Is it safe to just "Wing it?" re: Route?
I'm struck with a problem. Maybe business managers and obsessive-compulsives never run into this issue, but the idea of google mapping every road on a bike tour, checking for traffic, slope, and distance, and planning a route day-by-day seems outlandishly difficult and daunting to me. Just typing a general destination in Google Maps and hitting "Bicycle" nets me 20-30 pages of instructions.
In the northeast US, is it safe to just bring a few general maps and make up the route as we go along, consulting maps when we need work-arounds or orienteering? Or does everyone spend a few weeks painstakingly solidifying a blue line from A to B?
Myself and my ride-mates would be more likely to see hills as "challenges" and cars as "obstacles," so a little danger is fine. I don't want to get stuck on the highway, though.