People often ask how difficult it is to pack for six weeks on a motorcycle. It’s pretty easy when you get in the groove. Simplicity is the watchword. Oh, and quick-dry fabrics.

On the bike

Camping gear:

Camping in the Redwoods, Crescent City, CA

 

  • tent
  • rain fly
  • sleeping bag
  • yoga mat (for yoga and a sleeping ground pad)
  • tiny flashlight on a carabiner hanging from the apex of my tent
  • pepper spray (until the Canadian customs agent confiscated it)
  • small waterproof flashlight (could forego with my smart phone’s flashlight app but I like it)
  • dutch oven
  • fork-knife-spoon set
  • cooking spoon and spatula
  • cooking ring, fuel, matches
  • squeeze bottles of oil, Bragg’s, Balsamic vinegar
  • camping pillow (the kind you can squish down to nothing)
  • microfiber body towel
  • toiletries
  • tool kit
  • first aid kit

Motorcycle gear

  • computer, ipod,  smart phone, cameras
  • front and rear tire inner tubes
  • chain lube
  • plastic cleaner and microfiber towel
  • map book
  • jacket

    One of the dozen ways to wear a Buff

    One of the dozen ways to wear a Buff

  • boots
  • pants and rain/cold liner
  • helmet
  • heated jacket
  • 3 pr gloves, of which I only wore 2 (and one not much at all)
  • silk liners for the gloves in case my heated grips were insufficient
  • 3 Buffs — I should be a Buff spokesperson for the many ways I’ve used them!
  • Camelback
  • 2 pr of compression shorts
  • 2 sports bras
  • 3 short-sleeved performance shirts and 1 long-sleeved
  • 3 pr motorcycle socks
  • cooling vest (dunk in water, wear)
  • 2 cooling neckbands (dunk in water, wear)

Non-bike clothes

  • pair of jeans

    Sporting the long-sleeve hooded t-shirt and sundress/nightgown. Cat sold separately.

  • PJs (un-necessary but nice)
  • 2 pr underwear
  • 1 bra
  • 2 tank tops with built-in bras
  • zip-up knit jacket
  • long-sleeve tshirt with hood
  • sandals
  • combination sundress/nightgown
  • 5 t-shirts (3 too many)
  • denim vest
  • yoga shorts
  • crushable sunhat
  • sunglasses
  • skort
  • small purse (I knit it!)

 Soundtrack

See my little Nano dangling from the bra strap? Believe it or not, I didn’t own an iPod until about two weeks before I left. No time to go through scratched CDs, I downloaded a friend’s CAKE collection and want to especially recommend these songs:

  • War Pigs (Live version), when you really wanna get it and go
  • The Guitar Man, for the mellow sweepers
  • I Will Survive, when you’re running out of gas
  • Race Car YaYas, for heavy traffic
  • Rock’n’Roll Lifestyle, for SoCal roads
  • Comfort Eagle, when off-roading hills

Audio books

  • Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
  • Me Talk Pretty One Day
  • The Glass Castle
  • Moscow Rules
  • River in the Sky
  • The Inimitable Jeeves
  • A Palm for Mrs Pollifax
  • Laughter of Dead Kings
  • Lake Wobegon Summer, 1956
  • The Triumph of Caesar
  • Confessions of an Economic Hitman (still listening)
  • The Odyssey (still listening)