Step 2: The Gear, Part 4 - Riding Gear and Clothing
It's been a few months but I finally have the majority of the camping gear ( part 2 ) and mods ( part 3 ) finished. As the date of our first ride is quickly approaching it's time to move on to the next part of the planning step: riding gear . Now, make no mistake: this is likely the most important step of trip planning and also one of the most tedious so, before beginning, a question that every rider should consider is what the most dangerous part of a trip will be. The answer, while not so obvious to most, is (in my opinion) the squishy bit atop the bike . Yes, you, the rider are the biggest wild-card of the trip. In my years I've seen bikes flip end over end, skid down the highway sideways, bounce in and out of roadside ditches and then, with little or no effort, a handful of tip-ties and an occasional roll of duct-tape, be propped back up again and ridden home. Of course it can get much, MUCH worse but ask yourself which is stronger: the steel, aluminum and plastic t...