Death Valley Ride Report: Day 5, Home & Todos

• Motorcycle Miles: 300
• Bicycle Miles: 0

Today was the ride home from Kernville, no bicycling.. but the motorcycle was definitely letting me know it had been neglected.  The chain & sprockets were toast before I left, and now they were really bad.  My aux fuel tank wasn’t working properly.  My XM radio was cutting in and out (the horror.. at least on Interstate 5 it is!)

As a test trip, I’d give this a 9 out of 10.  In general the things I expected to work, worked well. A few modifications and things on the “to do” list, mostly bicycle & motorcycle mechanicals, as well as figuring out how to pack for a multi-week trip and not just a single week trip.

Key take-aways:

• Multiple climbs per day is unlikely, unless they can easily be pedaled between
• Be selective on climb choice – scenic/epic vs. “really hard for no good reason”
• Avoid back-to-back bicycling days
• Camping should not be the first option as it consumes a lot of time and energy
• SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP.  The more the better!  Motorcycling + bicycling is tiring, mentally and physically
• Ride motorcycle more to remember how to ride properly
• Accept being a ridiculous spectacle on the road and in parking lots, because it is ridiculous!

To-dos (crossing them off as I do them, ignore)

• Replace chain and sprockets on the motorcycle
• Fix aux motorcycle tank venting
• Figure out how to load GPS maps to external memory of Garmin
• Fix XM antenna to prevent suicidal boredom on interstates
• CR2032 spare battery in front pack as a spare
• Figure out how to pack bicycle chain lube without it making a mess
• Fab metal bushing for fork axle bicycle mount
• Fix broken Pelican case stay
• Liner shorts for motorcycle riding
• Larger tail pack to make room for longer trip stuff in the cases
• Replace bicycle fork with something less sketchy
• Tune up and R&R parts on the gravel bike
• Acquire mesh gear bag to attach wet/sweaty gear to motorcycle when required