21 April 2018

Gettin' packed

The bikes will be picked up soon and since I will be out of town for the next several days I needed to get packed early.  The plan is to get things loaded and then leave the bike at Ryan's house in case the shippers arrive while I'm gone.

Space is an issue but a lot of things need to go.  Experience tells me "I don't need it" but the itinerary says "bring it."  Ugh.

This is one of those times when all of the "space saving" tips really come in handy.  The biggest thing I tried to keep in mind while packing is that minimalism is good, the bike still needs to be comfortable and handle well.


Step one, "StuffBoxxes."
The panniers are just big buckets bolted to the side of the motorcycle and they are like any other trunk.  Super easy to fill up with junk and loose odds and ends.  These stuffboxxes are just thin walled plastic boxes that fit nicely into the pannier and allow you to better organize things.

Step two, compression sacks.
It turns out that a lot of things that take up a lot of room will compress quite nicely in the right compression sack.  My sleeping bag is stored in a bag that is 30" long and 13" in diameter.  This, plus a small down blanket, will fit in a sack that measures about 14" long and 8" in diameter.  You just don't want to keep it like that for long.

Step three, the campsite.
You need a tarp anyway.  The greatest thing I've picked up for my campsite is to get away with all of the bags and things and make a campsite burrito.  With this package all I need to do is put my kit on the ground.  Once unrolled my tarp is tent-ready and while on the bike it stays waterproof.

Tarp, tent, stakes, cot and chair.

Campsite burrito complete!

Step four, luggage.
One of the things that is different packing for a motorcycle trip than a regular road trip is that you want your bags to be waterproof.  I have a 70 Liter waterproof roll-top duffel bag that is going to store my clothing and other things that need to stay dry.  This is the biggest bag I've got but I think it's going to be easier than having several small bags like I have done in the past.

The one problem with this bag is that it spans the entire width of my bike.  This means that access to the contents of the panniers will require removal of the bag.  I decided that it will be a necessary evil because it makes storing everything so much easier.  

Time to load up!
I tried to leave a little space in each bag because I know eventually more will be going in.  I feel like I did a pretty good job with this.  I also think, considering that this is the stuff that I will have to live off of for 100 days, that it made a very reasonable pack.  

Packed bags

Loaded and ready to go!

Oh, and in case you were wondering what exactly I thought I needed to pack...  HERE IS THE LIST.

Noticeably missing: Camera gear and other electronics. I plan on carrying this stuff with me on the airplane.


No comments:

Post a Comment