With a big motorcycle trip coming up at the end of this week, I talk a little bit about pre trip jitters, and how I get over them. How do each of you deal with trip planning, and the worry of the "what if's"? Thanks for watching. Let me know what you think.


https://youtu.be/-y23sZTeODI

Load up you bike with what your going to ride with and ride around with it a bit, lube everything and check all fluids ,chain,tires,sprockets,lights,cables,and so on. I'd also make sure to check for fuel stations along your trip if your going farther then you can go in one tank. Id recommend the ap gasbuddy(saved my bacon on a trip from Oregon to Arizona )

Yep, all the other stuff I do, but I hadn't heard of the gasbuddy app. Downloading now! Thanks!

If you are going to using mostly credit cards or ATM cards call them before your trip to let them know they will be seeing multiple purchases throughout the day and through multiple states. I was using my American Express Card and after a few fill-ups in several states they suspended the card till i called them to let them know it was me using the card and i would be using it quite frequently to fill up my bike on my trip. Just enjoy the trip thats the great thing about them just what ever happens ...happens. thats why its an adventure...

Funny, on our last trip, I didn't call the bank, and ended up in the middle of nowhere, with no cell signal and blocked card. With no fuel. Yikes. Was not a fun experience.

Always go a couple of 10 spots stuck under the seat

Yep, after that incident I always stow away some cash in a secret spot on the bike now.

Yea thats where all my cash goes under the strippers seat....

One bourbon, one shot, and one beer...


While you're at Eureka Springs, you might want to check this place out.

http://turpentinecreek.org/

They rescue large exotic pets from idiots with too much money and too few brain cells.

Oh, I'm there! Thanks for suggesting!

I was on a solo 19 day trip from Florida to Montana and back a while back leaving the wife to man the fort. I took along a Spot Satellite Personal Tracker (https://www.findmespot.com) which allowed her to see where I was at any given time by their web site. It also gave me the ability to feel like I had a backup plan if something unplanned happened.

From their website:

* Send S.O.S. messages to emergency responders
* Send predefined text/email from virtually anywhere
* Motion-activated tracking options
* Select 2 1/2, 5, 10, 30 or 60 minute tracking intervals
* Long battery life and plug-in power option

For me, it was worth the expense of the unit and a one-year service plan.

Also... (from your video) I used to teach a safe driving course (cages, not motorcycles) to people in my organization and a few things I taught transferred to my motorcycle operation. One was when coming to a stop behind another vehicle, leave one car-length between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. In the event someone rear ends you, you have less of a chance of rear ending the vehicle in front of you... and it's cheaper to repair one end of your vehicle than to fix both ends.

Have a great adventure and post pics when you get back.

I've actually thought about getting a spot, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

I put mine up the exhaust pipe. No one ever looks there.

I am probably one of the most anal retentive/OCD people going and I planned the crap out of my recent road trip. I had a spreadsheet with linked tabs where I kept track of what I was packing in each panier (included qty, weight, volume), lists of gas stations no further than 100 miles apart along the planned route, all the hotel reservation info, list of bike shops along the way, etc. etc. etc. etc. I packed, unpacked and repacked the luggage at least 10 times to get the optimum load. It was down right neurotic. All of this to satisfy the AR/OCD and that I haven't rode for the past 7 years.

The result? I packed WAY too much which was a PITA to haul into/out of the hotel every night however it did provide a sense of security. Mostly a lot of extra clothing that was either not needed or could have been washed in the room in the evening.

Aside from that best advice I can provide is have a plan but be flexible. Our route changed because the couple I was riding with had a breakdown midway. Meant few hour wait for roadside assistance to tow them to the nearest town with a bike dealership (which handy enough the contact details were on my uber spreadsheet), changed hotel reservations, a couple hour delay the following morning. But we still had a blast.

Ya know, as OCD as I am, I never really have taken into account looking up bike shops along the route. That's a really good deal.

Motorcycle Dealers & Workshops for android I don't know if there is a i-fashion version I imagine there is.

I've taken some major adventures in my life, and still do.

My strategy, as an old wise man is to get and stay very organized and try to avoid being terribly busy just before the trip.

That, and beer.

Oh yea, and my usually strategy for trips:

Lay out all the clothes and money you think you will need. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.

mate has an andid... and itdidnt

Yes it is available for iPhone
e=mc^2 Motorcycle Network app called Dealers, they also have one called Parking which is very handy in a city where there is free bike parking spots.