The Rally Adventure:

[ARValkguy]

Well I realize many of you are well on your way to finalizing your plans for the rally in July. I am still planning. My rally adventure will begin from Paris, AR with nice little short ride up to Calgary, Alberta. Gonna stop at Glacier National Park with my family for a few days first. In Calgary I am meeting my Uncle who is riding from Anchorage, AK. We will then begin our journey across the country to end up in Eastern TN. This will be my first ride beyond 500 miles and I am looking for some advice. I would like to see the absolute packing list from some of you diehard road dogs. What are some of the things that you never leave home without? Hotel? Camping? Laundry? Showers? Internet? what do you do for these things?I would like to see a post with the knowledge of some of you being shared not horded to yourselves, haha. Oh yeah bare in mind I have a Wife that says I have to keep some kind of BUDGET within reason. I am sure I am not the only person that would like to learn some of the tricks of cross country riding.


Kelly (02'RT)

[177195]

Be sure to leave with a sense of adventure.

[redclfco]

Kelly,

First of all thank you from my family for risking your neck over there, please come home safe.

What you need and what you will want is a mile apart. Much depends on if you are camping, or staying in hotels, AND the biggy; how much room you have.

I used to be accused of having a bike with so much crap tied on the outside I looked like Jed from the Beverly Hillbillies

On the GS, and a couple of stuff sacks to tie on the top, I can bring what I need to camp out for a two week trip.

When I used to have an old Yamaha, every tool was used, cause potential of breakdown was a reality. Nowdays with the BMW, I bring em, everything, but never need them, but bring them anyway.

I have a priority onhaving dry clothing, and warm waterproof clothing.

Internet comes along with a Motoraola Q phone, as well as blue tooth tunes. Many ways to spend a ton of money on communication devices, farkles, if you really want to spend some money, just buy 1 of everything in the aerostich mag, and pack those into the sidebags. Myself? I ride tool heavy, first aid kit, lots of clothing, a couple of good flashlights, camp gear, and leave the rest home with mama.

I'm thinking of tying a new final drive on the back though...

[Paul_F]

Never leave home without a Motel 6 Directory. In the west and central US, their prices are often only slightly above the price of a campground.

[PAULBACH]

Just presented a seminar for this topic at Colors in the Catskills. There are hundreds of pieces of miscellaneous advice I could give but your question is specifically about lists. So start here ...

Checklists
Here are some tools for generating various checklists useful for motorcyclists. There's even an easy-to-use, completely generic checklist generator (which can produce a custom checklist for anything).

All of these give you the ability to customize the appearance (font, size, etc.) and print a nicely formatted checklist. They also allow you to add and/or remove items to the list. The generic version lets you build a completely custom list for any purpose, even bird watching.

Click here. for Micapeak.com.

Good luck with your adventure and please don't hesitate to come back with additional questions or a PM.

[Visian]

i wrote this article a while back... and it may be of help to you. it speaks to planning a camping-oriented ride to the rally.

now then, you may think that i am this organized. well, um... uhhhh

let's just say, that's where the sense of adventure comes in.... the year i wrote this we rode from atlanta to alaska, back to missoula and then home.

ian

[Rob Nye]

Hey now,

Good to know you are on an RT, that will help tailor the list.

Here is a sample of what I would bring for a trip like yours. First you need to decide how you are going to travel. Hotel every night? Camping to save money or camping to try to get away from it all?

For me it is a mix of the three but I would be on a GS. Let's say that with the RT you will be doing a mix of hotel and improved campgrounds (state parks to KOA's).

Do you have a topcase and decent tankbag? I would also highly recommend at least one bag liner for your panniers.

For clothes I would have the following:

two pair LD comfort shorts
one pair LD comfort tights
two pair synthetic riding socks
one pair synthetic low socks
two Under Armor long sleeve shirts (I like riding in long sleeves)
two UA or equiv short sleeve shirts.
two button down short sleeve "look good" shirts
two pair convertable cargo pants (convertable means legs zip off)
one fleece vest
one fleece pullover
one ultra light whaterproof shelled jacket (patagonia)

All this can easily live in one liner along with your shaving kit. Most if not all can be laundered in a sink too and if hung will dry overnight in a hotel room.

I also carry a pair of Keen sandals, they are great off the bike, in the shower or for a light hike. My Gerbing liner comes with me regardless of the season, I consider it safety gear.

For camping gear you need to decide if you are going to be prepared to cook and if morning coffee is critical. I love campsite cooking and like to stop toward the end of the day and purchase something to make for dinner. I usually carry a bag of noodles and a can of soup just in case. I also like a cold beer in the evening and a diet coke in the morning so I carry a soft cooler that is empty during the day. I grab the beverages, meat if I want it and some ice for the cooler which gets strapped to the topcase of the dry bag for the last run to the campground.

Keep in mind that out west the best campgrounds fill up so. I am up and gone shortly after sunrise and I like to be at the next campground by 4 if possible.

I carry a MSR stove that lives inside a pot set. I also carry a canvass galley set that has spices, utensils, soap and a scrubber. Other items on the left pannier wil include a small hatchet, bottle of stove fuel, bike cover, tool roll, tire repair kit, 12v compressor and other little stuff (like glow lights) that I may decide I want to bring. On a trip of your length I would stash a ziplock bag of earplugs, either in the pannier or the topcase.

I put my tent, sleeping bag, thermarest and kermit chair in a dry bag that gets strapped across the pillion seat.

In the tankbag I would have my cell phone, visor rag and cleaner, sunblock, glases and all the little bits that I might need during the day. I also keep my headlamp in the tankbag and a small spare in the topcase. I like to keep a bag of individually wrapped hard candy, sucking on a sweet is a great fatigue buster.
Go out and get a chalk bag from a climbing store and zip tie it to your tankbag on the left side, it makes a fantastic soft bottle holder that won't mar the paint.

I've tried to tailor the above for the RT. If I were on my GS adventure I would be adding a pyromid (camp stove), parawing (MSR tarp) and a bunch of other stuff to my kit.

[amiles]

If you take regular medication, be sure to bring more than enough, and if practical bring a prescription for a back up as getting a new supply can be problematic.

Planning your nightly stops or looking for a place at the end of the day? This is a tough question for me, I like to ride from about 6AM to 6PM my usual average is thus 600 or so per day. As Mr Nye indicated don't wait too late to try and secure accomodations, his 4pm quit is no doubt wise, but I like to get in a little more running than that. Most Motels no longer seem to have the no/vacancy signs which means driving in parking, trudging in, getting the bad news and repeating the process.

I would recommend camping as much as you can, perhaps every other night or two nights, An Air conditioned motel room is a better place to dry your laundry overnight than is a tent.


I figure at 2hrs for 100 miles so this gives me about 600 or so miles per day. My machine usually goes on reserve around 200 mi occasioning a restroom break and a refill of my drinking bladder (fill with ice top off with water).

[Visian]

As Mr Nye indicated don't wait too late to try and secure accomodations, his 4pm quit is no doubt wise, but I like to get in a little more running than that. Most Motels no longer seem to have the no/vacancy signs which means driving in parking, trudging in, getting the bad news and repeating the process.

so low tech!

what you need is a GPS with bluetooth, a mobile phone and a bluetooth helmet.

you check for rooms, have the GPS dial the phone and make reservations while you're riding.

this does not work for campsites, though, unless we're talking KOA.

[SHERIDESABEEMER]

[Rob Nye]

Reinforcing stereotypes are we?




























Ya know, the one about K bike owners don't camp?

[Rob Nye]

If you take regular medication, be sure to bring more than enough, and if practical bring a prescription for a back up as getting a new supply can be problematic.

Planning your nightly stops or looking for a place at the end of the day? This is a tough question for me, I like to ride from about 6AM to 6PM my usual average is thus 600 or so per day. As Mr Nye indicated don't wait too late to try and secure accomodations, his 4pm quit is no doubt wise, but I like to get in a little more running than that. Most Motels no longer seem to have the no/vacancy signs which means driving in parking, trudging in, getting the bad news and repeating the process.

I would recommend camping as much as you can, perhaps every other night or two nights, An Air conditioned motel room is a better place to dry your laundry overnight than is a tent.


I figure at 2hrs for 100 miles so this gives me about 600 or so miles per day. My machine usually goes on reserve around 200 mi occasioning a restroom break and a refill of my drinking bladder (fill with ice top off with water).

That works too when you got places to go and people to see.

The original poster is looking for tips on his first big ride. Remember when we thought 600 miles was beyond the horizon? Our mission is to take what we learned since and pass it on to Kelly.

FWIW a 50mph rate of advance for 12 hrs is doesn't leave much time for smeling the roses.

For Kelly you can get a refurbished 2820 for under 500 bucks. This will give you every map of the U.S. and Canada, XM radio (purchase a $$$ antenna and subscription) and as Visian mentioned a way to use your cell phone in your helmet. For hotels it is key to make reservations by 3pm and as mentioned for National Parks it is first come first served.

[aaaaaa]

You can always plan your days in advance. A lot of motels can be booked with a 6pm day of cancellation. I usually stop at a chain and use the business center sometime in the afternoon. Chains also have water, sofas, clean bathrooms, etc.
robert

[ARValkguy]

Thank-You all very much this in great information. I am sure I can't be the only person that is curious about all this stuff. I sure hope I am not the only new person at the rally. I am planning on mostly camping and some hotel living. There are a couple stops we are gonna make along the route like Mt.Rushmore. I here Gillette, WY is a great place to see lots of beautiful scenery, lol. I have a trunk on my RT and a Wolfman explorer tank bag. Looking at the wolfman expedition rear bag for the pillion seat. It is a water proof bag. Have my pelican case for my laptop but it is kind of big, looking for another option for it. I will wear my camel back for hydration. I have my medic bag also, but I have cut it down a bit because it is pretty large and very bulky. in the Oct ON there is an add for a Vemar bluetooth helmet, anybody know anything about them can't seem to find any information other than company propaganda. I have a GPS it is not fancy and I will have to stop to check it but hey it works. Of course I have my "Q" can't live without it.

Kelly (is it Dec yet?"

[SHERIDESABEEMER]

Reinforcing stereotypes are we?

Ya know, the one about K bike owners don't camp?

As if that were an insult

Everyones mileage will vary. When Lisa and I went cross country in '07 we had a burn rate of about $200 day gas/food/loging. It's much easier to spend more, and many would spend less, but that's a starting point for you.

As for planning, my advice is to pick key destinations, nice to have destinations and if we have time destinations. I did not realize when I left that I was willing to bail on almost any destination except Glacier, two friend's homes and the National rally. Do not marry your plan, you own it, not the other way around. Roll with the punches. Sounds like you already know your key spots.

You are not leaving the country. Don't sweat what you might forget...you can buy it along the way. Put everything you think you want in a pile....then put half of it back. Remember, you'll be collecting things along the way. Leave space for a trinket or two. I'm so glad to have my bobble headed bison from Wall Drug sitting on my desk...sure it's silly, but it's a tangible reminder of my trip.