Improv: 1 inflatable pad +1 inflatable float (found) = 1 outdoor recliner with a view

I am so lucky to have seen a sight like this in my lifetime...and the camping spot couldnt be more perfect

I am in total shock about how beautiful the random Boysen State Park turned out to be

Eating at the "Ghost Town" Restaurant just outside Casper, WY...and this weird old guy wont stop staring at me haha

Heading into Wyoming

I take it all back. WY is the most desolate landscape..but the most breathtaking as well

Crossed into Wyoming

Back at it..next stop Boysen State Park, WY...the Rockies have been gorgeous so far

Kendall and I rock climbing

Riding with Logan on the ATV

Eating breakfast with my little buddies

Welcome to Colorado. It's like Kansas but with mountains in the middle. Haha

Current "trip mileage/report"

Crossed the state line into Colorado..couldnt ask for better riding weather than this :))

The utter desolation of western Kansas cannot even be described! It is truly a prairie desert

In Hays, KS..still cant get over how amazing the wind farm was in Ellsworth...just incredible

Windmill Farm in KS

On the road again...in Salina KS

Uncle Charley, Aunt Brenda, Me

Sunset at scenic overlook in Manhattan KS

Scenic overlook from Manhattan KS

The vast open terrain is hard to capture in a photo.

Had an amazing day visiting with family yesterday. One more day in Kansas then im off to Denver CO

Me, Heather, and Kyler

Lacey, Me, and Uncle Dallas

...Destroying the opposition....Priceless :)

1000 mile drive to KC. 2 plates Arthur Bryant Bbq....

Athur Bryants BBQ in Kansas City

In Kansas City waiting for Arthur Bryants to open...so excited!

80 miles from Kansas City...next stop Arthur Bryants BBQ..sweet!!

Universal Rule: All motorcyclists wave at other passing motorcyclists.

Why is it that in every hotel there are always pubic hairs on or near the ceilings in the shower?

Warrenton MO at least has nice sunsets

Cop needs to take profiling class again..its East for Mecca and i was obviously watching the sunset, last i heard was West

Just got questioned by a cop who thought i was "a muslim" ...was laying on ground facing West taking a pic..hahah hilarious

It's only noon but after 6hrs riding and the heat I am done for the day. Stopping in Warrenton, MO..about 150miles from KC

And here comes the rain..thus the rainsuit

Up and at 'em early again. 1hr on the road in Indiana feels like an eternity. Plus my back is really sore...hope the rain holds off

My reward for 12hrs riding/600miles...HOT TUB!! :)

Exactly 600 miles and I've just landed in an amazing hotel in Plainfield Indiana. Hot tub time :)

Already past Columbus. Gonna keep pushing to avoid the rain for tomorrow.

100 miles down. Just think, I only have to do this 70 more times and I'll be back home haha

And the journey begins.

The Night Before

 

 

 

Well its that time! Packed my North Face duffle bag with all the items located on my checklist below. Here I have given you before and after pictures of the bags contents. The army pot and mosquito repellent fan are items I am going to "sleep on" tonight and see if I really need them in the morning. I would rather pack less and have room to pick up small little items along the way. I also included a picture with all my riding gear. Thought it would be kind of deceiving not to include that stuff, eventhough I will be wearing it all day.
I am definitely feeling last minute butterflies about the trip. I think mostly because I will be traveling on my own. But then again that adds to my excitement and freedom of doing whatever I want for the next 30 days. Plus my friend Cole has already booked a plane ticket to meet me in Salt Lake City, UT and is going to follow me for approximately 3 days (Salt Lake City -> Arches NP -> Mesa Verde NP -> Denver). Pretty stoked about that news and will definitely break up trip nicely.
Well the next time you see me post something here my journey will have started and I will have lost approximately 10lbs from sweating ;) Wish me luck.

Shenandoah National Park

*UPDATE* - New Route

View Cross-Country Trip : New Route in a larger map

With the recent "heat wave" sweeping across the country and temperatures soaring into the 100's I have had to modify my route. My previous route had me passing across Nevada twice and with temperatures averaging 115 degrees I made the call it wasn't worth the misery to see one National Park on the west coast when I could alter my trip and see three more. So I am heading north to cooler climates and Glacier National Park near the Canadian border.

Day. Destination
1. Arrive Columbus, OH - July 26
2. St Louis - July 27
3. Dwight, KS - July 28
4. Dwight, KS - July 29th
5. Aurora, CO - July 30
6. Aurora, CO - July 31
7. Boysen State Park, WY - Aug 1
8. Boysen State Park, WY - Aug 2
9. Yellowstone National Park, WY - Aug 3
10. Grand Teton National Park, WY - Aug 4
11. Yellowstone National Park, WY - Aug 5
12. Valier, MT - Aug 6
13. Glacier National Park, MT - Aug 7
14. Glacier National Park, MT - Aug 8
15. Spokane, WA - Aug 9
16. Mt Idaho, ID - Aug 10
17. Lowman, ID - Aug 11
18. Ketchum, ID - Aug 12
19. Salt Lake City, UT - Aug 13
20. Moab, UT - Aug 14
21. Durango, CO - Aug 15
22. Aurora, CO - Aug 16
23. Aurora, CO - Aug 17
24. Aurora, CO - Aug 18
25. Dwight, KS - Aug 19
26. Dwight, KS - Aug 20
27. St Louis, - Aug 21
28. Columbus, OH - Aug 22
29. Washington, D.C. - Aug 23
30. !!Extra Day!!

Reflective Black Tape

 

 

 

 

Added reflective black tape to my bike. Still trying to eliminate the excuse that someone could say they didnt see me coming. Took about 1 hour to do all the measuring and cutting but I think it turned out real nice. Plus with it being black you dont even notice the tape until it is hit with a bright light. All for only $19 off of amazon.com

 

One last "test run" in Shenandoah National Park. Many lessons learned and soon to be posted.

Helmet Cam - Muvi Atom Super Micro

Months ago I purchased the Muvi Atom Super Micro camcorder after failing at properly mounting my regular Canon Elf to my handlebars and coming to the conclusion there had to be another way. After hours of research looking for the right fit I came across this little jewel and have been very happy ever since. It shoots Hi-Res video for ~1.5hrs on a 2GB microSD card (which is included) and comes with tons of attachments so you can play around with many different setups. And at only $79 you would be out of your mind not to get this little gadget. Consider that the highly touted HDPro helmet cam goes for about $200 and and is big and bulky with no attachments included, its a no-brainer. I will post sample videos in the coming days for you to see for yourself.

New Seats - Sargent

Recently purchased a Sargent Cycle Products seat specifically designed for the BMW 1200 GS. While it was a little costly, after feeling the affects of a long drive weeks prior when going down to South Carolina, I realized its an expense you don't skimp on. As you can see from the comparisons from the stock seat it has "less" thickness to it but if you notice the butt is more "cup shaped" allowing it to actually hold your butt on the seat. With the stock seat your butt kind of sags off each side that eventually cuts off blood flow thus resulting in a painful ride. Only time and 7,000 miles will tell if this was the right choice.

New Lights

I had Morton's BMW install my Back Off LED License Tag Frame. This I DO NOT recommend buying for the BMW 1200 GS. The guys at Morton's had a heck of a time figuring out how to just get the stupid mounted. The directions for this product were also unbelievably inadequate. The guy in the shop actually stopped working and came out to show me the directions that came with the box. He just looked at me with this dumbfounded look of "You seriously think I can do this?". Mind you this guy had been working on BMW bikes for almost 15yrs and was a Master Technician if that gives you a sense of how ridiculous this thing turned out to be. In the end he got the brake lights working but failed to get the turn signal lights working, which by the way cost me $20 to get the model that had that feature.

Also I had my new Wunderlich Micro-Flooter lights installed on the bike and although they provide excellent visibility DO NOT BUY THESE THINGS! Quite possibly the worst directions and craftsmanship I have ever seen on any product I have EVER bought. The directions consisted of 9 total steps to install the lights. Lets just say it take more than 9 steps just to put the stupid lights together let alone install them on the bike. Wish I would have conducted more research on this product otherwise I would have seen all the horrendous reviews buy other customers. So I ended up taking them to Morton's BMW in Fredericksburg, VA. Moving on.

AAA Benefits for Trip Planning

After many years of persistent reminding from my Mother about AAA benefits I should be using, I broke down and stopped by a local AAA store in Fairfax, VA and I am sold. I walked in the door only to be stunned by the amount of staff they had sitting there waiting to help you plan and map any of your wildest travel ideas. This is all of course FREE with your membership with AAA. The receptionist sat me down with a travel planner and I launched into my plans for a cross country motorcycle trip where I would be camping all along the way. Jane (the AAA planner) whipped open a large map of the U.S. and said point to where you want to go and we'll get you all the information you need. As I pointed at each location Jane was logging it into her computer terminal planning my route. Once we had finished Jane said I should receive my TripTik in the mail within 8 days. A TripTik has turn-by-turn directions of my whole trip broken down by each stop I make and includes things to do along the way. It's really awesome. Also before I walked out the door Jane handed me 3 bags full of maps for each state, tourbooks of each state, and camping guides for each state. I will never doubt Mother's advice again hahaha.

Practice Run #1

With "Practice Run #1" under my belt I plan on giving my lessons learned from the trip. Over the weekend I rode from DC to South Carolina to visit my family and celebrate my Dad's 65th Birthday. One way trip was a total of 390 miles and almost exactly the same amount of mileage I plan on covering (400 miles) during a typical days ride cross-country. All in all I covered approximately 900 miles during this trip due to a couple detours, one being a tour of the Red Oak Brewery in North Carolina (well worth it).
Lesson's Learned:
1) I can only ride for 100 miles (or 1hr 30mins) before I need to get off and rest
2) Bring a dirty rag to wipe off bugs from your helmet visor
3) Wear REI Boxer's to avoid "bunching" in the crotch (haha:) and sweating
4) Be ready to talk to at least one person every time you stop ("So where you headed?")
5) Pack fewer items in my bag (UltraLight packing mantra...count ounces)
6) If it is even slightly chilly out double up your clothing for riding the highway
7) Wear earplugs to avoid longterm hearing damage from wind-noise
8) (IMPORTANT)Make sure your strapped duffle bag has been fully tested for staying on the bike at 70 MPH
9) Add little "side trips" to break up the endless highway miles
10) Pack a good pillow to use with your sleeping setup

I hope this list helps some of you with your planning and things learned from my experience. In the next posts I will list all the gear I packed (with pictures) in my duffle bag and how I plan to improve upon it. Also I will be covering more UltraLight (UL) motorcycle packing ideas to save weight on the trip.

The Bag - North Face Base Camp

Just strapped my size Large - North Face Base Camp duffel bag to my bike this week to test the change in riding style. I loaded the bag with almost the exact items I will be taking on the trip to test the load and how this might affect the handling. Surprisingly I haven't noticed any weight/handling problems at all. I secured the load using Andy Strapz which I love and would highly recommend anyone that owns a motorcycle to pick them up. They are made in Australia and have a genius Velcro fastening system that makes you say to yourself, "Why didn't I think of that?". But I have noticed the load shifting slightly as I am riding. As you can see in this photo I have the straps over the bag going straight over the top but after testing I realize you should cross the straps in an "X" pattern to secure the load tighter.
Well that's it for now. Heading home to South Carolina next weekend for my first 6 hour drive to test my endurance on the bike. I am sure I will learn many things on this trip that will prepare me for the big journey.

3-2-1 Strategy : Layering 101

In this post I figured I would shed some light on my clothing arrangement strategy. Since I will be away for 30 days with nothing more than I can fit on my motorcycle I've had to be very selective about what things I bring, especially clothing. Clothing can take up a lot of room in your pack but nothing is more vital for a comfortable trip.
So during all my research on backpacker.com , oustide magazine , andrew skurka , geartalkwithjasonklass.com , and gearjunkie.com , etc...I have discovered the one vital theme for clothing....Layering. And out of all those instructional videos and "gear talks" I have condensed it down to one simple thing to remember for a 3-4 day camping trip. That is the rule of "3-2-1" ....

3 base layer clothing ( 2 wicking short-sleeve shirts, 1 long-sleeve shirt/fleece)
2 pairs of pants/shorts (could even go 1 pair,better safe than sorry)
1 outer "shell" (hard/soft shell for warmth / protection from wet climate)

So armed with this information and all my choices from REI I purchased the following:
3 base layer ( 2 Columbia Omni-Dry 1 REI Lightweight Power Dry)
2 pairs of pants/shorts REI Sahara Convertible Pants
1 outer "shell" Patagonia Torrentshell

After trying on all the clothing at REI I think these are all solid picks for my trip and the climate I might encounter in the National Parks. Your choices may vary depending on the time of year and the climate. Now bare in mind this isnt all the clothing I will be taking on my trip, just when I go backpacking away from my bike in the Park. I did pick up some extra Columbia Omni-Dry shirts because they are so awesome and I am sure are going to be a lifesaver in the summer heat. But this list is definitely the bare essentials.

The Boots - Sidi Adventure Rain

Reading review after review, I decided to go with the Sidi Adventure Rain Boots . They finally arrived today and my only initial concern after trying them on is how stiff they are, which allows zero toe flex for shifting. But I'm sure overtime they will loosen up and begin to give a little. Construction of these boots are amazing and definitely worth the price paid for style and innovation. They do run a little big so I suggest going down one size. My normal shoe size is 13 (48 in European sizing) but after trying these on in a store realized they were way too large and went with a 12 (47 in European). My last concern is the heat they will generate during the summer. These boots are rated "waterproof" and I can tell they live up to the title, but this has its drawbacks for summer riding, i.e. how well will they release moisture and heat? Only time will tell after I break them in over the next coming months before my trip.