September 2009

Gear: Blue Duffle Bag

You have seen the blue duffle bags on our bikes numerous times in the pictures. The bag is made by Seattle Sports and is waterproof. The thinking, again gained by online research, is to have all the items that go inside the tent and need to stay dry in a separate waterproof bag that can be put inside the tent once it is pitched.

This system worked out really well not only for camping but also when we had to stay in hotels since we took it and our computer gear into the hotel. Our sleeping system consisted of an insulated air mattress (Big Agnes and Exped downmat), an inflatable pillow from BA, down sleeping bags (Diane’s used the BA system where the air mattress slides into the sleeping bag making one unit). I tried it but I sleep on my side and couldn’t get used to it so I used a regular down sleeping bag on top of the air mattress.

The towels are from Sea To Summit as are Diane’s and my sleeping bag liners.

: the seam came apart a couple of days before we got home, duct tape field repair

: bag contents

: bag contents all laid out

: blow up pillow

: air mattress

: micro fiber towel

: sleeping bag liner

: water proof jacket (non-riding)

: toiletries bag

: compressed down sleeping bag

: clothing

Eating while on the road

Sounds easy enough but it can be a bit of a challenge as vegetarians. That was one of the reasons why we made our own breakfast (oatmeal and banana). We usually had an apple and some nuts or an energy bar for a mid morning snack. Lunch was usually late (after 13:00) and in the beginning consisted of cheese and bread and a vegetable, eating at the store or in the parking lot. Later on we alternated cheese with hummus. Continue reading Eating while on the road

Gear: Tools

Putting together a tool kit for our road trip was an interesting challenge. It’s a trade off between weight/space and being able to fix anything on the road. I did a lot of research online to see what fellow riders were carrying on their trips. I was aiming for a balance of having enough tools to handle most events without going overboard and trying to bring too much. Continue reading Gear: Tools

Gear: The Kitchen

Kitchen? Yeah right, you’re thinking, he’s joking. No, I’m quite serious. We were able to fix breakfast, make coffee and cook our own dinners while we were on the road. There’s two different philosophies: (1) camp only and eat at restaurants or (2) camp and cook for yourself. We followed (mostly) #2 since we are ‘picky’ eaters and like to start the day with our oatmeal/TVP/banana breakfast and coffee. We prefer this approach since we don’t have to worry about having to find a place to eat once we get on the road. It takes a bit longer in the morning to get ready but is less stressful for us, besides introducing a certain amount of continuity and familiarity. Continue reading Gear: The Kitchen

Cleaning Gear

I took a lot of pictures of the items that we carried with us during the trip. I have spent the last few days cleaning all our gear and getting it stowed away. Working on some posts to show what was ‘in the bags’. In the meantime, for the curious, we rode approximately 9733 miles (15663 km), based on the F650GS odometer which is more accurate than the one on the R1200GS.