Details, details...

Once we'd begun to piece the route and timeline together, our minds began to turn to the other preparations we had to make. First order of business was making sure the bikes were ready.

For Colin, that meant buying a GPS, new Givi cases and getting his steering adjusted. He had already put new tires on a little earlier in the season, and had a number of adjustments made to his tuning.

For me, the Stuka had just undergone it's 80,000 km service in the fall, so it just needed minor tweaking, new tires and an increase in luggage capacity. I picked up a 52L Givi Maxia top case from someone advertising on Craigslist, which I was able to install myself. I took the bike into Shail's and had them put on a new set of Metzeler tires, as well as replacing the oil cap and o-ring, which had begun to leak.

With the bikes sorted, I wanted to fill a gap in the gear I wear while riding. I don't think anyone can underestimate the importance of wearing protective clothing on a motorcycle, there being so little between us and the road, the other vehicles, and all the other objects out there.

I decided that, in spite of the heat we'll encounter in the Southwest, I wanted to wear leather. There's nothing else that protects quite as well if you come off your bike. Yes, the point is not to do that, but you don't always get a choice. 

A couple of years ago, I was riding from Calgary to Vancouver with the Badger, when a bad patch job on the highway sent his bike into a terrible wobble in a blind curve. In under two seconds from the time the tar first grabbed and jerked his front wheel, I was watching in horror as his tail light disappeared over the shoulder in a cloud of dust. His bike entered the stand of birch trees at about 80 km/h. I thought for sure I'd find him dead. I quickly pulled off the road and dismounted, and as I was pulling off my helmet he emerged from the trees and climbed slowly up short hill beyond the shoulder.

Badger was lucky to have survived with 'only' a broken collar bone. But then, we make our luck. His helmet, jacket, gloves and kevlar-lined jeans literally saved his skin.

For this trip, I'll be wearing all leather gear (except, of course, for the helmet). It might get hot (but then, so would anything else), but at least I know if anything takes me off the bike, I've got the best chance possible of not being scraped raw.