8 Days, and Thank You BajaBound.com

Yep, that’s right, we’re getting close.    And we’re getting excited.    And we’re getting ready.

I had a great conversation with Geoff Hill at BajaBound.com insurance earlier today.  As you know, they are one of our sponsors for the Baja trip, and what they are doing to help us is really exceptional.   I’ll tell you a bit more about that a little later.

Arlene brought her bike to the plant yesterday to have the guys check it out, and I did the same thing today.  Tony, Steve, Carlos, and Tom are going over the Scooters with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything’s right.  I rode Simon’s bike to lunch yesterday (he’ll be riding the Rock Star), and it’s running strong.  John’s going to be on a new black Classic, and I’ll check that one out on Tuesday.

You might wonder…what do you bring with you on a trip like this? 

How not to pack on a motorcycle trip...

I’ve been taking these kinds of motorcycle trips for the last 40 years or so, and if there’s one thing I learned, it’s this:  Travel light.  There’s less stuff to lose, less stuff to cart around, and less stuff to pack and unpack everyday.   Even on the long trips, everything I need goes into a small gym bag.

It’s always entertaining to see folks new to adventure touring pack for these trips.  They pack like they’re moving.  I remember one time a few years ago…we were doing an overnighter to San Felipe (it’s only about 130 miles on the other side of the border) and this one fellow showed up on a full dress Harley that was loaded to the gills.   He proudly announced that he had packed enough to be on the road for a week.   Me?  I had a change of underwear.  I told him I had enough to be on the road for a week, too. 

On this trip we’ll have the advantage of J’s Power Wagon, so space won’t be too much of an issue.   I don’t plan on bringing anything on the bike, other than me and my camera (which I’ll be wearing).  The rest will go in that small gym bag and that’s going in the back seat of the big Dodge.

On motorcycle trips, my usual stuff is:

• A camera (I listed this first…it’s that important to me).
• My Mexico insurance, passport, license, and registration (I put all this stuff in a sealable sandwich bag so it will stay dry no matter what the weather).
• Two pairs of jeans (no matter how long the trip…I’m a cheap dude, and I buy mine at Wal Mart).
• Rain gear (my rain stuff is made by First Gear).
• My motorcycle jacket (I have a fluorescent yellow Olympia I really like; I want people to see me).
• My motorcycle gloves (I like Joe Rocket).
• My helmet (I love my carbon fiber HJC).
• My boots (I have a cool pair of HAIX Austrian combat boots that work well, and they’re comfortable for walking).
• Toiletries (deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, etc.).
• Underwear (not more than 3 pairs usually).
• Socks (same thing, not more than 3 pairs).
• My Victorinox Swiss Army knife (I love those things).
• A small toolkit (I customize my tool kit to the bike; I make sure I’m only carrying tools that fit the bike…there’s no sense carrying tools the bike doesn’t need).
• A tire repair kit.
• A small LED flashlight (I usually don’t ride at night, so the flashlight probably isn’t really necessary, but the one I have is about the size of a chapstick).  
• A small bottle of 90 wt that I use for chain lube (it works just as well as the fancy spray cans…and I lube the chain every night). 
• A dozen or so zip ties (they are the modern equivalent of baling wire).

I usually don’t carry oil with me because you can get it anywhere, but we’ll be taking extra on this trip because we’ve got the Power Wagon.  We’ll be taking some spare parts with us (again, because we’ve got the Power Wagon), but I normally don’t even do that.  The few times in my life I’ve needed fasteners I’ve been able to find a hardware store (even down in Baja), and if a bike needs a lot of bike-specific spare parts, I’ll let other people buy those bikes.   I like to stick with bikes that are reliable, which is one of the reasons why in the last few years I’ve mostly ridden Kawasakis and Triumphs.   And now, California Scooters.

We’re going to be putting a lot of miles on our California Scooters, and we’ll probably learn a few things we’ll want to incorporate on future models, but hey, that’s one of the reasons we’re doing this trip.

Oh, and speaking of insurance for Mexico…our thanks once again to Geoff Hill and the fine folks at BajaBound.com insurance.  These are the “go to” guys for insurance in Mexico, and they’re sponsoring a significant portion of this trip.  Geoff told me the guys and gals in his office are as excited about this trip as we are, and they’ll be talking about it on their site, too.   BajaBound.com is the only insurance I use for my Mexico trips, and they do a great job!  Geoff, we are deeply grateful to the BajaBound.com team!