Post Ride Thoughts

The Past and the Present

Some of the places I rode through I had visited many years ago, like Jackson Wyoming, Leadville, Colorado, Monument Valley, and Zion National Park.  Then there is St. Louis, where I grew up.  All these places have experienced a huge amount of development and population increase.  To me, they don't seem quite as nice as I remembered them.  Would I like to return to this earlier time?  Not without some of the modern technologies that made this trip more enjoyable, and probably even possible.  The Garmin Zumo, netbook computer, cell phone, and of course the internet; all were essential to my success and enjoyment of this ride.  One of the biggest benefits of this technology was to keep me feeling connected with friends and family during the trip.  Rather than spending lonely nights in motels by myself, I would spend hours updating this blog, checking weather along the route, or visiting my favorite motorcycle web sites.  Then there was ordering the new fuel pump and getting it shipped, checking the price of a replacement fairing, and finding a Lowes to get another can of chain lube. 

The motorcycle itself was so much better than what I would have been riding in the old days.  Other than the fuel pump problem the bike ran flawlessly despite having over 70,000 miles when I started.  You can't imagine how comforting it is to be confident that each morning when you suit-up and press the starter button the bike is going to start and run fine all day. 

The Gear

I have been planning this ride since about last February or March, and choosing the gear and accessories I felt I needed to have a successful ride under all the conditions I expected to encounter.  Most of it I already had, and had tested over time on other rides.  Most of it worked well, but some not so much.  In the outstanding category was the Givi hard luggage cases that proved to be rugged, waterproof, and easy to mount and dismount from the bike.  In fact, all my luggage worked well.  The top bag that I mounted on the seat behind me was part of a Cortech sport bag system, and it stayed secure and held my rain gear, Teva sandals, and some tools plus a spare helmet face shield.  The magnetic tank bag is a simple bag with only one compartment, but it is expandable and could be quickly removed when getting gas.  In it I kept cameras (video and still), my cell phone, Ipod, other pair of gloves, damp rag in a baggie to clean bugs off my helmet shield, and sometimes my heated vest and some energy bars or M&Ms.  The Senna SMH10 intercom also worked perfectly.  The batteries lasted all day on even the longest day, the sound quality with the Ipod was great, and the bluetooth connection with the Zumo allowed me to know about upcoming turns without taking my eyes off the road, which was important when riding through towns with traffic.  In theory, I should have been able to make and receive phone calls while riding, but I never quite got that to work.  I really didn't have much reason to do it anyway, though.   The grip heaters and Gerbing electric vest were absolutely essential to making this trip possible.  There is no way to keep warm when riding all day in temps in the 40s without electricity.  You are just not creating enough heat sitting still in the breeze, so that eventually cold will seep in and get you chilled. 

In the category of things that didn't work so well, I would say top of the list was my earplugs.  I had a great pair of earplugs that were washable and easily inserted that I had been using for at least a year, but I lost one of them on a ride last spring.  Despite buying several pairs that looked the same, none of them worked; they were painful and did not block wind noise as well.  So for this trip I used Hearos, which are expandable foam plugs that have to be squeezed and then inserted into the ear.  It takes some time for them to then expand, so I would have to wait before putting my helmet on.  If I didn't wait, or get them just right, I would often bump them out of place when putting my helmet on and then have to stop, take my gloves and helmet off and re-do the whole process.  It was irritating.  The Hearos also cannot be cleaned and have to be replaced after a day or two, so I had to bring a lot of extra pairs.  When the earplugs where properly in place, though, they worked well.   Another maddening problem was rain getting on the inside of my helmet shield.  The rubber gasket at the top of the eye port did not fit flush with the shield when it was closed, and would allow water to get inside the shield.  There is nothing you can do about this while riding except get used to looking through droplets on the inside of the shield, and I hate having my vision obstructed.  I tried fixing the problem by buying some RTV silicone and applying a strip of it to the rubber gasket, and it helped, but was not 100% effective.   I already mentioned in my blog that my boots and gloves leaked in an all-day rain.  My boots are pretty old Joe Rocket boots that are not made anymore, and they were repaired before the trip, so I guess that was partly my problem, but the gloves were fairly new and expensive Cortech

How well did this old man hold up?

I have been asked if I would do it again.  I think what is really meant is; did I enjoy the ride and think the trip was worthwhile?  The answer to this is a definite yes.  However, as to whether or not I would do it again, I'm not so sure I could.  I was really lucky in a lot of ways.  The weather was generally good, and I had no serious problems of any kind.  However, age is definitely creeping into the equation.   I think I will consider this ride to be the climax of my riding career.  I had a good match of declining physical capability compensated by lots of experience, wisdom, planning and luck.  That match may not happen again. 

What's next?

The riding season is winding down for the year.  I still plan to do some day rides on the street and on my dual sport bike when the weather permits.  I also use my bikes to run errands even when it is raining.  My next bucket list ride is the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route, but that will have to wait until next summer.  I may periodically update this blog just for the heck of it, but probably not too often.