100 Mile Shakedown Ride

That's me on my shakedown ride.  I rode about 100 miles and about half of that on dirt roads ...that have gotten very rutted over the winter! Nine days until I hit the trail!!

I packed the KLR as closely as I could to how I will pack it for the Trans America Trail ride: clothes, tools, tent, sleeping bag and pad, and even a little food (not much ...just a snack for the ride really).  I figured I needed to do some miles on the new tires, the new oil change, and fully packed.

That's the bike fully packed: Hard tail case, soft saddlebags, soft "nerf bar" bags up front, two dry bags (one with clothes, one with camping stuff), and a camp chair.   That's it.  Hope that's enough for a 5000 mile dirt ride!  Everything I read says people tend to bring too much.  So, I am trying to keep my load down.

It rode really well.  I could not even tell it was packed.  It just rode like it always does.  In fact it felt better today.  Maybe that's the new tires ...not sure.  Anyway, quite a successful shakedown ride.  Nothing fell off, nothing blew up, no major problems, no minor problems.

I am definitely going to be hot though.  Even with all my vents on my pants and jacket open, it was a little hot today  ...and it going to get WAY hotter on the trail ...like in Nevada for instance.  That's all for now.  More updates later!