Ordered my Spot II

Okay, yes it's winter and I don't need the Spot II for motorcycle riding.  However, there are more uses than that.

I bought this at REI online for $149 and there is a $50 rebate.  So the final unit price is $99.

I also have to activate it and purchase the Spot Service Plan.  That is $99.99 annually for the Basic Plan.  Add on Tracking ($49.99) the ability for SOS/911 ($12.95), we are up to $162.93 a year.

Not bad though, considering I enjoy more of the back roads for riding.  I found on my first trip, I was driving winding roads, away from population, in the rain.  There was also no cell service.

DRZ

Long Distance Riding is Getting In My Blood

It's been a few weeks since my motorcycle ride through Southern Minnesota and Southern Wisconsin.  I enjoyed the ride immensely.  The challenges of planning, packing, routing, weather and physical were all invigorating.  I rode (unverified) 645 miles in about 30 hours.

I'm on the email distribution for the LDRider mailing list.  There are constant discussions of various charity and fun long distance rides, technical talks like baffles in supplemental gas tanks, and occaisional political commentary.  It's all good.

At the Iron Butt Associationg website, there are a few rides that can be done to qualify for calling oneself an "Iron Butt Rider".  One is the SaddleSore 1000 (1000 miles in 24 hours), and the Bun Burner 1500 (1500 miles in 36 hours).  (There is even 1500 miles in 24 hours, but let's not get crazy.) I like the idea of the Border to Border Ride too.  Hmmm ... intriguing.

View Long Distance Ride, 2012 in a larger map

I'm thinking Summer of 2012 for this.  In my typical style, I've already plotted a 1000 and 1500 mile trip.  Of course I have plenty of time to decide on what I really want to do.

If I do the 1000, I could head south to Iowa City, IA, then west to Lincoln, NE (619 miles, 10 hours).  I have friends there and could probably stay for the night.  The next morning, I'd drive back home (442 miles, 7 hours).  This is around 1,060 miles.  A little more than necessary, but not bad.

One nice thing is I can qualify for both the 1000 and 1500 ride at the same time.  That route needs to include more than one rest place.

Dan

Moto Trip Synopsis

First, let me say:  I enjoyed the ride.  It was nice to head out alone and try my hand at some long (or medium) distance riding.  The bike worked flawlessly.

Day 1 - 345 Miles
I started out a little late on Sunday morning (9:30AM), but that is kind of to be expected for me.  I checked my tires before I left, which I should have done Saturday night.  Stuff like that.

I like going south to the Eagan area by going down Hwy 280 to 94, then off at Snelling to catch Ayd Mill Road south to 35E.  I had to detour through St Paul, down Robert Street since 35E was closed at the Mississippi. (Stupid Reinvestment Act money.)  Starting down Robert Trail South out of St. Paul.  Headed through Farmington and Northfield.  Missed my turn and ended up going through Faribault.  Went east a bit, then south to Brownsdale.  Had a little bit of gravel road to recover a bad turn again. Passed a farm with wind power generators, lots of them.

Out of Brownsdale, headed east to catch up to Hwy 16 to Lanesboro and stopped for lunch.  Nothing spectacular.  The Das Wurst House is closed on Sunday.  (I should have thought of that.)

I continued east to the Mississippi on Hwy 16.  Great ride.  Pass many bikers coming the other way too.  Caught the Great River Road south (Hwy 26) to Prairie Du Chen.  Again, a great ride in this area.  No cell coverage at all at the Iowa border.  I did take a picture though.

From Prairie Du Chen, I headed east to Spring Green, WI.  This was a valley ride I was pretty excited about, but the cloud cover caused a muted scene.  There was about 40% leaf change though, which was nice.  About half way to Spring Green, it started raining and continued all the way there.  At the campground I was planning on staying at, the lady said rain was slated all night. They didn't have any camper-cabins available, so I decided to give in (being pretty wet from the last 1.25 hours of raining) and called a local motel.  Got a room for $48 for the night, with AAA.

Day 2 - 310 Miles
Woke up to rain around 7:00 AM.  Checked my phone for weather forecast, which didn't look good.

I waited until around 8:30 to see if it would lighten up, but nope.  While I waited, I did make my coffee.  The tea thing didn't work as well as I'd hoped.  I'll need a better way to soak my grounds.

Packed and headed out into the 53 degree rain.  I worked my driving plan with a few small variations all the way up past Sparta, WI.  It rained the whole way.  By that time, I was pretty soaked through and getting cold.  Wet was okay, but cold not so much.  Even my grip warmers weren't doing the job.  In Melrose, WI, I decided to head to Black River Falls and jump on the 94 Fwy home.  Stopped for hot cup of tea and some lunch at a truck stop in Osseo.

From there it was still raining, but not as hard.  Around Eau Claire it cleared up and I was able to make pretty good time the rest of the way home.  It didn't warm up until I crossed the Minnesota border.  Funny that.

Lessons Learned

• Check your power cords before you leave.  I had the wrong one for my GPS unit.
• Have more respect for weather predictions.

I'd say I accomplished about 70% of the ride I wanted to make.  I'd still like to get through the western Wisconsin area, just inland between the Mississippi and Eau Claire.  Looks like nice riding area.

Below are the Spotwalla data points downloaded and uploaded to Google Maps.  A few spurious points popped in but pretty accurate for the most part.


View Moto Ride 2011 - Results in a larger map

Happy Riding!

Planning is Half The Fun!

I think I'm ready.

I have my gear laid out at home in the living room.  The important items in my stash are my small tent, sleeping bag, GPS and Leatherman.  My riding gear goes without mention: Tourmaster jacket, helmet and riding boots.

Tourmaster Textile Overpant

I've been holding off on this, but Thursday I bought motorcycle riding pants.  They are vent-able, water proof and slip over my pants, which is nice.  Jeans work great, but not for weather.  I'd have to carry something to help with the water proofing, but why not just have some over-pants that do what I need.  The pants also zip to my jacket which helps with ride up of my jacket, or down for my pants :(.

One of my personal challenges on this trip is to figure out a way to make morning coffee while on the road.  I enjoy making this harder than it needs to be.  Breakfast can be a left-over Subway sandwich, so I don't worry about that.

I believe I have a solution.  I already own a small camping burner that screws on to the top of a small gas cartridge.  I have a small aluminum pan, deep enough to hold my water.  However, I didn't have a decent way to filter ground coffee.  Yes, instant would work, but that isn't the point.

Behold the Snap Mesh Tea Infuser.  I don't know if it can hold enough grounds to make my coffee worthwhile, but it's worth a shot.  Maybe I do it more than once.


So, I think I'm ready to go.  On Sunday AM, I'll check my tire pressure, fill up with premium gas and head south.

Follow me on one of these links if you are so inclined.
Google Latitude
Spotwalla (On Sunday and Monday)

Dan