Cross Country Ride 9/5/08

[Hotbrakes]

My best friend and I will be leaving in 2 weeks to ride around the USA for a whole month. He's riding a Silver 02 VFR and I'll be on the Red 05. We've been preparing for the last year and I was wondering if anyone has any last minute advice. So far we pretty much know what we are taking and we'll be camping a lot of the time. Is there snow anywhere in September we should look out for/prepare for?

It's crunch time now so we only have a few more days to get the essential stuff together that isn't readily available.

So far:
Zumo 550
essential tools, duct tape, zip ties, and stuff
3 pairs of pants
5 pairs of underwear
5 pairs of socks
some shirts
long johns
rain gear
cold gloves
warm gloves
flashlight
tent
sleeping bag
camera
big knife
small knife
Leatherman
hiking boots
flip flops
swim suit
towel
ShamWOW!
toiletries
trash bags and ziploc bags
chargers for the stuff that needs to be charged
riding gear of course

Anything else? Everyone has pretty much said its stupid to carry a gun, no matter how it is carried. Every state has different laws and rules, then there's the National Parks.
I'm building a tent bracket that puts the tent behind the back wheel below the taillights and exhaust, pics to come.

Hope to see some of you guys out there!

[R.W.]

Congratulations on taking the adventure of a lifetime, the memories and comradery will last forever, being a road trip veteran myself, a cheap tire plug once bailed me out of a situation...

[eddievalleytrailer]

Don't forget the chain lube and a tire guage.

[Benmodo]

Hahah sounds amazing, I kinda wanted to do this, go hang out with family in TX for a few weeks.
BTW does shamwow really work as well as it looks on TV??

[SLOav8r]

ziplocks are your best friend. Bust out your OCD when you're packing. Each zip gets a t-shirt/chonies/pair of socks... That way you can mix funky and fresh stuff in the same bag AND it keeps the water out in case of rain or unplanned sub mariner action.

Got good textile riding pants? If so, you can drop your pants/shorts from 5 pairs to 1 pair each. Most of my coast to coast trip, I only wore underarmour or bike (gel-padded, GET SOME) under my pants. Less is more.

Then again, I was on the road 12 hours/day at least... Either way, you've got a LOT of stuff listed. You don't have to get too crazy with the cold gear unless you're heading up north or planning on a lot of higher elevation stuff, but count on getting wet. Get some rain suits you can throw on at short notice.

You guys figure out some bike to bike communication? If you're sightseeing and stopping every 20 minutes along the way, it may not be too essential. However, on the longer legs it really helps for sanity to be able to banter a bit. A good, last minute ad-on would be a Chatterbox or something. Plus you can pipe your ipod through it and stuff.

My setup has the autocomm all wired into the tank bag, with a quick power disconnect on the outside. I also took a cig lighter setup and wired it in too. So the bag powers the autocomm, bike-bike radio, ipod, and charges the cellphone... It's good to keep that thing topped in case of emergency. Plus electricity at campgrounds isn't always available.

I'll snap some pictures of my setup this weekend, since I've got it all wired up right now.

Will think of some other stuff too.

BTW, the tent behind the backtire has me kinda sketched out. Might be safer to vertically integrate.

[Hotbrakes]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

I do have textile pants (Joe Rocket Alter Egos), Kevlar jeans, Underarmor undies, and a pair of Scala Rider Q2's. I also have a plug kit and Slime kit with electric pump. I got a 7$ lighter outlet at RadioShack and some other goodies for my buddies bike from Powerlet. The music thing still needs to be sorted out. I can't decide if I want ear plugs connected to an Ipod or my XM which I'm not sure if it has a jack. Or I could load up MP3's on the Garmin and have crappy sound through the headset via Bluetooth.

My buddy Mark's bike will probably need tires once we get to Cali, he's already got a few thousand miles on his Metzelers, but they are in good condition with no slabbing flat spots. I just put on a new Pirelli Diablo on my front wheel this morning and my BT-021 rear is showing no signs of wear with couple thousand on it.

We do plan on going through the Rockies and hopefully finding some fun roads to play on, so I'm still debating on bringing a leather jacket which would serve multiple purposes besides warmth. Leather seems to get rid of a lot of the wind fatigue, and gives better protection against wind dehydration as long as we are moving under 80 degree temps.

Mark is bringing his laptop so I'll be able to get online from time to time. We have no itenerary other than to circle across the north and come back around the south. It would be nice to meet some of yall along the way so if you see a red and silver VFR loaded down, flag us down.

[Longerfellow]

Even the tough times are going to be great. Have fun you guys!

[Bubba Zanetti]

God bless guys, enjoy the ride.

BZ

[VFRShorty]

Don't forget Oregon!

[Rollin_Again]

Don't forget these important items:

Portable Air Compressor / Air Catridges
Visor wipes and/or spray.
Good windproof lighter
cable lock / disk lock
zip ties
camera with portable tripod
flask and/or medicinal herbs for around the campfire
large bag of beef jerky

Regards,
Rollin

[Raro]

Don't forget a first aid kit.

[SlideSF]

I always take a small single-burner propane stove and a coffee drip cone. You can pick up the coffee, filters and propane almost anywhere along the way. Nothing beats a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning without having to build a fire.
Also, the kind of light that you can strap around your forehead. Good for cooking or setting up a tent in the dark or for reading.
A small day-pack, whether empty or full. You never know when you might want to go for a hike.
Have a great trip!

[diVeFR]

If you have the room an air matress is great. better than sleeping on hard ground

[skivfr1]

First, just wanted to say have a great trip! I just got back from a week long ride in the Colorado Rockies and the things I'd throw in if I were you would be a couple pairs of shorts, a fleece jacket, a small 'bendable' tripod for your camera and a tire patch kit. Plan on riding in everything from just above freezing all the way up to 90 degrees! Also, make sure your Zumo 550 has the latest update........ that thing is awesome and is a life saver!!! Good Luck!

[vfourbear]

have a great trip, lamps up! Rain-X and those little plastic cable ties are lifesavers.

[34468 Randy]

Master Card. Don't leave home without it. Have a great trip.

[mello dude]

Originally Posted by Hotbrakes

My best friend and I will be leaving in 2 weeks to ride around the USA for a whole month. He's riding a Silver 02 VFR and I'll be on the Red 05. We've been preparing for the last year and I was wondering if anyone has any last minute advice. So far we pretty much know what we are taking and we'll be camping a lot of the time. Is there snow anywhere in September we should look out for/prepare for?

It's crunch time now so we only have a few more days to get the essential stuff together that isn't readily available.

So far:
Zumo 550
essential tools, duct tape, zip ties, and stuff
3 pairs of pants
5 pairs of underwear
5 pairs of socks
some shirts
long johns
rain gear
cold gloves
warm gloves
flashlight
tent
sleeping bag
camera
big knife
small knife
Leatherman
hiking boots
flip flops
swim suit
towel
ShamWOW!
toiletries
trash bags and ziploc bags
chargers for the stuff that needs to be charged
riding gear of course

Anything else? Everyone has pretty much said its stupid to carry a gun, no matter how it is carried. Every state has different laws and rules, then there's the National Parks.
I'm building a tent bracket that puts the tent behind the back wheel below the taillights and exhaust, pics to come.

Hope to see some of you guys out there!

--Tire plug kit and mini portable compresser! Slime has a compac compresser that goes for about $35 and works decent. I dont know what you milage plan is but starting out on new sport touring tires is a good idea tool.

I am reminded on my last major ride vacation where I got a rear flat a Glacier Point in Yoesimite National Park. You cant get much farther away from help than that! It all worked out, but a hand plug kit would have made things way less painless.

Good luck, wish I was going, --- oh yeah, dont forget to take the required we're finally taking off pic.

MD

[Strap]

Goodluck on your trip!

[florida bob]

Hey Guys-

Foremost have a safe trip. I am jealous of your ambitous ride.

A few thoughts. For long days in the saddle make sure your underwear doesnot have seams that run across your butt. The bicycle sorts with the padding are the best. Use a little powder inside and no monkey butt.

I did not see a cell phone mentioned but I am sure you will have one.

Make sure your credit card has plenty left on it. You don't want to hit your limit if a unforseen expense comes up.

It might be a good idea to start out with 300 miles for your first few days and build up to the long ones. Drink plenty of water.

The only time I take a sleeping pill is the night before a long ride. I can't get to sleep and wake up the next morning tired. Don't overdue-1 is good.

Don't push to hard and stay alert. One last thing-those neon vests that road crews wear. The best $12 I have spent for safety. Get the model that zips and is perferated. Has saved my bacon twice!

Ride safe- Florida Bob