Sleeping Bags?

For our trip in 2006 (see Wheelin',Squealin' & Clueless) I had joined the KOA thinking that we might stay in cabins on our trip. I spent most of my growing up years camping with my family so while experienced with tent camping, I have also had my fill. It is really nice sleeping in a real bed, especially after a long day on the bike. KOA Kabins provide a bed with a bathhouse, and KOA Kottages/Lodges have bathrooms. It turns out we never stayed at a KOA on our trip in all 16 days, or rather nights. We did carry minimal bedrolls - just a sheet and light flannel blanket for each of us. And I did carry the KOA directory with the potential sites circled. At the end of the day, however, we were just so tired that we did what was easiest and selected the motel.


So now we have this debate again - should we plan on staying at KOAs along the trip or should we just plan on motels all the time? I have checked the directory against our itinerary and we have many opportunities to try the KOAs. The attraction of the KOAs is definately the costs which can sometimes be half the cost of a motel. The downside is, of course, having to carry the bedroll which would have to be more substantial than the last time because this trip takes us into colder territories. This would mean an investment in some ultralight sleeping bags - nice light, compact, warm and expensive ultralight sleeping bags....hmmm....will we recoup our investment? Can we find some used ones for sale? Hey, maybe we should test out a KOA before July too!

The Itinerary

Over Thanksgiving 2007 (yes - it has been a while) BMRPop, C-zookie (she was CVStar at that time), and I spent a few hours plotting the route on a day by day basis. We were curious to know what sort of daily mileage was required to complete this trip within 21 days, and if we were up for it. As we progressed in the task, we realized that it was important to have the day by day itinerary because we had constraints on being certain places on certain days. The SCMA rules for the Four Corners trip states that we need to mail a gas receipt from each extreme corner of the US - which means it would be good to hit those locations when the post office is open and able to hand stamp the envelope. In addition, we are planning to have our bikes serviced in Omaha and again, it would be good to be there on a Tuesday-Saturday when the shop is open. There are other advantages, like knowing we will be spending July 4th in New England and not with the beach crowd, and we will be going through the busy Boston corridor on a Sunday.

Planning and More Planning

First --Many thanks to those of you who have contributed to the Long Road Home house at Make it Right 9. We hope to get a list of donors from MIR so we can thank you personally.

Those of you who know me, know I am all about the planning. This trip is no exception. In fact, I am a little afraid to admit that I may enjoy the planning more than the actual trip. I like making the list, thinking about what we need, what needs to be done, both before the trip and in order to leave home for an extended period of time. I believe this compulsiveness on my part may frustrate my riding partners; I hand them lists of things to do and am constantly following up on their progress - prodding them to achieve!!
So what is on our lists?
We have assigned BMRPop to the technology and bike maintenance items; C-zookie, in addition to her solicitation letters, is concentrating mostly on her personal items or accessories for her bike, and I, in addition to solicitation letters, have a list of accessories and shared items. Below I have detailed our lists and struck through what we have done. As you can see, we still have a long way to go!

BmrPop's List: contact Omaha BMW and Suzuki dealers about bike maintenance on our rest days, get new digital cameras, select and install communication system, get GPS, get extra headlights and tail lights, get tire repair canisters, arrange for bike maintenance pre-trip.

C-zookie's List: get new passport, order and install heated handgrips, order and install sidecases,

BurgMa's List: Complete pharmacy/first aid kit - sunscreen, chapstick, earplugs, sleep-aid, NoDoze, gum, Coffee Nips, extra batteries;get warm/weather proof items for C-zookie and self - overboots, overgloves, REI windproof pants & jackets, Columbia padded jackets w/liner, new vests for all - lime green!!, make or find lining bags for BMRPop's cases, arrange for house sitter, maps, KOA directory, locate small sleeping bags, repair yellow waterproof bags, figure out packing locations for all the stuff!!

On top of all this, C-zookie is moving from Baton Rouge back to Nashville before the trip, looking for a new job, AND trying to sell Issy, the Vstar 650. WOW! Surely someone you know wants to buy Issy!!

The Big Picture

The route is constantly being tweaked, but this is the general idea. It is a large figure eight. Currently the plan is to start in Key West, then ride north to Maine and then cross the country to San Ysidro. Omaha is the crossover point. We will probably service the bikes and change tires there both times we stop.

Bad boot news. The zipper tangs on the new Set Ups broke off. Burgma says they were plastic. She replaced the broken tangs with key chain loops and so far they work fine, but she is worried that the zippers themselves will break. I plan to try wearing them unzipped with just the velcro flaps closed to see if they can be worn that way. If so, I will not be too anxious about the possibility of zipper failure on the road.

Make It Right

To do the four corners challenge with my parents is the opportunity of a lifetime. To finish the trip will not only be a huge personal accomplishment but to finish with my family will be unbelievably rewarding. Just starting the planning process of the trip has brought me closer with both my parents. I feel so lucky to be able to do something like this.

After having moved to Baton Rouge LA a year ago, I realized how unlucky so many families were after Katrina. Even years later the city is still in need of a lot of help. We have decided to use our trip to promote and raise money for organizations that are helping to re-build the city. The Make It Right New Orleans project seemed to be a perfect fit, since it was founded by Brad Pitt a motorcycle enthusiast.

"The Mission of Make It Right is clear: It is to be a catalyst for redevelopment of the Lower 9th Ward, by building a neighborhood comprised of safe and healthy homes that are inspired by Cradle to Cradle thinking, with an emphasis on a high quality of design, while preserving the spirit of the community's culture. The goal is to accomplish this quickly, so that the first residents can begin returning to their homes as soon as possible. " http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

We are hoping that through our trip we can help spread the word about the great things Make It Right is doing, as well as inspire people to donate and make a difference. You can keep track of how much we have raised by checking out our Team House called the Long Road Home ( http://www.makeitrightnola.org/mir_SUB.php?section=donations&page=team ). If you feel so moved to do so, please donate!

From the Ground Up

CVStar has a new bike! Burgma now has enough waterproof and cold weather gear for a ride around the world, from top to bottom. Time for me to get my "kit" in place.

When I started motorcycling in 1972 (or was it 1971?) the kit was very simple. Frye boots, leather work gloves ,and a denim Levis jacket. A friend gave me a pair of large military surplus deerskin mittens with knit woolen liners. The index finger was separate from the remaining three fingers so you could grip the bars and still work the clutch and front brake. Perfect in cold weather.
The only thing I still have is the jacket. I actually used it on both the cross country trip in 1972 and again in 2006. I used the mittens for many years when bicycling. Too bad they are gone now.

Shortly after I returned to motorcycling in 2003 Burgma and I went to London to visit CVstar (oops - CVstrom) who was studying for a semester there. We happened on a flyer in the street advertising a motorbike accessory shop. I think it was in northwest London. Anyway, we pulled out the transit map and found the nearest station to the shop. As I recall we were nearly the only customer there at that time and we stayed for at least an hour or two. The proprietor had pictures of himself on his first motorbike at age three. He had been a motorbike mechanic and I believe had raced bikes. The night he met his wife she gave him a ride home on her scooter and when they married, the honeymoon was a European tour two up on a Beamer. The shop was a relatively new venture for him.

I had only intended to look at gear, but he was so helpful and I knew I was eventually going to buy boots, jacket and a new helmet. I was a lot braver, confident and coordinated 30 years ago. This time I wanted plenty of padding. Besides the Belstaff jacket felt great. It seemed a shame not to get the accompanying padded pants.

He suggested Blundstone boots. He did not have my size on hand, but his distributor was nearby and he insisted on sending his young clerk on the "push bike" to pick up a pair in my size. I have rarely been on the bike without them and they are great for mowing the grass (steel toes you know) and other outside work.

For the last year or so I have been looking for Blundstone replacements in the U.S. without success. (The soles are shot and the uppers do not have long to go.) This trip will require new footwear. Eventually I decided to try traditional touring boots. The Blundstones were not waterproof and a couple of recent trips in downpours suggested that this might be a very valuable feature. After some Internet research the best option/value seemed to be Joe Rocket Rhino's. No one in town had that model and when I looked on the Internet it seemed that they were discontinued. No where, no how.

After trying on several brands and models I bought Set Ups. They are apparently made/marketed by Sidi and they are also discontinued, but hey, they were less than $140 and they felt good. The uppers are very comfortable, but the soles are a little stiff. I expect they will soften up with wear. The soles are also very sticky and give a good feeling of confidence on the ground. They are a little thicker than the Blundstones and I may need to adjust the shift lever up a tick. I like the reflective trim. Safety, safety, safety.

The Belstaff jacket and pants are good to go. My helmet is now nearly 5 years old so it should probably be replaced before the trip. Burgma and I both have leather baseball batting gloves for dry weather (the padding softens the vibration) and kayak gloves for wet weather. We still have the yellow banana rain suits from the 2006 cross-country trip.

Now it's on to finding a good GPS and maybe communication gear. It is not really about the gear, it's really about the ride.

V-Strom!!

Today I am the official owner of a 2007 Suzuki V-Strom! Picked it up in historic Vicksburg MS today. It has hand guards, a sargent seat, Givi windshield, Givi top case, and a power commander. Best part is that it's already lowered about 2 inches so I can at least put the balls of my feet down. Actually having the bike now has just elevated my excitement about the trip.

I want to publicly thank my LSU family who helped me pick up the bike. I couldn't have done it without all three of you! THANK YOU!

The next two steps are gonna be the hardest:
1) Selling Issy
2) Finding a name for the V-strom.

I had the ugly realization that it was now time to sell Issy when we were waving good-bye to the gentlemen who sold me the bike. I imagined how he must feel watching his bike drive off with its new owner. It's a sad subject. I really can't think about it anymore.

As for naming the V-Strom... A motorcycle's name needs to come organically. The name needs to fit both the personality of the rider as well as the personality of the bike. Issy was named after Isadora Duncan, the famous modern dancer of the early 20th century. Being a dancer, I felt a connection between Isadora Duncan and myself. Ms. Duncan was fond of drama! She would ride around in a convertible with a long scarf flapping in the wind behind her. Issy is a classic style cruiser with her own modern flare. I think after riding the V-Strom around we'll get to know each other a little better and a name will emerge.

V-star to V-strom

I bought Issy, (2000 V-star 650 custom) my first bike, in August of 2004 and have enjoyed every moment I have had on her. She took care of me as I learned how to ride and I took care of her. In the last three years we have bonded. We have had some scary close calls, turned over 10,000 miles, and took a cross-country trip together. Your first bike will always be your favorite, however (cover your ears Issy) I think it's time that Issy and I part ways. The Long Road Home Trip will be over 8,000 miles covering 32 states. That kind of trip was not meant for poor Issy and I'm not about to try and put her through it. I'm going to pass her on to someone else who can love her.

The bike I'm looking to get for the trip is a V-Strom. After doing some research I think its a good fit. The V-Strom is made for adventure riding. The hard cases can accommodate all the warm clothes I'm going to have to bring and the seat position will be more comfortable for those 500 mile days. I was also inspired after reading about another women who did the four corners challenge on her V-Strom. So the hunt has begun for a used V-Strom 650. This may mean I have to change my blog name from CV-Star to CV-Strom.

The other addition to this trip that is being discussed amongst Burgma, BeamerPop and I, is some sort of communication system. Burgma developed a simple hand signal system for our last trip. It worked, but not well enough. All too often one of us was just enjoying the ride and not paying much attention to the rider behind waving vigorously. Also most of the signals we had were simply for entertainment. When you see a deer, spread all five fingers out and hold your hand up to the side of your helmet. It's quite humorous when we all do it at the same time. So in order to improve our communication there was talk of radios or Bluetooth technology. All three of us have different opinions on the subject. Should we all have them? If only two of us have them, who will it be? Do we go with an intercom system or with Bluetooth?

So many questions and decisions to be made.

Maps on the wall

Oh yeah, we have done this before! And even though CVStar said she might never take another roadtrip with us again after the last cross country motorcycle trip in 2006 (see: Wheelin', Squealin' & Clueless at http://wheemedriving.blogspot.com/), we are all drawn to do another trip together.
This one is planned for the summer of 2008 and is in response to BMRPop's interest in the Southern California Motorcycle Association's Four Corners Challenge (see: SSCMA 4 corners website ). The challenge is to get to the four extreme corners of the USA within 21 days. There are specific tasks to complete in each corner confirming your presence within the 21 days. We can choose the route, and although most riders complete the trip as a rectangle, we have chosen a figure 8 across the US. Not only does it allow us to ride through as many states as possible, but it is also an interesting image, the infinity sign layered across the map on the wall. And yes, the maps are back up on the wall--across three walls actually! This is a BIG trip!
Unlike the first trip, on this one we hope to ride for a cause. CVStar's move to Baton Rouge Louisiana last year really highlighted for us the needs that continue in New Orleans, and the hard work that many agencies have organized to help with the rebuilding of that special city. We are in the process of investigating a partnership with one or more of these agencies, to highlight their work and allow them to use us for publicity as we make our month long trip across the US. We are excited about the prospect of being able to make a difference with our ride. In addition, we would also like to find commercial sponsors to help with our expenses along the way, perhaps a gas company or hotel company will support our ride and the agency we will be supporting.