I had already decided to shave my goatee before leaving on the trip ( down to 4 days now). While doing so I pondered the idea of just shaving it down to something smaller. Now I know why I don’t just have a moustache…
My Name is Earl…
Travel reading.
I believe it’s important to think of traveling as another way to step outside of your comfort zone with your reading as well as your physical travel experiences. Not always do that two have to have similar subject matter but I find that sometimes the subject matter in a book I take while traveling resonates somewhat with the new, unfamiliar surroundings.
My last time in Taiwan I took along a few sci-fi books by Stanislaw Lem. I figured that as crazy as his writing sometimes is it would be a welcome addition to how strangely peculiar I find Taipei. The two scenes, one in my reading mind and one before my eyes as I traveled, never really overlapped perfectly but I could find some of the unfamiliar-ness of that architecture/culture/people creeping into my daily walking and reading. When I imagined a restaurant in my book it became the one I passed in an alleyway around the corner from my Nan-jing Road hotel. Somehow because there was a picture of a location in my book now available in reality down the street I became a living participant in the book. My mind allowed the skip in logic to mold the two around one another.
So, last night I was moving through a bookstore trying to decide on what to bring. Sometimes the things I choose for a trip aren’t premeditated, they’re just thrown in at the last minute, which often seems the best way of making a decision. I’m often drawn back to the same books over and over again. They’re comfortable but I’m not taking in anything new.
As daily interest in a single topic wanes I hope to bring along a few books that can be read in fits and starts, over lunch, at the motel, etc. Anyone have a suggestion?
So, I’m deep in the prep now. I’ve been trying to get my mind and body into shape –difficult with the holidaze and all. Tonight I picked up my bike from shop. Everything is mechanically A-OK for the ride. My bike only has about 21K miles on it (that’s about 11K miles since I bought it in March if anyone is counting) and had had all of its regular shots so it was ready to go.
I started the actual packing prep tonight. I figured it would be best to start with the basics –tools. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
1. Sockets (metric and imperial)
2. Tire repair kit (slime + compressor + tire gauge)
3. Rain•X wipes
4. AA Batteries (AAA not pictured)
5. HRCA booklet and route (including info on all Honda dealerships along the way)
6. Multimeter
7. Fuses (10A, 15A, 20A)
8. Duct tape
9. Screwdriver with multiple heads
10. Electrical tape
11. Petzl headlamps (instead of flashlights)
12. Dessicant packs for each bag (thanks to my wife’s piano movers)
13. Metric allen wrenches and breaker bar
14. shop towels
15. TP (for me bunghole)
16. 18 gauge wire
17. small first aid kit (to be included with a much larger FA kit)
18. Gerber multitool (pliers, knife, easel, paints)
19. unsterile gauze
20. Handwarmer packs
21. Matches
22. Zip ties
23. Mini wrenches
So, those are the items I started with and it continued to grow. It’s not much bigger than that and it’s now split up (logically for me) into different saddlebags to distribute the weight.
Next came expanding the first aid kit with aspirin, hand sanitizer, moleskin bits, sanitized gauze, etc, etc. Then, I got the passenger pillion strap area setup for additional baggage (it also doubles as my backrest). Because I’ve got the Honda topbox and it has straps that keep the top section from flopping over I’ve been using a hanging bag system to keep extra gloves, balaclavas and other knick-knacks. Last but not least, I’ve got a disc lock that I’ll be using when staying at hotels and other potentially seedy areas.
By the time I was done I was exhausted and I hadn’t even left yet. There’s still the waterproof camera, tankbag to fill and the Garmin Zumo 550 to mount.
Holy cow. We’re only a few days away from the trip beginning. There seems like so much left to do. Although, most of my ‘To Do’ list consists of quelling the work beast (or beating it to submission). Packing tradeshow gear and display stuff is done and has been for at least a few weeks so I’m mostly down to clothes and personal effects.
New kit that’s arrived or will in the next day or two…
• Scorpion EXO helmet
• magnetic tank bag
• Garmin Zumo GPS
• Gerb heated jacket liner
• heated socks
• waterproof bag
• disc lock
Am I missing anything important?
