After a being in South America for 2 years and riding over 60,000 miles, Eric Lange from RideAdventures takes some time out and shares what he’s learned about packing for a motorcycle trip. I really appreciate Eric devoting time to share with the rest of the ADV community on this subject. I’m pretty confident he’s figured out what works best for him and his setup after a trip such as this. Thanks again Eric!

How to Pack for Your Motorcycle Trip – Part 1

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How to Pack for Your Motorcycle Trip – Part 2

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Stay tuned for Part 3…

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Day 2 : “The Bridges Home”

PS.: If you are wondering why I ride so slow over the slab creek crossings, well, if you are from the midwest, I don’t have to tell you why. But if you aren’t from these parts, those things are death.  We call them slime crossings, or slip-n’ slides… here’s a few videos from local MO ADV’ers proving my point:

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Day 2 : “The Bridges Home”

The starting lineup…all riding Yamaha WR250Rs.

Jeff or what I like to call him.. “I Just Ride”

Ken.. better known as “Locked & Loaded”

Pax.. I like to call him…. “Yahooo”, I always told him.. “give me the Pax” so he raises his arms up and yells.. “Yahoooo”, hahah!  And I also think Pax always looks cooler than anyone else.. I mean look at this dude..

Basher… you can just call me “Crash”..

Now that that is out of the way…

Once we landed in Salt Lake City, we jumped in Ken’s truck and headed to some of his friend’s house for dinner.  We had a few hours to kill before Jeff’s flight landed.

Ken was glad to see us! What a long drive he had from MO to UT… and we were glad to see him and our bikes!

Ken shared a crazy story with us, he was driving through Salt Lake and this wacked out bum on a bicycle came flying down a road and T boned the side of the trailer!  The guy flies up on the trailer, hits the ground, hops up, jumps on his bicycle and takes off…. Ken pulls off and looks for the guy as well as any damage to the bikes.  Jeff’s rear stock tail contraption took the brunt of it.. bent it sideways a bit, but was easily pulled back into place.  I guess those ugly rear ends on the WR are good for something… bum-on-a-bicycle guard?

Robbie and his family greeted us with funny stories, lots of water and some awesome brats. They were very gracious to us.

Pax enjoying a brat

After a nice visit, we headed to the airport and picked up Jeff then headed to Idaho Falls where we would meet Tony Huegel at his house in the morning.

It was time to leave the Super 8 and get over to Tony’s house. All very excited to get all the bikes loaded up and head out!

Tony was all ready to go when we arrived.  He was so helpful and pretty much offered up anything and everything he had to us.  Thank you so much, Tony, we owe you big time!

Jeff explaining some kinda non-sense to Tony, he wasn’t buying it. Although he was very interested in our WRs… and why wouldn’t he?!

Last minute bike repairs

Taking more time than we really wanted to, we were geared up and ready to ride…

Tony led us out on his KLR650 for first day, it was great to ride with him.  A few miles of slab and bam…. the beauty begins.

Can you see Pax way down there?

Pax approves of the riding..

I approve…thumbs up!

For the adventure rider, what makes it so great is it has topographic maps, so you can really find the good campgrounds that will also be a nice ride to get there! And more importantly, if you click on a campground icon, it gives you detailed information about the site, including GPS coordinates!! You can even download a regional file to upload to your GPS that includes all of the campgrounds for that region.

Here’s a snapshot of the satellite map for Missouri:

Don’t forget to bookmark this one!

All Public Campgrounds : www.uscampgrounds.info

Notes on how I packed for this overnight trip down to Mark Twain National Forest.

Wolfman Duffel

• Eureka Spitfire 2 Tent
• Big Agnes Air Core Insulated  Sleeping Pad
• Tent Poles
• Bottle of Heet (for Stever stoves)
• Frogg Toggs Road Toad Suit (pants/jacket)
• Lighter / Fire starters

Dry Bag (SealLine)

• 30 Degree Sleeping Bag
• Jogging Pants
• 2 Pair Socks
• Hoodie
• Shirt
• Camp Shoes
• Book

Wolfman Enduro Saddle Bags

Shifter side

• 18″ Tool Roll
• Tarp
• Small can WD40
• Aspirin Bottle (loctite, fuses, masterlink)

Brake Side

• Stove Pot/Stove (inside Stever & Simmer stove, 18oz. cup, tea, sugar, oatmeal)
• Spork
• Toilet Paper (half roll)
• Ball Cap
• Winter gloves

Wolfman Enduro Tank Bag

• Balcalava
• Tour Master Silk Glove Liners
• Small Zippered Box (iPhone, USB cable, USB/Powerlet charger, contact case, contact solution, glasses, chapstick)
• Flip Video Recorder & Tripod
• Digital Camera

Moose Fender Bag

• 21″ Spare HD Tube
• Tire Irons
• Air Pump

The SealLine Dry Bag had plenty more room in it for more gear if needed for a longer trip.  My plan is to pack as light as possible and this setup handled very nicely on the creek crossings I encountered.  Also, I only used the two buckle straps that came with my Wolfman Duffle bag to strap down the duffel and dry bag.  I would only tighten them a tad the first time I would stop.  No issues with the bags moving either.

Man, I love this bike!

• Pre-trip Planning
• Cold-weather Clothing
• The Ten Essentials
• Winter Gear Considerations
• Sleeping Bags / Liners Pads
• Ground Cloths
• Route-finding in Winter
• Making Camp in Snow
• Types of Winter Shelters
• Snow Caves / Igloo Making
• The Winter Kitchen
• Health Concerns
• Sanitation in the Snow

Lots of good tips even if I don’t live in the mountains!

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1. REI Half Dome 2 HC – $169 – 5 lbs 11 oz
2. Sierra Designs Light Year 1 – $169 – 3 lbs 6 oz
3. Eureka Spitfire 2 – $119 – 4 lbs 3 oz

For the best overall size, weight and price combination, I went with the Eureka Spitfire 2.

With Rainfly

What I love about the tent is the overall size and height.  I have plenty of room inside for me and my gear as well as enough room to change clothes.  The large screened vents all around the tent are great, can’t wait to sit under the stars in this thing.  One other thing many forget about is color.  I wanted a tent that I could stealth camp if I needed to, the brown color works for that.  Some of these bright yellow, orange, white tents will give your location away to easily!

Waterproof?

So I had my two boys climb inside with the Rainfly on and took the hose to it to simulate rain for about 15 minutes.  The Rainfly repels water very well, you can see the beads of water race down the fabric.  I did have a blue tarp footprint under the tent too.  After spraying it down for a while I climbed inside and did not feel any water on the inside walls or flooring.  I was very surprised as I thought I’d notice water near the head/foot area.  Not really sure what Eureka treats this tent with but thus far I’m impressed.  Now it wasn’t a full on down pour for a few hours so only time will really tell, but I feel much more confident in this little tent!

Remember to stuff the tent in the “stuff” sack and not roll it up, they claim the fabric last much longer this way.

More to come soon… I need a little stove and the Stever stove sure looks cool and cheap, $9!

More Photos