Packing Light

This evening I packed for the long ride. Over time I made a list of about fifty items, these fall in five categories: bike gear, clothing, camping, emergency, and electronics. And now all but a few stubborn items have been rounded up, the rest are on the final shopping list.

I made a dry run a few weeks ago. For that excursion, I loaded the bike with saddlebags, camping gear, and the large "sissy bar pack" that will perch on the back seat. The test circuit was from Chaska to the north around Lake Mille Lacs - up the western and down the eastern side - about 7 hours with a long stop. I was pretty pleased with the feel of the bike laden with gear and that the load did not shift at all during the seven hour trip.

Because of the dry run, the bulkiest of the gear was already pulled from storage and staged for the big trip. Of course I didn't particularly care at that time if I had the exact items of clothing and small gear ... just anything to fill the pack and saddlebags. This time, the selection was a lot more precise.

There is something about a scarce resource that forces compromise. In my case, the limited resource is space - there is only so much stuff that I can (or am willing to) carry. Less is more; I don't want to haul anything 3,500 miles without good reason. In general, my rule is that if I hear myself saying "I might need this" then I will leave it behind knowing that it may mean buying a duplicate when I need it.

But for some items I hear myself saying "I might need this, and if I do it would be a lifesaver." For example, should I carry a spare 1/2 gallon can of gasoline? That's a lot of bulk and potentially hazardous too. But I had an experience in 1995 that taught me not to count on every dot on the map being a town, let alone having a gas station. The range of the motorcycle is only 190 miles between fill-ups, and I don't plan to stick to well-traveled interstate highways. A half-gallon reserve could be a life saver. For now, the container is packed but empty and I will fill it when I reach Montana.