It matters not what you leave behind, you will take too much with you!

In our experience the happiest travelers are the ones who travel light. Jim was taught this lesson very early in his motor biking life by Bob Garret who’s philosophy was, “If it don’t go in the tank bag, it don’t go.” Well, Bob did bungie his waxed cotton Belstaff trousers on the rear of his seat but he lived by that credo.

Bob did have a large tank bag and one thing he never left home without was his goose down pillow. He introduced Jim to the wonders of a large fuel tank and the idea that stops for anything except fuel were a waste of time. Bob did like to ride his motor bike! He considered time off the bike as wasted. Bob also introduced Jim to the concept of wear and throw clothes - more on this later.

Now Bob may take some things to the extreme but he was right about traveling light and having a large fuel tank. The temptation to take too much is overwhelming. The large fuel tank is a must because there are places in this world where you will need to travel 450 miles between locations offering fuel. It is very easy to have a large tank and not fill it when in parts of the world with readily available fuel. It is very difficult to add cans of fuel to you bike and this creates safety issues involved with carrying volatile substances.

So, what 5 things won’t you leave home without? For each of us it is the following:

Jim Verna Custom made earplugs Electric Vest & Electric Gloves Tools and Spare Parts Silk Undergarments Electric Vest & Electric Gloves Custom made earplugs Global Positioning System(GPS) Receiver Digital Camera & Device To Transfer Pictures To Tent/Sleeping Bag/Water Filter Food & Language Translations

This list is really not much but it does force you to make determinations about what is important to you. This really is considered a part of the planning process. And yes, we know that we each listed more than 5 things. But it does highlight how difficult it is to leave things behind.

NOTE: This list was updated in July of 2001. We had recently acquired a GPS navigation unit and Jim decided that he was not willing to leave home without his! What was removed from the list? His Silk Undergarments. Brrrrrrr!

Obviously, in Jim’s case, his mechanical ability will influence what tools he will take. Also, the things that can be done to the bike when not in a workshop will influence his tool list, as will their size and weight. The nice thing about the two valve (air head) BMW motorcycle engine is that a small number of tools will be ample for the majority of required service work. But, there are some special tools that are unique to the BMW engine and we have a few of these as well; simply because local knowledge may be available but tools usually will not be available. Aside from replacing the camshaft or crankshaft in the engine and tearing the transmission or final drive apart Jim can do all of the work that is necessary to keep the machine on the road with the items that we carry. He has spent lots of time sorting through his tools to reach a compromise between what he NEEDS and what he would like to have - weight is always the deciding factor for the number of things that can be taken along.

And we carry a few items that might be hard to come by in the outback or bush and would leave us marooned if we had a failure. Specifically, a rotor for the alternator, a voltage regulator, a Hall sensor, a diode board for the alternator, spark plugs and spark plug caps, an air filter, oil filter, miscellaneous nuts and bolts and electrical connectors.

Our tire repair kit is well stocked with a Stop-n-Go tire pluger (for inserting plugs into tubeless tires), tire patches for patching the inside of the tire if necessary, a 12 volt air pump, and a tire pressure gauge.

We also keep a small portfolio with some paper and envelopes - we find that it is impossible to leave everything behind. Whenever our mail catches up with us we always have correspondence to deal with.

We also carry a very limited wardrobe (As of August 2006):

Quantity Jim’s On Bike Clothing 1 BMW Santiago Trousers 1 BMW Santiago Jacket 1 Warm & Safe Electric Jacket 2 Short Sleeve Cotton “T” Shirts: 1 Blue, 1 Gray (Worn under BMW Jacket/Pants) 2 Long Sleeve Grey Cotton “T” Shirts (Worn under BMW Jacket when weather dictates) 1 Pair Aerostich Rain Gloves 1 Pair Gerbing Electric Gloves 1 Pair Hein Gericke Unlined Gloves 1 Pair Hein Gericke Lined Gloves 1 Pair Silk Glove Liners 1 Gore Wind Stopper 1 Pair Meindl Gore Tex® Hiking Boots 2 Pair Falke TK1 Socks (Worn with Meindl Boots) 1 Sets Silk Underwear (Long Johns) 1 Schuberth C2 Helmet 2 Cotton Bandannas

Quantity Jim’s Off Bike Clothing 2 Pair REI Micro fiber Convertible (to shorts) Trousers 5 Silk Shorts (Underwear) 2 Pair Falke TK1 Socks 2 Short Sleeve Cotton Shirts with collar 1 Long Sleeve Micro fiber V-neck Pullover 1 1 Micro fiber Mock Turtleneck Shirt 1 Swim Suit 1 Pair Rubber Sandals (thongs) 1 Hat – Cotton 1 Sleeveless Cotton Shirt and old micro fiber shorts for working on the bike (dirty/oily and ugly) 1 Gore Tex Rain Jacket

Quantity Verna’s On Bike Clothing 1 BMW Santiago Trousers 1 BMW Santiago Jacket 1 Warm & Safe Electric Jacket 2 Long Sleeve Cotton “T” Shirts (Worn under BMW Jacket) 1 Pair Aerostich Rain Gloves 1 Pair Gerbing Electric Gloves 1 Pair Hein Gericke Unlined Gloves 1 Pair Hein Gericke Lined Gloves 1 Pair Silk Glove Liners 1 Cotton Neck Up 1 Pair Meindl Gore Tex® Hiking Boots 4 Pair Falke TK1 Socks (Worn with Meindl Boots) 1 Set Silk Underwear (Long Johns) 1 Schuberth C2 Helmet 1 Cotton Bandannas

Quantity Verna’s Off Bike Clothing 1 Pair Falke TK1 Socks 3 Silk Shorts (Underwear) 2 Pair Micro fiber Convertible Trousers (legs zip off) 1 Micro fiber Short Sleeve Shirt 1 Micro fiber Long Sleeve Shirt 1 Sleeveless Cotton Shirt 1 1 Polartec Lightweight Fleece Pullover 1 1 Micro fiber Mock Turtleneck Shirt 2 2 Bra’s 1 1 Swimsuit 1 Hat - Cotton Knit 1 Gore Tex Rain Jacket

We use cotton T shirts when we ride the bikes. These are worn under our riding apparel. We have moved away from white T shirts The shirts show too much dirt. We could never get the brown ring off the collar of the white shirts. All of our cotton T shirts are now gray, black or blue.

NOTE: We modified our cotton clothing colors while on the road, in December of 2000. We find that the gray, blue and black work well at not showing dirt. The shirts can be washed by hand.

Speaking of washing, in 2005 we added a washing machine so we could stop washing our clothes in the sinks at campgrounds and hotels every night. Washing clothing was something that we did not ever think about during our planing for the trip. We quickly discovered what a constant nuisance this can be.

We have a plastic case that is sold with foam liners so people can keep things like cameras and lens stored safely and protected from moisture. The case has a rubber “O” ring that seals it. We have, however, turned the designers intentions upside down. Instead of keeping water out, we keep the water in. We ordered it without the foam liners. Every day we put our underwear, socks and T-Shirts from the previous day into the box with some laundry detergent and fill it about half full with water. This box is then secured on a small flat area over the sidecar wheel . As we move down the road the clothing sloshes about in the box. If the sun is shining and it is at all warm the water in the box gets quite warm. At the end of the day we rinse out our garments and hang them to dry. In the morning they are ready to pack and we are on the road again.

We’ve been told that we carry too much clothing.

We opted for the synthetic clothing because it tends to travel well (not many wrinkles) and it also does well in high humidity climates (dries quickly and can be washed by hand).

When we first started traveling full time we were using Gore Tex® Motorcycle boots when traveling on the bikes. We also carried a pair of shoes in addition to our rubber sandals so we would have another pair of shoes to wear when off the bike. It took less than a year to learn that the shoes and motorcycle specific boots were not capable of providing everything we needed. So, we have done away with the motorcycle specific boots and gone to very sturdy high top Gore Tex® lined leather hiking boots. These provide good protection for the foot and ankle and with the use of a soccer shin guard attached to the inside of our riding trousers they work as well as motorcycle boots. This also provides us with a pair of boots for hiking which is something that we found the motorcycle boots or street shoes not capable of supporting.

The sandals work well because they can be used on a daily basis. We use a seperate pair of rubber thongs for use in campground showers or rivers. We also have given up the second pair of shoes. You do need a second pair of shoes. You cannot wear one pair of shoes all of the time—especially in tropical climates. Things will begin to grow in your shoes because they will never get the chance to dry. Our sandals now act as our second pair of shoes.

Then there is the camping gear. One of the greatest things to happen to motor biking in the last 25 years has been the tremendous improvement in camping equipment thanks to technological breakthroughs that have reduced size and weight. As a result we are able to carry along a tent and sleeping bags, pads and a small stove, cook kit and some cooking utensils. We are at the point in life where we really don’t want to camp every night. However, economics does play a role in the selection of accommodation and we do enjoy being in the middle of nowhere with our camp set up and not another soul about. We carry camping gear for for another reason as well; emergency shelter. While we have not been caught out there is nothing worse than being in a position that could become life threatening without adequate shelter. Depending on the remoteness of our journey we might have some dehydrated food with us as well. We always carry water with us; the volume of water carried is dictated by how available “good” drinking water is. But, we do carry a water purification pump, a battery powered UV water purification tool, as well as chemicals to treat water.

NOTE: While in Sweden in August , 2002, we upgraded our tent to one of Swedish manufacture. Our old tent was one piece without a rain fly. It was small. It was the only tent we could find that would fit in our aluminum bags when it was in its storage roll. The fabric was coated so it would not leak. The problem with this was that moisture would condense on the inside of the tent. Because the tent was so small whenever we would move around inside of it in the morning we would get covered with the moisture that had condensed on the tent walls during the night. This also meant that we had to dry the walls of the tent before it was packed or the coating that prevented rain from penetrating the fabric would be damaged and we would have leaks. It was so bad we stopped camping.

While in Stockholm we wandered into a outdoor store and were browsing around. Verna noticed a small placard with several tents listed on it. The first thing we always look at for a tent is the size of the tent when it is packed and the weight. She found one that was about the same size as our current tent but was two pieces - a tent and a rain fly to keep out moisture. While we were looking at this tent in its stuff sack we were in the basement of the store where they had several other models of tents set up on display. Verna started looking at the other tents and found one she liked better because it had entrances on both sides. As luck would have it this is the tent we have always wanted but could never find in a package that was small enough to be packed inside our aluminum luggage. We are now happy campers (literally) again.

Now, having said all that there other things that we might like to have when we reach a particular destination but we do not want to carry with us on the journey. Another trick Jim learned from Bob was that you didn’t need to take it all with you if you only needed it at a fixed point during the trip. Bob hated the idea of wasting time doing things like laundry. When he traveled he used clothing that had reached the point of being discarded. Rather than discard his he saved it for his trips. He would take enough with him to get to a specific point in his journey and then he would replenish his supply. He called this clothing his, “wear and throws”. He would wear them till such time as they needed laundering and then he would use them to clean his bike and discard them in the rubbish.

This obviously begs the question of what he would wear having discarded his clothing. Ah, the wonders of the postal service in the civilized world. Bob always had a plan and this allowed him to have a good idea as to when he would need to replenish his clothing supplies and even perform maintenance on his bike. Before he departed on his journey he would take several boxes he had packed to the local post office and send the boxes to himself at the main post office of the town where his plan indicated he would need the items in the box. In the USA one addresses such parcels to oneself, General Delivery, Some town, Zip Code. The postal authorities will hold the mail for 30 days after its arrival before returning it to its sender. You can even get it back easily if you don’t pick it up. In the United Kingdom the term General Delivery is substituted with Poste Restante, or in Spain, Lista de Correos. An amazingly simple process and quite effective. An easy way to ensure that that oil filter you will need will be on hand without carrying it with you. Bob was known to mail his dirty laundry home if he had needed to take clothing that did not yet fit the wear and throw criteria.

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