+1

I've ridden across Kansas as part of a Fort Collins to Wichita and Wichita to Memphis rides. One thing I found that was important to be able to do was adjust my plans based on the winds. For example, if it was a day with strong winds coming from the south, that was a day to ride more eastwards and do that dog-leg south the next day.

So my suggestion is to do some advance *planning* if that is your nature, but not to get too attached to any specific *plan*.

To describe the difference, I also consider myself somewhat of a planner - particularly for routes that are new and different to me. Prior to a ride, I would have likely read any trip journals I could find, perhaps taken a shorter scale shakedown ride in part of the area, and researched likely locations of hotels or bike shops. I might know something about geography of the land, climate averages, visa requirements (for foreign trips), history of some towns, sights to see, etc.

However, you won't find me with a detailed day-by-day itinerary, route sheet, guide or even knowing where I'll be each night. Instead, I'm going to vary that dynamically based on a number of different factors that I can't control, e.g.
- weather including winds or precipitation
- road construction schedules from state hwy departments
- mechanical issues with the bike
- new inputs from locals or local events I hadn't known about
- how I'm feeling and whether I decide to ride another 30 miles one day or stop early...

There are too many of those sorts of variables, that trying to pin down a detailed day-by-day plan turns into more of a straightjacket on the overall trip. For a planner type, that doesn't mean you just turn and "wing it", but instead focus your advance planning on learning in advance so you have one possible rough blueprint and then enough knowledge on many possible alternatives that you intelligently adjust these things as you go along.

Now with that said, as I've gained experience cycle touring, I've also relied more on that past experience and less on planning for more "routine" trips. For example, this past week I cycled from Eugene, OR to San Jose, CA and it was along a rough route I'd done twelve years before, so while I didn't repeat exactly what I did before - I did rely on having been along the route once before.