Those that know me know that I have been working my way through all the logistics planning my Alaska trip May-June 2013. Yea, that seems a long time away but I hate not being prepared, I hate being late, and I hate not knowing how to do something. So like last winter when I spent the entire time riding in ridiculous cold weather, and rain, I will now spend most of the summer doing two things. I will spend my time learning how to fix things that might break on my motorcycle and teach myself how to camp and enjoy it while on a long trip.
Those that I know that ride long distances through all types of weather know that after 7 or 8 hours of riding, all you want to do is settle down in a hotel and chill out. But what if that is not an option? What if the motorcycle breaks down in the middle of nowhere? What if your stopped by weather? Well, I doubt that I will ever seriously be faced with these scenarios but I will know how to handle it.
This past Thursday and Friday the plan was to ride down to Smith Mountain Lake and camp for two nights and test out a few things. See how much stuff I could pack on the motorcycle. See if my extra fuel tanks would hold tight and ride ok without interference with me or the motorcycle. Test pitching tent, sleeping in tent, and breaking it all down and getting back home. The last thing was eating and sleeping. Nothing like not being able to actually sleep and then have to get up and drive a 500 mile clip the next day. That sounds dangerous.
My camping plans were changed at the last moment because the air condition unit at my home needed a little Freon and I had to wait on the service guy to show and leave so I could hit the road. With that now out of the way, I contacted a friend that was on the road riding and decided that I would meet him and his riders for dinner in Staunton, so I changed my camping location to Shenandoah Valley Campground in Verona, Va. With all the plans set, route set, it was time to get moving and see how this packed up motorcycle was going to ride.
The route that I choose took me through many back roads in Virginia and West Virginia. The weather was absolutely perfect with no rain and highs around 80. The motorcycle handled everything that I threw at it. The only thing I didn’t attempt was off road riding but that will come. I will tell you this, based on how the bike was handling, riding in the dirt will be no problem. Riding in the mud and rain? Well let’s just wait on that until the dirt bike tires are installed sometime in the very near future and I will have an answer for you.
One of the places that I accidently ran into was near McDowell Va., the old civil war fortifications called Fort Johnson, I may be wrong on the name. Not much of the fortification is left, but you could still see the trenches that were dug and then there was those letters written by a solider back to his wife and family. It made for a very interesting read and it was pretty cool 1 mile hike back through time trying to understand what it was like to live in those tragic days of war. Click on the picture links at the end and you will be able to see and read some of the letters.
Setting up in Shenandoah Valley Campground was easier than I initially thought it was going to be. The two times that I practice setup at home paid off once I arrived at the park. The campground was very nice and I’m sure while I’m on the road in 2013, few if any campgrounds will ever be this nice. The grounds were manicured like some golf courses and then the stream and waterfall just topped it off.
Sleeping that night was easy. I spent a lot time researching my sleep system from Big Agnes and it works well. I decided after this trip that I will have to make a checkoff list to make sure that I remember to pack the important stuff and make another list of tweaks and needs. So this means I will have to take a few more camping trips this summer to get this stuff down. The real test will be pushing two or three 500 mile days back to back, stop, setup, sleep, breakdown, and move to the next location to see if it is possible for this old man.
This first trip was a success but it was a very small trip without any adversities. No rain, no heat, no exhaustion, and a rider under no stress. So as much as I hate to search out this problems and or issues, I know that must be able to handle it because I will be by myself for the majority of my adventure.
Below you will see some of the setup pictures at home, some while riding toward Staunton, and some in the campground. Can’t wait till my next run.
