It’s the beginning of August, and I’ve got about 3 months until my trip. I’ve continued logging miles since last month and even though I was on a business trip for 2 weeks, I’ve managed to log another 500 miles this month. I’m now at about 4900 miles since the accident, ridden over the course of 7 months.
My leg strength has returned, and the pain is almost never present.
In July, I attended 3 different Doc Wong clinics, including the clinics for Ergonomics, Braking, and Cornering Confidence. I found the Cornering Confidence clinic to be a whole lot of fun, as well as being a very effective way of learning how to carve the curves. The clinic can be taken on it’s own, but I recommend that you take the Ergonomic clinic first, and then follow up with the Cornering clinic. During the Ergonomic clinic, you’ll learn the attack position, and on the Cornering clinic, you’ll get a chance to use it.
I had a chance to test out all of my travel gear this month, as I attended the BMW MOA rally in Minnesota, while on a business trip. I packed all of my gear into the duffel bag, and headed to the airport. I discovered a few things about packing a bag for a trip like this, and I’ll cover those in a separate post. For now, let’s say that the trip and the test were a great success. The bag is big enough to carry all of my gear, as well as the remaining clothing that I’ll need on the trip.
Last month I mentioned that I’ve purchased a JVC Adixxion camera, and I’ve now begun using Nero to create and render videos, which I can begin posting onto YouTube for testing purposes. Nero 2014, as it turns out, is quite an amazing product. It is complex to understand, but they make all of the operations that you’ll need when rendering the videos as simple as possible, given the myriad of choices.
This month, I’ll need to sign up for Medical evacuation insurance, and travelers insurance.
I mentioned that I attended the BMW MOA rally in St. Paul, MN. Well, this was my first rally, and I really want to give a great deal of credit to the folks from the MOA. The rally was really terrific, and there must have been at least 120 vendors at the event, maybe even more. Even the folks from Adventure Designs, the local shop for Adventure Riders was present. I had a chance to say hi to Chad, and it was great to see their booth very active, and they were showing their products to the folks that came by. Adv Designs makes some really terrific products, which they design and build themselves, as well as being a representative for some of the larger brands, such as Klime.
With all of this going on at the rally, I really need to take a moment to thank the folks from BMW. They showed up with a trailer full of motorcycles, which we could take out for demo rides. Unlike a demo ride in car, these folks felt that a demo ride should be meaningful and significant, so they found a route that was about 60 miles long, and took a good 60 – 90 minutes to complete.
I tested the F700 GS, and discovered that it was simply too small for me. I then tested the F800 GS and the F800 GS Adventure. The two 800 cc bikes fit me well, but the Adventure fits best of all. Because the upcoming tour comes with an F700 GS, I’m now in a bit of sticky situation. I don’t fit on a 700, so I’ll need to solve this problem by working with the folks at Compass Expeditions.
The day after the rally ended, I sent an email to Compass, and as has been their MO, they responded in a most helpful manner, offering to coordinate a rental bike for me, even doing everything they could to negotiate a good rate fo rme. They’ve given me a fair price, and I’ve accepted it. The cost of the trip is now a bit higher, but it will be worth it to be safe and comfortable on an 800 GS Adventure bike.
That’s it for now,
Back again soon
