Great Lakes Challenge (L O N G)

[Montana Hoon]

My Great Lakes Adventure

 

I just plotted out the course we ran for the Great Lakes Challenge. I can't even remember a lot of the places we went through. I can't imagine that anyone would want to do this crazy ride. But over 100 riders took off from the starting line to participate in the World Record Attempt of the Great Lakes Challenge.

 

I first learned of the GLC here at BMWRT.com. It took me a while to decide to participate -- I was rider number 110 (or, as I like to think of it, rider #11 (Tom Roe) with a zero at the end.

 

A couple of days before the event, I got a note from Tom mentioning some folks getting together for dinner Thursday night. I thought it would be a good idea to get to the area early and get a 12,000 mile service done on my KRS before the rally. I called every dealership between my home in Bozeman, Montana and Wilwaukee, Wisconsin, but none could fit in a 12K in the required time.

 

I took off on Tuesday afternoon just ahead of a big storm that blew into Montana. I made it to Dickerson, North Dakota after getting hammered by 40 mph winds the whole way. (Why were they all headwinds and crosswinds, but no tailwinds?) The next day was more of the same with winds all the way to Minneapolis. (BTW, it's almost 1000 miles exactly from my house to Tom's, so anyone wanting to do a SaddleSore 1000, we got ya covered.)

 

On Thursday, I did most of the 12K service on my bike, with plenty of help from Tom (THANKS!). The rear tire had some life in it, but probably not enough for the 2450 mile GLC. There's a great shop two blocks from Tom's and they threw a new skin on the back.

 

Thursday night we had dinner with a few other GLC challengers and the RallyMaster hisownself, Eddie James. It was good to meet these folks and learn about the Challenge.

 

Friday morning we finished buttoning up the bikes and then met a couple other riders at a local coffee shop for the ride over to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the start point of the rally. Arriving at Rally HQ, there were probably 50 bikes already there of all descriptions. Registration was super smooth. I took off to find a few last minute necessities (like rally food!). We had a great meal at the Liar's Banquet and signed up for departure times. Riders got to sign up for a start time based on when they registered. Start times began at 6 a.m. Saturday, leaving every minute. If folks wanted to ride with a buddy, they could sign up together, but starting at 7:30 a.m. or later. As rider #110, I had a wait before choosing a start time. Once I got to sign up, just about all the six o'clock hour was filled, so I took 7:07 so it would be easy to remember.

 

We finallly got the route sheets and some important instructions. We learned that gas would only be available until 9 p.m. in Wawa and at the junction of Canada 101/129, and until midnight at Iron Bridge. Plotting the course and speed against these times showed there was an advantage to getting away sooner, in order to get gas before these stations closed. Miss gas at one of these places, and you can't get any until they open the next day. That could be fine if you plan to run the event in 100 hours, but not if you want to run it in 50 hours.

 

Despite getting up a little after 5 a.m.Saturday, I got to the start line only minutes before my designated time. I had on windbloc fleece pants, a Gerbing jacket over a long-sleeve t-shirt, a balaclava, and Darien outerwear. Gerbing electric gloves and a toe warmer thrown in the boots completed the body protection. The start line was right in front of the hotel door. The door-opening sensor was making the V1 go off and the tunes from my MP3 player were also on. I couldn't hear what the starter was saying. I pulled the plug from my helmet to hear. When I plugged it back together, I lost the sound. I also noticed I was not getting any heat from my Gerbing. I figured I probably blew a fuse. I pulled away from Rally HQ nice and slow. I didn't want to do anything stupid within sight of everyone.

 

The route started off with 5 miles of freeway and then immediately dumped back on to surface streets in Eau Claire. I can imagine the frustration of many people who wanted to get some miles under the belt quickly, only to be faced with stop and go traffic and red lights. The first checkpoint was about 50 miles away and combined an odometer check and a question that had to be answered from a historical marker. After getting my odometer checked, I figured I would take the time to find the electrical problem and replace the blown fuse. It wouldn't do to continue without electrics in the damp and cold air. I popped off the left saddlebag to get to the seat latch and noticed the cord/switch coming from the auxiliary power outlet. Wait a minute, isn't the switch/light supposed to be on? I depressed the switch and the light lit up. Moments later, heat through the Gerbings!!! So no blown fuse after all.

 

The next checkpoint was Superior, Wisconsin, with a required gas receipt. I had been passing people along the way and had one guy in tow who seemed to be running at my pace. After gassing up, he took the lead through Duluth and up highway 61. A few miles up the road he made a gesture across his throat with his hand and pulled over to the side of the road. I pulled alongside and could see him looking at fuel pouring out of the petcock on his Kawasaki and onto the carbs. He had a cell phone so he could get help, and he wished me luck for the rest of the Challenge.

 

Continuing up highway 61, I started passing lines of SUVs pulling boats. At one point there were about 5 of these in a row. We would later joke that everyone hooks their boat up, and then tows it around without ever putting it in the water. It sure seemed that way from all the boats we passed on Saturday.

 

One thing I wanted to do was show that the KRS is a very able long-distance mount. It does have one fault in that regard though, and that is range. I made a scientific test on the way to Minneapolis and determined that the maximum range I would use for a tank of gas was 180 miles. (OK, it wasn't scientific and I did break a sweat pushing the bike to the nearest gas station.) The next required stop was Thunder Bay, but I didn't think it would be prudent to try to stretch till then. I also wanted to remove the V1 and stow it away because radar detectors are illegal and can be confiscated in Ontario. I gassed up and stashed the V1 in Grand Marais. As I was pulling away, I noticed I had not strapped my helmet on. I figured I would pull over in just a second and strap it down. I was also thinking about several other things and suddenly noticed a row a bright lights in the mirrors. I pulled over and the local public servant decided I was worthy of a performance award. He said I was doing 69 in a 55 but would only write me up for 65, as that would not show up on my record. (I later learned another challenger was written up in the same place, with the same explanation. Hmmmm.)

 

Shortly after crossing into Canada, I somehow hooked up with David Smith and Ron Barthelme on their RTs. We all seemed to be running at a similar pace and hey, misery loves company. By misery, I mean the weather conditions. Thus far in the ride, we've seen about five minutes of sunshine. My Gerbings have been on full power the whole time and it's a fight to stay warm.

 

Speed limits in Canada seem to be slower than what they would be for a comparable road in the U.S. Adding up the slower speed limits, the weather, being in a "foreign" country, not having the V1, and my earlier performance award, the overall pace was lower than what I would be running under better conditions. But given those factors, and the fact that we might come up on a bear or moose in the road, the pace felt just fine. Doing a little mental math had us reaching the Wawa and then 101/129 gas points in time to refuel before the stations closed.

 

When we finally reached Wawa, I was shivering all over. I went inside the gas station / store to get some hot chocolate. They only had coffee and hot water for tea, so I settled for a sausage under the heat lamps to warm up. My Gerbing gloves were so soaked that I couldn't easily get them back on, so I pulled out my heaviest Olympia gloves and threw a hand warmer pack in each one. I also replaced the warmer packs in my boots.

 

As we passed through these remote Canadian locations, we saw one black bear and two moose. I couldn't believe how big the moose were! Earlier, Tom Roe had mentioned that when he rides, he can continue in three out of four bad conditions: wet, dark, cold, and wind. He also said that when you're in a rally, you "Cowboy Up" and ride on in all four. After seeing the size of the moose, I added a fifth condition: MOOSE! So here I was in Canada, with WET, DARK, COLD, and MOOSE. I probably would have packed it in, but David was running some bazillion candlepower lamps and leading the way. That took care of the DARK and hopefully would warn of the MOOSE. That only left WET and COLD, so it was Cowboy Up and keep going.

 

We reached Kathy's Kitchen just ahead of the 101/129 junction, where we were able to gas up once again before the station closed. Somehow, I was warmer than when I reached Wawa. Now it was do or die time -- if we didn't reach Iron Bridge before midnight, there wouldn't be enough gas to make it to Espanola, where gas would be available 24/7. We also had to make a stop at LeClair and write down the price of gas on the pump. It turned out that the stop at LeClair was a burned down station and there were two pumps -- one selling diesel and the other gas. You can see the RallyMaster chuckling as he thinks about all the people who wonder if they are supposed to put down the gas price or the diesel price. It turns out that 129 is a twisty road that would probably be fun to do in the daytime. Of course we were running it at night.

 

We were getting closer and closer to Iron Bridge, but the minutes kept ticking closer and closer to midnight. It looked like we would get there just in the nick of time. As we pulled up to the gas station, we could see other bikes there, and the folks inside the station were obviously closing up. It was then that I discovered that I was still referring to Central Time when all the time-constrained gas stations were on Eastern Time! In other words, we got gas at Kathy's after they were supposed to be closed, and it was now one a.m. at Iron Bridge. Fortunately, the folks agreed to let all of us fill up while they patiently waited. That was one of the big breaks for me in completing the Challenge.

 

After gassing up, we were a few miles out of town when we spotted a challenger on the side of the road. He explained that he had lost spark and his bike wouldn't fire up. We waited about a half-hour with him until he confirmed that a tow truck was on the way after he reached AAA from a cell phone. In the next town, we pulled into a Tim Horton's donut shop for a snack and to warm up. As I entered the store, a guy with a CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) jacket asked if there was a bike up the road. He said he received the call for the assistance.

 

During the last several miles, our group had also picked up Greg Anderson on his RT and a lady rider on a Yamaha. We continued on into Sudbury for a mandatory fuel receipt. As daylight started to break, we pulled into a rest area. It was determined that we would take one hour and Ron set his Screaming Meanie. I laid down on a picnic table and zonked out. I woke up to see everyone else still asleep. I went over by Ron and saw that there were 15 minutes left on the Meanie! Oh, well. I went to the restroom and splashed a little water on my face. Everyone slowly woke up and mounted, and we were off again.

 

As we continued down the road, our pace continued to be fairly conservative. I kept running the math in my head that said I had about 24 hours to do 1200 miles. That's only 50 miles per hour average! But to get the average would mean running a little harder than that to leave time for gas stops, etc. I kept waiting for the pace to pick up, and the math kept tempting me to go for the 50-hour challenge. I decided I would at least make a try for 50, and if I came up short, I would at least know I had given it a shot. It wasn't very likely I would come back to try this again. Besides, my KRS was telling me it was a thoroughbred and was ready to stretch its legs. The skies had cleared, the weather was warmer, it was daylight, there was no wind, and there were no moose. Time to Cowboy Up.

 

I was running near the back of our group and gave the spurs to Big Blue. The KRS instantly responded and I jumped to the front. A couple of the guys followed my lead and kept close. I pulled in for gas and explained that I thought the 50 hours was doable and I was going for it. They said now's the time if you're going to go for it. So I took off by my lonesome to head for the U.S. border.

 

Crossing from Canada into the U.S. I went over the 1000 Island Bridge. This thing was not for the faint of heart. It seemed to rise a couple hundred feet to the apex. But once on top, there was a fantastic view of the 1000 Island region. Lots of beatiful little treed islands that each appeared to be a private residence. A beautiful area that I didn't even know existed.

 

Coming into Customs, I saw another rider up ahead and caught up to him. After going through Customs, I asked if he wanted to ride together so we could pace each other. He agreed that we would meet up in Watertown, New York, the next mandatory gas receipt stop. I wanted to take the time to put my V1 back on line.

 

I met up with Kevin in Watertown and we took turns leading into Seneca, New York, which was the next mandatory stop and also the 1500 mile point in the rally. There were several other bikes at the stop gassing up or taking a short break. I went inside to use the rest room and when I came out Kevin was gone. He later explained that he just couldn't spend any more time at the stop.

 

The next couple hundred miles are just a blur of toll roads over toward Cleveland. I made the mandatory fuel receipt stop just east of Cleveland. It was just after that stop that I hit one of those motorcycling moments when everything is perfect. Even though I was on slab going through a metropolitan area, it was like I was in a perfect motorcycling cocoon. There was no wind noise, no bike noise, it was twilight, and it seemed as though I was just silently gliding a couple of feet above the pavement. That big smile that fills my whole soul was there. This moment was as good as the same time 24 hours earlier was bad.

 

From there it was another huge blur of interstate to Chicago. From there things got interesting as my fatigue worked to keep me going slow and having a somewhat difficult time of being sure I was on the right road. I thought I would be better off getting the trip over with and then sleeping, rather than taking a nap and somehow not waking up in time to finish the Challenge in 50 hours. In hindsight, I really wish I had taken a one-hour nap and let the Screaming Meanie earn its keep.

 

Other than the sausage in Wawa and the bagel at Tim Horton's, I had been eating cereal bars for sustenance and drinking water from my CamelBak. I was really surprised how much I drank out of the CamelBak as I had never used one before. I also drank 3 "energy" drinks during the course of the Challenge. One thing I did to help stay awake was to throw those giant Wint-O-Green lifesavers or cinnamon Jolly Ranchers in my mouth while they were still wrapped. That gave me a challenge to open up the wrapper and then it gave my mouth a bit of a wake-up from the flavor.

 

Going up I-94 in Wisconsin, it seemed the road would never end. It seemed like the same stretch of road over and over. And there were deer carcasses everywhere. And besides the carcasses, there were lots of dark red stains all over the freeway. Not the ideal condition to be cruising down the road on a motorcycle at WAY less than 100 percent. At this point I had less than one hour of sleep in the last 48 hours.

 

Somehow, I made it through that last stretch and back to Rally HQ. As I pulled in on Monday morning, the volunteer staffer recorded my time of 48 hours 10 minutes. I searched the parking lot for Tom Roe's bike, and, not seeing it, assumed he had already headed for home. I parked the bike and headed for the hotel. One of the staffers presented me with a license plate frame and personalized plaque. I grabbed some breakfast and pulled out all my receipts to document the ride.

 

I decided to go check with the volunteers to see if Tom had already arrived. Just as I went out the door of the hotel, we could see him rounding the turn into the hotel. He pulled up with a great flourish as we learned he had ridden over 1000 miles with only one strand of his throttle cable still holding together. Tom was the last of 49 people to finish in under 50 hours.

 

I put together my documentation and handed it in to the Rally staffers. I then laid down on the lobby floor next to the TV. When I woke up, everyone was gone! I don't remember how long I slept, but I must have been unconscious. I learned the group had gone to a nearby restaurant. I jumped on the bike and went over to meet up with the group. Eddie James made several comments about the rally, including that he thought the conditions encountered on Saturday were the worst of any IronButt sanctioned event to date. Also, one lucky (?) person who finished in under 50 hours was awarded a spot in the 2003 IronButt Rally.

 

After that, Tom and I headed back to his place where I went unconscious again. I vaguely remember a wonderful Mexican dinner and woke up Tuesday morning. I packed up and thanked Tom and family for the hospitality. I decided to take I-90 back to Bozeman, and 1100 miles and 18 hours later, I was back home!

 

Next up -- the Utah 1088!

[russell_bynum]

You guys rock!!

 

After reading this, I don't know whether to get under the electric blanket and sleep for five days straight, go get on the bike and ride nonstop until I wear the odometer out, or replace my throttle cable again...just to be safe.

[OldRider]

Great write up Steve. By the way, was that Tom after making two laps in 50 hours since that was a topic of discussion when I visited him??

 

Later

[rdfrantz]

Good job, Steve. An LD RS rider.

 

Iron Butt? Doesn't matter. It's the Soul, one of bamboo. As durable as iron, it bends in the wind, accepts water as a friend, and just plain doesn't know about cold.

 

You honor us, Brother.

 

[steveknapp]

A story of success! Now a story of failure. Well, failure to complete the rally, not failure to enjoy motorcycling.

 

Also allow for my fuzzy memory. Oh, and I'll post picts when I get em.

 

Friday morning, wake up, talk to my friend Drew (on the right). His bike is due to be picked up this morning from Triumph in Janesville, WI. He'll meet me there. I talk to Ron B who is going to meet me at my house, then we'll head to meet with Drew. David EB was invited along, but never heard from.

 

I pack, check my list, check it twice. Take a deep breath and remind myself that I want to have *FUN*, this is a vacation, not work. Make sure I've got my wallet and VISA card. I started waiting for Ron outside, figure might as well enjoy the day. Ron pulls up, tells me he's got a fuel siphon hose, I worry a bit. We head off.

 

We arrive into Janesville and discover David was waiting for us. We also discover that Drew's bike has not been serviced yet. We wait and depart around noon for Eau Claire. Gleeful that the construction I encountered heading to Tom Roe's was torn down for the long weekend. We ran into a couple guys, Jewel on an Sprint ST and ??? on a KLR. They were also going to the GLC. We wished them well and went on our way.

 

We arrived at the hotel to a scene of a thousand bikes. At this point I was excited. What do I do, what will happen. Ron and David are great guys for putting up with my constant questions. "Should I buy gas now, or tommrow morning?" "What will happen at the dinner?"

 

The dinner was had, it was great. The staff of the rally were also great. Drew and I were warned about riding together. Thinking that we had done long rides before, we thought we would be ok.

 

Filled up the bikes, met EB for a beer, asked him more newbie questions. David is a great guy, just plain great. Tolerating my stupid questions, offering useful answers mixed with humor, never arrogant. Went to bed.

 

Woke up, got ready, had extra extra time to waste as we picked the last two departure times. Others must have been running late as we were *not* the last two bikes outta there. I hate sitting idle, so we watched people leave, tried to figure out what to do. Then got suited up, hopped on the bikes. Remind myself to have *FUN*, as someone on the teamstrange board said "work is a four letter word".

 

Off to the mileage stop. In to pee, read the marker, stretch a bit, futz with Drew's FRS a bit, ride on. Superior got our spirits up, we saw many other bikes, it was sunny, warm almost. But Drew didn't have waterproof gloves, nor did we remember to have him borrow my electric vest. So a stop a 'stitch.

 

Very busy at 10-11am on a Saturday. And the woman "behind the counter" didn't seem gleeful to be there. Add that to Drew not knowing 100% what he wanted, and it took about an hour and a half. I wired up his liner plug-in (disconnected when he removed the battery last, never reconnected. While he paid. I also eyed that windbloc electric liner I've been pondering. $250...hmm...warmer...didn't turn on the electrics yet, but do remember the wind taking away most of the heat on the last few commutes to/from work. I pass.

 

Back on the road, we pick up a brisk pace. The folks ahead must have run the cops ticket pads, we had no hassles, tho I was having a hard time keeping Drew's "lead" to a reasonable speed. "Dood, this isn't Nevada, let's not get busted!" Overtaking was frequent, and I was enjoying the throttle too. We started to get some turns and the like.

 

Crossing the border I could hear Drew deny that we were on the GLC. #$#@, what if they search our stuff, or see my route sheet velcroed to my leg. Ooooh, they are asking Drew all sorts of questions. Then they let him thru. The customs guy asked a couple easy questions, I was in.

 

We stopped just before Thunder Bay for gas at the needed Husky station. There we met up with Jewel, the KLR guy, and some other guy they met on a H-D. We chatted, got fuel, started pondering the route. Wawa seemed a fair place to stop for the night. Hotels? A quick call to my better 1/2 had us booked in a place that had both food and a bar. Done.

 

Riding with the group we stopped for a warmup, I was cold, and noticing that the electrics were not doing much. A quick check proved that the cord was good, but the liner wasn't heating up. Drew was warm, he didn't have much more as far as windblocking stuff, and his liner was thinner. I'd expect to be at least as warm. I was cold. Grips on high, winter gloves. We decided to get gas in Marathon next. Back on the bikes Drew picked up a *very* fast pace, and Jewel decided to keep up for a bit. I backed off and decided at that point to ride more my own ride. The KLR passed me, but the H-D was behind. Later we saw Drew and Jewel in a gas station, the KLR pulled in, I looked at my fuel and decided to pass. I didn't need fuel, I didn't want to stop this often (100mi), I was going to Marathon.

 

I stopped for fuel in Marathon. Ate some fig newtons, drank some water, hit the rest room. Drew pulled up, alone. Turns out he saw me go by and decided to catch up rather than chat for 20min at the last stop. He musta been FLYING to catch up, but hey, that's his call. We decided to push on to Wawa. It was starting to get colder, darker, and whatnot. Fog was setting in. We got into Wawa about 9:30 local time. Gas was supposed to close at 9, but a station was still open, there were many GLC bikes to be seen. We waved, pulled into the "big bird inn" and checked in, ate, and drank a couple beers. "Give me a local beer, a Canadian beer" "Sir we have 'Canadian' beer", a brand, "Sure". Upon retiring we saw that Jewel and his gang were pulling in, I cracked the window, said hey, waved and went to bed.

 

Woke up the next morning, walked outside, met up with Jewel. He wasn't happy with his pace, too slow, stopping too often, and for too long. We invited him along, he said that Drew's pace was too fast. Also pointed out that one of Drew's taillights was out (as it had been for months) and offered a spare. Problem solved. He mentioned that it was warm and sunny back in Milwaukee, thinking about saying "$#@@ this" and heading home to *enjoy* some riding. We agreed that it sounded tempting, but decided to press on. Leaving him to work out what to do with his group and his ride.

 

The roads were great. Just great. Remember we did this in the "daylight". Parts were a bit odd, but still seemed good. Ride ride ride...only hassle being Drew's pace vs mine. I had had a spill a few weeks before in the rain, and wasn't 100% confident in my bike or myself. Also the tires were *very* square. Drew with fresh rubber confident in the tires was having more fun. On to Sudbury, we kept seeing GLC bikes, many the same. In Thessalon we saw Jewel for the last time, he was riding alone. He was about 30min behind us, gas and whatnot. We never saw him again.

 

After leaving Sudbury I started to think about where we should stop next. When we would get into Eau Claire, that sort of stuff. It was cold, we were behind my 75hr goal, we needed to start riding for the time, not the fun. Work. It was becomming work. Thoughts of the run on the thruway/turnpikes back to Chicago were not looking good. Also my rear tire was looking questionable. I left with X tread, enough I thought. I had about X/2 left. We were 1/3 of the way thru.

 

So I radio to Drew that comming up is the LAST place to turn right before we're north of Lake Ontario. We pull off and discuss our plans. He's not interested in going to Eau Claire for the end. He's been mentioning his family too, wanting to have some time with them. Also he only had enough time off work for the 75hr run. We *jointly* decided to pass on the rally and start heading home, with the hope of finding some *fun* way to spend our extra time off. I ripped the map pocket off the velcro on my leg, we turned south, the temps started to rise, and the skys cleared.

 

A stop in Barrie, I opened the yellow pages and searched on the GPS for BMW dealers with *any* tires for the 1150RT. Nada, except one who could not fit me into the schedule. I must admit I was a bit let down by this. Tires in stock seemed obvious, as did being able to fit a traveler into their schedule. Some offered alternate shops, all who didn't have the tires. We progressed along, me babying the rear tire.

 

How do toll roads work in Canada? I expected to need to pay, but instead there was some gizmo with cameras and a sign saying that rear plates must be visable. Will a ticket or bill arrive in the mail?

 

Long wait at Port Huron to get thru customs. Hot too. Drew was nagging to lane split to lessen the lines as a H-D did. I didn't want to piss anyone off. Grumpy me. He turns his FRS/FM radio off so he can hear the customs guy. I go first. Easy pass thru. I ride up a ways then pull off knowing that Drew does not know the route. Drew rides by and gets lost in the truck traffic. I can spot him as I'm exiting onto I69, he's on I94. I sigh. Time to ride my own ride, I have *NO* idea how we'll meet up as our distance would quickly put us out of radio range. I pull off at the next rest area, have a bite to eat, call home and let everyone know we are not together, and I don't think we'll meet back up. He'll get home.

 

Nice ride, some slab, some back roads in SW MI. Got home Monday night. Looking at it, maybe the 75hr goal wasn't unreachable. 100hr was easy.

 

So, as I reread this it looks like having Drew along was a big hassle. Maybe. We've ridden a lot together, and this wasn't the highlight of that. He's been stressed, house torn apart for remodeling, work just bad. The bike trip was his escape. The rally didn't mean much to him, he just wanted to have some fun.

 

I was also stressed, almost backed out before it started. Took the "just some fun" approach until I got there, then I wanted to make a serious effort. Tho my pace was not matching his. His was a bit higher than normal, mine a bit lower, espically in the rain. This wasn't fair to him, this wasn't what we agreed to, nor what he took time off work and away from his family for. And, the decision to bail and head home was mutual.

 

That being said, it WAS fun. Team Strange did a first class job with the whole thing. The roads were great, I *so* want to go back, but instead this time with a kayak or fishing boat. Some of the scenery just blew my mind. Surpassing what I anticipate Alaska will be like.

 

Oh, the jacket liner was drawing 17W, not the 75W it should have. 'stitch repaired it for free, warranty, and found three circuits (both arms, most of the torso) dead. The real question is how long had it been like that?!? I should have bought the new one, oh well. The tire looked about the same at home as when I decided to "take it easy". It was worn very squarely in back, and with three flat edges in front. Replaced the next weekend. The VisionPlus low beam was an improvement. And the WeatherVision bulbs in the fog seemed helpful. At 5500mi since the last service, the bike is surging a bit, but tolerable. Even with the chip. Tho switching to the other stock map cleared that up 100%. If I did this again I'd ditch the Kathy's bag liners in favor of my good-old ziploc system. Oh, and the BMW Biker gloves were warm and waterproof, just as Gina's promised.

[PeterScottNJ]

Great story!

[G Floyd]

Steve,

Thanks for sharing a great trip.

Is Drew the dude with the accent? Suppose the border guard might pick up on something like that?

 

Why ditch the Katy's bag liners?

I'm thinking about getting some, but haven't tried the zip-lock bags yet.

 

Thanks

[steveknapp]

Drew is Scottish. So perhaps that did tip off the customs guy.

 

The reason I'd go with the ziplocs is just to keep stuff sorted. The Kathy's liners were great for getting stuff in/out of the bike. But then once inside the hotel room, I had this bag, full of clean and dirty clothing.

 

The zip-loc thing works out good for me. Each bag, one days worth of clothing. Mark the dirty bags with a slip of paper. Pop open the system case, find a zip-loc without a bit of paper in it. Grab the shaving kit. Go. Stuff the dirty stuff in the same bag, a slip of paper, stuff it back in the system case, go.

[BMWRich58]

I too thought about the "Inner Kathys Bags". I'm already using those individual plastic shopping bags to pack with. I use 'em 'cause their waterproof,clothing and stuff is separated,(pull out what I need), and they're FREE with every purchase I make,even while on the road. Zip locks sound cool, will have to give'em a try!

Rich

[steveknapp]

With the zip-locs you can crush the air out, fit tons more stuff in the bags too. The Kathy's bags are cool, and have their uses. For example they show my wife *exactly* how much space she has to pack in.

[DavidEBSmith]

In reply to:

---

Each bag, one days worth of clothing.

---

 

OK, first thing to learn about endurance riding is, clothing is good for more than one day. You're not likely to meet the people you encounter on the road ever again, so it doesn't matter how you smell. Changing takes up too much time. If it's not sticking, it's clean enough.

 

Remember, underwear is good for 4 days. Day 1, clean. Day 2, inside-out. Day 3, reverse front-to-back. Day 4, reversed and inside-out.

 

And if you're really hard-core, Day 5 you swap with your riding buddy.

[steveknapp]

Oh, and I'll post picts when I get em

 

Ta Da!

 

http://www.pbase.com/stevenknapp/great_lakes_challenge