Route Information & Planning

ByPete

We start our route planning with online information and books based on our next adventure. It is a multi step process:

  • Identify the route/journey/destiation
  • List the must see & do activities
  • Layer in how many days we can allocate
  • Plan the potential day to day travel route
  • adjust activities and timeframe to fit

For Route 66, the definitive guide is”EZ66 Guide” by Route 66 historian Jerry McClanahan. The current edition in 2026 is the 6th edition. This book is a *must have*. https://mcjerry66.com/ez66.php.

When we road the Pacific Coast highway, we relied heavily on the Independent Travel Cats at https://independenttravelcats.com/. They have fantastic advice and route planning tips for the PCH as well as Route 66.

Once we start mapping it out, we use the Harley Davison Ride planner https://maps.harley-davidson.com/ to plan out our routes to follow the exact roads we want to take. This helps us stay on the roads we want and avoid the interstates we don’t want to take. This is not without some level of arguing with the GPS, but overall we have been very successul and using the Harley app means we can load the maps into the bike for easier manipulation while riding. For guides and training on the Harley Davidson Map Ride Planner, we recommend Law Abiding Biker at https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/. They have lots of information includng free and paid user guides. Their paid ride planner and BOOM guides are extremely helpful and worth the money.