Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

Mar 28, 2005

Nerves

Filed in Raven's Roads 2005

The part of this journey which makes me the most nervous is not the riding, the navigation, the dealing with weather, or the finding a place to stay.

It’s strapping the luggage on and off. I’m not the world’s most practical lass, and while I generally get by, I can see myself screaming in frustration as bungee cords ping off into the sunset. I guess I have, well, five days to get the system down.

I’m going to be looking for a bungee “spider” - six bungees attached in the centre - for additional security. I just need to get my head around this stuff. Ah well, I tend to fixate on one specific problem, and once that is overcome, it’s all plain sailing.

I like camping, don’t get me wrong. The fact that I’ve never camped alone notwithstanding, I love the freedom and the cheapness of it. It makes me feel a bit like a pioneer. I’ll probably be camping for about half my nights. Some nights I will stay with friends, and some I will be in a hotel or motel.

As it currently stands, I’m not going to be able to leave my bike for very long while I am actually journeying, which is a shame, unless I can figure a way of getting my valuables into one detachable lump. But that’s part of the challenge, I suppose.

There’s a whole system to this luggage thing. We got the permanent saddlebag mounts on today, and discovered the original owner’s registration and other documents. They sit under the seat. Then you clip the saddlebags on, and strap them together across the seat. There’s another clip that Don added to the helmet lock, which helps to hold the left saddlebag a bit further up, away from the brakes. I’ll need to ride fully loaded before I leave to make sure that really works, but it should.

Then you schlep the bag with the tent, bedroll and sleeping bag onto the back seat. Pick up two long bungees. One end attaches to the passenger footpeg, then you stretch it diagonally over the pack, under the indicator stem, and clip it onto the luggage rack. Hm, bungees with clips on the end instead of just hooks might be nice.

Repeat for the other side.

Another bungee attaches a backpack full of valuables, which feels flimsy to me. But that is it, pretty much. It just seems difficult to me. Practice, practice, practice. I’m just having an angsty moment.

In other news, my foot went through the step on the deck today. It’s a combination of wet rot and termites. I now have a magnificent bruise on the back of my leg. At least I didn’t twist my ankle. I’m not impressed.

I’m also not impressed by the return of the rain. Last night we went out for a wonderful night ride, up the freeway. Wow, this bike is powerful. It gallops without effort and is very stable at freeway speeds. Now it’s lobbing it down with rain again. It shouldn’t be raining at this time of year. It sucks.

Bibble.