Anticipation/preparation...part 1

One of the reasons I started a blog at this point in our riding adventures is because we are going on an extended trip out west this summer and I wanted to be able to document and share some of the pictures and stories from that ride. It has been my experience that there are two types of riders, those that are spontaneous and hit the rode with little to no planning; stay wherever they can find a room (or camp) and have no set destination for the day. Then there are those who plan everything. We tend to be the latter.

My husband uses a program called Garmin BaseCamp to plan the routes we take, stops for gas and food, hotels, points of interest, etc. It really is amazing how detailed he can get. He actually assigns a time to each stop so we have an estimate of how long a particular day will be both in time and miles. Understand...we know there are times we have to make changes for a variety of reasons...weather...emergencies...changes in what we want to do/see. But at least we have an initial framework of a trip.

We then sit down together on separate computers, he on basecamp and me on google earth, to run through the routes and choose overlooks and stops we prefer to see (if we stopped at everyone, we'd be out west for months!!) This planning begins at least a year in advance. Then of course one has to actually make the hotel reservations, special attractions reservations and now, since the COVID pandemic, you actually have to reserve the entry time into some of the national parks!! So it actually pays off to plan ahead on this type of trip which is, at this point in time...29 days long.

Aside from the route planning and reservation making, there are so many other things to consider. For instance...Clothes. I'm not talking from a fashion perspective. I'm talking functionality! We have to be prepared for temperatures ranging from mid 30's to 100 degrees!! (layers, layers, layers). Performance wear clothing that washes well in a sink and dries fast is our preference. (though as part of the planning process, we also know which hotels have laundry services available and I always pack a roll of quarters). We also have heated gear which helps decrease the number of layers needed which subsequently conserves on packing space.

Having the right gear is also important. We have two excel spread sheet packing lists, one for short trips and one for long trips. I won't get into the specifics of the lists at this time but some unique items we have identified for this trip are: personal supplemental oxygen cans and supplements that optimize hydration (to help ward off altitude sickness), walking sticks and hiking boots, and a tarp for emergency shelter.

Lastly (at least for this blog post), and the most important, we always prep the motorcycles. We do a lot of the general maintenance of the bikes but for a trip like this, the bikes are going into a Harley Davidson dealership for a detailed safety check including fluid checks and oil change, electrical connections, etc. We're also having new tires which we try to do every 10-15,000 miles. They're also going to replace the wheel bearings. (My right front wheel bearing decided to puke last year 130 miles away form Deadwood South Dakota in the middle of nowhere so this gives me piece of mind). It's so important to have a bike in great operating order!!

I'm excited about this upcoming trip and can't wait to share the adventure!! Until then, look for Anticipation/preparation part 2 and other blogs!!