One week from today Steve and I will be on the road. It has been a whirlwind for me the past few weeks getting the final bike and gear prep done while work has ramped up exponentially. For Steve, it has been especially challenging as he will start a new job, in a new community, once we return. The lead up for him really hits its peak tomorrow, with Two Men and A Truck scheduled to pick up and move his apartment, followed by a quick trip to his new place in to start organizing. On Wednesday of next week, the day we leave, Steve will turn in his keys at his old job, check out of his apartment in Waunakee, drive to Burlington, and get on the bike - an amazing lead up for sure. For me, making sure everything at work is organized and briefing my wife with the details on finances and other things that I normally take care of has been enough of a challenge. I'll be working through Wednesday morning and then will stop home to change and get on the bike to meet Steve in Burlington.
Our biggest concern for this trip is weather and being prepared for the range we might experience. It is raining and 60 degrees here in Southeast Wisconsin today (no surprise) and much of the upper midwest has been plagued by the same wet and cool weather for the past 2-3 months. Planning for a range in temps from 40 to 90+ degrees and potential precipitation, perhaps a lot, is its own challenge when space is at a premium and you will be exposed to the elements pretty much 24/7. Steve and I both have the major points covered - insulated sleeping pads, good quality sleeping bags and separate liners for warmer weather, heated gear, waterproof boots, and rain gear. I think there will still be last minute decisions and tweaks in clothing and gear as we see how the forecasts look heading into this next week.
Aside from the final clothing and gear decisions, we have our packing lists tweaked and we did our shakedown ride over Memorial Day weekend to test our packing strategy. Steve rode down and left his bike in Burlington this past weekend as he packs and finishes his move. He packed most of the bike before dropping it off so there would be less chance of misplacing things in the move. I'll be doing the bulk of my packing and final bike prep this Sunday and will share here for anyone interested in what bring and how it all fits on the bike.
I thought I'd end the post today with a couple final pics related to our motorcycle history and evolution. I'll offer these up in the "what were we thinking" category.
This was my "bike on a bike" phase... it was short lived.
This trip will not include trailers or experiments with large objects hanging off the back...
Our biggest concern for this trip is weather and being prepared for the range we might experience. It is raining and 60 degrees here in Southeast Wisconsin today (no surprise) and much of the upper midwest has been plagued by the same wet and cool weather for the past 2-3 months. Planning for a range in temps from 40 to 90+ degrees and potential precipitation, perhaps a lot, is its own challenge when space is at a premium and you will be exposed to the elements pretty much 24/7. Steve and I both have the major points covered - insulated sleeping pads, good quality sleeping bags and separate liners for warmer weather, heated gear, waterproof boots, and rain gear. I think there will still be last minute decisions and tweaks in clothing and gear as we see how the forecasts look heading into this next week.
Aside from the final clothing and gear decisions, we have our packing lists tweaked and we did our shakedown ride over Memorial Day weekend to test our packing strategy. Steve rode down and left his bike in Burlington this past weekend as he packs and finishes his move. He packed most of the bike before dropping it off so there would be less chance of misplacing things in the move. I'll be doing the bulk of my packing and final bike prep this Sunday and will share here for anyone interested in what bring and how it all fits on the bike.
I thought I'd end the post today with a couple final pics related to our motorcycle history and evolution. I'll offer these up in the "what were we thinking" category.
This was my "bike on a bike" phase... it was short lived.
And an interesting trailer concept that Steve experimented with.
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