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I'm on my first real tour and for the first thousand miles I was just following the route komoot set up for me but I started deviating from it once I got out in the deep countryside and it started telling me to do shit like go through private property/literal farmland or over flooded roads. Eventually when I was in North Dakota it got to the point where I was basically forced to just get on the interstate which I had been avoiding like the plague and holy shit have I been missing out.
>comfy rest stops like the one I'm chilling in right now at reasonable intervals
>gas stations and truck stops where you can buy most everything you need
>they always go through or at least come near the biggest cities in the area, no more milling about in little villages with 100 people that don't even have a general store
>they often go near or at least point out the big tourist attractions like national parks and landmarks
>well maintained surfaces with extra wide shoulders and rumble strips
>much more level grade on the whole and virtually impossible to get lost while on one
>plenty of cheap motels and embankments/wind break tree lines so you can stealth camp right next to where you need to resume riding the next day
>overall probably less dangerous than taking the back roads since any accident that isn't immediately fatal will see a much quicker response from paramedics and there is much better visibility and people passing you (not that they really need to "pass" you at all with how wide the shoulders are) don't have to worry about oncoming traffic, etc
I'm staying on the interstate as long as I can for the rest of the trip.
