Br-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r

Here it is, March 30th and for this mornings ride to the dealer I am blessed with a chilly 32 degree, 50 minute ride.... I have donned the red union suit, no trap door thank you, thank you very much, as a first layer. The widder vest stopped functioning on the last ride... not sure what is up, but it would work and then not work??, thankfully the heated grips are there!

Itchy Feet

(the 2 previous posts were toss outs for ideas I want to get to.. one half finished and the other not even started....)

I went to the National Park Website today and ordered my national park pass.... and as a result I now have my thread name for the trip report on ADV... but.. heh heh you'll just have to wait for it... I hope to laminate the hanging tag and affix it to the bike somehow, so that it is not easily removed. The last Park Pass I bought I post the first day I used it... sleeve pocket zipper lesson learned on that one.

I called Alaska today and talked to Barb at Alaska Leathers about my butt pad requirements. I had concerns about how it would fit the Corbin seat I picked up.. well traded for.. see, when I got the bike in Georgia, the PO said a shop down the way had custom Corbin seat that the guy never picked up and she was going out of business. I stopped by and barely got the seat out of the box before a sweet deal was had. Once home and fully out of the box, I find it has nice yellow piping... .ooops... fortunately I found someone that had a yellow Tiger and we traded. The seat I have now is set way back, but also has a narrow front section that really facilitates both getting me feet down in the parking lot or riding the pegs, when required only ( cough).

Anywho.. one must give proper attention to the nether regions when subjecting to them to thousands of miles, in the same suit and on the same seat. The sheepskin does several things... it keeps the seat from heating up in the sun so bad when off the bike. It creates padding for a softer ride. It creates ventilation under the butt, which is a primary concern here! It also lifts the butt up 3/4 on and inch, and added to the lowered pegs, gives much more leg room, all of which means more comfort, which means less riding stress, which means being more alert and ready to react! you think that justification was good, wait until I get to the XM radio subscription!

I found a replacement remote shutter control for my Nikon and that showed up today. It will facilitate those long exposure night shots... fun stuff! I have a new wide angle lens for the Nikon that I bought over a year ago but have never tried....

Tomorrow morning is a ride down to Street Cycles for the replacement of the temp sensor, which hopefully makes the bike purr instead of stutter...

Maps and Directions

Considerations... packed weight...

As I have moved fwd to the departure date, looming quickly now... I have taken opportunities to refine the gear... how we travel makes such a huge impact. Yesterday I read ( a bit under the weather) the whole Gaspipe does the TAT thread on ADV... they had nothing with them, which was easy as they were moteling it and not doing any cooking... those two things reduce the gear load immensely, but they also likely sent the budget through the roof ... also as an old man on near 50, I will be comfortable! and with 10-13 weeks living off the bike planned for the next 4 months, comfort is a huge thing. So on goes the Kermit chair and the nice french press for the coffee... a nice cup to drink the coffee from...

I managed to skin a bunch of weight off of the clothing pile by replacing heavier with lighter.... the lightweight convertible pants are saving 4-5 lbs over the jeans and kahkies i was taking. I have two long sleeve lightweight riding shirts that together maybe weigh what a single cotton T does. One is a hydroscopic for the heat and the other is more for warmth. LLBean sells an extremely lightweight windbreaker pullover that adds huge heat suck block when the wind howls or the temperature drops... added as a last layer before the 'stich it really helps hold the heat. I have two pair of Bike shorts, one old , one new as well as a pair of performance tights... I suppose I should at least take one pair of normal tackle pouch... the damn Smartwool socks take up a bunch of room.. 3 prs... but happy feet make a happy man and non-happy feet,, well we just don't wanna go there... the single biggest piece of clothing other than the Stich I'll be wearing is the NelsonRigg rain suit. I tested this suit twice in the last week with a 350 mile ride to NH and back in 30 degree temps and then another shorter trip to the dealer and back in even colder temps... that rain suit does wonders to stop the ice chill of 65 mph winds at 30 degrees... I imagine it works great as a rain suit too!...lol

Titanium tire irons... I figured if I was going to add irons to the kit, there was no sense in lugging 4 lbs around... the rest of the tool set I will filter before I go.. locally it is a bundle of stuff that fits the bike plus adjustbles and other stuff.. weighs about 10#'s I'd say now... plus the tire repair kit which uses the 64oz air cartridges..

electronics will be a good size chunk of space.. laptop and charger, camcorder and charger and batteries and memory sticks.,.. digital cameras. lens, chargers, batteries, mem sticks..,. GPS.. with other pwr supplies.. radar.. cell phone w/charger ... SPOT .... I did buy a Joby Ziilapod rig.. I have PODZILLA bag that is about 6 years old but has served well, but I dont; know if it is big enough by oitself to haul all the gear... need to solve the packing problem forthe electronics to reduce vibration and prevent moisture intrusion... ziplocks... the camera will live up in the tank bag for the most part, so that is where I should pack them...


more later....

Pieces & Parts

Today I got the bike running for the first time since December. The Ram-Mount hardware for mounting the cameras came in today. I played with it a bit and tested a few shots with the vid cam, maybe later you'll see some of that here.

Talked to Mustang today, getting him measurements for the foot pegs, to see if he can make up a set for Girlie Tigers. He has a set made for Steamers, and according to him, and based on my measurements, they are almost the same. Cool beans!

Called MA's to check on the delivery of the Crash Bars. They pieces are in and they are assembling currently.

The other thing that came in the mail today, was a real impulse buy I could not resist. A bike cover for .99 shipped from Honk Kong for $7.95. Seems to be a fairly well built item for such a small price. I packs as small as the Aerostich version, but time will tell if it wear like the Aerostich version.

I have started a new little test venture, importing some Caberg visors form the UK and reselling them here in the States. The first 14 are on their way to me and should arrive next week some time.

Looking at the bike today... there is a lot to do to get it ready for the trip. I am somewhat glad to be going on this jaunt to Louisiana, as it will give me a good warm up on the bike and the equipment. I spent some time yesterday looking at National Forests in my path for the free cmaping aspect. I suppose I should just do my application for the National Parks pass online. Kacing.. another $80... sigh. I'm tempted to adsense this blog! Git some cash for my trash!

Yesterday I got my Royal Robbins long sleeve button down shirt ( on sale of course !!) in the mail along with a pullover, also long sleeve. My wardrobe is complete... lol... the Button shirt is my one good piece of off bike clothing. The pullover will be an under riding suit garment. I am still tempted to bring some long john bottoms for potentially chilly weather, and I don't have to buy those! Both the shirts are of the coolmax variety and have been touted heavily on the net as awesome traveling wear.

No word back from KIVA on the design of a hand out.... yet. I'll take this is a good thing! It'd be nice to have those cards available for my Louisiana trip.

Very Good News

I could be British, or at least my teeth have that genetic code I think...( ok, no more bad teeth jokes, it was an homage to the Austin Powers movies.. I won;t do it again) on top of not taking good care of them in my 20's, I had braces that, while in the short term straightened my smile, in the long term has given me a popping jaw and issues from where the bands were glued to the teeth. SO I am currently staring down the barrel of needing 5 crowns and two bridges. I have had all the root canal work done over the past years but have never been able to afford the crowns. My news today is that a friend from an online community has offered to "get er done" for what I can afford. Such a huge weight has been lifted from me..... we all kind of sense when we are under pressure or stress, but there are times, where we realize how heavy it was only after it is gone...

As a result of this news I am busy gathering digital x-rays from the various dental folks I have been dealing with and sending them off to my friend, or should I say my new best friend.... man, I still cannot believe how fortunate I am.... so he knows what he is in for.

I just got off the phone with Katie, the service manager over at Street Cycles, my local dealer and scheduled an appointment for Tuesday morning. I will be pitching the concept of supporting my mission to spread the KIVA message, but I also know that times are tough for everyone. the real reason to get the bike in is to give it a general once over and to address a warranty concern with what I think is a faulty temp sensor. The symptom is that the temp gauge just drops out and the bike starts to run very rough. It can be very disconcerting and could cause issues if it happens at the right place at the wrong time.

Getting the bike in for service is important because I may have to bolt 1800 miles southwest to get my teeth worked on. SO I may have a shake down cruise coming up very soon! This is a good thing. I need to test myself and the Tiger in this way before I venture out for the real long haul.

Last fall, I ordered a set Continental Trail Attack tires for the bike... only what came was the Road Attack, not the Trail Attack... I was a bit miffed, but there just were no Trail Attack tires to be found in the US... grrrr.... So there sits a brand new Road attack that is about to see 3600 miles of Interstate, which will likely mean that I will be mounting a new rear tire before I leave on the trip.

Tire decisions suck. Everyone has a different story, and as many great comments are found on the net per tire as bad. Reading a post on ADVrider, a guy on a GS1200 said he was getting 15k form Metzler Tourances... that is huge mileage and I would be silly with happiness to get that. My butt currently weighs in at 240, some 20 #'s less than last year, but still too heavy. I used to get about 5k on a rear tire on the old bike, so I have no idea what to expect with this bike.

I will gear up as fully as I can for the trip to Louisiana, to simulate the conditions for the big trip. It will be a chilly trip down for at least the first day. At 3600 miles @ $.12 a mile it is $436 for gas and tires to run down there and back. I can National Forest Camp for free half way down and then back. Two 900 miles days.. ugh... the most I have done before is 700+, but the ergos on the Tiger are much better and me-thinks it will be easier to do 900 on the Tiger than it was to do 700 on the Sprint.

A Whistling What?

Fool I Say! .. for surely anyone that walks around whistling, as much as I do, must be a bit foolish, eh? You can surely tell when I am in a good mood, as I will be blowing away and won't even know it. Obviously the only safe place for me to be when this happy, for the protection of others, is inside a helmet and if one is going to be living with a helmet ones head, then that one should be on a motorcycle... and it might as well be moving, and if it is doing that it should be going somewhere.


There, all explained.

sigh... somehow, I know, that this explanation, as valid as it might be to you and me, will not in anyway sway those of you who are bound to tell me that what I am about to do is just a bit whacked. I have Geoff's endorsement, what more could I possibly need? Then again, he is a courier in London and by his own admission, is considered not quite in the center.

I do not think my brother will understand and frankly I have no desire to explain it. My dear brother, who has tirelessly been slogging through the process of settling my mothers estate, with huge amounts of help from my SIL ( me thinks that I will point them at this blog once I am on the road ), worries too much. But that is him and I have learned to just accept it. I think my ssister will tsk tsk me, but will be supportive.

I *am* putting myself in a precarious situation for sure. I have a mortgage, for which I have funds secured away that will last through the winter of 09-10. I have no other debt. I have enough to pay for the trip and keep me alive through the Fall, but I will have to find a job, and in the current economy, that is looking extremely ugly.

Today is very sunny and in the 40's here in Maine. A very welcome change. The drive to the basement, where the bike is, is very gishy with mud floating on top of still-frozen earth beneath. Just getting to it means a muddy slog...... wait I have old planks... !!

Yesterday the Heated Grips showed up. So I now have everything I need to start the farkle process on the bike.... I sent out an email to Bob at Ma's Cycles yesterday inquiring on the status of my order for a set of crash bars... I'm not worried per se, but anxious as they have been on order a month... Ma's works with a shop that would normally not do such small runs of materials, but they have managed to get them to fit in there needs in between jobs, and they do fantastic work, so it will be worth the wait. I did a bunch of research looking at crash bars and settled on the Ma's product for the value and that it is made here in the States. They are also supporting me by giving me a discount on the bars..... for my part I hope they don't prove their worth, but will be glad they are there if they do. My plans do call for some serious gravel travel, so it will be a comfort to know I can just let go if the bikes starts going over, and depend on the bars to catch the bike.

Oh, I scored a set of the driving lights I have been looking for on eBay last night! I really will feel better overall if I have a set of driving lights on the bike, but the Tigers alternator would have issues with std 55 watt bulbs. PIAA makes a 35 watt H3 Bright White bulb that the 004XT lights can use. These lights run about $160 a pair with installation kit, and I managed to pick them up for less than $90 shipped. I am really hoping that is the last item, but given the last few months additions to the "must have for trip" list, I shouldn't invest to heavily in that hope.

In later posts, I want to go over the budget more, do a post about my goals for myself and the trip, and share more of then thought process going on in my head for planning the aspects of the trip.

Riding For KIVA

OK, I will admit that this little jaunt around the country is an extremely selfish thing to do. However given that I can't find a job, it would seem that it is the right time to do it... but then it has been nagging me... that there should be a way to do more with this 20,000 mile trip than just get my head in a better space. I have followed several travelers in real time, the PoorCirculation Trip Around the World was a great story and a inspiring tale in many ways.

I have been somewhat lucky in my life in that I have not wanted for much. I'm in no way rich, and have lived off of mac and cheese plenty of times, but in the global scale of things, I, like most of my fellow Americans, have it pretty good. Of course this could all drastically change over the next year.... by this time next year most of us could be standing in bread lines and starving to death, thanks to the greedy bastards that ran rip shod over the global financial system!

Last summer I joined a group called KIVA. You will note the banner off to the right, that will take you to the KIVA website. KIVA is a micro financier organization that allows me to invest a small amount of money, for me it is around $275 total, that makes a large difference! I get to choose who I loan to and how much of my funds I want to loan to them. KIVA takes care of the process and I get to help someone in a less fortunate circumstance get on their own feet.

In order to assuage my guilt on this trip I will be promoting and talking about KIVA to people that ask. I will get some stick-on lettering to adorn the bike, with the www.KIVA.org logo. I also am going to have some small cards printed up to hand out to anyone that shows an interest. What will nto be happnening is me gathering crowds and preaching... if they ask, we will talk... if they don't I get more time for taking pics and enjoying some sights and sounds.

Look at KIVA. Consider the benefit to the microfinancier system and what it can do to help those that want to help themselves.

Budgets...

Can we tawk?

Sigh... doesn't always come down to money.... or perhaps the lack there-of... Thank god for eBay and to some degree the crappy economy, because there are deals to be had out there for those that are in need of spending their money. There are sales all over on camping gear and M/C specific gear, cameras, hydration systems, GPS'... just about everything I have needed to get I have found at significantly less than I had anticipated spending for it. The down side is that I have found myself spending more because I am buying more. Sigh.. so I am eBaying stuff I do not need or want in order to help offset the outflow of cash for trip supplies. Anyone want to but a signed AVA drum head? Check ebay!

I bought a set of unused heated grips for the Tiger. I will not be carrying the electric arm chaps or the electric gloves. They take up a fair amount of space and I do not think it will be cold enough, long enough, to need them. Instead, I will have heated grips, and the electric vest to ward off the cold.

Last week I picked up a pair of convertible pants on sale. Extremely lightweight, with zip off shorts. This week I will be getting in a microfiber long sleeve button down shirt, also found on sale. This completes my normal clothes being taken on the trip. I have two pairs of fleece bicycle shorts, and long sleeve shirt for wetting down for cooling, a microfiber long sleeve pullover and a few T-shirts, and a few other layers for the upper body.

The Stich one piece will be my main piece of outwear, and also qualifies as a piece of luggage! In it's upper right breast pocket will be the water bag and sippy tube... hydration baby!

So budgets... Here is a link to my Budget Thread on ADVrider in it are most of the specifics surround the management of cash flow on the trip...and cash will flow. Gas being the most expensive item AND having inordinate influence on the trip diue to the unpredictable fluctuation in prices. Hopefully $$ will stay low and the trip will not be adversely affected. When I first started with the idea gas prices were twice what they are now.. hopefully the summer of '09 will continue to see beneficial pricing.

Many thanks will be due to the members of the ADV community, as they will be providing many nights of free tent space in backyards throughout the trip. Avoiding the $15-$50 a night for lodging will be most important to staying on the road for as long as I can. While I have 50-60 days lined up, I could go more if the money holds out.

Tick Tick!!

Thursday March 12th,

The Camcorder showed up yesterday. A Panasonic SDR-S10... a small simple video cam I bought used on eBay for $120... cheap enough!

The snow is dissipating quickly with the warm temps this week. I am looking forward to spring and the option to ride again.

It occurs to me that none of you know what the hell this is all about. Right. Point taken.

On or about June 2nd (edit mar 21 -it now looks like I'll leave about 5days earlier) I will depart on a 15-20,000 miles ride around the USA by motorcycle. As of today I have mapped out 15+k miles with a trip length of 53 days. I suspect that it will actually be more like 60+ days.... however, money will be the real pivot point of the trip. My goal is to do this with as few Motel$ as possible, and as many Free tenting nights as possible. Gasoline is a fixed cost that will be what it will be per mile. *If* I can get to 50 mpg it could make a huge difference..... let me demonstrate.

20k miles/50mpg/400gallons/$900@$2.25p/gal
or
20k miles/40mpg/500gallons/$1125@$2.25p/gal

If I can get 50 mpg I have $225 more dollars for Gas! If I look at the trip in terms of $ per day and I have a fixed budget, savings like this could mean a longer trip.

My destination is the greater Western USA, and some of the Canadian Rockies. I will hit most of the major National Parks out west, as well as thousands of miles of renowned roads and mountain passes. I will experience these places with my own eyes and will renew my spirit.

All whining aside the last 12 months have been rough, and it all sounds a bit like a country song. Some of the heaviest shit you won't get to hear, as it involves other people... I wish I could bring it into the story telling, but it wouldn't be fair to them.

Last spring my mother took a turn for the worse. She had been having some issues, on and off, for the last few years, and I had the suspicion she was not long for this world. Very long, few months story short, she passed away in April. I got the call from my brother to get on the plane and get to Florida, and in two days it was all over. I had had to shut down the computer store before leaving as my biz partner was also having health issues. On my home front, the relationship with the GF had been a mess for a while, but I hadn't found the right time or way to bring up the issue to leave.

Even longer story short, by the end of June I had sold my share of the company to my now ex business partner, been in Florida for 6 weeks, driven back to Maine with a U-haul of stuff and a new Motorcycle, and had moved out of the GF's house. I was a bit of an emotional wreck for much of the time in Florida, but was doing extremely well by the time I had completed the move out of the GF's.

By August I had put a down payment on a house and moved in. There is still much to do to finish the house, and much to do to finish prepping for the trip. In 2005 I made a 7000 mile trip to Florida and back. You can read about that trip here in excruciating detail and see many pictures.

I need to take a long ride... In December of last year, my dear old dog finally passed away. She was a few days short of her 18th birthday. She was healthy until the end and then over a period of two months she started having seizures. I would nurse her through until she could walk a bit and seemed to get better, but then another would knock her down. This went on for 6 weeks, then for 3 wonderful weeks she just got better and happier, even doing a bit of jumping about one day. But then she got hit hard by a violent bout, and it was time. I was lucky.... I had had all the time i needed to be with her 24/7 for the last two months of her life, giving her dignity and comfort. I asked the vet to just let her relax a bit with a mild dose, so she could have a minute of true rest before she passed. May she rest in peace. Jazz, I miss you.

I need to take a long ride.

A Beginning

My first Blog post...... I am so late to the party... of course I think it has more to do with having been an early adoptor of the Internet lifestyle, way back in the early 90's.... I had a dial-up connection to NetIowa on a tty *nix server, using text based html, at a blazing 14.4 .... later I started the ISP in my home town. I burned up on that in 7 years and later I sold out to pay off the then x-wife, and lost everything I had worked for. Ouch! She seemed ok with it all..... yeah, still a little under the craw there, but until I started writing this post, I hadn't thought of it in years.... really.... I may not show anyone I know this blog... or maybe I might. I think in some way it will be a bit cathartic to blog out the next few months... we'll see!

It should be a fun ride..... literally!