My day job requires me to travel quite a bit, but in the case of a motorcycle trip, size and weight are both luxuries… and in both cases you want to keep them down. Below is my intended list to bring with me, along with the corrections to adjust for next time.

Motorcycle stuff and riding gear

• Bike cover – left at home for space reasons
• Boots & Socks – 2 pair thermal socks and 4 pair of cotton, socks take up little room and there are very few things that will make your trip more miserable than wet feet.
• Bungee cords – changed my mind
• Cargo net
• Gloves & spares, ie. summer & winter
• Helmet
• Jacket – I only brought my leather jacket for warmth
• Chaps – I did not use, but I would still bring with me next time
• Bike lock – if you have one, but I don’t, but intend to get one
• Glasses – I brought and used multiple shades of darkness on my sunglasses
• Soft cloth – I brought 2. 1 micro fiber cloth to clean my glasses with, and one to polish the bike for when I washed it after a brief summer rain shower
• Oil – I did intend to bring a quart, but removed it for space reasons. My Goldwing did not lose any oil but Dad’s Harley did. This is a definite must next time because it ran low on July 4th… you know the day the bike shops are closed.
• Paper funnel – bring with the oil, these fold flat, then you can throw it away once you use it
• Rain suit – Buy a good set, they are worth the money
• Spare bulbs – new bike… did not have any bulbs around… did not bring them
• Spare fuses – same as the spare bulbs
• Spare key – this is a good thing to bring and share with a riding mate in case you lose or damage your key on the trip
• Tire repair kit – at least enough to get you back to civilization if you have a flat
• Toolkit – you never know…
• Small waterproof flashlight – I prefer the Mini Mag-lite
• Windshield cleaner
• Latex gloves – they fit great under any gloves and will keep your hands dry and warm… even in the wind
• Balaclava
• Cool vest
• Spray lubricant – get you a small can… used this often on the shift linkage on Dad’s Harley
• Tire gauge
• Kickstand puck – for parking on soft shoulders or hot asphalt
• Camel back

Personal items

Buy the travel size when possible. You can always go get another on the road.

• Prescription medication
• Brush or comb
• Casual clothes – non-riding for getting out on the town
• Chapstick – 3000 miles of wind is tough on the lips
• Deodorant
• Shampoo – I put mine in a travel bottle that I bought at Wal-Mart, you only need enough for the trip after all
• Shaving Kit – buy the travel size shaving cream, you can always stop at Wal-Mart and pick up another small can
• Soap – most hotels and motels have a small bar, but I prefer my own, and keep it in a travel box
• Toothbrush and toothpaste – again, get the travel size tube of toothpaste
• Towel – case you find a river or lake you wish to jump into to cool off
• Washcloth – handy if you are camping
• Baby wipes – go ahead and poke fun at me, but they are handy to get the grime off your face and hands, a travel pack is plenty for the trip

Clothing

I am cutting my extra clothes down to 2 days worth, and I will just do laundry more often

• Hat or sunvisor – that sun is brutal
• Jeans – I brought 3 extra pair (plus the pair that I was wearing)
• Shirts – I recommend a long sleeved shirt year round. For the summer look for a light weight and colored long sleeved shirt like this on from Magellan. In the warmer months, bring at least one short sleeved shirt for wandering around in the evening
• Shorts – handy in the evening or when you are doing laundry
• Socks – mentioned that above, but worth mentioning again
• Swim suit – great thing to bring with you, you never know when you are going to find a pool, hot tub, lake, river, or hot spring that you want to jump into
• Tennis shoes or sandals - for comfort in the evening, or pool side
• Underwear
• Bandanas – I brought 2, these are handy for various reasons, and they pack small
• Long underwear – even in the summer if your trip is into the higher elevations or more northern states
• Sweatshirt – if you are expecting to be in the colder climates

Information

• Camera & accessories – memory cards, film, batteries, charger, tripod or monopod, etc
• Cellphone – don’t forget the charger
• iPod – don’t forget a charger. Also I learned that if you have a 4th or 5th generation hard drive based iPod, it will freeze up every 30 min to an hour. use a iPod Nano or other mp3 player.
• Driver’s license
• Insurance card
• A list of emergency contact numbers – in case something goes wrong. I keep one in my wallet and one in the locking glove box on the bike (figuring if I was in an accident, this box will probably get knocked open)
• Maps – an atlas is great, but a good state or regional map is better
• Membership cards – AAA, Honda Red Rider, etc
• Registration papers
• Pen and notebook – make notes of the sites, track fuel mileage, camera shots, or phone numbers of people you meet along the way
• Laptop computer – in 2007 I am still a student and had homework to do. But I will likely bring it on future trips too for the information access.

Miscellaneous

• Bug reppellent
• Cable ties – these can fix amazing things, or just secure something that might be loose
• Cash and/or travelers checks – I prefer cash along with my check card from my bank
• Credit card(s)
• Duct tape – water proof, holds to about anything, anymore questions?
• First aid kit – you can pick up a simple kit that has bandages, emergency blankets, etc for cheap
• Pain killers (Advil, Tylenol, etc) – if your first aid kit does not come with some.
• Freezer bags – handy for packing small or liquid things, I keep my chargers in one bag
• Sunscreen – unless you like being fried to a crisp, get sunscreen on you. I prefer Bullfrog because it won’t sweat off
• Soft straps and tie downs – in case you need to be towed somewhere
• Pocket knife
• Trash bags – a couple of Wal-Mart bags will do great so that you are not leaving your mark all over the US
• Paper towels
• Energy bars – pack small, and will satisfy a hunger craving in the middle of the afternoon
• Water – figure out how to pack at least 2 water bottles on your bike, you will dehydrate quickly on the road.

A source that I found that helped me create this list was http://www.micapeak.com/checklist/

280 miles- Buena Vista, CO to Raton, NM

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We left mid-morning heading back towards Texas. First up, Wilkerson Pass. Then heading by Santa’s Workshop as the gateway to Pike’s Peak.After getting an unplanned detour through the the ski country of Colorado yesterday, today had a planned detour…Pike’s Peak. It is a 19-mile drive to the top, 7,400 feet of elevation gain from the base to the summit, and a full third of of the road being gravel. With the summit at 14,110 feet in elevation, it is the highest mountain summit that you can drive to in the US. For those of you that can’t handle the drive, there is a cog train to the summit.

Overlooking Colorado Springs from first Pike's Peak pull-off

Road to Santa's Workshop and Pike's Peak

2007 Pike's Peak Summit sign

After exploring the summit, we notice a storm cloud rolling in under us (remember we are over 14,000 feet in elevation). We hit the road heading down. First some tips for extreme hill decent:

• don’t use your brakes unless you really need to…you need to save your brakes
• shift your bike into a low gear, I used 1st gear and held about 10 mph
• the reason you don’t want to use your brakes until you really need them, if you need to pull off the side of the road, your brakes are you best friend. If you over-use them, they will over-heat, and will not stop you.

However, there was a SUV that did not know these rules, and felt that following 2 motorcycles down a steep, gravel road at a 5 foot following distance. We elected to use those conserved brakes and utilize a pull-off area to let the SUV pass. When the SUV hit the switchback at 25-30 mph, he locked the brakes momentarily (not ideal on a mountain road with no guard rails).

Storm rolling in on Pike's Peak

Storm rolling in on Pike's Peak

As soon as we got to the base Pike’s Peak, the rain started to fall. We made it a couple of miles down the road when we had a chance to slip into our rain gear. The storm is still just starting and looking like it will be getting worse, so we decide to ride through it. After about 15-20 minutes of heavy rain, we left the clouds behind for clear (but overcast) skies. This is the part where I truly enjoy riding a Goldwing vs. the Harley Dad rides. All had to do to warm up was to turn on the toe warmers, grip heaters, and seat heat heaters. Unfortunately for Dad, he got a bad case of he chills, that stuck with him for the rest of the day to Raton, NM.

Tomorrow, we continue heading back to Texas, and home.

330 miles- Gunnison, CO to Buena Vista, CO

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This morning we woke up, looked out the window, and the locals were inflating hot air balloons in the park across the street.

After spending about an hour of taking photos of the balloons, we hit the road. Our first waypoint is Aspen, CO. I used Google Maps to find a route, that takes us through Crested Butte and Placita.
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When we got to Crested Butte, we discovered that the road turned to a rough terrain, dirt road. Time for a pit stop to reanalyze the route.Using the navigation system on my bike and a paper map that we found that even identifies dirt versus paved roads, we found another route from Crested Butte to Aspen. This route includes a dirt road, but we saw this road and it was a smooth dirt road. So we took it. About 5 miles down this road, we can to a turn (according to the navigation system). However, this was not a practical route on a touring bike. (See the dirt trail about 100 yards behind me?)

Ok, it is time to double back. Back through Gunnison and follow state routes. As a side note, it is important to point out that once you get turned around like this, it is a good time to refuel. We had a hard time finding a station after we left Gunnison again, and the smaller tank on Dad’s Harley was starting to worry him, but we did finally find a station to top off the tank in Redstone. We have also added a fuel syphon hose to the packing list for next trip.

But I am getting ahead of myself. When we left Gunnison (for the second time today) we proceeded west on US 50 to CO 92. CO 92 is a scenic, open-range road (free-roaming cattle may be on the road, and their cow-pies are definitely on the road). Stopping for several photo opportunities to record these vistas.

We took CO 92 to CO 133, which brought us to Redwood for fuel. After fueling we took CO 133, to CO 82 East where we finally found Apsen. Even though it was getting to be about 5 PM, neither of us had a desire to stay in Aspen (it just did not do anything for us. We continued on CO 82 East towards US 24. Google maps will not let me map along this route, so I cannot show you this on the map. (sorry) On this route, the road narrows several times that Colorado did not even bother placing a center stripe down the road around sharp mountain curves. These curves are just west of Brumley, CO.

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Spring thaw run-off in these curves…

Before getting to Buena Vista, we crossed the Continental Divide at the Independence Pass at just over 12,000 feet. It has enough elevation that we were above the tree-line, and there was still snow on the ground. They scientists consider the vegetation at this level, tundra. What I saw that was green, was natural short, and likely never to be trimmed, but I don’t think I could grow this at my near sea-level, sub-tropical residence near Houston.

As we entered Buena Vista, CO, we were starting to wonder if we could find somewhere to stay because of the holiday (today is July 3rd). But we managed to get the last room at the Super 8. After checking-in and showering, we found an awesome Mexican food restaurant (which is a surprise to a Texan like me), Casa Del Sol.

After a good-night sleep, we are heading southeast tomorrow, with Pike’s Peak looking like a good distraction.

244 Miles from Pagosa Springs, CO to Gunnison, CO

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Today is a day that we looked forward to because of the Million Dollar Highway. This is the type of road that you wish for on a motorcycle, sweeping turning, sharp cut backs, climbs to higher altitudes, beautiful scenery, and rustic small towns. To take this journey, you have 2 options, drive it or take the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

The railroad is a steam locomotive that I would like to take someday, but today we chose to ride. The southern most part of this highway is Durango, CO and it extends northward to Ridgeway, CO. Through this 80 mile stretch, you will travel through Silverton and Ouray (pronounced OO-ray), and over 3 mountain passes, Coal Bank Pass, Molas Pass, and Red Mountain Pass… all of which are over 10,000 feet, so dress appropriately for the season, though we never saw temperatures below 80.

After we passed Ridgeway heading towards Montrose, we discovered temperatures up to 101 degrees. Once we got to Montrose, we headed east towards Gunnison. Between Cimmaron and Gunnison, we found the Blue Mesa Reservoir late in the day when the sun was starting to turn the sky golden, and all the colors began to pop making a great photo opportunity.Getting close to dark, we rolled into Gunnison, found a Holiday Inn Express on the east end of town, and called it a night after we went to dinner.Tomorrow, we are looking towards Aspen where we will head back east to begin our journey south.

148 miles- Taos, NM to Pagosa Springs, CO

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Today was a short day in terms of mileage, but we saw a lot. First thing this morning we headed over to the Taos Pueblo. We took the self-guided tour (turns out that it was backwards to the map they gave us), visited most of the shop, and we took a bunch of pictures. From there we headed by the Overland Sheepskin store to look at the sheepskins, I was considering buying one, but I passed. From there we headed towards the Rio Grande bridge just west of Taos, where we took the opportunity to stand in the middle of the bridge and take photos of us and the gorge.

From there we headed west on US 64 to US 84 to US 160 into Pagosa Springs. We decided that even though we had not made much progress, it would be worth it to stop and soak in the hot springs. We found a quant old Best Western Oak Ridge Lodge directly across the street from the hot springs and in addition to a reasonable rate on the room, we also got a slight discount on the hot springs. After checking in, we discovered that the hot springs had a hotel attached The Springs Resort. The advantage that I can see at staying there is the 24 hour access to the springs. However, we were incredibly happy with the access we had.I have never been to a hot spring before. If, like me, you never have been to a hot springs, there are a few things to note. First, you know that you are close because you will smell the sulfur from the springs. Second, at least in Pagosa Springs, they have springs of various temperatures, from the mild 100 degree to the Lobster Pot at a whopping 117 degrees. If all of this hot water gets to you, you can always jump into the river (it was 67 degrees today). Third, if your kids or you would prefer something more traditional, there is a pool too.To top the night off, we went down to the bar back at the Best Western where we sat around for hours with the owners drinking beers and margaritas. The bar owner had his own preference for the margarita that I have to agree is a better way. Instead of mixing the ingredients, he would serve a wedge of lime, a shot of quality tequila, and the triple-sec in a ‘rocks’ glass. Instead of drinking your margarita, it was more like slamming it… lime first, salt or no salt, your choice… then the triple-sec… and chase it with the tequila.

Tomorrow, we plan on heading to Durango, then head up the Million Dollar Highway.