t-20 days

Got some good advice from Mike about securing my gear to the bike and protecting it from the rain.

I haven't really written much about my preparations for this trip, but thought I'd fill everyone in on some of the sites I checked out when looking for my camping gear.  I started with a "google" search for motorcycle camping and found several sites that had lots of suggestions on what to pack and some even sold gear as well. I ordered 4 books from Whitehorse Press (motor cycle books and gear site) on camping and traveling distances on the bike and found even more good information on packing and preparation for the trip. Even the Harley Davidson site has Trip planning information. Some of the sites have tips and tricks on what should be taken and what should be left behind up to and including information on pulling a trailer with the bike. That was a bit much for me but I guess if you had two on a bike and were going for a long trip it might be a good choice. Below are just a sampling of the sites I investigated and these are the ones I found most useful. I've started looking into other Bloggs at this point for practical advice from other riders who have some experience with cross country riding and camping. Sites like the one on yesterday's post turned up some good information that seem better than what I have found fumbling around through books and other sites.

Well, that's all for today but will keep pecking away at this to share my trip with family and friends.

http://www.bigagnes.com/Products/SleepingBags

http://www.fullthrottlecamping.com/GooseDownSleepingBags/LostRanger

http://www.themotorbookstore.com/cross-country-motorcycle-riding.html

http://www.hoghaven.net/index.html

http://www.bikercamps.com/

http://koa.com/index.htm

http://www.alpurl.50megs.com/MC_Friendly_Camping.htm

http://www.bamarider.com/Long%20Distance%20Tips/long_distance_tips.htm

http://www.motorcyclecampingtips.com/

http://www.campmor.com/gear/tents.shtml

http://www.rei.com/

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/Ride_Planner.jsp?locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US&hbx_camp_id=hdredirect&urlvar=rideplanner&camp_id=16&source_cd=Vanity_rideplanner

t-21 days

http://2wheels2lanes1camera.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/how-to-pack-your-motorcycle-for-the-trip/

Found this blog site with information on packing up the bike. Seems to be very useful.

Well, still need to test load the bike with my gear and it doesn't look like the weather is going to cooperate this week. Too cold - guess I am being a little wimpy. I am looking at sites for luggage rack enhancements to load some of the gear onto. I am not feeling real good about how I am going to get the back pack secured to the other back rest bag and to the bike itself. And then the issue of how to keep it all dry in a rain storm or in wet weather comes to mind. Both bags have rain covers but no way to cover two at once. With them tied onto the bike I can't get and the attached tie down points if they are covered to attach the bags to one another. I think that I will need to place the gear in the back pack in a water proof bag and put that into the back pack. Going to take some thought on that one. I sure don't want my sleeping bag and clothing to get wet.

Zip lock bags for clothing comes to mind and maybe very large trash bags will work too. More to come on thatt issue.

I am now trying to post something on a regular basis so that I will be sure to post photos and comments as we ride.

Talked with Ryder2 yesterday about our timing on meeting and about the California portion of the trip. I starting to get excited about leaving. This should be a great adventure for us.

t-22 days

Well, it looks like this is really going to happen. The plan is to leave early on Thursday the 21st of April and get as close to Jacksonville as I can before stopping for the night. I have spent a lot of time trying to get my gear together and decide if we were really going to camp or not. Looks like Ryder2 wants to camp. So I bought a tent and sleeping bag and all sorts of other gear for the camping part. Deciding on what gear would work best was a journey in and of itself. I hope that I have made good choices.

Saturday, I set up camp in the basement and broke it all down and packed everything up for the bike. learned some valuable lessons. (It took more time than I expected and I was inside on a carpeted floor.) Don't know how that will play out in the field. My next challenge will be to load the bike up and secure it all to the bike. My saddle bag gear went in with out hitch. But I am not expecting the seat luggage or the pack with the camping gear to go on as well. (Rain protection is going to be tricky to install if it rains the rain stuff fits over one bag at a time and there are no openings for straps???) I will need to find a fix for this asap as there is no doubt we will ride in the rain at some point on this trip.

More to come.

Regnar's Ride

I've changed out the solo seat for the dual "big butt" touring seat,

added my detachable back rest and luggage rack.

(5 more weeks until I head out)

Regnar's Ride

2009 Harley FLHX (Street Glide)

Solo seat

This is how my bike looks for normal

everyday use.

Coast to Coast

Our cross country ride will begin for me, when I leave for Jacksonville, Florida on April 21st to meet up with Ryder 2 to begin the coast to coast section of the trip. It is @750 miles from Northern Virginia to the Jacksonville area and I will make every attempt to ride at least 400 miles that first day (hopefully more) and finish off on Friday the 22^nd with my arrival at a yet to be determined beach near Jacksonville.  I will be spending those first two nights on the road in a hotel rooms and hopefully there will be a hot tub available to soak my sore bones in after the long days of riding.  I have actually made this part of the trip several times in the past on a bike while making Bike Week and Biketoberfest journeys to Daytona.

Ryder2 and I decided early on, that we wanted this trip to be a coast to coast ride, and since one of our first destinations was to be New Orleans, Jacksonville was selected for its proximity to I-10.  Hopefully, we can make the first leg of our journey together in a single days ride.  After leaving Jacksonville, the plan is to camp as often as practical.  Ryder2 will begin his journey to Jacksonville from the Orlando area.

Our west coast destination is tentatively a San Diego area beach. Ryder2 has 3 weeks in which to make the entire journey. Our calculations have shown that we need to ride at least 500 miles a day. A rather daunting goal, but at this pace, we should have some extra time built in for weather and side trips.

Once in Southern California, we are planning to ride north along the Pacific Coast Hwy. There is one place that I must visit in California without fail: Back in 1952 I arrived in this life at the Santa Margarita Ranch Naval Hospital located on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base at Oceanside California.  My parents moved to Tennessee when I was @ 3 months old and I have never seen my place of birth since.

-Regnar

Start up

This is my first attempt at a Blog of any kind. A buddy and I decided to make a cross country motorcycle journey/adventure a few months back. As I began my personal planning for the trip a lot of questions came up and as I began searching for answers, I came across whole books written about traveling, camping and planning a motorcycle trip. It occurred to me that the Blog might be a good way to chronicle this whole process and include my family and friends in the whole "journey" from start to finish. I plan on contacting my partner in this endeavor and finding out if he is at all interested in going in on the Blog. Just thought it would be fun to add photographs and comments to share about the whole experience. I have ridden a motorcycle since I was 15 (about 43 years all totaled) and haven't done any real camping since I was in my early 20's. So this should be fun or disastrous depending on how well this turns out. So, anyone who finds this Blog and wishes follow our escapades, can offer advice, make fun of us and/or share our trials, tribulations and accomplishments. We shall see where this leads us.