What is your idea or goal when planning a trip? Are there roads you want to ride? Things you want to see? Want to surprise yourself? Get to a certain destination?
I have a combination of goals when I travel. I like to go places and see things while riding nice roads. I like surprises, like finding a really good Cajun restaurant out on the Bayous. I like finding giant statues of things like dinosaurs, beer cans, chain saws, etc.
My approach to trip planning doesn't require a fancy GPS. Basically, I just use it to make a daily destination so I can see what my arrival time will be. That way I have a reminder of when I need to stop screwing around and head out for where I'm spending the night.
For the actual day's riding, I use a combination of resources. First, is the AAA. I get their maps and travel guides. Besides helping get the "lay of the land" they are my emergency back up in case the GPS dies. I have found some really nice roads by following the wiggly skinny lines on Triple A maps. I've found that some of the best roads follow streams in the mountains.
The internet is a great place to look for roads to ride and things to see. Duck Duck Go, and Startpage searches for the things that interest you will give you more suggestions than you can handle in one trip. There are websites with lists of "motorcycle" roads.
I make a list of things I want to see and do, and mark them on a paper map. I pick out the places where I want to spend the night, those are my daily destinations. I also add a list of daily waypoints for must see places or things.
I do my detail planning the night before, taking into account the weather, traffic, how I'm enjoying the area, and input from the locals I talk to. I will put three or four or five waypoints for the day and let my Nuvi figure out the best way to hit them all. If something catches my attention, or I hear about something else I want to see, I just add it and let my Nuvi figure out how to get there.
None of this uses Apps. I don't use them because it seems that the suggestions they make are based on how much the proprietors of the attractions pay the app to promote them. I know this because I have a friend who owned a bar that was constantly approached by Google to pay them to be included in their list of area attractions which they not only included in their search results, but also sold to other apps. Sometimes the coolest places are the ones that catch your eye as you ride by. The owners of these places don't normally have the need, desire, or cash to be included in GPS or smart phone apps.
The best part of not going to the places the apps take you to is that you get into the places where the locals hang out. Those are the places where you get the best local knowledge and the best memories are made.
