Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Finding Freedom...World Wide Ride

We are finally headed back out on the road tomorrow after a 5 month hiatus. While living in Vancouver for the summer was great especially since the weather this year was amazing, we are eager to get out exploring again. Looking back over the first ten months of our adventure we learned a few things.

1. Eat regularly because otherwise you get hangry
2. Your bike will not go if you still have your disk lock on
3. 99% of people everywhere are regular Joes like you
4. Food , water, and gas are available everywhere people are
5. Mud is nasty
6. Oil and water don't mix and wow is it slippery
7. Teamwork works thanks fellow HU members

When we started out our journey form home in June of 2012 we had never been out on the bikes longer than 2 weeks and we had never been together 24/7 for longer than 6. In fact with my job I was away from home 24-48 hours once or twice a week for the 20 years we have known each other. Motorcycle adventures are of course fun and exciting but also stressful at times and for a couple could cause as we say " marital discord". Pulling into a town late in the afternoon when you are hot, tired, and hungry always will end badly. I'm happy to report that we feel that as a couple we are stronger than before, and we managed much better than we feared.

The decision to quit our jobs and sell everything and hit the road was not easy, but once made it was so right. We can always work again when we are done exploring, but may not be able to ride the world later so doing it now makes sense.

People always ask "what was the highlight of the trip so far"? There are places for sure that were amazing, but I will have to say the people we met along the way are what really made this trip unforgettable. Garry and Ivonne, Julio and Luisa, and Mario and Fernanda your kindness, friendship, and generous hospitality was the highlight for both of us.

Ten months in the trenches, an equipment review.

Disclosure :If you are like us and you believe the right gear is important for an extended motorcycle journey then read on. Be forewarned the rest of you folks this could get very dull very quickly.

As a chronic research-aholic it has been really interesting to see what items have performed and which haven’t. After 50k+ kms in almost every riding condition some items have become indispensable while others are well, not so high on the list. We probably won’t make any endorsement deals after this, but at least you will have the straight goods on our gear.

Stuff we wear

1. Shark Helmets & Shark tooth Com Systems

Overall these have been a great choice for the type of travelling we do on the bikes. The comfort, quality and function have been superb. Their durability keeps amazing me each time one of the helmets takes a header off its resting place. The modular design has me convinced that unless you are on a dedicated motocross bike this is the only style of helmet we would purchase going forward. There are just way to many pluses. It gets really hot you flip the lid and you can ride open faced even at highway speed. If you want to talk to the cop or border official again flip the lid. The only negatives being that the helmet is slightly heavier than comparable ones and maybe not as quiet, but you are wearing earplugs anyway right?

The Shark-tooth com system has performed better than expected. The units have great range, they are very easy to operate and have excellent battery life. The only negative to report is that one of the units suddenly died one day a month into the trip. Shark immediately exchanged the unit no questions asked and the replacement has been flawless for over 9 months now. Riding as a couple we have found a com system to be really helpful especially when driving in and out of cities, when over taking traffic on windy mountain roads, and in bad weather or road conditions. As a couple we wouldn’t want to embark on an extended trip without some type helmet communication system.

2. DB Blocker custom ear protection

Hearing protection is essential and these are an excellent choice. Yes you can buy a lifetime of foamy style plugs for what these cost, but once you ride with custom plugs you will wonder why they still make the foamys. The pairs we have are the vented type that cut out the wind noise, but still allow us to hear our intercom system clearly. We won’t ride without them.

3. Rev-it Gear

We have a lot of Rev-it and so it pains me to say that at some point we will change at least some of it.

Defender GTX Suits

We love these suits and they have preformed well, but there is a major design problem with the three- layer system. For the good news first, for comfort, durability and function they have been great. A big plus has been the light color of the suits. Oh I know hardcore guys will scoff at wearing lighter colored gear, but when it’s well over 30 degrees and traffic is crawling you are going to curse the day you bought that black gear. They cleaned up very well by hand or machine. The suites themselves offer great protection from the sun, and were comfortable to wear riding in temperatures to about 34 Celsius. To be fair the design issue is not specific to Rev-it as many other manufactures have suits with the same issues.

It really boils down again to design. The liner style system is in our opinion is going to be a thing of the past very shortly. It simply doesn’t make any sense. Sure it works, but what a hassle on so many levels. It’s okay if you are around home maybe, but for long term on the road. We did not wear the goretex liners after we left Alaska, but instead wore our over-suits in the rain. We did not even take the thermal layer with us. You have to store the liners, put them on if there is a chance of rain, or stop on the side of the road and put them on in the rain. The outer coat eventually gets soaked and becomes heavier and heavier. The solution we have found that works for us is the over suit. We put the bottoms on if it looks like rain, and just tie the arms around the waist. This way we can totally cover up without even getting off the bike if it does start to rain. If there is unexpected rain the outer shells of the GTX suits can handle mild rain without getting us wet. If the rain gets worse we throw on the over our Rev-it H2O suits and all is well. We stay dry, GTX suits stay dry and don’t get heavy and the over suits are much easier to get on and off standing on the side of the road then zipping in liners.

4. Daytona Da-Boots

We actually got these boots a riding season before we left on our current adventure. Being motocross folks for years and believing that your feet are really vulnerable when riding especially off-road we have had our share of great motorcycle boots. At first we thought we would ride our current adventure in our motocross boots. Lots of people do, but I’m glad we choose not to in the end. What our Daytona’s bring versus say my Sidi Crossfires and Sara’s Ladies Thor boots is walking comfort. On our journey there are many times when we will stop to explore on foot and this is were the Daytona’s really shine. Not once at the end of the day have our feet hurt, nor have they been wet or cold even after 7 hours in the pouring rain. These boots are absolutely first rate. A plus for the Daytona lady star is they have an internal lift that adds 2 ½ inches. Sara also added a Vebram sole for another inch of flat foot bliss for her 27 inch inseam.

5. Powerlet Rapid Fire Heated Jackets

The only thing worse than being wet when riding is being wet and cold. Some riders consider heated gear a luxury for the soft. Call us soft then because this is another item we wouldn’t leave on a long journey without. Being able to ride through amazing landscapes comfortably when the temperatures are approaching the negative range is so much more enjoyable.

6. Motor-cross kidney belts.

We both started wearing these on our motor-cross bikes, but they are even more important for comfort on long days on the road. They prevent slouching and back pain.

7. Riding underlayer

Any quick dry fabric underwear with minimal seams will work. Sara wears the men’s exofficio boxer brief and Daniel the Calvin Klein microfiber. 25$ for a pair of underwear seems like a lot, but 2 pairs each have lasted a year a still look new. You would be surprised how much of a difference this makes especially on long days or in the heat.

In our Silver sokz we were never hot or cold and they really just don’t smell!

8. Gloves

We both have rev it comet gloves that have been bullet proof. Sara also has BMW women’s gortex gloves that have proven waterproof in really bad weather.

9. Camping gear

Exped rocks. We have the Exped Venus 2 delux tent, which is very roomy for 2 to sleep and has a huge vestibule where you can sit and even cook in bad weather. We would never be with out our exped mats. Dan has the synmat 9 and sleeps better on that than most conventional beds. Sara is comfy on the 7 pump deluxe. The integrated pump system is so easy. We are soft as you know so we have exped air pillows.

We both have Marmot sleeping bags (men’s plasma and women’s pinnacle) which are comfy and pack fairly small in outdoor research compression bags. Another must is a silk sleep sac, it adds 5 degrees of warmth and is a must to keep your bag clean. It is also great to use in sketchier hotels.

One of the best items we brought was our Ticket to the moon hammock, which we used a lot when camping or not.

If you have the luxury of 2 bikes, chairs are an added bonus. We highly recommend getting the Kermit chair. Expensive yes, but you will only buy one and it will last forever guaranteed.

10. Great gadgets we used a lot

Titanium sporks
Seattlesports folding pack sink
5$ small 6 pack folding cooler
Dollar store flat rubber disk sink stopper and rubber door wedge

A full list if our gear is listed on our web site at worldwideride.ca

Tomorrow we fly Vancouver to LA and then take the red eye to Panama City. We arrive there Tuesday morning and will head to Girag to meet with Richard and finalize the shipping of the bikes to Bogota for Thursday. We fly there ourselves on Wednesday.

Andi and Ellen (TMK) we have the parts for Maya safely packed and ready for WWR special delivery Canada to Colombia! Thanks Kenny at Alternate cycle in Kamloops.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/9...a268f700_c.jpg
DSC06902 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr