start in Newburgh we will have registration, vehicle inspection, an optional practice run, a short classroom session, and a hosted welcome reception.

Most days 300 miles or shorter.   Our goal was for all days to be at most 300 miles, but in some areas there just aren't enough cities at appropriate locations with sufficient hotel rooms for a group our size. Two days are longer, both are prior to the rest day. The typical schedule for a 300 mile day ,assuming the motorcycle maintains 50 mph on straight flat roads, will be an 8:00 am start and a 4:00 pm finish, for a total of 8 hours on the road. This schedule includes a 45 minute lunch break ,and three 15 minute refueling breaks. Time will also be alloted for viewing scenic and historic sites.

Short days for the Start and Finish.  The first and last days will each be the shortest days, with a late morning start in New York, and a mid-afternoon grand finish in California.

A scenic route.  We travel through a dozen scenic national parks ,and national forests. We will ride along the coast of Lake Erie, and cross Lake Michigan ,via high speed ferry. Traveling through the plains ,the hills and the rockies. Finishing with 100 miles of the Pacific Coast Highway. We have spent quite a bit of work to provide a relatively direct cross country route, while traveling the most scenic route possible. There is a whole other world out there when you travel cross country and stay off interstate highways.

Avoid Interstate highways.  There are a few places where the interstate is the only road available. We have avoided most of those places, so the total distance traveled on interstate highways will be less than 100 miles. That only occurs in the east. All roads are paved.

Museums and receptions.  We have plans for four stops at motorcycle museums, including hosted receptions. Several Hosted lunch stops at Harley Davidson dealers, and a few city hosted events. There will also be a farewell dinner after the finish in San Francisco.