Trips Experiences - I

I'll try to translate into English, in a free version, the posts about our trips experiences. I apologize in advance for my bad english.

When I wrote this post I thought it best that, instead of giving tips, is describe our experience, that may be utilized, or not, on your travel, remembering that not always what is good for one person is good to another, since each one has own preferences, budget, desires and fears.

I'll try to split this post into several topics that will be updated over time. Anyone who has any question about any of them just send me by a comment, so I can give more details and, if applicable, update the topic.

So, let to topics:

The Luggage

Luggage should be kept to a minimum on any trip. When we ride bikes, no way: Only the essentials.

We usually arrange the luggage as follows: One side bag for each (pilot and passenger) with their clothes, and the rear bag for tools, raincoats, shoes (a pair of sport shoes for each) and a necessaire, those that we can hang in the bathroom, with hygiene supplies for both.

The clothes: one pants (if the pants tear, stain or becomes very dirty and cant be recovered or washed, is better to buy another one, which also applies to any piece of clothing), shorts, swimwear, a set (shirt, trousers and balaclava) of second skin clothes, three or four shirts, three or four socks and underwear, which is washed in the bath. The shirts also we wash whenever have time and conditions to dry them. We use windows, air conditioning, lamps, heaters, fireplaces (in cold areas) for drying the clothes that we wash. In each side bag we also carries a rubber sandal.

I also carry a vest to wear under the jacket on colder days.

The luggage is always packed on the inner bags, which avoids to remove the cases from the bike in each stop.

When we rented the bike abroad, we arrange the clothes in the specifics internal bags to fit into the bike's cases without any difficulty or adjustments. We carry the helmets, jackets, boots and gloves in a large suitcase that is stored in the hotel or in the garage where we picked up the bike.

Regarding the equipment for the pilot, I feel comfortable in the following way:

Helmet: I prefer the articulated one, to facilitate the communication with people in the towns and gas stations, and it can be opened for ventilation when the bike stopped. Currently I use a Schuberth C3 model.

Jacket: As we prefer to travel during the warmer seasons, I wear a summer jacket with shoulder and elbow guards. On cold days, or early in the morning, I put a vest under the jacket, shirt and the second skin. If the temperature is too low, I can dress the top of the raincoat over everything. When the temperature rises, I take the clothes off, until remain only with the shirt and jacket. Thus, I have faced the warmer and also cold days, with up to five degrees celcius on the road, without difficulty.

In the trip to Route 66, however, due to the temperatures up to 45 degrees celcius, we didn't use, for the first time, the jacket during the day. The safety of the roads in US is higher than here in Brazil, so the way that we found to withstand the heat was riding with white polo shirts, with long sleeves. In the desert, the heat does not decrease even when the bike is moving. The air is so hot that it seems that you are riding all the time behind a bus engine.

Pants: Specific pants to bikers, with protection on the knees and hips. I'm using an Alpine Star brand, which one I feel myself quite comfortable.

Boots: I don't like to wear long boots, due to the heat. I wear a work waterproof boots, made ​​by Timberland.

Gloves: I wear thin leather gloves, with protections, specific to motorcyclists. Half-finger gloves, for some reasons, aren't recommended: In colder temperatures, besides the discomfort, it can cause arthritis in the fingers, there is the risk of an insect or rock beat and hurt the finger, and, worse, in a fall always the hands are instinctively used for cushioning the body and, if the hands are not properly protected, may result in serious injury. I also carry waterproof gloves, for rain and cold days.

We have adopted a practice that has greatly facilitated the issue of luggage: When climate changes occur and we have to buy suitable clothes, we send by mail the clothing/equipment that we will not use more during the next part of the trip to our home, if we are in Brazil or, if we are abroad, to the bike's rental garage or the last hotel where we will stay (by prior contact by email, letting they know that we are sending the package).

The Tools

Likewise, I also take as little as possible, for a simple maintenance. A set of suitable keys for the bike (in the case of BMW, torque wrenches), tire repair to fill the tire in an emergency, a multi-use penknife and tapes (insulation, silver and clamp).

Never forget the bike's manual. I do not take flashlight, if need one I use the smartphone. Likewise, I also do not take the camera for the photos.

No oil or spare tire. I change the oil before leave and if I will start a long journey (over 10.000km), I schedule where it will be changed again. In the case of the tires, I research where there are sellers of the same brand. It is also good to know the address of authorized dealers of the bike, along the way, should it require any maintenance.

I never carried reserve fuel. The autonomy of the bike, on normal conditions, is about 400km. On unfamiliar roads, I don't let the fuel level lower than a half.



Navigation

A GPS device, with the updated maps of roads and cities to be visited, is indispensable. I use a Garmin Zumo 350L. 

The GPS maps aren't completely reliable, but they are very useful. The maps has its shortcomings, mainly in Brazil and the other countries of South America. In Europe and in the U.S. the rate of errors is much smaller and usually occurs when there is any service that implies diversion of traffic in the road, or recent change of route. I recommend the purchasing of a paper map of the region, which can be found at gas stations, to check when occur failures in the GPS maps.

The GPS can be replaced by the smartphone. On our trip on Route 66, my friend Salomão changed the chip of his smartphone to another one provided by a local telecommunications company and used the Google Maps all the time during the trip without any problem. If you don't have the local chip the cost of data traffic will be very high.

I installed a bracket for the GPS (see photo below) at a position above the bike's dashboard, such that I don't need move my head to view the instrument. It is connected directly to the battery, but there is also a 12v outlet which can be attached/uploaded other equipment.

On the next post, I will pass more information about planning the trips, the choice of hotels and the preparation of the bike. Wait!