The Budget

Thursday 19 April 2012

This Post is lifted straight from an email I sent to the guys. We had agreed in principle to the trip - but we now all had to commit. And there's nothing like "sticker shock" to sort out the "maybes" from the "fuck yeahs".


To: Scott & Jimmy
From: Chris
Subject: The Great Big "It May Not Be Perfect, but It's Perfect" Trip

The Motto: "It May Not Be Perfect, but It's Perfect." By that I mean: there could be better options, better bikes, better gear, better hotels, but for us, Perfect is what we're doing right now with what we've got right now. Life's too short to worry about what we woulda coulda shoulda done.

The Plan: We'd book flights and book the bikes. We'd have a rough idea of where we want to go, but wouldn't book anything. If we wake up in the morning and want to go east instead of south, we'll go east. If we love a place and want to stay a few days, we'll stay a few days. If we hate a place, we'll ride through town, stop at the city limits, drop our daks and give 'em a brown-eye or three. We'll take time to talk to the locals, offer them plenty of flattery, tip like the locals do and invite the good-looking ones to come & visit us in Aus. You single blokes can invite them to visit you in your hotel rooms.

Dates: I'm thinking flying out on Sat 5 May and flying back in Sun 27 May. We'd plan to have a day or two either end to acclimatise and remember that the cars are on the wrong side of the road before jumping on the bikes.

The Good Route: Takes us from San Francisco in a big loop that takes us east to Lake Tahoe in Nevada, Salt Lake City in Utah, Denver in Colorado, then down south to Roswell in New Mexico, then west to Tucson Arizona, then north to the Grand Canyon, west to Las Vegas, west to Mojave Desert then Los Angeles, then north to where we started in San Francisco.

The Budget:

• Flights could be in the order of $1200 return. So far, it seems to be a similar cost going direct to either San Francisco or LA as it would be to go via Honolulu. A bit more research could knock a bit off this price maybe.
• Bikes - depends on what sort. A Harley Skirtster with no panniers will cost about $110 per day with insurance - cheaper without (we need to see what our travel insurance would cover). A BMW R1200GS with a similar amount of insurance would be in the order of $166 per day. I think that on top of these costs there's 8.5% sales tax... There are options in-between of course. I've got a quote on a Harley Davidson FLHTCI Electra Glide Classic for 17 days, all taxes, $1000 deductible insurance, roadside assist & tyre repair option, for $2250 (US Dollars)
• Food & Accom. I've had a bit of a look at some hotels in areas we'd be going, and reckon as long as we're not fussy we should be able to get below $50 per night. Less if we can snag larger rooms with twin share beds & whatnot. More in the bigger cities. Let's say $60 per night average as a "max" estimate - for 21 nights that's $1,260. Food's cheap, but you need to factor in tipping and I'm told that the norm is now 15%. I'd reckon that $40 per day should still cover it though. So that's $840.
• GAS. The route I'm looking at will be roughly 2,500 MILES. At 45MPG and an average of $4 per gallon, that's $222. Say $250.
• Travel Insurance: I just got a quote for $180 - includes Cancellation, Medical, Luggage, Rental Vehicle Excess (not sure if it's motorcycle - need to check), Travel Delays, Missed Connections.

All up, that's $1200 for flights, $2250 for bikes, $2100 for food & accom, $250 for GAS, $180 for Insurance. Total for 21 days of $5,980. Throw in a $20 souvenir and you're looking at $6,000. Obviously my aim is to do it cheaper than that, but who knows?

Of course it could be a little less than that or a little more, but that's ballpark (unless I've left something out?)

Also - if we can do it cheaper by flying in to LA and renting bikes in LA, we could always start there instead of SF and do the route anti-clockwise. Or clockwise. 

Sites: 

Bike Rentals http://www.californiamotorcycleadventures.com/fleet.html

Google Maps: http://bit.ly/OpFl1F

Gas prices: http://www.newmexicogasprices.com/Prices_Nationally.aspx

Miles Per Gallon - Harleys: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/Harley-Davidson.htm

The Decision

Monday 16 April 2012

The three of us meet for a meal most Monday nights. The venue: Wests in Lambton. The food: simple, cheap. The conversation: usually centred around motorcycles. Riding, racing and restoring all get a look in.

Of course, other topics take the spotlight at times. On this Monday night, Scott was holding the floor given his shock announcement: "I've had enough of the construction industry. I've resigned. Not sure what I want to do next. Maybe drive trains? Maybe ride a Postie bike? Maybe just do up my house."

We were shocked. But in a way, envious. And then an idea came to me: "You know that motorcycle trip in the USA we talked about a year or so ago? It'd be a good time to take that now, wouldn't it?"

It was. We looked at Jimmy. "I'm in!"

And with that, the trip was born.

We agreed a few key things that night:

• Three weeks from start to finish.
• The less time planning, the better.
• No itinerary - just a few key places we'd like to see (Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Pike's Peak in Colorado, the aliens in Roswell New Mexico and the Grand Canyon in Arizona).
• We'd fly in to either San Francisco or Los Angeles, and do a loop. Which city depended on flight availability and motorcycle hire options.