D2D prep (5/28/2023 Sun)

I've been home a number of days now, after having been away exactly 4 weeks. What have I done? First off I dried my tent, washed clothing, cleaned dishes. Then Roasted more coffee beans and made loaves of SourDough bread to freeze for those at home. Mowed the lawn, graded the driveway washouts. Had lunch with friends, breakfasts with Anne. Upgraded a number of items from Amazon and other stores. Tried to schedule time with the Suzuki dealer to get the firmware fix for my cruise contol. The Dealer couldn't get me in before I had to leave to D2D, so I'm better off checking with another dealer along the way.

The chromebook was nice to watch Netflix on, but only slightly better than the phone with Bluetooth keyboard for entering blog updates. The big issue with the phone (and also the Chromebook) was the BT keyboard layout being odd, and having to illuminate it to locate keys while typing in the evenings. I searched Amazon for a travel keyboard with a standard layout, illumination and a mouse pad. It seemed like I couln't find all those in one product. So I sacrificed light up keys for the mouse pad, and bought a iclever IC-BK08. Turns out the keyboard is better than what I had but not standard enough for me to type without frustration. So after trying it I've orderd the other choice where I give up the mouse pad and gain backlighting. The new keyboard on order is an iclever BK05. It's full sized and backlit. In addition to the keyboard I purchased a few usb-c to HDMI solutions. The goal is to either bring my micro projector or use a TV someplace I might stay. I purchased the micro-projector a few years ago, when looking for a touring display for my phone. It works reasonably, but I hadn't figured out how to use it in a campground without becoming a spectacle. Wild camping in Canada and Alaska may eleviate that issue, or just draw in a swarm of bugs (or bears). All three of the options I purchased seem to work. I like the one that allows me to power the phone at the same time, because it appears that the display doesn't disconnect as much. I assume screen blanking for power saving might be disabled when on external power. Once I have it sorted I'll summerize what works.

For bugs I've purchased a second citronella candle, and two bug head nets, plus confirmed I do have my bug repelant under the seat. I also plan to setup and use the Wise Owl bug net I purchased for my hammock. Before it is required for overnight survival.

Before meeting up with Anne I ordered a camping quilt that was suggested by another rider in NC. They loved it for all temperatures. Upon reviewing it met all of my criteria as well: packs small, opens flat for use when warm and/or with Anne, open foot option for threading a hamock through. Some bonus features included a way to make a foot box for cold weather, and almost no zippers, down filled. Unfortunately I orderd it on a Saturday and received a flurry of email related to the order. Nested amongst them was a refund on the order, which I didn't see until Wednesday morning. I re-ordered on Thursday morning, now with rushed shipping, just so it could miss getting to me before the long weekend. I leave on Thursday morning. But on Tuesday, I will get to play with and pack it for the first time.

I did purchase a Garmin InReach Mini 2 for communication and potential rescue while outside of cell services. Honestly I'm not all that worried about being in constant contact, but it certainly makes others feel more comfortable. It also provide some breadcrumb mapping that will be of interest to those back at home. Eventually I would like to configure this Plone website to contain route/tracks/POI and updates from the road. Ideally from various sources like Google history, Garmin GPX tracks, and hopefully the mapshare data. But that will need to wait until I'm not riding, so not until this winter. How does the Mini 2 work? I can't get it to recognize my subscription, so I have no idea until I can get this sorted out with support on Tuesday. The features look decent, the price seems high, but not horrible. I selected the Consumer monthly service middle Recreation option. Which is a $35 yearly plus $35/month when activated. With this plan you get 40 texts each month and can deactive (or change plans) each month ($0.50/text over 40). It allows 10 minute internal point tracking and sending that data to a mapshare, and for people to request my location. It has an Android application for messaging, and connects to my garmin's explore application to exchage routes/tracks/POIs. It also talks with my Zumo XT, engough to send/rec messages, turn on/off tracking and to check in. The check -in feature allows 3 preset text messages to go ta a set of users. One of those users can be the mapshare feture which shows up on the web mapping software. The mapshare website link can be customized, and may be setup with a password if you don't want open access to your current position. Another feature I decided to purchase was the rescue insurance. It was only $39/year for $100,000 coverage. Next to the $35/mo InReach tracking subscription that seemed to be a good value.

On the financial side I payed for the rest of the roof that was quoted and installed while I was in Florida. Updated my bank accounts to give my wife access, and deposited my vacation payout check. I was told that the severance package would just continue paying to my direct deposit. But at least if they send checks to my home address, I wont need that money until I get back from D2D and Alaska. The physical vacation payout check covers me for the next few months.

I also attempted to get time with a seat customizer that I heard about on my last trip named John Longo. The BWM GS1200 seat I sat on felt very similar to my Sargent but had less pressure on my tender butt. And I sat on that GS after a long day of riding, so my butt was already tender. As expected a good seat guy couldn't get me in with under a weeks notice. So no update before the D2D/Alaska trip. I scheduled a session with them in MD for 7/19. Now I have a date to get back for, or at least a date and location to hit on my return path. Sure MD isn't between NH and AK, but if you're coming from the west coast it's not that much of an adjustment to save the out and back trip a few days later. If I'm back sooner I can always do the roundtrip ride to MD from NH.

I still have bike work to do. I ordered another set of new tires to replace after I get back from Alaska/MD. The rear tire on the bike has now been to Newfoundland and Key West, has almost 16000 miles and no center tread. Normally I keep tires in stock, and I expected to replace this pair on my return. Today my plan is to do an oil and tire change. Also make sure I have brake pads, and a chain an sprocket in stock, because I may need those again before leaving for Colorado. So from the photo here you can see I completed the tire swaps before publishing this update. The image is the new and old rear tire with 16,000 miles on it. Much of it was highway to and around Newfoundland, plus this last month of traveling many states between Key West and NH.

So where am I going on 6/1 when I leave for D2D. At this point I'm still not sure. I did comit to going on the advrider webpage. And found a good source of information from someone who has made the trip many times. I've plotted their gps routes for reference, and may use parts of them. I need to be aware of current forest fires in Alberta, and their smoke zone. The Glacier Going-to-the-sun-highway is closed, and is not likely to open in time for me to ride that on my way to Dawson, but is normally open by the time I would be returning. I believe that is something I want to do. I would also like to go and return on different paths, and one of the best routes drops me into Oregon. I'll put up some resource links here for me and others who follow.

Useful resources

  1. Motorcyling to Alaska by Snowbum.
  2. Top 10 Must-See Destinations on an Alaska Motorcycle Trip from advpulse
  3. Some others on my path from R1200GS.info forum

Stuff I still need to get done:

  • Get items uhauled back from Ocala, stored at my step brothers.
  • Sort out the InReach subscription.
  • Plan my route to Dawson
  • Rough plan of my route post Dawson.
  • Repack the bike
  • Sort out and test the new BT keyboard and display options
  • test the hammock bug net
  • Check weather and fire/smoke reports
  • upgrade website and ssl cert.