Ghost Riders Epic America Tour 2016

Nice Goat · August 14, 2016, 12:26:13 AM

Most excellent adventure writing! Thank you for taking the time to share!

jrobinson · August 14, 2016, 09:55:45 AM

Great trip and ride report. One of the best reports we've had in a while.

lazeebum · August 16, 2016, 11:53:43 AM

I really enjoyed your ride report. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

fmlstewart · August 17, 2016, 08:11:13 AM

Tips, details, pointers...

Some gear suggestions.

I've used a ton of camping gear over the years. For this trip,

North Face Storm Break II tent
Nemo Cosmo Air Pad and a Nemo Symphony 20 degree bag. It's the best sleep system I've ever used. a little bulky, but light weight, warm, and comfortable.

Snow Peak micro cook stove that I used one time the whole trip for coffee one morning. I packed about 12 vacuum packed meals and never touched them. I did eat several Cliff bars, but we were usually getting into camp pretty late, so we just stopped and ate meals. More expensive, but a lot less hassle.

I always carry a Becker BK7 camping knife. It's a beast. A little heavy, but will take the abuse. It has a small 4" companion knife in the sheath, and I always have a Kershaw Blur in my pocket.

Riding gear:

MSR Alterra Adventure jacket, Olympia Ranger 3 pants, Gaerne Scouts adventure boots. I like the jacket, it vents great and kept the rain out, but it is heavy. Love the pants, I'll get another pair someday, and the boots are great. I wear MX gloves and prefer Fox racing gloves. I like an old pair of Therma Paws I've had forever, the newer version is a Polar Paw, that I don't like as well. For cold and rain, I have Alpine Stars Drystars, and I have a pair of Joe Rocket gloves that have the shortest fattest fingers I've ever seen. I hate the way they fit, but they function pretty well. I have an Icon Variant Battle Scar helmet that I love, with a SENA SM10R com unit. I usually ride with a Camelbak Mule 3L system. It has two big pockets on it as well. If you're going to wear a hydration system, you might as well use one the provides some extra space. I usually carry some tools ( leatherman, knife, 25' piece of webbing), snacks, and my IFAK (individual first aid kit). I've had this pack since 2002 and have worn it for thousands of miles, including woods riding with multiple crashes, and it is still in perfect condition. Great hydration system and tough and nails.

My IFAK

2 CAT tourniquets, 2 Combat gauze with clotting agent, 4X4 dressings, four rolls of Kerlix, four rolls of Coban, SAM splint, two ACE wraps, two triangular slings, two NPA's, mole skin, bandaids, and four Benadryl single dose packs. Trauma shears.

Bike

Obviously, I'm riding a 2013 Triumph Tiger 800XC. So far I'm pretty happy with the bike. The triple is smooth with good power and cruises well, but I really wish it had more low end torque. The ergos are good and I got around 45 MPG's average the whole trip. I ran the Heidenau K60's. Great tires for this trip. I got the Givi Outback Trekker boxes from Motostorm in Italy and saved a ton of money on them thanks to Allen and Darren Bradens suggestions. They are awesome. Mount quick and easy and are secure. The bike fell off the kickstand one day on the left case and now it leaks a little from the bottom front corner. I'm sure I can seal it back up, I just haven't yet. I usually hate hard cases, but for this type of bike and adventure travel, plus a little extra bike protection, they are the ticket.
I do have to point out that Triumph does not have a lot of dealerships in the U.S. There are definitely some issues I have with that. I have to take the bike to a dealership, (two hours away to the closest one) just to get the service indicator turned off and reset. I do the service, and I can order parts, but the electronics and "conveniences" are not so convenient to deal with.

I just got a Garmin Zumo, 630 or 660, I don't remember which one, and I'm using Basecamp software. No real complaints thus far.

You'll notice in the first pic, I have a Wolfman medium duffle strapped up. The bag is great, however, when I got to Washington, I stopped at a pack and ship place and lightened the load. I ended up packing a 17X17 box completely full of 40lbs of gear that I packed and never used. Mostly clothes, and cold weather gear, but so much wasted weight and space. I learned from Tony, I can pack three days worth of clothes, and that's plenty. I have no idea had Karla packed enough in her two small bags, but the lesson there is, don't pack things you think you might need, or that might be "handy" to have. Pack only what you KNOW you NEED. John's advice to Tony was spot on. "If you can survive with what you've got on the bike, and a credit card, you're good to go." I've done a ton of this type of traveling. I have my systems and gear and I know what I need and don't need, but when you start packing you start overthinking and finding "cool gadgets" you think might make life easier. Pack what you NEED. The only thing I will add to that is, spend the money to get good gear. It will last longer, work better, and ultimately save you some headaches.

Total, I rode a little over 11,700 miles. Let's just call it 12K. From 40's and raining to 100+.

I've had people ask how long it will be before I get back on the bike after this trip. The answer was, the next day. Like Allen said, I could do this every day for the rest of my life. Slower pace, fewer miles maybe, but every day if I could. Already looking forward to the next one!

Yankee Dog · August 17, 2016, 02:14:43 PM

Great report. I look forward to doing the same some day. At about half the speed or twice the time. However you want to look at it. I am in awe at the milage you guys put in every day.

fmlstewart · August 17, 2016, 06:08:37 PM

Yeah, in retrospect we could've taken a little more time. We planned 28 days. When the route was put together, it had us in Coldfoot AK in 9 days. We actually made the Arctic Circle in 10. In total, I was gone 25 days. I think Tony was home in 21. Had we taken the whole 28 days, we probably could've kept our mileage down to less than 500 a day. 12,000 miles, 500 miles a day gives you 24 days to do it. I figured we'd have a couple of down days and a maintenance day, so four extra days seemed like a good idea just in case. We had a couple of shorter days. 250 and 300 a couple of days. But I did put in a few extra miles west and saw some things out that way.

If I was doing that same trip again ( no plans to), The Circle and back, I'd plan about the same amount of time, but I'd go northwest to Washington and then north. Just my opinion. You and Paula should definitely do it! You've been everywhere else!

fmlstewart · August 17, 2016, 06:30:21 PM

FYI, I finally gave up on my credit card and files a dispute informers gas charge along with a lost card claim. Literally less than two minutes after I submitted the claim, Angi brings the mail in and drops this in my lap.

Damn you Canada...

Al Goodwin · August 17, 2016, 10:05:02 PM

VWCarlos · August 17, 2016, 11:09:13 PM

Awesome ride report... I have enjoyed reading the different perspectives each person had on the trip. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it!