“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu never rode a motorcycle. And yet, his famous comment rings true thousands of years later for those who are preparing to set out on a two-wheeled adventure.

As with many areas in life, planning is crucial. For a motorcyclist, it’s all about the roads. Whether your jam is tight twisties or long sweeping curves, finding just the right roads is paramount to having a great trip. Equally important is making sure these roads are well paved and maintained, and knowing how much traffic you might encounter.

Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to plan a trip. There are numerous websites where you can find great information with comments from actual riders who’ve ridden where you’re interested in going. And you can get up-to-the-minute road information and turn-by-turn help from a navigational device attached to your bike. But for the true connoisseur of planning, nothing beats consulting an old-fashioned map first.

My husband is a fan of maps. I won’t bore you with the details, but I’ll just say we actually have a room in our house devoted to maps. This is where he keeps the hundreds of paper maps and map books he’s collected over the years. I’m even in the process of framing maps that showcase actual trips we’ve taken, in order to hang them in this room. The price one pays for a new house. But I digress.

Paper maps definitely have their advantages. You get a really large-scale view of the area where you’re going to ride. The elevation differences are easier to see, as are national parks or other points of interest. You can easily segment your trip if reaching a certain destination on a certain day is important.

I like to then look online for suggestions from riders in the areas I’m interested in. Here are some great sites:

• www.motorcycleroads.com
• www.openroadjourney.com
• www.sundaymorningrides.com
• www.motorcycleroads.us
• www.bestbikingroads.com

Once you have your broad view on paper and your specific roads via the web, you can build your trip on a navigation tool like a Garmin or TomTom. Of course, you’ll still have those times you have to stop for the all-important map consultation.

My husband and his buddies are famous for this. Ahem.

In closing, I also must say that with all this planning, there’s also something freeing about just choosing to take a certain road, spur of the moment, and see where it leads you. A beautiful lake, a peaceful forest, a weird sign on a dead end road that’s just enough scary to make it interesting … these are memories to be built and will definitely be part of your trip story.

So plan your trip, but leave open the possibility that the uncharted road is worth 30 minutes.

Oh, and hang your trip maps. After all, the journey of a thousand miles … well, you get it.