Another Anti-Adventure Road Trip

[Hondarider]

Only 10 days left...

My designated departure date is closing fast and I'm focused on getting loose ends tied up before I go. I'm doing pretty well as there are only a few remaining items to address. Mr. LaDue and I have been comparing notes on a daily basis and my laminated MASTER INVENTORY LIST is coming together nicely. It should be ready today for 5-day peer review prior to final release. I'll be looking for your feedback/advice/criticism.

On the short list of open actions:
- spare motorcycle key
- spare car keys
- headphones (I suspect my father snores - I know that I do...one of us is going to need headphones)
- ear pugs (my bike is louder than I'd like for 10-12 hours of riding in a day)
- insurance card (Massachusetts doesn't use them, but I suspect some other states may require it...I found out that Vermont does a couple weeks ago when I had an unexpected introduction to a friendly state trooper on Rt. 30)

Yesterday, after wrapping up my final shakedown ride on the bike, I set to cleaning up and packing all of my riding gear. Of all the lessons that I learned in the Army, taking care of one's boots has stuck with me for 20 years. I cleaned and conditioned my Alipinestars until they looked like new. The price of admission for decent boots is a lot easier to justify when they still look like this after 10 years of service. These boots have seen a lot of miles on ATVs, dirt bikes, and a couple GS's. They're broken in to perfection at this point...like wearing slippers full of warm pudding.

 

[Hondarider]

I managed to stuff nearly all of my riding gear into this one big canvas duffel...a couple coats, riding pants, cold weather gloves, and some Merino compression socks from Duluth Trading Company that I'll be trying out for the first time.



And for reasons that I cannot fully explain, I packed way too many riding jerseys...the flamboyantly bright motocross variety...ventilated...non-ventilated...padded...crew neck...v neck...like I'm worried about looking good on the podium after the race. They do dry incredibly fast and the material lends itself well to hard riding, but they may be a little over the top. Well...I like to do my part to provide a bit of comedic fodder.



The real reason that I'm bringing so many is that I have an obsessive compulsion to fill each bag in my luggage with the exactly perfect amount of gear.

 

[Hondarider]

OK folks...I think I'm close to having a complete packing list for this 12 day jaunt. I'm open to suggestions for things that I may be overlooking. No need to restate the obvious about my penchant for over-packing. It's a sickness.




Is there any stronger love than that between a boy and his label maker? I think not. I have this reoccurring fantasy where I'm dropped into a huge government warehouse (Raiders of the Lost Ark)with nothing more than a stool, a radio, digital calipers, a set of thread gauges, and a label maker. Before me is a mountain of nuts and bolts that rivals the volume of the treasure cave in Aladdin's tale....to the left and right, walls of tiny little empty drawers. My dream job, to identify each individual screw by head type, size, thread, and length...maybe even material...then to create the appropriate label, identify a drawer, and then deposit the hardware into its new home. One by one...tens of millions...just measuring, sorting, filing...and then shuffling all of the drawers when I identify a new size where no drawer exisits...right between SHCS, Stainless, M10x1.25, 30mm and SHCS, Stainless, M10x1.25, 40mm...OMG! Here's a 35mm, time to shift all 600 drawers one postion to the right. I can't think of any better way to spend eternity. That's a special kind of sickness.

 

[Marc LaDue]

Sickness is putting it mildly

What happened to your bamboo & coconut socks?

LaDue

P.S. Is that a pair of Toucan's?

 

[Hondarider]

None of your novelty hippie socks for me.

 

[unkamonkey]

Some of your obsession about bolts and nuts, boarders on, well, an obsession. I have several cans and boxes of stuff from things I've taken apart and generally know what they are for.
A friend had a bucket full of nuts, bolts and washers. he called it his hell bucket.
If I can't find the stuff I need for a project I go to a local hardware store and buy twice as much as I need so now I have several bags of extra stuff around.
No wonder I can barely walk through my garage.:ylsmoke:

 

[Hondarider]

31 hours until departure...lawn mowed...car washed and waxed...bike washed and lubed...all of my gear loaded in the truck...one more day of work...some last minute packing...drop off the kids...pick up my father...and then the relative freedom of the open road and all the country fried steak I can eat. I just made a reservation in Estes Park, CO for Thursday night at a place I stayed before so I guess I have a destination. From there, Rocky Mountain National Park...Georgetown...Mt. Evans...Golden...Guanella Pass...Pikes Peak...meet the team in Gunnison. Lets hope it'll be slightly more interesting than this brief paragraph.

 

[Abe Froman]

I find this thread funny.
Carry on

 

[unkamonkey]

Crap, you are going to be In my backyard. Maybe we can do a meetup. If I can get my new drivers license, somehow it has been lost for 30 days now... I still have my old one but either the state or post office screwed up somewhere so I'm not a legal driver...A friend is a computer guru for the state and he is checking into this. Even if I don't see you, have a good trip. My side yard is always here and lots of power cords around so feel free to stop in.

 

[Hondarider]

I find this thread funny.
Carry on

High praise from the Sausage King of Chicago.

 

[XPEDBC]

I've got the popcorn and root beer ready for this thread!

 

[pricey]

So Hondarider, how'd the trip go? Please regale us with your witty insights into a middle aged man's adventure on a slightly too heavy bike

Here's something I found that you might like http://glennmcanally.com/sarcastic/

 

[River19]

So Hondarider, how'd the trip go? Please regale us with your witty insights into a middle aged man's adventure on a slightly too heavy bike

Here's something I found that you might like http://glennmcanally.com/sarcastic/

Yeah, what he said.

So I read this entire friggin' thread while I was supposed to be allocating out a $1.8B budget (which will be cut down) only to come to Page 8.......glorious page 8 where the documentation of the shenanigans complete with colored glossy 8x10 pictures and I get here and this is the equivalent of "Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine"......

Seriously? This delay is unacceptable......

You better be stranded somewhere along the way to have a valid excuse........of course I wish no bodily harm on you........yet.......

 

[Pilat]

Another bump for an update

 

[Hondarider]

Hmmm...I guess I do owe you folks some answers...