I'm Google spoiled.  

Google maps knows roads are shut down and detoured, figures it into the trip route comparisons and then gives you a turn by turn instruction if you want it to.  

If you are going to do it slow and casual sight seeing style, you tell Maps to avoid major highways, toll roads, etc and it will automatically do so -- you go around the elbow some on the local roads but you get to see a whole lot more neat stuff doing it that way.

You just can't get this week's current road work changes from any other method I know of.

And for sure you can't say "Google, where is the nearest pizza place?"  or   "Google, where is the nearest gas station?"  or  "Google, where is the nearest Walmart?"

Yep, I'm Google spoiled.  


==================================================


Dave remembers back when this was all brand new tech --- I blew his mind by asking Google for the nearest Mexican place to the Waynesville Walmart, then again when we wanted the best rib place in Waynesville and the #1 place was booked up for 3 hours so we instantly rolled on turn by turn to the #2 choice (and in our opinion it was the best Rib place in Waynesville anyway).

Dave then got him a new iPhone and he used it to find the ever so well hidden New Emergency Room in Bryson City on the trip where Jed tore his shoulder up on the Dragon.   Turn by turn was needed because they had just moved the Emergency Room entrance to the back corner of the hospital and you could only get there by using some new ex-neighborhood roads from the backside of the Hospital complex.

I tend to like connected driving, it saves time and hassles.   My wife loves it ---- no more maps, ever.

Get used to talking to that Android phone, it will pay you dividends in ease of life.

OK, we get split up somehow (goodness knows it has happened on every trip with more than 3 people every single time)

But now we all have Life360 loaded and there is a little moving dot for each one of the participants showing up right there on the screen.   Makes it real easy for that lost dot to go find the others .....

     I ain't saying jack -- more'n half the time it is me who is off somewhere because I ran ahead WFO and missed a turn.


It is Christmas time, time to ask Santa for your most favorite trip requests ......

Whole purpose is to take a nice long leisurely ride on some scenic roads.

The Black Hills are an advanced type ride which will take 2+ weeks to do.   This may be a bit too much to bite off right at first bite.

Plus, I just looked at the distance involved and at the roads -- way way way too much 4 lane superhighway riding involved to be pleasurable on a motorcycle.   Days and days and days of it no matter which way you go ......    

You could spend a lot of money and several days hauling bikes behind a car over those long long four lane roads.    Your pleasure factor would likely be lower than the stuff listed below.

           




Hit you with a different thought,  run down your Natchez Trace seeking warmer air, then dot the Gulf Coast on the way over to Florida.    Lots of free camping at all the various parks around the Gulf according to the freecampsites.net tool.

50 mph speeds on the Trace means better gas mileage on your bike, lots of places to stop along the way, free campgrounds on the Trace itself and in the Gulf area as well according to the freecampsites.net tool.

Daytona Bike week is one HUGE Gigantic Harley Zoo Event and it is really too early in the year for counting on any decent weather getting there or getting back.  Bring your rain gear if you go because Hurley People during them mass spring Hurley migrations like to try to spit on Guzzi Guys and on old fat folks on Barcaloungers should they present themselves to be spat upon during stupid 'ol Flocking Hurley Season.  

We could ride through it headed down to somewhere else (not planning to stay there as even the water filled ditches around Daytona get all filled up with dead floating Hurleys during Bike week).  

What around Florida and the Gulf Coast have you never ever done?   Have you been to Harry Potter World or Avatar or any of the other newer modern theme parks that have opened up in the last 20 years?   I haven't.

Ever visited Key West or seen the coconut lined beaches of the Florida Keys up close?   Or Gulf Coast mangrove swamps where you can walk the root tops from tree to tree to tree and never get your feet wet?    Watched them launch something from Kennedy Space Center?     Drank an endless glass of fresh squeezed orange juice from a 20 mile long orange grove outlet store?

On your way back home you got Savanna Georgia and Charleston SC if you like southern historical stuff.   Going back by Atlanta you got the Confederate Stone Mountain carvings to go take a look at.   Stop by Dekalb to get you some real authentic Indian curry for lunch and by Decatur to get you some real southern fried chicken and some really good gumbo for dinner.  

Get your prejudice dipstick level "reality checked"  too all at the same time --- I need to do this every decade or so since we were all raised in the era of segregation and we tend to forget too easily when we get older.   Segregation was real, but in Decatur it resulted in a normal American city with everything looking right and working properly -- just not a cracker in sight anywhere.  I never realized I was prejudiced until Decatur Georgia rubbed my nose in it by putting me in the minority shoes and showing me a little bit of negative bias.





You see, in the South we gots lots and lots of stuff to go do -- and we got the very very best mountain roads too.


The road miles that would be needed just to get to the Black Hills one way could instead curl around to make a Southern States Extravaganza Tour with enough miles left over to see you all the way back home again (with a belly still full of good fried chicken, curry and gumbo to remind you of the trip)

Yes, we need a 2018 tread up in the stickies -- folks won't buy into things unless they can see the entire plan laid out in front of them.

I'd separate the Trace trip from the Black Hills trip, too much time is taken up if you try to do them both at the same time.   Plus they go in different directions completely.  

So your Black Hills is a meet up with Lancer and Versy.   That's nice and it sounds good.

WINTER!!!
I don't know how they do it? I went 40 miles to the range yesterday, and 80 miles home! With a smile on my face. I have put on about 1,500 miles in the last 3 weeks in south and central Fl.
Not regretting moving away from Buffalo, NY.
It is nice up there in July and August, but here I can ride year-around!  This summer up there I found none of my old friends ride anymore, They have all hit deer, or have some other excuse. Maybe just a Sunday ride, IF the weather is nice!
Now that I'm retired, 120 miles to watch a roller derby bout then home again,,,, yea sound about right!!!
My current goal is 100k on the S-40, I'm more than halfway there in less than 3 years. Just have to build-up some callouses on my butt, and buy a lot of tires!!!
I'm thinking Bonneville Speed week next year. Watching them go 300 mph thru binocs is no big deal,,, But walking thru the PITS has got to be cool!

I am not a egghead, and tech comes very slow to me, however, I bought a new to me 2011 Ford F-250 that I will use to pull my 5th wheel, yet to buy, in retirement next year.
It did not come with the Ford navigation option screen, etc, just a 2 din radio/CD.
I have voice and SYNC, however, and a iPhone.
I looked at upgrading to a aftermarket system, but I would lose some of my command options unless I bought additional kits, etc.
A unit that came with the truck, a plug and play application was like 1500.00 bucks, I am too cheap for that.
I just bought a 10 dollar iPhone holder that fits into my CD slot and use the music and navigation already on my phone.
Seems to work great with mapping and voice commands, and phone, etc.
Not sure I even need anything else.

Am I missing something other than a bigger screen?

Nope, Ray, you are not missing anything.   Android and iOS have got all the navigation stuff down pat right off the phone.   I get frustrated with the in-dash stuff as it isn't ever really current and they want like $150 to refresh the data in it .....  (stealership rape at its worst) .....

You can buy cars now with Google in the dash, it acts just like a phone  --- just talk to it .....

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 12/09/17 at 11:55:20:


Thank you OT, I know you are very smart on technology, as I have viewed some of your post regarding this stuff....
Glad to know I can keep my 1500 dollars in the bank  
It’s cool, I can set a route, and play my amazon music at the same time, when a navigation prompt is needed, the music stops and the chick in the phone tells me to turn