Mid-Atlantic Tour (Prep) - April, 2018

April 17, 2018

Three years ago, my wife and I took our last (brief) motorcycle tour into southern Utah.  I blogged about that here:

Arizona/Utah - April 2015

Since that time, a lot of other things called 'life' has gotten in the way.  That's not an excuse, it's just the way things happen.

We've been discussing this trek for quite a bit of time; it's getting close to 'go-time'.

The map below gives an approximation of the trip.  Yeah, it's a long one - 5000 miles in a couple of weeks.  The actual route west of Tennessee is 'quickest', but could change due to weather, which isn't often a big deal.

Since we've both done some long distance endurance riding over these past three years, our riding style has changed a bit.  We know that sitting still means you're NOT a mile a minute closer to your destination...but that simply doesn't mean it's a mad-dash across the west to get to the good stuff...

Yes it does - at least at the beginning of this trip.  😎 

We'll have approximately 84 hours after we start our journey and four states away in Tennessee to get to the real beginning.  On the map above, that's the 'bottom' of the circle you see.

My plan is to blog daily - as much as I can get away with.  So, there may be these periodic separate pages that may show up on this blog that will have a photo and/or maybe a bit of commentary.  I'll be learning the process as we go along, and hoping it works out.

The home page of the blog will also have our Spotwalla track, which will show where we're at...or close enough.  You can read how this works here:  Spotwalla Home Page

As I can, I'll condense the stories into the format that I've already established with this blog.

So, for the motorcyclist - or even the savvy traveler, I'll share with you a packing process that'll have both of us with the gear we'll need for this two week trip - in around 183 liters.  For those that work in imperial measurements, that's 6.48 cu. ft (or 11,200 cu. in) of space.

April 18, 2018

Many of the previous trips we've taken early on was a learning curve - what you can take, what you should take, and what you can leave home.

After nearly a dozen years of two-wheeled travels, one might figure that it's not that big of a deal now to throw a few things into a bag - and off you go.  There is a secret that *can* help get to that point, but you typically start with a lot of trial and error.  It starts out as:

"Here's the pile I want to take!" 

"...and here's mine!"

All right, now take those two piles and put them into the space on the bike.

The first few times, it's futile. 

Those wile veterans of motorcycle touring would recommend putting the piles together, taking 50% of it and putting that part away.  The remaining half?  That's the room you have for stuff on the bike!

Years ago, I said "So, what we need is a checklist!"  Minutes later, this shows up in a Google search:

Credit Card Camping Checklist

That was our start.  For a few weeks, we refined the list, added items, deleted others, and made the list 'ours'.  I've gone thru a few iterations of the list with the major trips previously discussed in this blog.  In preparation for this trip, I went thru the list once again.

Unfortunately, the credit card checklist was modified and that web page (on the M/C checklists page)  it's not working.  The image below was created here:

Checklist Generator

Now, I'm not sharing the entire packing list, as the reader doesn't really need to know all 90-odd items I'm trying to make sure that my wife and I have with us.  I'll share the concept, and what's on the bike itself.  There are other things packed that have a seperate list (tools, toiletries, electronics bags) for ease of use.

As you can see, the devil is in the details.  Everything you'll probably put to use at some point?  For us, the answer is yes, and it's been added to the list.

Time to start checking off those items on the list!

September, 2023
Sorry, but that web page no longer exists. There are many other means to create a checklist; sadly, you will need to sort that out without any help from me.

April 20, 2018

Over 100 items on the list...and packing will begin in a couple of days!

Remember what I wrote waaay up there near the at the top of this post??  About the piles of stuff??

April 22, 2018

It wasn't quite what I had envisioned, but a bike test pack seems to work.

All the stuff and gear I think we'll need in probably 170 of those 183 liters of space.

::whew::