Special Thanks to Mike
Green and the San Jacinto
High Rollers MC for their permission to reprint this article.
Packing Up
By Mike Green
I am fortunate enough to be going on
a ride during the beginning of the month of July. This
will be my first long (read interstate) ride in
three years. This is the longest dry spell I've ever
had and I'm really looking forward to the ride.
I hope that you have plans in place
for Summer and will also have an opportunity to take
a vacation.
Anticipation of a ride can be as great
a pleasure as the actual ride. This trip will be the
kind of trip I really enjoy. I will spend about two
weeks "out there". I do not plan the trip rigorously.
If I may be going near relatives, I warn them that I
may be in the area and if a visit is imminent, I will
give them a day or two of notice on the road. I don't
have a firm destination, but have something in mind.
This time I am thinking about checking out the Canadian
Rockies. I carry along enough supplies to camp overnight
without cooking, but I camp or stay in motels based
on weather or whim.
Like the last trip, I am traveling with
Joel Cavell. Both of us enjoy photography, so I plan
on spending a bit of time off thebike with a camera.
There are several categories of preparation
for a trip. The bike must be prepared. The household
has to be prepared. There's family to deal with. Last
time, I was trying to wrap up a project at work before
I left. As is usually the case, things didn’t go quite
as smoothly as planned. The week before departure, I
was working fourteen hour days. The last day of work
arrived and I left early at nine P.M. to get ready for
the vacation starting the next day.
I remember that evening vividly. I spent
almost the entire night jamming everything I might need
into duffel bags and caught a couple hours of sleep
before departing.
The next morning found me riding west
with my bike overloaded and handling like a Mack truck.
I felt like pulling over and UPSing most of it back
home. As it was, I spent the first few evenings repacking
and rearranging to lower the center of gravity.
This time things will be different.
So here I am going over the list of
items I will be bringing with me. Bear in mind that
I haven’t actually packed the saddle
bags yet, so some things will change. The following
is my first version of the list of items that will be
carried along.
The first priority is keeping the bike
rolling. I have a set of tools that I always carry with
me. These include wrenches and
tools to pull tires, plugs, etc. It also includes tire
plugs and a CO2 tire inflation kit. To that kit of basic
tools I add:
Flashlight
Volt Ohm Meter (VOM)
Service manual
Once I have the bike rolling, I then think
about keeping the bike secure. I have a pair of Kryptonite
locks that I carry. One is a brake disk lock. The
other is large enough to tie two bikes together by their
tires or to lock the rear tire to the frame. I have
a light chain, but I think I will pass on it this time.
Joel has a heavy chain and may bring it.
Disk brake lock
Frame
lock
This brings up an important idea about
traveling with others. Take advantage of what they will
pack and don't duplicate what someone else is carrying
if they really have that base covered. Most folks are
willing to use a heavy chain they carry to lock
all the bikes together. If you have a mechanic in the
group who likes to carry a
full set of tools, you can get by with a minimum set.
Now it's time to think about keeping
myself going. I don't have any health problems that
require me to carry prescription medicines. I
do carry simple first aid items. I really should invest
in a real kit. Since I spend a lot of time outside
on a bike trip, sunscreen is a vital piece of equipment.
I also throw in the cellular phone here
since I would consider it emergency medical equipment.
Pain reliever
Bandages
Sunscreen
Lip
sunscreen
Cellular
phone
12v
adapter for phone
Now its time to add in the riding equipment.
This will vary depending on where I'm going and the season,
but for those of us who are acclimated to Houston
summers, almost anywhere else will feel downright cold.
It also seems to rain anywhere I go, even in the
desert.
I ride with a open face helmet and carry
a snap on face shield for when it rains (no windshield
on bike). In fair weather, I wear a wraparound set of
Oakley sunglasses and carry tinted and amber lenses.
My full face helmet is in pretty bad shape. I used
to carry both helmets. If I manage to replace the full
face helmet, I will
return to carrying both again and drop the snap on face
shield.
Usually, I drink at stops only. In severe
heat, I will buy a plastic bottle or two and carry them
with me, refilling them with water as I go. I'm
thinking of bringing some bicycling water jugs or an
insulated jug this time. Then I can drink plenty
of water the whole trip rather than waiting until I
notice a problem.
Colors
Leather
jacket
Chaps
Half
gloves (no fingers)
Full
gloves
Winter
gloves
Boots
Helmet
Neck
scarf
Face
shield
Sunglasses
with tinted and amber lenses
Rain
gear
Maps
Water
jug
Last time, I brought way too much clothing.
A week's supply is more than enough. For me that means
just the clothes on my back, especially if it rains and
I skip the rain suit. Well, you get the idea. It's easier
to stop and wash once or twice at a motel or campsite
than it is to carry all that stuff. Besides, it's a good
idea to leave
room for a couple of new T-shirts as souvenirs. Since
every climate feels cold to me, I also bring thermalunderwear.
Since this trip will include some mountain riding, there
will certainly be some genuinely cold climates encountered.
Some people like to wear light long sleeved shirts to
block the sun. I usually wear T-shirts and sunscreen.
T-shirts
Underwear
Socks
Swimsuit
Jeans
Tennis
shoes or sandals
Thermal
underwear
One
heavy shirt or sweatshirt
Douglas Adams fans are probably wondering
why I have taken this long to mention the one most indispensableitem
for the galactic traveler. Always bring your own towel.
To that I would add a washcloth since some campsites may
not have showers.
Towel
Washcloth
Soap
Shampoo
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Comb
Shaving
cream
Razor
Camping equipment can vary a lot depending
on how much comfort you need. Sleeping is one of my talents,
so I can get by with very little equipment. I've
been known to sleep on the ground or on a picnic table
even when sober. I have camped with people who had
back and neck problems, so bring what you need to sleep
and enjoy the day after. I usually carry an air mattress
which I'm frequently too lazy to inflate. I'm thinking
of trying one of those high-tech self-inflating
pads and pillows. Maybe the ground has gotten harder since
the last time I camped out.
Dome
tent
Sleeping
bag
Air mattress
Sheet
There's a few miscellaneous items still
be to mentioned. It's very important that you carry
a notebook and pen to record notes about your
trip. That way you can write more detailed articles
for the newsletter.
Wallet
Money
Watch
with alarm
Notebook
and pen
Address
and phone list
Cards
Now for the truly discretionary portion
of this list: the camera gear. I won't go into great detail
here. Duringthe last trip, I really needed a wider lens
(I borrowed Joel's) and a longer lens (I did without).
It happens that Joel and I are both carrying Nikon
SLRs, so we can share equipment. Hmmm…, maybe I could
convince
Joel that he needs to balance a heavy chain to lock the
bikes with my telephoto lens.
Well, enough about the preparations.
Next time I will tell you how the trip went.
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