Two weeks until take off!

Last weekend I took my longest ride so far ...about 200 miles.  It was all road except a very small portion.  I rode from Blacksburg, VA to Burkes Garden, VA.  Burkes Garden is called "God's Thumbprint" because it's it a huge crater like formation.  The picture above it from the ridge looking down into the bowl or crater. 
As usual the picture does not do it justice.  It's a beautiful place and it was a great place to ride to.

 I stopped at the General Store above for a snack and a rest on the porch.  It was like going back in time.  It's the only visible business in the valley.  I talked to a couple of ladies for a while then hit the road again.  I left through the south side of the bowl/valley/crater-thing.  It was by far the best part.  It was a very windy and fairly steep climb out of the valley on a gravel road ...just the kind of thing I like to ride.  The rest of the trip was mostly small two lane highways and a little bit of four lane highways.  I am still not totally used to highway travel.  I prefer the gravel roads or the smaller back roads.  They are just more fun for me.

So, now I have two more weeks until I take off on the Trans America Trail ...5000 miles of dirt roads from Jellico, Tennessee to Port Orford, Oregon.  I still can't really believe I have the opportunity to do this ...thank you Ginger!  I am excited and nervous about the trip.  When I was younger I drove a 1972 Volkswagon van across most of the U.S. and now 20 years later I am doing it again on a motorcycle!  This time it's a midlife thing for sure.  I guess when I retire I have to take another big trip ...plenty of time for that later!

Getting closer!

So, it looks like I will be leaving to start the Trans America Trail about mid May.  Up to this point I have been working on creating tracks in my GPS ...entering 5000 miles of tracks takes a LONG time, but it's going well.  I have also put together my tool kit for the trip.  Since I will be riding solo I figured I should have the tools I need in case of a problem.  So, I sat by my bike going over every screw, nut, and bolt that I might need to deal with and added that to my tool kit.  This keeps me from having to take a whole set of wrenches or sockets ...just taking the ones I need.  I will try to post a list when I am completely done for those who might be interested.

Yes, those are my new tires!  Dunlop D606's.  Everyone seems to say that it will take at least two sets of tires to make it to Oregon.  I have a hard time believing that.  I really think if I ride fairly calmly I can get to the coast on one set of brand new tires ...and if I'm wrong, then I get new tires in Moab!

I am planning to camp at least half of the time to save money and to enjoy the outdoors, but holy crap does camping stuff take a lot of room.  I will keep it to a minimum, but it still looks like it going to be a large bag once it packed, we'll see.

I traded out my 15 tooth counter sprocket for a 14 tooth one.  So far, I love it.  It gives it much better power at low speeds and seems fine up to 55.  I have not had a chance to go over 55.  I'm thinking the RPM's will be pretty high at 65.  I will take the old counter sprocket along and will trade them back if I need to, especially on the way home, which will be on the road.

It's amazing how much you can learn from the forums (ADVrider, KLR.net, etc.).  Pretty much everything I have learned in the last few months about the motorcycle and the trip has come from the forums.  It's weird to think, but I have had almost no real conversations with other riders about this.  For example when I was putting together my tool kit I read several threads on tool kits on the forums and got some great ideas that would have never occurred to me ...so thanks forum people!!


OK, that's it for now.  As I get closer, and especially when I get on the trail, I will be updating the blog more regularly.  Have a great day!

Hmmm

That's right ...Hmmm.   Hmmm, as in "Hmmm, I am about a month away from my 5000 mile Trans America Trail trip and I have never ridden over 60 miles in a day." 

And "Hmmm, I will have only had my motorcycle and my motorcycle license for about 6 months (most of which was winter) when I leave for my 5000 mile Trans America Trail trip."

And "Hmmm, that 5000 miles is just one way, I still have to get home!"

And "Hmmm, I can't wait to get started!"

.