10,000 miles across the country and back!

Hey guys/gals, I'm looking for some advice/recommendations on a pretty big trip I'll be taking this July/August. I recently put the pursuit of my Bachelor's degree on hiatus in order to do some traveling in my own back yard. A kind of pre-midlife crisis I suppose, haha! (not funny). I've always had the itch and I suppose now is as good a time as any to scratch!

Here is the rough route I'll be taking:
San Francisco> Yosemite> Death Valley National Park> Las Vegas> Grand Canyon> Apache National Forest (AZ)> Lincoln National Forest (NM)> San Angelo (TX)> Austin> Abbeville (LA)> New Orleans> Memphis> Nashville> Great Smoky Mountain National Park> George Washington National Forest (VA)> Richmond> Washington D.C.> Philadelphia> Brooklyn> Boston> Montreal> Toronto> Niagra Falls> Huron National Forest (MI)> Nicolet National Forest (MI)> Minneapolis> Badlands National Park> Mount Rushmore> Yellowstone National Park> Glacier National Park> Spokane> Seattle> Portland> Crater Lake> Arcata (CA)> San Francisco

Here is the list of gear/equipment I'll be taking:
Camping...
Rain gear, tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, head lamp, single burner, small pot, bug spray, national parks pass

Tools...
Essential tools (usual suspects), tire plug kit +Co2 cartridges, chain lube, leatherman, larger knife, duct tape, zip ties, zip-loc bags, first aid kit, tire gauge, cargo bungee, AAA card, a list of bike shops along the way (I'll need new Michelins/chain at some point)

I've installed Heli-bars and bought a Sargent seat (awesome investment for anyone on the fence by the way). I have the speedpack wide bags from bags connection: TwistedThrottle.com : Bags-Connection Speedpack-Wide motorcycle luggage system - BCK.SP5001 and the 21 liter cortech tank bag: Cortech :: Luggage :: 21 Liter Tank Bag My father and I are going to fabricate a two bar rack that will extend from the passenger grab bars. Hopefully I'll be able to stow my tent, sleeping bag and maybe even sleeping pad on it above the exhaust. Throttlemeister is on its way. I'm also contemplating heated grips.

What do you guys think? In my search for info on this trip, you guys have been the best (I've been lurking on this site for a couple months now...jump in right?). An incredible amount of knowledge/experience between all of you.

I'll be spending a lot of time camping, some time in hostels while in bigger cities, and some time at a couple friends' houses. Fortunately, I'm in great mental and physical shape which should make the camping a little bit easier on me. I have from July 6 to August 31 to make this happen. I'm looking at a hair over 10,000 miles!

Any camping tips?
Any particular campgrounds or even specific sites at any of these National Parks I might want to look into?
Any long distance riding tips? (Iron Butt had a great list of tips for riding long distances)
Any particular roads I might want to make my way towards?
How about food? I'm ready to try some real southern shrimp n' grits and some real pulled pork.
How about drinks? Any cool bars? I love my whiskey too.
Any touristy crap that's a must see in some of the bigger cities?


Thanks for your help in advance guys! I've done some awesome traveling in my short life here on earth, nothing quite like this however. I eagerly await the challenge that is ahead of me and look forward to the experiences I will make out of them. I'm an open mind right now guys, thanks!

 

Fuses and Fuel relay .......Make sure the wiring hardness and R/R have been replace. Cell phone with charger, cloth and spray for your shield visor.......

 

A relatively new chain should last 10k miles. Make sure you have the tools to adjust it. Don't forget to get the oil changed during your trip. Sounds like a fun trip.

 

Yea, it has about 5K on it now. I'll probably put a couple thousand on it before I leave. Maybe I should just get a new chain before I take off? Also, I heard it was best to just lightly lube it every day after travel? Thanks!

 

Fuses for sure. I'll definitely add that to my list. I have an iPhone. I've never really used it outside of California. Everyone tells me that ironically, you get better coverage outside the San Francisco area. I'm hoping to lean on the maps function pretty heavily in some of the more metropolitan areas. Thanks

 

Yeah, your best bet with chain lubing when your traveling long distances everyday is to lube it at the end of the day while the chain is still warm.