Five and go.

I believe the bike is finally ready. At least it better be, no turning back now. The new chain went on last Saturday with no problems, got home and didn't need that first adjustment which means I'll be doing it once I get into Florida. Its crazy that was a week ago already. These last few days are flying by.










Some more random prep shots.




The main dry compression bag for clothes.
3 sets of t-shirts, boxers and socks. One pair of swim trunks, and one pair of my trademark black work Dickies.












Second dry compression sack.

Gerbing heated jacket, long sleeve Barber shirt,
Mid-Ohio sweater, thermals, and a beanie.











Thats it, thats what I'll be wearing for the next 4 months. I'm sending some extra winter clothes to my brother's place in Seattle including my giant hoodie that fits over all my gear.










Tail bag in exploded view.
The two clothing sacks in the main compartment. Tools on rider left, then compressor and tire tools on the far left. Rain gear and rain cover on the right, then extra ratchet straps, bug spray and chain lube on the far right.
This bag got heavy quick, but better to have the weight centered than hanging off the saddlebags and also because I already "tested" the durability of the bags and they don't like weight, or knee dragging.

Tools, that probably was the hardest part of packing. Being a mechanic, I wanted to bring everything I needed to work on the bike. Then once half my toolbox was empty, I started picking out the things that I really didn't need. Then from there, I had to pick out things that I really really didn't need. Then I took one more run through it and took out a few more things. After all, I dont think I will be doing much soldering or torquing to inch/lbs or precision measuring on the side of the road.



Contents of left side saddlebag.
MSR Fuel bottle. Toiletry sack, camping equipment sack and a pair of black Pumas because Pumas are awesome.
















Right side saddlebag.
Laptop in a dry sack.
MSR Whisperlite stove
Camping cookware
Sandals.









And there she is, all packed and ready. The top bag is my camping equipment sack. Sleeping bag, tent and sleeping pad.












This is my new USB 12v plug charger. Allows me to charge the cell phone and the mp3 player at the same time. It even has a sweet blue LED to let me know its plugged in. Sweet right? Wrong. The old Zune charger also had a light and that light has killed my battery once before after leaving it plugged in for a few days.




So what do I do? Same thing I do to most things I buy, take it apart.

I clipped the wires going to the LED and put it back together. No light and still works, unlike most things I take apart and almost put back together.










I drove up to the West Race Cars shop Thursday and dropped off my suitcase of work clothes and also a change of oil for Lime Rock, CT. I figured I would check on the status of the car Ill be working on for the season.




















The current work bay at West.












One things I've noticed while doing final prep is that camping is freakin expensive in Florida. I was lucky to find places for $30, a few of them were more than $60. Apparently its really popular too, most of the places I called were already booked.


Five more days. Weather isn't looking good for the first week in the Sunshine state, but with 4 months of traveling, I can't expect sunny skies all the time.