The Motorcycle Diaries, Kansas Edition, Day Negative 1, Preparation

Headed for Kansas.  25 days on the road, 5 to get there, 12 days in Abilene, 3 back, and 5 in Richland, WA.

Bike is packed.  First trip longer than 600 miles on the Road Glide.

Not thrilled with the amount of stuff on top but it's light.   Touring bike doesn't have any more room, it's just distributed differently.  The tour-pak limits you because things have to fit.  It's a bit like playing Tetris.

Actually this post could just as easily have been titled Day Negative 1 through 14.  I started by making a list of everything I normally take.  I'll be camping, staying with relatives, and staying in hotels.  It's the first thing that makes it complicated, but it saves a lot of money.  I have to have a tent, a sleeping bag, and because I am getting older, an air mattress and a folding chair.  No more sitting or sleeping on the ground.  I also like to have a coffee maker (Aeropress) and a Jetboil, which I wouldn't need in a hotel.  Some firestarter, a small hatchet, that's about the minimum.  That stuff is mostly in the bag strapped to the top of the tour-pak.

Then I went out, set up a folding table, put everything on the table, and started packing.  Once I had everything in I made a list for each storage container: left and right saddlebags, tour-pak, T-bag strapped on the passenger seat.  It's a lot of stuff.  Then I realized I hadn't packed my sleeping bag and had to start over, which is when I added the small duffle on the tour-pak rack.