My boyfriend and I spent the end of August riding a Honda Goldwing from the East to the West Coast of the US. We flew into Annapolis, MD, to pick up our rented Honda Goldwing from EagleRider. We were able to do a one-way rental and dropped the bike in Seattle, WA, 18 days later. Doing a cross country motorcycle trip was on my boyfriend’s bucket list. I love new adventures so I decided we should do this trip for my 40th birthday.
Logistics
We have gotten many questions about our route and the logistics of planning a big trip. We recommend getting a comfy bike made for travel. After much research, we found that the best option was a one-way rental. EagleRider is known for Harley-Davidson Rentals, but they also rent other brands. They were great to deal with, and I highly recommend them. It wasn’t cheap but worth riding in comfort for almost three weeks.
We planned the route ahead of time. We tried to stick to 200 miles/day and wanted to avoid the interstate as much as possible. I booked our accommodations ahead of time because some of the small towns had limited options, but they could all be canceled if plans changed. We also had a few extra days before we had to fly home in case we hit the weather or encountered any other issues. Spoiler: We did.
Check out our Google Map for our exact route and all of our stops.
Day 1: Baltimore, MD to Davis, WV
Miles: 195
Ride Time (Not including stops): 5 hours
We stayed in Gambrills, MD, 5 minutes from EagleRider the night before.
After picking up the bike, we wanted to visit downtown DC and see some tourist sights. Don’t do it. If you want to explore DC, fly in a few days early. We were fighting traffic in the heat while still getting used to the bike. Avoid any major city if you can, or at least try to avoid rush hour.
Finally, we left the city, got on VA-7 W and headed through Virginia wine country. The roads through this area are curvy, and the scenery is beautiful. We stopped and took a break at a local winery. Even if you’re not drinking, the quiet and the food are worth the stop. The perfect riding roads continued into West Virginia.
We ended up in the small town of Davis, WV. We celebrated day one at Stumptown Ales, the local brewery.
Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham (Gambrills, MD)
EagleRider (Crofton, MD)
Valerie Hill Winery (Stephens City, VA)
Stumptown Ales (Davis, WV)
Alpine Lodge Sawmill Restaurant and Motel (Davis, WV)
Day 2: Davis, WV to Dayton, OH
Miles: 311
Ride Time (Not including stops): 6.5 hours
Although the goal was only to do 200 miles/day, we had a deadline to meet my friends on my birthday in Sturgis, SD. Because of this, we had a few long days. It didn’t downpour but light rain off and on. We got lucky; this was the only day of the trip we needed to use rain gear. It was a long, cold day as a passenger, but Cliff had a blast on the curvy roads through the West Virginia hills.
We stopped at TipTop coffee shop for breakfast before getting on the road. It was nice to have a warm meal before starting the long day. Cliff was looking forward to getting on a motorcycle every morning, but I was excited to stop at all the quirky roadside attractions: the first stop, the World’s Biggest Pumpkin Water Tower. My crazy list of roadside attractions became an essential aspect of the trip. It broke up long days and allowed us to stretch our legs.
Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
TipTop (Thomas, WV)
Sake (Dayton, OH) (Hibachi)
World’s Biggest Pumpkin Water Tower (Circleville, OH)
Day 3: Dayton, WV to Champaign, IL
Miles: 250
Ride Time (Not including stops): 5.5 hours
This was another long day, 250 miles and 5.5 hours of ride time. It was still enjoyable. We officially left the mountain and entered corn country. Cliff is from Illinois, and I am from the East Coast, so we weren’t excited about the beginning of the trip, which led us to book some long days to get to the second half of the country. Shockingly, though, we ended up enjoying the ride through this area. I guess the moral is don’t have any premonitions about your trip. I recommend stopping at the Grindstone Public House for lunch. It was one of my favorite restaurants on the trip.
Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Grindstone Public House (Noblesville, IN)
Check out Part 2, where we continue our adventure riding across the country, as we go through Iowa, and check out our tips if you decide to do your own trip.
