Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm leaning toward either taking HWY 61 south until I meet up with a good road west. A lot will depend on how the weather is looking in those directions when the departure date arrives. I just want to enjoy the ride.

 

I've done 61. It reminds me of riding around the farm areas of SE WI. You could pick 54 up in Bowling Green MO. Once you get past Jefferson City (the capital, and not a horrible place to get lunch) 54 is pretty scenic up to hwy 65. Can't say beyond that.

I use Garmin MapSource (old school baby) and if you zoom into the areas around 61 there are some interesting country road short cuts that made our ride more interesting. Very narrow 2 lane winding through some off the beaten path stuff for sure. Those roads probably don't save any time, but they can be a nice diversion from the straight and flat.

 

Being that your trip will begin in May, the weather going west, especially in the higher elevations and climates can be "iffy".

I'd suggest heading towards I-35 south towards Witcha and from there to Rt 54 west/southwest onto I-40 West.
This takes off some miles and it avoids OK City ant the I-35/I-40 Jct. and it gives you a little more "rural riding".

 

I had initially thought about taking 54, as it seemed to be a fairly direct route and I like the idea of avoiding the big city areas. My only problem is I don't know how "ridable" 54 is both in terms of road surface and I'm assuming its just open plains most of the way, making wind an issue. Can anyone advise if 54 is smooth and would be a fairly enjoyable ride?

 

US 54 is a quality road surface. I would still make the route a game day decision. Take a shot at some of Colorado if the weather looks promising. If it turns bad, I-25 takes you right to your destination.

 

Excellent advice..

 

We are taking our new 2013 Heritage that same week on our vacation. We live in Denver and are going to stop in Madrid, New Mexico to see the world famous Maggies Diner that was used in the movie Wild Hogs. As for our city of Denver, it sucks. Traffic is worse. And the state is being overrun by Liberal/Socialist. Now if you have the time, you could head up into the mountains and say run 285 south through Colorado to down to Santa Fe then take NM highway 14 through Madrid on your way to Albuquerque and you will get the WOW factor on that route.

 

54 is heavy semi-truck traffic.

 

I'm OK with semis as long as they stay in their lanes. My big concern is to make sure that 54 isn't one great big pothole from one end to the other and is it a crazy windy pain in the a$$ to ride? I know, I know - running anywhere in that part of the country is going to be windy but are there atributes to that road which make it more difficult than anywhere else.

 

Parts of route 66? Or working your way somehow ( Iowa,Nebraska boring) to Colorado, then down? Probably one of the most beautiful areas of the country I've seen is western Colorado, would be great for riding. Did it by car down through Silverton and Durango, lots of mountains and winding roads. I think 25 is the only route south from there straight to Albequerque, not totally sure. But that would be awesome as well. If you want, you could really open it up through there. Really a different kind of scenery through that area as well, very cool.