HELMETS...Generally, if the state doesn't require one, I don't wear one. Keep your safety theories to yourself, I'm not interested. Which one I wear in those states who force one, depends on a few things. If it is gonna be less than 40 degrees, I wear the 3/4 helmet, or if I expect it to rain, cause the face shield only attaches to it. Otherwise I wear a little pot helmet, fully approved by the DOT, of course! hehehehe, (well, Your Honor, there IS a DOT sticker on it - I bought it myself!) No stickers, no funny sayings, just helmet. Worst case is where I have to wear/pack both of them.

EYEWEAR...Typically, on slow backroad days, I wear my little "go-to-hell" glasses... but whenever the route requires Interstate or Highway travel, or if it is unusually cold, I switch to my PANOPTX windproof eyewear. They also work well in the rain. These have my prescription and a bi-focal section for glancing down at the gauges and maps. They are form fit to prevent wind and cold from tearing up my eyes while riding, and don't take on that Goggles look - they look like regular sunglasses. .

RAINSUIT... I pack a two piece H-D rainsuit all the time. I used to wear those one-piece rainsuits but found I didn't like them at all. I could ride for hours at 80mph on the Interstate in pouring rain with only the tip of my beard getting wet with those one-piecers, but it is a pain in the ass to take on and off and if it is warm outside, it MUST come off the minute it stops raining! The two piece suits are far more flexible and cooler in the summer when ya have to wear them. More often than not, though, I'll just get wet and dry off in the wind, unless it is cold. Along with the rainsuit is always packed a clear full-face shield. Riding in the pelting rain, even with the windshield isn't fun, so the shield comes out in the rain. (Hope I remembered to pack the 3/4 helmet with it too!)

GLOVES...Four of 'em at all times packed away (or worn) in the 'glovebox' of my lower right fairing. There's just enough room in there for the three I'm not wearing. First is my shorties, for warm riding days, with the velcro wrist wrap torn off, so I just have to slip 'em on. Second, is the full lightweight gloves for cooler days. Third is the heavy winter gloves for COLD days, and Fourth is the nylon slip-overs for rain rides. I suggest you always keep these kinda things in the same place on your bike. Makes it easy to find when you need 'em.

NECK/HEADWEAR... I keep a black Balaclava in my 'glovebox' of my lower left fairing. On days below 40 degrees, it really helps keep it a comfortable ride. Along with that, I keep anything to do with my head in that glovebox, headwraps, bandanas, and my leather "Street Flyer" bombers hat. I picked this up on the Internet at WOLFTRAX, and it is comfortable as hell in states that don't require a helmet, and on cool days. I don't use it on warm days, cause frankly, it looks kinda weird unless you're also wearing a leather jacket... I use my denim hat then.

JACKETS... I always keep my leather jacket on board, even if the trip calls for warm weather. I'll leave it at home for summer day rides, but on anything overnight, it's packed away, because I often get the hankerin' to go watch the sunrise someplace.

BOOTSI do think solid boots are the only way to go on a Harley. OK, so there IS some snobbery going on there, but seeing white sneakers on a Harley just looks funny - kinda like those guys who wear paisley shorts, white socks and black sneakers.... you might expect that on a Suzuki, but..... I HAVE been known to wear sandals when I wear shorts on short rides, too...but white sneakers????

BAGS... Even with all this luggage space, I always have to add one more bag to the tourpak rack when Kim comes along with me. Not that she packs too much - she actually is able to go on long trips with a very small bag. I use RevPak biker bags mostly, but those T-Bag Decker Supremes work good too.

CAMERA...I carry a Canon PowerShot A95 5.0MP Digital camera in a camera bag, along with the software, patch cords and extra batteries and memory chips I need for it on the road. It has zoom, flash and filters as well as interchangable CF Chips, so picture taking is nearly unlimited. Although I tend to keep maybe 50 pictures a day, with usually 30 of them making the website, I can take up to a couple hundred a day and delete them after looking at them on the viewfinder if they didn't turn out like I wanted them. With the larger 512MB and 1GB chips, there's no real need to carry the Laptop to download pics anymore.

LAPTOP...I bring a old Dell Inspiron 8200 with me in a hard-sided carrying case. I have found that putting a small washcloth in between the screen and keyboard when you close it will prevent the keys from etching little patterns in your monitor face. I then slip the laptop in it's padded sleeve, and place it in the carrying case, along with extra phone cords, system software and backup WebSite on CD in case something goes wrong while I am away. The case has room for a NiMH "AA" Battery Charger for the camera batteries (which I use for the GPS, too) and the extra Laptop Battery. I'll also carry software for my uploading program (WS_FTP) and any active client websites that I am working on...I DO have to occasionally WORK on these trips as well. All of that goes in the case and put in the trailer.

GPS...man, I won't go anywhere without my GPS now. It has sold itself on me a hundred times over. Used to be I would try to get adventurous and do some secondary back roads, but stopping at intersections to study and try to remember the map directions is a pain in the ass. The RevPak tank bag has a clear cover pouch that I put maps in, and often my own hand-drawn route with route numbers on it, but eventually ya get all turned around and lost. I now have a Garmin GPS receiver mounted on my dash at eye level and pre-program routes into it the night before I leave - as well as the detailed state maps for the area I'll be travelling in. The onboard memory can hold 1/2 of the US. It now tells me instantly when I go off route and will ask if I want it to recalculate the route to get me back on track. Seems a weasly way to go perhaps, but I can now design some of the most intricate back-road routes that you couldn't follow seemlessly unless you were behind me or had your own GPS. Go get one if you are a touring rider - no second questions about this one.

VOICE RECORDER...One of the best things I have found to use while on the road is a little digital voice recorder. Even at speed on the highway, I can grab it from it's velcro'd spot on my dash and take notes while riding. Too many times on past trips, I would spend hours thinking of really neat stuff to say while on the road, only to forget what the hell it was back at the motel when writing up the journal. Now, I just make a few comments, mileages, times, restaurant names, etc. and play it back when at the motel. (Don't get them wet...lesson learned!)

SECURITY...I was going to describe a very neat security alarm I had rigged up fashioned after a suggestion given to me by David Vance of Texas. But that would be pretty stupid if I told you how it worked wouldn't it? I'll just say that I have an audible alarm system that rings in my motel room, along with cable-locking the tires at night and covering it up at night. That and two friends named Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson should do the trick.

(Written before my new trailer, but leaving it here for the majority of riders who don't trailer. Most of it still holds true.)

It seems that for the first few trips, I packed things differently each time, but I have found a pattern to the packing that works best for me. By the 10th day on a long trip - you BETTER have a pattern or you'll have stuff so mis-packed you won't find it. I've already told you about what goes in my lower fairing gloveboxes. There's not much room in there, but it's perfect for the gloves and headwear.

I have three dash pouches that nest above my dashboard. This is an after-market item I picked up at a bike shop in Asheboro, NC. There are several flavors out there, but these soft bags with velcro flaps seem to work best. In them, on the left, goes some Quarters and bills for tolls, though I usually use it for vending machines because I so rarely use toll roads. The center pouch has the GPS cords, and because the GPS is mounted dead center, it smashes much of the usual room in this pouch. The right pouch gets the credit card, gascap keys, and business cards. Remembering to remove the first two overnight is a challenge! The credit card is there for easy access on gas stops. ALWAYS make sure the magnetic strip of the credit card is NOT up against the keys!

Attached to the rear Engine Crash Bars are leather bags bought from Harley-Davidson. They come in two styles, with or without the water bottle. You specify with or without and on which side you want it. I think a left water bottle is best cause while riding you can use your clutch hand to reach down and grab it for a cool drink. A can fits in there, too, but you need to stuff a rag in it first or the can goes too deep. Longneck Buds work great in here! I just buy a sport bottle of water with the little pull spout so you can work it with your mouth while riding. On real hot days I attach a sprayer head to the bottle to mist my face, neck and T-shirt while riding in the hot sun. The other half of this bag is where I keep my 'drugstore'...sunblock, chapstick, bandaids, aloe vera, etc. On the other side, the bag is just one big pouch, and is Kim's to do with as she pleases.

Behind the driver seat backrest is a small pouch for Kims stuff when she's riding with me, like sunglasses or gloves or little stuff, otherwise I keep plastic garbage bags in there for rainy days.

The left Saddlebag is where I keep the remainder of my maintenance stuff, like a quart of oil, Fix-a-Flat, tubeless tire repair kit, duct tape...everyone packs duct tape, right?... extra rope, a string hammock, a pint size nalgene bottle and 4 feet of 1/2" flexible tubing...thats good for gas transfers from one tank to the bottle, then back to another tank in case you or someone else runs out of gas...much easier than carrying some guy bitch to the gas station! (For you non-riders, riding 'bitch' is the term for a guy in the backseat of a Harley.... ya just don't do it!) I also carry my cable lock, security system, and my sneakers or sandals for days I'm not riding. All of this goes into a Harley-bought canvas pack pre-shaped to fit in the fiberglass saddlebag.

The right saddlebag is Kim's. She gets one of the pre-shaped bags for her clothes, and she usually manages to bring enough stuff without overflowing it. She also stuffs her fanny-pack in here while on the road. These packs are great at motels, where you just grab the handles and bring it on in... there's usually a couple black plastic garbage bags on the bottom of this saddlebag, too. (For trash, dirty clothes, rain covers.)

The tourpack is the largest storage I have, and in it I keep another pre-shaped canvas bag from Harley full of the following: Chaps for both of us on cold rides, rain suits, and various stuffed articles, like my denim cap when riding, bike registration and repair manuals, as well as my roadside assistance packet and full maintenance agreement coupons. Attached to the lid of this tourpak is a great invention... a mesh and velcro organizer where I keep my cell phone, extra batteries, keys, maps, and all the extra little crap you end up getting or bringing on a trip. I highly recommend it for Ultra riders.

WARNING... read my TourPak Repair report in the archives (Apr 01) regarding overweight limits on the tourpak....I've had to repair it twice now!

The suitcase bag is strapped to the top of the tourpak and carries all of my stuff, clothes, sometimes the camera, and jackets when not worn. This whole arrangement makes it a bit top heavy and I need to be kinda careful about stability when slow-riding. Kim knows to sit still when we're below 20 mph. This bag is strapped on with bungee cords at the bottom as well as over-wrapped with a cargo net style bungee cord, useful for carrying coats and stuff for short periods.

Did I forget anything?

My kind of riding finds me on the back roads as often as I can. Interstates are useful for long-hauls, but thats not the purpose of biking. Iron-Butt rides make absolutely no sense to me. The best rides I've ever been on have been little-known back roads that lead nowhere. Well, that and the Blue Ridge Parkway. With this in mind, a 200 mile day may be quite a journey. To the long-haul rider they would wrinkle up their nose at 200 miles as being a bit wussy... I try to plan on 200 mile days for the fun of it.

Generally, before I go on a trip - I would make friends through the Internet with someone in the area I am going to. Besides making new buddies, you get a fresh perspective on the nice rides in their neck of the woods. From time to time you get a free place to crash and some home cookin' too. It's on these back roads where you come across Judy's Diner or "The Do Drop Inn Biker Bar", (OK, so western pointy-toed boots would have fit in here better), or any of the thousands of Mom 'n Pop places along the way that make up America.

I avoid the Burger Kings and McDonalds of suburbia and look for a restaurant with the first name of some lady who owns it. Waffle House is a must once on every trip... the cooks are a blast to bullshit with - sit at the counter! Motels need to be one-story affairs with parking right in front of the door, or the occasional B&B where you can take in some local flavor. I wave at kids and smile at the guy in the Chevy Caprice in a suit going to work... I know he's wondering where I'm heading and wishes he was me. I wave at Bikers, too...usually. I remember when the biker wave was a raised fist in the air - til the Black Panthers stole it, now it's a little arm movement off to one side as if to say, "Hey dude...." OK, here's the scary part - I wave at the unAmerican bikes, too as long as it ain't one of them crotch rockets...I'd hate to be the one forced them to wave, lose their balance and fall off, so I am just doing them a favor by not waving.

I get up for sunrises and find a nice pulloff for sunsets, and I enjoy rides in the rain. All stuff that some people think a Biker just don't do. To me this is a whole lot more than dressing up to look bad, ( I can do that though!), and driving from one bar to the next to hang out with other poseurs. I'd rather ride solo and do whatever the hell I want to do rather than get a majority opinion. (Unless Kim is with me, then we go where she wants...but usually she wants not to be bothered by the planning.)

I've found that for the most part, people on the road will form into two groups. On one hand, there are the ones who refuse to make eye contact, telling their kids to roll up their windows and don't look at the bad biker. I usually wink at their kids and smile anyway, 'cause the kids are always sneaking a peek. But for the most part people see the biker on the road as an adventurer, asking where you're going and taking a little time out to talk, give directions, or advice on where a nice ride is.

Its a little more difficult for me to be taking a bunch of pictures of these people, but maybe thats what the trip is all about, besides the scenery and the wind... it's the people. Bikers themselves tend to be some pretty great people. Apart form the ornery look and appearing to kick your ass at the slightest provocation, they generally will provide the most fun times while on the road. Thats why I seek out the biker bars and will stop in at dinner an hour early if I see a group of riders at a little cafe. Everyone wants to know where ya been and where are ya going. Followed quickly by the prettiest rides they know about near where you are heading.

I use the Internet to search the cities I'm planning to stay in for people with the word HARLEY in their profiles, and try to strike up a conversation with them about the local favorite roads and bars. Once in a while it turns into a good friendship and sometimes into a place to crash and a home-cooked meal. I've found people to ride with on stretches of my rides and good drinking buddies, too.

I do Web Development for a living back home, so it's not as terrible as you might think, but producing the travelogue while out on a ride and uploading the finished product is a pain in the ass actually. Especially when I am riding with someone else and they want to go out after a day on the road. Usually, when I get into a motel I will download the days pictures from the digital camera to the laptop. Then I remove the rechargeable batteries from it and place it in the quick-charger for it's 3-hour recharge, replacing them with the ones I charged last night. (Use NiMH batteries, not the NiCD ones...use the right charger, too!)

End-of-the-day computer shit is different on each trip. Some trips I try to upload the journal and images each day, but more and more I save all that for when I get back home. I lose out on too much evening fun otherwise. It takes up to an hour to chose the pictures I want, save them at high and low resolution images, program them into the days journals and write something interesting. I will play back the digital voice recorder for some ideas I had earlier on in the day and match up pictures with text. The template for the days journal has already been done before I leave for the trip - anything to make the work on the road easier has been done, including maps and page navigation. Once in a while, maps have to be redone because we improvised on the road, but more and more I wait til I get back to make some changes, because afterall, this is supposed to be fun for me too!

To save time, I program in local dial-up access numbers for cities along the way. For the most part I have had no trouble using the motel phone jacks for access, some phones now have convenient DataJacks on their side. I do find Earthlink's 1-800 service very convenient. Along with unlimited local access, you also get 5 hours of their 800-service in case you find yourself in a small town without a local number...which is usually. Even more hours than the given five hours is cheap. You can see how long some of this stuff has been on the website... nowadays I only find wireless broadband, and if they don't have it, I go get a beer... screw the website - this is supposed to be a fun ride - I rarely if ever update shit while on a ride anymore - sometimes it gets posted a month after I get back... this is MY site, I'll do it MY way!

Usually, I leave my computer on back home with Outlook running a Spam-washer program, so I just have to log on to the internet, use a program called GoToMyPC to take control of my PC back home and read my mail as if I was sitting at my office desk.

On some of these long rides where reservations are set for months in advance, you gotta ride through whatever weather is thrown at ya. I plan my days around rather loose schedules so I can make up a couple hours of weather delays later on in the day if need be. I also plan on a slack day every two or three days for laundry, catching up on the website or makeup days on the road if weather or maintenance requires it.

But for the most part I do a LOT of research before I go on these rides to make sure I don't miss anything. Winging it sounds fun and romantic, but I've found you miss out on shit that way. Besides, I often have people to meet along the way and they typically like to know when the hell you're gonna pop onto their front steps. Riding the mountains in April or October is a MUST for reservations anyway with the spring and fall colors making the motels a continuous row of No Vacancy signs. (Bring a blanket just in case!)

I've found that I can ride in weather down to 20 without a great deal of discomfort. I'm not saying it's fun, but it's doable. (I've not had the pleasure to ride colder than that yet). That is if I am riding solo. Kim prefers not to ride in below 40 degree weather... and when she's with me, the fun of the ride is both of us having a good time. We've ridden in Thunderstorms, and have been blown off the road into a ditch by one, but generally you can avoid those storms by pulling over - it's the day-long rains that can really screw up a trip. Typically, they are not drencher's but light persistant rain. I can only suggest you get the right gear and take the opportunity to ride in the rain often to see what works best for you before you find that you HAVE to ride in the rain.