So here's the back story... a behind-the-scenes look at how we plan and execute these larger-than-life adventures.
PLANNING
We plan. We leave knowing how far we are going each day, what we want to see along the way, where we are stopping for the night, where we are staying, and sometimes where we are eating and planning to get gas. Very little is left to chance.
PROCESS
The majority of the planning and routing is done by yours truly. It's a diversion for me... a distraction from real life... like recreation. And it's a process. We decide together - usually as the current trip is winding down - what we want to dream about for the year to come. Once a destination or region is chosen, I sort of "rough it in". I pick what I call the "prizes" of the trip... the destinations that few see... and then find roads in the region I call "the road less traveled". We look for the most challenging roads we can find with the intent of riding them as fast as we dare.
Then I start reverse-engineering the trip, determining what else we might want to see in the region and on the way and how much time we'll need to get from place to place. I get ideas and opinions from the other guys via text message. If we have a really tough decision to make, we'll set up an online Go-To-Meeting video conference. But that's the exception, rather than the rule.
I plan for the better part of the year. The plan is put in place using Garmin's Base Camp. I email a .gpx file to the guys along with a VERY detailed Ride Summary. The summary includes dates, departure times, miles to be traveled, and sights to be seen along the way.
Once finished, the research continues. If I find something else we might want to see or do, we tweak the plan, almost up to departure time. And I review the plan in painstaking detail, zooming in on the route to make sure waypoints are exactly in place... making sure I haven't routed us on unpaved roads... looking for places to eat... I even project gas stops when we are in more remote locations. That's the planning part.
BASE CAMP
Many despise Base Camp - and I did, too, for a long time. I tried and failed to figure it out three times, I think. But I finally got it. It finally clicked for me. And now, I can't imagine using anything else to plan. I highly recommend you persist and master Base Camp if you do highly-detailed planning.
SOURCE INFORMATION
I poke around in a lot of places for information about destinations and the best roads to ride. I use Butler Motorcycle Maps, motorcycle road websites, tourism websites, HD and Road Glide Forums... anything I can find to help me find the best roads and attractions.
LODGING
We don't camp. And we don't stay in cheap hotels. It's expensive - but we have chosen to stay in fairly-nice name-brand hotels. Most of the time, we use Hampton Inns. If we're in a place - like Nova Scotia - where there aren't many name-brand hotels - I use sites like Trip Advisor to get reviews and see pictures of places. When we're ready to book, I send the information to the guys and we each book our rooms individually.
We don't share rooms. We did that the first year, and decided that after being together all day, we needed some solitude at night. And some of us catch up on work or emails. Some write blogs or upload pictures to social media. I have to update routes and email .gpx files before I sleep. And some of us snore. So we each get our own room - and I like it that way.
ELECTRONICS
I use a Garmin Zumo 665 for navigation. Every one of us has a GPS, and I send the day's route out to the guys each night. We had a bad experience in 2013 when the tail gunner missed a turn and ended up far, far away. We were worried. He was frustrated. (Now, we tell the story over and over and laugh hysterically - but that day in the summer of '13, it wasn't funny). So everyone has the route. And we because the different systems will interpret the route differently at times, we are in constant communication regarding where we are going as we ride. Speaking of communication...
COMMUNICATORS
This year - for the first time - all of us were connected to the "pack" using Cardo Scala Rider PackTalk units. What a game changer! It's fun, and we talk about a lot of things. We laugh. But it's safe, too - especially when we are in traffic. We're able to coordinate lane changes, discuss when we need gas, keep sleepy riders engaged in conversation. This year, we had as many as twelve people in communication using Cardo's Dynamic Mesh Communication. Once we got our "pack" set up, it worked almost flawlessly. We got a bit of wind noise occasionally, and some static if there were a lot of power lines. But the units connected as soon as they were powered on without having to do anything. Range was great. We rode in a lot of rain, and none of the units gave us any trouble. We even hooked up a PackTalk in the chase car. I could not have been more pleased with the performance of Cardo's Product.
SATELLITE TRACKING
I use a SPOT Gen3 tracking device on our long adventures. I do this in part for safety reasons - so if I drive off the road in a remote place, those tracking my progress can direct help to my last-known coordinates. I also like to be able to keep visual record of our ride. Finally, a lot of friends and family follow us on our journey. I provide a link to our ride track, or they can use the SPOT app and follow along. I use functions of the tracker to send a one-touch notification when we take a break for lunch, and I use another one-touch notification to let folks know when we reach our destination for the night. Here's the final ride track, as reported by the SPOT tracker.
DAILY RIDE TRACKING
This year, for the first time, I used a cool app called Rever. At the beginning of each ride, you can start recording the track. Rever maps the ride, records miles ridden, ride time, top speed, average speed, and elevation. It has to be running the entire time you are riding in the background on your smart phone - but I really liked it. Here's an Rever screen shot.
SMART PHONE
Speaking of Rever... I have my iPhone 7 Plus mounted on my handlebars, easily accessible. I have Rever running in the background, and use my phone to stream music to my Cardo PackTalk and to control my helmet-mounted GoPro. If necessary, I check the weather on my phone, and can make and receive phone calls if necessary.
CAMERAS
And since I mentioned the GoPro... I travel with three cameras (actually four this year). I wear a helmet-mounted GoPro Hero 5 to capture video of the good stuff. I look like a dork, but the video is priceless to me. The GoPro Capture app allows me to start and stop the video as desired. I have one battery in the camera and two always charging in my tour pack.
I love to take still pictures, so I travel with a Nikon D5300 for use when I have time to get the "good" camera out. I also have a Nikon S9900 around my neck if riding solo, and my wife shoots with it if she is riding two-up with me. I take a lot of memory cards and charge batteries every night to be sure I'm ready to shoot at all times.
COMFORT
I use an AirHawk R seat pad for added comfort. I have heated grips, and both my wife and I have heated jackets. Highway pegs are a must, and I use a rider backrest. Finally, for years, I was in search of the perfect cupholder. I finally found a Ciro3D product that works great for me, and load the holder up with a Yeti 20-ounce tumbler that keeps water cold all day.
FINAL WORDS
This is the final post of 2017. Next, I'll edit some video and try to find time to create a Shutterfly photo book. But I don't have much time. The discussion is in high gear for Adventure 2018. We're going north. And west... to the Canadian Rockies. And I can hardly wait.
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