Draft a 13-day cross-country motorcycle route with Grok and ChatGPT, then catch a badly wrong route map

Posted

Mar 9, 2026 by Patrick (@RVA4n6)

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Last checked

Oct 18, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Screenshots or logsThe source shows screenshots, a transcript or the agent's output.

Outcome

Planning a 13-day cross-country motorcycle ride for a year ahead, the poster asked Grok and ChatGPT for an initial route and itinerary. Grok's itinerary was 'a little wonky'; ChatGPT's schedule and route looked great. But when asked to draw a map of the route it had described, ChatGPT produced one that the poster says gets worse the more you look at it, making them question whether the itinerary itself was accurate.

Agent

ChatGPT, Grok

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me draft a long multi-day motorcycle route that I can check and refine with proper mapping tools.

What I'll share as we go:
- Start and end points, and any must-see places
- Number of days and comfortable riding hours per day
- Roads or weather I want to avoid
- Where I'd like to stay (motels, campsites)

Rules:
- Give the route as a day-by-day list of towns with approximate distances and riding times.
- Don't draw a map image; instead give me waypoints I can paste into a mapping app.
- Flag days over my riding limit.
- Mark distances and times as estimates for me to check in a mapping app.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A day-by-day table of waypoints, distances and riding times, plus a list of waypoints ready to paste into a map app.

You'll know it worked when: the route checks out in a real mapping app with no impossible days.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me draft a long multi-day motorcycle route that I can check and refine with proper mapping tools.

What I'll share as we go:
- Start and end points, and any must-see places
- Number of days and comfortable riding hours per day
- Roads or weather I want to avoid
- Where I'd like to stay (motels, campsites)

Rules:
- Give the route as a day-by-day list of towns with approximate distances and riding times.
- Don't draw a map image; instead give me waypoints I can paste into a mapping app.
- Flag days over my riding limit.
- Mark distances and times as estimates for me to check in a mapping app.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- Point out mountain passes or roads that may be closed in the season I'm riding.

Output: A day-by-day table of waypoints, distances and riding times, plus a list of waypoints ready to paste into a map app.

You'll know it worked when: the route checks out in a real mapping app with no impossible days.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://x.com/RVA4n6/status/2031003709442830644