Getting ready to roll

The trip leave date is quickly approaching. All the bikes have been into their respective shops for new tires, oil changes, etc., and we think they are ready for the trip. This morning BurgMa packed up the glove boxes on the BurgMan and got the dri-bags ready to fill while Beamer Pop adjusted suspension and shocks as well as checked the tool kits. We still need to pick up some odds and ends like a tire repair kit (we have one but there are 6 tires involved so a 2nd wouldn't hurt), and perhaps some extra fuses and light bulbs.

BurgMa has been whittling away at the packing list after BeamerPop said it looked like she would need a trailer. And since BeamerPop isn't sharing his cases in the same manner that he shares the home closets (1 and 1/2 for BurgMa with 1/2 for BeamerPop), BurgMa is reluctantly leaving most of the cold gear at home. Using WeatherUnderground to check September weather (rain & temperature) averages for key points along the trip has helped BurgMa leave the wool sweater and longjohns off the packing list. Many thanks to our Phoenix friends for sending weather info for Show Low. All clothing, shoes, and toiletries need to fit into a space the size of a paper grocery bag. Shoes...how many can BurgMa pack?

CVStar insists she isn't packing hardly any clothes and will wear one outfit the whole time. BurgMa just remembered she needed to add foot powder and clothespins to the packing list.

BeamerPop is trying to decide between the Mesh jacket and the Belstaf which has many zippered vents. Suddenly we are concerned about road rash and what we should wear to prevent it. Should we always have jeans and jean jackets on under our Mesh? Will we just bake like potatoes? None of us, luckily, has any experience with going down while moving. BurgMa has gone down the most but it has always been at a very slow or still point; understand that BurgMa is vertically challenged (although horizontally accomplished) and wears platform boots in order to touch the ground (and with that, only the balls of her feet touch.)

One of the things still left to do is figure a way to temporarily mount the Garmin GPS (bought used off E-bay) to the BurgMan. CVStar and BurgMa want to share the devise, so we need a way we can move it easily between vehicles. I'm thinking that a car cup holder duct taped to the front may work. It is unclear yet whether BeamerPop will have GPS privileges on the road. He tends to focus more on the GPS screen than on the road in front of him when using it in the car. Because we really aren't making too many road changes, we anticipate that the GPS will be most useful when we approach a city and are looking for a specific hotel or restaurant.

More news later as we make more progress on the packing.