Day One + InfoJuly 5, 2015
As per my usual tendencies, I woke up early to start packing the morning of. I hate packing my things away days before hand as I often need them during that time. For thoroughness or to answer any curiosities I packed the following items:
Tank Bag-Lighter
-Pen + paper
-Liter of water
-Head flashlight
-Passport/ Cash / Paperwork
-DSLR
-Go Pro case + accessories
-Spare batteries, cables, chargers, etc.
-Some granola bars (easy to eat while on a motorcycle)
-Cold weather/ waterproof riding gloves
-Sweater
-Paper map of the day
-Phone
Yellow Water Tight Bag-Tent (Marmot Limelight 3p)
-Sleeping Bag (Sierra Designs Backcountry 600)
-Sleeping Pad (Field & Stream 1.5in inflatable Long pad)
-Camping Chair (Alite Mantis)
-Day Pack (Osprey 22L)
-Laptop
-Motorcycle Rain Gear
Saddle Bags-First Aid Kit (home made)
-Spare fuel (MSR 30 OZ canister)
-Rope
-TP and tissues
-Food (mostly canned or freezer dried)
-Liter of Water
-Duct Tape
-Toiletries
-Flip Flops
-Clothing
-Winter Jacket
-Misc Hiking gear
Also a tripod was strapped on the back.
Seems like a lot right!? I thought I was over packing at first so a few items didn't even make it into the bags such as my mess kit and MSR Whisper light stove, but I opted to take the fuel canister as a small fuel reserve for the bike (the MSR is a multi fuel stove including gasoline). However the trip proved to need most everything.
Other modifications /preparations for this trip is as follows.
-Installation of a usb socket up front to keep my phone charged
-Installation of a 12v socket under the rear seat to charge other items while driving (spare camera batteries, laptop, sena, etc)
-Installation of a Michelin Pilot Road 4 tire up front, and a Michelin Pilot Road 3 tire in the rear
-I had a machine shop custom fab some aluminum brackets to lower the footpegs 1.5" and bring them to the rear .30" due to my long legs
-Installation of a Sena SMH10 unit for the helmet (For music and navigation if desired)
That's it! No windscreen and I just had the standard stock seat. I figured the years of riding horses had trained by butt, and how windy could it really get?
So Day One!
Start: Ashville Ohio
Destination: Kirkwood Missouri
Miles: 450 Miles
The trip started to a great day; 77 degrees, little to no wind, perfect riding weather! Driving was pretty uneventful due to the flat nature of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. While driving I encountered several stretches of construction but NONE were as annoying as Illinois. They would post a sign warning of construction 50 MILES ahead of time, and restated this fact roughly every 10 miles. Why?! It seemed so unnecessary and caused some unneeded congestion around each sign. Once at Saint Louis I unloaded my gear at my friends house and she took me to explore the city. We saw the arch (the wait was over two hours to get inside so we opted out) and saw the Zoo at Forest Park (which is beautiful and FREE!). Afterwords I grilled out pork steaks, potatoes, and some shrimp. If that wasn't good enough she treated me some Ted Drew's frozen custard where we met up with even more friends. Later we retired watching none other than Indiana Jones. It was a perfect evening.
Unfortunately for day One and day two I didn't take many pictures or record at all. These were haul ass days so I could spend as much time out west as possible. However there are a few...
Packing the bike up before departure.
Locked and loaded
Away I go!
Only picture I took while in Saint Louis.