Riding Solo | How I Planned My 6,000 Mile Motorcycle Route

This is a review of the software I used to plan my 6,000 mile/30-day motorcycle ride across the western USA. I'm not sponsored by Rever.com or Gaia GPS and these are just my opinions.
Riding Solo is a video series about motorcycling alone in the USA backcountry on a BMW 1200 GS motorcycle. The videos were filmed during a 6,000 mile/30-day solo ride in the summer of 2020 in locations including Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Each episode focuses on great motorcycling roads (paved and dirt), camping, cooking and relaxing in scenic and remote locations. The purpose of the series is to show viewers how easy it is to ride solo on a motorcycle adventure in the USA backcountry.
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[@SterlingNoren]

Website for this video: www.norenfilms.com/videos/riding-solo-how-i-planned-my-6000-mile-motorcycle-route/

[@andrewdawe9610]

I recently discovered your channel and can't say how happy I am to have found it. In the midst of planning a motorcycle trip from Calgary down to Las Vegas. Your channel is so helpful and has so much incredible content. Nice work!

[@MichaelKallelisOn2Wheels]

One tip about Rever. Once you "plan" your route by entering your starting point and ending point, I examine the route and guess how my trip may look, day by day. Then I plan the trip in the segments I've defined. Example: Day 1_Boston to Saratoga, Day 2_Saratoga to Toronto, etc... When transferred to my GPS all the days of my intended trip are listed by Day. I just set my GPS for that day and I'm off. Thinking of my trip in segments helps me plan each segment in a lot of detail, if I want to do that, including the number of way points. I think Rever is limited to 250 or 500 waypoints, or at least it used to be. The segments give me that many for each segment, which is nearly impossible to use.

[@Porsche996driver]

Thanks Sterling! Great to “sit with you” as you walk us through the demo! I’ve had REVER for a while but not really used it much. Great to see how you can edit and revise based on local goals or POI etc. All good!!

[@ridefreeordie]

Great series of videos. As a solo rider myself, I appreciate the perspective. Drone shots are excellent.

[@joaquinchea2620]

Wow Sterling, REVER and Gaia GPS look so cool, cannot wait to tryout REVER on my next solo ride from Texas to Baja! Thanks for the tutorials!

[@patrickcooper9641]

I am sold on Rever and Gaia! Thank you Sterling for all these fantastic info you provide us! Cheers

[@stevetucker7230]

Great info!!!...Thank you. Enjoying your series

[@rbrown1339]

Great video. Now I really understand the benefits of REVER and Gaia! Keep it up the videos and safe travels!

[@robertbotta6536]

Awesome. Thanks Sterling. This is soooooooooo helpful.

[@richardzollinger4750]

Thanks for the Vid. Ride safely!

[@deanxxi]

You just took my dream ride planning to a whole other level up. I never knew of these apps, so now I know of two good systems to subscribe to and learn how to use in my planning. Thank you and continued success to your adventures.

[@frankfromaustralia]

Congratulations Sterling on all of your videos. They are extremely well documented and informative. I live in Brisbane, Australia and did my own solo three month USA adventure in 2017 covering 22,000 kilometers. Can't wait to go back and will certainley make a point of staying at your motel in Bisbee Arizona.

[@thejerseyj9422]

All my life I've loved looking at maps, even as a kid. This passion has bloomed into a lifetime of travel to some great places. However, after stumbling onto this video I realized that there are alot more tools to travel by motorcycle than I ever knew existed. Hence, you have a new subscriber who is impressed with your research. Thank you.

[@PhantomBites]

Never even thought about something like this. It was very helpful thankyou!

[@BarryMDHo]

Rever Maps and Gaia GPS are fantastic motorcycle route and tracking tools! Great recommendation and review! I've been motorcycle touring for years and will be using these two tools from now on especially transitioning from sport touring to adventure touring next summer (from KTM Super Duke GT to BMW R1250GS). BTW Sterling, your vlogs have been very helpful. Thx.

[@cozydram1]

this a was AWESOME info as I'm planning a trip around north america (Canada and States) Covid providing access before Europe ..... loved the campsite layer on Gaia too....thank you and now following your progress on your trips for updates on all

[@bendingthetube]

Awesome info! I have both but not used them in concert as you’ve described. Thanks for opening my eyes to use new tech to explore the outdoors!

[@VVoltz]

Great info. Thank you!

[@rosscorindia9527]

Thanks for sharing your techniques ,I’m looking forward to planning mine..

[@gordonbobby1]

Super helpful video. Thank you 🙏

[@LifeistooshortCK]

I am a new subscriber. Really enjoying your adventures and the production values are excellent. Thanks 👍

[@carsthatlast441]

Great video, super helpful. Thanks!

[@WanderADV]

Thanks for sharing! Everyone’s got a different approach.

[@keithaverill1223]

Great info...thanks for posting

[@bronacus]

sold I'm gonna give it a shot and try rever out thanks for the info great video

[@verbalwidget7267]

A huge thank you for this video, and the other videos that are not only spectacular, but they all contain useful information for the new "old guy" that wants to expand my duel sport riding. I owe you a couple beers when I ride down and stay at your hotel this year. Thank you again.

[@bradb2514]

Very helpful! Well done!

[@GetOut-Ride]

Great video and both Gaia and Rever are excellent tools, I have been using them for some time as well. Some more advanced helpful features of both is that with the iPhone apps installed on a phone it is easy to transfer the gpx files directly to a newer Garmin Zumo device that uses Bluetooth tethering to a phone for data, no computer needed and can be done on the side of the road. Also great but not applicable to many bikes yet is that both are Apple CarPlay compatible! I have used them both on my Africa Twin and Goldwing with CarPlay to navigate right on the bikes’ onboard TFT displays.

[@MichaelKallelisOn2Wheels]

Cool info. I didn't know Bluetooth data transfer was possible. I'll try that.

[@michaeldalrymple9540]

Great video on mapping, Thanks.

[@ka509]

Excellent information!!!! Thx

[@pun1shment]

Great information on this site/app!

[@chineseboxer108]

Super advice, many thanks :^)

[@chrisd4283]

Very, Very useful Thank you for the education.

[@rhyndman]

Whoah. Game changer.

[@marcomartins5407]

Dear Starling, The content of this video is so rich of information for motorcyclists and those who love travel . I have to confess that since I start do see the series I've been learning so much ... thank you very much for give for free all information we need to know to do a road trip werever you live. I am loving the series ... congratulation !!!

[@SterlingNoren]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for coming along along with me!!

[@charliem5332]

Thanks for this

[@ghostpepperrides4805]

Great planning tools.

[@thecorporategypsy]

I can not tell you enough how helpful and interesting these videos are. While you were on this trip, a buddy and I did the TAT. When I got to Oregon, I thought about shipping back but decided to head to MT, SD and ND solo before ultimately riding back, again solo. I WISH I had had this information as would have liked to camp more! Many thanks! Oh and after watching all of this, looks like I need a drone now! 😆

[@SterlingNoren]

Thanks! Glad you were able t ride back home solo. I bet it was a great counter-point to the other trip!

[@user-qy9fy4xr6n]

Very informative. Using the information I learned in this video I might buy a true GPS so my phone is a backup, and hopefully have more accurate routes. In the south west, I noticed sometimes Google is wrong about roads. It might show a rural road going all the way through an area, when in actuality the road might stop and there’s a fence. That can be frustrating. Also your photography is off the charts great! Really beautiful, and you have a great skill in cinematography.

[@yagian]

Great info. I've been considering splurging on both of these for some time but it looks like Gaia would be useful for me. For route planning Rever looks great if you only want to spend 30 minutes on it. Since I only get to do one big trip a year I spend 6 months on planning and dreaming. One of the best planning tools is actually KZbin. Lots of great videos out there (like this series) of remote and interesting places.

[@jershmarshall2830]

Thanks!

[@arthurb8631]

Awesome

[@oosung]

goooooood info... much obliged

[@jlg9240]

In 10 minutes Sterling shows how to use Rever. Wish Rever could have hired you two years ago! Thank you.

[@rikenglebert7558]

Very nice. I found out a few years ago how exhausting & potentially terrifying interstate travel can be on a bike. The back roads my add a few hours but the reward is so much greater... but I’m preaching to the choir (-: peace brother - thinking about visiting Bisbee one of these wintery days

[@SterlingNoren]

Thanks! Hope to see you down here sometime!

[@petefinnegan3873]

I like it

[@2wheelsandatent]

That is amazing, Thanks for sharing the rever and how it incorporates with the BDR'S! I have a goal to complete all 10 current BDR routes in the next 2 years. My current plan is to do them solo and film them to share the journey. I have completed UTBDR solo and with a group, been on half of IDBDR, half of AZ, small parts of CO and NM so far since learning of the BDR maps only 1 and a half years ago... also how i became familiar with you =). The journey will have to obviously be adaptable like next year I am meeting my podcast co host who lives back east to do the 2 BDR's out there together. I have never been anywhere out East (I am an Utah native), so it will be nice to have him along on those. I did get to Bisbee last December with my buddy Tim when we were on the Arizona BDR and wow what a cool place that I had never even heard of. Ok I digress, sorry I am just so excited and your video here may reallly help me plan and put together how I can accomplish the logistics of the journey.

[@SterlingNoren]

Thanks for the comment and I will be eager to learn how your quest to ride all of the BDR’s goes. That is quite an endeavor!

[@2wheelsandatent]

@@SterlingNoren thanks for the reply! Yes it is going to be a balancing act mostly financially but what you guys created has changed how I do and how I want to see the world so I gotta go for it even if it takes a few years;) Thanks for posting all your adventures it helps keep me motivated to push on

[@lizdg3892]

So cool they include the BDRs. I’m looking for an app for back roads etc. not sure which one to go with. This is great.

[@acrebiz]

great info Sterling, thank you! will you be telling us about the various gear you took on the trip? hammock, sleeping bag, that knife, etc.....

[@SterlingNoren]

Im planning on that!

[@paiammarin4806]

wow thank you for website

[@michaelshea2017]

Would be super awesome if you could put together a complete itinerary of your whole trip so I could use it for my own trip! Would that be possible?

[@rjrgjr]

Does Rever have the same features for South America too??

[@njpaddler]

Both of them look good, each having something that the other doesn't. Too bad they can't merge.

[@perrinsmith777]

very informative video. thank you for posting. would you recommend touring using only and iPhone with google maps, rever and gaia...not a specific gps device?

[@SterlingNoren]

No, I prefer to have an actual GPS device with me in addition to the phone.

[@jershmarshall2830]

@@SterlingNoren why is that? do you use the GPS during the entire ride, looking at it? When might you pull out your phone for navigation?

[@carlredmond3642]

Fantastic info....great to know. When you "follow" the track on Gaia on your phone, does the display automatically re-center around your location, or do you constantly have to move the map on the display with your finger to keep it centered while riding ?

[@SterlingNoren]

Im pretty sure that you have to move the map with your finger...

[@Fernguy3.0]

Hi Do you know if the REVER app will work or Europe/Scandinavia

[@kylegomolka8598]

Is it possible to plan routs with an I pad ? or do I need a computer.

[@MarkAJones-uf3et]

Sterling, Grear video, as are all of your videos. I have used REVER a few times and like it. Have not used GAIA. Does one of them work better for you?

[@SterlingNoren]

I use Gaia GPS a lot more than Rever actually. Especially when I am in the field. It has a lot more 'layers' that are very useful - private property, public lands, etc.

[@user-jv9gx9dh9k]

What is the location in the video at TC 1:06? Thanks.

[@ADVBrett]

So I’ve been using Calimoto for a few months but can’t justify those weekly costs, especially if I can’t ride for a week or two. So after seeing this I’ve jumped back onto Rever and got a great discount on the Pro version. Let’s see how it goes using Rever in Australia!

[@patrickcooper9641]

Let us know how and if it works well down under! Cheers

[@ADVBrett]

@@patrickcooper9641 Will do that for sure Patrick! I’ll put something up on my channel in the coming weeks.

[@drzrider3440]

Well whats a bit harder is to make plans to ride will several guys doing the Idaho BDR....and then at very last moment, they ALL cancel on me. Was this going to stop me? Hell no. Just had to quickly change plans. So instead of sharing cooking supplies between us, now all was going with me. I planned and mapped out my ride on GIA GPS. Cause google has failed me and so has On X. Gia never fails. So I always say use Gia over any other apps. But use On X to search for great single and double track.

[@tonycastro6805]

How about gas stations locations on the route?

[@theblastermaster5590]

Can I plan this on my PC then use it on my Iphone. Seems like the PC version is not available?

[@tenerebaraudeur7359]

Good software . Do you know.if this sofware works for Europe or it's specific for USA ?

[@mancavemoto]

Rever works all overt the world. I use it hear in the UK, but the Butler roads are US only

[@dynamadnessadventures205]

I use tyre software and it’s free

[@frankborriello5678]

Can my route be uploaded to my 2017 Harley Davidson infotainment system?

[@nikolamladenovic3972]

It’d great if you could share GPX files for some of your routes :)

[@tnwilliamson]

Sterling, can you tell me what GPS unit you use?

[@SterlingNoren]

BMW Navigator by Garmin.

[@surferbummg]

Sterling, midway through the video you say that you didn't use Rever to actually develop the tracks you used for the ride. You started talking about Gaia GPS. Did you use Gaia to develop the tracks you used for the ride?

[@SterlingNoren]

I used Rever to create the track, but I didn't really end up following it. There are just so many variables along the way and I had flexibility in my travels so I could go wherever I felt like. That said, I did find it very helpful to create a route to give me an idea where to go. I used Gaia GPS more in the field, to see what forest roads were in the area, and campsites.

[@surferbummg]

@@SterlingNoren will you published tracks of your route?

[@abdalhadisakkaamini5706]

Hello ... Are there bandits on the roads?

[@SterlingNoren]

No bandits!

[@christpherhill1398]

can Rever be used for cars?

[@SterlingNoren]

Sure I don't see why not :-)

[@dallenstevens7871]

How do you know if there will be enough gas stations along the route?

[@SterlingNoren]

Honestly I am never concerned about this as I can go about 200 miles and it is very seldom that I would be in any situation to run out of gas. That being said it is important to be aware of fuel needs along the way and gas up whenever I have the opportunity before heading into a more remote section.

[@dallenstevens7871]

@@SterlingNoren thank you!

[@mikemills5144]

So why did you change the route from what you had planned?

[@SterlingNoren]

Too many reasons... so many things can change along the way... maybe you need a piece of gear and have to go to a certain town to get it, or the weather is bad in a certain direction, or you hear about another 'destination' you want to see, or anything else.... it's nice to have a plan but also the freedom to abandon the plan along the way.

[@josephk6087]

Nice route planning, but you said in the video that you did not follow your planned route...

[@SterlingNoren]

Yes, you are right, I didn't end up following the exact route I made, but it was helpful to get myself started in the right direction.

[@Wildirishmanbiker]

Hey give me a shout, I live in Tucson

[@user-ss1lj4uf1f]

Great video and both Gaia and Rever are excellent tools, I have been using them for some time as well. Some more advanced helpful features of both is that with the iPhone apps installed on a phone it is easy to transfer the gpx files directly to a newer Garmin Zumo device that uses Bluetooth tethering to a phone for data, no computer needed and can be done on the side of the road. Also great but not applicable to many bikes yet is that both are Apple CarPlay compatible! I have used them both on my Africa Twin and Goldwing with CarPlay to navigate right on the bikes’ onboard TFT displays.

[@JohnnyFuelMotorcycleAdventures]

Very informative. Using the information I learned in this video I might buy a true GPS so my phone is a backup, and hopefully have more accurate routes. In the south west, I noticed sometimes Google is wrong about roads. It might show a rural road going all the way through an area, when in actuality the road might stop and there’s a fence. That can be frustrating. Also your photography is off the charts great! Really beautiful, and you have a great skill in cinematography.