Short Trip

March 18^th 2009

Friday it was around 50 degrees and sunny so I had to get my bike out and take her for a ride. I also wired up the power cable and installed the RAM mount for my GPS so I wanted to test this out as well. I plotted out a quick route on Mapsource and uploaded it to my Garmin so I could test out some of the GPS capabilities. I am very excited about being able to embed the lat/long coordinates to my pictures so that you can see exactly where the pictures were taken. The program I am using is called Geosetter and it pairs up the tracks that are recorded from my ride to the pictures that I have taken. What an outstanding program! This is really going to come in handy over the years as the trips get longer and longer. It will also help me remember where pictures were taken after I forget as I usually take hundreds of pictures whenever I ride...

I found out that the leather gloves I have do not work very well in 50 degree weather and after an hour or so, my hands were frozen. These gloves were from Fox Creek Leather and they are the Deluxe Lined Deerskin Gauntlet gloves. I definitely like the fit and comfort of these and the quality is top notch, but I have also purchased a pair of Gerbing G3 gloves to use on the chilly days. These should be arriving this week along with the permanent dual temp controller so I can "dial" in my comfort level.

I picked up the dual controller because I also have the Gerbing jacket liner. Now I have to figure out where I am going to mount these so they are accessible while riding. I cannot wait to get this gear hooked up and tested out. I will soon be able to ride until the snow flies! The heated gear will also be a great asset as I am planning a trip to Alaska in the next couple years.

Back to the short trip... I love taking these rides and discovering new roads that turn out to be a blast to ride! Friday's ride led me to a road that is only a few miles away, yet I had never ridden it before. It was a welcome surprise on the way back to my house as the curves and hills really made for a fun cruise. The scenery was quite nice as well, mostly wooded with some lakes and nice houses mixed in.

All of this warmer weather is getting me real excited to ride more! I am looking forward to a weekend trip so that I can test out my camping gear.

ROUTE CLICKY

PICTURE CLICKY

Trip Planning

March 7^th 2009

June 1^st cannot come fast enough! It was 62 degrees out yesterday and I pulled the carburetor off of my bike and cleaned it. I put everything back together and she roared to life. I was grinning ear to ear and couldn't help but go for a ride! It is amazing to think that this can make me as happy as it does. Nothing else mattered while I was riding and it took everything I had to turn around and come back home.

Today I was looking around online at different scenic routes to South Dakota. The plan is to meet my friend Dave somewhere in Illinois and head west from there. We will be staying the night at campgrounds along the way. This will be my first road trip staying in a tent as well as the longest I have been on the road. We will be traveling around 350 – 400 miles per day which I consider a pretty leisurely pace as we plan on stopping often to take in the sights. The main attractions are the Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. I have read some pretty amazing things and seen some really cool pictures of the Badlands so I am really looking forward to this part of the trip. The scenic byway is another destination I am excited to see as this is a favorite route for travelers. It will take us past Mt. Rushmore and is also close to the Crazy Horse Monument. A hotel stay is planned in Deadwood, South Dakota which will be a welcome rest after four days on the road. An entire day will be spent traveling the scenic byway (150 miles) so that we are able to take in all of the sights this route has to offer. When we leave Deadwood, we will head back east towards Minneapolis and finally to Dave's place in New Richmond, Wisconsin.

Having a definite and tangible plan set makes me very eager to ride! I am working on getting all of the gear I need so that I can test everything out next month. I have a short weekend trip planned with my girlfriend from Jackson to Bay City with a stay at Bay City State Park. We will then head northeast via MI-25 to Port Austin and then southeast to Lakeport where we will camp for the night. Sunday will take us west back to Jackson through several State Recreation Areas including Island State, Pinckney and Waterloo. This will give me a chance to make sure that the gear I have is going to suffice for the trip out west plus give me an excuse to get out of town for the weekend and ride!

Motorcycle Camping Gear

February 25^th 2009

In preparation for my motorcycle trip to South Dakota in June, I purchased some lightweight camping gear. I didn't realize it at the time but everything I purchased was from Alps Mountaineering. The 2-person tent is the Zenith model and the setup was extremely easy. It comes with three lightweight poles and is freestanding. There is a door on each side of the tent as well as a large vestibule for storing your gear when you use the cover. All of the reviews have said this is a very well constructed tent and I hope that it will serve its purpose nicely.

The sleeping pad is also from Alps Mountaineering and is the Summit Series (long) which measures 25" x 72" x 2" thick and appears to be very well made. It is a self inflating pad however to get the maximum firmness, I blew into the valve before sealing it. This increased the overall comfort level considerably. I have only tested this out on the hard kitchen floor and it did not bottom out when laying on it. I weigh in at about 150lbs.

As for the sleeping bag, it is the Clearwater bag from Alps Mountaineering. This is available in both left and right zippers so you can zip two together if needed. The bag is rated to +20 degrees and has a polyester fill. It does not pack up as small as a down filled bag but I felt this was a decent bag for the price and couldn't justify the added cost of purchasing a bag that was down filled. I think that a +20 degree bag will be perfect for motorcycle camping conditions. It is a mummy style bag but the size is considered a "long" so it is bigger both in length and width. I will be able to easily fit two sleeping bags and pads into the tent if need be.

For my clothes, I found an inexpensive waterproof luggage bag at a discount sporting goods store. It is made by Weatherproof and has a hard plastic back so it should easily secure to my bike as well without losing its shape. I purchased an inexpensive neoprene laptop case by Microsoft which will be stored in the bag with my clothes. I shouldn't have any problems when I encounter rain. I say when because it is inevitable that I will find rain over the course of the week.

I also plan to purchase a waterproof compression bag to carry my sleeping pad and bag. I have been looking at one from Helen TwoWheels as it is specifically designed for motorcyclists. There are several mounting points to make sure that it is secure to your bike. They also carry bags for your tent and mesh bags for dirty/wet clothes.

Garmin GPSMap 60Csx

February 24^th 2009

A GPS makes all the difference in the world when traveling. It gives you sense of security because you know that it can tell you exactly where you are at any given time. It is great for creating routes when you want to take specific roads or perfect for when you get "lost" in the ride and need to find your way home. It is important to note that you should carry maps of where you are traveling as well since a GPS is an electronic device and could fail at a very inopportune time.

I purchased the 60Csx from Garmin because I wanted something that was small and could serve many purposes. The 60Csx has a very sensitive receiver that finds satellite signals faster and works better in tough conditions. I plan to use this for hiking, hunting and fishing as well with the available topo and marine maps. It is rugged and waterproof and has a slot for an optional microSD card which allows the use of multiple maps. City Navigator will be the main mapping program as I will use this mostly on my motorcycle. I have purchased a RAM mount for my handlebars as well as a power cable so I don't have to worry about the batteries dying on the road. It does run for hours on 2 AA batteries and you could easily carry extra batteries on a long hike or hunting trip as opposed to other units that have a rechargeable internal battery. I also plan to incorporate its use of tracks into my photos so that I will be able to map exactly where they were taken.

Traveling In My Mind

February 21^st 2009

The last few weeks I have done nothing except sit on the computer and read travel reports and blogs about motorcycle trips. Trips that seem crazy, yet I find myself wondering if they really are… As I read these amazing stories, I imagine what it would be like to take that same trip. What I would do and where I would go if the opportunity presented itself.

I have a trip planned to South Dakota with a good friend of mine and I can hardly wait for that day to come. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, yet I know what is to come and that makes the anticipation unbearable! Each year, my trips have gotten progressively longer and it will only be a matter of time before I will want more and more free time each year to satisfy this craving. I seem to plan more and more of my vacations around these "crazy" road trips and I love every minute of it. The planning, the anticipation, the unknown…

I have been growing restless and wish that I had something to satisfy it. Some may say it's the cold weather, others may say I'm crazy, but I can really see how much I have changed in the last 4 years. I would have never considered moving away from my family and friends and yet now I constantly talk about moving south, somewhere warm…and why you ask….? One reason is for the ride and yet that seems like just an excuse. I want to experience something new, something different, something unknown. It all revolves around the saying that "life is short", which is very cliché and yet those three simple words have so much meaning. People talk about how short life is, but I'm sick of talking! I want to experience life and put into action what so many people have merely dreamed.